Roundup: Brrrrrr...
Why no warming center? Plus yard art, a new Google group for local biz and more
So Sebastopol!
Have you seen the Meyskens Family Farm yard art at the corner of Danmar and Norlee? The Meyskens don’t really have a farm—though they do put excess produce out now and then—but their nephews and nieces took to calling their bountiful yard “The Farm” and the name stuck.
The Meyskens thought of getting an Amiot statue, but their friend artist Jim Veilleux said he’d make something fun for them, and he did. Want your own Jim Veilleux sculpture? Jim can be reached at 707-481-9284.
It’s been so cold. Why hasn’t Sebastopol opened a warming center?
Several folks on the Sebastopol Nextdoor were wondering whether Sebastopol would be opening a warming center on these punishingly cold nights. We asked Police Chief Ron Nelson. He responded yesterday afternoon:
“When evaluating whether to open or not, we use some specific criteria similar to the county,” he wrote. “Though it has been cold, we haven’t met the benchmarks and criteria to open. Forecast models through Tuesday night are showing we will not. I monitor the situation daily because forecast models are estimations and subject to change quickly.”
Last year, police gave car rides to the warming center in Santa Rosa to people in dire need. We asked if that was happening again this year.
“We had offered that as an option in the past but are no longer doing that,” he wrote. “The situation has changed due to our ability to open warming and cooling centers as necessary. That was not the case previously, and the ride offer was a stopgap to help those who were in dire need.”
Here are the benchmarks that trigger the opening of a warming center.
Warming centers will be activated when a single or combination of the below conditions may prompt activation of this phase:
Forecast overnight temperatures are expected to drop below 28 degrees, and conditions are projected for a minimum of two consecutive days, or;
Forecast overnight temperatures are expected to drop below 32 degrees, and conditions are projected for a minimum of three consecutive days, or;
Forecast temperatures to drop below an average nighttime low of 37 degrees for two consecutive days with accompanying hazardous conditions (including, more than 1 inch of rain, predicted snowfall, flash flood watch/warning, wind chills or extreme temperature fluctuations)
AND
National Weather Service issues a Frost Advisory and/or;
National Weather Service issues a Freeze Watch and/or;
Forecast overnight low temperatures are accompanied with daytime temperatures of 40 degrees or lower and/or;
The Department of Health Services issues a Cold or Freeze Alert.
Goldfinch building is up for sale
The building that houses Goldfinch restaurant at 119 South Main St. is officially up for sale, but potential buyers—and fans of Goldfinch restaurant—can rest assured that the restaurant itself, which took over the former K&L location two years ago, is staying right where it is.
Greg Beale and Becca Lipski, who purchased 119 South Main Street in 2022, initially envisioned the building as part of The Livery on Main, located next door. But now they’ve decided to sell the Goldfinch building.
“Our focus has always been about business incubation and helping our small town thrive,” said Greg Beale, a driving force behind The Livery on Main. “This move will allow us to refocus our energy on advancing The Livery on Main.”
New Google Group for Sebastopol businesses
Frustrated by the city dumping Recology for SCRR—and the resulting higher fees for some businesses—Retrograde owner Danielle Connor has started a new Google group to help local businesses strategize with one another and make their voices heard in the local corridors of power. The Google Group is called the Sebastopol Business Alliance, and you can join it at https://groups.google.com/g/sebbizalliance.
Elderberry Commons Update
Danielle Danforth of West County Community Service (WCCS) gave the Sebastopol Times an update on the application process for those who will move into Elderberry Commons, the former Sebastopol Inn.
Burbank Housing received its occupancy certificate for Elderberry Commons.
Danforth’s team has made referrals for applicants in all 29 units.
The Housing Authority is “completing the inspections required for the Project Based Vouchers that all units are beneficiaries of.” If there are any outstanding issues with the applications, they will need to be addressed by Burbank Housing and then followed by another inspection.
If there are no issues, move-in can start when the applicant is approved by both Burbank and the Housing Authority and Burbank fully executes the rental contracts.
Burbank Housing has hired a resident manager.
“WCCS staff have been on site accepting donations from the community and setting up units in a way they think will work for the folks that will be occupying each unit,” Danforth wrote. “They are also setting up the office for ongoing supportive services.”
Still, she didn’t have an actual move-in date for the new residents.
The Best Place in The Barlow
The best place in The Barlow is not a wine bar, an upscale clothing store, a coffee shop or one of its many restaurants. It’s a shallow play pit covered in astroturf and filled with young kids and some pieces of blue foam. It’s a place for families to hang out. On a sunny Saturday, it was busy with the kind of activity that allows parents to sit down and let their kids play and attracts others to watch the fun. It’s brilliant. It makes this old town seem young again.
Sebastopol architect Paul Fritz wrote an article in 2023 titled “Successful People Places - The Barlow vs Main Street.” He said that “an important difference between The Barlow and Main Street is that there are places (in The Barlow) for people to be.” The play pit is the place to be.
Sebastopol Police Logs, January 13-19
The following are crimes excerpted from Sebastopol Police Department daily crime log entries and listed at the time the alleged violation was reported.
MONDAY
3:52 p.m. Grand theft (felony) at High Street and Bodega Avenue. Investigation suspended, leads exhausted.
TUESDAY
4:35 p.m. Impersonating another person to get credit (felony) at Hurlbut Avenue and Gravenstein Highway North. Investigation suspended, leads exhausted.
WEDNESDAY
8:02 a.m. Served a misdemeanor arrest warrant for an outside agency at Keating Avenue and North Main Street. Suspect arrested.
7:21 p.m. Battery on a spouse or companion (misdemeanor) at Palm and Petaluma avenues. Suspect arrested.
THURSDAY
2:49 a.m. Battery with serious bodily injury (felony) at McKinley and North Main streets. Cleared by circumstances beyond police control.
9:29 a.m. Petty theft of motor vehicle parts (misdemeanor) at Laguna Park Way. Investigation suspended, leads exhausted.
FRIDAY
8:29 p.m. Driving while under the influence of alcohol with a blood alcohol content of at least 0.08 percent (misdemeanors) at Sebastopol Avenue. Suspect arrested.
SATURDAY
8:27 p.m. Cruelty to animals with intent to kill (felony) and sexual contact with an animal (misdemeanor) at McKinley and North Main streets. Pending further investigation.
OTHER POLICE ACTION
The Sebastopol Police Department also recorded 158 other events requiring police action during the period, such as lost animals, assisting citizens, parking violations, foot patrol, traffic hazards and reckless driving.
I worked with and helped mentally ill, addicted and "Homeless" folks for more than 30 years. Making Homelessness tolerable is NOT helping them. Giving them sleeping bags, "warming centers", food and a free government stipend (so they can buy alcohol and drugs) is NOT "helping them". Homeless folks will seek help when it becomes so miserable that they finally become willing to try it another way. When they get to healthy homeless programs like the Mission, they learn how to adopt personal responsibility and sobriety, and many of them get new lives. I watch the local soup kitchens who call themselves 'ministries" and just shake my head. And the majority of the "homeless" are homeless by choice, which makes them "Bums". I talk with some of them. They're capable of working, but they don't WANT to work. They want to get high all day and get drunk and get the free food that the Soup Kitchens hand out so liberally. When God gets involved, people's lives get changed. When no one is finding freedom through your handouts, you're not "ministering" to them; you're facilitating their homelessness. Give a man food and a tent and he'll stay homeless. Let him fend for himself and he'll come looking for help when he's READY to ask for real help. Churches used to feed and help the homeless, before government realized what a money-laundering Cash Cow homelessness is, but churches never codepended homelessness like they do since codependent Liberals got involved. The lost helping the lost stay lost, that's what's going on in this town (Sebastopol). Give these homeless folks a ride to the Mission if you really want to help them. Codepending their homelessness makes YOU feel good, but it doesn't really help the homeless person one bit. It only facilitates their homelessness.
Oh, and about all the garbage down at the Laguna - that's just the tip of the iceberg. Who's monitoring the Laguna, which is now just a garbage dump again? Let's talk about all the FECES down at the Laguna. Where do you think these people poop when they're camping at the Laguna? Anywhere they want. Feces is EVERYWHERE down at the Laguna, just a disease-infested dumping ground for government sponsored "homeless" people. The homeless problem became WORSE when government got involved, because all of the Bums and Opportunists flocked to suck up all the freebies. Government WANTS people homeless. That's the big secret. Not so secret to those of us who actually minister to that community. We can tell the difference between someone who is truly indigent and those who are just Bums. So can the Mission. Apparently, local churches cannot tell the difference.
"Cruelty to animals with intent to kill (felony) and sexual contact with an animal (misdemeanor) at McKinley and North Main streets. Pending further investigation." What in the hell is happening to this town.