Roundup: Community Center sends out an SOS
Community Cultural Center in crisis, a blackberry suggestion, a correction, police logs and more
At the last city council meeting, several members of the Sebastopol Community Cultural Center (SCCC)—staff members and board members—got up to speak during public comment, begging the city not to cut the funding for the organization. (Due to its budget crisis, the city is cutting back on or eliminating funding for all nonprofits in Sebastopol. 160,981)
After they spoke, I followed the group out into the soft summer evening to talk about the emergency “S.O.S. Community Meeting” they’ve scheduled for Thursday, July 18 at 6:30 pm at the center.
“We want to speak with the community and let them know what our situation is right now,” said SCCC Director Tanya Sierra. “We are really needing to become self-sustaining here in order to keep our doors open because we may not be receiving any more city funding. So we want to have an opportunity to share that with the community and also discuss together what we can possibly do to work together to keep our doors open.”
Looking at recent city budget documents, it looks like the Community Cultural Center is still scheduled to receive some funding from the city, though it’s about half of what it received last year.
“We’re basically scrambling to come up with great ideas so that we can actually get the community here and then generate enough revenue so that we can then make it through,” said SCCC Board President Rick Williams.
Williams said that while their concerts are dependable moneymakers, their classes aren’t bringing in the revenue they should, and the staff wants to know why.
“We really need community participation. We need their help in deciding what classes are going to get people to come to classes. You know, we put classes out there, and we don’t get people signing up for them—and we don’t know why. So we want the community to come here and tell us what’s going on, what we need to do in order to actually be more on everybody’s radar.”
“We just want to be transparent,” Williams said. “We want the community to know that if they want the Community Cultural Center to continue, that it’s going to be up to them to keep the community center doors open by participating and coming to concerts, coming to events and by participating in or teaching a class.”
CORRECTION: Running for office is way easier than that!
In this week’s article, “What it takes to run for city council, Part 2,” I wrote that candidates needed to file as sole proprietors, and get a DBA and EIN. Worse yet, I put those words in the mouth of Councilmember Sandra Maurer. Looking at the transcript of the interview, it certainly looks like that is what she said, but when I went back and listened to the recording, it was actually me saying that back to her, trying to clarify something she’d just said about committee names and numbers. She agreed, somewhat uncertainly, with my clarification, saying “I think so.” But it turns out I was wrong.
Luckily, it’s much easier than that. According to Sebastopol City Clerk Mary Gourley, all you need to open a campaign bank account is your Candidate Intention Statement (Form 501) or a Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) number. Gourley will be happy to give you the details regarding this if you decide to run.
Just how crowded were the 3rd of July festivities at Analy?
This crowded! Mayor Diana Rich snapped this photo of the field.
Got blackberries?
Our property is overflowing with blackberries this time of year—though the last week of extreme heat fried quite a few of them. I’ve made a lot of blackberry dishes over the years in an attempt to cope with this bounty, but this one—a balsamic blackberry bliss grilled cheese sandwich—caught my eye on Instagram and seemed particularly luscious. It’s from Chef Marcelo Mintz.
Ingredients:
2 slices of bread (white or whole wheat)
1-2 tablespoons of balsamic glaze
1/4 cup of fresh blackberries
1-2 slices of cheese (such as brie, goat cheese, or mozzarella)
1 tablespoon of honey (optional)
Fresh thyme or rosemary leaves (optional)
Instructions: Preheat a grill or grill pan to medium heat. Butter one side of each bread slice. Place one slice, butter-side down, on the grill. Top with cheese, blackberries, and a drizzle of balsamic glaze. Add a sprinkle of honey and thyme or rosemary if desired. Place the second bread slice, butter-side up, on top. Grill until the bread is golden brown and the cheese is melted. Flip and cook the other side until equally golden.
Sebastopol Police Logs, June 24-31
The following are crimes excerpted from Sebastopol Police Department daily crime log entries and listed at the time the alleged violation was reported.
TUESDAY
7:29 a.m. Served a misdemeanor arrest warrant for an outside agency at Covert Lane and Healdsburg Avenue. Suspect arrested.
3:56 p.m. Petty theft involving motor vehicle parts (misdemeanor) at Laguna Park Way and McKinley Street. Investigation suspended, leads exhausted.
THURSDAY
12:35 a.m. Threatening a crime with an intent to terrorize (felony) and possession of unlawful paraphernalia and disobeying a court order (misdemeanors) at Gravenstein Highway South and Lynch Road. Suspect arrested.
10:01 a.m. Battery of a spouse or companion and petty theft (misdemeanors) at Gravenstein Highway South and Lynch Road. Investigation suspended, leads exhausted.
1:56 p.m. Grand theft (felony) at Eleanor and Fannen avenues. Pending further investigation.
5:55 p.m. Served with a misdemeanor arrest warrant for an outside agency, possession of a controlled substance, possession of unlawful paraphernalia and violation of probation (misdemeanors) at Willow Street and Jewell Avenue. Suspect arrested.
FRIDAY
12:00 p.m. Served a misdemeanor arrest warrant for an outside agency at Petaluma and Abbott avenues. Suspect arrested.
SATURDAY
10:11 p.m. Served a felony arrest warrant for an outside agency at Gravenstein Highway North and Hurlbut Avenue. Suspect arrested.
OTHER POLICE ACTION
The Sebastopol Police Department also recorded 133 other events requiring police action during the period, such as lost animals, assisting citizens, parking violations, foot patrol, traffic hazards and reckless driving.
The week of July 1-6
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