RoundUp: Growing for the future
Blankenship Place ready to rise, garlic tales, a Jeff Elliot remembrance, Sebastopol's DUI checkpoint results, and more
Habitat for Humanity wins $50,000 grant from PG&E to help build Blankenship Place in Sebastopol
Habitat for Humanity announced this week that PG&E donated $50,000 to support the construction of Blankenship Place, the Habitat fourplex on Main Street, across from Safeway. The Sebastopol project was one of five Habitat for Humanity sites chosen by PG&E in California.
On Thursday, volunteers from PG&E (blue shirts), plus Habitat for Humanity staff and volunteers, and future homeowners (purple shirts), worked hard clearing blackberries and pampas grass from the site and preparing the site for construction, which could start as soon as this week.
Gobs of Garlic
Last October, I wrote about the seed garlic that was available at Harmony Farm Supply in Graton. I bought three varieties and planted them in fall. Now, in June, the garlic has been harvested and dried. Today, I trimmed the stalks and clipped the roots (I call it the beard) and it’s now ready to use. Quite the midsummer bounty, which comes from growing it in the winter garden.
Become the first, new, paid subscriber today and get a basket of produce from Dale’s and Laura’s gardens
Be the first person today to become a new paid subscriber and get a bountiful basket of produce from Laura’s and Dale’s gardens: garlic, peas, broccoli, purple collards, arugula, Santa Rosa plums and a small bouquet of roses. Already a subscriber? Be the first person to give a gift subscription to a friend and grab the bounty!
Remembering Jeff Elliott
Internet news pioneer and Santa Rosa historian Jeff Elliott passed away earlier this month in Santa Rosa. He was 72. Kerry Benefield wrote a very nice profile of Jeff Elliott in the Press Democrat. An early online journalist and news publisher, Elliott created The Albion Monitor website in August of 1995 and carried a variety of online news that one might not find in the mainstream media. He charged $9.95 for an annual subscription. He insisted that the Albion Monitor, while online, should still be considered a “newspaper.”
When he closed the Albion Monitor in May of 2009, Elliott wrote an obituary for the the Albion Monitor, reflecting on how it got started:
The idea, back in the spring of 1995, was to create a web-only "newspaper" -- a well-edited journal of hard news and opinion (but more of the former). Some of the content always would be authored by myself or commissioned, but most of the publication would be filled out with articles purchased from both mainstream media sources and the alternative press. … It was material likely to be of interest to like-minded political progressives that wasn't found in the daily newspaper or evening broadcast news. It was, as our motto stated, "The news you're missing."
Elliot had to explain that there is a town named Albion in California, but it had nothing to do with the name of this newspaper. He said the name came from Sir Francis Drake who in 1572 visited Northern California for a week and called it New Albion. “We use the name Albion to remind us that we are all visitors, here in Eden,” wrote Elliott.
Elliott also became a local historian, creating the website “Santa Rosa History,” which has a lot of great stories and resources. His last entry, The Corpse at the Fair, was posted on November 18, 2024. He was a reader of the Sebastopol Times, commenting on a 2024 story about the Zoombooming of City Council. We will remember Jeff when we call Sebastopol Times a “newspaper”.
How did the Sebastopol Police’s recent DUI checkpoint go?
They didn’t catch many drunk drivers—just one out of 652 contacts—but a fair number of folks were driving with no license or a revoked/suspended license. Here’s the report from the Sebastopol Police’s Facebook page.
Last Friday night, June 20, with the assistance of the Santa Rosa Police Department, we conducted a DUI and Driver’s license checkpoint on Sebastopol Avenue, between Petaluma Avenue and Morris Street, from 7:30 pm until midnight. It was a successful operation, which yielded the following statistics:
652 vehicles contacted
24 drivers evaluated for DUI
11 drivers cited for operating a vehicle while unlicensed
2 drivers cited for operating a vehicle with a suspended/revoked license
1 driver arrested for DUI
1 driver arrested for an outstanding warrant
A big thank you to SRPD for their assistance!
Looking for a new office? Be our neighbor!
This pretty little office with nice light in a Victorian on Main Street is available for $625 a month, utilities included. The office is located inside the Sebastopol Blue offices and is the next office over from the Sebastopol Times. It’s a beautiful building and a great place to work. If you’ve been working at home but find yourself wishing for a more structured work environment (away from domestic distractions), check this space out. Since the office is located inside the Sebastopol Blue building, an architectural printing firm, it would be ideal for anyone in the building, architecture, planning or design business—or anyone really.
To find out more, reach out to the owner, well-known Sebastopol architect Kathy Austin, 1-707-529-5565, or property manager Joyce Long, 1-707-477-2911.
Sebastopol Police Logs, June 16-22
The following are crimes excerpted from Sebastopol Police Department daily crime log entries and listed at the time the alleged violation was reported.
TUESDAY
6:50 p.m. Served a felony arrest warrant and a misdemeanor arrest warrant for an outside agency at Pleasant Hill Avenue North. Suspect arrested.
WEDNESDAY
3:55 p.m. Served a misdemeanor arrest warrant for an outside agency at Laguna Park Way. Suspect arrested.
8:26 p.m. Failure to appear in court after promising in writing (misdemeanor) at South Main Street. Suspect arrested.
10:21 p.m. Battery of a spouse or companion and violation of probation (misdemeanors) at Washington Avenue. Suspect arrested.
FRIDAY
2:11 a.m. Shoplifting (misdemeanor) at Pleasant Hill Avenue North. Pending further investigation.
3:17 p.m. Threatening a crime with the intent of terrorizing (felony) at Litchfield Avenue. Cleared by circumstances beyond police control.
8:53 p.m. Driving with a suspended license, a restricted driver operating a vehicle without an interlock device, and violation of probation (misdemeanors) at Petaluma and Sebastopol avenues. Suspect arrested.
10:44 p.m. Driving while under the influence of alcohol with a blood alcohol content of at least 0.08% (misdemeanors) at McKinley Street. Suspect arrested.
10:53 p.m. Served a misdemeanor arrest warrant for an outside agency at Petaluma and Sebastopol avenues. Suspect arrested.
SATURDAY
8:52 p.m. Violation of probation (misdemeanor) at North Main Street. Suspect arrested.
SUNDAY
6:08 p.m. Causing a property fire (misdemeanor) at Petaluma and Abbott avenues. No disposition reported.
OTHER POLICE ACTION
The Sebastopol Police Department also recorded 173 events requiring police action during the period, such as lost animals, assisting citizens, parking violations, foot patrol, traffic hazards and reckless driving.
