Roundup: Opening Up
We're talking about Forestville's Bazaar Sonoma, The Academy (no, not the Academy Awards), a new police chief, Empty Bowls, your right to know and more
A thing of beauty, just noticing
On the gnarled
magnolia, in the fog, the blossoms and buds were like
all the moons in one night–full,
gibbous, crescent.
—Sharon Olds, from “On Telling My Mother”
City Council to consider approval of new police chief
The city of Sebastopol is on the verge of selecting a new police chief, Sean McDonagh, a native of Australia, who previously worked as Chief of Police in two small towns in Colorado. His three-year contract is up for approval at the March 4th City Council meeting. If approved, McDonagh will assume the role of police chief immediately.
Foodies Will Be Finding Forestville
Forestville is becoming the next Graton with its main street featuring an exciting new Asian restaurant in Bazaar Sonoma (BaSo) and the upscale Sonoma Pizza Co., along with Canneti Roadhouse Italiana. Plus, sometimes you just have to stop at Carr’s Drive-in; it’s so old-school that it doesn’t have a website.
Read Heather Irwin’s review of Bazaar Sonoma, “Traditional Chinese with Untraditional Values” in the Press Democrat. Abbreviated as BaSo, Bazaar is a welcome new adventure in dining out in West County. Staff member Em (below) brings the good vibes as well as the good food to the table.
Preview for The Academy of Innovative Arts draws 75
The first in a series of meet-and-greets for the Academy of Innovative Arts took place last Thursday evening on the El Molino Campus in Forestville. About 75 people came out, a nice mix of people who were curious about the new school, along with parents and prospective students.
The crowd gathered in the library, and they were greeted by WSCUHSD Superintendent Chris Meredith, who explained that the new school has been in the works for two-and-a-half years. Greg Alexander, who is the principal of the new school, introduced one of the two teachers for the new school, Cole Smith, who talked about his 20 years’ experience as a teacher. I (Dale) spoke about how the students of this specialized high school are entering a new age that will be shaped by AI but they also need to think about what it means to be human.
After presenting an overview of the new school, Alexander gave a tour of the campus and eventually led people to the Innovative Arts Makerspace at the back of campus. I have to say that people seemed impressed by the colorful makerspace full of equipment. (Note that Cole Smith did a lot of the painting of the walls and floor.)
Some of students got busy using the tools and supplies that were out for them.
The Academy plans to open in August for the 2024-2025 school year. Applications for its initial freshman class are open now on the District’s website for the school. Meredith explained that applicants from within the district have priority and after that, students will be accepted on a first-come, first-serve basis. The goal is to fill a 30-student freshman class but Meredith said the District would have to re-evaluate the size of the class if more than 30 students applied.
There’s a short video that provides an overview of the new school:
If you have questions about The Academy of Innovative Arts or are interested in visiting campus, please contact Greg Alexander at galexander@wscuhsd.org.
Empty Bowls, Everyone
Analy student Mikayleigh Beatty wants everyone to know about Empty Bowls, a community dinner to be held Friday, March 28, at the Analy Cafeteria. “Empty bowls is an event that Analy’s ceramics teachers prepare for,” Mikayleigh said. The handmade bowls are made by students in beginner and advanced ceramic classes, while culinary students make soup and the Jazz Band makes music. Proceeds go to Food for Thought and Redwood Empire Food bank.
That same night is the opening night performance of “Mamma Mia” presented by the Analy School Theatre Arts program. There will be four performance over the last weekend of March and four more the first weekend of April. The dates and times are here.
Stand up for the Sebastopol Times and your Right to Know
At the next city council meeting on Tuesday, March 4, the council will discuss the adoption of a new press policy that will damage reporters’ ability to cover city government and may violate the First Amendment of the Constitution. We wrote about this challenge to press freedom in this week’s article, Why is the city of Sebastopol making it harder for reporters to cover city government?
These new rules endanger your right to know how your city works. You can oppose this new policy by writing a letter to the city council—the council has received 18 letters so far, but more is better—and by attending the council meeting at 6 pm on March 4 at the Sebastopol Youth Annex, 425 Morris St., Sebastopol. You don’t have to stay for the whole meeting, but please show up for just a half an hour at 6 pm to let the council know how many people care about this issue.
We are frankly shocked that the Press Democrat has been utterly silent on this topic. [UPDATE: They chimed in early Tuesday morning—the day of the council meeting. You can see their editorial here.]The Society of Professional Journalists Northern California Chapter will be submitting a letter to the council asking them to oppose the Mayor’s proposed press policy and to repeal their first attack on press freedom, which they approved in November 2024. Find all the details here.
Sebastopol Police Logs, February 17-23
Did you know that former PD reporter Mary Fricker runs our Crime Desk? Actually, we can’t afford a Crime Desk reporter but Mary diligently and on her own dime combs through the Sebastopol Police Department logs and summarizes the activity for us each week. This week, Mary commented: “‘Five instances of burglary, vandalism or assault with "Investigation suspended, leads exhausted.’ I'll watch to see if that trend continues.” We’re hoping the new Police Chief is reading this. Thanks, Mary!
The following are crimes excerpted from Sebastopol Police Department daily crime log entries and listed at the time the alleged violation was reported.
MONDAY
12:10 a.m. Trespassing, refusing to leave the property, and disorderly conduct (misdemeanors) at South Main Street. Suspect arrested.
10:59 a.m. Burglary with breaking and entering (felony) and vandalism with defacing property (misdemeanor) at Gravenstein Highway South. Investigation suspended, leads exhausted.
3:35 p.m. Burglary from a motor vehicle (felony) at Norlee Street. Investigation suspended, leads exhausted.
TUESDAY
3:29 p.m. Vandalism with defacing property (misdemeanor) at High and Burnett streets. Investigation suspended, leads exhausted.
3:44 p.m. First degree burglary from a motor vehicle (felony) and vandalism with defacing property (misdemeanor) at Ragle Road and Covert Lane. Investigation suspended, leads exhausted.
WEDNESDAY
3:09 p.m. Assault (misdemeanor) at North Main Street. Investigation suspended, leads exhausted.
10:07 p.m. Disorderly conduct involving alcohol (misdemeanor) at North Main Street. Suspect arrested.
THURSDAY
12:19 p.m. Possession of unlawful paraphernalia and violation of probation (misdemeanors) at Petaluma and Abbott avenues. Suspect arrested.
FRIDAY
1:09 p.m. Obtaining money by false pretenses and petty theft (misdemeanors) at Ocean Avenue. Case referred to allied agency.
SATURDAY
2:00 p.m. Violation of probation and possession of unlawful paraphernalia (misdemeanors) at Gravenstein Highway South. Suspect arrested.
10:40 p.m. Shoplifting (misdemeanor) at Gravenstein Highway South. Cleared by circumstances beyond police control.
SUNDAY
9:32 a.m. Possession of unlawful paraphernalia (misdemeanor) at Petaluma and Abbott avenues. Referred to District Attorney for review.
OTHER POLICE ACTION
The Sebastopol Police Department also recorded 175 other events requiring police action during the period, such as lost animals, assisting citizens, parking violations, foot patrol, traffic hazards and reckless driving.
Fortunately, we don’t have to cover crimes on the national level.
The Week’s Highlights
Here’s a look at the stories we published this week in the Sebastopol Times.
The Lighter Side
These are stories that help us connect to each other and recognize what people do in this community.
The Darker Side
Freedom isn’t free. You gotta fight for it.
Instead of writing a story that summarized Congressman Jared Huffman’s Q&A at Burbank Heights on Friday, Laura transcribed the complete conversation, word for word. It’s worth reading the actual words that were spoken at the event, published as Part 1 and Part 2.
It’s a fascinating read for two reasons: one is that the Burbank Housing residents are asking the same questions that all of us (er, most of us here in West County) are asking about what’s happening in Washington, D.C., right now. One can imagine that everywhere across the country there are meetings like this one with people asking what they can do. The second reason is that Rep. Huffman is straightforward in saying that it’s not clear what can be done, but we have to stay engaged.
Let me highlight one of his remarks:
We’re at a frontier where laws are being ignored, precedents are being shredded, norms are being thrown out the window. And I think what we really need most of all is just a super high level of engagement. We have got to make sure everybody is tuning in and showing up and finding their voice.
We’ll all have different ways that we can do that. I’ve got to do it from inside the arena, but all of you can—you’re doing it right here—you’re showing up for a town hall with your congressman. That matters. You’re doing it in your local community. You’ve got these great leaders [he gestures toward the mayor and councilmembers in attendance] that are trying to take care of foster youth and housing and all of these other pressing issues here in this community. All of it matters. And being together matters too, because the worst thing you can do in this moment is let them isolate us, let them overwhelm and intimidate us. And there’s strength in numbers. So I’m glad to be with you today.
Meanwhile, NBC News reports that “House Republicans hit the brakes on town halls after blowback over Trump's cuts”
Worried about Ukraine?
This just in. If you are concerned about the fate of Ukraine, come to the Sebastopol’s downtown plaza between 3 pm and 5 pm today to sign a letter of support.
That’s the Roundup for March 2, 2025.
Thank you, as always, for these excellent weekly roundups. I look forward to them every Sunday.
I wrote to the city council regarding the awful press policy. I got a response confirming my email was received.
I’ve always been curious about the crime logs and what happens to those that are “leads exhausted” or something similar, particularly the more serious crimes. Wonder if there’s a way to get follow up on some?
Regarding the new police chief, will you plan to do an in-depth interview with him? I assume the answer is yes, as you’re always so diligent. But given the state of policing, I’d very much like to learn more about this person. Some questions I’d have:
- What is his overall philosophy on policing?
- What does he view as the top issues facing our town and how would he plan to address them?
- What specific current policies of the Sebastopol PD does he plan to change, and why?
- Does he subscribe to antiquated “tough on crime” approaches or focus more on restorative justice practices?
I’d also be curious to know details around his past departments. Were there any issues there that may be relevant? Were the departments ever sued or found liable for violations? The best indicator of future behavior is past behavior, so I’d very much like to know more about his history in police work to understand how that may impact the citizens of Sebastopol. Thank you!
Hi Laura, I subscribe to a little local newspaper The Mountain Messenger. The sheriff calls are reported by a local woman and she inserts some absolutely hilarious comments into the list...check it out! Thanks for keeping the Times alive. Mary