Roundup: Peacetown returns to Ives Park and more
Peacetown, black helicopters, blinking traffic lights, and police logs
Peacetown returns to Ives Park this summer
Jim Corbett, AKA Mr. Music, announced in the Peacetown newsletter this week that Peacetown would be moving back to Ives Park this summer—not just for a few shows like last year, but for the whole season.
“After three successful seasons at The Barlow, the Peacetown Summer Concert Series will be returning, for the entire season, to Ives Park in Sebastopol,” Corbett wrote. “We are grateful to The Barlow for providing their space when the Covid pandemic hit, and we appreciate the support they gave the concerts for three years. The five stages at The Barlow allowed us to bring more music and hire more musicians and brought a wonderful variety of music every week. We will be consolidating with two bands each week at Ives Park and will continue with our regular Wednesday night shows at HopMonk Tavern.”
While the return to Ives Park will no doubt make many people very, very happy, we wondered what happened.
According to Corbett, negotiations for a new summer season of Peacetown at the Barlow broke down two weeks ago, when the two entities couldn’t agree on a new contract.
“Things have been getting more expensive and stuff, so we ended up asking for a little more of a bump,” Corbett said. “Barney has been very generous, and we were hoping that some of the businesses would kick in a little bit more.”
The Barlow didn’t take them up on this proposal.
“It wasn't working for a number of reasons,” Corbett said, “the big one being that they kind of polled their tenants and found that most of them were not receiving any bump from the Peacetown thing, despite the numbers of people that were there.”
The Barlow’s Jennifer Adametz put it this way: “The Barlow and Peacetown were having challenges coming to an agreement for the logistics of the 2024 Peacetown Summer Concert Series at The Barlow. After very thoughtful consideration, both Peacetown and The Barlow felt it best to go back to Peacetown’s roots and return the concert series to Ives Park for the summer. While many people did enjoy these events at The Barlow, I would hear often of how badly some wanted it moved back to Ives Park. While the last minute change wasn’t optimal, I am so thankful that Peacetown was able to make the shift over to Ives, and I’m certain so many people will be so grateful for that change.”
The Sebastopol Times asked Adametz if the Barlow was planning to launch its own music festival—the same way it launched its own outdoor marketplace, The Trade, to replace Head West.
She said they were thinking about it.
“As for music at The Barlow this summer, we are working to figure that out internally,” she said. “Live music is such a wonderful thing for the community, and we would love nothing more than to be able to bring people back to The Barlow to enjoy live music this summer. We don't have any concrete plans, but you can check our social media feeds for any updates.”
What’s with all the helicopters?!
We’ve gotten half a dozen inquires this week about the black helicopters (oh, okay, dark gray) buzzing above Sebastopol. According to Sebastopol Police Chief Ron Nelson, “It’s related to PG&E doing line and tree assessments for fire safety.”
PG&E spokesperson Megan McFarland sent over a press release that explained the program: “PG&E crews will survey electrical equipment and nearby vegetation to spot and prevent potential wildfire risk. Helicopters equipped with Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) sensors and high-resolution imagery technology will evaluate PG&E powerlines and adjacent trees.”
“The data helps us determine where vegetation is encroaching and where maintenance and safety improvements are needed,” said Dave Canny, vice president for PG&E’s North Coast Region.
According to release, “A surveyor in the helicopter will collect the data on PG&E’s powerlines, poles, and the surrounding trees and brush located along distribution circuits within or adjacent to extreme and elevated wildfire risk areas. This data is used to create a 3-D simulation of our facilities.”
Relief for commuters: Caltrans fixes Morris Street stoplight
Those commuting in or out of Sebastopol going east on Highway 12 this week have faced longer commutes because of the failure of a stoplight at the intersection of Highway 12 and Morris Street.
The light was flashing red on all four sides, effectively acting as a four-way stop sign. While on some roads this may seem like no big deal, Highway 12 is one of the busiest roads in the county—and the glitch added a good 10 minutes or more to commute times.
According to Caltrans Highway Maintenance Supervisor Jim Cracke, this failure was caused by an outdated electrical cabinet. In the past, Sebastopol Police and Caltrans workers have responded to this failure by troubleshooting and installing a temporary fix. No longer.
On Saturday morning, according to Cracke, a new electrical cabinet was installed. The stoplight is expected to thrive for the foreseeable future.
According to Cracke, a similar problem occurred with the light at the intersection of Highway 116 and Occidental Road—contributing to backups at that famous bottleneck. As far as he is aware, that stoplight’s issues have been solved as well.
Sebastopol Police Logs, May 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
9:43 p.m. Possession of unlawful paraphernalia and violation of probation (misdemeanors) at Petaluma and Fannen avenues. Suspect arrested.
WEDNESDAY
2:27 p.m. Vandalism with damage to property (felony) at Sebastopol Avenue and Morris Street. Investigation suspended, leads exhausted.
THURSDAY
3:20 p.m. Vandalism involving destruction of property (misdemeanor) at Pleasant Hill Avenue North and Bodega Avenue. Pending further investigation.
10:18 p.m. Traffic offense with special circumstances, driving with a suspended license, and violation of probation (misdemeanor) at Sebastopol Avenue and Morris Street. Suspect arrested.
FRIDAY
9:13 a.m. Getting credit using someone else’s identification, impersonation, theft of more than $950 from an elderly dependent adult, and swindling (felonies) at Bodega Avenue and Nelson Way. Investigation suspended, leads exhausted.
SATURDAY
9:09 p.m. Driving while under the influence of alcohol (misdemeanor) at Pleasant Hill Avenue North and Eileen Drive. Suspect arrested.
SUNDAY
1:43 a.m. Driving while under the influence of alcohol and resisting a public officer at Sebastopol Avenue and Morris Street. Suspect arrested.
OTHER POLICE ACTION
The Sebastopol Police Department also recorded 124 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 May 20-25
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It's interesting that the Peacetown article says in a number of places that "the return to Ives Park will no doubt make many people very, very happy," but that is not at all what I have heard talking to people who really enjoyed the spaciousness and variety at the Barlow. It also surprises me that the Barlow vendors did not experience a bump. It looked like a lot of eating and drinking was happening on Wednesday nights!
The power company gave plenty of warning about the helicopters.