The Apple Basket: Heavenly messengers and new life for empty storefronts
Plus the revival of the Sebastopol Community Calendar and how to put the Sebastopol Times on your phone
A sign from on high
On Feb. 7, Alison Fischer snapped this amazing photo (below) of a circular halo around the sun above downtown Sebastopol. According to Wikipedia, halos like these are an optical phenomenon produced by light (from the sun or moon) interacting with ice crystals suspended in the atmosphere. So if you thought it was cold in Sebastopol this week, you’re right. Here’s the proof.
What’s going on with all those empty storefronts?
There’s been quite a lot of what economists like to call “churn” in local businesses of late. It’ll be hard to replace the flavor and ambience of The Gypsy Café or the flower-fabulousness of California Sister, but the good news is that many of the currently empty storefronts are already under contract with other new businesses.
Boho Bungalow, which closed in January, is going to be a Pilates studio.
The space that once housed People’s Music is going to be an upscale variety store with a photo booth and cotton candy and loads of other fun stuff.
Ginger Thai’s old space is being replaced with a new natural wine bar called The Redwood.
The popular Cozy Plum is opening a new branch in the old Slice of Life space next to Whole Foods.
Lucca, a once down-at-heel liquor store at 425 S. Main St., has been purchased by the owner of Wilibees Wine & Spirits, so you can look for a major overhaul and upscaling in that location. It’ll have a smashing wine selection, as well as a BBQ and deli.
Many of you know that I also work as a contractor for the city in a role related in part to economic development. Losing businesses is hard on a city’s morale - and devastating to the business owners involved. But it happens. I wish I could take credit for the new businesses coming in, but I can’t. That was capitalism - the free market - at work.
(Note: The news reported in this article, and any opinions reflected therein, are not dictated by or reflective of the opinions of the city council or staff of the city of Sebastopol.)
The revival of the Sebastopol Community Calendar
The Sebastopol Community Calendar, which for years was a great place to find out what was going on in town, has been revived. You can find it on the navigation bar of the Sebastopol Times or at https://sebastopolcalendar.com.
I’m keeping it up with help from my calendar phenom, Lydia Sleeper, as a part of Relaunch Sebastopol (my other hat). (One of Relaunch’s mandates is to help keep people informed about events happening in town.)
This calendar was designed to be embedded on different websites, so if you would like to embed it on your business or organization’s web page, contact me at hagarlaura@gmail.com and I’ll give you the embed code. (This calendar also lives on the Chamber of Commerce website sebastopol.org and the city’s tourism website, visitsebastopolnow.com. A more limited version of the calendar, showing only city- or nonprofit-sponsored events, will be available on city’s new website.)
Add your event to the calendar: Also, if you are having a public event, please add it to the calendar by clicking on the “Submit a New Listing” button. We’re always scouring the town for events, so please check first to see if it’s already listed and, if not, add it yourself. My goal is to have the Sebastopol Community Calendar be the most comprehensive guide to events in Sebastopol.
How to put the Sebastopol Times on your phone
Most people read the Sebastopol Times via email, but did you know you can also put it as an icon on your phone so you can read us any time? It’s super easy.
For iPhone or iPad:
Launch the Safari browser and go to https://www.sebastopoltimes.com.
Click on the Share icon — the square with an arrow pointing upward. (On the iPhone this is located along the bottom of the screen; on the iPad it’s in the upper right corner.)
Then scroll down till you see “Add to Home Screen.” Click that and voila!
For Android
Launch the Chrome browser and go to https://www.sebastopoltimes.com.
Tap the menu icon (3 dots in upper right-hand corner) and tap “Add to Home Screen.”
Type in SebTimes when you’re prompted to enter a name and then Chrome will add our icon to your home screen.
(Note: you can actually add any website to your phone by following the above steps.)
Another way to get the Sebastopol Times on your phone is to download the Substack app and then add Sebastopol Times to your list of Substack publications.
If all this sounds like Greek to you, feel free to drop by the Sebastopol Times’ new office at 524 S. Main Street and we’ll add the Sebastopol Times to your phone for you. We even make house calls now and then. (Seriously, we’ve done this.) Contact me at hagarlaura@gmail.com or call me during the day at 707-322-8696.
Please interview my friend and caregiver
Her name is Adi
I asked what it means and she said it does not mean anything ---It's a title.
She's the real Fijian deal. Very well educated a Pastor and can tell you about the oppression in her country for the last 16 years. I wondered why the Fijian people are the best caregivers in Marin and our county...