Local News from The Press Democrat

Night & Day: Music fest, photo exhibit, reunion tour

Thu, 2 Jul 2009 22:57:00 -0400

]]> Last year’s inaugural Outside Lands Music & Arts Festival in San Francisco got off to a rocky start, with intermittent sound snafus marring performances by Radiohead and Tom Petty. Hopefully, this year’s festival Aug. 28 to 30 will have all the kinks ironed out. At the very least, the line-up looks stellar.

Cutting-edge music fest in Mendocino

Thu, 2 Jul 2009 22:19:00 -0400

]]> The Mendocino Music Festival bills itself as “music on the edge of the world.” That refers not only to its dramatic setting, in a big white tent perched on the cliffs above the Pacific Ocean, but to its eclectic blend of cutting-edge artists from around the world.

Patrick Campbell: Vintner, kayak racer, achiever

Thu, 2 Jul 2009 20:39:00 -0400

]]> Although a childhood case of polio left Laurel Glen vintner Patrick Campbell using crutches and braces, he lives life to the fullest

This Shack rocks

Thu, 2 Jul 2009 20:17:00 -0400

]]> A slightly louche atmosphere pervades Emmy's Spaghetti Shack in Sonoma, which may be part of its charm. A picture of a Bettie Page type pin-up hangs in the main dining room. A photo of Motley Crue graces a hallway. A friend described it as “a restaurant version of a good dive bar.”

In the beginning, there were ideas

Thu, 2 Jul 2009 18:30:00 -0400

]]> With apologies to Nike, if the United States were a for-profit venture, its slogan would be “Just do it.” Few would dispute the notion that we are an action-oriented people. From an early age, Americans are bombarded with the message that actions speak louder than words and that talk is cheap.

Saturday's Letters to the Editor

Thu, 2 Jul 2009 18:24:00 -0400

]]> EDITOR: Once again, property taxpayers of the west county have to watch and read as Palm Drive Hospital officials air their dirty linen in public. Yes, keep the hospital running at all costs, but never mind the can’t-get-along-antics of administrators and board members as they run amuck.

KRAUTHAMMER: Ricci and a colorblind society

Thu, 2 Jul 2009 18:19:00 -0400

]]> The Supreme Court’s ruling on the Ricci case - that white firemen suffered illegal discrimination when a promotional test on which they did well was thrown out because not enough blacks did well - will have no effect on Sonia Sotomayor’s nomination to the Supreme Court.

Rockin' with Alejandro Escovedo

Fri, 3 Jul 2009 10:24:00 -0400

]]> Escovedo performs at the Mystic Theatre on Friday, July 10.

A soldier home to stay

Fri, 3 Jul 2009 22:56:00 -0400

]]> After four Mideast tours since 9/11, Petaluma grandfather retires again

'Green monster' in Doyle Park conceals a well

Fri, 3 Jul 2009 22:50:00 -0400

]]> Huge sound walls erected in effort to limit noise that will come when drilling begins on a 1,000-foot-deep test well in Santa Rosa

Warnings removed at Monte Rio beach

Fri, 3 Jul 2009 22:44:00 -0400

]]> The posted health warnings for high bacteria counts in the Russian River at Monte Rio Beach were removed Friday morning, eliminating a potential barrier for holiday celebrants.

Giants score early, often

Fri, 3 Jul 2009 22:11:00 -0400

]]> Pablo Sandoval hit a two-run homer to boost his bid for an All-Star spot and stake rookie Ryan Sadowski to an early lead, and the San Francisco Giants routed the Houston Astros 13-0 on Friday night.

Small town tradition: Fireworks a day early

Fri, 3 Jul 2009 21:23:00 -0400

]]> SEBASTOPOL - From Sebastopol to Monte Rio to Windsor, thousands turned out for Friday night’s prelude to the Fourth of July, a preview display of fireworks in small towns that put on a show the night before the big event.

Hobart F. “Red” Thomas

Fri, 3 Jul 2009 21:18:00 -0400

]]> A memorial celebration for Hobart F. “Red” Thomas, will be at 2 p.m. on July 12 at the Commons on the Sonoma State University campus in Rohnert Park. Thomas, a humanistic psychologist who helped in the creation of SSU and was an accomplished jazz pianist, died of heart failure on June 10 at a Santa Rosa board and care home. He was 85.

Kyle Daniel Peters

Fri, 3 Jul 2009 21:14:00 -0400

]]> Services are today in Austin, Texas, for Kyle Daniel Peters, a 21-year-old Santa Rosa Junior College student who died in a plane crash in Arizona on June 24.

Still no takers for $10,000 found on freeway

Fri, 3 Jul 2009 21:08:00 -0400

]]> A month after about $10,000 in cash was found along Highway 101, only a few futile efforts have been made to claim it. A couple of people called, saying something like, “Yeah, it’s my money, I lost it,” sheriff’s Capt. Matt McCaffrey said last week.

Looking for a melting pot? Try the barbecue pit

Fri, 3 Jul 2009 12:33:00 -0400

]]> Is there anything more democratic than a big-city park on a hot summer afternoon, the smoke from a dozen barbecues commingling into a sweet cloud of garlic and charred flesh, a dozen picnic tables groaning under the weight of iced drinks and pungent salads, children whose parents come from 20 different countries skipping and shouting and...

On money, a founding mother knows best

Fri, 3 Jul 2009 12:19:00 -0400

]]> Thomas Jefferson died so deep in debt that his beloved estate, Monticello, had to be sold to satisfy his creditors. James Madison also left behind mounds of financial obligations. But John Adams, the man Jefferson turned out of the White House in 1801, died rich and debt-free - despite sharing his predecessor’s careless attitude toward...

PD Editorial: Big ideas

Fri, 3 Jul 2009 12:15:00 -0400

]]> MOUNT RUSHMORE, S.D. On Aug. 20, 1924, Doane Robinson, historian for the state of South Dakota, fired off a letter to a man working on a large sculpture in Stone Mountain, Ga.

Federer, Roddick reach finals

Fri, 3 Jul 2009 13:04:00 -0400

]]> WIMBLEDON, England - Five-time champion Roger Federer reached his seventh straight Wimbledon final Friday and will face Andy Roddick for a chance at a record 15th Grand Slam title.

Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska to resign

Fri, 3 Jul 2009 13:03:00 -0400

]]> Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin made a surprise announcement Friday that she is resigning from office at the end of the month without explaining why she plans to step down, raising speculation that she would focus on a run for the White House in the 2012 race.

Two die in Highway 101 crash near Leggett

Fri, 3 Jul 2009 11:51:00 -0400

]]> An Oregon girl and a Willits man were killed when their Dodge pickup crashed through a guard rail and tumbled 100 feet down a cliff on Highway 101 north of Leggett on Thursday, the California Highway Patrol reported. The names of the victims, ages 17 and 25, were not released, pending notification of family.

Santa Rosa cyclist struck by car at Guerneville Road

Fri, 3 Jul 2009 11:09:00 -0400

]]> The bicyclist was riding Friday morning with a woman on the handlebars who was uninjured. The man suffered a trauma to the leg and cuts and bruises to the face.

Windsor walkers to bikers, boarders: Stay away

Fri, 3 Jul 2009 10:31:00 -0400

]]> In their golden years, the residents of Brooks Creek subdivision in Windsor think they should be getting more respect - at least from the bicyclists and skateboarders whizzing by on the neighborhood path.

Elk Grove teacher gives students X-rated DVD

Fri, 3 Jul 2009 10:26:00 -0400

]]> ELK GROVE, Calif. -- A Northern California elementary school teacher sent her students home for the summer with a video of class memories, only the DVD included six seconds of her having sex on a couch.

Judge eyes quick action on gay-marriage ban

Fri, 3 Jul 2009 08:41:00 -0400

]]> A federal judge in San Francisco said a lawsuit seeking to overturn California's same-sex marriage ban will likely one day reach the U.S. Supreme Court.

Man attacks cops with ax

Fri, 3 Jul 2009 08:34:00 -0400

]]> A Santa Rosa man who wielded an ax against police officers while attempting to evade arrest was in jail Friday morning on suspicion of controlled substances and weapons charges. He was identified by officers as 44-year-old Jerry Kutz, who was wanted on several warrants including one for a weapons violation.

CSU faculty criticizes Carinalli loans

Fri, 3 Jul 2009 07:11:00 -0400

]]> The association that represents California State University faculty said Thursday that the Sonoma State University Foundation “betrayed the public’s trust” by making loans to Clem Carinalli, a former board member who said he is now unable to make payments on a $1.25 million loan.

Bollywood fans out in force in Healdsburg

Fri, 3 Jul 2009 07:02:00 -0400

]]> By the dozens, people of Indian descent and others gathered around the town's plaza as the film crew for “My Name Is Khan” began assembling the set as the sun went down.

Acquittal likely in MySpace suicide

Fri, 3 Jul 2009 04:03:00 -0400

]]> LOS ANGELES -- A federal judge on Thursday tentatively threw out the convictions of a Missouri mother for her role in a MySpace hoax directed at a 13-year-old neighbor girl who ended up committing suicide.