Chris Smith: Santa Rosa man goes all out for magical proposal at the Capitol

The Capitol dome in Sacramento glistened in the background as a Santa Rosa man pulled out the stops to astound the woman he loves with one magical, colorful, theatrical storybook of a marriage proposal.

Piner High Class of 2012 alum Satnam Singh secretly arranged to have the Bhangra dance crew from UC Davis perform there in front of the statehouse last Sunday, and for many of his and sweetheart Jyoti Banwait's relatives and friends to join in the surprise.

Satnam danced with the brightly costumed Bhangra troupe, then knelt and popped the question. Jyoti replied, “Only if you'll marry me!”

Why did Satnam choose the Capitol for the proposal?

He's a CPA with Moss Adams in Santa Rosa, and Jyoti is a CPA with the same firm, but in Sacramento. For their first date three years ago, they strolled the statehouse grounds.

More happy news: when they wed, Jyoti will join Satnam in Sonoma County.

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ON TV's “Seinfeld,” she played George's ill-fated girlfriend. In real life, she plays the ukulele.

And she's coming to Ukiah.

Heidi Swedberg acted for 20-some years before she started a family and changed gears. Stop me if you know that in the ‘90s she portrayed Susan Biddle Ross, the sort-of love interest of Jason Alexander's character, George Costanza.

There was intra-cast drama around the decision to eliminate Swedberg's character from the show. How that was achieved is TV trivia: Susan dropped dead from cheap-glue poisoning after licking the envelopes of the wedding invitations bought by the tight-fisted and reluctant George.

Well, that was then. Today the Hawaii-born Swedberg is an internationally known player and teach of the ukulele. She and Daniel Ward, her partner in music-making and in life, will head up the Ukulele Festival coming March 30 to Mendocino Community College.

If you uke, you'll think you've gone to heaven. In the day-long lineup are jams and open mic sessions, vendors, a U-Bass Petting Zoo and a concert.

For more, go to mendocino.edu/event/ukulele-festival.

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VIOLENCE GETS so much air time, so much attention.

How about we make a point of thinking and talking more about alternatives to violence, about what is working or might work to encourage human beings to stop hurting each other?

A Sonoma County group that's worked for 25 years against the scourge of violence has released a beautiful sticker to help along the cause.

Suitable for auto and business and home windows and bulletin boards, the circular, five-inch sticker bears an original, lyrical image by Santa Rosa artist Kevin Bacon.

Within a ring is a child performing a hand stand, with one leg straight up in the air. The inverted kid's body forms the shape of a peace sign.

A message below the circle reads simply: no violence.

The sticker was produced by MOVES, or Minimizing Occurrences of Violence in Everyday Society. Its members honor individuals and organizers that contribute to a more peaceful and respectful culture, and promote dialogue on overcoming violence.

The sticker can be found at Toyworks in Sebastopol and the Made Local Marketplace in Santa Rosa. It's just a little something, but it's something. There's more about it at minimizingviolence.org.

You can contact Columnist Chris Smith at 707 521-5211 and chris.smith@pressdemocrat.com.