Though we absolutely must stay vigilant with the ever-present specter of the COVID-19 crisis, we sure could get used to this stretch of good news.

Marin County Public Health Officer Dr. Matt Willis told the Board of Supervisors this week that Marin could move into the less restrictive yellow tier as soon as April 20. "We are emerging into a place of cautious optimism as we see continued declines in case and increasing vaccination rates," Willis said, noting that continuing increases in California's vaccine rates have lowered the minimum case rate to less than two cases per 1000,000 residents per day, a mark Marin clears. 

"If we stay at less than two (per 100,000), we could move the into yellow tier as early as April 20."

​Willis noted that that the county and its health providers have  administered more than 148,000 vaccines administered to date, with an expected uptick in demand starting Thursday since the state opened up vaccines to anyone over 16 years on April 15.

All of the requisite caveats remain: wear a mask, maintain social distance, avoid indoor gatherings and get the vaccine as soon as it's your turn. 

HERE'S WHAT COMES WITH A MOVE INTO THE YELLOW TIER.

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In the months since the City of Mill Valley's 22-person Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Task Force issued its full report and recommendations in the form of a 93-page document that spanned affordable housing, cultural and recreational engagement, economic opportunity, education and more, much of the community's attention has remained focused on policing, which was the focus of 12 of the group's 28 recommendations.

While that focus has largely been driven by the community's interest in making Mill Valley a safer, more welcoming place for all residents and visitors, it's also been propelled by the ongoing national conversation around police killings of Black people. The latest example of that was last week's shooting of 20-year-old Duante Wright by a 26-year veteran of the police force who claims she shot Wright with her gun instead of a Taser by accident. That tragedy occurred amidst the ongoing trial of Derek Chauvin, the Minneapolis Police Officer accused of killing George Floyd, whose death sparked a series of peaceful protests both here in Mill Valley and all over Marin and the world in the spring and summer of 2020. 

With all of that as a backdrop, new Mill Valley Police Chief Rick Navarro is set to deliver a status report on April 19 to the Mill Valley City Council about the police-related recommendations within the City’s DEI Work Plan. The report indicates that MVPD is well on its way to implementing many of the recommendations, particularly on data reporting and adopting policies that spur bias-free policing, but less so on on adopting civilian review of MVPD and exploring the possibility of reducing the size of the department.

[READ THE FULL REPORT HERE].

RIPA
First on the list is the implementation of the tools spurred by AB 953: The Racial and Identity Profiling Act (RIPA), which requires California law enforcement agencies to begin “collecting and reporting data on complaints that allege racial or identity profiling,” as well as “perceived demographic and other detailed data regarding pedestrian and traffic stops, including “the perceived race or ethnicity, gender, and approximate age of the person stopped, as well as other data such as the reason for the stop, whether a search was conducted, and the results of any such search.” 

Law enforcement agencies of Mill Valley's size must implement that RIPA data collection by 2023. But Navarro is set to report that MVPD expects to meet the reporting requirement in June 2021. Navarro reports that after an exploration of several data collection platforms, they've identified RIPALog as their chosen app-based data collection tool, with MVPD having beta tested phase RIPALog in the field. MVPD test data for April will be submitted to the Department of Justice per the agency's request, Navarro writes.

Adopt RIPA Model Policies for Bias-Free Policing
Navarro writes that MVPD has developed a comprehensive "Bias-Free Policing" draft policy and provided a copy of it to the Police Working Group of the Mill Valley Force for Racial Equity and Empowerment (MVFREE), comprised of members of the
former DEI Task Force. Navarro writes that he expect to implement the policy after the Council meeting. 

Align MVPD Training with RIPA Best Practices 
MVPD plans to increase its anti-bias training to every three years, with a staff member certified as an instructor for the “Principled Policing” course, which teaches policing approaches that "emphasize respect, listening, neutrality, and trust, while also addressing the common implicit biases that can be barriers to these approaches." MVPD officers are also set to take an 8-hour cultural diversity course offered via UCLA extension in the coming weeks to help officers understand "how biases, stereotyping, and cultural humility concepts impact present-day policing practices. The course focuses on increasing cultural humility, dispelling myths about common stereotypes, and understanding implicit biases." MVPD will continue to send supervisors to the Supervisory Leadership Institute program, which features a 2-day course held at the Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles, Navarro writes. 

Adopt RIPA Best Practices to Prevent Bias-by-Proxy
Law enforcement agencies have stepped up training on co-called “bias by proxy" – cases in which civilians racially profile a person and call the police to intervene, despite frequent lack of any crime committed. In May 2020, the San Francisco Police Commission approved a sweeping anti-bias policy that included bias-by-proxy, with law enforcement personnel trained to "use their critical decision-making skills to assess whether there is criminal conduct.” Navarro writes that “MVPD currently has no policies, training, or practices aimed at addressing bias-by-proxy" but should "adopt RIPA recommendations to empower its officers, dispatchers, and other staff to respond appropriately to bias-based calls for service and to protect the dignity and security of any person who is the subject of a bias-based call.”

Align MVPD Policy Manual with Procedural Justice Best Practices
Navarro writes that MVPD's policy manual had been a one-size-fits-all model produced by the Lexipol software company, "designed to meet minimum legal and constitutional standards but reflects neither Mill Valley community values nor current best practices for bias-free policing." With that in mind, "MVPD made several policy changes based upon Lexipol’s regular update cycle, which occurred after the initial DEI Task Force review, including on use of force, temporary custody of juveniles and gun violence restraining orders, among others. The updated manual is here. "Reviewing these policies will be an ongoing process," Navarro writes.
​
Align MVPD Use of Force Policies & Practices With 21st Century Policing
MVPD took several steps to address the fact that its "use of force policies, derived from the Lexipol standard form, (were) out of step with 21st Century Policing best practices as established by President Obama’s 2015 Task Force on 21st Century Policing. In 2020, MVPD removed the carotid restraint from its Use of Force policy and implemented de-escalation training and technique requirements. MVPD also adopted the state's “reasonableness” policy in use of force, and held department training in November 2020 that "provided scenario-based training (on) responses and tactics." 

Those changes included moving the Citizen Complaint Tab to the MVPD home page, including a 5-year log of formal complaints and updated crime data, as well as providing all staff email contacts for community members to reach staff, an updated MVPD Policy and Procedure manual, posted bi-weekly calls for service and a Use of Force tab and RIPA, the latter two of which are in progress.

Collect & Publicize Comprehensive Data on MVPD Website 
Since "data collection and transparency are central to building trust and legitimacy,” MVPD has sought to provide more info to the community about MVPD interactions with the community, Navarro writes. Under the “Community Information” tab on the homepage, staff has added a “Monthly Activities Report,” which provides a snapshot of offenses, arrests, citations, and accidents MVPD has handled over the previous month, as well as a “Calls for Service” tab with a log of all calls police have responded to over a two-week period.

Improve Community Access to Civilian Complaint Process 
The DEI Task Force recommended that, in the interests transparency and police accountability, police officers should "carry complaint forms in their patrol vehicle and hand out business cards to pedestrians and motorists they stop.” MVPD handles an average of 18,500 calls for service per year, and says it currently averages two formal complaints per year. Community members can access a five-year complaint log to view the type of complaint, the day/time and a synopsis, with each complaint reviewed and classified with one of the following dispositions: Unfounded, Exonerated, Not Sustained or Sustained. 
As recommended by the DEI Task Force, MVPD updated all its business cards to include a website link with more info on department complaints as well as complaint forms in their patrol vehicles.

Develop Civilian Oversight of MVPD
The City Council decided in December 2020 that it serves in the role of an oversight body for the Police Department and indicated that an additional oversight commission was not appropriately scaled for the City, given that MVPD has just 28 employees, handles an average of 18,500 calls for service per year, and has had a total of 10 formal complaints in the past five years and one the past two years. Instead, a City Council Police Governance Sub-Committee, which includes the Mayor, Councilmember, and City Manager, meets quarterly with Navarro to review policy changes, complaints, use of force incidents, and RIPA data. The committee, which met for the first time in February, will focus on: crime statistics; use of force; complaint statistics; the status of ​new officer hiring/training/probation; significant policy changes; training updates and RIPA training, set for June 2021.

Investigate & Consider Prior Misconduct in MVPD Hiring Decisions
Task force members suggested that "allegations of misconduct against a police officer are highly predictive of future misconduct and should be investigated and considered in MVPD hiring decisions.” Navarro points to the required pre-employment background investigations for peace officers, which screen out candidates who, based on their history or other relevant information, are found unsuitable for the position. That includes reasons for leaving and history of counterproductive work behavior, including: disciplinary actions, being fired, asked to resign, workplace violence, resignation in life of termination and subject of written complaints or counseling for poor performance, among others. MVPD also points to newly hired officers having a 12 to 18-month probationary period, with monthly performance evaluations, and the potential to be terminated if unable to fulfill the requirements and duties set by MVPD.

Assess MVPD Functions & Funding Against Community Needs
Should the City of Mill Valley join many municipalities across the country and reevaluate the size of its police department?  With a staff of 28 when all positions are filled, MVPD has currently frozen one officer position and reassigned one parking enforcement officer to assist with vegetation management inspections, funded via resources provided by the voter-approved Measure C, the Wildfire Prevention Authority Parcel Tax.

MVPD's "base" staffing per shift is one sergeant, one corporal, and two officers, and its "minimum" staffing is one supervisor (sergeant or corporal) and two beat officers, providing a buffer "of one person per shift for vacancies due to vacation, sick, bonus day, and training. On average, each patrol team is assigned 182 shifts per year. "Staff conducted a review of staffing on a national level and found that California was on the low end of per capita staffing with an average of around 1.9 officers per 1,000 residents. Mill Valley staffing is below the California average, with 1.5 officers per 1,000 residents.

Develop and Implement a Need-Based Community Service Model and Budget
In response to a recommendation that the City and MVPD develop a model and budget for a City Service Team to respond to service calls that do not require an armed police response (from leaf-blower complaints to mental health emergencies), Navarro writes that MVPD works with an array of agencies, including Marin Mobile Crisis, Adult Protective Services, Child Protective Services and many more. 
MVPD recently began training its Community Services Officer on how to handle certain calls for service where a sworn Officer might not be needed, including fraud reports, lost/stolen property, non-injury traffic collisions, “cold” theft cases (for example, a stolen bicycle that occurred a week prior), and “cold” vandalism reports (where no suspects are on scene or observed). "Once the CSO is properly trained in the next 90 days, and when applicable, the MVPD CSO will handle identified reported crimes."

READ THE FULL REPORT HERE.

WATCH AND PARTICIPATE IN THE MEETING HERE.

HERE'S THE CITY'S TRACKING TOOL FOR ALL OF THE ITEMS IN ITS DEI WORK PLAN.

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It goes without saying that, despite some measured progress in recent weeks and some long-overdue financial relief that has yet to fully materialize, live arts organizations remain in a monumental state of flux.

Marin Theatre Company announced this week that it found the right person to steer it through the uncertainty, hiring Meredith Suttles as its managing director. She'll direct MTC’s post-pandemic re-emergence into live theatre reimagine how MTC can produce promising new virtual works informed by its recent experience during the pandemic. 

“Meredith’s unique vision and innovative ideas about new work development and organizational structure are exactly what our company and the American theatre needs to meet the challenges and opportunities of this unprecedented time," MTC Artistic Director Jasson Minadakis says. "Her experience in and passion for strategic planning and fundraising will have immediate impact upon our organization. Meredith’s proven commitment to compassionate leadership and community building will be the foundation of our company’s continued growth.”

"We are excited by the prospect of the brave new world for American theatre that lies ahead, and we are delighted to have Meredith leading the organization at this critical time," MTC Board of Directors President Fred Taylor adds.

Suttles was hired on the heels of a national search. She has had a long and distinguished career in senior management in performing arts organizations, including TheatreWorks USA, Soho Repertory Theatre, Theatre Communications Group, New York City Opera, and The Public Theater, with experience in management, fundraising, and strategic planning.
 
“Meredith Suttles is one of the most brilliant, compassionate innovators in our field,” says Hana S. Sharif, the Augustin Family Artistic Director of St Louis Repertory Theatre and the director of MTC’s 2019 production of Ayad Akhtar’s The Who & The What. “The depth and rigor of her intellect is only paralleled by her passion and commitment to the people and communities she serves."

​"Together, we can build a future for MTC that not only produces powerful art but also empowers people," Suttles says.

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When Heather Hardcastle and her husband Rick Perko opened the second location of their gluten-free Flour Craft Bakery in April 2018 at the Mill Valley Lumber Yard, they did so with the intent to use the new space as a platform to expand their offerings to “be a more fully realized vision of what Flour Craft can be."

That more fully realized vision comes into focus this month, as Hardcastle has unveiled the Flour Craft Bakery & Cafe Cookbook, a 224-page cookbook via Rizzoli Books available at both Flour Craft locations (129 Miller Ave. at the Mill Valley Lumber Yard and 702 San Anselmo Avenue in San Anselmo), on Flour Craft's website and via the usual online channels (Amazon, Barnes & Noble). 

The cookbook marks the latest evolution of a brand that began when Hardcastle was diagnosed with gluten intolerance in 2000. Then a partner with Perko in the landscape design and construction firm Breaking Ground Landscape Designs they ran for 15 years, Hardcastle did not simply eliminate her favorite foods that included gluten. She made a massive career change instead, entering the pastry program at the Culinary Institute of America in St. Helena and learning how to cook all of the pastries and dishes she loved gluten-free from scratch.

“I went on this whole culinary journey – it really wasn’t a thing yet,” Hardcastle says.

In early 2013, after a few years of selling their popular granola at farmer’s markets in Marin, Hardcastle and Perko realized the fruits of that transformation, opening Flour Craft Bakery, one of the first gluten-free bakeries in Marin, to much acclaim. The business has grown every year since.

Across more than 75 recipes, The Flour Craft Bakery & Cafe Cookbook empowers readers with simple and approachable recipes for mouthwatering cakes and cookies, pastry and savory bakes, everyday treats and holiday centerpieces, plus fresh salads and soups – all naturally gluten free. The recipes span breakfast, brunch, lunch, teatime, and dessert, from coffee cakes to focaccia, scones to tartines.

With photos by Etin Scott and food styling by Lillian King, Hardcastle combines alternative flours including rice, millet, nut flours, and starches to achieve a perfect crumb and oven-fresh texture. Flour Craft breaks down the process in an approachable way, teaching readers how to combine a few key flours in the correct proportions to yield excellent results every time. The cornerstones of the book are the "Master Recipes," classics of baking to be practiced and adapted, enhanced by a glossary of ingredients and terms curated to build confidence for bakers of all skill levels.

How does a small business owner running two bakeries and cafes write a gorgeous cook in the midst of a pandemic? Well, first off, Hardcastle says, you come up with the idea to do so pre-pandemic, and when faced with your commitment to a massive new project, "you just break it down into really small pieces and do it one day at a time," she says. "Actually, it was great. I knew I had this deadline. I knew I had to get it done. It gave me something to focus on. And it gave me a bit of hope for the future."
​
The 411: The Flour Craft Bakery & Cafe Cookbook, a 224-page cookbook via Rizzoli Books available at both Flour Craft locations (129 Miller Ave. at the Mill Valley Lumber Yard and 702 San Anselmo Avenue in San Anselmo), on Flour Craft's website and via the usual online channels (Amazon, Barnes & Noble). MORE INFO.

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When it comes to issues of racial equity and social justice, Mill Valley's youth continue to take the lead.

Much as they did during the weeks and months after the killing of George Floyd, which sparked a series of student-led peaceful protests both here in Mill Valley and all over Marin in the spring and summer of 2020, young people were at the forefront of a beautiful event on Mill Valley's Depot Plaza late last month.

The event, dubbed "A Vigil in Solidarity with Our Asian American and Pacific Islander Community," was held in the aftermath of the horrific series of mass shootings at three spas or massage parlors in Atlanta, Georgia, as well as an alarming number of assaults on Asian-Americans. It was hosted by Mill Valley Force for Racial Equity and Empowerment (MVFREE), comprised of members of the former DEI Task Force.

Longtime Marin City and Mill Valley leader Amber Allen-Peirson set the over-arching tone for the event: "When on of us feels unsafe, we are all unsafe," she said. A number of MVFREE leaders spoke at the event, including former DEI Task Force members Naima Dean, Elspeth Mathau and Hilary Heaven, but the youth movement very much stood out.

The student speakers included Tam High senior Saranyu Nel, MVMS 8th grader Kika Dunayevich and and Tam High senior Natalie Nong, among others. 
​
Here are some of the beautiful words they shared: 

For many years, Sara Wasserman's Music Heals International has hung its hat on two certainties: the organization brings music and musicians to the children of Haiti and globally to inspire achievement, resiliency, and creativity – and they throw one heck of a benefit party.

The latter, for obvious reasons, has not happened lately.

But the organization, founded by Sara Wasserman in 2010 following Haiti’s devastating earthquake, when her countless visits to the Port-au-Prince community of Delmas 32, showed Wasserman the unmistakable impact of music as Haiti began to heal and rebuild. MHI uses music as a tool to help children cope and find joy after traumatic uprooting.  

In lieu of one of its massive in-person events, Music Heals International is hosting a special virtual fundraiser on May 8 at 4pm PT. Dubbed Truffle Shuffle, the event is in honor of Mother’s Day. Virtual attendees will learn how to cook Black Truffle Risotto from Michelin-trained chefs and sip on a wine pairing from Truchard Vineyards—all while supporting Music Heals International students in Haiti and India as they engage, achieve, and thrive through the power of music. 

MORE INFO & BUY TIX.

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The recent run of dry months has provided plenty of opportunities to get out of the house amidst the pandemic and safely explore the outdoors.

Marin Municipal Water District officials say that the flip side of this dry spell is quite stark, however. 

Marin is in a drought, they say, and conserving our water supply is critically important as we head into the summer months. The water district relies on rainfall to fill its reservoirs and the last few years have been unusually dry. In fact, 2020 was the second-driest year in 90 years and reservoirs are lower than they were during the 1990 drought. 

MMWD officials are asking all of its customers to voluntarily conserve water, and will be considering mandatory conservation measures during its April 20 board meeting. If implemented, it would be the first time since 1988 MMWD proposed mandatory conservation rules, such as limiting outdoor watering to one day per week starting May 1, among other restrictions. Under the proposal, each of Marin's cities would be assigned a weekday in which residents would be allowed to water. District staffers would patrol areas to ensure compliance and ratepayers would be encouraged to report violations, according to the Marin Independent Journal.

“Water use efficiency is our most cost-effective source of supply, and we have a range of programs and incentives to support consumers in conserving water, not just this year but for the long term,” said Cynthia Koehler, president of Marin Water’s Board of Directors and Mill Valley resident. 

Marin Water is asking customers to turn off irrigation systems and water by hand only when necessary. Replacing lawns with water-efficient landscaping and installing graywater systems that reuse water from your washer for irrigation saves water and will reduce your water bill for years to come. 

Simple changes—including turning off the water while brushing your teeth, taking shorter showers, doing dishes and laundry only when you have full loads, and repairing leaky toilets and faucets promptly—also make a difference. 

The water district provides rebates and free water-efficient hose nozzles, showerheads and faucet aerators for its customers. Find the latest information about Marin’s water supply, conservation tips, and a list of available rebates at MarinWater.org/Conserve or email Conservation@MarinWater.org.

MMWD relies on seven reservoirs in the Mount Tamalpais watershed, which make up about 75% of its total water supply, according to the Marin IJ. As of April 1, the reservoirs had about 43,500 acre-feet of stored water, well below the average of about 73,500 acre-feet for that time span. It is the lowest storage level for this time of year in 38 years, which is the period that the district has had its current storage capacity.

The aforementioned voluntary and possibly mandatory measures are not just driven by water scarcity, however. There's also the specter of an ever-growing wildfire season. "California is barreling toward its driest and most fire-prone months, with many locations around the Bay Area and Central Coast having seen about 50% or less of their average precipitation levels for this time of year," the San Francisco Chronicle reported. "And the time for improvement is rapidly ending, as the state’s Mediterranean climate leaves essentially zero room for any substantial amount of rain or snow once April ends."

"It’s the opposite of where the state’s fire-weary residents would like to be after the unceasing flames that burned last summer and fall, at one point turning the Bay Area skies deep orange because so much smoke had blocked the sun," the Chronicle added. "A record 4.2 million acres burned in California in 2020."

In addition to the insufficient rainfall to date, there's also the fact that the Sierra Nevada snowpack, a crucial source of water as it melts over the spring and summer, was at 59 percent of normal, according to State Dept. of Water Resources data from April 1. Major reservoirs are also low. In Marin County, reservoirs are barely half full and the water agency has already declared a drought and asked residents to voluntarily cut back on water use, the New York Times reported.

MORE WAYS TO CONSERVE WATER AND MONITOR YOUR USAGE.

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Desta Gallery, which Emebet Korn relocated from San Anselmo to downtown Mill Valley in late 2020, has unveiled details for a meet-and-greet event for its newest featured artist, Helen Steele. The event, set for Saturday, April 17, 2-5pm at
100 Throckmorton Ave.

To follow social distancing guidelines, Korn has created three-time slots: 2pm, 3pm and 4pm. Email them here to select your time slot. "We observe safety protocols, and masks will be required," says Korn, who was born in Ethiopia, and draws the gallery's moniker from the Amharic language's word for joy.

MORE INFO.

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​One hundred years ago this month, the Mt. Tamalpais and Muir Woods Scenic Railway took delivery of a brand-new Heisler steam engine -- the ninth engine since the railway's inception in 1896. Engine No. 9 turned out to be the last locomotive the company would purchase before the railway's demise and dismantling in 1930, and today Engine No. 9 is the last remaining piece of the railway. 

On Sunday, April 18, the Friends of No. 9 host a virtual event to celebrate the 100-year anniversary of the engine's arrival in Mill Valley. This live, online event will be short -- only about 15 minutes -- but memorable, and you can watch it here.

The event will include the first sounding of No. 9's recently recreated steam whistle, which can be heard over long distances stretching miles – served as a means of communication, alerting people of a train's location and activity.  But, more than that, the sound of the whistle also defined a train's character. Some types of whistles, including No. 9's, even enabled the train engineers to develop their own personal whistle-blowing style, as the engineers could "bend" the individual tones of the whistle by varying the amount of steam passing through it. In the right hands, the sounding of a train's whistle imparts soul, much like with a musician playing a musical instrument. The distinctive sound of the whistle has become symbolic of the bygone steam engine era.

More than three years ago, a coalition of local organizations embarked on a long-shot plan to bring the Heisler No. 9 – the last remaining locomotive from the “Crookedest Railroad in the World” that ran from Mill Valley to the top of Mount Tam – back to Mill Valley for the first time in nearly 100 years.

Friends of No. 9, the organization formed by the Mill Valley Historical Society, Friends of Mt. Tam, Marin History Museum and others, submitted a winning auction bid of more than $56,000 to acquire the engine that ran from Mill Valley to the top of Mount Tam until 1924. Since then, the group has focused on raising the money required to move, restore and relocate the massive, 36-ton, aging locomotive. 

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Marin businesses are in the midst of one of the more sustained stretches of reopening progress  during the COVID-19 crisis. But none of those business owners need reminders of what they've been through, nor the daunting prospect of what a reversal of the current good fortune would mean for their economic survival.

To better understand how dig out from the economic rubble of the past year, Keep Marin Working (KMW), a collaboration of business and economic development organizations, including the North Bay Leadership Council, Marin Realtors Association, Marin Economic Forum, Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Marin and San Rafael Chamber of Commerce, among others, drafted and distributed a countywide survey of businesses to measure the financial impacts of COVID-19 on our local businesses.

The survey polled nearly 1,200 Marin business owners and paints a stark picture of major financial struggle for businesses across Marin. Of the participating businesses, more than 76% saw a decline in revenue, inciting much concern about financial security and economic stability and not knowing how long they can survive. In fact, 58% said they are using their personal savings, accumulating credit card debt or borrowing from family members just to stay in business. Almost 70% of respondents stated their business decreased by 10% or more with 35% stating revenues were down between 50-100%. 

Given the illuminating survey results, the Keep Marin Working group concluded that another county-wide business relief grant program is necessary. It is estimated that if the program was funded up to $2,000,000, the county could provide immediate relief to save our local businesses and many jobs. This would drive a quicker economic recovery that would benefit all of Marin. However, we need more than a program that provides immediate relief; we need a program that provides ongoing support until the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic have dissipated. ​

Although many of the business owners secured pandemic relief funding, including 53% who said they got at least one round of funding from the federal Paycheck Protection Program, "the anxiety is still there and the uncertainty is still there,” San Rafael Chamber CEO Joanne Webster said. “What I take away is that there’s still a great need out there. Even though there are a lot of programs out there, people are still incurring personal debt, and that’s scary, because it means they’re not going to be able to invest in their businesses.”

“I was surprised by the number of people putting their debt on credit cards," North Bay Leadership Council CEO Cynthia Murray told the Marin Independent Journal. "Those are last-resort situations. We think about money for keeping doors open, but if there isn’t assistance to help them pay their debt, these businesses won’t be able to stay open.”

The Keep Marin Working group is advocating for a new County of Marin program built on at least $2 million in funding to provide grants to small businesses. “We want to avoid bankruptcy,” Webster said. “For these smaller businesses, if they declare bankruptcy or go out of businesses, that really creates problems in our downtowns and on our main streets. We want to avoid blight.”

“The anxiety is still there,” Webster said, “and the uncertainty is still there.”

"Now is the time for the county and cities to put some energy into rebuilding their local economies, suspending or postponing costly municipal fees, helping local businesses rebound from severe losses and helping those businesses put people back to work, the Marin Independent Journal wrote in an editorial last week.

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Nearly three months after the federal government passed a $900 billion stimulus that included the Save Our Stages Act, which provides $15 billion "in dedicated funding for live venues, indie movie theaters, and cultural institutions," the agency tasked with doling out that relief has announced a timeline for doing so.

On April 8, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) is set to begin accepting applications for the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant (SVOG), a program created to fund music venues with grants equal to 45 percent of their 2019 revenue for venues that can show they have lost more than 25% of revenue. 

That grants could bolster the 94941 sector most ravaged by the COVID-19 crisis: live music, theater and entertainment venues like the Sweetwater Music Hall, Throckmorton Theatre and Marin Theatre Company, which have been hit the hardest in the 94941 arts community. The program is among the countless ways that supporters can call for both private and public efforts to save the arts.

The application portal opens April 8, and the SBA is hosting a webinar on the application process from 11:30am-1pm on March 30. 

“The SBA knows these venues are critical to America's economy and understands how hard they've been impacted, as they were among the first to shutter,” SBA Administrator Isabella Casillas Guzman said in a statement. “This vital economic aid will provide a much-needed lifeline for live venues, museums, movie theaters and many more.”

As the New York Times reported last month, the list of eligible recipients is large, and the SBA has never run a major grant program. Its biggest pandemic relief effort, the $800 billion Paycheck Protection Program, was an extension of a long-running loan program, and even then it was plagued by confusion, complexity and inequities.

Here's who is eligible, how to apply and how you can use the funds.
Here's a helpful SVOG FAQ.

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The days of the complex color-coded system of rules known as the “Blueprint for a Safer Economy,” which has dictated reopening restrictions across California’s 58 counties since last summer, is not long for this world.

Gov. Gavin Newsom announced this week that the state will “fully reopen” its economy on June 15, with the colored-tier system replaced by a new “green tier,” which would be the least-restrictive phase for counties and signals the end of the state’s tiered reopening system, Dee Dee Myers, a senior adviser to Gov. Gavin Newsom, told the Los Angeles Times.

The reopening would hinge on vaccines remaining widely available across the state, avoiding another surge of the virus and keeping the number of coronavirus patients being treated in hospitals low over the next 10 weeks. A mask mandate and limits on large events such as conventions and music festivals would remain in place, Newsom said. 

Local officials also will have the authority to implement their own stricter regulations beyond the state’s rules. Marin County Public Health Officer Dr. Matt Willis told the Marin IJ the county could move into the yellow tier during the last week of April at the soonest because a county’s case rate must improve for two straight weeks before it can advance within the reopening scheme.

The average number of new coronavirus cases in Marin, which had flattened out after a steep decline from the winter surge, has begun to drop again, Willis said. “Cases seem to be heading back into a decline, which is encouraging,” Willis said. “But we’ve seen also how fragile this can be.”

As we've reported before, demand for vaccines continues to far outstrip the supply of shots, leading Marin County Public Health Officer Dr. Matt Willis to tout his agency's efforts to deploy vaccines as quickly and efficiently as possible despite limited supply compared to much larger, surrounding counties.
 
Everyone 16 and older will become eligible on April 15, which could further strain supplies. Newsom said the state, which is receiving 2.4 million doses this week, doesn’t expect to get substantially more than that until May. He acknowledged to the Bay Area News Group that getting appointments for everyone in the widening eligibility pool “is going to take some time, a number of weeks, perhaps over a month.”

Even under the relaxed rules, California will still prohibit convention centers from hosting events of 5,000 or more people until October unless they can prove all attendees have been vaccinated. The state has not yet set a date for allowing large music festivals such as Coachella — though Ghaly said officials are working with organizers to eventually allow those events.

Approximately 61% of Marin residents over the age of 16 have received at least one shot of a coronavirus vaccine and 38% are fully vaccinated, according to data on April 6.

The continued decline of case rates and the expectation of rising vaccine availability could eventually lead to some long overdue good news for the local sector most ravaged by the COVID-19 crisis: live music, theater and entertainment venues like the Sweetwater Music Hall, Throckmorton Theatre and Marin Theatre Company, which have been hit the hardest in the 94941 arts community. 

After more than a year without live indoor performances, owners of music and theater venues are cautiously preparing for life after COVID-19 lockdown, the IJ reported. With in the “orange tier,” venues with seating for live indoor performances will be allowed a 25% maximum capacity for in-state visitors starting April 15.

Mask requirements will still be in place and venue owners will be required to provide digital ticket services, pre-designated eating and drinking areas, and a weekly worker COVID-19 testing program, according to state guidelines.

Even with these loosened restrictions, Gabriella Calicchio, director of the county’s Department of Cultural Services, told the IJ it will be tough for performing arts groups to make a profit. “Whether in our own space or somewhere else, ticket sales need to account for at least 50%, if not 70%, of the expense it takes to produce a show,” Calicchio said. “So it is really challenging for any of our performing arts groups in Marin … because they need to break even.”

Dennis Fisco, president and board member of the Sweetwater Music Hall in Mill Valley, told the IJ the venue has managed by holding some outdoor music events and also by becoming a nonprofit. “The pandemic obviously hit us very hard,” Fisco said. “We went from a successful food and live music venue to a complete stop in one day. We have not been permitted to open as a live-music venue since March 12 last year.”

“While we are closed we still have expenses,” he added. “So the board stepped up and we’ve had a tremendous amount of interest from the community in Marin County, San Francisco and the Bay Area in helping us with donations to keep us alive to pay fixed expenses that don’t go away because the doors are closed.”

He said the venue plans to reopen in June and the staff is installing plexiglass, ventilation systems and other safety features. Still, many artists across the Bay Area are struggling.

“It’s tough to book a show and have the performers earn a living at 20% capacity,” Fisco said. “It’s been a sad year for Sweetwater and live music venues, but it’s also sad for the musicians and live music community. Especially for musicians who’ve been out of business all this time.”

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There's been no shortage of evidence over the years that the landscape for retailers has been consistently getting harder year after year, from the ever-growing footprint of big box retailers to the one-click, instant gratification online shopping that is laden with fraught consequences for local economies.

And then the pandemic arrived, ravaging retail indiscriminately. Mill Valley shops pivoted, innovated and sought creative ways to connect with their customers, who were advised by health officials to minimize their in-person shopping. 

Meanwhile, Ronnie Unger and Evan Woolf, owners of The Store women's clothing shop at 68 Throckmorton Ave., were looking to grow, out hunting for a second retail space. They found it a few doors down at 84 Throckmorton, formerly home to the EO Exchange retail shop. 

Dubbed The Local, the new shop is quite distinct from The Store, offering up a beach-centric product line that seeks to serves both locals and visitors readying a jaunt to Stinson or Muir beaches or those farther afield. Woolf and Unger both grew up here and have an affinity for the beach. 

"There is nothing (downtown) like this," Unger says. "We want to it to be cheerful and completely different from The Store Mill Valley but still have our vibe. It will be all all beach, all the time. In the winter, we'll shift to cozy beach. We also wanted it to be cheap and cheerful, completely different from The Store but still have our vibe."

"It's also what we've been hearing for 20-plus years –  "I forgot my hat," "I forgot my sunscreen," Unger says, pointing to sunscreen from EO, trucker hats and patches from Fairfax artist Tommy Breeze, beachwear, flip flops, board shorts and 'The Local' branded sweatshirts, hats and key chains, among an array of other products from local artists.

They'd been looking for a second space for years but wanted to stay geographically connected to their current space and community. "It didn't make sense for us to go outside of right here – this is our people," Unger says.

Note that turn of phrase: "this is our people." From its debut in town in a streetfront space at the Throckmorton Theatre to its move to the current Carolina Boutique space as Allie G and then to the Store, Woolf and Unger have long been revered for their deep connections to their customers. They've been on their current block of Throckmorton Ave. for 25 years.

"It's all about relationships," Woolf says. 

"That's the essence of who we are in this retail world," Unger adds. "We would not be anywhere without our community. We cried 100 times during Covid out of joy over how grateful we are for the people that support us and always have but really showed up over this past year."

"We have never felt in competition with a big store," she adds. "We curate for our customers. We don't go out and buy randomly. We curate for people. We shop for our community."

Those kinds of relationships were cited in a recent New York Times piece about why certain retail districts in New York have thrived. The Center for an Urban Future, a policy organization, found that, among national retailers in New York City, by far the biggest overall decline was in the number of chain stores. More than 1,000 of them, or approximately one out of seven, had disappeared during the preceding 12 months.

"By contrast, a chicly homey stretch of stores along well-traveled Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn has maintained the vitality of an alternate world," the Times reported. "When you walk into one of these stores, you are likely to find the owner behind the counter. Often she — and it’s usually a woman — is also the person making what she sells: lamps, pillows, pottery, dresses, body oils."

"Woolf says there's plenty more on the way from The Local. "There's no limit to what we can do here," she says.

The Local is at 84 Throckmorton. Open Tues.-Sun., 10am-5pm. MORE INFO. 

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We are absolutely thrilled with the lineup of brewers and winemakers we've lineup for 39th Annual Mill Valley Wine, Beer and Gourmet Food Tasting! 

On April 15-16, one of Mill Valley's iconic events returns as a pair of one-hour virtual tastings – one for the latest craft beers, one for ultra-premium wines and with an array of gourmet food for both. As always, it’s sponsored by Mill Valley Market with proceeds supporting the Mill Valley Chamber and Kiddo!.

Each tasting is led by expert moderators and cutting-edge winemakers and brewers to make for an entertaining, educational and delicious event. Each ticket buyer will receive a reusable tote with 2 bottles of fine wine or 7 cans of artisan beer and an array of delicious food bites. Shareable-size totes full of goodies will be available for pickup on April 8-10 (1-4pm), April 13-14 (1-5pm) at the MV Chamber office, 85 Throckmorton Ave. 

BUY TIX FOR THE TASTINGS HERE.

​BEER TASTING: THURSDAY, APRIL 15 – 6-7 PM

Local Mill Valley brewers Rob Lightner and Paul Liszewski of East Brother Beer Co. and Justin Catalana of Fort Point Beer Co. will talk about their popular brews and beer making. Moderator Jamison Kester of Almanac Beer Co. will lead the discussion.
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Partner up (or not): 3 cans East Brother’s – Bo Pils, new release Maibock, Oatmeal Stout + 1 can Almanac’s Love Hazy + 3 cans Fort Point - Sfizio Italian Pils, Dipper Double IPA, Strawberry Darling + specialty snacks – $39.

Catalana, at top left, is co-founder and CEO of Fort Point Beer Company—an independent San-Francisco brewery known for making unconventional, yet easy-to-enjoy beers. Prior to Fort Point, Justin abandoned a career in bioengineering to found Mill Valley Beerworks, a restaurant and taproom in his hometown of Mill Valley. Raised by a general contractor and a nurse, Justin is motivated by a restless desire to take things apart and put them back together. He approaches beer and business with the eye of an engineer, thinking through each challenge from first-principles and making things from scratch wherever he sees room for improvement. After just 6 years in business, Fort Point is now sold in San Francisco’s most celebrated restaurants, as well as its most humble corner stores and Justin couldn’t be more proud. He continues to lead the company with ambitious plans for growth and a simple conviction—”good beer for everyone.”

East Brother Beer founders and Mill Valley neighbors Chris Coomber and Rob Lightner, at top right, have a long tradition of drinking beer together, but it was in 2009 when the serious brewing began. Chris has that effortless charm and charisma that makes you believe he could do most anything he sets his mind to, and he’s a man of many self-taught talents. Hang gliding (with trepidation), trumpet playing (with mixed reviews), horse-back riding, but the first batch of Cream Ale, crafted in his kitchen, received critical acclaim from Rob and others. Soon a hobby became an obsession. Over the next seven years the two worked to perfect their palates and process, exploring classic styles and flavors and adhering to tradition. It’s in Chris’s kitchen where the “aha” moment and consensus occurred; beer is their beacon.

Almanac Beer Co.'s Jamison Kester, who serves as our moderator, has been a beer, wine, and spirits professional since moving to the Bay Area 12 years ago from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. With time spent both in national and regional alcohol sales markets, behind the bar making cocktails at several Oakland establishments, or touring the US playing heavy metal, Kester says he's excited to host the brewery portion of the 39th Mill Valley Wine, Beer & Gourmet Beer Tasting.

BUY BEER TASTING TIX HERE.

​WINE TASTING: FRIDAY, APRIL 16 – 6-7 PM

Acclaimed winemakers Michael McNeil of Hanzell Vineyards and Anthony Filberti of Anthill Farms Winery will be joined by Matt Straus of Saturday Wine to discuss and field questions about their award-winning wines.
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Invite another couple (or not): 1 bottle of 2018 Hanzell Sonoma Valley Chardonnay + 1 bottle of 2019 Anthill Farms Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir + specialty snacks $99

On a personal quest to produce significant Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, Michael McNeill has spent many years and worked with dozens of vineyards throughout California and Oregon. In his early winemaking days, McNeill honed his talent and skill at Chalone Vineyard. His appointment as Winemaker at Hanzell in 2008 brought him full circle in working with the great California pioneers. At Hanzell, informed by tradition, he seeks to produce wines that best express the special and unique qualities of this place. Outside of Hanzell, McNeill enjoys live music, working in his garden, skiing in his beloved Tahoe and riding in the annual “Bring Your Own Big-Wheel” race in San Francisco. 

​Anthony Filiberti (at top left), David Low and Webster Marquez started Anthill Farms with the 2004 vintage, making eight-and-a-half barrels of wine their first year. They now make eight single-vineyard Pinots and two appellation wines every year; depending on the vintage, we’ll also produce two or three Syrahs and a Chardonnay. From the beginning ours has been a hands-on approach to farming grapes and raising wines, allowing each site to succeed in its ecology and in the bottle. Filiberti grew up locally in Sonoma County. Halfway through high school he began working harvest in the afternoons at small wineries. His enjoyment of this work led to studying Viticulture and continuing cellar work through school. In 1996 a move to Oregon put him in the cellar of Rex Hill where he met longtime friend Josh Bergstrom. In the next two years they would work together again starting the Bergstrom Winery. Oregon was an invaluable time of learning in the vineyards and cellars with the small and open Oregon wine community. It was also during this time in 1999 that he joined the groups Biodynamic Oregon and Slow Food Oregon and gained a broadened holistic perspective to wine, food and farming.

In 2003 after moving back to Sonoma, he began working with Dave and Web at William Selyem Winery and this connection led to the forming of Anthill. Over the last 17 years he has continued farming biodynamically and crafting wines for others, wineries such Knez in Anderson Valley and Hirsch Vineyards on the Sonoma Coast, as well as leading the farming and
production at Anthill Farms.

Straus, who serves as the wine tasting moderator, is is an award-winning sommelier and chef. Heirloom Café, his wine-driven, California cuisine-focused restaurant in San Francisco, will celebrate its 11th anniversary this spring. Saturday Wine is the brainchild of the team at Heirloom Café, born in quarantine but ready for prime time. Two bottles are available each week for pick-up at Heirloom or for shipping—destined for group tasting and guided explication during a live Saturday evening Zoomcast, often with the company of a special guest winemaker. WBGF 2021 is modeled after Saturday Wine.

BUY WINE TASTING TIX HERE.