NORTH BAY BOHEMIAN | JANUARY 1–7, 2014 | BOHEMIAN.COM
14 Year in Review ( 13 suffered some sort of mental breakdown, and initially, I empathized with the guy. I spent my ’20s and early ’30s sucking down whiskey drinks, a tendency that led me into “adventures” that might never have passed ethical muster in the light of day. Of course, I wasn’t on the board of supervisors. My friend, on the other hand, thought this was your run-of-themill booty call gone awry. But as facts were revealed, it turned out that this was far from the truth. The young woman barely knew Carrillo, aside from the superficial interaction you might have with a neighbor who lives across the fence, or in this case, across the driveway. Far from a case of buyer’s remorse, this was something way more serious. For most women, an unknown man entering a bedroom window in the early morning hours is the stuff of nightmares. As Carrillo’s charges were reduced to peeking, the calls for his ouster were repeated, but much of the press focused on whether the whole incident would have long-term repercussions for Carrillo’s rising political star. A more crucial question might be: How can the women of Sonoma County feel safe in a community that allows elected leaders to violate the safety of one of his own constituents, whatever Carrillo thought the potential outcome might be of his two-beerin-hand, nearly naked, pre-dawn visit? As Rosanne Darling, the victim’s lawyer told the Bohemian in December, “Nobody’s talking about what this means for the women of this county. What are we willing to accept in 2013, in a place as progressive as Sonoma County?” That’s the question we should be asking ourselves in 2014. —Leilani Clark
Sinking Rock Hey, remember BottleRock? The most promising music festival to ever hit the North Bay, with the most insanely top-notch lineup of bands? Of course you
do, because if you weren’t at the festival itself, you were either stuck listening to your co-workers talk about it all the time, or just plain stuck in its traffic. Or hey! Maybe you’re one of the many people to whom BottleRock owes money. That’s because after five festival days with nearly everything running smoothly, the star-struck promoters paid the bands—and forgot to pay full invoices to the stagehands, the backstage caterer, the portable toilet company, the trash lady, the shuttle bus company, the city of Napa . . . And the list goes on. Even the father of one of the promoters filed suit against his own son to be paid. Ouch. As of late November, a trio of new investors was interested in taking over the festival and paying off its estimated $8.5 million in debt. But between the lawsuits, the bad press, the infighting and the obscene levels of financial mismanagement, who would want to take the chance? Meanwhile, three-day passes for BottleRock 2014 remain for sale on the festival’s website. Our tip: save your $329 until a real lineup is announced.—Gabe Meline
The Death of a Child Andy Lopez was just another 13-year-old walking through his neighborhood on Moorland Avenue in Santa Rosa, on his way to a friend’s house to return his toy gun. When he heard someone from behind yell to him, he began to turn around to see who it was. Instead, he was pumped full of bullets, killed in plain daylight
by deputy Erick Gelhaus, who continued to shoot after the boy fell to the ground. According to the autopsy, which showed the bullets’ trajectories, Andy Lopez was only halfway turned around before he was shot from behind. According to witnesses, Gelhaus didn’t identify himself as law enforcement. And according to the sheriff’s own time stamp, the whole incident— from radioing in a suspicious person with a gun, to radioing back that shots had been fired— took just 10 seconds. Andy Lopez didn’t have a chance. Marches, vigils and actions have been a weekly occurrence since, and you can’t walk a hundred yards in southwest Santa Rosa without seeing “Justice for Andy” painted on a car window. In other parts of town, though, things aren’t so tumultuous. The Santa Rosa Police Department is as close as ever with the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office, and is tasked with the “outside” investigation. District Attorney Jill Ravitch is tasked with reviewing that investigation, despite being cozy as can be with Sheriff Steve Freitas—the two spoke at each others’ campaign kickoff events. A nearly all-white, middle-aged grand jury will likely dutifully stamp the results. Lopez’s death caused us all to “have a conversation” in 2013. But with 27 officer-related fatal shootings that have occurred since 2000, and with Gelhaus back at work and likely to be cleared of any wrongdoing, it’s time to stop talking and start acting to change a system that allows such tragedies. At the very least, Ravitch should voluntarily recuse herself from reviewing the investigation of Frietas’ department—a clear political conflict of interest. Better yet would be for the formation of a civilian review board to oversee officer-related shootings, which has long been recommended for Sonoma County and is currently being studied by a task force. If it could stop even one innocent 13-year-old from being killed, it would all be worth it. —Gabe Meline
The Electeds’ Musical Chairs A barrage of political candidacy announcements marked the second half of 2013 as local politicos revved up for an election year. After State Sen. Noreen Evans announced that she would not seek re-election in 2014, Sonoma County Supervisor Mike McGuire launched a bid for her state Legislature seat. (A “leaked” poll of 400 registered North Coast voters shows McGuire with a significant lead over the other two candidates, for whatever that’s worth.) It wasn’t long before potential candidates began vying to take over McGuire’s position. Those entering the fray include James Gore, a former senior official in the Department of Agriculture under President Obama. A Sonoma County native with wine industry ties, the 35-year-old recently moved back to Healdsburg with his wife and daughter, announcing his candidacy soon afterward. Environmentally minded Windsor councilwoman Deborah Fudge will make her third attempt at supervisorial seat, as will lively, rampant Press Democrat commenter Keith Rhinehart, former Healdsburg mayor Pete Foppiano, and Healdsburg city councilman Tom Chambers. In Santa Rosa, former Press Democrat columnist Chris Coursey announced a run for a seat on the Santa Rosa City Council. If he wins, he’ll leave behind a long journalism career for public office, leaving his loyal readers to sigh and cheer at the same time. Shout out to Erin Carlstrom for bringing her new baby to city council meetings