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BOHEMIAN
Rhapsodies Goodbye, Farewell & Amen In which the editor steps down BY GABE MELINE
T
here’s no simple way to say this, so I’ll just spit it out: This is my last issue as the editor of the Bohemian.
The good thing is that I’m leaving the paper in a strong position. In my three years as editor, I’ve coordinated a redesign of both the print paper and the website, won four national AAN awards for my music writing, overseen two CNPA awards for the paper as editor, increased website traffic tenfold, launched and hosted the 24-Hour Band Contest, been a voice of the paper on KSRO and continued to write for all sections of the paper. But most importantly, the Bohemian remains a strong voice in the community during a time when print journalism is presumed to be dying. We’ve broken stories locally in my time as editor about Efren Carrillo knocking a guy unconscious outside a Too $hort show, the inability of the Santa Rosa Police Department to accurately track gang crime statistics, the $10 million tab left to the city of Petaluma by developers of the Theatre District, and the Press Democrat’s sale by the New York Times Co.—all stories that wound up later as front-page news in the local daily. Add our consistently excellent arts, food and music coverage, and, well, I’m supremely proud of the impact we’ve had. Being able to have that kind of impact on the community can be addictive. Especially if, like me, you really, really love your community. I found myself working late nights, trying to do the best possible job I could. I worked weekends and days off. I worked a lot. I shouldn’t have. Because my wife works full-time too, raising a fouryear-old daughter while trying to ensure the paper was a good as possible started to alternately resemble either a madcap farce or a Cassavetes tearjerker. So basically, I’m slowing down. I’ll be able to spend much more time with family and friends this way. And in fact, Leilani Clark, who’s been by my side doing an excellent job for these three years as staff writer, is stepping down as well. This is not an end. I’ll still be around, in print, in one way or another. More importantly, the Bohemian will be in good hands. There’s truly no paper in the world like it. Gabe Meline is the outgoing editor of this paper. Open Mic is a weekly feature. To have your topical essay of 350 words considered for publication, write openmic@bohemian.com.
Justice Achieved I want to say thank you to Leilani Clark for so eloquently and presciently reporting on the issue of restorative justice (“A Better Discipline,” Jan. 22). Her empathy for the students, along with the teachers and administrators, is especially refreshing. Restorative justice is poised to change the way we as a nation discipline our students, and Santa Rosa is squarely at the forefront of implementing it as an alternative to decades of failed punishment. It is a vision for which we can be very proud, but it doesn’t often receive the kind of attention paid in last week’s wellresearched cover story. Thanks again to Leilani Clark and the Bohemian.
MARISHA DILLON Via online
Remembering a Giant A giant left us this week. Pete Seeger, American folk music lion and vanguard sociopolitical activist, passed away in his sleep at age 94. Pete started America’s folk music revival of the 1940s, one that continues today. At his concerts, he taught us how to sing out and sing harmony. He made over a hundred albums. Songs he authored include “Where Have All the Flowers Gone,” “Oh Had I a Golden Thread,” “Kisses Sweeter Than Wine,” “The Water Is Wide,” “Waist Deep in the Big Muddy,” “Turn, Turn, Turn” and “If I Had a Hammer.” He was a master of the five-string banjo and 12-string guitar, and wrote landmark instructional books for both. His playing was confident and driving, but he had a humble, aw-shucks way about his pickin’ that pervaded his persona as well.
Pete added music to the labor union and Civil Rights movements and popularized “We Shall Overcome.” With his wife, Toshi, he started Hudson River Sloop Clearwater, a nonprofit that cleaned up New York State’s polluted Hudson River.
He took it on the chin for his lefty politics. Pete was interrogated by the House Un-American Activities Committee, branded a “red,” blacklisted from TV and ostracized by mainstream media. But he was an outsize personality and he made his voice heard from outside, and in 1994 Pete was awarded the Kennedy Center Honor for lifetime contributions to American culture. As a teen, Pete had questioned what he was going to do with his life. He figured it out. He changed America with his music activism.
BILL AMANTEEK Sebastopol
Jenifa, Oh Jeni I think we are overthinking the fact that this one interview had Jennifer Lawrence and Debra Granik sitting together (“Down By J-Law,” Jan. 22). They were not afraid to have Lawrence sit by herself during the Winter’s Bone press junket, as she did many interviews by herself. It could have easily been that this was her first interview of the press junket and based on how nervous Lawrence gets when having to answer the artsy questions about her work, the team probably felt it be better to have Granik lead the way and give Lawrence an idea as to what she can say in the remaining interviews. You will see this still takes place today— even though the world loves unfiltered Lawrence, she will allow her director or even one of her other cast members do the majority of the talking when talking about the craft or detailed aspects of the production process.
ANDREA LOPEZ Via online