Pacific Sun 11.20.2009 - Section 1

NOVEMBER 20 - NOVEMBER 26, 2009

MARiN’S BEST EVERY WEEK

14 -19 H❉ LIDAYS i N tHe SUn pages O caroling! ❉ Merry quizmas… ❉ Your yule log Q U O T E

“

O F

T H E

W E E K :

Unto Herr Majesties Keeping Now Named By Me And To Be Knowne Unto All Men As Nova Albion.

[SEE PAGE 9]

”

Behind the Sun: To Sir Francis, with love 9 Food: A change of course 22 Music: The Shostakovich must go on! 26

› › pacificsun.com

g Mar in n i v r e S

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Archaeology meets technology in this small-scale exhibition exploring the scientific examination of mummies and providing new insights into

The notorious Drake’s Plate of Brasse discovered in West Marin. Behind the Sun, p. 9.

PUBLISHER - Sam Chapman (x315)

7 8 9 12 14 20 22 24 25 26 27 28 30 31 32 36 38 39

Letters Upfront Behind the Sun/Trivia CafĂŠ/ Heroes & Zeros Feature Holidays in the Sun Open Homes Food All in Good Taste Theater Music That TV Guy/Overheard Film Talking Pictures Movies Sundial ClassiďŹ eds Horoscope Advice Goddess

›› ON THE COVER

Photo Mark Pitta and friends

by Robert Vente Design Beth Allen

the conditions under which the Egyptians lived.

Included is the sarcophagus and mummy of Irethorrou, a priest from Egypt around 500 B.C. His mummy has undergone a CT-scan that allows a unique viewing experience of a three-dimensional “fly through� of the body and a forensic reconstruction of his head.

OCTOBER 31, 2009–AUGUST 15, 2010

›› STAFF

Embarcadero Publishing Company. (USPS 454-630) Published weekly on Fridays. Distributed free at more than 400 locations throughout Marin County. Adjudicated a newspaper of General Circulation. Home delivery in Marin available by subscription: $5/month on your credit card or $60 for one year, cash or check. No person may, without the permission of the Pacific Sun, take more than one copy of each Pacific Sun weekly issue. Entire contents of this publication Copyright Š2009 Embarcadero Publishing Company ISSN; 0048-2641.

All rights reserved. Unsolicited manuscripts must be submitted with a stamped self-addressed envelope.

EDITORIAL Editor: Jason Walsh (x316); Reporter: Samantha Campos (x319); Movie Page Editor: Matt Stafford (x320); Copy Editor: Carol Inkellis (x317); Calendar Editor: Anne Schrager (x330) CONTRIBUTORS Lee Brady, Greg Cahill, Pat Fusco, Richard Gould, Marc Hershon, Richard P. Hinkle, Brooke Jackson, Brenda K. Kinsel, Jill Kramer (x322), Lois MacLean, Joel Orff, Rick Polito, Renata Polt, Peter Seidman, Nikki Silverstein, Annie Spiegelman, David Templeton, Barry Willis.

Books Editor: Elizabeth Stewart (x326) ADVERTISING Advertising Director: Linda Black (x306) Senior Display Representative: Dianna Stone (x307) Display Sales: Ethan Simon (x311), Linda Curry (x309); Inside Sales: Helen Hammond (x303); Courier: Gillian Coder; Traffic Coordinator: Amanda Deely (x302) DESIGN AND PRODUCTION Art Director/Production Manager: Beth Allen (x335); Graphic Designers: Gwen Aguilar (x336), Michelle Palmer (x321); Missy Reynolds, Gabe Lieb, Brindl Markle (x308) ADMINISTRATION Business Administrator: Cynthia Nguyen (x331) Administrative Assistant: Elisa Keiper (x301) Circulation Manager: Bob Lampkin (x340) PRINTING: Paradise Post, Paradise, CA

Member of the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies

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This exhibition is organized by the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco with the cooperation of the Akhmim Mummy Studies Consortium and the radiology department of the Stanford Medical School. Additional project assistance has been provided by the Stanford Division of Anatomy, eHuman Inc., and Fovia Inc. Generous support is provided by the William E. Winn, Jr., Living Trust and the Dorothy Tyler Living Trust. Thank you to Intel Corporation for their generous in-kind donation.

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Images: Visualization of the mummy Irethorrou by Sarah Hegmann and Beverly Chiang of eHuman using Osirix and Amira Software. Mummy of Irethorrou in Coffin, Egyptian, Akhmim, ca. 500 B.C. Linen; wood with polychrome. Gift of First Federal Trust Company (from the Estate of Jeremiah Lynch).

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›› LETTERS San Rafael’s finest, finingest...

Thank you for doing an article on San Rafael and its speed traps [“The Thin Blue Bottom Line,” Nov. 6]. All I can say is—it’s about time someone wrote about this. San Rafael cops hiding themselves and ticketing anyone who commits even the most minor of traffic infraction has been going on now for a couple of years. And from the shockingly high fines levied—it is obviously all about money and little or nothing to do with safety.

In fact, it is an outrage, given that if a crime is committed and someone really needs help, San Rafael police officers are few and far between. More attention is on giving tickets and collecting revenue than on public safety— which should be their primary concern, and obviously isn’t.

R.B.,San Rafael

Romper, bomper, stomper boo...

After reading Don Speich’s article on red light camera enforcement in San Rafael [“Lights...

Camera...

Slow Down!” Nov. 6], I couldn’t help won- Speich’s journalismder whether the school faculty advisors. writer received his journalistic training from The Center for Romper Room Journalism.

For anyone with eighth grade algebra, it is very evident that the cameras are used to generate revenue for city coffers—millions upon millions of dollars, in fact. See this Web site for examples: www.redlightcameraticket.com.

What is more disturbing is that the pro-

fessed rationale for using them—increased safety—is nothing more than rationalization. Motorists preoccupied with avoiding tickets with egregious price tags of $400 or more (an unconstitutional imposition of punishments that far exceed the crime) end up slamming abruptly on their brakes. Such unsafe driving has actually increased the number of accidents at intersections where red light cameras have been installed. Hey, Mr. Romper Room grad, find a mirror and take a good, close look at your Do Bee Good approach to reporting.

›› TOWNSQUARE

TOP POSTINGS THIS WEEK

Is Nuclear Power an Answer? Nuclear power is increasingly being talked about as part of the solution to global warming. Some long time enviros are now on board. Environment California just did a cost-ben...

Sick of Novato bashing From your most recent Single in the Suburbs column to our bix-boxstore-lovin’ city council to stories about the Novato Sanitary District to not joining Marin Clean Energy, th...

Accused wine arsonist handcrafts bold, full-bodied new plea Mark C. Anderson, a Sausalito man accused of setting fire to over $200 million worth of fine wines in 2005, has changed his not-guilty plea to “guilty” in federal court yesterday.

Robert Epstein,El Cerrito

Is this similar to the ‘special projects’ bank account we keep hidden from our wives?

At a recent Marin Coalition meeting, county administrator Matthew Hymel was questioned concerning reserve funds for “special projects” in the county budget. The administration at the county has stated Marin is in a budget deficit of about $15 million. What is not common knowledge to the general public is how the county separates “special projects” funding from the operating budget. This is not necessarily a nefarious way to hide funds and is common practice.

The county of Marin has a “special projects” fund of $30 million. Portions of those funds have been loaned out for other projects and the balance in the “special projects” fund is around $22 million.

What the taxpayer in Marin needs to know when studying the county budget is that “special projects” fund amounts are not included in budget information supplied by the county. What one needs to do when assessing amounts in the budget is add $30 million dollars. The “real” amount of our

Your soapbox is waiting at ›› pacificsun.com county budget is actually a surplus of about $15 million.

Ron Ford,Santa Venetia

who want to know why two princesses are dancing together??? My children are too young to understand this.

Nicole Choi,Marin

Princess diaries: Outraged I am outraged at your cover of a few weeks ago [“Someday My Princess Will Come,” Oct. 23]. It is in really bad taste. My daughters love the Disney princesses. Do not mix politics with our Disney princesses.

They are not gay!!! This is soooo wrong in sooo many ways!

Alex Prichard,Marin

Princess diaries II: Displeased I just wanted to express my displeasure for the recent week’s cover displaying what appears to be Disney images of Cinderella and Princess Belle.

While I support gay rights and issues, I do not appreciate Disney images being used this way. My two young daughters (5 and 3) love all things Disney and this cover got their attention. I feel they are too young to have discussions about lesbian culture and really wish you could have chosen a cover that did not use something that is so easily recognized by young children.

Barbie Sewing,Novato

Princess diaries III: Poor taste I usually don’t write notes of this type to editors.

However, I feel the need to comment on the Cinderella cover. I find it in poor taste to use an image from a The offending image. beloved children’s classic such as Cinderella in this manner.

Ila Coombs,Marin

Princess diaries IV: Very poor taste Yuk! Very poor taste!

Nancy Clark,Mill Valley

Princess diaries V: Children are too young I would like to know how I explain your Cinderella picture to my 4-year-old twins

Princess diaries VI: Effect on fellow human beings, and Americans Thank you for reading my e-mail. I was very disappointed to see the cover of last week’s Pacific Sun. The use of such iconic children’s characters to promote a politically charged viewpoint is in very poor taste.

If my daughter had seen the cover of your magazine, she would have instantly been very interested and, as she is of reading age, would have questioned why Disney is pairing up their princesses. I understand and fully agree with freedom of speech, but I do not believe it means saying, promoting or displaying whatever you want, whenever you want, without regard to how it affects fellow human beings and Americans. Thank you for your consideration on this matter, and I hope in the future you will use more discretion in what to put on the cover of your magazine.

April Rich,Novato

Princess diaries VII: Reno liked it Love the Princess cover art. Please compliment your artist for me.

Dennis Myers,news editor,‘Reno News and Review’

Editor’s note: In our efforts to choose a cover graphic that would best reflect a story [“Out of the Ash,” Oct. 23] about a new local book, Ash, which retells the Cinderella fairytale from the standpoint of two women, we never imaged a drawing of two fully clothed adult women ballroom dancing would stir such emotions.

From what we could gather, a member of a local moms’ club took offense to the image and sent messages to other members urging them to express their concern—the letters all came within a single morning and were of equivalent length and phrasing. One letter writer asked what our kids would say if they saw Cinderella and Belle dancing together. We found out that night when 7-year-old Jack pointed to the paper in dismay and said, “Dad! That’s not right. Peter Pan’s not in that movie!” Everyone’s a critic.—Jason Walsh Put your stamp on the letters to the editor at ›› pacificsun.com NOVEMBER 20 – NOVEMBER 26, 2009 PACIFIC SUN 7

›› UPFRONT

Sustainability we can afford Green building’s new developments—and new developers...

by Pe te r Se i d m an

T

he term “green building” is moving beyond its current meaning of using recycled construction materials, environmentally friendly landscaping and renewable power sources for lights and electricity, according to planners and developers and the visionaries who have their sights set on sustainability. But big challenges lie ahead.

Creating affordable homes close to jobs is the true big-picture green path, say advocates of sustainability and affordable housing.

That attitude clearly is present in the Marin Community Foundation’s (MCF) recent program to promote affordable housing. The foundation has pledged to spend $2 million a year for five years on an affordable housing initiative. In the first year the foundation plans to spend about half of the allocated funds to purchase and rehabilitate foreclosed homes. The foundation, which is working with Habitat for Humanity and North Bay Family Homes on that initiative, already has contributed funds as part of other initiatives to projects for more than about 700 homes and apartments in Marin.

“The truth of the matter is that for us the issues of affordable housing and environmental protection are intertwined,” says Thomas Peters, president and CEO at MCF. That attitude has been gaining ground steadily as a useful political tool among affordable housing advocates, as well as those whose chief goal is protecting the environment and promoting sustainability. Though not everyone’s on-board, the passenger list is

growing. And affordable housing advocates and sustainability proponents now have an ally in transportation advocates who are supporting construction of the SMART commuter rail that will run between Marin and Sonoma counties. Stations along the urban corridor route are ideal spots for creating mixed-use developments that can support the kind of building density that can attract opportunities for developers of affordable housing. The density stays along the rail line, which parallels Highway 101. That’s the original vision of the urban corridor—keeping development density along the corridor to protect the hills and ridges and valleys.

The concept of sustainability adds a considerable punch to development. Planners know that workforce housing can have one of the most significant effects on creating a sustainable community. Providing affordable homes for local workers obviously helps satisfy the critical need for quality low-cost homes. But from a sustainability point of view it does much more: It keeps workers off the roads as they travel to and from their jobs. Reducing vehicle miles can go a long way toward satisfying carbon-reduction goals.

The Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) projects that 50 percent of the total employment growth in Marin during the next 30 years will occur in the lower-paying retail, health, education, hospitality and recreation sectors, notes Mary Murtagh president and CEO of EAH, the nonprofit housing corporation whose goal is 10 >

›› NEWSGRAMS Marin college presidents’ shuffle This week College of Marin President Frances White announced her retirement at the end of the current school year—a year before her contract is scheduled to end.The 62-year-old said her decision came from a desire to pursue other interests and spend more time with her family.White has held the position since 2004 and, despite an unresolved battle with the faculty union over instructor wages, she is being credited for helping turn the college around in leadership, financial planning, accreditation and enrollment—which has been increasing over the past year. In other college news, Dominican University of California President Joseph R. Fink has announced his retirement at the end of the 2010-2011 school year— serving an additional year beyond his original retirement date. Fink, who was appointed the university’s eighth president in 1988, is the“longest sitting president among all Bay Area institutions of higher learning,”according to a press release. During his tenure, the San Rafael campus was renovated, enrollment has quadrupled and revenues have increased eight-fold.

A man, a plan, a canal: pandemonium Critics voiced concern over the Canalfront Conceptual Design Plan at a San Rafael City Council meeting Nov. 16.While councilmembers accepted the plan as a blueprint to revitalize the waterfront area—including a promenade, improved water access and bridge—some business and property owners disagreed with the plan’s removal of 25 feet along the shoreline for the public walkway. Although last week, the Pacific Sun’s Peter Seidman reported [“Bridge to the future,”Nov. 13] that one of the most requested changes from Canal residents is improved walkway access, including widened sidewalks and a water-crossing.“Building a bridge to join the two sides [across the water] was the most appealing for the whole community,” said Maite Duran, a member of the Canal Alliance and co-chair of the Canalfront Advisory Committee.“It would be helpful for about 500 kids who [walk] to school, maybe 300 families.”Even so, officials said the Canal transformative vision is many years away; that no money is budgeted yet, no private land will be seized and any development or improvements proposed would require design review and planning commission approvals.

Accused wine arsonist handcrafts bold, full-bodied new plea Mark C. Anderson, a 61-year-old Sausalito man accused of setting fire to over $200 million worth of fine wines in 2005, changed his not-guilty plea as part of a plea bargain Nov. 16 in federal court. A former city parks commissioner, newspaper columnist and a UC Berkeley graduate, Anderson had been storing about 6 million bottles at the Wines Central warehouse on Vallejo’s Mare Island for collectors and Napa vintners before the Oct. 5, 2005 fire, which investigators concluded had started in Anderson’s space. Had Anderson not altered his plea and been convicted at his Nov. 17 trial, he might’ve faced life in prison on 19 criminal counts, including arson, mail fraud and tax evasion. Now, as a result of the plea bargain, his sentence could be limited to 15 years and eight months in prison.

Shorts... San Rafael leaders have discovered an additional $3.2 million deficit in the city’s budget, reportedly due to a significant loss in sales tax revenue, as well as less than expected revenue from Measure S—the city services tax...Tiburon Town Council meets Nov. 18 to discuss street cameras monitoring all incoming and outgoing traffic.—Samantha Campos EXTRA! EXTRA! Post your Marin news at ›› pacificsun.com

8 PACIFIC SUN NOVEMBER 20 - NOVEMBER 26, 2009

From the Sun vaults, November 19 - 25, 1969

Captain Hoodwinked Golden Hinde-sight not 20/20 to Francis Drake buffs

by Jason Wals h

40

by Howard Rachelson

1. The southernmost and northernmost California mis#1 sions lie about 530 miles apart.

What are they?

2. Visual: This is the March 6, 1943, cover of what magazine, painted by what prolific American artist?

3. If you travel directly northward from Venice, what’s the first neighboring country you’ll hit?

4. About half the world’s population lives on what amount of money per day?

5. In September (2009), the entire catalog of remastered Beatles music was released on CD. In coming weeks, in time for the holiday season, the entire collection of Beatles songs, plus visuals and videos, will be produced and sold in what different format—not CD or DVD? 6. In February 1888, artist Vincent Van Gogh left Paris and moved to what city in southern France, where he produced over 300 paintings?

7. What U.S. state has all these nicknames: Pelican State, Sportsman’s Paradise and the Sugar State?

8. Glamour magazine recently named what entertainer who was assaulted in February by her ex-boyfriend as one of its Women of the Year?

9. If you want to get away, far away, you should travel about 10,500 air miles to this nation with about 45 million inhabitants; it’s the country located farthest from San Francisco. What is it?

10. In the early 1950s the largest known one of these had about 100 digits. Today, the largest one of these ever discovered has almost 13 million digits. We’re talking about the largest...what?

BONUS QUESTION: In 1621, the Plymouth colonists shared an autumn harvest feast with Massachusetts Indians; historians today consider it to be the first what ever?

Howard Rachelson, Marin’s Master of Trivia, invites you to a live team trivia contest at 7:30pm every Wednesday at the Broken Drum on Fourth Street in San Rafael.

Join the quiz—send your Marin factoids to howard1@triviacafe.com.

▲ San Rafael city library users

can thank Noble “Rocky” Birdsey for saving expensive magazine subscriptions from the chopping block, says supervising librarian Kay Noguchi. In early July, Rocky read an article about the city’s budget cuts that said premium databases and magazine subscriptions would be canceled at the library. He didn’t like the sound of that and decided to do something about it. After asking staff which magazines were being canceled—and which ones they really hated to lose—Rocky came up with a check for $1,800. San Rafael will continue to receive Science, Environment, Hulbert Financial Digest, Kirkus Reviews, New Car Cost Guide and Theatre Bay Area, all thanks to one reader’s concern and generosity.

Answers on page 35

▼ One Mill Valley reader wrote in

ZERO

“There must be a beginning illustrious seafarer ordered his men to post to any great matter,” said an engraved brass plate as “a monument celebrated 16th-century of our being there.” Lo and behold, in 1936 English explorer-pirate Sir a 5-by-8-inch rectangular brass plate was years ago Francis Drake. discovered near modern day Larkspur And 1969-era MarinLanding and investigators determined the ites just naturally assumed he was referplate, mistaken as worthless refuse, had ring to them. been discarded there a few years earlier by For decades Bay Area historical societies a chauffeur who found it along the shores have debated the location of “Nova Albion,” of Drakes Bay. Inscribed on the plate was where Sir Francis Drake “Forever I Take Possession sought harbor for his deleteOf This Kingdom... Unto rious Golden Hinde along the Herr Majesties Keeping coast of Northern CaliforNow Named By Me And To nia in the summer of 1579.

Be Knowne Unto All Men According to Richard HakAs Nova Albion.” Signed, luyt’s The Famous Voyage of “Francis Drake.”

Sir Francis Drake from 1589, After a thorough examinaDrake sailed from Mexico up tion by Dr. Herbert Bolton, a the Pacific Coast in search of UC Berkeley professor who’d an easterly passage. But the spent his career searching rough seas proved too much for the elusive brass artifact, for the 120-foot galleon and the finding was declared “the the Hinde skirted the coast “till genuine Drake’s plate referred we came within 38 degrees to- If he ever comes back, we think Drake to in the book The World ward the line, in which height would particularly enjoy the weekEncompassed by Sir Francis it pleased God to send us into end shuttle between the Point Reyes Drake, published 1628.” And Lighthouse and Chimney Rock. a faire and good Baye with a so, concluded Yarish, “Bolton good winde to enter the same.” and the Navigators Guild are convinced that To historians in the Drake Navigators the plate is real and true” and its authenticity Guild, a group formed in 1951 to prove once should “unhesitatingly” end further debate and for all the Hinde laid anchor in Marin, about whether Drakes Bay is the original that itself is evidence enough that the sea cap- Nova Albion. tain must have spent his 36-day holiday along Turns out the guild should’ve hesitated the sun-swept beaches of what’s now called a bit more. After 40 years of guarded acDrakes Bay—the swath of sand bookended by ceptance of the plate’s authenticity, metalChimney Rock and Limantour Beach, which lurgic analysis had advanced enough by the lies directly on the 38th parallel. It also means early ’70s to prove the Plate of Brasse a fake Marin was claimed for Queen Elizabeth a (it had too much zinc; traces of modern good six years before Walter Raleigh estabAmerican brass, etc., etc.). The phony find, lished the first American colonies in Roanoke. it was revealed, was a hoax perpetrated by a But, as Pacific Sun assistant editor Alice goofy history-buff club called the Ancient Yarish pointed out in her November 1969 and Honorable Order of E Clampus Vitus, story “The Landing of Francis Drake,” the whose members crafted the bogus plaque as 38th parallel also crosses two land points in a prank targeted at their Drake-obsessed pal the San Francisco Bay, opening up the posBolton. The joke spiraled out of control when sibility that the legendary explorer’s first foray Bolton went public with the “discovery” and into America may have been through the the conspirators had to keep mum for fear of Golden Gate—and that the man the Spanish humiliating their accomplished friend. dubbed El Draque may never have touched Bolton, a highly respected historian credthe shores of West Marin at all. ited with steering the UC Berkeley Bancroft And the Navigators Guild was hoping Library to national regard, died in 1953—a that idea would sink faster than the Span- good two decades before his dupery was ish Armada. revealed. For what it’s worth, the historical Aside from other writings about Drake’s consensus remains that the Golden Hinde did landing that referred to “white cliffs which land at Drakes Bay. And the legendary Drake’s lie toward the sea,” proponents of a DrakePlate of Brasse may still be hidden along the Marin scenario pointed to their one piece shores of that “faire and good Baye.” ✹ of hard evidence that Drake furloughed in Share your Francis Drake theories with Jason at jwalsh@pacificsun.com. the 6th congressional district—the fabled Plate of Brasse.

Blast into Marin’s past with more According to a 16th-century historian, Behind the Sun at ›› pacificsun.com before setting off from Nova Albion, the

›› TRiViA CAFÉ

HERO

›› BEHiND THE SUN

to tell us about a couple of weekends ago when Rebecca B., a wellloved and respected dog trainer and sitter, was training a few animals near the harbor in Sausalito.

While there, Rebecca spied a wallet, cell phone and glasses abandoned on the trunk of a parked car. After looking inside the wallet for a name, she left a note on the windshield and then spent the next hour or so searching for the owner. When she finally found him on his houseboat and gave him his belongings, he gave her a curt “thank you” and said goodbye. There was $1,800 in cash in the wallet, and while she had no expectation of a reward, our MV reader thinks it was deserved—or, at least, a slightly warmer thanks.—Samantha Campos

Got a Hero or a Zero? Please send submissions to scampos@pacificsun.com.

Toss roses, hurl stones with more Heroes and Zeros at ›› pacificsun.com NOVEMBER 20 - NOVEMBER 26, 2009 PACIFIC SUN 9

›› UPFRONT < 8 Sustainability we can afford to promote diverse communities that include all income levels and backgrounds.

Growth in the higher-paying financial and professional services sectors will account for only one of three news jobs, according to ABAG. That means more people needing affordable housing.

There’s a big irony in those numbers, and in the effects of the current economic downturn, says Murtagh. Just as the benefits of state bond measures aimed at stimulating the production of affordable housing are ending, the opportunities for locating property on which to build affordable units is exploding. “We have more land available than we have ever had. There are sites coming up like mushrooms after a spring rain. The prices for land are better than they have been for a long time.” But the money to build has dried up like a summer drought. “We’re finding this all over the Bay Area. People are calling us about sites they have worked on titling for five or six years, and they’re giving them away for the land value. And here we are with dwindling resources.”

That problem has a wide effect, and not just on those who seek affordable housing. According to a county housing study, 81 percent of employees working in Corte Madera travel to work from outside the city limits. Although Corte Madera is on the high side of the percentage of commuters from

outside the town, other Marin communities experience the same phenomenon—and the excessive traffic that it causes. Encouraging the creation of workforce housing has been a long-sought goal of affordable housing proponents, and as Peters at MCF notes, it’s also a great benefit in the sustainability arena.

And on top of it all, workforce housing creates livable communities within communities, say advocates.

But the flow of state money from two major bond measures aimed at promoting affordable housing (Proposition 41 and Proposition 1c) is ending. Affordable housing did get some of the federal stimulus money, notes Murtagh, and she hopes more funds will flow. “I hope they understand—I think they get it—that even though marketrate developers can’t fill units, we can. There are a lot of carpenters and engineers and architects that can be put to work. We could be putting up lumber.”

Talk of affordable housing is usually connected to public subsidies. But there’s another model that does not rely on public money. And the poster child for that model is based in Novato.

Rob Hart is a fifth-generation Marinite who has received substantial recognition for his innovative approach to affordable housing. His company, HartMarin, built the first low-income affordable housing project in Marin without tapping any public subsidies. The Virginia Grove residential community consists of four

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1,134-square-foot single-family homes on a .65-acre parcel at 1845 Virginia Ave. in Novato. The idea, says Hart, was to follow a company goal that calls for creating homes that can sell for half the market rate or less.

That allows families who earn too much to qualify for public subsidies to have a chance at home ownership. HartMarin built four other homes as part of the project, priced at about 80 percent of the Novato market.

The ability to qualify for a density bonus was a big impetus behind the project, says Hart. That’s a planning arrangement under which a developer is allowed leeway in exchange for building affordable units.

Hart says that without the density bonus, HartMarin would have been unable to build the project, which received a $3.7 million loan from Tamalpais Bank. It was a prime example of the business community combining forces with a developer who advocates for affordable housing and green building goals.

The adherence to those goals is clear right on the HartMarin credo, which states the company strives “to improve the social condition and protect the environment with projects that make financial sense.” HartMarin can create housing at affordable prices because Hart has wide-ranging experience in many phases of construction and planning, enabling the company to look at a proposed project in a holistic manner. The intent was to create affordable units within a for-profit market context. It worked.

HartMarin is also working to build an invitation-only museum of classic Formula One cars and speed boats for Vijay Mallya, the billionaire who owns the Marinscope Community Newspapers. The building at 300 Locust St. in Sausalito is designed to be reminiscent of a wave and incorporates a drainage system on the roof that channels water, which spills off the roof in a playful water feature. “We had a client that came to us and said he wanted to build a warehouse on a piece of property. We said his piece of property happens to be one of the most prominent undeveloped corners in the town of Sausalito. We can’t do just a square building with a flat roof. The owner is a creative person, and we got him to agree to do a building with a roof in the shape of a wave that floats on a clerestory of glass.” Most of the building is only 11 feet tall, “and it swoops up to the water to about 22 feet.” The design results in reduced visual impact from the Bridgeway viewpoint, says Hart. The creative design has met with a good response.

Some critics, however, say the property isn’t right for a museum. They would rather see a public use on the property.

But, as Hart says, it’s the owner’s property, and a museum is an allowed use. “The general plan calls for creative and innovative designs in this part of Sausalito.” The building meets the criteria, he notes, and it also passes muster in the zoning department.

When HartMarin tackles a project like Virginia Grove, the company can create from

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scratch, ďŹ rst by ďŹ nding a property on which it can get ďŹ nancing, is near schools, transportation, shopping, etc. The company then can proceed to produce the project with all of the attention to green building elements it desires. And the project, from concept to completion, can meet the companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s social ethic. Virginia Grove has been lauded for its contribution to workforce housing and has received recognition and awards from the Marin Economic Commission, ABAG and the state Senate.

For the Sausalito museum project, HartMarin worked to create an exciting designâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;and include a park element to add a community beneďŹ t. HartMarin isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t averse to declining a project if it seems to be of little or no community beneďŹ t. In other words: Yes, Virginia, it is possible for a developer to be the good guy.

HartMarin is working on a project at the nonproďŹ t Spirit Rock Meditation Center in Woodacre as well. A master plan for the project includes affordable housing in a village to house staff members. The carbonneutral village will feature, among other environmental attractions, a solar farm and electric vehicles. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We hope this can become a model for other employers [proďŹ t and nonproďŹ t] that have a large [potential] local employee base and have a hard time recruiting employees because of high housing costs.â&#x20AC;? Thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s another community beneďŹ t to the Spirit Rock project, notes Hart: The place is practically a factory for producing

forward-thinking environmentalists.

Among HartMarinâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s other projects are plans for the San Francisco Theological Seminary in San Anselmo. Those plans could yield a beneďŹ t for the seminary and for the town if an idea to create affordable housing on seminary property comes to fruition. The seminary would beneďŹ t with a ďŹ nancial infusion, and the town could yield some badly needed affordable units to meet state mandates.

Whether the model Hart espouses will spread remains an open question. Whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not up for debate is the crushing need for affordable housing in Marin, especially rental housing.

In September 2008, the Marin Housing Authority opened its application process for federal Section 8 rental housing subsidies. At the end of two weeks, about 11,000 people had applied, according to Kimberly Carroll of the Housing Authority. That was a dramatic increase from the approximately 4,000 applicants the last time the list was opened, in 2002. It took seven years to work through that list of applicants. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s worse now. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t be opened again for quite some time,â&#x20AC;? says Carroll. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We arenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t getting any new [federal Section 8] vouchers. The only way we can accommodate new people is through attrition.â&#x20AC;? â&#x153;š

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NOVEMBER 20 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; NOVEMBER 26, 2009 PACIFIC SUN 11

ROBERT VENTE

›› FEATURE

The theater has been hampered, says Lucy Mercer, by its lack of visibility as a nonprofit.

THROCK and AWE The comics and the crowds turn out to support the struggling 142 Throckmorton S a m a n t h a

C a m p o s

ROBERT VENTE

by

I

t was a cold, damp Tuesday night and the boutique-lined streets of downtown Mill Valley were virtually deserted.

And yet, on Nov. 17, inside the historic 142 Throckmorton Theatre, devoted droves filled the 300 seats to pay their respects to an entertainment icon, a comedic legend of stage and screen, a master of the arts...

“But unfortunately, Robin Williams is on tour and sends his regards,” smirked emcee Johnny Steele. “And hopefully [he sends] a large check!”

The need for a “large check” was a reference the 142 Throck crowd knew all too well, as the nonprofit’s financial woes had made headlines locally earlier in the month. But this particular event wasn’t about feeling the burns of the economy, it was a rollicking “roast” to Mill Valley comedian Mark Pitta—and a celebration of the hugely popular Tuesday “Mark Pitta & Friends” comedy night he’s hosted for the past five years. As Pitta perched demurely (sort of) in a stage-side balcony, a dozen of his “friends”—well-known comics from the Bay Area and beyond, including Steele, Will Durst, Doug Ferrari, Michael Meehan, Larry “Bubbles” Brown, Geoff Bolt and others—exchanged guffaw-inducing barbs about Pitta’s much-younger girlfriend, his prominent proboscis (and subsequent cosmetic surgery), his oft-used Al Pacino impression, his violent act against a car with a baseball bat (and subsequent arrest), his 1982 Star Search appearance, et al.

But it was clear that the biggest star of the evening was the theater itself.

Word is that the 142 Throckmorton Theatre is in the throes of economic anxiety, although its financial bind may be more of a case of mistaken identity—or rather, its slightly under-

12 PACIFIC SUN NOVEMBER 20 – NOVEMBER 26, 2009

Comic luminary Mort Sahl has become a semi regular at 142 Throckmorton since moving to Mill Valley.

the-radar nonprofit status. Originally called the Hub Theater, it opened in 1915 as a vaudeville stage and silent-movie house before changing hands to become the Odd Fellows Lodge in the 1950s. By the mid-’70s the venue was rented out for special movie nights—the genesis of the Mill Valley Film Festival— and when the Sequoia’s Twin Cinema opened in’75, the doors at 142 Throckmorton closed.

It remained shuttered until Mill Valley entrepreneur Lucy Mercer purchased the theater, taking a few years to restore and rebuild the dilapidated building, and reopening it as a “community gathering space” in 2003, with a lushly painted rococo interior, care of local set designer Steve Coleman. Mercer was intent, she says, on representing “the heart” of the community

as a diverse range of ages, ethnicities and artistic sensibilities.

She began offering an eclectic array of events, including teen cabaret, classical music led by primary players from nearby San Francisco Opera and Symphony, concerts by Hamsa al Din and Sammy Hagar and the infamous “Robin shows”— where Robin Williams came to perform new material before his big tour. “From there it seemed like there was more and more desire, the more that we did,” says Mercer.

About two years ago the theater received nonprofit status and Mercer formed a board of directors. But nobody seemed to notice the transition—a transition that comes with an inherent need for private-donation funding.

In hindsight, says Mercer, because people perceived the theater as a successful private enterprise, fundraising as a nonprofit became particularly challenging.

“What we were not successful at doing was letting the public know that we needed community support for these kinds of programs,” she recently told the Sun. “But I think that if there’s value for what we’re doing, the community could rise to the occasion—if they knew about it.”

142 Throckmorton is currently trying to raise $500,000 to see it through the next year, though Mercer doesn’t want that to be perceived as a do-or-die ultimatum for the theater.

“Everybody here is very committed to working and figuring it out and we’re putting into place a development plan so that we can move forward comprehensively,” Mercer says. “We want to address things so that it is a long-term solution.” The Nov. 17 Comedy Roast was the first in a series of fundraisers for the venue—a cause that was not lost on any of the comics.

“We’ve gotta keep this theater open—it’s beautiful,” enthused Bay Area comedy veteran Doug Ferrari during the roast. “Lucy said that Charlie Chaplin performed here! And,

ROBERT VENTE

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ROBERT VENTE

The Throckmorton opened in 1915 as a vaudeville and silent-movie venue; legend has it Charlie Chaplin performed there.

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months before that. Last year the California Film Institute moved its base of operations to downtown San Rafael, and we at the Pacific Sun did the same in 2005. But while the Throck nonprofit is struggling to broaden its donor base, judging by the reaction of the crowd at its first benefit, the loss of the historic theater would be no laughing matter.

And it’s obviously not something Pitta wants to happen anytime soon.

“If it closed I would be forced to work cruise ships,” Pitta quips. “Which technically means you’re out of show business.” ✹ Roast Samantha at scampos@pacificsun.com

Comment on this story in TownSquare, at ›› pacificsun.com

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ROBERT VENTE

you know, I feel his presence when Mark Pitta is on stage—because it’s absolutely silent.”

Badda boom.

Pitta first performed at the theater for a breast cancer benefit in 2003, three months after he lost an illustrious Mornings on 2 hosting gig. “It saved my creative life,” he says about the Throck. “Having a place to perform every Tuesday has been one of the biggest joys of my life and satisfying knowing that we’ve given comedians from all over a chance to develop over the years.”

Two comics have appeared on Late Night with David Letterman as a result of showcases at the Throck, and one weekend Pitta says they raised $5,500 for a fellow comedian who needed a kidney transplant.

“One of the nice things about the [comedy] night is that it’s created a community amongst comedians,” says Mercer. “I think that that’s a really valuable thing because as performance has become more financially driven, performers become more of a commodity. And while you may get paid, there’s other aspects to just performance— whether or not you’re fed or can hang out for a moment or be encouraged in your art or anything like that, so I think that’s a really valuable aspect of what I like to feel we offer.”

It’s no secret that Mill Valley has recently suffered major blows to its arts community.

The venerable rock institution Sweetwater Saloon turned out the lights in late 2007 and famed Village Music closed its doors a few

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H O L I DAY

SEASON

NOVEMBER 20 – NOVEMBER 26, 2009 PACIFIC SUN 13

H❉ LIDAYS i N tHe SUn Celestial Voices and les etoiles ‘fa-la-la’ at the Dolly and Me Tea at St. Hilary’s.

The figgy pudding express The caroling opportunities you’ve been waiting for...

Young Performers International A children’s performing arts nonprofit based in Belvedere that has a chorus and seven jazz/rock bands. They perform all over the Bay Area during the holiday season, starting Nov. 29 at San Francisco’s First Unitarian Universalist Church in San Francisco, featuring the San Francisco premiere of Christopher Tin’s“Baba Yetu”—the Lord’s Prayer in Swahili from the Young Performers International will have their singing shoes on Dec. 4 video game Civilization IV (www. at the Storybook Holiday Festival in Tiburon. christophertin.com). Then on Dec. 4, they’ll be “strolling carolers” at Tiburon’s “A Storybook Holiday Festival,” singing music from around the world, including “Carol of the Bells” from Bulgaria, “Hannukah Shalom” from Israel, “Allah Rasul” from the Middle East, along with other traditional English Christmas carols (http://tiburonchamber.wildapricot.org/holiday-festival). For info on YPI’s other seasonal concerts, visit www.youngperformersintl.org or call executive director Leela Pratt at 415/420-2960.

Deck the halls with boughs of holly Fa la la la la la la la la ’Tis the season to be jolly Fa la la la la la la la la Fill the mead cup, drain the barrel Troll the ancient Yuletide carol Fa la la la la la la la la —19th-century American adaptation from a 16th-century Welsh tune

T

hanksgiving is but a week away and yet, it seems that Christmas is already here. Despite the past year’s sagging economy, this season’s prematurely crowded mall parking lots offer a glimpse of recuperative consumer optimism as shoppers begin their hasty procurement of gifts amid red-green-and-gold tinseled department store aisles prominently packed with easily wrapped scarves and sweaters and iPhone accoutrements, all to the familiar piped-in digital soundtrack of a heavily synthesized “Do You Hear What I Hear?” and “Jingle Bell Rock.”

Ugh, is it New Year’s yet?

But not every facet of our modern, publicly displayed, flashing-lights and glitter-filled holiday celebration is geared toward exhausting, cynic-making commercialism. Take caroling, for instance—you know, when a small group of rosy-cheeked neighbors greets you at the door with a raucous rendition of “Silent Night.” Or, as is more often the case these days, a local church group or performing arts nonprofit performs popular holiday hymns at various community events, retirement homes and seasonal concerts.

Ah, yes, it sure is nice that there are still some customs to evoke the communal spirit and warmth of the season, without the dollar signs. Some experts even believe that singing together releases oxytocin, a hormone important to social bonding and goodwill.

14 PACIFIC SUN NOVEMBER 20 - NOVEMBER 26, 2009

Except that, well...the much-disputed origins of caroling did have some rather blatant monetary motives and feudal improprieties.

While some historians assert the genesis of carols dates as far back as the fourth century, others claim that their association with Christmas didn’t occur until the 13th century.

But somewhere, early on, carols were actually festive pagan dances that involved much “merriment” (i.e. drinking, carousing)— activities the church, at that time, prohibited.

During the Middle Ages, door-to-door “wassailing” became common practice, in which Anglo-Saxon peasants would sing good tidings in exchange for food and drink from their feudal lords—in early New England it was a practice that was also associated with rowdy revelers who would harass and terrorize their upper-class neighbors if refused the ale and “figgy pudding” they requested.

By the time the Protestant Reformation took over Europe (along with Oliver Cromwell’s very Scrooge-like ban of Christmas), Roman Catholic-influenced carols all but vanished.

Then the Victorian era brought a revival of carol singing and extended their acceptance in church by 1880—albeit without the traditional wassailing carols of yore.

By now the notion of door-to-door caroling has diminished substantially. According to a National Christmas Tree Association survey in 1996, only 22 percent of those polled said they planned to go caroling; by 2005, that number was down to a paltry 6 percent. Of course, that’s not too surprising: Our population has increased, along with crime; families are working longer hours; in-person socializing has been replaced by online social media; and most neighbors simply don’t know each other anymore.

But if any place could appreciate nostalgia and oxytocin-releasing entertainment in exchange for a hot, spiced beverage and a smile, wouldn’t it be Marin? ❉

Caroling Kids The entry level chorus of Mill Valley-based nonprofit choral association SingersMarin is offered each fall for kids aged 6-8. Since 1995, the troupe has been performing at county retirement homes and events, including San Rafael’s “Parade of Lights,” Mill Valley’s “Winterfest,” Corte Madera Town Center and The Village, as well as the main streets of Tiburon and Larkspur. This year, their major holiday concert, “’Tis the Season... Candles and Wishes,” will be held on Dec. 20 at Marin Center Veterans’ Memorial Auditorium in San Rafael.

For more info, visit online at www.singersmarin.org.

❉

The Merrie Olde Christmas Carolers The world’s largest caroling organization—according to its Web site—featuring singers from local and regional opera and theater companies, costumed in Dickensian attire and accompanied by sleigh bells, cymbals and tambourine. Their first public gig of the season is Nov. 20 at Embarcadero Center in San Francisco, followed by Montgomery Village in Santa Rosa on Nov. 29 and Varenna in Santa Rosa on Dec. 3. For more info, visit www.tmocc.com or call Bay Area manager, Ellen Shea, at 650/868-3773.

Cable Car Caroling The 23rd annual fundraising event for the Institute on Aging takes place Dec. 6 from noon to 5:30pm in San Francisco. Past events included 300 carolers touring the city on motorized cable cars, singing for seniors in senior homes and private residences, culminating with a dinner, live entertainment, silent auction and prize raffle at the Presidio Officers Club. All proceeds support the Institute on Aging program, Center for Elderly Suicide Prevention and Grief Related Services. For more info, visit www.cablecarcaroling.org, call Marie Bautista at 415/750-4180 or e-mail mbautista@ioaging.org. ❉

Oh, carol!

❉

A look at some of the original wassailed favorites

“The Twelve Days of Christmas” This perennial favorite/least favorite was inspired by a memory game sung by children in 18th-century England, according to one theory. Another theory holds that it was a catechism song for Catholics without openly practicing their faith in an Anglican society (1558-1829).

“Silent Night” ”Stille Nacht”was composed in 1818 by Austrian priest Joseph Mohr and his friend Franz Gruber in the Bavarian town of Oberndorf on Christmas Eve in time for midnight mass— despite the fact that the church organ was broken.The show must go on.

“Jingle Bells” Copyrighted by James Pierpont in 1857, this ubiquitous Christmas-time carol was actually written for a Thanksgiving church service.

“O Tannenbaum” Of early 19th-century Germany origins, featuring a much-mimicked melody for state anthems (i.e., Iowa, Maryland, Michigan and New Jersey).

“Joy to the World” This standard also wasn’t composed for Christmas, but for church service, with lyrics that originated in the Old Testament as published in Isaac Watt’s 1719 translation of the Psalms of David. Nineteenth-century American composer Lowell Mason crafted the melody. ❉

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H❉ LIDAYS i N tHe SUn

#6

1. This is a depiction of... a. Production still from shelved“Lord of the Rings: Christmas in Mordar” TV special b. Prop guy for“A Charlie Brown Christmas” c. Dude on cover of Zeppelin IV d. Pagan Germanic god Odin who historians site as the primary inspiration for Santa Claus

#1

#2

2. In 2008, this conservative pundit declared himself an enemy combatant in the war on... a. Pomposity b. Journalistic integrity c. Out-of-court-settled conservative pundit sex scandals d. Christmas

3.Which of the following did NOT influence Charles Dickens’“A Christmas Carol”? a. The author’s own father spent three months in debtors’prison in 1824 b. The“Second Report of the Children’s Employment Commission”from 1843, which exposed effects of the Industrial Revolution upon children c. George Eliot’s classic 19th century novel,“Silas Marner:The Weaver of Raveloe,”about a miser who learns to love d. The description of long-lost English Christmas traditions from Washington Irving’s 1822 novel “Bracebridge Hall”

#3 4. Which of the following is true about dreidel, the popular spinningtop Hanukkah game beloved by children? #4 a. All of the below b. Early indoctrination into the seedy world of gambling c. In the age of X-Box,“spinning top”games aren’t as“beloved”by children as they used to be d. Made of clay; when dry and ready with dreidel you will play e. Hebrew letters on side of top form an acronym for“a great miracle happened there”

16 PACIFIC SUN NOVEMBER 20 - NOVEMBER 26, 2009

5. The 1988 TV special“A Very Brady #5 Christmas”sparked a resurgence of Bradymania.Which two of these very un-Brady-like plotlines did NOT occur in the holiday show? a. Alice’s husband, Sam the butcher, breaks seventh commandment, commits adultery b. Bobby crashes his racecar, is paralyzed from waist down c. Family holds death vigil, as Mike battles suffocation under construction-site rubble d. Boys are kidnapped, bound and gagged by Ivy League-accented Hawaiian-cave dweller

6. Which of the following is true about the 1978 CBS“Star Wars Holiday Special”... a. Greedo flirts with Bea Arthur in the Mos Eisley bar b. Introduces Chewie’s family members Itchy and Lumpy c. Carrie Fisher sings a song called“Happy Life Day”to the tune of John Williams’“Theme from Star Wars” d. Imperial officer grooves to Jefferson Starship video at Art Carney’s house e. None of the above could possibly be true in any sane and just universe f. All of the above

#7

7. Not having learned its lesson from the disastrous holiday special, the“Star Wars”crew released the yuletide album“Christmas in the Stars”in 1980.

What other mind-blowing facts are true? a. The strangely intriguing single,“What Can You Get a Wookiee for Christmas (When He Already Owns a Comb?”) reached No. 69 on the Billboard singles charts. b. Jon Bon Jovi provides lead vocals on the classic,“R2D2 We Wish You a Merry Christmas” c. Majority of album sung by C-3P0 and R2D2, highlighted by cameo of Chewbacca who, in a frenzy of excitement, proceeds to tickle the droids d. RSO records went out of business shortly after releasing the album. e. None of the above could possibly be true in any sane and just universe f. All of the above

8. Cabbage Patch Kids were a must-have Christmas toy throughout the 1980s.Why did this 1996“Snacktime”version put an end to holiday Patchmania? a. “Adoptees”finally went off in search of“real parents.” b. Lavender McDade indicted for child endangerment by Mount Yonah grand jury, Cabbage Patch kindertransport program no longer needed c. Rabid-chewing malfunction rendered“snacktime”a fingerbiting phantasmagoria for nearly 40 children d. Acne-riddled, socially awkward Snacktime Tween doll targeted at Gen Y pretty much killed the whole franchise

#9 10. In this scene from“A Charlie Brown Christmas,”Linus is... a. Describing the birth of Jesus, according to the Book of Luke, 2:8-14 b. Filibustering to kill the Senate health care bill c. Performing a moving rendition of“Adelweiss” as a stall tactic to distract the Nazis while the Von Trapp family escapes the theater d. Blabbering on about the Great Pumpkin again

#8

9. This seasonal celluloid favorite is famous for being... what? a. A thoughtful study of how severe depression can lead to suicide b. Critically panned upon release in 1946 for being overly sentimental c. All of the above and all of the below d. The origins of the Sesame Street characters Bert and Ernie e. Largely forgotten until 1974 when a clerical error prevented renewal of its copyright; once in the public domain,TV stations could air it repeatedly for virtually nothing. ❉

#10

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Bon Air Center

Bon Air Center It’s all here for the holidays…

Dance Palace Holiday Crafts Fair Shop till you drop from 40 craft booths. Dec. 4, 3 to 9pm; Dec. 5 and 6, 10am to 9pm. Dance Palace, Fifth and B streets, Point Reyes Station.

415/663-1075.

Marin Symphony Chamber Chorus Concerts by Candlelight, Dec. 5, 7:30pm; Dec. 6, 4pm. Church of St. Raphael, 104 Fifth Ave., San Rafael. $30 to $35. 415/479-8100.

Stapleton Nutcracker Stapleton Ballet presents the ballet classic Dec. 5 and 6 at 1 and 5pm. Marin Center, Avenue of the Flags, San Rafael. $18 to $30. 415/454-5759.

Pirouette into the holidays with the Stapleton Ballet.

Holiday Boutique An upscale boutique with high-end local artisanry presented by the American Legion Ladies Auxiliary. Nov. 21, 10am to 5pm. Twin Cities Post 313, 500 Magnolia Ave., Larkspur. 415/924-6283.

San Rafael’s Parade of Lights and Winter Wonderland The post-Thanksgiving event returns for a 30th year, featuring friendly merchants, snow sledding and a visit from the Bearded One. Nov. 27, sledding at noon; parade at 5:30pm. Fourth St. between A and Lootens. 800/310-6563.

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The Sound of Music 142 Throckmorton Theatre’s Marin Youth Performers present one of the most popular musicals of all time, based on the true story of the Trapp Family Singers. 7:30-9:30pm. $12 to $16 ($16 to $20 day of show).

Call 415/383-9600 or e-mail boxoffice@ 142ThrockmortonTheatre.org or visit http://142throckmorton.inticketing.com/ events. 142 Throckmorton Ave., Mill Valley.

Gingerbread Architectural Extravaganza Don’t miss this tasty gingerbread event.

Saturdays and Sundays, Nov. 28 to Dec. 20.

11am, noon, 1pm. Bay Area Discovery Museum, Fort Baker. 415/339-3900 or www.badm.org.

Christmas Jug Band Holiday hijinks with “Four Elves Named Moe” Nov. 29 at Station House Café, 11180 Highway One, Point Reyes Station. 415/663-1515. Full Jug Band performs at 142 Throckmorton in Mill Valley on Dec. 13 at 6pm (415/383-6900); and at Masonic Center, 19 Corte Madera Ave. in Mill Valley on Dec. 21 at 8:30pm. 415/388-2550.

Muir Beach Quilters You’ll be on needles and pins at this crafters’ favorite. Dec. 5 and 6, 11am to 5pm. Muir Beach Community Center, 19 Seascape Drive. 415/383-6762.

Holiday Gravy Wavy Gravy raises funds for SEVA with the David Nelson Band, Moonalice, the Rowan Brothers and more. Dec. 12, 7pm. $50 to $100. 142 Throckmorton, Mill Valley. 510/845-7382, ext. 332.

Marin Ballet Nutcracker Tchaikovsky’s beloved story of a girl, a toy and a Mouse King.

Followed by Candy Cane Party. Dec. 12 and 13, 1 and 5pm. Marin Center, Avenue of the Flags, San Rafael. $23 to $35. 415/499-6800.

Sophie and the Enchanted Toyshop Marin Dance Theatre presents this ballet about a toymaker who takes a girl on the journey of her life. Dec. 19, 1 and 5pm. Teddy Bear Tea follows matinee, $10. Marin Center, Avenue of the Flags, San Rafael. $23 to $33.

415/499-6800.

Tapcracker Jazzy hip-hop take on the Tchaikovsky ballet. Dec. 19, 2 and 5:30pm. Marin Center Showcase Theatre, Avenue of the Flags, San Rafael. $12 to $20. 415/499-6800.

SingersMarin The youth and adult ensembles ring in the season Dec. 20, 4pm. Marin Center, Avenue of the Flags, San Rafael. $20 to $30. 415/499-6800.

Hot Club Cool Yule Hot Club of San Francisco asks “What Would Django Do?” Dec. 23, 8pm. 142 Throckmorton, Mill Valley.

415/383-9600. ❉ For more events throughout the holidays, check our online calendar at ›› pacificsun.com NOVEMBER 20 – NOVEMBER 26, 2009 PACIFIC SUN 19

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Please note that times and dates often change for listed Open Homes. Call the phone number shown on the properties you wish to visit to check for changes prior to visiting the home.

BELVEDERE

NOVATO

KENTFIELD

4 BEDROOMS

8 Windward Sun 1-4 McGuire Real Estate

$2,475,000 383-8500

$1,239,000 383-9393

17 Marin View/MOBILE Sun 2-4 Marin Realty Group

17 Treetop $4,750,000 Sun 2-4 Pacific Union International 380-6100

51 Martinez Sun 1-4 Alain Pinel Realtors

MILL VALLEY

ROSS

14 Laurel Sun 2-4

First Marin Realty, Inc

3 BEDROOMS

6 Baja Sun 2-4 Alain Pinel Realtors 14 Arrowhead Sun 2-4 McGuire Real Estate

$798,000 755-1111 $1,150,000 383-8500

517 Tamalpais Sun 1-4 Frank Howard Allen 61 Bayview Sun 1-4 McGuire Real Estate 50 Eucalyptus Knoll Sun 1-4 Frank Howard Allen

5124 Paradise Sun 2-4 Frank Howard Allen

$1,895,000 461-3000

FAIRFAX 317 Scenic Sun 1-4

$725,000 461-3000 $839,000 383-8500 $675,000 461-3000

3 BEDROOMS

2 BEDROOMS

259 Corte Madera Sun 2-4 McGuire Real Estate 202 California Sun 1-4 Frank Howard Allen 127 Lomita Sun 2-4 Frank Howard Allen

$499,000 461-2020

Coldwell Banker 3 BEDROOMS

137 Tamalpais Sun 1-4 Coldwell Banker

$680,000 461-2020

$999,000 927-1492 $699,000 456-3000 $949,000 461-3000

4 BEDROOMS

GREENBRAE

324 Deertrail $1,045,000 Sun 2-4 Pacific Union International 380-6100 707 Forrest $1,850,000 Sun 2-4 First Marin Realty, Inc 383-9393 174 Morning Sun $1,295,000 Sun 1-3 McGuire Real Estate 383-8500

3 BEDROOMS

55 Corte Real Sun 2-4 Frank Howard Allen

$739,000 456-3000

4 BEDROOMS

284 N. ALMENAR Sun 2-4 Coldwell Banker

$1,257,000 461-3220

$528,000 755-1111

5 BEDROOMS

512 Hillside $2,350,000 Sun 2-4 Pacific Union International 380-6100

76 Peacock Sun 1-4 McGuire Real Estate 141 Convent Sun 2-4 Frank Howard Allen 176 Baypoint Sun 1-4 Frank Howard Allen

$1,965,000 383-8500 $949,000 456-3000 $839,000 461-3000

5 BEDROOMS

1 Culloden Park Sun 1-4 First Marin Realty, Inc

4 BEDROOMS

2 BEDROOMS

4 BEDROOMS

$179,000 927-4443

3 BEDROOMS

6 BEDROOMS

CORTE MADERA

4 BEDROOMS

2 BEDROOMS

4 BEDROOMS

60 Baywood Sun 2-4 McGuire Real Estate

$1,845,000 383-8500

5 BEDROOMS

20 Upper Road W Sun 2-4 McGuire Real Estate

$3,295,000 435-0848

2 BEDROOMS

$759,000 381-1500

RE/MAX 3 BEDROOMS

30 Tamalpais Sun 2-4 Frank Howard Allen

$1,450,000 461-3000

4 BEDROOMS

123 Saunders Sun 1-4 Coldwell Banker

$1,699,000 461-2020

1 BEDROOM

315 Richardson Sun 1-4 McGuire Real Estate

$649,000 383-8500

271 Santa Rosa Sun 1-4 McGuire Real Estate 25 Santa Rosa Sun 1-4 McGuire Real Estate 100 Harrison Sun 2-4 McGuire Real Estate 70 Monte Mar Sun 1-4 McGuire Real Estate

$1,175,000 383-8500 $2,674,000 927-1492 $2,689,000 927-1492 $2,000,000 383-8500

TIBURON 3 BEDROOMS

SAN RAFAEL

18 Janet Sun 2-4

2 BEDROOMS

122 Tiburon Sun 1-4

SAUSALITO 3 BEDROOMS

SAN ANSELMO 576 Scenic Sun 12-3

$2,195,000 383-9393

$410,000 258-1500

RE/MAX 3 BEDROOMS

222 Arias Sun 2-4 Frank Howard Allen 128 Dowitcher Sun 1-4 Frank Howard Allen - Greenbrae

$649,000 456-3000 $620,000 461-3000

$649,000 435-0848

McGuire Real Estate 4 BEDROOMS

45 Hacienda Sun 2-4 Frank Howard Allen

$2,275,000 461-3000

6 BEDROOMS

7 Seafirth Sun 1-4

›› HOME SALES

$3,995,000 381-1500

RE/MAX

DOM* = Days on Market

Recent sales in Marin County include:

Address LAGUNITAS

85 ARROYO

MILL VALLEY 724 ALTA VISTA 429 GREEN GLEN 211 MARGUERITE 740 PANORAMIC 284 BLITHEDALE

SAN ANSELMO 4 MYRTLE 15 KEMP 510 REDWOOD

Br/Ba

DOM* List/Sell% Address

Asking $

Selling $

2/2

$944,000

$662,500

409

70.2%

3/2 3/2 3/3 3/2 5/5

$899,000 $848,000 $899,000 $899,000 $1,049,000

$870,000 $848,000 $842,500 $825,000 $825,000

45 48 212 116 262

96.8% 100.0% 93.7% 91.8% 78.6%

3/2 2/1 2/1

$975,000 $830,000 $725,000

$915,000 $741,000 $720,000

75 277 17

93.8% 89.3% 99.3%

825 SAN ANSELMO 379 OAK 51 ROSEMONT

SAN GERONIMO 6359 SFD

SAUSALITO 8 CHANNING 29 GLEN 200 EDEN ROC 610 NEVADA 67 LINCOLN 103 LINCOLN

Br/Ba

Asking $

Selling $

DOM* List/Sell%

3/2 3/3 3/2

$729,000 $1,350,000 $579,000

$675,000 $675,000 $565,000

42 175 35

92.6% 50.0% 97.6%

3/2

$895,000

$535,000

487

59.8%

3/3 4/2 3/2 3/2 3/3 3/3

$2,850,000 $1,200,000 $1,095,000 $895,000 $775,000 $799,000

$2,650,000 $1,000,000 $900,000 $780,000 $725,000 $710,000

93 146 37 165 159 184

93.0% 83.3% 82.2% 87.2% 93.5% 88.9%

›› pacificsun.com 20 PACIFIC SUN NOVEMBER 20 – NOVEMBER 26, 2009