sonoma county
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Move to Petaluma
The Miwok called it “P?ta L?uma.” The Spanish reduced it to “Petaluma.” I tried to get “Lumaville” to stick when “P-Town” seemed to be gaining ground, only to have the annual bumper crop of teens rechristen it “Deadaluma,” just like always. Now, if anecdotal reports prove true, a sizable influx of thirty- to forty-somethings from…
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Sonoma County: The State Of
Not to be outdone by the upcoming State of the Union and State of the State addresses, Sonoma County has its own State of the County address. Next Friday, Economic Development Board director Ben Stone and his team will talk shop about the economic bounty of the county at Rohnert Park’s DoubleTree Hotel (full disclosure:…
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How to Be a Wine Blogger (and get free wine)
A couple weeks ago, the annual Wine Blogger Conference wrapped its fifth year, presumably in a puddle of plonk and pixels. According to their official release, there was a “dip in attendance” from previous years, which organizers attributed to the conference’s location – Penticton, Okanagan Valley of the Southern Interior of British Columbia, Canada. Which…
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Look Homeward Angel
After two-and-a-half years of self-imposed exile in the East Bay, my family and I are repatriating to Sonoma County – specifically to my hometown of Petaluma. For me, the move marks an interesting chapter in my ongoing autobiographical opus, which I’ll likely lead with an epigram cribbed from Simon and Garfunkel: “Homeward bound, I wish…
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Sonoma County Lifestyle Ambassador
Name: Daedalus Howell Title: Lifestyle Ambassador Mission: Enlighten those outside Sonoma as to what’s Inside Sonoma, America’s premiere Wine, Spa and Coastal Destination. And occasionally wear a sash. Presented by the Sonoma County Tourism Bureau, media personality and wine country bon vivant Daedaluls Howell deconstructs the traditional travelogue as he tours viewers through his native…
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Rapture Right: How to get the Good kind of Bad PR
Publicists should take lessons from the Rapture Right. In lieu of the humdrum press release, branded tchotchkes or complimentary tickets, the purportedly hardcore, right-wing Christian duo simply threaten boycotts. Responses from the media run the gamut from “Huh” to bona fide alarm and even the occasional 700-word column in an alternative-news-weekly. The post-goth garbed Rapture…
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Arts ID on KRCB 91 FM
Welcome to ArtsID, a new radio magazine about North Bay arts made in? collaboration with KRCB, the North Bay Bohemian and the Arts Council of Sonoma County. Each show comes bundled in a shiny new theme ? this episode’s is “Identity.” Pieces include Petaluma sculptor Nick Van Kridjt, performance activists The Rapture Right, musician Danny…
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Beware of Fauxnoma
Defining the “Sonoma lifestyle” can be an elusive proposition, especially since its interpretation is often left to marketers and PR flaks who draw from warmed-over notions of Napa from under a setting Tuscan sun. This is something I’m called upon to do, both professionally and socially, with some regularity. The former I can usually accomplish…
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How to do Sonoma County on the Cheap
Here’s the latest in our continuing series for the Sonoma County Tourism Bureau, Inside Sonoma, Episode 9: Sonoma On the Cheap. Among other stops In this episode, your intrepid Lifestyle Ambassador rides the bus, says goodbye to California’s state parks and visits a taco truck.