# 530 - 28th September, 2016

    Greetings one and all. Are you are sitting comfortably? Then I shall begin…
    My close personal friend Steve Sparks has chimed in with his informed take on the latest Valley Restaurant upheavals… “It’s been a strange couple of weeks in terms of the recent restaurant developments, with many Valley folks swapping stories and tales on this topic at the various events and social gatherings that I have attended over that time. Of course this has been accompanied by the inevitable mis-informed gossip and plain untruths that tend to surface in these parts… As someone who dines and drinks at many of our local eateries on a regular basis, and who owned and operated a very busy San Francisco pub/restaurant for many years, I have been privy to several conversations with those in the know on this subject - folks who seem to regard me with some esteem on this topic… Here, briefly for now, is what is actually happening… Libby’s Restaurant in Philo will be closing for good in the next couple of months - undoubtedly a big loss to the Valley… Tom Towey, owner/operator of The Buckhorn, Boonville, has closed the doors on his popular pub/restaurant after five and a half years. He will not be re-opening. He hopes to sell his liquor license (the only one in the Valley) and the hight quality equipment, furniture, and fittings, to someone who will negotiate with himself and landlord Gary Island. It is hoped this might take place in the five six weeks or so. Within 24 hours of announcing to a tearful staff that he was leaving, two inquiries had been made by local people/businesses. A third was weighing up the situation also. It should be stressed that Tom is not walking away for financial reasons. It is a personal decision based on many factors… Meanwhile, Matt Barnes, co-owner of Stone and Embers, has stated that while business has been good, over the past few weeks several staff members have exited the business for one reason or another. Initially he and partner/chef Patrick Meany decided that the best course of action would be to take a break, rehire needed positions around mid-October, and open back up at the end of October. All that changed in one day following the closing of The Buckhorn and the sudden appearance on the labor market of a significant number of potential employees. Stone and Embers now plan to be back open this coming weekend (for as many shifts as they can), and then running at full capacity the weekend of October 7th. The hours will be the same: Fri-Mon, 11:30am - 8:30pm, and as of now they have no plans to make significant schedule changes for the winter… And finally at this time, Lauren’s Restaurant, celebrating their 21st year of business in town, will be keeping their successful Thursday thru’ Sunday lunch going throughout the fall and winter months, and may be possibly increasing their hours at other times. Keep up the good work, Lauren and Natalie!… Currently, I have no reports of any significant changes at the other Valley nighttime eateries - Aquarelle Wine Bar and Cafe, The Boonville Hotel, or The Bewildered Pig - but it’s early days… That’s all for now, but I have shall no doubt have more to report in the upcoming weeks about any further changes in the up and down, wild and wacky, world that is the Anderson Valley restaurant business…”

    Public Service Announcements (P.S.A.’s)… Calendars and pens at the ready… #543 - The Vets from the Mendocino Animal Hospital will return to the Valley twice this month - on Thursdays, October 6 and 20. They will be at the Anderson Valley Farm Supply on Highway 128, north of Philo from 2-3.30pm on each occasion. To avoid a line perhaps turn up at around 3pm - you will definitely be seen… #544 - The next Barn Sale will take place this coming weekend, Saturday/Sunday, October 1/2, from 9am-3pm at The Big Barn next to the St. Elizabeth Seton Catholic Church Refectory on A.V. Way just north of Boonville… #545 - The Mendocino Bookmobile returns to the Valley next Tuesday, October 4. They are here on alternate Tuesdays for 45 minutes at each of these places and times: Navarro Store 9am (for just 30 minutes before heading out to Comptche); the Floodgate 12.30pm; Philo 1.30pm; Boonville (Apple Hall) 2.30pm. Phone 463-4694 for further details… #546 - The A.V Museum is open every Saturday and Sunday, from 1pm-4pm. Situated in The Little Red Schoolhouse next to the Elementary School on A.V. Way, this is a perfect thing to do in the Valley when you have a couple of hours to spare on a weekend afternoon. It is not without reason that it is generally regarded as ‘The Best Little Museum in the West’…
    As a bonus P.S.A. here is the menu for the Community lunches over the next week in the Senior Center at the Veterans’ Building in Boonville. The Center asks for a $6 donation from seniors and charges $7 for Non-seniors… Tomorrow, Thursday, September 29, the lunch, served by Marti Titus and her crew at Noon, will be Meat Loaf and Mashed potatoes with Gravy, and  Strawberry-Blueberry Trifle for dessert… Then, next Tuesday, October 4, the lunch will feature Chicken Marsala with Blackberry Pie bars for dessert. And following this lunch there will be a Flu Shot Clinic from 1-3pm… All meals include vegetables, salad bar, and fruit, plus milk, coffee, tea, and lemonade. What a deal - it maybe the best value for money you’ll get all week!… Tai Chi is now available every Tuesday at 11am, while on Thursdays at 11am it is Kathy’s Easy-stretch Yoga class. Also on Thursdays, the Active Life Club runs from 10am to 2pm and features games, crafts, and music. The Senior Center/Community Bus goes to Ukiah on Monday's and also Santa Rosa on the first Wednesday of the month. These trips fill up fast so don't forget to sign up early at 489-1175… Hopefully you will be able to attend some of these events and certainly the lunches and dinners, and remember – ALL ages are welcome! Hope to see you there…

    Moving quickly on to a few of the topics and Valley events under discussion this week at The Three-Dot Lounge – yes it’s “Moans, Groans, Good Thoughts, and Rampant (yet surprisingly reliable) Rumors” from my favorite gathering place in the Valley, a somewhat secret location that sees people get together and share their thoughts about life in Anderson Valley…
    The 3-Dot was closed for emergency maintenance this week but this did not stop out intrepid reporter, The Old Buzzard, from offering these thoughts for his insightful series – ‘Signs that the Apocalypse is Approaching’… “As the UN Security Council prepares to meet again to discuss Syria, America is scrambling to salvage what little is left of its ill-conceived plan to stop the fighting. Violence resumed as soon as the truce ended on Monday night, and is expected to intensify as the Syrian government, backed by Russia and Iran, doubles down on its drive to crush rebel forces in Aleppo. The UN has suspended all aid to the country following an apparent air strike on one of its convoys; feeding the atmosphere of mistrust, Russia has claimed the lorries merely caught fire. With their faith in American policy at an all-time low, mainstream rebel forces are more likely than ever to merge with extremist groups such as Jabhat Fateh al-Sham, a former al-Qaeda offshoot. The prospects for Syria’s long-suffering people appear even grimmer than they did before the start of the ceasefire… It is a tragedy of epic proportions and nobody seems to even talk about it in everyday conversation, as if it is just another day ‘at the office of the world’ so to speak.And that is surely a sign, more than anything I have mentioned in recent times, that the Apocalypse is approaching…”

        Thank you, Buzzard - yes, a diabolical tragedy indeed… I’m outta here - I’ve got see a man about a sheep… Besides, that’s enough for now, so “please take me drunk, I’m home,” and until we talk again – Be careful out there; if you break a leg don’t come running to me; stay out of the ditches; be wary of strangers with more dogs than teeth; show love to your pets, they will be faithful and true to you to the last beat of their hearts, and please remember to keep your windows cracked if you leave them in your vehicle for any amount of time; think good thoughts; ‘Keep the Faith’; try to not let life get in the way of living; may your god go with you, and may your dog go with you too… Oh, and of course, one final request, “Let us prey”… Sometimes poking, often stroking, but almost always humbly yours, Turkey Vulture - saddened but ultimately comforted in the knowledge that the old hare has safely moved to his new burrow in the sky…
p.s. You can contact me with words of support/abuse either through the Letters Page or by e-mail at
p.p.s. Skylark – read any good books lately?… Hi, Silver Swan – behaving yourself? Hopefully not!… Everything cool with you, O.J.? Of course it is…