Constructing Solutions
Green building advocates talk trash
Cover Story
Constructing Solutions
Making a building is a loud undertaking. Drills whine and hammers strike up an odd beat, quickening at the end of each sequence to drive the nails flush. Compressors kick, their motors changing pitch. The low light of a gray day is just enough to illuminate the dust. Finishing time at the emerging store -…
Two Artisan Cheesemakers
Talking with Craig Nelson, plant manager for Rogue Creamery, one of the most successful "artisan" cheesemakers in the country, I asked why French cheeses are so much more varied and flavorful than American ones. "The FDA has much higher standards for pathogens," he told me, "and many companies have even less tolerance than the FDA…
Forever
The metaphor was unfortunate, even if it did declare itself a metaphor. The subhead in the Times-Standard preview of Wednesday night’s Winter Ruckus 4 promised "six exciting acts that plan to metaphorically burn the place down." Of course the hardcore hip hoppers, Tech N9ne, Potluck, LCA, Subnoize Souljaz and Blaze Ya Dead Homie do not…
From Houston to Port Louis
Well, no one can say they didn’t see it coming. The only question now is who gets screwed the hardest. Workers? Subcontractors? Bondholders? Taxpayers? We’ll still be debating the matter years from now, no doubt. But first, note one of the more curious aspects of the omnibus Pacific Lumberbankruptcy, which was finally announced, after years…
Loud Pavement
On a clear and breezy Friday around rush hour, Gerridina "Dinie" Lean was finishing the last of the day’s chores. The sun was beginning its descent behind the hills and a few more horses still needed to be fed. On Lean’s 42-acre Tompkins Hill ranch in Fortuna about a mile from Highway 101, the Ferndale…
White Pavement
Fhyre Phoenix awoke in the middle of the night, brain ablaze. He had an idea for saving the world! Again. But this time, he thought, the solution was one that ordinary citizens could enact with ease. There was just one minor, niggling obstacle. So let’s hark back to where it all began: in the letters…
NPA’s Youthful Dream Concludes, NCRT’s Midlife Fantasy Ahead
You can still catch The Dream Play at the Van Duzer – its run concludes with 8 p.m. performances on Wednesday (Jan. 24) and Thursday (Jan. 25). These Young Actors Guild shows from the Northcoast Preparatory and Performing Arts Academy are unique. They bring together young people devoted to an arts-based education with visionary theatrical…
Getting to Know You
Spring is the worst time to leave a garden, but that’s what I’m about to do. My publisher is sending me on a mad dash across the country from February through April, with just a few short stops at home to catch my breath and do my laundry. I’ll be on the road talking about…
Mad? Get creative!
The war in Iraq is out of control, the City of New Orleans gets swept away by a hurricane and our government bungles aid operations to the victims, the polar ice caps are melting and our food is being tampered with at the genetic level. What’s a person to do? Don’t get mad – get…
