“Dad, is gold yellow or orange?”
That always-worthy question was posed as I walked past the open door to my daughter’s bedroom at 9:30 one recent night. It was clearly a last-ditch effort to postpone her sleep time a few precious moments longer. “Yellow,” I retorted. “Now go to sleep.”
Truth is, if I wasn’t about to log on for the last episode of “Succession,” I may have given pause to consider gold more seriously—it’s neither yellow nor orange, it’s kind of both. It’s all a matter of perspective. But, alas, the Shakespearean downfall of the Roy family awaited—aka my sole justification for $15.99 a month to HBO Max—and any debates about the brighter shades of the color wheel would have to wait.
But perspective is a funny thing. Call it outlook, point of view or stance—we all have one and we all think ours are justified.
Our August issue is focused on People & Perspectives—a look at interesting people in the North Bay with their interesting takes on North Bay things. Of course, the great advantage of a coverage area that runs north of Berryessa to the Sonoma Coast on down to the Golden Gate is that there’s no shortage of residents, businesses or other newsmakers with interesting perspectives to mine stories from.
One particularly rich source of stories is none other than renown North Bay conservationist Martin Griffin—whose legacy includes Audubon Canyon Ranch in Bolinas, the Bouverie Preserve in Sonoma , the Environmental Forum of Marin, Friends of the Russian River, and more. At 103, Griffin has a lesson or two to share about how local environmentalists can encourage green-friendly projects and ward off damaging land grabs. He’s also got some cautionary advice about the more pressing concerns of our environmental future.
And if cautionary takes on the future is your thing, Napa state Sen. Bill Dodd has a bete noire for the digital age: TikTok. Dodd is leading the Sacramento push to ban the short-video app at the state capitol—and he wants to ensure the popular Chinese-owned social media platform doesn’t become an entry point for foreign ne-er-do-wells angling for an eyeful into U.S. government interests.
And speaking of government interests, check out the latest piece in our series on Latino business and community leaders—this month highlighting Latino leadership nonprofit Los Cien and its new director Herman G. Hernandez. Hernandez wants to build upon Los Cien’s momentum by expanding membership to other underserved communities and prime its members for runs at local elected offices—ensuring the Latino community has representational influence in the county more in line with its growing population.
And then there’s the Sonoma man who gave up a career trading stocks and bonds for life as a community actor portraying wine country’s notable historical characters, and a look at the future of North Bay healthcare with David Klein, the CEO leading MarinHealth past its 70th year and into an uncertain future.
It’s an issue filled with interesting people in the North Bay with their interesting takes on North Bay things.
As to gold? Well, gold is gold. It’s as much yellow or orange as pink is red or white. According to an in-depth google investigation, the color name “golden” was first used in English in the early 14th century to refer to the element gold. It was later shortened to simply gold.
Gold is gold. Now perhaps that’s a perspective we can all agree upon.
Share your perspectives with Jason at jwalsh@northbaybiz.com.
