Gingerbread contest seeking sugary competitors: For the second year, Hotel Petaluma is inviting local bakery-goods-architects to build and decorate their sweetest Gingerbread houses, which will be put on display at the hotel Dec. 15-17. A holiday tradition for many, the building of a gingerbread house can be a family project or a means of artistic expression for an artist with a sweet tooth and a knack for culinary creation. Entry applications are now being accepted. All edible edifices must be delivered to the Hotel on December 14, and the three-day showcase begins the next day, concluding with a holiday party on Sunday, and the awarding of prizes. For information and applications visit hotelpetaluma.com/gingerbreadhouse.
Fire victim receives new guitar from Country Joe McDonald: When Greg Gossage, of Santa Rosa, lost his home and workshop to the fires, his prized guitar was among the victims. According to Gossage’s friend Deborah Fisher, musician Country Joe McDonald has now personally replaced the instrument. The new guitar, a Yamaha GW 150, is similar to the one Country Joe played during his appearance at Woodstock. Fisher tells THE BUZZ that, shortly after the fires, Country Joe reached out to Tall Toad Music in Petaluma, offering to donate a guitar or two. One of those instruments ended up in the grateful hands of Gossage, who’s been playing it in the cozy travel trailer he now shares with his wife and three cats, awaiting rebuilding of their destroyed home. Adds Fisher, “He’s happy to find room for the guitar, so he can relax during this difficult process.” She adds that the new instrument constitutes a bit of an upgrade over the original, adding, “And, you know, it’s from someone famous.”
Most of nation officially more sinful than Santa Rosa: WalletHub, a prominent credit services website established in Francisco in 2013, has released a report ranking larger American cities on their levels of “sinfulness,” and Santa Rosa has ended up in the bottom 10. Meaning that Santa Rosa, despite being known as the brewpub capital of California, is officially among the “least sinful” cities in America. Out of 182 cities studied, Santa Rosa ranks as 176. The only cities listed as less sinful than Santa Rosa are Plano, Texas (177 on the list), Port St. Lucie, Florida (178), West Valley City, Utah (179), Brownsville, Texas (180), Pearl City, Hawaii (181), and South Burlington, Vermont, officially the least sinful city in the U.S. Petaluma, for what it’s worth, did not make the list at all, presumably because its size made it too small to qualify for the study.
So, how did the data-crunchers at WalletHub determine relative sinfulness of these populations? According to the report, they used police reports, productivity reports, sales records and the like to isolate and rank such factors as anger and hatred, jealousy, excesses and vices, greed, lust, vanity and laziness.
And which cities made the list as the TOP “most sinful” in America? Few surprises there. Number one is Las Vegas (with North Las Vegas raked as number 5), followed by Orlando and Miami, Florida (2 and 3, respectively), and St. Louis, Missouri (4). ?Check out the full report at Wallethub.com
Horseshow snowmen on sale this weekend: On Saturday, Dec. 2, at Petaluma Tractor Supply, imaginative snowmen made of welded-and-painted horse-shoes will be on sale, with all proceeds going to purchase toys for the families in need. The sale goes from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., and includes many other off-the-wall creations.
(Have a BUZZ item to suggest? Write David at david.templeton@arguscourier.com)
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