July 2024

ANIMAL ISSUE

Animal rights or farming traditions? The great stampede over Measure J... Holy cow!

Inside: McEvoy Ranch · Tech Talk High Graze Indeed! · Lily’s Legacy Drakes Sonoma Coast · Goin’ Bats!

Animal Issue 2024

$4.95

MILL VALLEY FILM FESTIVAL

July 2024

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4 NorthBaybiz

July 2024

CONTENTS

49 YEARS OF BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE

July 2024 • Volume 49 • Number 9

20

LEAD STORY 20 The Battle Over Measure J Animal rights vs. farming traditions initiative hoofs it to the November ballot Janis Mara WORK/LIFE 13 TRAVEL 14 OFFICE 15 PARENTS 17 PETS

FEATURE STORIES 28 Old Dogs, New Digs Judith Wilson

Lily’s Legacy in Petaluma is a sanctuary for abandoned, older pooches

38 Amazin’ Grazin’ Janet Perry

Landowners are herding up for local grazing services

46 Bats in the Belfry Janis Mara

Wine Country is flapping wild for the help of the new state bat 52 Tools of the Trades Jean Saylor Doppenberg North Bay programs building the next generation of tradespeople

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67

60

64

72

COLUMNS 11

DEPARTMENTS 8 Letters 60

Publisher’s Forum Lawrence Amaturo Campaign’s rocky changes on the road to Nov. 5

Great Tastes Alexandra Russell The pleasures of olive oil at McEvoy Ranch in Petaluma Dine Wise Jason Walsh Savor the view at Drakes Sonoma Coast in Bodega

19

Tech Talk Michael E. Duffy AI is bringing out the dead—no, really…

64

27

Econ 101 Robert Eyler How price indexes track inflation.

68

What’s Happening Upcoming North Bay events

37

Napa Insider Christina Julian When whiskey tasting mixes with Wine Country Only In Marin Bill Meagher Layoffs in a time of revenue growth at BioMarin Live Wise Dr. Ines Sherifi What women need to know about cardiac risk

71 72

On The Move

51

Biz Scene Country Summer at Sonoma County Fairgrounds Beyond the Boardroom Rosie Padilla Nancy and Peter Lang of Safari West

59

74

63

Vine Wise Adam Lee Winemakers keep the faith

On the cover Sonoma County cows caught in the Measure J crossfire.. Photo courtesy Straus Family Creamery

67

In the Kitchen John Ash Salmon ‘hobo packs’—seafood succulence all wrapped up and ready to go

Printed by Publication Printers Corp., an FSC Certified printer. Please recycle this magazine.

NorthBay biz (ISSN No. 1542-3549: USPS 097-770) is owned and published monthly (plus three bonus issues annually) by North Bay Media Group, LLC. Editorial offices are at 3392 Mendocino Ave., Santa Rosa, CA 95403 USA: (707) 528-4434. Sub- scription price is $35 per year. Periodicals Postage Paid at Santa Rosa, CA 95402 and at additional mailing offices. Copyright 2022, NorthBay biz. Reproduction of this issue in whole or in part is strictly forbidden without written permission by the publisher. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to NorthBay biz, 3392 Mendocino Ave., Santa Rosa, CA 95403 USA.

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July 2024

Where People Come First

More than just numbers, we’re about people. Experience banking the way it should be – friendly, local and responsive.

EXCHANGEBANK.COM

Exchange Bank customer since 2010

Letters...

BEST COMPANY IN MARIN COUNTY

G HILOTTI BROS.

“Do quality work, treat your employees with respect and give back to the communitites in which you live and work.” —Mike Ghilotti, CEO

Letters Here are a few social media salutations about winner of NorthBay biz’s Best of the North Bay awards:. Built for success Congratulations Ghilotti Bros., Inc [winner of Best Company in Marin County]!! —Marin Builders Association Support for support! Love it when chamber members support each other— NorthBay biz magazine and Edward Jones [winner of Best Wealth Management Firm]. —Rohnert Park Chamber of Commerce, winner of Best Chamber of Commerce

By Bo Kearns

“G hilotti Bros., Inc. and the entire Mario Ghilotti family are honored and grateful to be recognized for our organizational excellence by receiving the Best Company in Marin Award, says Mike Ghilotti, president and CEO. “We are even more excited as it commemorates our 110th year in business as well as the advent of our fourth generation Gino Ghilotti joining the management team.” Ghilotti Bros., with approximately 350 employees at peak season, is one of the few general contractors in the Bay Area that can undertake full-service development for the most complex of jobs. To date, approximately 2,500 jobs have been completed. Legacy projects include: renovation of Crissy Field and the surrounding wetlands; rebuild of the block of Lombard dubbed the “crookedest street in the world”; construction of the largest wall west of the Mississippi in Jenner; and, most recently, completion of architectural concrete work at the Golden State Warriors’ new Chase Center home in San Francisco. Ghilotti Bros. projects that enhance the North Bay’s quality of life and safety include a $22 million renovation of Third Street in San Rafael; $3 million in improvements to Garfield Street in Petaluma; and site work at the Santa Rosa Junior College Residence Hall. “Our award-winning partnering process has enabled us to save clients time, money and stress,” Mike Ghilotti says. “By performing all aspects of the underground, foundation, concrete and paving work ourselves, we can eliminate costly schedule delays and scope gaps providing single-source control for our clients.” He adds: “We are extremely excited about the future as we continue to grow and diversify in the construction market.” The company expects an impressive 30% increase in revenue in 2024. The year will mark a new initiative with entry into the job-order-contracting marketplace, where work on the California Department of Technology’s $436 million broadband middle- mile internet project has commenced. On completion, fiber optic high-speed internet service will be available to underserved communities throughout the state. “We owe a lot of our success to our incredible company culture established long ago through our founder’s philosophy—do

Publisher

Lawrence Amaturo

Editor-in-Chief

Jason Walsh

Associate Editor

Rosie Padilla

quality work, treat your employees with respect and give back to the communities in which you live and work,” says Mike. “But our secret sauce is our loyal and dedicated employees exemplified by the recent passing of Frank Palagi—our fifth brother—whose 68 years of employment set the tone for our new generation of workers.” v v President and Treasurer Mike Ghilotti pictured with Manager of Organi- zational Development Gino Ghilotti.

Contributing Editor

Bill Meagher

gbi1914.com

Best of the North Bay 2024

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Design Director

Anne Schenk

Administrative Assistant

Jodi Pasquini

Marketing Consultant

Lori Rooney

Writers Janet Perry Janis Mara Jason Walsh Jean Saylor Doppenberg

Bank on it Congratulations Exchange Bank [winner of

Best Company in Sonoma County]! —Rohnert Park Chamber of Commerce

BEST COMPANY IN SONOMA COUNTY

Judith Wilson Rosie Padilla

E XCHANGE BANK

“The genetics of the bank are built upon the belief of giving back to our community.”

—Troy Sanderson, president and CEO

By Janet Perry

E xchange Bank has spent well over a century earning a legacy of taking great care of its customers and giving back to the community in a big way. The bank has not only been inducted into the Best of the North Bay 2024 Hall of Fame for repeatedly winning the Best Business Bank category, but this year it has also won the title of Best Consumer Bank and the Best Company in Sonoma County. President and CEO Troy Sanderson spoke of the pride he has in the bank, the employees and the many ways both have been helping to build a strong community. “It’s the commitment to be a community bank and a leader in our business community in that regard,” Sanderson says. Exchange Bank proves that commitment daily with employees who are invested in the company and its customers. When the pandemic hit, Exchange Bank went above and beyond as it funded $383 million worth of Paycheck Protection Program loans, helping to keep the Sonoma County business community thriving during a daunting time. Sanderson described pulling employees from their usual work all over the bank to achieve that feat, including some who worked through the night to get those funds out as quickly as possible. The bank and its employees are just as committed to the community at large. “The genetics of the bank are built upon the belief of giving back to our community,” Sanderson says. “It’s our mission and our culture, too, because of the Doyle Trust,” he says. The Doyle Trust, bequeathed from the estate of bank co-founder Frank Doyle in 1949, has helped over 140,000 Santa Rosa Junior College students with more than $100 million in scholarships. Exchange Bank employees are embracing that same giving spirit. Staff members are sitting on multiple local nonprofit boards and logging numerous volunteer hours at nonprofits throughout Sonoma County. Sanderson sits on the board of the Redwood Empire Food Bank and the Santa Rosa Junior College Foundation.

Columnists Adam Lee Alexandra Russell Bill Meagher Christina Julian Ines Sherifi Jason Walsh John Ash Michael E. Duffy Robert Eyler Photographers Duncan Garrett Will Bucquoy

Sanderson says it feels great to be honored with the Best Company in Sonoma County award and he’s proud of the effort the bank continues to put forth. v v Exchange Bank employees during their volunteer shift at Redwood Empire Food Bank.

exchangebank.com

Best of the North Bay 2024

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For more recent NorthBay biz issues, check out northbaybiz.com . Email comments, complaints and witty observations to jwalsh@northbaybiz.com. Please include name, address and phone number. Letters will be edited for length and clarity.

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B ooks Are P Remember being read to as a child? M y mother read aloud to me, and one of my favorite books was Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White. But what I remember most was the sound of her voice, the rhythm of the words and what it felt like leaning into her, while she read aloud to me. The pages of those books she read transported us to faraway places—real and imaginary—and taught me about life and oPened my mind to all the possibilities. So when I became a mother, I began reading to my kids. And now I’m reading to my grandchildren every chance I get. As for my mom, now a great-grandmother, she still takes great joy in reading to the kids whenever she visits. Remember to take time every chance you get—eat, play, read. Reading helps build language and thinking skills, develops a child’s imagination and empathy for others, achieve better in school, and it’s a great way to spend time together. And best of all, reading aloud to your child makes memories that will stay with you for a lifetime. That’s what my mother was doing years ago when she took the time to read aloud to me. ortable M agic

“For more than 40 years, we’ve protected people from the elements. Now it’s time to help our kids in the community.” —Barbie Simpson, Owner and President Read on Sonoma!

Put Your Trust In Us

Celebrating more than 40 years as a family owned business. Our team is here to meet all of your HVAC needs. 707-576-150 • www.simpsonsheetmetal.com • Santa Rosa, CA

Publisher’s Forum

Riding the Election 2024 whirlwind By Lawrence Amaturo

T he political whirlwinds now pummeling through the collective American psyche are as violent, widespread and pervasive as ever. We once worried about “the 24-hour news cycle” being too consuming for everyday voters. Yet thanks to today’s social media, that 24-hour cycle has morphed into an altogether unhealthy Ozempic-styled slim down of just 2 or 3 minutes! Post after post after post of biased half- truths aired by seemingly well-intended Influencers… each one countering the “truth” of another. Regardless of which social media platform, these posts expose fringe points of view based more on emotion than fact. They bombard our conscious and do so at an immeasurable pace. What many refer to as “the ultimate blood sport,” politics awaits no publisher’s deadline, no fact checker’s scrutiny and certainly no printer’s timeline. This reality usually keeps me from discussing our national politics in this forum out of fear of writing something that will have lost relevancy once presented on these pages. But the overwhelming back-and-forth regarding our November election is news in and of itself! Reflecting on what was convincingly written two days, two weeks and two months ago could actually help remind us of how loose the soil is upon which we often ground our opinions. In early June, I was convinced that President Biden’s extensive preparation and decades of retail politicking would steamroll the former President. Mr. Trump’s famously inarticulate message delivery would look amateurish when juxtaposed to Biden’s reasoned delivery of the issues. Certainly, The Donald’s lack of preparation would steer him directly toward the fan blades of a well-spoken, rested and prepared Joe Biden? Wow, was I wrong. The Wall Street Journal’s Daniel Henninger predicted that the debate would be a “low bar event,” measured by Mr. Trump’s success or failure in speaking beyond his immature ramblings, and President Biden’s success or failure in remaining coherent for 90, unscripted minutes. Regrettably, we all saw firsthand that this bar had actually been placed too high this time, and especially for President Biden. Yet, his administration saw something completely different; or at least communicated as such. “Voters continue to be deeply concerned by Donald Trump and his harmful agenda, and the more we engage and reach out to voters, the more they support President Biden,” said Kevin Munoz, Biden campaign spokesperson, as quoted in the New York Times on July 7. (Article is

titled “Resilience Has Fueled Biden’s Career. But So Has Defiance.”) As of this writing, many within his own party are calling for President Biden to give up his quest for a second term before the collective American voter extinguishes it for him. Of course, no interest is greater than self-interest; many of these former supporters of Mr. Biden fear for their own political well-being if the voter rejects Biden’s name in the same ballot as their own. Who could blame them? Mr. Biden’s much-anticipated (and strangely branded) “big-boy” hour-long press conference July 11 did little to quell Democrats’ concerns. Simultaneously, the “Never Trumper” donor class has moved into what some call the “OK, Fine, I Might as Well be a Trumper” contributor. Susquehanna International Group founder Jeff Yass has become one of those. He’s moved his $47 billion fortune away from all other candidates in order to bet on Mr. Trump. Last year, Yass may have characterized Trump as disdainful; today he gets millions in donations. Like many of us, Yass sees the election as a binary choice. For him, the thought of voting for President Biden has so repulsed him that he’s willing to swallow hard and move his money toward Trump. He is not alone. This is happening all over the map. Hollywood’s mega-donors—George Clooney, Abigail Disney, Barry Diller, Christy Welton and others—have also turned away from President Biden and are directing their money toward senatorial races, which they see as being more likely winners for their cause. Liberal-cause philanthropist Gideon Stein has announced that his family will “pause” its $3.5 million political spending all together until Mr. Biden agrees to leave office. Of course, it’ll come down to what it always has: your vote. Don’t let today’s TikTok, X or Facebook posts sway you. Remind yourself how prior social media posts that once sounded so prescient have proven so innocuous and nonfactual today. Then cast your vote.

At press time, POTUS 45 has survived an assassin’s bullet, POTUS 46 has debilitating COVID, and senior-level Democratic senators want Mr. Biden to ride proudly into the sunset. Wow! Send me a note at lawrence@northbaybiz.com.

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Work/Life/ Travel

By Felix Richter Staycation Nation W ith COVID-related travel restrictions nothing but a faint memory, travelers are wanting to hit the beaches in masses this summer—that is if they can still afford it. With everyday purchases like food, gas and utilities having become much more expensive over the past two years, many families are forced to reconsider their holiday plans, if not to scrap them altogether. According to Deloitte’s 2024 summer travel survey, money and high price are by far the biggest hurdles for American would-be travelers this summer. According to the survey, 42% of Americans do not plan to travel this summer season, i.e. between Memorial Day

and the end of September, up from 37% last year. Among those without travel plans 39% said that they simply cannot afford it, while 32% said that travel is too expensive right now and 19% said they’d rather spend the money on something else. While money is a big concern this year, health no longer is. Only 7% of those planning to stay put said that health risks are among the reasons behind their decision, down from 43% in 2021 and 33% in 2022. With money a big factor in people’s travel plans this year, it’s not surprising that fewer people from lower income households will go on holidays this summer. According to Deloitte, people from households with an income of $50,000 or less make up 19% of the traveling public this summer, down from 31% last year. Meanwhile the share of travelers with a household income of $100,000 or more has climbed from 35 to 44%, resulting in higher holiday budgets for the average traveler.

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Work Life Office

Sorry, Wrong Number: Our newfound fear of phones By Jason Walsh

T he company employee of the 2020s is versed in many important forms of communication—texts, email, Teams, Slack and more. But there’s one communique heard less and less at cubicles these days: Phone calls. The ol’ dial-up was once daily de rigueur at the workplace. But various forms of quick or instant digital messaging have replaced “calling” as the outreach of choice, especially among younger workers whose careers didn’t come of age when telephones reigned supreme. While the shift in workplace modus operandi is a boon for writing apps, the trend has also resulted in a generation of employees experiencing high anxiety when faced with phone duties. The phenomenon even has a name—telephonophobia— and to some degree has been around since Alexander Graham Bell first patented the “telegraphy” in 1876. To the telephonophobic, phone calls can seem intrusive, hard to predict and time consuming. Digital messaging, on the other hand, allows one to set the pace of the exchange, provides time for thoughtful response and is peacefully silent. Those in fear of phone conversations worry they’ll sound nervous, uninformed or socially awkward—to both the person on the other end, as well as their nearby coworkers. Unfortunately, the less one uses the phone the more the phobia becomes a self-fulfilling prophesy. According to the New York Pos t, the problem is so bad some companies have hired consultants to lead staff-training workshops in how to speak by phone. As far back as 2017, Forbes detailed the litany of reasons why people don’t like to take calls at work: • You don’t always know who it is • There is a short window to answer the call, forcing stress and a quick decision • You don’t know what it’s about • Once you answer, you’re committed to an unanticipated conversation • An imbalance of information—the caller has the advantage of being prepared • Likelihood of a good call is small—you’ve been burned before

• It takes time, but you have no idea how much • It’s real time—unlike digital communication, your responses are immediate and unedited Workplace training expert Mary Jane Copps saw this phenomenon coming back in 2006 when the Blackberry launched everyone talking with their thumbs and she launched The Phone Lady consulting. Business is booming these days, as she can pull in as much as $3,500 a day for a corporate workshop training, advising the telephonophobic to “use your name” on calls and sharing strategies on “how to end a call.” As the Phone Lady explained to the Wall Street Journal recently: “Things that to many of us seem obvious, are no longer obvious.”

Telephonophobia for Dummies

Virtual-receptionist company Smith.ai offers tips on overcoming your fear of phones

• Cognitive behavioral therapy, for extreme cases • Practice makes perfect • Prepare talking points in advance • Pretend your anxiety is actually excitement! • Smile • Breathe and pace yourself • Admit it’s hopeless and hire a virtual receptionist

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July 2024

Work/Life Parents

Gen Zers, parents apply within!

By Jason Walsh

G ood news parents—there’s still one area your Gen Z kids think you’re smarter than artificial intelligence: Job hunting. According to a recent survey about how young people and recent college graduates conduct their job search process, only 22% reported using ChatGPT to assist in their recent job searches—compared to 70% who said they sought their parents’ assistance on the job hunt. The data was collected this past spring by ResumeTemplates.com , a platform for downloadable resume templates. Researchers collected and analyzed responses from 1,428 Gen Zers, those ages 18 to 27, in the United States who searched for a job within the past year. Another round of research was conducted in May, surveying 2,921 Gen Zers. Among those who did turn to ChatGPT for help, 83% utilized the AI tool for resume development, and 63% used it for crafting cover letters. Users supplied ChatGPT with key information including skills, education, years of work experience and descriptions of previous jobs, according to the survey. ResumeTemplates ’ Executive Resume Writer Andrew Stoner described it as “somewhat surprising” that so many more younger job seekers are turning to their parents over the latest technologies in their job hunts. “Some Gen Zers might feel safer or more likely to succeed with assistance from their parents on job applications instead of using ChatGPT,” he says. “Their parents might also be dissuading them from using the tool.” Or, it could also be that parents are more invested in a successful job search outcome than a chatbot. Not only did the survey reveal that 55% of respondents asked parents for help on their resumes and 49% sought assistance with cover letters—but 24% said their parents actually submitted the job application on their behalf, while 13% had their parents complete their human resources screening calls. And if that isn’t motherly love enough, the survey found that 26% brought their parents to an in-person interview. One thing’s clear from the survey: While Alexa might be who your kids mostly turn to for guidance, no one wants you to find a job, cut the purse-strings and move out of the basement quite like good ol’ mom and dad.

In a recent OfficeTeam survey, hiring managers were asked to recount the strangest behavior they’ve heard of or seen from parents of job seekers. Here are some of the responses: • “The candidate opened his laptop and had his mother Skype in for the interview.” • “A woman brought a cake to try to convince us to hire her daughter.” • “A father asked us to pay his son a higher salary.” • “One mom knocked on the office door during an interview and asked if she could sit in.” • “Parents have arrived with their child’s resume and tried to convince us to hire him or her.” • “A job seeker was texting his parent the questions I was asking during the interview and waiting for a response.” • “Once a father called us pretending he was from the candidate’s previous company and offered praise for his son.” • “Parents have followed up to ask how their child’s interview went.” • “A father started filling out a job application on behalf of his kid.” • “I had one mother call and set up an interview for her son.” • “Moms and dads have called to ask why their child didn’t get hired.”

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Taking OMG

to a Higher Power…

ROBERT FERGUSON OBSERVATORY Sugarloaf Ridge State Park RFO.org

Work/Life/ Pets

Airbnb Pets are given their very own “employee” badges to scan into work every day with their owner. Amazon The dog-loving culture at Amazon started with a lovable corgi named Rufus who hung around in the early days of the company. Now in 2024, over 10,000 dogs are registered to work across the U.S. and Australia offices. Ben & Jerry’s The ice cream brand loves the workplace doggos so much that in 2021 it developed a line of frozen desserts specifically for dogs. Etsy From the beginning, Etsy (2005) has welcomed employee pets with open arms. Google Google went as far as to incorporate a dog park at its Mountain View campus, called The Large companies that allow pets in the workplace:

T he presence of four-legged companions in the workplace can boost overall company morale, but their addition can also have downsides. Due to the high volume of adoption rates of pets during the pandemic—according to the American Pet Products Association as of 2024, 66% of U.S. households own a pet. And now in a post-pandemic world, pet owners are craving that proximity to their fur babies. In fact, current job seekers tend to seek out pet-friendly workplaces. In a recent LiveCareer study, the resume-building company found that 52% of respondents said that pet-friendly benefits and policies are important when considering an employer. Pets in the office can benefit a workplace’s well-being. A study from the National Library of Medicine found that pediatric health-care professionals who worked with a facility dog experienced less work- related burnout and increased mental health. In-office pets can also help facilitate more collaboration with coworkers. They serve as conversation starters and can increase employee interactions. These four-legged friends help with emotional support when stressful situations arise which could, in turn, increase productivity. Pets in the workplace do not, however, come without their potential setbacks. There are concerns surrounding possible allergies, safety issues surrounding the pet’s behavior, increased distractions, phobias and cleanliness. Various publications advise employers looking to go pet- friendly to consider looking into guidelines to ensure the well-being of employees and their furry friends. Indeed encourages employers to ensure both pets and employees are healthy, confirm pet vaccinations, practice patience when introducing new pets and provide proper training to employees regarding working with pets. Working like a dog— the rise of pet-friendly offices By Rosie Padilla

Doogleplex. Salesforce The San Francisco headquarters has a

“Puppyforce” room for employees to reserve and share a workspace with their furry friends as well as pet adoption events held at local shelters.

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Tech Talk

Dawn of the deadbots By Michael E. Duffy A dvances in sound and video processing, along with the advent of generative AI, now make it possible to create a “deadbot” (also

The Eternos website ( eternos. life/chat-demo/ ) has a slightly different demo. It shows a customer interacting with their “avatar” via speech. Despite lacking the video avatar of the Storyfile demo, it appears to be a better, more fluid conversationalist, and reacts as you might expect if you’ve had experience with using ChatGPT. On the other hand, Eternos charges $15,000 to create a replica of you, whereas StoryFile charges a mere $500. Regardless of what you pay, one key issue is when the hardware and software that power your avatar belongs to a business, what assurance do you have that the business will be around for the long run? Storyfile filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in May, although it is seeking to reorganize the business so it can continue to deliver service on a more sustainable basis.

called a “griefbot”) which allows survivors to see, hear and interact with a recreation of a deceased person. As you might expect, companies are springing up to offer this service, and not far behind, ethicists are calling for regulation of the technology, which they describe as having the potential to cause “huge distress to people if they are subjected to… alarmingly accurate AI recreations of those they have lost.” (More about the potential negatives at tinyurl.com/2dg6rb78 ). People are already fooled by the technological recreation of living people, known as deepfakes. In one case, a financial worker in Hong Kong transferred $25 million to thieves based on a Zoom call with what they thought were their actual co-workers. The co-workers were, in fact, just realistic facsimiles created by the thieves. Similarly, deepfakes have been used

An AI-generated William Shatner, above, is ready to chat about the ‘digital afterlife’ at storyfile.com .

to create pornographic videos of well-known stars such as Taylor Swift. Deepfakes are basically “synchronization” technology—images taken from one person are (more or less) seamlessly grafted onto video of another. For example, the image of a public figure replaces the face of an actor in a video. A neural network called an autoencoder is used to abstract the essentials of the video containing the actor (positions of their face and body), and those essentials are replaced with data representing the face and body of the public figure and reconstituted into the deepfake video. It’s really just the clever application of mathematics (see the “autoencoder” article in Wikipedia), but it seems a lot like magic. A similar approach can be used to transform audio. It’s now possible to recreate someone’s voice with only a few seconds of captured audio. Of course, recording a person speaking a set of phrases which cover the “essentials” of a voice gives an even better result. Finally, mix-in generative AI (i.e. large language models, or LLMs). An LLM can be trained on what a person has said and written, and using its “autocomplete on steroids” ability, generate brand new words in that person’s style. This combination of voice, video and interactivity starts to seem very realistic. Here’s a fake William Shatner at Storyfile ( storyfile.co m), one of the so-called “digital afterlife services.” ( Forbes magazine refers to them as “digital embalmers.”) Shatner’s avatar uses his answers to pre-recorded questions, so it’s not quite as sophisticated as I’ve described above. You can’t get answers to questions he didn’t answer, and there can be a brief “glitch” as the avatar transitions to answering a question which breaks the illusion of actually speaking to a real person.

Why would someone want to create a deadbot in the first place? Deadbots are not generative in the same way as a living person, so your heirs can’t really come to it and get the benefit of your expertise by asking questions. I suppose there could be some comfort in being able to see and hear someone “as they were,” moving and responding to your presence, and telling beloved (but all-too-familiar) stories. But Grandpa ‘s avatar isn’t going to tell you why he disowned your aunt, or where he hid those shares of Berkshire-Hathaway stock back in 1980. The LLM behind the avatar can make something up (and might, without safeguards in place), but it’s just a sad copy of Gramps. Part of the appeal is the convenience. Based on what I’ve read, none of these services require as much effort as the tried-and- true method of writing things down, perhaps as a memoir, or just a simple narrative of the facts of one’s life: dates, names, places, events, things you like and dislike. And for gosh sakes, print it out. History shows us that things on paper last a long time. Not so that 3.5-inch diskette, which Sony stopped making in 2011. On the other hand, if someone derives comfort from what these deadbots can offer, who am I to object? As one Eternos customer, Jan Bommer, said to his wife, “Think of it sitting somewhere in a drawer, if you need it, you can take it out, if you don’t need it, just keep it there.” g Michael E. Duffy is a senior software engineer for Atlanta- based mobile gaming company Global Worldwide ( global- worldwide.com ), who lives in Sonoma County. He has been writing about technology and business for NorthBay biz since 2001.

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The Tresch family, from left: Lydia Hansen and her sons Henry and Ben, with Kathy Tresch, Samantha Tresch and Joe Tresch at the ranch’s house, the Victorian, a registered historic home in Petaluma. [Photo by Duncan Garrett Photography]

July 2024 July 2024

20 NorthBaybiz

Farming tradition vs. animal rights

Why everyone’s having a cow over Measure J

By Janis Mara

K athy Tresch swings open the gate, and a cavalcade of cows—black, white, caramel and beige—trots past, heading for the pasture at Tresch Family Farms in Petaluma. Founded in 1905, owned and run by Tresch and her family, the organic farm’s 750 cows graze on 2,500 acres of gently rolling hills and pastureland. But changes will be in store for the ranch if Measure J, a fiercely debated initiative on the November ballot, passes. The controversial measure would make Sonoma County the first in the nation to outlaw operations the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency calls “concentrated animal feeding operations,” or CAFOs, also known pejoratively as factory farms.

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July 2024

If organic dairies are managed well, they are unlikely to have such impacts on the environment.” —Antonio Roman, assistant professor of environmental studies, UC Berkeley

Facilities that meet the EPA definition of a CAFO are not necessarily polluters. Basically, the definition of a CAFO includes animals stabled or confined for 45 days or more in any 12-month period. The size of the farms that qualify for the designation varies by type of animal and according to how the farms handle the discharge of manure. The measure’s sponsor, the Coalition to End Factory Farming, a group of animal welfare advocates, environmentalists and small producers, says there are 21 concentrated animal farming operations befouling watersheds and mistreating animals in Sonoma. The Sonoma County Farm Bureau disagrees with these assertions, and has gone on record against the measure. The Sonoma Board of Supervisors in May voted to submit a letter of opposition, calling the initiative a threat to the farming industry in Sonoma County. An academic at California State University East Bay says that, unlike some of the cows at Tresch, the issue is not wholly black or white. “I am critical of industrial agriculture and we need to think

about how we produce food,” says Antonio Roman-Alcalá, a Berkeley-based educator and organizer and assistant professor of geography and environmental studies at the university. “I share the activists’ concern for negative treatment of animals. I sympathize with wanting to challenge [food] producers,” says the assistant professor, who serves on the board of the Ecological Farming Association of California, which advances ecological and just farming and food. The measure is “an effort to shut down a certain kind of production that is known to cause harm,” the assistant professor says, noting that research has shown that certain production practices are harmful to animals and the environment. But at the same time, Roman-Alcalá says, “I would never want to support an initiative that includes people who are really trying” to do things the right way. “I would not want to demonize those farmers along with those who are less ethical.” There are concentrated animal feeding operations that

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July 2024

There are about 50 dairies in Sonoma County and animal rights groups say the measure would apply to six of them which currently meet the definition of concentrated animal feeding operation, or CAFO. [Photo courtesy Straus Family Creamery]

are harmful, Roman-Alcalá says. But whether this particular legislation targets farms that are harmful is uncertain, he says. “I would express uncertainties as to whether all facilities that would be affected by this law match the conditions the research is about,” he says. “I am not clear that all of the facilities that this describes actually have those impacts.” Roman-Alcalá says his specific concern is organic dairies like Tresch. “If organic dairies are managed well, they are unlikely to have such impacts on the environment—or, if they are having such impacts, they could be mitigated,” he says. These organic dairies have been lumped in with factory farms because there is a relatively short period of the year in which Sonoma County cows are sheltered indoors, he says. (The definition of a CAFO includes animals stabled or confined for 45 days or more in any 12-month period.) “If you care about animal welfare, the cows benefit from being sheltered from the rain and cold,” Roman-Alcalá says. Cows in organic dairies must have access to the outdoors, shelter, shade, fresh and clean water. Overall, 84% of the cow dairies in Sonoma County are organic, according to Randi Black, a dairy advisor with the University of California Cooperative Extension who covers dairies in Marin, Sonoma and Mendocino counties. “All Sonoma County dairies with over 200 cows are either organic certified, or they have American Humane Certified status,” says Black, who has a doctorate in animal science and has been in her current role for seven years. The American Humane certification is a program in which a third party visits the facilities and checks to see that animals are treated humanely, she says.

There about 50 dairies in Sonoma County and, according to Black, their average herd is 350 cows. A true factory farm doesn’t give the cows any grass at all, Roman-Alcalá says. Those cows eat corn and soy feed, instead of grazing, the feeding method “they are designed to do,” he says. The herd at Tresch Family Farms grazes on grass during the outdoor season, which typically begins in April and ends in late October or early November. When the rains come, the cows are housed indoors to protect both the animals and the soil—but not necessarily continuously. “Keeping our milk cows in the barns when the ground is saturated is done to protect the environment, keeping sediment from trampled wet pastures out of the creek,” Kathy Tresch says. It also shelters the cows from severe weather events, she adds. “And though the cows have access to the barns year-round, we do not confine them to the barns in every rain,” she says. Measure J would mean modifying operations While most of the attention on Measure J has focused on the language shutting CAFOs down, the language includes a three-year phase-out period for CAFOs that offers alternatives other than closing. “Sonoma County farms that currently qualify as CAFOs would not necessarily have to shut down if Measure J passes. They could modify their operations to no longer meet the definition of a CAFO,” says Cassie King, a spokeswoman for the Coalition to End Factory Farming. There are three ways this could be accomplished, she says. First, a farm could downsize the animal population to below the relevant limit—for example, a dairy facility with 800

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cows could downsize to under 700 cows over the three-year phase-out period and no longer be designated a CAFO. Second, a farm could switch to a non-liquid manure handling system where applicable, King says. For chicken and duck facilities, this switch would increase the threshold of animals needed to make it a CAFO, according to King. Third, no longer confining the animals for more than 45 days per year would also work, King says, even if they just stopped confining the relevant number of animals that makes them a CAFO for 45 or more days. “If Measure J passes, pre-existing CAFOs in the county will have to either cease their operations, downsize the number of animals they have, or modify the confinement or manure management practices they use,” King says. With regard to downsizing the number of animals, Black says that in order to pay fixed expenses like debt, labor and utility bills, farmers have to make a certain amount of money per month. In order to make that money, they need to milk a certain number of cows, and it might not be possible for a

Tresch dairy manager Joey Tresch, left, with father Joe on the ranch. Tresch Family Farms is among those which would have to scale back some part of its operations if Measure J passes. [Photo courtesy Straus Family Creamery]

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July 2024

Kathy and Joe Tresch in the ranch’s smaller house, the Cottage. [Photo by Duncan Garrett Photography]

Cassie King, spokesperson for Measure J proponents, says affected farms wouldn’t have to shut down, merely modify certain operations to improve livestock conditions.

dairy to meet its bills with fewer cows. Also, a UC Davis assistant professor of cooperative education says reducing the number of animals on a farm does not necessarily mean the animals will get better treatment. “When I did my PhD I studied respiratory disease in calves,” says Gabriele Maier of UC Davis, a veterinarian with a PhD in epidemiology, a branch of medicine dealing with the distribution and determinants of disease. “We went to 100 different dairies across California and distilled it down to the factors that are most important. We found that if the milk the calves receive is pasteurized it really reduces the respiratory disease burden, that was the number one factor.” “It has nothing to do with size,” Maier says—rather, good management is key. “Both large and small farms have management challenges.” Size matters The executive director of the Sonoma County Farm Bureau responded to King’s point about modifying confinement or manure management practices. “Sonoma County’s winter is longer than 45 days,” says Dayna Ghirardelli of the Farm Bureau. “The housing of animals in the winter months is done to provide clean, dry bedding, housing and food while protecting soil, pasture health and natural resources.” Adds Ghirardelli: “To promote the elimination of this practice is counterproductive, not to mention contradictory to [the Coalition’s] other messaging.” Opponents of the measure have made sweeping statements as to the measure’s effect on Sonoma County

farming and the number of farms that would be shut down. The No on J website predicts dire consequences. According to the FAQs on the Farm Bureau’s website, if enacted, the legislation would “force the shutdown of family farming operations that are designated as CAFOs (including nearly all the egg, poultry and dairy industry in Sonoma County) within three years of the measure’s passage.” In sharp contrast, according to King, the initiative applies to only 21 Sonoma County farms: 10 egg farms, four chicken- for-meat farms, six dairies and one duck farm. Maier says it’s less about the number of farms and more about their size. “The largest producers will be affected, and even though the number of farms may not be that big, it is going to affect the Sonoma County farm industry as a whole because it will affect a very large number of animals,” says Meier. A recurring criticism of the measure is that its proponents are almost all from out of the county. Asked why this was material, Ghirardelli says, “This is material because absent having lived or worked in an agricultural region and respecting how multi-generational families have worked their entire lives in the business, it is impossible to understand why this measure is so objectionable.” In Ghirardelli’s view, the proponents are attempting to pass an ordinance that burdens the county directly—a county in which they do not live and which they do not appreciate, she says. The Agricultural Commissioner’s Office has said Measure J would necessitate ongoing expenses of $1.6 million or more for inspections and reporting if enacted, and the Sonoma County Human Services Department cites costs of almost $1.5 milliotn

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Sonoma County farms that currently qualify as CAFOs could modify their operations to no longer meet the def nition of a CAFO.” —Cassie King, Coalition to End Factory Farming. i

you have to go through tracking your inputs, the impacts they might have,” Roman-Alcalá says. Instead, such record-keeping should be required of all producers, he says. That would both absorb some of the cost and not put the onus on the government but something the industry itself pays for, he says. “If producers were forced to pay into an inspection fund, unless they were provably using ecological techniques— including organic—that inspection could offer clearer understanding of farm impacts, individually and collectively, while incentivizing farmers to improve their environmental impacts and methods,” Roman-Alcalá says .. g

for job assistance and retraining. While Roman-Alcalá continues to look askance at Measure J, he also continues to advocate for new ways to legislate “that don’t put the onus on the state or the people who are passionate about social justice,” he says. The industry itself should come up with the money for administering stricter regulation, he says. “When someone gets found out, they get a slap on the wrist, but it rarely amounts to a system that prevents this kind of harm from happening in the first place,” Roman-Alcalá says. Roman-Alcalá notes that organic producers have to go through reams of paperwork and record-keeping to be certified organic, while non-organic producers have less paperwork. It’s as though the good actors are being punished, the assistant professor says. “It’s this backward system where if you are doing well, Designing with Sonoma County- grown flowers first!

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July 2024

ECON 101

Why price indexes are used to track inflation By Robert Eyler

I nflation is one of the most watched data points in every economy. Some measure labor contracts throughout the United States, such as keeping up with the of inflation is part of many “cost of living” as it changes. Generally, to track inflation we watch the

about why core is used. The simple answer is that there are many times in history where the outbreak of war, a natural disaster or a bad harvest can trigger a commodities-market shock to prices that will not last due to the supply chain bouncing back or demand receding from the immediate need. Hence, changing interest rates due to perceived— and short-lived—inflation is considered short- sighted.

CPI and PCE Prices, Core, Percentage Change (Annualized Inflation Rate) from 12 Months Ago, 1977-2024, United States, Shaded Areas = Recession. Source: FRED Database St. Louis Federal Reserve

Consumer Price Index (CPI). This familiar sampling of goods and services households buy comes from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) due to its connection to so many labor contracts. Another measure of prices and changes over time is the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) Price Index. This price index is meant to be comprehensive and not a sample of what we buy at home monthly. It comes from tracking American spending on consumer goods and services (including housing) and tracking the difference spent in terms of quantity of goods versus prices. The change in prices is a change in personal consumption expenditures. Policymakers tend to watch PCE prices (in Europe, there is an analog known as the “Harmonized” Index of Consumer Prices, or HICP) because it is more comprehensive and is more tied to measures such as gross domestic product than the CPI sampling method. Trying to guess how policymakers, such as the Federal Reserve or European Central Bank, will change policy based on new inflation data is a fool’s errand unless legal guidelines exist. In Europe, precedent, law and treaties suggest any new data on inflation above 2% or 2.25% annualized inflation (how much goods and services have changed in price from 12 months ago) means interest rates will increase; data below those thresholds may or may not mean interest rates would fall. To further complicate matters, policymakers and economists tend to reduce the number of goods and services by removing food and energy from the consumer basket, which is called “core” prices. I get a lot of questions

The accompanying data shows how correlated the American CPI and PCE price index are to each other. The data is from January 1977 to April 2024. Recessions over that time are shaded. Notice that there are subtle increases in both inflation rates when getting closer to a recession and then a movement down after recession begins (and sometimes after the recession ends). Inflation is generally a coincident (same time as) indicator of recessions rather than a leading indicator. However, changes in inflation expectations by consumers can change their behavior now and can lead to recessions or at least slower growth in economies. Inflation is a function of excess demand in markets. Inflation surged in 2021—with lingering effects as of spring 2024—due to a combination of demand rising from government spending rising (fiscal stimulus) and lower interest rates and supply-chain contractions globally. Relief has come, but interest rate relief may take longer. Next time, we will look at inflation expectations, their role in bond markets, and what monetary policymakers are really trying to do when fighting inflation by raising interest rates or keeping them at relatively high levels. g

Dr. Robert Eyler is professor of economics at Sonoma State University and president of Economic Forensics and Analytics in Sonoma County.

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