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It is no secret or surprise that the wine industry
is changing and it looks like 2015 will see more issues between industry
forces and residents. Maybe it is time to think about this friction more
broadly and for the City to develop a consensus on the public vision and
priorities before applicants are standing at the podium? This week
we have:
¥ The
Salvestrin/Beckstoffer suit against Dave
Phinney's Natural Selection -- the gist from Market Wired: "Dec
22, 2014, Salvestrin Wine Company, LLC ("Salvestrin")
and Beckstoffer Vineyards announced today that they have filed claims
for trademark infringement, unfair competition (false endorsement and false
advertising) and declaratory judgment against Natural Selection 357, LLC
("Natural Selection") with the U.S. District Court for the
Northern District of California. Salvestrin and Beckstoffer seek
monetary damages, injunctive relief and attorneys' fees. Natural
Selection's partners include Orin Swift Winery owner David Phinney."
Check the Natural Selection trademark, a list
of Phinney companies and local trademark
attorney Daniel Reidy's trademark client list.
¥ And
in case you do not subscribe to the St. Helena Star, you may have missed
Kelly Wheaton's letter last week about Enough is Enough on winery mission creep.
Bare in mind that some current local development
involves silent/secret investment "partners" who are not
identified to the public; they are often protected by confidentiality
agreements. The City should require that all partners be identified when
an applicant presents a proposal to the City for approval. If a public
official, his/her family member or business associate is a silent/secret
investor, the public should know. Right now, the public knows nothing until
the end of the year, after voting is over, to see officials' annual Form
700. Even then, all investments may not be listed. In a small, high-value
town with an inter-related social structure we need a better system for
building trust.
¥ Also
in the interests of general transparency, note that Maureeen
Downey, the fine wine authenticator and consultant who was
instrumental in bringing down Rudy Kurniawan is launching a new website, WineFraud.com, with
her findings in March 2015.
Lastly we have the brand new Napa County Travel Behavior Study (takes
a second to open): Here are just the Conclusions -- but for some very
interesting twists and turns including maps and St. Helena specifics, check
the whole thing. Save the Study so you can check the work of future
applicants' consultants. Any volunteers to go through the Study to
determine the cumulative impact of the 5 local projects not open yet?
Sandy
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