Four stray facts you ought to know, including the long needed name change of ‘Black John Slough’ to ‘Pinkston Sough’ in Novato … it took long enough

Sherman R. Frederick/Properly Subversive

1. “Black John Slough” in Novato is now officially re-named “Pinkston Slough.” County Supervisor Eric Lucan reports in his weekly newsletter that “the slough is named after John Pinkston, a prominent and well-known figure of African-Caribbean descent in Marin County during the mid- 1800s. This renaming effort more appropriately maintains Pinkston’s memory, and honors his contributions to Marin County, while removing the derogatory and offensive language.”Marin County Open Space Park Ranger Mike Warner led the effort.
2. This from the San Jose Merc’s Morning Report: “Senior-living facility could lose license: After two residents died after accidentally being served dishwashing fluid. Atria Park of San Mateo faces a $39,500 fine and it could also lose its license and be decertified. The state found employees weren’t trained in handling potentially dangerous chemicals.” Yikes! Dishwasher fluid? What kind of training do you need to not serve people dishwasher fluid?
3. Data analyzed by OpenTable show the number of diners at S.F. restaurants seated through the platform in 2022 were down 41% from 2019. (SFChron). I’m surprised it wasn’t more. Who wants to venture into the city these days when there’s all kinds of great places to dine in Marin.
4. In 2023, 21% of all new vehicles sold in California were EVs. It’s a big spike upwards compared to 2022, percentage wise. Also, Tesla lost market share, but it’s still far and away No. 1 in this segment.

(“Properly Subversive” is a commentary written by Sherman R. Frederick for Marinscope Community Newspapers, the “mother ship” of the Novato Advance, San Rafael News-Pointer, Mill Valley Herald, Ross Valley Reporter, Twin City Times and the Sausalito Marin Scope. Mr. Frederick is an award-winning journalist and co-founder of Battle Born Media, a news organization dedicated to the preservation of community newspapers. You can reach him by email at shermfrederick@gmail.com.)