Margo St. James died Jan. 13, 2021
Frank de Jong
COYOTE was "Call off your old tired ethics"
The mention of "Kent Canyon" in the 2nd article likely refers to
William Kent, who was a big landowner, a congressman, and a single
taxer. He donated land in a redwood grove in Muir Woods National
Monument. see
https://www.cooperative-individualism.org/georgists_unitedstates-k.htm
Windy City Times: You ran for public office in San Francisco …
Margo St. James: In '96, I ran for supervisor and I actually won a seat—the extra seat, after somebody on the Board won one in Sacramento. And Willie [ Brown ] didn't want to appoint me to this seat. Any other Democrat would have been put right in there. A lot of people wrote letters. … And so I filed to run again, and then I had a friend tell Willie, the mayor, that I was going to run for assessor.
Now back in the early '60s, Willie and I were on the board of the Henry George School of Economics. Which, he knew if I got the assessor job, things were going to turn upside down. Because the bottom line of the George School of Economics was "tax land, not capital, and labor." Now, [ Henry George ] died in 1897, and his original book is hard to read, because it's full of God-this and God-that. But I thought he had a good idea. And Teddy Roosevelt had liked that. But anyway … .
The brothels in New Orleans closed in 1908 so that the sailors wouldn't get venereal disease ( VD ) . As if they didn't have a boatload of condoms. The same man who pushed that initiative outlawed marijuana in '37, the year I was born, because he wanted the ships to stop using hemp and go for nylon, because he was in league with DuPont. Basically, I mean, I'm giving you a thumbnail sketch, but the same damn man outlawed those two prohibitions [ and they ] are still around. And people just ignore it.
https://www.sfgenealogy.org/boards/mcobits/archive10/13743.html
included this:
SOMERS
[Marin County Obit Board]
Posted by Cathy Gowdy on Saturday, December 22, 2012 at 06:14:24 :
Independent Journal
Thursday, September 20, 2001
SOMERS, Roger, of Marin County, passed away September 13, 2001. Adobe Creek/ Ceda & Lyons, Petaluma, 707-789-9000.
Roger Ward Somers
Roger Ward Somers was born on October 14, 1926 in Evanston, Illinois. Somers moved to Marin County in 1950. In 1953 he co-founded the Bohemian community Druid Heights with the late poet Elsa Gidlow in Kent Canyon near Muir Woods.Somers was a designer, builder and jazz musician. He designed and built several well-known homes in Northern Marin. Influenced by architect Frank Lloyd Wright and several traditional Japanese designs Somers created intricate woodwork influenced by the physical body and the natural environment surrounding Druid Heights. In 1972 he was commissioned by Neil Young to design and construct his famous tour bus Emily Flowers.
The rural community, Druid Heights is known around the world as one of the first bohemian enclaves that was established before the beat generation took hold in the San Francisco Bay Area. Druid Heights has housed dozens of musicians, writers, artists, and social activist over the past four decades, including Zen philosopher and intellectual Alan Watts, poet Gary Snyder, and Margo St. James, founder of the prostitute rights group, Call Off Your Old Tired Ethics (COYOTE).
Somers was also instrumental in the development of several Bay Area organizations including the Asia Society and the Henry George Society. Somers was featured in the 1968, James Broughton film, The Bed.
Somers died at his home on Thursday, September 13th, 2001 from heart failure. His daughter, Dr. Geraldine Somers, of Boston, Massachusetts and his son Tagore Somers of Houston, Texas and his longtime companion Faye Somers survive him.
Margaret (Margo) Jean St. James founded the organization COYOTE, which
advocated the decriminalization of prostitution.
My recollection is that she served on the board of the Henry Georgerge
School of San Francisco in the 1970s, when I was on the board.
Fred