In Your Town for Nov. 27, 2024
SAN RAFAEL
Downtown festival
to usher in holidays
The 43rd annual “Holiday of Lights and Winter Wonderland” event is scheduled for 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday on Fourth Street.
The event will include activities for children, food trucks, vendor booths, music and a 5:30 p.m. tree-light ceremony.
The event sponsors include the city, the Downtown San Rafael Business Improvement District and the San Rafael Chamber of Commerce.
More details are online at downtownsanrafael.org.
STRAWBERRY
Interior decorator
denies theft charges
A Novato interior designer pleaded not guilty Tuesday to charges that she stole property from a client’s home in Strawberry.
Cesalee Venetta Venema, 43, appeared before Marin County Superior Court Judge Kevin Murphy, who issued a protective order that prohibits Venema from coming within 100 yards of the alleged victim’s residence. Murphy scheduled the preliminary hearing on the evidence for Jan. 9.
The former client alleged that Venema stole items such as $80,000 worth of jewelry and gift cards from the home over a five-month period. Marin County sheriff’s investigators arrested Venema on Oct. 16, and she was released on bail.
Her public defender, Tamara York, declined to comment after the hearing Tuesday.
SAN RAFAEL
City planning official
grants permit for gym
A city zoning administrator has approved a permit for a Crunch Fitness gym at a former industrial space at 38 Gary Place.
The site is next to the Marin Square shopping center along Bellam Boulevard. The gym will have indoor and outdoor exercise areas. The proposed hours are 5 a.m. to 11 p.m. weekdays and 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. weekends.
The zoning official held a hearing on the application on Nov. 20.