With the start of the month of May comes the start of the summer movie season. And summer being only a few weeks away, Seawolves can get ready to binge watch several returning and new shows coming to streaming platforms. This month will bring to premiere and return of many highly anticipated shows and with streaming services continuing to dominate in award season some highly anticipated films are starting to appear across platforms.

Hairdresser, “Queer Eye” host, and gymnastics enthusiast Jonathan Van Ness, or JVN visited Sonoma State virtually on zoom on April 5, for a live question and answer session. The night was put on by Associated Students and was hosted by two Sonoma State students, Mac Patefeild and Loren Smith. They engaged in fun conversation with Jonathan as they moderated student questions. Jonathan shared a plethora of personal anecdotes and imparted wisdom about the college experience.

On Sunday March 14, Sonoma County for the first time since entering the pandemic over a year ago has moved into the red tier and out of the previously occupied purple tier. This shift has allowed for many sites across Sonoma County to reopen for the first time, including movie theatres. Students for the first time since last March will be able to go to the movies across Sonoma County and experience the joy of the theatre once again.

On March 24 to 28, Sonoma County held another successful year of the Sonoma International Live and Virtual Film Festival (SIFF). The event showcased over 120 films including over 20 premieres. They held three drive-in live events in Sonoma County and remained an innovative and notable film festival.

Last Thursday the Grammy award winning band ‘Quetzal’ was a guest in The Green Room, a space reserved for revealing conversations, personal connections and compelling performances inside of the Green Music Center. The Green Room has transitioned itself into a space for the Green Music Center to hold their virtual events during the Pandemic. Quetzal’s visit consisted of vibrant performances of songs from their newest album Puentes Sonoros.

Sonoma County has introduced its second refill and sustainable living store in the past year. Refill Madness opened its doors on Feb. 23 in Sonoma Valley located near Sonoma Market. They sell a range of household essentials including dish soap, shampoo, conditioner, hand soap, body wash and laundry detergent in bulk with the goal of customers returning with reusable jars and containers to stock up. Buying in bulk has become one of the many trends we have seen in the boom of sustainable living and being environmentally conscious in the past few years.

Taylor Swift has begun the highly anticipated re-release of her first six albums. She is beginning with Fearless, her second studio album, its original release was on Nov. 11, 2008. Her first single from the re-recording “Love Story (Taylor’s Version)” is available now. Taylor has written or co-written almost the entirety of her discography, including her third studio album Speak Now where each song is written solely by Taylor. Her music has resonated with her listeners from its origin and she has only strengthened that relationship, releasing her ninth studio album this past December.

Quaker Oats is set to debut a rebranding for the popular pancake mix and syrup popularly known for decades as Aunt Jemima. It featured what many have identified as a racist caricature of a black woman on all the Aunt Jemima products, most famously pancake mix and syrup bottles. These items will now be sold under the name Pearl Milling Company. The loved products will still be easily recognizable for shoppers as it features a similar font and the same iconic red labeling. This is a very welcomed change for the brand and an important step is ending racial stereotyping.

On Feb. 1, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a U.S representative for the state of New York, more commonly known as AOC, took to Instagram live to recount in detail the events that took place surrounding the attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. AOC is a member of the Democratic party and was first sworn into congress in 2019.

On Jan. 20th Joe Biden became the 46th President of the United States. His inauguration was a long-awaited day for many Americans who hope this change in office will result in “history and hope...renewal and resolve,” words spoken by Biden himself in his Inaugural address. The Biden administration announced an ambitious 10 day plan for his first days in office, each day targeting a contentious issue followed by actions to alter some of what had been done by the Trump administration. The 10-day plan outlined each day as followed with his inauguration day targeting the four Crises, next Covid-19, then, Economic Relief, Buy America, Equity, Climate, Health Care, and Immigration. Weekends were accounted for.

The pharmaceutical company Pfizer has announced a vaccine for COVID-19 that is said to be over 90% effective.

President Trump’s taxes have remained a hot topic for years now and he has continued to neglect to release his tax returns.