Your vote matters
I never used to pay much attention to the candidates for Sonoma City Council. I considered candidates mostly interchangeable. I never thought their decisions, and the people they validate to be on the Planning Commission, could have a profound and direct influence on my day-to-day life.
My period of innocence is over. I now know that permits can be granted for music that not only negatively impacts the quality of the neighborhood where I live, but have the potential to drive down property values. I urge everyone to go to at least one City Council meeting and one Planning Commission meeting before the next election. Some of the current City Council members are up for re-election. Watch them in action and see for yourself which ones best reflect your positions.
The dates for City Council and Planning Commission meetings are available online, citysonoma.org, and published in the newspapers. On the website you can read minutes of previous meetings. Agendas for City Council meetings are available the Friday before at City Hall. You can obtain packets for the meetings at City Hall. The packets will contain any letters that have been written on particular issues before the City Council and Commission. If you cannot attend a meeting you can watch on Sun TV, Comcast Channel 27. You may want to tape the meetings so you can fast-forward past discussions of issues that do not interest you.
If you have an opportunity to go to a meeting where candidates will have a question and answer period, please do go and ask them about the issues that are important to you. It matters.
Kassandra Miller
Sonoma
Favors Prop. 8 ruling
I have actually been questioning our democratic system lately, wondering how any minority can avoid having their rights trampled by the majority. I had seen repeated results of laws passed where the rights of a minority group were voted away by a simple majority of voters or legislators using prejudice or religion as a reason to do this. I had forgotten how far-seeing the founders of our constitution were in instituting the judicial branch of government. I am a physician with no experience in politics, but I have fought against prejudice in every form, and I thought things were improving.
The passage of Proposition 8 showed that we have a long way to go in wiping out prejudice. The fairness of Judge Vaughn Walker is a beacon of hope. We can trust that the judges in future appeals will continue to apply the Equal Protection guarantee of the 14th Amendment, which is America at its best.
John Schafer
Sonoma
New pipe shop is a slap in the face for Sonoma
I have to wonder if Stan Pappas thought about how his shop would have to be explained to the hundreds of children in the neighborhood. Did he think about how it would draw crack cocaine and methamphetamine users along with all those who “simply” smoke pot. You have to wonder what kind of thinking brought this kind of business to a neighborhood struggling to pull itself up and to be safe for the children and families that live here. Did he think about anyone’s property values or the safety of businesses in the area? He could not have been thinking about the community at all. It is a disgraceful addition to our community that will go down as one of the most self-serving business decisions I have witnessed in my 17 years of living here.
Julie Diamond
Sonoma
Swim America saves lives
I have been swimming in the Sonoma Valley Swim America program at Hanna Boys Center every summer since I was seven. I’m 11-years-old now, and I have seen many lives changed in those short four years. When I started, I saw kids who would barely get in the water, much less put their face in. This year many of those once-frightened kids are swimming in the San Francisco Bay.
Swimming is not just a life-saving skill, it’s a confidence builder. It is also great exercise and lots of fun. Families who can’t afford lessons are given scholarships, because saving a life is more important than money.
I don’t know the statistics, but I know too many people – adults and children – have drowned. Swim America is changing that. If you think you’re too old to start swimming, think again. Some kids who started this year are older than me and have done really well. Your age doesn’t matter.
Swim America, led by Arden Kremer, has turned me into a solid swimmer and my little sister isn’t far behind . It is a great program and I can’t wait for next summer!
Fiona Day
Sonoma