Building to the Fourth

Margaret Hatcher, Sonoma Community Center’s special projects manager, designed the center’s Fourth of July parade float – a replica of the 100-year-old building on East Napa Street. The structure, built by past board president Jack Lundgren (complete with faux birthday cake) and carried by volunteers,... Continue

The general welfare and the common good

An open letter to the City Council: It is now eight months since you have been in office and it’s time to ask yourselves what you’ve accomplished? This is not about how many policy decisions you’ve made about land-use issues, or the myriad business policy and... Continue

Saving water with purple flowers

On the color wheel, purple is classified as a secondary color. Secondary colors are created by combining two primary colors. Purple is created by combining red and blue. Of course there are many shades of purple depending on the percentages of red and blue in... Continue

Reader opinion: Vacation rentals in a changing economy

by Josette Brose-Eichar There has been much written lately about vacation rentals, AKA short term rentals. It has also been a prominent topic of discussion at Sonoma City Council meetings and discussions countywide. In all of this it is never mentioned why vacation rentals are... Continue

To tell the truth

It sounds simple. Just tell the truth. But, telling the truth is difficult. As much as I believe in honesty, I grapple with it. Speaking up isn’t as easy as it sounds. Try telling someone they have gas or their hair is too greasy. Being... Continue

Pardon Edward Snowden

What better example of American Values than if our president pardoned Edward Snowden on the Fourth of July? While that might send local conservatives to the ER with chest pains, it could prove entertaining. Who can forget the outraged lady who, during a Sonoma Fourth... Continue

Making up the rules

People have a love-hate relationship with rules; they love them when they apply to others, but hate them when they apply to themselves. Rules, however, are essential. Every functioning society, no matter how simple or sophisticated, has rules. Rules become laws and regulations when important... Continue

Williams-Sonoma event expansion appealed; City’s new budget; Relay for Life update

The Sonoma Planning Commission decision to grant an expanded use permit to Williams-Sonoma – a move that legitimized what the retailer had already been doing without permission – has been appealed. The paperwork was filed by former mayor and three-term city council member Larry Barnett.... Continue

Motives for “Little Murders”

[caption id="attachment_53667" align="aligncenter" width="327"] (Photo: Ray Mabry)[/caption] New York in 1967 was a mad, mad world, and not in a funny way. Gritty, noisy, unforgiving, plagued by muggings, power failures, random shootings and obscene phone calls, it was enough to drive a family a bit... Continue

Community workshops to transform Maxwell Park

In 1973 Maxwell Park was designed as a rural regional park. Today, 40 years later, the park is surrounded by the densest urban neighborhoods in Sonoma Valley. How best to integrate the park with its adjacent urban neighborhoods, and best serve multiple multi-cultural, social, and recreational... Continue