This, that and #other

While we’re busy dealing with a pandemic, there’s another disaster looming on the cloudless horizon, a potential crisis flying under the Doppler: drought. State officials haven’t declared one yet, but two consecutive dry years have created conditions more severe than the brick-in-the-toilet spell of 2013... Continue

Drought and cannabis

While county residents mull over the looming water scarcity brought on by two years of drought, our water crisis intensifies with the rollout of commercial cannabis. Napa’s “9111 Report” states cannabis water demand per harvest is 6 times that of grapes. That fact, added to... Continue

An appeal on appeals

At an upcoming meeting, the Sonoma City Council will discuss “improving” Sonoma’s appeal process. It’s not a problem that needs fixing. And in fact, tinkering with it – which likely entails jacking up the $400 filing fee – will help game the system in favor of... Continue

The small treasures that hold our memories

When we are young, time crawls. In grade school I was a horrible student, a child with a lot of energy and prone to giving lip to my teachers. A school year seemed like a decade to me, as I squirmed, doodled on the paper... Continue

On the front lines

April is National Volunteer Month, but every day at Sonoma Valley’s many nonprofits – like this recent lunch effort at Vintage House – is made possible by volunteer help. Here, Volunteer Coordinator Denise Wilbanks, at left, and Theresa Deeths, Programs Coordinator, join Katie DeJongh, Violet Wheeler,... Continue

SVHS Drama Dept. puts on a (radio) show

Elena Paraponiaris knows, like all fans of suspense know, that she should not pick up that phone. But hey, it’s in the script. And off we go with Dial M for Murder, a film noir classic (Grace Kelly, Ray Milland*) that began as a wildly... Continue

How to get on the County’s stand-by vaccine list

Eligible residents are invited to sign up on a County standby list to be notified when vaccine appointments are imminently available in Sonoma County. Some clinics have open appointments in the next two days. The county will review all sign-ups and will give priority to... Continue

He thought she was one snappy girl

Chapter 14: 1932 • Colusa, California ~ Three years into the Great Depression, when there were no jobs and little money and Herbert Hoover was unable to keep his campaign promises of prosperity, my grandmother, 59-year-old Nellie Chatfield, moved to the bustling rice town of Colusa, the... Continue

The urgency of climate change

It feels like a lifetime ago, but as Chair of the Board of Supervisors in 2020, I focused my State of the County address on the urgency of climate change. Unfortunately, COVID-19 drove that issue to the back burner last year, but the urgency for... Continue

On the wild bird circuit

Ever since the largest trees in my neighborhood were cut down, including a Red Mahogany Eucalyptus topping out at one-hundred feet tall, habits of the wildlife in my yard have changed. Squirrels, for one, disappeared entirely for several months. There had been a crew of... Continue