Yes, there is a Santa Claus

Young Virginia O’Hanlon wrote this letter to the editor of New York’s Sun and this response, written by Francis Pharcellus Church, was printed as an unsigned editorial on December, 21, 1897. I am 8 years old. Some of my little friends say there is no... Continue

Artist, publican, story teller — a life tribute to Patrick McMurtry

By Jonah Raskin -- Patrick McMurtry, an accomplished artist, a local historian and a long time worker at the Sonoma Developmental Center, died last September after a long bout with cancer. He was 73-years old, though he probably would have called himself, “years young.” Gael... Continue

Winter without a home

This morning it is bitter cold. I go out and pick up the newspaper and it is almost a Minnesota, brittle bite of cold that I feel. But, back inside, in our little Springs house, in my favorite chair, with my feet up on an... Continue

Serving the homeless

Sonoma Overnight Support served its 50,000th meal of 2021 in early December – nearly three times the annual number only three years ago. The increase speaks to the growing number of homeless and food insecure in Sonoma Valley, and is a testament to the hard-working... Continue

What makes The Sun different

All across America newspapers are struggling. Those that remain independent have turned to digital media to boost revenues, but user subscriptions – either for print or digital access – don’t replace the advertising newspapers traditionally rely upon. Hedge fund acquisitions of small newspaper chains have... Continue

Take that, Mr. D!

I was never much of an athlete as a child. I was well coordinated, and certainly strong enough, but spending hours practicing a sport was not of much interest to me. My grammar school experience didn’t help; in fact, gym class with Mr. D discouraged... Continue

Sonoma’s history should reflect the full, brutal truth

I recently explored the exhibits and historical displays at the Sonoma Mission and Sonoma State Historic Park. Although they were interesting, the displays state that “Indian labor” was used at the Mission, but to fail to explain that this was more akin to slavery than... Continue

Nice, then naughty

Before we get to the snark and smartassery, we begin with something quite sweet and nice. It begins, though, with Beverly Koepplin, a star volunteer at Friends in Sonoma Helping, contracting Covid. There are people with much worse problems, she figured. Then the house next... Continue

Sonoma County mask rules unchanged by state update

Indoor masking requirements in Sonoma County, including its exemptions for indoor dining and some stable groups of fully vaccinated people, remain unchanged under a new statewide mask mandate from the California Department of Public Health. CDPH will allow counties such as Sonoma, which has required... Continue

What really matters?

Awed by all we’ve been through, from fire seasons to silent streets with worldwide plague, we wonder what matters. Uncertain about our future, we feel more vulnerable. Questions loom as we reflect on our lives at this turn of the year. We ponder many things,... Continue