Money to Ukraine; school district snark; pension Peloton; and more
The Sonoma Sister Cities Association has so far raised over $38,000 to aid its Ukrainian partner, the city of Kaniv. The first transfer was acknowledged by Mayor Ihor Renkas in a note to his Sonoma counterpart, Jack Ding. “We want to confirm that we have received your wire transfer of funds. The situation in Kaniv is under control and we are in good spirits. It is all thanks to God, Ukraine’s armed forces, and Kaniv’s Territorial Defense Forces. We are sincerely thankful for all of your help and support.”… The fundraising continues at Givebutter.com/SisterCities_Kaniv
Remember that time you weighed 700 pounds and lost 210, and nobody noticed? Let us now fat-shame the County of Sonoma, which last week humble-bragged it had “shrunk” its unfunded pension liability from $778 million four years ago to $543 million today. A 30% loss is impressive, but sporting a half-billion dollars of debt is not exactly a svelte look. “We’ve worked hard to get to this point,” said James Gore, chair of the Board of Supervisors, riding the financial Peloton. “We have striven to strengthen the county pension plan, contain cost increases that threaten our ability to fund essential county services, and save taxpayers money by accelerating payments on our unfunded pension liability. We are moving in the right direction.”
Bob Edwards, The Sun’s resident snarkmaster, offers a sharp look at the Sonoma Valley Unified School District, beset by staff defections, poor student performance and battling board members. “The superintendent has announced his determination to staunch the flood of resignations by hiring only The Best And The Brightest,” he observes. “Apparently, hiring The Best And The Brightest has not previously been the district’s policy.” Read the whole piece here… Dan Levitas puts it this way: “Our school district, after losing almost all its principals at the end of last school year, is losing almost all its principals again less than a year later. We need not only new principals, but also new principles.”
A tip of the top hat to George Webber, soon to receive a Legacy Award from Sonoma County Tourism. The big deal recognizes an industry figure “who has shown dedication to their profession through many years of exceptional service – leaving an enduring legacy.” Webber’s specialty is bringing historic figures to life. He portrayed for many years “The Count of Buena Vista,” Agoston Haraszthy; now, also in full historic regalia, he leads Sonoma Plaza tours embodying General Vallejo. So a lifetime achievement award makes total sense.
It’s the end of an era for the Press Democrat, which had printed in Sonoma County since 1857 (slightly less history for The Sun, which has been a PD print client for 10+ years). But owner Sonoma Media closed its Rhonert Park plant and moved operations to the San Francisco Chronicle’s production site in Fremont. Phil Barber wrote a nice piece – an obituary, really – describing the last night of production, “the final sheets will zip along a thrumming, Rube Goldberg-style, mile-and-a-quarter-long conveyor belt, then get sorted and batched and bundled and carried to the trucks that wait dutifully at the loading dock.”… The closure affects 22 full-time employees and 20 part-timers. This from the corporation that pledged to ‘save local journalism.’… As for The Sun, we have to drive to San Francisco now to pick up the papers. To chip in for gas money, Sonomasun.com/help-the-sun/
Michelle Lacy thinks dealing with Comcast/Xfinity should be added to the astronaut stress test. “If you can deal with them for four hours without screaming, you can go to the moon.”
– Val Robichaud, [email protected]
