Larry Barnett lives in Sonoma where he was elected to three terms on the City Council and served twice as Mayor. A thirty-three-year resident, he currently serves as Chair of Sonoma's Planning Commission. He has been married for 48 years, has two daughters and three grandchildren.
Memories of Val Robichaud
I started writing for The Sun in 2005, while I was Mayor of Sonoma. I’d write a “Mayor’s” column once a month, and thereafter continued to write monthly. I offered to write a weekly column and have been writing a column for every edition since 2006.
For nearly twenty years, I’ve been working with Val, most intensively for the past ten or so when we agreed to create an Editorial Board that would write the paper’s editorials each week. That Board included Val, of course. We’d meet each week to talk about upcoming content and editorial ideas. One of us would produce a draft, and the rest of the group would chime in with suggestions for changes. Up until Val’s recent passing, that process continued, although a bit less frequently since the paper became twice monthly instead of weekly.
Getting together with Val to talk about plans was always fun. As a group we’d trade gossip, share stories, and imagine the future editions of the paper together. There’d be lots of laughs and some serious talk, too. Val welcomed having a team and being part of it, but he was always the editor and final arbiter of content. Our collective mission was to remain hyper-local, to focus on issues of import to Valley residents and not get far afield into topics and stories that were national.
Val loved two things about the paper: excitement about providing the public with an interesting and useful publication and being his own boss. As to the first, Val, who was a naturally bubbly guy with a quick sense of humor and a love of laughter, got easily excited at the prospect of a good story or article. He had a genuine appreciation for looking under the surface of things and bringing attention to the deeper story. As to the second, being his own boss, Val’s independence gave him energy and induced him to continue publishing The Sun even as the small-town newspaper business became more and more challenging. The harder it got, the more devoted he seemed to get.
As is often the case, I’m learning things about Val after his death that he never talked about. for example, I received an email from someone he worked with at KQED, “many years ago. He was a gifted writer with a wonderful sense of humor,” she wrote, and asked about a memorial service.
Another friend of Val’s wrote to me about their time as students. “Val and I first met in a Small Press Publishing class at San Diego St. University back in the late 70s. “He and I collaborated on a humor magazine, of which we were able to print 5,000 copies and distribute around campus and various spots in San Diego. And we’ve been friends ever since.” Who knew?
A sincerely sweet person, Val made friends all over Sonoma Valley. He was generous to a fault, cutting deals on ads in The Sun even while he was short on income. That’s what love will do to you, and Val was full of love.
3 thoughts on “Memories of Val Robichaud”
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Learning about the history of the Sun and getting a glimpse into the editorial meetings is a treat.
Val was one of the first to seek me out and welcome me to the valley. He came to my property, met my wife and kids and friends. We started talking politics and it felt like we were old friends immediately. He was a special man. I can say that after only knowing him a couple months.
Thank you to Larry for your work on the Sun. Your writing is very enjoyable and educational. And your work with the rest of the Sun team to keep the Sun in publication is admired and appreciated.
I spoke to Val at length about his desire for alternative points of view and the idea of free speech absolutism that the American press used to fight to protect and preserve. The local independent front lines of free speech must value and preserve the first amendment above partisan, political, social pressures from opposing groups with the agenda to remove u popular free speech of their political enemies. The only speech or comments that should be restricted are calls to violence. The Supreme Court has declared there is not a legal exception to the first amendment for so called “hate speech”, but political adversaries always call the speech of their opponent motivated by hate. Government does not have the legal authority to be intolerant of speech they do not appreciate. It is illegal by the brown act and first amendment to do so and local bodies have been taught expensive lessons many times. And the press has a responsibility and mandate to be free of oppressive group-think censorship of ideas and speech whether it is controversial, popular, approved by the ADL or not.
If the Sun desires to keep a beautiful legacy for Val and other contributors, it will look deep inside itself and decide if it will be a one-sided paper with “smarter-than-thee” moderators who decide what is free speech or a real free-speech, first amendment advocate who will do the intended work of the American free press. A well-rounded paper with tolerance and compassion for all points of views. Val offered me a column since his paper was lopsided to the left. I think this indicates Val’s desires and intention for his paper to be a shining example of robust and unadulterated free speech and free thought. I am happy to help in any way I can. My sincere appreciation to Larry and others who are working hard to manage the resigns. We all love Val. That is so rare and so heartwarming. We can use this to unify in our goal to save the Sun, protect free speech, and the free press matter our political beliefs.
Fun stuff, Val would come to the dispensary and hang out with me and the guys. We have cool photos of us chilling and chatting. He was one of our new friends and we will all miss his big smile and smart thinking. Bummer to lose him. My condolences to his family, friends, and staff.
I am so saddened to learn of Val’s death. He was the light of the Sonoma Sun, which was a shining contribution to the community.
Val and I worked at KQED many years ago then met up again at the SV Harvest Wine Auction where he worked with the media and wrote the funniest copy for the auction catalogs. He was so looking forward to visiting Annie in Italy in March, and although he was a bit worried, he said he was leaving The Sun in good hands while he was gone. The Sun and Annie were his proudest achievements. I’ll miss my dear friend and colleague.