Our tourism bureau heavily advertises Sonoma County around the globe as a welcoming, educated, chic, beautiful, wine-savvy, progressive, suave and debonair place to visit. In so doing, it artfully avoids even the slightest mention of our Dirty Little Secret: Sonoma County is home to 51,408... Continue
Columnist
By Loretta Carpio Carr On a recent stop for gas, I went into the adjacent convenience store to buy a bottle of water and a couple of snacks for my drive down to the San Joaquin Valley. As I browsed the aisles of Cheetos and... Continue
I left the City Council candidate's forum at Andrews Hall last week feeling uncomfortable. It's not that the candidates did not conduct themselves well or acted inappropriately; to the contrary, as a group they were polite, friendly, good-natured, well-spoken and heartfelt. Yet, as I walked... Continue
The Sonoma Valley has a lively local political culture. We are blessed to have a large contingent of highly educated and accomplished professionals and a growing cadre of younger Democratic Party activists who have season tickets for the City Council meetings. I respect the difficult,... Continue
Inside women’s souls lies a volcano of hot lava, smoldering for too long. We’re sick of being mistreated and tired of our own negative self-talk. It shows up in our anger, depressed moods and artistic blocks, our struggle to love our bodies, or in our... Continue
By Susan Gorin, First District Supervisor Ahhh, Fall - walking on crunchy yellow and brown leaves, watching pumpkins appear on our porches… and election signs sprouting in our yards and along our highways. The Board of Supervisors are always politically involved, and I hope you... Continue
Sonoma's Urban Growth Boundary (UGB) is performing exactly the way it was intended. Agricultural land and open space beyond the city's borders have been preserved, but preventing sprawl was always the simplest and most obvious intent. The less obvious intent now manifesting is creatively-designed, higher-density... Continue
I am self-made, self-sufficient, and self-supporting, along with being self-reliant, self-confident and self-motivated. I am also self-righteous, self-serving, self-critical, self-centered, and perhaps just a wee bit self-absorbed. I reek of responsibility and good reputation. I hold dear my anxiety, all the while remaining tethered to my... Continue
One of the biggest headliners in the liberal camp, David Remnick (editor of the “New Yorker” magazine), took top prize for the biggest media face-plant when he withdrew his invitation to Steve Bannon (former top policy aide to president Trump and former editor of Breitbart.com)... Continue
We all want ways to thrive. Whether we’re drawing, cooking, making wine, singing, planting sunflowers or speaking to a crowd, art is always enlivening. Art can be re-arranging your kitchen or the great art of conversation. It can be in anything we do. It requires... Continue