When I gaze up into the trees from my backyard I'm always struck by the ways they grow into and towards the light. A very large red-barked Eucalyptus over nine-stories tall in my neighbor's yard dominates the sky from down below, its silver-colored leaves shimmering... Continue
Columnist
Mass shootings, war, road rage – it’s just too much. What is all this anger rooted in? We “seem to talk less and less about where the rage-sickness causing these massacres comes from,” says Matt Taibbi. Anger starts in our limbic (fight or flight) brains.... Continue
While the talk in Sonoma focuses on housing, school budget cuts and rebuilding after the wildfires, the story of roundups and attacks on the immigrant community has been going almost unobserved. The Rapid Response Networks in many counties all over northern California, including Sonoma, Napa,... Continue
Our community is still reeling from the October firestorms – a number of us are still displaced and seeking housing, some have lost wages and some business owners are struggling to recover economically. The fires have forever altered our lives and experiences. For those of... Continue
Thirty two percent of Sonoma Valley residents being 60 plus years old, it’s no wonder that the median age of member-based nonprofits in the Valley is increasing. But our member-based nonprofits, including service organizations and giving circles, won’t be able to sustain themselves if they don’t... Continue
My sister recently visited from New York, and was excited to see what an outlet for recreational marijuana looked like. Finding ourselves in San Francisco, we decided to drop in at Harvest, a pot shop on Geary Street near 11th Avenue. To be honest, I've... Continue
As a West Coast progressive and a child of the 1960s counter-culture, I have not had a lot of contact with police. I can’t recall ever having a preference for who serves as County Sheriff. The field of law enforcement always seemed like an unlikely... Continue
While waiting by the register for my sundae at Sweet Scoops, a small boy comes up next to me where the napkins are. He’s not quite tall enough to reach and I quietly catch the container just as it nearly flips off the narrow shelf.... Continue
A few years back, Gov. Brown signed a bill sponsored by Senator Lois Wolk allowing wine sales at Sonoma State University’s Green Center for the Performing Arts. For those not familiar with the Center, its website notes in part: “The crown jewel of the Green... Continue
I'm struck by how many people feel badly about themselves: thinking they're failures for not "doing enough," faulting themselves for not having accomplished anything, walking around feeling guilty. Feeling self-critical is not necessarily unhealthy, but like any activity of mind, it can move into unhealthy... Continue