A lot of us are on edge, crabby and discombobulated. These are unsettling times. It rained all winter and (whether you’re right or left), we’re all tiptoeing through the tulips with Trump. Just the other day, I was walking on a path full of bouncing spring... Continue
Columnist
Sonoma Valley's close proximity to eight-million people is a physical reality. That our valley happens to be exceptionally beautiful, contains historic and charming villages, and offers some of the finest agricultural land and growing conditions in the world is also true. Yet, combine these factors... Continue
The Trump administration's dissing of opponents reminds me of comments made by Richard Nixon's Vice-President, Spiro Agnew, who criticizing the opposition, condemned the "effete corps of impudent snobs." Agnew, forced to resign due to evidence of bribery and corruption, did not write those words; speech-writer... Continue
Writing about my past is one thing, having others read about it another; it’s akin to posing as a nude model in art class. However, standing naked in front of strangers (or worse yet, in front of family, friends, and half the town of Sonoma)... Continue
The big question that we hear all the time these days in our community is, “What’s going on at La Luz, how is everyone doing?” The answers tend to be as complex and complicated as the issues facing all of us today: financial and physical... Continue
The ongoing political destabilization provoked by the unlikely election of Donald Trump has now escalated to what may be a constitutional crisis. The Trump Organization’s open challenge to the legitimacy of an independent judiciary, cracks in our international role as leader of NATO, tension in... Continue
We note that City Council is entertaining whether to declare Sonoma a Sanctuary City, or some such thing. The idea is to demonstrate support for and unity with our Latino friends and neighbors who feel very threatened by the Gestapo-like ICE round-ups of undocumented residents... Continue
The Sonoma County Agricultural Preservation and Open Space District was created by the visionary Sonoma County voters in 1990 to ensure that Sonoma County retained its rural way of life – including farming and ranching lands that produce local food and support our economy, community separators that maintain each city’s unique identity and... Continue
Authoritarian regimes use threats of force, coercion and intimidation to cow the populace and force it into submission to that regime's imperatives. Enlisting the aid of those who wield weapons - military and police forces with the power to arrest and incarcerate - regimes bent... Continue
The Statue of Liberty famously beckons "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free", certainly one of the kindest welcoming messages any country has employed. And yet, I've been wondering why America can be so mean. I'm not saying American's... Continue