Public Citizen

Larry Barnett lives in Sonoma where he was elected to three terms on the City Council and served twice as Mayor. A thirty-five-year resident, he currently serves on Sonoma's Planning Commission, where he recently was Chair for two years. Until her passing, he was married to his wife Norma for 50 years, has two daughters and three grandchildren.

Call Me Spanky

Like many, I find myself thinking about how best to resist the powerful emergence of reactionary, right-wing politics in America, and I've decided to go with the Our Gang School of Political Resistance. It's an approach that worked wonders for Spanky, Alfalfa, Buckwheat, Wheezer, Darla... Continue

Feeling the elephant

One can’t live in or around the town of Sonoma for long without encountering one or two memorable if not always endearing characters from our local basket of irascibles. In one fashion or another, they can seem to be channeling the spirit of Gabby Hayes,... Continue

Right back where I started from

I'm enjoying my life. I didn't ask to be here but now I don't want to leave; seems to be my particular version of the human condition. Think about it; two microscopic gametes meet and decide to live together as one for a lifetime. If... Continue

Not just nameless workers

On the cold morning of January 28, 1948, a United States Immigration Service plane carrying 28 Mexican citizens, one immigration guard, and three crew members departed from Oakland to transport these agricultural workers to the deportation center in El Centro. Beginning in 1942, tens of... Continue

Urine Trouble

Leaked documents detailing urine-play in a hotel in Russia are spattering the reputation of Donald Trump. It's been a while since "night water" has been in the news, but historically the topic of urine has bubbled up from time to time in literature and satire. Donald... Continue

In appreciation of quiet

I like quiet. I don't mean the complete silence of no sound whatsoever, but the quiet of the natural world. I find the sound of leaves rustling in the wind comforting. The same is true of water running in a creek, or birdsong. My wife... Continue

Pure politics or purely the hunt?

Friends and readers, here I am once more, sharing my feelings in these turbulent times. Is this the moment to be fearful? Not at all. Even less is it a time to just be waiting for uncomfortable actions to be directed specifically at the Hispanic... Continue

Ways to keep your volunteers coming back

Volunteers are the lifeblood of most nonprofits. In fact, 85 percent of all nonprofits in the U.S. are run entirely by volunteers. Since nonprofits need so many volunteers to manage their programs, serve their clients, conduct their events, and participate in fundraising efforts, they are... Continue

Tax season is almost here — are you ready?

The Internal Revenue Service will begin accepting electronically filed income tax returns on January 23, 2017. But more than likely, you will not receive all of your tax filing documents by that day. Employers and providers of all third party documents such as W2s, 1098s,... Continue

The political is personal

This week, I had an epiphany that is healing the post-election grief that many of us are experiencing every day. I realized that my electoral depression is about more than politics. It is about my own mortality. I grew up in the crucible of the... Continue

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