For the North Bay wine country, including Sonoma, tourism has been a mixed blessing. Just one-hour’s drive from five million people looking for a weekend escape, the boom in tourism has both irrevocably altered the rural landscape with wineries, hotels and backed-up traffic and simultaneously... Continue
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There is a yogic practice in Tibet that takes place in a charnel ground, or what we call a graveyard. Graveyards in Tibet, which is mostly rock, are not the neat and grassy parks we have here in America. Tibetan charnel grounds are bone-scattered yards... Continue
Representatives from 20 different Sonoma Valley nonprofits gathered for a presentation last week to learn about a new concept in user-friendly online fundraising called Charity of Choice. Launched just two years ago in the Sonoma area for the Echelon Gran Fondo bicycling series, Charity of... Continue
We think we live in a world of things: cars, dogs, trees, tables, salt shakers, cardboard boxes, underwear... the list is nearly inexhaustible. Every culture has its own words for each thing, and each thing has many sub-categories, right down to its molecular structure. So... Continue
My father-in-law used to answer, “Fair to partly cloudy,” when I asked how he was. By this time he was in his late 70’s and not in the best of health, but I suspect he’d been a “fair to partly cloudy” guy his whole life.... Continue
I found a pooch in the traffic this week as tired drivers skidded around him. Holding onto his collar in the summer heat, I walked him to my house. Unable to reach the owner/ “guardian” I was awed by local folks who helped immediately. Laurinda Charvat,... Continue
Recent reports on the condition of the Fukushima nuclear power reactors in Japan indicate that highly radioactive water used in the makeshift reactor cooling system has been leaking from buried storage tanks damaged in a tsunami several years ago. Decommissioning and closing the plants seems... Continue
Dear Bonnie: I’m 17 and I just landed a summer job at a restaurant on the Plaza. Do I have to pay taxes on the tips I’ll be getting? I’ve heard two different stories about that. Also, how many exemptions should I take on this... Continue
My wife surprised me a few weeks ago when she announced that she thought we should follow Giants’ baseball this year. “It will,” she said, “be fun.” I should note that we like to watch the World Series when we can, but to call us... Continue
A recent report indicates that as many as one-in-five high-school-age boys have been diagnosed with ADHD and many of them are being treated with drugs like Adderall and Ritalin. Clearly, either there is a growing epidemic of ADHD of unknown causes, or diagnostic criteria and social... Continue