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.

How we rule

Having moved from the unconscious existence of pre-human animal life governed by biological drives and hereditary instinct, we find ourselves faced with power and the freedom of choice in how we rule our lives, both individually and collectively. Ruling ourselves is an inescapable human predicament... Continue

The inspirational impact of arts education

Why do you teach the arts, I asked the visual and performing arts teachers in SVUSD recently. Their answers revealed the transformational role of creativity and the arts in education. It’s every TK-12 child’s right to be taught by qualified arts educators, on a regular... Continue

Mother was gone a short while

Chapter 63: 1950 • Sonora, California Note: My brother’s daily entries in the months of March and April were typical of those in the past dealing with school, sports, band, and work; I only posted excerpts from part of April, where they took on a... Continue

Connecting the dots

When people ask me what’s on my mind I sometimes say, “death…” but I don’t like to talk about it because it’s a downer. It's the absolute oddest "thing" – death, I mean. It's hard to talk about, to "get on top of..." to embrace,... Continue

Beavers are an ecosystem

The beaver dam is back on Sonoma Creek in Maxwell Farms Regional Park. It was washed away during last season’s storms. Last time I looked, the intertwined limbs and branches were holding back the low water flows as summer turned to fall. I also found... Continue

A thought challenge

Big Pharma is required to test new potions and concoctions to assure their safety and effectiveness before releasing them on an unsuspecting public. If they don’t, they could be heavily fined, get sued, and/or their executives put at a small risk of being tossed in... Continue

On hating haters

I find the behavior of Matt Gaetz, Marjory Taylor Greene, Lauren Bobert and Kevin McCarthy reprehensible; I hate it. These four MAGATS and many other so-called republicans are pursuing policies and positions that damage our democracy; the only reason I can see for how they... Continue

Media literacy: the key 21st-century political skillset

Elvis notoriously shot his TV when all four channels were trash that day. I feel you, bro. You, gentle reader, don’t have to go that gonzo to reduce the influence of mainstream media on your baseline mood and emotional stability. Don’t get poisoned by the... Continue

The next Apple?

After many decades of a local economy based on low-wage agriculture, hospitality and wine industry jobs, rumors are circulating that a cutting-edge hi-tech start-up is seeking to lease several thousand square feet of office space just off the Plaza in Sonoma. If true, hundreds of... Continue

Hate speech comes home

Growing up in Minnesota I didn’t look like other kids. My Sicilian mother put a bowl on my head, cutting around it to create my signature curly-fro cut. Each summer I would spend every minute outdoors, achieving an amazing tan. That combined with slanted eyes... Continue

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