Sometimes I grit my teeth reading the news, I wonder, "Can’t we stop the worldwide killing, hatred, the judgments, the division?" Then I realize most people, including myself, need to heal our own inner terrorist. We all have negative reactions at times. When we hurt... Continue
Columnist
Like many who are fully vaccinated, I am slowly but surely (and safely) returning to in-person events and community gatherings, even though I am increasingly concerned by the resurgence of COVID, especially among those who remain unvaccinated. I have found Zoom to be a very... Continue
Redevelopment funding ended in 2012, and the city was slow to begin to replace it. The 20% portion of redevelopment funding that was dedicated to the creation of affordable housing accounted for millions of dollars used to subsidize larger affordable housing projects. The newly created... Continue
Since the pandemic we’ve been hearing more about “systems change,” a concept that has been floated ever since the advent of systems theory (a la Fritjof Capra et. al.) Systems theory describes the natural world as a system applicable to social systems as well. Clearly... Continue
Chapter 18: • Minnesota, The Clemens Farm ~ My grandparents were known for attending funerals. Relatives, close friends, acquaintances, people they barely knew—it didn’t matter—Barbara and Mathew went to all of them. It was their social center. If anyone wanted to visit them and a nearby funeral... Continue
End of summer, 1970, west of Minneapolis, Minnesota Just past midnight, an 18 year old woman drives a rust bucket 1963 Bel Air down a dark two lane road. She hears a siren, sees flashing lights in the rear view mirror and pulls over. Two... Continue
We’ve pivoted from shutting our worldwide doors to the opening of stores and social settings. From zoom to podcasts and back to instagram, we squint at another required computer password. Then, pivot again through drought, dreading the fire season, hardly past elections and the tax... Continue
It feels like just yesterday that the Board of Supervisors adopted the budget for the 2020/2021 Fiscal Year. Budget hearings were one of many things delayed last year amid the challenges and uncertainty as Sonoma County grappled with the impacts of COVID-19. This year was... Continue
My wife received a phone call and an email the other day announcing that she was a first-place winner in the Reader’s Digest Sweepstakes; $5.1 million was awaiting deposit into her bank account. Wisely, she made no response on the phone other than to say... Continue
Chapter 17: 1920 • Minnesota ~ When the wheels needed to be changed or the axles greased, my father—not yet a man—lifted the more than 200-pound hay wagon with his back, raised it higher with his arms, and held it steady while his older brother Aloysius,... Continue