A meaningful repurpose of the Sonoma Developmental Center

I recently found out about a plan submitted for the Sonoma Developmental Center (SDC). This plan is the Campus Project. It proposes to use many of the smaller existing buildings for cooperative housing. Think of the small buildings that look very much like homes. The... Continue

Relationships 101

Couples come into my office fighting, shutting down, or giving up. They fear rejection, walk on eggshells, live with longing, frustration, crabbiness, compromise or stonewalling, arguing about who’s right or wrong while yearning for harmony. I’m both honored and humbled to witness moments of repair... Continue

Homelessness in Sonoma Valley — an update

Homelessness is not a new issue for the Sonoma Valley; indeed, there have been countless meetings both public and behind the scenes about how exactly to provide shelter, food and services to our unhoused and housing insecure residents in Sonoma and the surrounding areas, and... Continue

Well, this turned into almost a novel…

Chapter 21: Letter from my mother (age 26) to my father’s sister living in Minnesota: Watsonville, Cal. Nov. 22, 1941 Dear Amelia and all: I started working in an apple dryer here the first of September and got through the day before Thanksgiving. I don’t mind... Continue

The Empire drops back

The steadfast commitment of President Biden to actually follow through on the withdrawal from Afghanistan after 20 futile years of pointless war was an act of political courage that is rare in this era. Biden did not run on this issue, even though it might... Continue

When pot became cannabis

When I saw the movie Reefer Madness for the first time in 1967, I had no idea of what was being said. The movie was part of a light show at Dana Hall. It was projected along with undulating, lava lamp-like blobs of color, random... Continue

Sustaining Sonoma’s sense of place

As the speed of change accelerates, our sense of time becomes distorted; we barely have time to coalesce memories before they are displaced by new events. In this way, history becomes lost, swept into a bubbling froth of social and personal transformation. So too our... Continue

The thick space of silence

What we say to each other can destroy relationships. But sometimes it’s the things unsaid that kill connection – words that sit like stale, unspoken resentments or fears in the thick space of silences. I started detaching from my mom because I thought that “setting... Continue

Climate action at the County level

As the Caldor Fire threatens South Lake Tahoe and Hurricane Ida batters the South and East, I am increasingly, constantly, and inescapably reminded that climate change is here. Under the weight of such devastation, it can at times feel futile to do climate action work.... Continue

The women in my family don’t mince words

Chapter 20: 1939 • Watsonville, California ~ Our house was right on her way home from the grammar school and Marceline (Uncle George’s and Aunt Verda’s daughter) loved to stop off and visit mom. Marceline held Babe in high esteem, elevating her to a kindred spirit... Continue

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