Here in Northern California, we are getting adapted to the new normal of an annual fall firestorm season. I have developed an instinct for sensing the impending signs of the witching season: bone-dry air, balmy temperatures, and the dreaded high winds. This cycle has existed... Continue
Columnist
If you feel like you're going crazy, you're not alone. Many of us feel our ship of state is floundering and that its rudder's fallen off. It's not just the antics of our dishonest and quarrelsome President that's troubling, but that America appears to have... Continue
Taxpayers should be on the lookout for new version of Social Security Number scam. The scammers are out there and they just don’t stop. By now you know better than to worry if someone from the IRS calls (it’s never them; they correspond by Snail... Continue
Our fixation with moving screen images is perhaps the most obvious example of our fascination with change, but whether fast or slow, change unfailingly captures our attention. Change is so constant and pervasive that it is at times overwhelming, but change itself is really the... Continue
The opposite of isolation, depression, and powerlessness is being proactive and reaching out. Whether we’re discouraged about personal or political issues, the cure is to redirect ourselves towards productive action. Citizen fatigue can make us turn inward, but stay involved in life instead. We are... Continue
On his way home from the park, Emmett stops by my real estate office to say hi. “Hey, I haven’t seen you since you were a little kid, and look at you, you’re a big kid! How old are you now?” I ask. “I’m four-and-a-half.”... Continue
Admittedly, that biology class was a very long time ago but I seem to distinctly recall Professor Pasteur saying that: Persons vaccinated against contagious diseases were not likely to become infected with those diseases, Unvaccinated persons exposed to a disease are likely to catch it... Continue
Each of us are born into The System, a social organization of rules and conventions developed and deployed by our fore bearers. Having been progressively adopted in the past, The System is always obsolete and in need of tinkering; the assumptions upon which The System... Continue
Let’s face it, most of Sonoma County’s roads are in poor to failing condition. As the First District Supervisor, I receive daily calls and e-mails about issues with roads—potholes, lifting pavement, and overall poor quality. My colleagues who represent other areas of the county have... Continue
When it comes to promoting planetary health, Homo Sapiens resembles the dieter who eats his daily pint of Cherries Garcia, but – sustainably! – adds only one scoop of whipped cream instead of two, and puts a paper straw in his Big Gulp. Nonetheless, we’ve... Continue