Last month, the California State Department of General Services (DGS) and the Grupe/Rogal partnership submitted a Builder’s Remedy (Senate Bill 330) application to Permit Sonoma for the Sonoma Developmental Center. The numbers were significantly higher than proposed: 930 housing units, a 170,000 square foot hotel,... Continue

As an event floral designer, I have become very familiar with event venues and hotels. I see work cultures where employees and vendors are treated with respect and those where the opposite is true.   I recently attended a Sonoma Hospitality Association event where the topic... Continue

We like to think we know a lie from the truth, or think there is a gray area where we just can’t make a judgment. Sometimes we tell little lies, to avoid hurting someone’s feelings or just to get out of something. These little lies... Continue

Many years ago when we first moved to the Springs, I was out for a walk.  I saw this bumper sticker:  “Militant agnostic, I don’t know and neither do you.” The car and the agnostic are long gone, yet the line stays with me. My... Continue

Where do you draw the line and consider someone wealthy? Is it if they own a home that is now worth a million dollars? Does it matter that they paid very little for it 30 years ago? A million dollars sounds big. In today’s world... Continue

In discussing the buying spree of KS Mattson, LeFever Mattson, or any of their 50 companies, it is important to make a distinction between property they own and lease to others, and property where they own and operate a commercial business. Properties like Sonoma’s Best,... Continue

Boomer. What exactly does this word mean? It could be someone who makes loud booming noises, or a person born in the years just after World War II. This was known as the Baby Boom, as those that had grown up during the Great Depression... Continue

I just returned from a visit with an old friend. We were coworkers at Visa Credit Card, many years ago.  We have maintained our friendship even though we are at opposite ends of the political spectrum.  People often ask me, how do you do this?... Continue