The behavior and accountability of law enforcement has emerged as a huge issue. The murder of George Floyd set off ongoing nationwide protests and demonstrations calling for systemic change. Some voices are calling for law enforcement funding to be reduced; if that means redirecting some... Continue
Editorials
The protests roiling our nation have but lightly touched Sonoma Valley, but all of us here feel the tension and despair that's broken out in city after city. Looting has occurred, and it's been an unwelcome distraction from the airing of legitimate grievances about... Continue
People don't change long-standing habits easily; where we shop, what we eat, how we speak, ways we dress, and so forth, become firmly established within the on-going conduct of our lives. Even when we learn that our behavior has a negative effect on society, the... Continue
The coronavirus pandemic is killing a horrifying number of people; it's also finishing off America's local newspapers, which have been in a state of decline for decades. But the joint pressures of online news and economic recession may be the death knell for print journalism... Continue
Sonoma's Tourism Improvement District (TID), a non-profit organization operated by representatives from the hospitality industry, was established seven years ago for the sole purpose of providing funding for the promotion of increased tourism to Sonoma. It is a primary source of funds for the Sonoma... Continue
Everything we believed was true has become subject to question or even reversal; everything we relied upon has shifted. On a larger scale, the world – which we who lived and loved in the ‘60s believed we had influenced and changed for future generations –... Continue
The City of Sonoma maintains a number of cemeteries, including the historic Mountain Cemetery containing the tombs and graves of many of the area's founding families and residents. Mountain Cemetery, in particular, requires continuous maintenance to clear brush, maintain tree health and safety, and prevent... Continue
The consensus of climate scientists is that climate change threatens to cause an irrevocable alteration of life on planet earth. The buildup of greenhouse gasses has accelerated over the past two decades despite clear warnings and we are nearing the tipping point, where the effects... Continue
The essence of capitalism is the accumulation of profits and assets. This accumulation is enabled by the exploitation of labor, which is to say the skimming off of the excess value of productivity, the value above that required to sustain workers. That accumulation, in turn,... Continue
According to the office of California's Secretary of State, in order to be declared historic a property or structure must satisfy a set of specific criteria. These criteria cover such matters as building design and construction, materials, scale, use, and occupants. When it comes to... Continue