The fastest growing population in America is that of people over 85. California is growing older too, and Sonoma Valley's senior population is increasing faster than the state average. Housing, transportation and social services that older people require are not keeping up. Demographically this is... Continue
Editorials
Political office often breeds paternalism, an inclination to protect the public from disturbing information. Though seemingly well-intentioned, paternalism arises from distrust of citizens, the attitude that people are not mature or well-informed enough to handle the truth. Public office exposes elected officials to the underbelly... Continue
In February of this year, we were the first to report citizen Chris Petlock's comments and questions to the Sonoma City Council about water rates and money transfers from the City's Water Fund to its General Fund. Subsequently, the City made light of his concerns;... Continue
We've written about creating affordable housing regularly for the past three years. We've made concrete suggestions about raising revenues, proposed new policies to stimulate housing, and offered a variety of solutions, all to no avail. At this point we've had to conclude that the leadership... Continue
America's founders were highly literate and books held an important place in their lives. On a yearly, per capita basis, people read far more books in the 18th Century than today. This was not simply a matter of fewer distractions and forms of entertainment; enlightenment... Continue
The abundance of American wealth has fostered a wasteful society. Our throwaway culture and mindset has now spread globally; in a mere few hundred years, the human race has been transformed into Homo garbagicus, our waste and refuse spread from pole to pole. On the... Continue
The poor Springs. Borrowing a famous dictum about Mexico – “so far from God, so close to the United States”– we might say of this large unincorporated area where over 60 percent of the Valley resides, “so far from Santa Rosa, so close to Sonoma.”... Continue
This editorial in favor of extending the hospital parcel tax originally ran in February, but the argument, and our support, remain strong for the June 6 special election. Our local Sonoma Valley Hospital continues to need financial support from the public. This support comes in... Continue
Perhaps it's a false dichotomy, this notion of Sonoma Valley as either Heaven or Hell, but Americans, after all, gravitate towards dichotomies: winners and losers, good and evil, villains and heroes, beauty and ugliness. Here in Sonoma Valley, however, the dichotomy is real, as clearly... Continue
All of us, without exception, had or have a mother. The miracle of birth is the miracle of motherhood, and we humans have been wrestling with that mystery for as long was we've had self-awareness. The archeological evidence of our obsession with fertility, birth and... Continue