Tabloid Ethics

A few weeks ago the Internet was all atwitter due to a video showing a brief physical altercation between two Sonoma Valley High School students, The video went "viral" and in no time mobile Bay Area news crews were trolling Broadway across the street from... Continue

Street trees as urban gardens

Ample rain and warm temperatures have brought an early spring to our area. The trees are beginning to get green as this year's leaves emerge from hiding and we can already see evidence of wildflowers popping up along our urban sidewalks and meadows. If last... Continue

Editorial: Sonoma’s minimum wage and affordable housing

During the past couple of years, we've gone on the record numerous times calling for both an increase in Sonoma's minimum wage to $15/hr. and the generation of revenues to support the creation of affordable housing. We and various groups in the community have offered... Continue

‘Fixing’ The Springs

We live in a time when it is very difficult to get something fixed – a lamp repaired, a handsaw sharpened, the battery in an iPhone replaced. Anyone who has had a perfectly good car “totaled” because insurance won’t pay the cost of body work... Continue

A level playing field

It's easy to let likes and dislikes dictate how we make choices, and when it's merely personal, that's no big thing. When personal likes and dislikes drive decision-making by public bodies, however, it is a problem, and it is precisely for this reason Sonoma's General... Continue

Sonoma’s rear view mirror of history

We in Sonoma enjoy a particular status as the location of the most northward of the Missions, and notably, the birthplace of the State of California. At the very center of the City of Sonoma, the Sonoma Barracks, now a State Park, provides constant testimony... Continue

The Vacation Rental Blues

After 14 months of public participation and a set of recommendations by its own Planning Commission, the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors elected to disregard all that and go its own way on regulating vacation rentals. The 4-1 vote, Susan Gorin dissenting, now sets the... Continue

Ending the poolishness

Having a community pool is a good idea. It's so good, in fact, that we've got a number of them. The Sonoma Aquatic Center, for example, has a collection of pools for community use, both indoor and outdoor. And if you are a member of... Continue

Local Government: Our pitiful, helpless giant

Sonoma County's proposed 2106 budget is $1.4 billion, the City of Sonoma's $31.6 million. Revenues from Tourism are at an all-time high. In 2014, our regional wine industry was estimated to generate $13.4 billion in economic impacts. Having recovered from the housing price slump, the... Continue

What does ‘Community’ mean?

It seems like everyone is invoking "community" nowadays. Government speaks of "engaging the community,” developers and nonprofits talk about "community outreach,. We hear about things like the "community pool" and even our Sonoma Valley Sun tag line includes the word "community." This prompts the question:... Continue

Editorials