Earlier this week, the California state legislature passed Assembly Bill 822 (Caballero), a Farm Bureau sponsored bill. The legislation promotes the purchase of California grown agricultural products by state agencies with the creation of a state purchasing preference in favor of California grown products over... Continue
Letters To The Editor
To anyone paying attention, it is very clear that draining the swamp is going to be very difficult since the swamp is very deep and there are a lot of people in it. The swamp has also been muddied by a former President who continually... Continue
Bill Boerum's statement to the Sonoma City Council's special meeting, a Community Workshop on Cannabis, on Monday night: "Though not representing any specific organization, I have had 10 years of healthcare and hospital governance experience on the local, regional, and statewide levels. My other disclaimer is that... Continue
Dear School Board -- I am a resident of the City of Sonoma and I am writing to provide my opinion regarding the allocation of funds from the Measure E bond initiative. I strongly oppose the use of the funds for the planned athletic fields at... Continue
Unlike on television, for the past several years there has been another “Big Brother” episode unfolding that has not been at all entertaining, instead controversial consuming thousands of hours of effort and likely millions in legal expenses involving one California farmer running afoul of a... Continue
The latest lobbying reports are out in Sacramento, showing how much special interests are spending to influence lawmakers. After reading the reports, you can’t blame taxpayers for feeling like the man who has been unjustly condemned to the gallows and is compelled to pay for... Continue
The August 17, 2017, column by Bob Edwards, “Olly olly oxen free”, presents a cynical, and I believe misleading, view of the purpose and enforcement of the California open meeting law, or Brown Act, that requires response. Whatever Mr. Edwards may think about the substance... Continue
California is in a housing crisis. The cost of housing — both for purchase and rental housing — is too expensive. Ineffective public housing policies and anti-growth policies that impede even reasonable development projects have choked supply in a high-demand market. California needs to start... Continue
The year 1978 might seem like ancient history – a distant memory for most voters, and unimaginable for a growing class of policymakers who were not yet born then. With the passage of time, folklore prevails and myths sometimes come to overshadow facts. It is... Continue
By Jane Hirsch, Chair, SVHCD Board of Directors -- The hospital board addressed several timely topics at its August 3 meeting which I’d like to share with you in this report. South Lot Process The ongoing South Lot discussion led the meeting, following a closed session in... Continue