Sonoma should allow medical cannabis dispensary

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

Letter: Use school bond money for academics, not athletics

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

‘Big Brother’ on the farm

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

Taxpayers pay for lobbying in Sacramento

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

Comments on Brown Act were cynical, unfair

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

Want to improve housing affordability? Increase the homeowners exemption

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

Busting the myth that Prop 13 eviscerated local tax revenue

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

Hospital board chair on south lot proposals, executive salaries

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

Hotel EIR is well flacked, but flawed

A few weeks back another newspaper printed a letter from Steve Page in defense of Mr. Anderson's hotel (Sonoma Hotel Project) environmental impact report. Steve Page knows all the tricks on how to get a very flawed EIR through the system. Steve is employed by... Continue

Who runs things in the Valley?

Let me get this straight. A guy got up at a School Board meeting, lauded the suddenly departing superintendent of schools, threatened one board member with recall, later another, and was chosen interim school superintendent. Another guy got up, said he didn’t think the superintendent... Continue

Letters To The Editor