By Josette Brose-Eichar My earliest memories are of north Minneapolis. My older sister, Eileen, walking me to Hawthorn Elementary School on frozen sidewalks. Midday I would walk back to our third-floor tenement apartment alone. Even as a small child I was unafraid to wander from... Continue

By Josette Brose-Eichar Today the sun is back out, the fog and rain gone, yet the days are chilled and the nights brittle and cold, to the point of shattering. During the rain, those with no real home were washed out of their attempts at... Continue

Growing up I was told I was weird, not normal.  Small and skinny with curly hair that stood on end, because my mom put a bowl on my head and cut around it.  My horrible eyesight was not discovered until the third grade.  I could... Continue

Savvy sav’e, adjective. Well informed and perceptive; shrewd. Knowledgeable or proficient. I read a letter to the editor in the newspaper the other day. The writer regretted voting for Donald Trump.  Yet she defended voting for him by stating that she thought he was a... Continue

If you read the recent letter from Sonoma County Sheriff Eddie Engram on “Why He Won’t Compel Deputies to Interview with IOLERO,” it sounds plausible and reasonable. But, after speaking with John Alden (Pictured), director of the Independent Office of Law Enforcement Review and Outreach... Continue

Last night I sat on our back deck long after dinner was over.  The hills to the east are covered in a blanket of green.  The view southwest toward Diamond A is a patchwork of green, gold, and patterned grids of vineyards.  How beautiful our... Continue

As I write my column today about the Sonoma Developmental Center (SDC), I am aware that Permit Sonoma plans to publish a Notice of Preparation (NOP) for responsible agencies and interested parties to provide comments on what should be included in the Draft Environmental Impact... Continue

Time passes at a dizzying and accelerating rate as we grow old.  At the Jack London Saloon in Glen Ellen I ran into Caterina Landry, a trustee on the Sonoma Valley School Board.  We talked generally about high school curriculum and I mentioned the contrast... Continue

We are told when we meet someone to be open-minded, to give someone new the benefit of a doubt. Do not judge people on first impressions. When I was young my instincts were not yet formed.  I trusted, unintentionally.  When there were signs that someone... Continue