Off The Top of My Head: Getting Older
I readily admit, getting older is a challenge. Most days I can move along just fine because in my mind I’m the same guy I’ve always been. But every now and then I run into someone, who without trying to, reminds me of how...
Humane Society of Sonoma County – Healdsburg Activity Log Dec. 3-9
Looking for a lost pet or a new four-legged friend? See the list of incoming strays and the selection of cats and dogs available for adoption from the Healdsburg Center for Animals.
New hope for opiate addiction
We’ve all been exposed to pictures of drug abusers meant to scare us onto the straight and narrow path. Images of opium dens, strung out “junkies” using needles, meant to create distance between the substance abuser and the community. This strategy has worked well, creating isolation, exclusion and stigma around substance abuse issues and those that struggle with addiction. This stigma has made it harder for those in need to ask for, and accept, treatment for addictions.
Decoding Teenagers: Holiday Time
It’s the holidays. I can feel the anticipation as Christmas break draws near, two glorious weeks off school for my teenagers. But I also feel the two stress balls festering as their workload doubles in the next few weeks as classes wrap up for the new year. So, what kind of holiday season will it be? “Bah-humbug or “let’s be merry and bright.”
Managing trash and reducing litter
Do you like seeing trash and litter on our sidewalks, streets, yards and waterways? We didn’t think so. Not only do our open spaces look better when they are clean and tidy, it contributes to a healthier environment.
Off the Top of My Head: Jump to Digital
I am a newspaper reader. I like holding the paper and scanning the pages. I look at headlines, photos, graphics, study the ad design. I like being able to jump from topic to topic, read a crime story, read a sports story, read my horoscope, in no particular order. I like newsprint. I like how it feels and I like kicking the paper with my knee to bend back the pages. But newspapers in print are all scaling back in size, pages and distribution. Everyone is moving to a digital format. Young people already do all their news reading on a computer or smart phone. It’s us older fogies that need to adjust.
This was the year after
It could be said that we will best remember the year of 2018 as “the year after.” After all, this was the year that followed the historic wildfires of 2017 in Sonoma County. And this was the first full year of legal cannabis in California, following the Jan. 1 implementation of the Adult Use of Marijuana Act (AUMA). This was also the year that followed the undeniable realization here that we are facing a monumental affordable housing shortage. What happens next in 2019 is likely to follow the same course of news, events and public discussions, also mostly about wildfire rebuilding efforts, evolving cannabis laws and our housing and affordable household income struggles.
Arts & Entertainment
Yale Whiffenpoofs to land on Raven stage Sunday
The very name “Whiffenpoofs” is whimsical, but followers of the collegiate music space know that the repertoire and reputation of this Yale University a cappella group is anything but laughable. Sure there are old Yale drinking songs, certainly a bit of jazz-era energy, as well as more modern pop. But are they classical? And what exactly is a “whiffenpoof” anyway?
