Columns

We warned ourselves very early that recovering from the historic North Bay wildfires would take more time than we could imagine and that there would be unknown and invisible consequences.

For a few weeks now, my teen son has been feverishly writing poetry. Poetry is actually something he enjoys, and he takes it pretty seriously. For school, his sophomore class hosted a poetry slam on Friday night for all of us parents, grandparents and siblings to attend. What caught my eye on the invite was the warning sign: explicit language and subject matter might apply. Well, I thought, this shall be an interesting evening.

SMART expanding to Windsor? State parks made safer and drinking water made cleaner? Rainwater-capture systems not being added to your property tax? Ballot propositions going into effect five days after all votes are counted? Revenues generated from transportation fees and taxes going only to transportation funding?

Feeding frenzy

Is Sonoma County losing its soul? What creative new paradigm can we devise to ensure the agricultural integrity of Sonoma County by enabling young, talented winegrowers and farmers to have access to affordable land?

Thoughts on the watershed

As one kind of grass gains acceptance in northern California, another kind of grass is losing acceptance. Lawns are falling out of favor as ornamental landscaping because lawns use too much water for a drought-prone region.

Luck is a weird concept, doncha think?

Without trees there would be no newspapers, including this one you’re holding in your hands. That’s because the paper we print the local news on is processed from trees. Books, magazines and pamphlets also come from trees. And, come to think of it, so do dollar bills and other paper money.

Last weekend I had the opportunity to attend an event put on by a group from San Francisco that had raised money for my son’s school. The group – the Young Presidents Organization – had heard about Anova’s school building burning down in the Tubbs fire, and they wanted to do something to help the staff and students in the recovery process.