Columns

2016-17 Measure V Update

Ongoing through March 6 – Healdsburg Center for the Arts sixth annual Young Artists Show, 130 Plaza Street. Selected artwork from Healdsburg area schools. www.healdsburgcenterforthearts.com.

Vineyard train

The black mirror

The once-outlandish, now conceivable spectacle that Donald Trump could be our next U.S. president is forcing us to reconsider how we choose our leaders. Have we lost track of what it takes to be a good leader? Do we agree on the necessary qualities of leadership? Forget about voting for Trump, Hillary or some other politician, can we even figure out how to pick a new mayor, sports team captain, PTA president or county supervisor anymore?

A lot is happening along Sonoma County’s 35 miles of Pacific Ocean coastline these days. And this time we’re not talking about the migrating gray whales or the disappointing closure of the dungeness crab season. We’re talking about actions and proposals by the dominant coastal species — humans.

I am a worrier

Ongoing through March 6 – Healdsburg Center for the Arts sixth annual Young Artists Show, 130 Plaza Street. Selected artwork from Healdsburg area schools. www.healdsburgcenterforthearts.com.

An alarming wave of Islamophobia is sweeping our nation. It has taken the form of hate crimes, profiling and verbal attacks. Increasingly inflammatory political rhetoric has included calls for internment camps and halting the resettlement of Muslim refugees who are fleeing war and terror.

We’ve all heard about how the newspaper business has changed in the last two decades. There’s the Internet, which dramatically transformed classified advertising. And of course, there’s … the Internet, which allows anyone with a blog or a social media presence to become their own opinion columnist. And … let’s not forget the Internet, which provides instantaneous access to millions of words on any conceivable subject (Some of those words are even accurate).