Columns

Enough

Covering big disaster stories like floods and fires always has presented extra challenges to us local journalists. We not only have to report on the disaster — but we have to live through it, too.

This time it was not a hurricane in Florida or Texas; it was not a tsunami in Japan or an earthquake in Mexico. This time it turned out to be the “next time” we all prayed would never happen. This time it was our time; this Red Flag Alert was meant for us.

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.

The sound of the street sweeper is music to my ears. As the street sweeper drives down the street the sound of the vacuum unit reminds me that the sweeper is our first line of defense in preventing debris from entering the storm drain system. By keeping debris out of our storm drain system, the street sweeper is doing its part to prevent debris from entering our creeks and rivers.

Speaking truth to power

Come out Saturday

Have you ever been with your teenager and experienced a Jekyll and Hyde moment? When everything seems fine but within seconds their mood dramatically changes and you are left puzzling over what just happened? There are times as a parent of two teenagers that I have to stop and make sure that I am not in the Matrix. The teenage “being” is a very complex, extremely hormonal and difficult thing to understand. It often leaves us parents feeling overwhelmed and bewildered. Sometimes it’s easy to handle their behavior with humor, and other times it’s emotionally draining. Right now, my tank is pretty empty.

Making the case that substandard housing is a public health issue, long time tenant’s rights attorney, Edie Sussman, advocated for rent control and just cause eviction in her presentation to the Windsor Democratic Club on Sept. 28. Sussman represented 36 former tenants of the Bennett Valley Townhomes in a lawsuit against the owners of the property. The plaintiffs recently agreed to a Sonoma County record $2.7 million settlement. She noted that substandard living conditions can often lead to respiratory conditions, including asthma, and other health issues, which impact the level of health in our communities.

As the Major League Baseball playoffs get into full swing this week, some of our town’s finest baseball players are taking their own talents to a diamond here at home — in the name of fitness and fun.