Columns

August brings us to the time of year of all things agricultural. There’s the busyness of another harvest and the excitement of the Sonoma County and Gravenstein Apple fairs. It all happens with our county’s golden sunlit backdrop of open lands, fertile fields, trees and vines — and all under unobstructed skies. It’s a picture free of petty annoyances like traffic, urban noises, money woes or yesterday’s squabbles.

Citywide ban now

The days are long and warm, but many of us are anything but lazy. We are in our yards tackling our outdoor honey-do lists. We are refinishing our decks, painting our homes and taming our yards. After painting the house, sanding the deck, or trimming back the landscaping it would be convenient to sweep or pour the mess into the storm drain (or gutter). The problem is that everything that enters the storm drain eventually flows into our creeks untreated.

In an editorial in this newspaper, Rollie Atkinson stated a couple of months ago, “The immigration debate in Sonoma County is a real ‘bread and butter’ issue. At stake is supporting our county’s agriculture workforce, protecting immigrant families and preserving our family farms and ag-based economy.”

Barbra Friedman, who recently won an award for raising the most money in Barb's Tri, a new triathalon that raises money for cancer patients, submitted the following thank you note to the West County community:

The outdoor cannabis growing season, now more than half over, is rapidly approaching the harvest, which is the most exciting as well as the most perilous time of the year. Exciting because the plants are beautiful to behold; perilous because there’s the risk of rip-offs and arrests. Many factors, including the weather, determine when the harvest begins and ends, though there isn’t a grower who doesn’t fear heavy autumn rains and crave hot, dry days and warm nights.

Call for hotel ban

Do we still remember how we voted last November in the U.S. Presidential election? Maybe we penned a write-in protest vote for Bernie. Or, did we pull the lever to support the status quo transition from Obama back to a Clinton? The other choice was for a candidate who promised to “blow up” the Washington, D.C. establishment. He promised to make America great again by taking aim at a bigly lineup of our society’s institutions.

One for all?

Fourth District Supervisor James Gore spoke at the Windsor Democratic Club on July 27. With a tone of informality, the 39-year-old Gore, who will become the board’s chair in January, gave some insight into the broad range of issues he faces daily.