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.

Are you a change agent? Can you envision a community’s successful future and take the actions needed to create it? If so, you might be thinking of stepping up in a big way – by running for Windsor Town Council.

Have you wondered how to get better access to the Russian River, what the future of arts is in our community, or when Badger Park will get bathrooms? This summer, the city of Healdsburg will launch two planning processes to move forward several Healdsburg City Council goals that address river access, connectivity, arts and culture and park planning.

An overflow crowd, including town council members, Debora Fudge, Esther Lemus and Sam Salmon, turned out to learn about the Green New Deal at a Windsor Democratic Club forum Thursday, April 25 at Round Table Pizza.

Editor's note: As election season approaches, some of the letters we receive from other areas about local measures may appear in our Letter's to the Editor section.

The name of the comet comes from China’s Tsuchinshan Observatory, which means “purple mountain.” It was discovered in January 2023. A month later South Africa’s ATLAS telescope observed it. Hence, two names for the comet given the close timing of discovery.