Columns

It has been a busy summer at the library this year.

Once upon a time, back in the 1990s, I was asked an unusual question. A nice fellow named Ben used to dress up in a red suit every year and play the role of a cultural icon. He was the star of an annual parade and he handed out candy canes to hundreds of good little girls and boys.

Fertilizer is food for plants that need a variety of nutrients to grow and thrive. While we humans get our nutrients from different foods we eat, plants get most of their nutrients from the soil. Sometimes soils don’t have the nutrients necessary for plants to grow and thrive, so we apply chemical fertilizers and animal manure to our gardens and lawns to provide plants with the nitrogen and phosphorus they need. Fertilizer is typically added to the soil to help establish seeds or young plants and may be added to the soil throughout the life of the plant to help keep it healthy. But over-fertilizing can negatively affect aquatic ecosystems.

On Monday, Sept. 23, from 6:30 to 8 p.m., Supervisor James Gore will hold a town hall at the Windsor Grange #410, sponsored by the Windsor Chamber of Commerce and the Windsor Democratic Club. Supervisor Gore will speak on several topics of major interest to Windsor and 4th District residents, including Sonoma County roads and wineries and wine events. Known for his passion and interesting stories about the issues he has dealt with in Sonoma County, Supervisor Gore will explain the problems that we all face and solutions that we must all involve ourselves in.

You’ve heard this message many times, but it bears repeating. A dollar spent at a local business ricochets around the community much more powerfully than a dollar spent online. Amazon.com does not buy tickets to your kids’ school fundraiser. Walmart.com doesn’t buy tickets to your local Kiwanis or Rotary events. Target.com doesn’t sponsor a youth soccer team. Most of them don’t donate to your community food pantry.

Rick Cafferata doesn’t just work with the homeless population in northern Sonoma County; he once was part of it. The 59-year-old now spends his days as street outreach worker at Reach for Home, the Healdsburg-based nonprofit that helps locals find stable housing and achieve self-sufficiency. Before he connected with the organization, however, Cafferata spent the better part of 30 years homeless and addicted to drugs.

I am a terrible parent. I’m sure many of you feel the same way. Not that I (me) am a terrible parent, but that you are a terrible parent.

The latest presidential news conference transcript, directly from the White House:

New England has deciduous woods. Colorado has quaking aspens. And Sonoma County has its straw hills and live oaks framing red, yellow and green vineyards. Mixed together, it's home.