Columns

 

It’s winter. The occasional frost tips the blades of grass creeping slowly but surely through the brown, dry turf we don’t water all summer long, conserving water for the warm season crops of vegetables and orchard trees.

I am a long way from home.

Editor’s note: This commentary was received prior to the announcement on Friday that Mayor Dominic Foppoli was tendering his resignation. In addition, the agreement for law enforcement services between the sheriff’s department and the town requires that the sheriff designate two candidates for the town to choose from; the town cannot create its own candidate pool. Furthermore, as currently codified, sole responsibility for the hiring of the police chief lies with the town manager. Though the process has been more public in year’s past, the hiring choice has always been solely that of the town manager. However, because we felt there were additional strong points that are being echoed throughout the town, we felt this writing was important to share.

This is National Sunshine Week (March 14-20) when news organizations and journalists ask their public to join them in saluting the essential role their profession plays in keeping government business and official records open and available to everyone. Sunshine refers to the open light and transparency that serves as the best disinfectant against corrupt or secret governments and shady elected officials. Wherever we might find governments operating in the darkness of secrecy and no transparency, we will find a dying democracy.

Across the county the last month, Sonoma County Library has been offering a series of free back to school events for teachers. This series of open houses are a great opportunity to learn about free resources available to educators that might help enrich your teaching for the year.

From Feb. 20, 1975 Healdsburg Tribune: 'For what appears to be the first time in its history, Healdsburg Elementary School will have a behavior code, elementary school trustees decided last Thursday night. The new behavior code was prompted by a petition from 19 faculty members in December that cites “serious problems” occurring “in the classroom, cafeteria and playground.”

Earlier this week, with smoke finally dispersed by welcome rains, I was driving a carpool of teenagers through Santa Rosa at the break of dawn. The autumn golden light of the rising sun highlighted seasonal colors of surrounding vineyards. Even trees blackened by last year’s fires, moist from recent rains, were glistening.

How much has Fitch Mountain grown in the last twenty-odd years? If some old timer can tell us that, we’ll have the correct measurement of the little mound that overlooks Healdsburg like a somnabulent sentinel.