Columns

Roundup is out

It has been four months since the Oct. 8 north bay wildfires, and we continue to look both backward and forward. The very early steps of rebuilding and recovery have begun. Resources and strategies continue to be bundled. And the drastically altered picture that is Sonoma County’s future is beginning to come into focus. It is both daunting and exhilarating.

Oct. 1 marks the Day of the Older Person and the kick-off of a weeklong International Active Aging Week celebration. Healdsburg’s population of persons over age 55 is 28.9%, and this trend continues to expand and. People over age 55 are expected to be one-third...

It could be said that we will best remember the year of 2018 as “the year after.” After all, this was the year that followed the historic wildfires of 2017 in Sonoma County. And this was the first full year of legal cannabis in California, following the Jan. 1 implementation of the Adult Use of Marijuana Act (AUMA). This was also the year that followed the undeniable realization here that we are facing a monumental affordable housing shortage. What happens next in 2019 is likely to follow the same course of news, events and public discussions, also mostly about wildfire rebuilding efforts, evolving cannabis laws and our housing and affordable household income struggles. 

By the time you read this there will be less than five full days of school left. If it sounds like I’m afraid it’s because, well, I am. I have a 10-year-old daughter and a 13-year-old son who usually get along with each other very well. But in this digital age where kids can lose themselves in a cell phone app, or transport themselves into a video game world it’s far easier for siblings to get along than in year’s past.

Hey there, Healdsburg, how’ve you been? I miss you, and I miss being here on your op-ed page. I’m glad to stop in again, even for a week.

The remedy for whatever ailments we perceive about our local, state or federal governments is a singular prescription. If the federal deficit is too high, or potholes aren’t getting repaired, or public pensions are unsustainable or Congress doesn’t listen, the same fix applies to all.

“We are born at a given moment, in a given place, and, like vintage years of wine, we have qualities of the year and of the season of which we were born.” – Carl Jung.