Market Report
It’s October, and I’m finally getting to my Market Report. For those of you who read this, I apologize for not getting a September report in. The fires and subsequent smoke and air quality issues, plus upcoming events and changes, kept me hopping the entire month.
Commentary: Vote no on the sale of Healdsburg hospital
Everyone should be able to get the care that they need, and no one should be denied healthcare based on the religious views of the hospital provider.
We need tax relief
The Nov. 3 ballot includes a handful of local tax measures and a pitifully perplexing question about California’s infamous Prop. 13, first passed by voters in 1978 and now trying to be amended by this year’s Prop. 15. California has been in need of major tax reforms for decades. Unfortunately, this election is taking another pass on our Prop. 13 tax problem that everybody likes to complain about but nobody has the political guts to attack it. So it goes.
Commentary: Understanding when schools can reopen for in-person learning
As schools in many neighboring counties gradually reopen and offer a model of instruction where small cohorts of students can return to the classroom, Sonoma County families may understandably wonder why that’s not yet the case here.
Commentary: COPEing with the Walbridge Fire
Four years ago, I moved out of Healdsburg proper after living there for 10 years, to Brack Road off of West Dry Creek. The Walbridge Fire came within ¼ mile of where I am living and while I am fortunate to have escaped its ravages on many levels, I am humbled by the lessons it has already taught me.
Commentary: The “new normal” needs norms
We are all doing our own risk analysis to deal with the COVID scourge. It is becoming clear that while there are many unknowns, it is not rocket science. If you are smart and accept some basic principles, then risk goes way down. If you ignore the problem, it punishes you and others near you.
Commentary: Sonoma County defies wildfire public safety standards
While many Sonoma County residents feel wildland fire fatigue, we should embrace some hard facts about the underlying factors that have contributed to the situation. California, our county, the nature of the wildland-urban interface, climate change and human factors have led us to a critical and troubling wake up call. Decisions about fire safe roads and development in high fire risk areas are being made at the state and county levels that will determine our future.
Arts & Entertainment
Return to the Russian River
When Jake Messing stood in front of the mural he had just completed for Russian Riverkeeper on the north side of the nonprofit’s headquarters at 139 Healdsburg Ave., he had finished more than another mural. He had made a return to the source from the sea himself, like the salmon he portrayed.
