Letters to the Editor: Oct. 8, 2020
Two of the letters we received this week are about the rate increase for Cloverdale's water. Both letters have conflicting information. To view the city's announcement about proposed water rates, go here- https://www.cloverdale.net/DocumentCenter/View/4336/Proposition-218-Public-Hearing-Notice---2020-PDF
Newspapers versus hoaxes
Above all of our more physical challenges of wildfires and a wild virus, we find ourselves also living in an age of hoaxes. A hoax is a deliberate lie told to create a false reality where the hoaxer takes advantage of the innocent and unaware. Unchecked, these false realities can spread widely enough among us to be more real than the real real.
Commentary: Domestic violence can happen to anyone
A shelter-in-place public health order is a not always a safe option for those at risk of intimate partner violence. Social isolation is a common tactic used by abusers to gain power and control over their victims. Isolation is all but guaranteed during the COVID pandemic. Studies have also shown an increase in intimate partner violence in the aftermath of natural disaster. Victims in Sonoma County are now more vulnerable than ever, with tempers fueled by the stress of COVID, wildfires, displacement, financial instability and increased alcohol and drug abuse.
Flashbacks
The following snippets of history are drawn from the pages of the Healdsburg Tribune, the Healdsburg Enterprise and the Sotoyome Scimitar, and are prepared by the volunteers at the Healdsburg Museum & Historical Society. Admission is always free at the museum, open Wednesday through Sunday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Letters to the Editor: Oct. 1, 2020
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.
Coping
Everyone needs to stop greeting each other with, “How are you doing?” or “How have you been?” Of course we care about our friends and neighbors, but these sunny day greetings just don’t fit the times right now. Let’s be honest. We’re not feeling that great. We all need to find some better ways to deal with all the depression, sadness, grief, loss and feelings of uncertainty that comes with living in the middle of a pandemic and an economic recession while we evacuate and fight wildfires for weeks and weeks. This is tough stuff. For Christ’s sake, how do you think we should be feeling?
Off the Top of My Head: Labor Day came and went
Labor Day came and went without much notice. Between the fires, the smoke, the heat, the pandemic, the politics, Labor Day was passed by. Having a three-day weekend isn’t special when you can’t leave home. As sad as it makes me feel, prior to the lockdown, having the three-day weekend was probably the thing most people enjoyed about Labor Day. Somewhere along our winding path we lost track from where we came.
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.
