Editorial

All sorts of barnyard proverbs and euphemisms could be used to explain the current taxpayers’ dilemma. Not to beat a dead horse, but we’ve repeatedly warned about too many tax increases and bond measures on the next ballot. We don’t want to sound like Chicken Little and claim that the sky is falling, but decades of runaway pension costs are finally coming home to roost. Somebody left the barn door open and all that is left in our taxpayers’ barnyard is a pile of cow pies and horse biscuits.

Notes from Fitch Mountain

The spread of special events in our wine country has been getting harsh criticisms lately as the Board of Supervisors works to more tightly define and regulate these weekend and seasonal celebrations and marketing affairs.

Probably every issue of this newspaper ever published has contained at least one story or item about a death. That’s because when we share our lives and community together, we also share our passings.

Big decisions require big work. And voters have very big work cut out for them this November when they will vote to either end California’s prohibition on adult use of marijuana or delay the inevitable one more time.

We weren’t at the Dallas Black Lives Matter march last week where a rogue sniper killed five police officers. We were home with our families, maybe sharing conversations with our neighbors after another work day. We were with our kind.

Originally established with a focus on all things Windsor, the Windsor Democratic Club over time has expanded its interest beyond the politics of the Town of Windsor.

July 1 is the start of a new fiscal year for local governments. This is when the county, cities and schools start spending new tax money based on recently approved 2016-2017 budgets. All these budgets tend to launch with the same conclusions: there is never enough tax revenue; there are too many unmet needs; employee and pension costs keep going up; and everything could be solved if we only agreed to raise new taxes and vote for more long term debt bonds.

June DeSilva hasn’t cooked a meal since March. It’s not because she can’t cook, it’s just that her friends won’t let her.

Not all Fourth of Julys have been as historic as this year seems to be. We stand just 10 or so generations beyond the original 1776 founding of our country and our Declaration of Independence.