Editorial

July 1 — today— marks both the halfway mark through the current

Three lunch sites for children

EDITOR: Proud politicians have created the California Global

As our cold, wet winter continues, we feel blessed to be out of the six year drought, but also bruised by the damage and harm caused by our recent flood waters. As those Russian River waters climbed, we as a community responded to those in need; once again showing that Northern Sonoma County is a community of compassion, care and action.

Most people have heard the slogan “Only rain down the drain” or have seen decals near storm drain inlets with the words “DRAINS TO CREEK, NO DUMPING” on them. And we know what a wonderful environment we have in Sonoma and Mendocino Counties — our rivers and creeks are a major part of what is so great about living here. As you go about your daily tasks at work and home, you want to do what’s right to protect our environment, but sometimes it seems more convenient to overlook the responsible action, or just take a shortcut. It may seem easy to just clean a paint brush or roller with a hose into the street gutter or inlet rather than into the sink. After all, it’s just a little paint. Or when completing the replacement of a portion of a driveway you might be tempted to hose off the excess concrete into the nearby storm drain inlet — what else can you do with it? Let’s say the area around the dumpster or garbage can is getting a little dirty so why not a quick rinse with a hose to clean it up? It goes to a treatment plant, doesn’t it? These are all examples of how waste can end in our creeks.

Change is inevitable