Editorial

Summer is upon us. We have completed our spring cleanup around the yard, made sure no standing water is present on our properties attracting mosquitos and set up our outdoor furniture. Summer also marks an important time of the year for water conservation. By using water wisely in the summer, it helps preserve our healthy watershed for the remainder of the year. Even though we received a lot of rainfall this winter, it is important to minimize water waste throughout our community.

This is a Christmas memory of an older Sebastopol. It took place in a Sebastopol before tourism was encouraged, before there were any hotels, when the Barlow was just one of many apple processing plants in the area. This was before the Rialto, Peace Park, Skateboard Park, a town square or tree lighting. This was when Sebastopol was part of the Redwood Empire, not wine country.

Sonoma County residents are accustomed to the risks that wildfires pose. Earlier this year, we experienced a wildfire that forced residents into the all-too-familiar position of standing by for a potential evacuation order. This is why it is so imperative that proposed development projects anticipate strained evacuation routes before bringing more congestion to our roads. The Koi Nation’s proposal to construct the Shiloh Resort and Casino ignores this responsibility.