Editorial

Readers weight in on the latest news from the city on districts, parklets and Birds: "I spoke to the gentleman who had the contract to maintain the bikes a couple of months ago.  He told me how difficult the job was. He had to pay for all the replacement parts upfront, and wait for reimbursement from Bird. That is why so many bikes were in such a state of disrepair..."

"I was flying from Nepal to Bangkok when the 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck Myanmar. Mid-flight on March 28, news alerts began sounding. On landing, I learned that a massive earthquake had hit Myanmar, not far from where we had been working days earlier.:

The Border Patrol conducted unannounced raids throughout Bakersfield on Tuesday, Jan. 7, descending on businesses where day laborers and field workers gather. Agents in unmarked SUVs rounded up people in vans outside a Home Depot and gas station that serves a breakfast popular with field workers. "It was profiling; it was purely field workers,” said the manager of a local gas station.

Voters this November overwhelmingly approved Prop. 36, which both modifies and adds key changes to California law. That includes prosecutors being able to charge people convicted of various third-time drug offenses with a so-called treatment-mandated felony, which would direct them to substance use disorder or mental health treatment in lieu of up to three years in jail or prison.

"There are experiences, people and places that can either be good for you or bad for you. Which way they tilt at any particular time may depend on your mood or their mood or forces beyond your immediate control. An example for me is social media..." says Rob Brezny, noted astrologer.

"Recently, I was shocked to learn that a General Dynamics factory exists right here in Sonoma County," writes Ian McKee of Santa Rosa. "I expect that for many of my neighbors the existence of this factory will also come as a shock. They might also be surprised to learn that engineers from this factory give presentations to students in STEM classes around the county, which in my opinion represents a chilling normalization of the violence that this factory inflicts on defenseless people around the world..."

The City Council’s informal decision on Dec. 16 to adopt a five-district, selected mayor format for city government in the redistricting process drew immediate reactions from several community members, who felt the decision was made unnecessarily quickly and short-circuited public discussion of the options. Here are a few of their comments:

"At Corazón Healdsburg," writes Marcy Floes, "we are deeply concerned about the implications of the recent election and the potential for mass deportations. This is not an abstract issue. It’s deeply personal and acutely affects our neighbors, coworkers, classmates and friends right here in Sonoma County."

As Healdsburg’s Chief of Police, I am proud to lead a department dedicated to the safety and wellbeing of every member of our community, regardless of their immigration status or national origin. I write today to reaffirm the policies and values that guide our approach to immigration enforcement...

Healdsburg’s Russian River Railroad Bridge is the sole remaining example of a steel Subdivided Warren Truss bridge on the former line of the Northwestern Pacific Railroad. Built in 1901, the bridge has three spans supported by four concrete piers, a steel deck and superstructure on both sides of a single track. What does SMART plan to do with it?