Editorial

Our California drought is a tangle of mathematics problems. And, so far, it doesn’t look like the numbers are adding up. Facing our worst drought in 120 years, we know the severe lack of rain will require a lot of subtraction and sacrifice. This math test is no longer optional. Last week, Gov. Brown made it mandatory and we all have to save a minimum of 25 percent over previous rates of water usage.

Exactly two years ago, I wrote a commentary on this page declaring that I would be away from the paper on maternity leave for a few months and that I was leaving the paper in very capable hands while I was away. I wrote that while I would be stepping back from the endless deadlines and late night meetings, I knew I would be up against a different set of challenges as I gave birth to my first child.

Have you been greedy lately? Been looking for more than your

As your elected Representative here in Sonoma County, my highest priority is to make sure that your priorities are my priorities; and that I conduct my work in a transparent arena for you all to help me develop plans and hold me accountable for delivering.

Now we know better. The next time we warn ourselves to be prepared for a big disaster we’d better listen to ourselves and be prepared to take it seriously, right? In late spring we warned this could be a record fire season, enabled by the multi-year drought, hotter weather and uncertain funding for sufficient firefighting forces. Editorials here and elsewhere quoted local fire officials, posting repeated warnings to clear a “defensible perimeter” and practice disaster relief drills. The big disaster the next time could be us, we warned.

For some reason, we have taxes on our minds this week. Tax Day (April 15) just happened and we’re busily wadding up all the extra forms with pencil mistakes and late night calculations. We just hit the “Send” button on our TurboTax or stubbornly filed our income taxes the old fashioned way with a licked stamp and envelope.

Healdsburg’s Growth Management Ordinance (GMO) is a citizen initiative enacted to preserve the town’s unique quality and character and insulate it from the pressures of unregulated market driven development. It effectively put the brakes on residential development and allowed the community to contemplate its future free from outside development pressures. The GMO’s authors and supporters are to be commended for their courage, perseverance and continued resolve.

There have been a number of great letters to the editor recently including the ones from John Crevelli and Brigette Mansell. They captured the frustration of being long term Healdsburg residents and seeing our town changing negatively while the town’s leadership isn’t representing the average citizen’s concerns. Most everyone I talk to in town agrees, so I think we are in the majority.