Editorial

I ran into Mike McGuire the other day at the First Annual

A “housing crisis” has been declared for all of Sonoma County by elected officials, affordable housing advocates and by the home building and construction industry. Rents and raw building costs have never been higher. Vacancy rates for rentals are almost zero and new housing construction is years behind the actual demand, these leaders tell us.

Rollie Atkinson

December 25 is, of course, Christmas Day, the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ. Christians believe that this birth is the turning point, the very center of human history. From it we count the years forward and backward, B.C., before Christ, and A.D., Anno Domini, Year of our Lord. We believe that the baby born in Bethlehem is Emmanuel, God with us, fully human from the flesh of His Mother Mary, and fully God by the power of the Holy Spirit. We also know, along with this and because of this, that every birth is sacred. Carl Sandburg, in his uniquely down to earth way, said that a baby is God’s opinion that life should go on. When my older brother’s first child was born he called me in the middle of the night to tell me that his son’s birth, at which he was present, was the closest thing to a miracle he had ever seen. I had the joy of witnessing the births of my five children and I agree with Carl Sandburg and my brother and certainly with Mary and Joseph. Birth is a miracle, it is God’s opinion, it is God with us.

A recent editorial attacked the county budget process, stating that discussions are held outside of the public view and void of citizen input. It ended by asserting, “This is not how county government should work.”

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.

Measure AA on the June 7 Primary Election ballot may be double-lettered because it deserves a double look. It supports a worthy goal of protecting and restoring the San Francisco Bay, but it asks voters to pay an annual $12 per household tax that grants new and unprecedented taxing powers over the entire nine-county Bay Area.

Lack of water availability for our state’s farmers due to the drought is creating unprecedented challenges for winegrowers and all growers across the state. The recently finalized trade pact, the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) will make the future of farming in our state even more uncertain.