Editorial

I recently had the opportunity to meet with Annie Millar, Director of Curriculum and Instruction for the Healdsburg Unified School District, to discuss, among other things, how the new Common Core State Standards (CCSS) are affecting the way she goes about her work.

Farmlands are home to abundant wildlife. Far beyond the planted

In the film “To Kill a Mockingbird” Gregory Peck explains the legacy of pocket watches passed on from father to son, and I thought how unlikely it will be that someone inherits a smart phone inscribed, “with love to my darling Atticus.”

The condition of many of Sonoma County’s roads and streets is deplorable. Almost two-thirds of county roads are poor (pavement condition index 25-49, on a scale of 100) or failed (PCI below 25). This is a huge problem in West County, because it has more roads in terrible condition than any other region of Sonoma County. Crumbling roads cost motorists $800 per year in worn or flat tires, bent rims, ruined suspensions and lousy gas mileage.

What is happening to us? What is happening to our country? Angry crowds are marching in a dozen major cities  calling for justice over recent police killings in New York City, Ferguson and elsewhere. More than a dozen state attorney generals are suing the President over his immigration reforms. Rape is either rampant — or it’s not — on many major college campuses. Heading into its second open enrollment period, Obamacare’s public approval ratings are still as bad as those for Congress, the President and Ebola. And, as always, student test scores could be better.

— Rollie Atkinson