Editorial

The physical landscape and human culture of Sonoma County is a multi-layered tapestry of many ethnic paths, heritages and contributions. But if we were to only celebrate one perhaps it should be Latinos and Hispanics, as we now seek to do with National Hispanic Heritage Month from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15.

Come journey to the antebellum south, tune your ear to the tender sounds of Bach and Beethoven, and take a cultural tour of Paris through the ages with stops in Medieval times, the Enlightenment, the Belle Epoque, and the 1920s. All of this is available here in Sonoma County with no tests, no grades and no required reading. The magic is, you don’t have to leave the area to start this journey. Sonoma State University’s Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) program is pleased to present three of our most popular instructors this fall at our Healdsburg satellite campus, where we have served hundreds of lifelong learners since 2012. Mick Chantler, Kayleen Asbo, and Bruce Elliott are a powerful trio, often referred to as the Pied Pipers of OLLI, as our members follow them everywhere and take anything they might teach.

The Healdsburg Senior Center has been serving the community

An open letter to Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, State Senator

At least that was the question until it rained last week.  Till then, the fish were holed up in pools of the lower Russian River, unable to go on their spawning runs because there wasn’t enough water in the river to allow it.  I expect the rushing brown water from several creeks and tributaries has raised the river flow enough for the fish to be on their lusty way.  

In December I went to a Regional Climate Protection Authority presentation at the Healdsburg city council chambers. The RCPA was created in 2009 to improve coordination on climate change issues and efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions as was mandated by the ten county government’s partnership with the Climate Protection Campaign in 2005. The goal is to reduce county GHG emissions to 25 percent below 1990 levels by 2015. It was the CPC that first championed Sonoma Clean Power in 2004.

A man of strong convictions and of duty to his country, Clarence