News

Dressing in my sweats, high-top shoes, hooded jersey and cap, I leave the house to meet the morning  cold. As my father would say, “No one is tougher than the weather!” I am going to meet an old friend— wild, steep, dense stands of redwood, oak and madrone— the forested path of the Fitch mountain fire trail. Hiking it brings understanding and awareness of life’s connectedness, of oneness with the Earth.

Public hearing scheduled for Thursday, Jan. 17

The year 2012 for schools across the country was still on a slippery slope as budgets continued to be cut and the possibility of further cuts at the federal level made front-page headlines. There were also many positive stories that hit the front page this year surrounding youth, especially in Healdsburg.

Each new year should be treated as an opportunity to get things right, a fresh start; a blank slate that’s full of promise. Sometimes it’s filled with too many promises. People make New Year’s resolutions to get fit, save money or get organized, hoping that the new year will help them keep their promises to themselves.

The Russian River Watershed Association through its member agencies strives to inform community members about our watershed. This series of articles serves as a tool to educate the community in ways to promote and maintain healthy watersheds.

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.

As the holiday wraps up and it is time to break down the decorations, local waste management agencies are making it easier for residents to dispose of their trees.

As promised by the state of California following the signing of ABXI-29 in July 2011, homeowners living in State Responsibility Area are now paying the price for fire prevention.