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Healdsburg does not allow pools to be filled with local drinking water

We have been living in a global village and sharing the same orbiting planet much longer than social scientists have been reminding us, or the first photos from outer space of our fragile blue-green marble confirmed.

The Sonoma County Board of Supervisors took the easy way out last week, cynically agreeing unanimously to require everyone connected to the county – except themselves – to comply with a living wage increase. Requiring county contractors and grant recipients to raise wages to $15 an hour was a fine thing to do, but exempting the county itself was disappointing, and turned the whole affair into an exercise in self-aggrandizement.

We were hoping the Board of Supervisors would prove to be “fast learners,” but we’re afraid they have already showed up too late for their latest big test — the annual budget hearings this week. After the taxpayers’ trouncing of their Measure A sales tax increase proposal in the June 2 election, we expected our county’s leaders to do some extra studying, rethink their political blunders and ask the public for some after-school tutoring.

Public perception of professional car washes during a time of drought has often led to a call for restrictions on their water use. However, professional car washes are usually the most environmentally friendly method of cleaning a car. During this current drought in California, all residents should be conserving at home, including when cleaning their car. Increasing the time between washings is the first step to saving water. When the car has to be washed, take it to a professional car wash to save water and prevent pollution.