Columns

Peach season has begun. Our 20th season. Hard to believe. When we bought the farm, Patrick was a baby and now he’s 21. Eusebio, our invaluable farm manager, has been with us from the start, and we are forever grateful. Brian and I, well,...

The World Health Organization (WHO) has announced that “we are not just fighting an epidemic; we’re fighting an infodemic.” It has warned us “fake news spreads faster and more easily than this virus and is just as dangerous.” The dangers to us are about...

The following snippets of history are drawn from the pages of the Healdsburg Tribune, the Healdsburg Enterprise and the Sotoyome Scimitar, and are prepared by the volunteers at the Healdsburg Museum & Historical Society. Admission is always free at the museum, open Wednesday through Sunday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The Saturday market opened mid-April, and Tuesday’s first market was the end of May. I’m happy to report both are flourishing, despite all that’s happening in our world right now. 

The murder of George Floyd has shone a bright light on America’s systemic racism, and particularly on how some police officers routinely treat BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and People of Color) people with bias, abuse and violence. There is tremendous momentum for substantive change, and I welcome it. I fully support the Black Lives Matter movement and am eager to consider and adopt policies that advance its goals.

Do black lives matter? Of course they do. But the more relevant question to those of you reading this and for everyone else who lives in Sonoma County is, “Do brown lives matter?” That’s because less than 2% of our county’s 500,000 population is...

The past three years in Sonoma County we have faced drought, floods, raging fires, a pandemic and, now, an opportunity to honestly confront racism, in our country, in our community, in our own hearts.

From the onset of the pandemic in Sonoma County, our nurses, physician partners and staff have stepped up in heroic ways to meet the challenges of COVID-19. As outbreaks have occurred across the country, Healdsburg District Hospital has dedicated numerous resources to prepare for the virus’ impact here in our community. The district board could not be more proud of our entire team for their commitment to their patients during this uncertain and stressful time. The preparation and management of the pandemic has unfortunately created an extraordinary financial strain on the district hospital, which we are working vigorously to address. As the district board, we stand in solidarity with our team members who are making valiant efforts to save our community members, and have made sacrifices to help save our hospital.

The past three years in Sonoma County we have faced drought, floods, raging fires, a pandemic and, now, an opportunity to honestly confront racism, in our country, in our community, in our own hearts.

I am sure we are all tired of this “’rona” stuff, the isolation, the scarcity of grocery products, now the mask wearing. We all know about hand-washing, social distancing and have become experts at disinfecting. I am also sure we are definitely tired of all the information and misinformation permeating every aspect of our lives. No one needs to read more about any of that.