Columns

Hey there, Healdsburg, how’ve you been? I miss you, and I miss being here on your op-ed page. I’m glad to stop in again, even for a week.

Our cities are facing the most difficult financial crisis in decades due to COVID-19. City councils face hard decisions. How deep can they cut budgets without paralyzing basic public services? Furlough part-time workers? Reduce salaries among management and other full-time employees? Buy new police cars or maintain public parks and recreation facilities? Continue generous, but unfunded, pension plans, or defer planned payments to the Public Safety Pension Stabilization Fund? Ask employees to forego contractual increases in salary, or endure workforce cuts?

When the town has a voter mandated competitive bidding process for our garbage collection, green waste and recycling and we enter into a contract pursuant to that mandate, can the town change the terms of the contract prior to the contract expiration?

I was on the newspaper team that created The Windsor Times in 1987. I could claim to be one of its parents. My parental instincts are kicking in pretty hard right now, as we must make forced decisions about this newspaper’s fate. If you are among those who believe it takes a village to raise a child, then you would agree the same goes for a community newspaper. Unfortunately, a virus, a changed local economy and the loss of too many newspaper readers to Facebook, Google and elsewhere has put this newspaper on unsustainable footing.

If you’ve been paying attention to the front page these past few weeks, you know this is the last print edition of The Windsor Times for the foreseeable future. This is a decision that has not been made lightly, not should it come as a surprise — our publisher has been warning of the increasingly unstable print business model for several years.

For years our beautiful and majestic dogwood tree stood silent. When we first bought the farm 20 years ago, it was like clockwork, and every spring our dogwood would bloom gorgeous white flowers, right in the front of the house. Cars stopped on Yoakim Bridge to photograph it. I think it is the most beautiful tree on our property, and maybe even in the Dry Creek Valley, though others would argue that. Perfect is the shape, shocking white is the bloom. Every spring we would marvel at this gem, and it was always a trigger, for when the dogwood blooms, we know we need to begin thinning our peach trees. 

For years our beautiful and majestic dogwood tree stood silent. When we first bought the farm 20 years ago, it was like clockwork, and every spring our dogwood would bloom gorgeous white flowers, right in the front of the house. Cars stopped on Yoakim Bridge to photograph it. I think it is the most beautiful tree on our property, and maybe even in the Dry Creek Valley, though others would argue that. Perfect is the shape, shocking white is the bloom. Every spring we would marvel at this gem, and it was always a trigger, for when the dogwood blooms, we know we need to begin thinning our peach trees. 

Healdsburg is facing a crisis unique to the economic engine that has brought us notoriety and acclaim. Most of the Transit Occupancy Tax (TOT) is the result of our success as a tourist destination, and, in the coming 12 to 18 months, a 67% shortfall of TOT is expected. In the midst of this calamity, our city manager has accepted a new position and will leave July 3. Finding a new city manager is job number one for our city council. What qualities should they be looking for?

Older Americans are fêted each May, but spring 2020 has seen many of us separated from our elders due to the coronavirus pandemic. Changes can occur or begin to occur at any time, but when elders have less socialization and interaction there can be sudden or accelerated change. It may start with not feeling like dressing since nobody will be around, and that can become holding off on bathing or wearing the same clothes too long. A senior parent with a normally active social life may not even reach out to call friends if quarantined alone.

We are beginning to “open” our local economy and bring some normalcy back to our daily lives while we remain very vigilant with our physical distancing, protective masks and extreme hand washing to decrease the spread of the novel coronavirus. Patience and good manners...