Columns

If Charles Dickens was still with us, he might have written about Windsor and Paradise, instead of London and Paris, in his historical novel, "A Tale of Two Cities."

Earlier this week, with smoke finally dispersed by welcome rains, I was driving a carpool of teenagers through Santa Rosa at the break of dawn. The autumn golden light of the rising sun highlighted seasonal colors of surrounding vineyards. Even trees blackened by last year’s fires, moist from recent rains, were glistening.

While growing up my house was always in a sort of rotation amongst us sisters. One was in high school, the other in college, the other already graduated. While in different stages of our lives, things at home could often get murky. We came and went, chores were missed, messes thrown about.

As the New Year approaches, many of us are thinking about turning over new leaves with a list of resolutions. Some of you may have ambitious goals like training for a marathon, or quitting a habit or taking a trip to a foreign country.

It’s a big job, community journalism. It doesn’t pay well; there are long hours and holiday work. For every uplifting story we write about sacrifice, accomplishment and joy, there’s another one about betrayal, conflict and disappointment.

For months I’ve been thinking about community-powered journalism, even more now since Rollie’s announcement last week describing the newspaper’s direct public offer. Grateful for local journalists, I’ve depended upon them as my partners for many decades, weaving story after story about the wine business.

Looking for a lost pet or a new four-legged friend? See the list of incoming strays and the slideshow of cats and dogs available for adoption from the Sonoma Humane Society, Healdsburg Center.