Say hi to our visitors from Japan
TO THE CITIZENS OF SEBASTOSOPOL: Have you seen me? Have you said hello? Now is your opportunity.
Sebastopol World Friends will be hosting a delegation from Takeo, our sister city in Japan, from March 23 until April 2. There will be 18 middle school students and their two adult chaperones here during that entire time, and a group of three other adults who will be here for a shorter time. During that time you might see this entire group touring around Sebastopol. You might also encounter individual visitors in shops and on the street around town. Next year, a similar delegation of Sebastopol middle school students, chaperones and adults will travel to Takeo.
Don’t be shy. Say hello, honk or tell them a story about Sebastopol or about yourself. Show them what’s special about this part of the world. They’ve come here to get to know what it’s like to live in Sebastopol, California, USA. They would love to have you be a part of their visit and, as the motto of Sebastopol World Friends says, it will help us create “World peace, one friend at a time.”
Steve Levenberg
Sebastopol
Rethink class cuts
EDITOR: My name is Andrew. I am a junior at Analy High School. Our school is facing more class cuts because of budget deficits. One of the classes that is at high risk of being cut is video editing. I have taken video editing for four years now, two at Analy and two at Twin Hills. I would like to take it for my senior year. I have learned a lot and enjoyed the class. I don’t think that it is fair to cut any classes because it takes the opportunity away from other students. Cutting classes also impacts our teachers because they lose their classes and sometimes even their jobs. The advanced video editing class produces the videos for the school rallies. Without these videos, the rallies will be a lot more boring and empty. The video editing class that I am in produces a weekly live show that gives the students updates and information for the week. Without these classes, students will have less resources about our school. I hope that Analy High school does not cut any classes or electives next year.
Andrew Ramos
Sebastopol
Rethink class cuts, part 2
EDITOR: My name is Dallin, and I am a freshman at Analy High School. Our school is facing more class cuts because of the lowering school budget. One of the classes that is at high risk of being cut is jazz band. As a member of the Analy Band, I’m concerned about jazz band being cut because it is very important. Out of all the Analy band classes, the jazz band performs the most and is the most advanced. Without it, the whole band program would suffer. Students would have less motivation to improve their playing skills and even stay in band. The Analy Band has traditionally been a major attraction for the school. The band plays at football games, leads the Apple Blossom Parade and performs in the community. There are other classes that could be cut because they are not as important to students as jazz band is to band students and the community.
Dallin Ramos
Sebastopol
Greedy landlords of Sebastopol
EDITOR: Senior Center’s income-producing Legacy thrift store gets hit with a $600-a-month rent increase. Blood-sucking landlord’s name please. Being next door to a pot shop will do that. I know an old time shop in Santa Rosa whose landlord was offered double the rent by a pot shop… to break his lease.
Better yet. Look around town. We’re awash with vacancies. That’s what happens when commercial landlords ask for a triple net-net-net plus 50 percent of what’s left rent. There is nothing left for the small business person.
Check what happened to downtown Sausalito. $20,000 a month should get you a t-shirt space. Check San Francisco, where corner small businesses have their rent raised from $5000 to $20,000. Greed wins.
Some suggestions: a wall of shame with names; a moratorium; a commission to study the problem. Or best of all, if you have a “Go Local” sign in your window, ask your landlord for a 10 percent rent reduction. If you get it, post a “10” next to your “Go Local” sign so people know you have a willing landlord. Put that in your “pigs fly” story.
When you get or have an outrageous rent, spread the word before you go out of business.
Neil Davis
Sebastopol
