Editorial

There have been a number of great letters to the editor recently including the ones from John Crevelli and Brigette Mansell. They captured the frustration of being long term Healdsburg residents and seeing our town changing negatively while the town’s leadership isn’t representing the average citizen’s concerns. Most everyone I talk to in town agrees, so I think we are in the majority.

So you’re turning 65. Congratulations! It’s time to start taking advantage of your Medicare benefits. And just how do you do that?

I am shocked to see the misleading signs regarding Drakes Bay Oyster Company popping up around the Sonoma and Marin Counties. These signs should say Save Point Reyes Wilderness. I strongly support organic sustainable agriculture and I love oysters but the attempt by Drakes Oyster Company and their corporate allies to deny wilderness status to Drakes Estero has nothing to do with farming and everything to do with opening publicly owned wilderness lands to development. Pt. Reyes National Seashore is a wonderful example of cooperation between agriculture, the national park system, and wilderness.

A fascinating new rationale is going around to explain why wineries have to throw so many big parties. It has to do with a relatively new social force called “wine club pressure.”

Although a lot of Fitch Mountain is not in Healdsburg’s city limits it has long been considered a Healdsburg community. The Fitch Mountain Association just had its annual potluck meeting at the Villa and several items of local interest were discussed.

Summer will soon be upon us. Though spring cleaning gets us all ready for the summer season, pool and spa owners face a special set of cleaning and maintenance tasks. Improper discharge of pool/spa water and the chemicals in it into streets or storm drains can have an impact on streams and rivers. The following steps can help keep your pool or spa clean and functioning for recreational use without harming the environment:  

The big mystery about the exciting new Russian River riparian setback rules is whether anyone really has a clue how they’ll work.

Some pretty amazing things have been happening over at Healdsburg’s Hop Kiln Winery on Westside Road. It’s the kind of stuff that may give us a clearer picture of where Wine Country is headed.

— Rollie Atkinson

At last we offer an editorial about love, hope and promise. And to think our main subject is about one of our biggest and most expensive government programs. How surprising for us to be praising Big Government.