Editorial

A recent editorial attacked the county budget process, stating that discussions are held outside of the public view and void of citizen input. It ended by asserting, “This is not how county government should work.”

The specifics of the effort to re-draft the JPA governing the County Library System came to my attention very late in the process. I was pleased to read the paragraph in the draft revision which proposed allowing communities to provide supplemental funds for local branches. When the county library system budget does not meet locally perceived needs a community could support their local branch. The Monday closure of the branches, in place for the last three years, could be reversed by allowing communities to fund Monday library services. It would be a valuable mechanism for communities to have library services responsive to local needs.

The response letters in the Healdsburg Tribune’s “Letters to the Editor” to Dave Henderson and my letters criticizing Gary Plass for not endorsing a ban on assault weapons made me realize that although there are many people who agree with our opinion there are also plenty who don’t. It was interesting to see the various views on the same subject. Most of us here in Sonoma County are liberals - mostly center-left but liberals just the same. Although we are technically part of the Bay Area we are still a rather rural community which is traditionally conservative. The divergent opinions have led to a healthy discourse which is one of the things that make our American way of life, as Vladimir Putin put it, “exceptional.”

When sincerity, candor and straight talk are abandoned we all

The once-outlandish, now conceivable spectacle that Donald Trump could be our next U.S. president is forcing us to reconsider how we choose our leaders. Have we lost track of what it takes to be a good leader? Do we agree on the necessary qualities of leadership? Forget about voting for Trump, Hillary or some other politician, can we even figure out how to pick a new mayor, sports team captain, PTA president or county supervisor anymore?

It turns out that not all of us went to the Burning Man Festival after all. Most of us stayed closer to home and thousands more came here for a visit, which made for a very busy Labor Day weekend around Sonoma County.

On Tuesday, November 15, 2011, a public hearing was held at the

Our editorials written here each week seek to refrain from making brash edicts or direct ultimatums. But this week we are making an exception.

As president of Sonoma County Winegrowers and on behalf of Sonoma County winegrape growers and their families, I wanted to take the opportunity to share how the local farming community is working together to preserve our agriculture character, including correcting the misinformation that has appeared in some local newspapers recently.

Richard Burg wrote in a recent commentary that he was disappointed in the actions of the Healdsburg City Council when they insisted on equity in the new governing document for the Sonoma County Library of which the Healdsburg Regional Library is a founding member.  I welcome Richard’s admittedly belated attention to a process that has been going on for years.  Let’s try to answer his question, “What is Equity?”