Editorial

In the May 21 edition of this paper, in this space, a guest commentary from Sonoma County Taxpayers Association executive director Dan Drummond, appeared under the heading, “Problems with Measure A.” The article took particular, and we feel excessive, aim at county retirees by stating, “Unchecked pensions remain the greatest concern,” basically blaming county obligations to retirees for the condition of the roads, specifically asking, “Is there really any doubt why funding for roads, parks and other services has not kept up with our needs?”

Recent revelations about past financial mistakes inside Healdsburg District Hospital should not be taken as any reason for patients, doctors and community partners to withhold support or question its medical excellence. A business turnaround looks to be in place and elected leaders of the North Sonoma County Healthcare District last week expressed their vote of confidence in a new management team, now completing its first full year on the job.

We have dammed it, diverted it, paddled it, fished it, pumped

We weren’t at the Dallas Black Lives Matter march last week where a rogue sniper killed five police officers. We were home with our families, maybe sharing conversations with our neighbors after another work day. We were with our kind.

The news this week is good. Sonoma County was just rated the eighth healthiest county in California, based on findings in a national survey of 3,000 counties. Good health is always good news.

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.

In response to the Healthcare Foundation and Healdsburg District Hospital “at odds” article, the foundation would like to emphasize that we are committed to raising funds for healthcare in Northern Sonoma County – it is our mission.

The Sonoma County Board of Supervisors took the easy way out last week, cynically agreeing unanimously to require everyone connected to the county – except themselves – to comply with a living wage increase. Requiring county contractors and grant recipients to raise wages to $15 an hour was a fine thing to do, but exempting the county itself was disappointing, and turned the whole affair into an exercise in self-aggrandizement.

Sometimes we feel embarrassed by all our daily blessings, the many comforts, natural riches and compassionate community we share here in our part of Sonoma County. All our troubles are small, where real help usually comes before we ask for it. We know we are blessed and we know better than to take it for granted. At our best, we are like farmers who pray not so much for rain or good weather, but for the strength to put in another full day’s honest work.

Driving up the Oregon coast we heard a radio interview with a woman, someone who lived in the far-off troubled Arab world, I think she was Lebanese, saying she takes her family to the beach because people don’t usually bomb beaches. That’s something I never thought about. But here I was imagining a mother grabbing sunhats and sand buckets to take time off from war.