Editorial

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.

“Why doesn’t someone do something about all the trash in the creek?” This question from an 11 year old girl scout surprised me. Dozens of energetic volunteers surrounded us scouring the banks of Santa Rosa Creek along the Prince Memorial Greenway for trash washed down by the winter rains. I started to explain that many people were indeed doing something, only to be interrupted by her observation that cut to the quick of any storm water program, “Yes, but if people were really doing something, we wouldn’t have to be here cleaning up after them.”

—Rollie Atkinson

The Russian River Watershed Association through its member agencies strives to inform community members about our watershed. This series of articles serves as a tool to educate the community in ways to promote and maintain healthy watersheds.

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.

CALPERS is the pseudo government agency set up to manage the defined benefit retirement program for government employees.  Their charter is to collect retirement contributions, invest these contributions to maximize return and provide defined benefits to the actual retiree.  CALPERS is controlled by and largely for the benefit of the legislature and government employees.  

The future of farming will be on parade next week during the

I love Daisy Damskey. And I love her grandmother’s wisdom that everyone is entitled to his/her own opinion, but no one owns the facts. Well, here are the facts:

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.

Last August, I was called to help a man with his dying wishes.  He had three.  The first was to go to Zen Hospice in San Francisco for his final days.  The second was that a Tibetan Llama accompany him with prayers and chanting for the last part of his journey, and the third was for medical cannabis so that he could reduce his reliance on prescribed opiates and die with a “clear mind.”