Someday We’ll Laugh About This . . . Right? Onward, Into the Fog
There’s nothing like opening the mail during the month of a big, round birthday and finding out you have an amazing offer from AARP to join for only $16 a year and you can get a Bluetooth speaker for free! It’s like I don’t need any other present! (The truth is a Bluetooth speaker might be kind of cool. I don’t know. What would I need it for? The ad didn’t suggest why I would want it, only that I would want it.)
Market Report: Welcome back
The April 17 opening of our Healdsburg Farmers’ Market this year feels like a reason to break out the champagne for me, for a few reasons.
This isn’t the senior year I was expecting: a high school senior’s perspective on COVID-19
Senior year is supposed to be a lot of things. All the perks that come with being a senior such as prom, senior night, senior week, graduation and Project Graduation are supposed to be fun events that celebrate what you have accomplished.
Let’s Book It
It’s Women’s History Month! (Odd that this celebration is in March, which was named for Mars, the Roman god of war.) The 2017 theme: “Honoring Trailblazing Women in Labor and Business”. Your library has many materials recounting significant moments in women’s history and the contributions of great leaders who helped advance the rights and opportunities for women. One highly recommended video: “Iron Jawed Angels” with Hilary Swank.
But I Digress … And the children shall lead them
“Welcome to the revolution.” — Cameron Kasky, Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School student
Commentary: Rethinking the strategic plan
Though it was only a few months ago, it seems like a lifetime since the city council developed their five-year strategic plan. It was a plan based upon a reality which is no longer relevant, thanks to COVID-19. Epidemiologists suggest that an effective vaccination for COVID-19 will not be available before 2021. Economists, in turn, suggest that the national and international economies will be in a recessionary status throughout this period and beyond. Until we move through this coming period of economic and social uncertainty, we will be subject to outbreaks, spikes and continued disruption to our economy. Some businesses may never reopen and others may go through several cycles of open/close/re-open, dampening tourism. The possibility of another major fire this season is high with the consequent damage to the Healdsburg economy. The confluence of these factors will continue to have a negative impact on the two main sources of city revenues: the Transit Occupancy Tax (TOT) and sales tax.
Plastic straws, plastic oceans
At the mouth of the Russian River, which defines the watershed in which we all live, there is a mud and sand flat full of driftwood, large rocks and lots and lots of colorful items. These are soda bottles, lost toys, household containers, play balls, boat parts, piles of bottle caps, broken cases, bags, missing shoes and unidentifiable pieces of our modern life. They’re all made of plastic.
