Page 2 - Sonoma County Gazette - August 2018

Dear Readers,
Some months are more challenging than others. Hot topics generate hot discussions. Some of our discussions happen on the Gazette Facebook page
- but for the most part, I leave those right there and don’t include them in the print edition. Every letter you see in response to the Housing and Cannabis topics in July, came in through email to vesta@sonic.net. I encourage readers to “participate in community life,” and you DO! Send me your thoughts!
Thanks for being part of our Community picture!
Mixing heavy topics with light gives me a break as much as it gives readers break. I’m glad we don’t have to cover National and International politics and news. What happens right here at home suits me fine.
August is the last month of summer. Tomorrow, I take my granddaughter Destiny out for school clothes shopping. I delight in spending time with her. She’s growing up fast, as is her little sister. Destiny turned 12 this summer, Gianna turned four. They bring warm joy to my heart and we all need that.
So we’re taking you out to the wide open spaces of our dairy farms this month. Go to the centerspread to find our MAP to cheese makers and farm stands where you can by fruits and vegetables straight from the farm. In the upper left of the map you’ll see peaches like you’ve never tasted before unless you already know about this farm. While you are there take the road west to one of the lookouts above Lake Sonoma. When your eyes are looking at close objects (computer screens, etc.) all the time, what happens when you gaze miles into the distance is breathtaking.
Our cities are examining what path they want to take as we head into the future. Every municipality has to deal with the fact that in order to sustain our lives, we have to put our building efforts along major highways...those are our cities. Without planning we end up with chaos.
After the fires we have the opportunity to rebuild with a plan - with sustainable building materials, energy-efficient architecture and social structure that allows space while housing as many people as possible. This takes planning! Add to that each community has a personality defined by the people who call it home. So those are the people gathering in Sonoma
County’s seven cities to plan their future with their own priorities
in mind. This is an exciting, challenging time...so stepping up to
the plate with energy and ideas is what will build our future.
2 - www.sonomacountygazette.com - 8/18