Sonoma County Gazette July 2017

JULY 2017
C C o o m m m m u u n n i i t t y y Separators put to the Test ~ 5
S u s t a i n a b l e Education Garden~ 21
C C i i v v i i l l W Wa a r r E E r r u u p p t t s s M M o o r r e e c c a a r r S S h h o o w w s s F F i i r r e e g g h h t t e e r r B B e e n n e e t t s s
in Duncans Mills~ 28
than you can Imagine ~ 34
Pancakes & Eggs to Burgers ~ 54
Roots
The Immigrant Story in America
County who, like many of us, works with immigrants. For the last 25 years, I have worked as an immigration lawyer, originally in San Francisco, and now in Santa Rosa. Currently, with a wave of anxiety gripping the immigrant community here, immigration lawyers are very busy; I consult with about 8-12 new immigrant families per day, about 1500 per year. Most of these are undocumented immigrants.
County Budget
By Lynda Hopkins, Supervisor
On June 17, the Board of Supervisors unanimously adopted the 2017-2018 County Budget. While “adopting a budget” sounds like a spectacularly boring bureaucratic procedure — and it does indeed involve an endless procession of spreadsheets, pie charts, and thick binders brimming with graphs — the budgeting process tells an important story. Any budget worth its salt reflects the values of the
By Christopher Kerosky
I am a resident of our own Sonoma
Starting this month, I will be writing a regular column about our own immigrant community. One of my goals will be to address certain common myths about immigrants. The other will be to share inspiring stories about our own County’s dynamic immigrants, young and old, and their contributions to Sonoma County.
organization adopting it.
While the County’s budget did not
In this first column, I’d like to share a short description of my own family’s immigrant story and contrast that with the experience of one of the immigrant families I know here in Sonoma County. It’s instructive as to what has remained constant about immigration, but what has changed about our treatment of immigrants in this country.
Concerts & Car Shows - Bike Rides - Hikes with Kids - Circus & Summer Fun!
But before we dive into the details, let’s cover a bit of background. How big is the County’s budget, and where does the money come from? The County’s new budget is $1.59 billion. Much of that is comprised of state and federal funding: money earmarked for specific, mandated purposes. The multipurpose money known as the General Fund — money over which the County can exercise discretion — is $471.8 million. (And for those of you who are wondering where your
significantly expand from the prior fiscal year, we are nonetheless making significant investments in roads, affordable housing, public safety, fire and emergency services, and reducing homelessness.
IMMIGRANT cont’d on page 10
BUDGET cont’d on page 12
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