Savory Sonoma by Stephanie Hiller - May 2017

Ah the erstwhile sleepy little town of Sonoma, how we miss her!

Twenty years ago there was not much happening here.

I lived in Sebastopol then, out in the countryside near Occidental. It wasn’t so busy there either, but I was raising kids, and that kept me busy enough.

There were plenty of environmental battles to fight as well. I worked for the local paper where I learned all about the dangers of Growth. If you widen the freeway, there will be more traffic, more people, they said. Now the freeway is wider, no end to traffic jams in sight. But many battles were won. Of course the fight to stop the nuclear power plant on Bodega Head – the so-called “Hole in the Head” – was the grandmother of them all. Thanks to the many neighbors who rallied around the issue and the EPA official who happened to hear about it on the radio, the Hole is now a lush pond offering sanctuary for birds.

Those were the days! Activism fueled, at least in part, by that succulent West County crop that is about to be re-packaged and corporatized as soon as it’s officially legal. Will attorney general Sessions, with his passion for eliminating drugs and keeping “filthy” Mexicans on their side of the border, actually stand up against the likes of Philip Morris et.al. when they start churning out their nifty little packages of dope?

The head of the Sonoma County Growers Alliance, Executive Director Tawnie Logan, was quoted in a recent issue ofSonoma Magazine (the super-glossy published by the PD) as saying the SCGA was encouraging the growers to form cooperatives to maintain control of their industry. Three cheers for that idea! If we can keep our wealth flowing locally we’ll be in good shape when the inevitable crash follows the profligate spending and heedless foreign policies of the Trump administrate. Put a tariff to staunch the flow of imports from China? Good luck on that one.

Ah Trump. He has invaded our living rooms across America, broadcast by the networks to which we are hooked, even in little Sonoma.

Next to wine and tourism it is he who has stirred things up here.

The threat of deportations of our Latino residents was the first thorn to puncture our bubbles in this prosperous, cheerful town.

An initiative started by Susan Lamont, retired director of the Sonoma County Peace and Justice Center, urging city and county agencies to take a stand against Trump’s threatened deportation policy travelled throughout the county following the election, well before Trump’s Executive Order imprinting the directives that lay ahead. “It Can’t Happen Here” made its way to the School Board, who, with the help of the gently guiding hand of IWHH member Claudia Robbins passed in February a strong resolution offering protection to students in our community from the anticipated invasion of ICE, the federal immigration agency, on our campuses.

Then on April 17, the City Council unanimously passed its warm-hearted resolution to protect the democratic rights of all targeted groups in our community.

KUDOS to them, and to all the local citizens who advocated for a strong stand by our governing body.

I am pleased to say I was among them.

But immigration is only one of the many federal initiatives coming our way from this relentlessly heartless federal administration.

Local groups sprang into action to oppose these initiatives including the horrible healthcare bill Trump presented to replace the Affordable Care Act, and subsequently withdrew.

A demonstration to oppose Trump’s ignorant stance to dismantle protections against climate change was rapidly organized by a coalition of local environmental groups in concert with the national march on April 29.

Among the busy is Indivisible Sonoma whose members are firing off pink postcards and signing petitions to protect our democracy.

And so it goes on.

But lest we think that Sonomans are only occupied with politics, this erstwhile quiet town also managed to present SonomaWood, the highly reputed international film festival.

And the Chamber of Commerce held its LocalFest in April, supporting new business ventures in Sonoma.

Our love for the earth was celebrated Earth Day April 23 with events all over the Valley, from Bouverie Preserve in Glen Ellen and Quarryhill to Maxwell Farms, Sweetwater Spectrum and an Earth Care Festival in town. Wow! Talk about energy!

Have I left anything out? I’m sure I have. The ballet performance, inLa Luz de la Luna, a benefit forLa Luz, was sold out before I got it together to purchase a ticket.

It’s exciting to witness all the creative activities of our town in the midst of what must seem to be the beginning of a dark era of repression and militarism in our nation, and to see that Sonoma citizens are strengthening our most important asset during this turbulent era, our community.

And let’s hear it for the mothers who manage to find time to populate and strengthen all these initiatives.

Let’s keep our community strong and bright during the days to come!