Sonoma County should help commuters ride the bus

Commuting north on Highway 29 from Middletown to Lakeport each morning, I am greeted by a steady stream of motorists headed in the southbound direction. By 7 p.m. a stream of northbound cars bring people home from work. During peak commute times I am all the more grateful for signal lights at Wardlaw and at Highway 175 allowing motorists to turn across traffic on Highway 29.

Water drinkers take back the tap

Ashland Food Co-op in Ashland, Ore. has eliminated the
sale of single-serving bottled water.
Photo from the Ashland Food Co-op website, www.ashlandfood.coop 

I am as guilty as the next person of buying single-serving bottled water, usually upon an impulse because I was thirsty at the time and didn't plan ahead by carrying a reusable water bottle. Afterward, I try to obtain additional uses by refilling the bottle again, but I don't care for the plastic taste that leaches into the water.

Impulsive purchases of bottled water have been far less frequent since I escalated my efforts to carry a stainless-steel water bottle.

Berkeley to SF aboard BART

Jonathan and I went to Berkeley on Saturday. We attended a meditation class at the Nyingma Institute and afterward rode Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) into San Francisco. A security officer walked us through reading the schedule, calculating the fare, buying our round-trip pass and going through the gate. The trains rush through every few minutes.

The Richmond to Daly City route took us to San Francisco. We disembarked near the Embarcadero and walked around SF for awhile. BART trains are noisy, metal-on-metal, and the air pressure changes in the cars when we plunge beneath the bay. But we were spared the aggravated stress of crossing the Bay Bridge by car and then aimlessly trying to park. I think mass transit will be the way to go when we spend time in the Bay Area.

Great time for walking in Lake County

On Sunday afternoon, I parked my car at the Record-Bee and slipped on some athletic shoes that I keep in my car. From there, I walked down South Main Street and followed the curve in the road to the Lakeport Library and back.

'Alternative' festival needs to practice what it promotes

The rutted dirt driveway seemed to go on forever and we shifted uncomfortably on our hay-bale seats as a man on a tractor pulled the makeshift shuttle up the road. Uncomfortably jostled by ruts in the roadway, I was relieved to disembark at journey's end.

Churches should invest in transportation

It occurred to me, looking at the ride-share sign-up list on my congregation's bulletin board, that someone would have needed to secure a ride to church in order to add his or her name to the list.

Nearest bus stop may be online

A few years ago, I represented the newspaper at a San Francisco awards luncheon for the California Newspaper Publishers Association.