Meditation comes in many different flavors, and a full menu is offered in a new book by a couple of local writers, called Matrix Meditations.

Matrix Meditations is in some ways inspired by the I Ching, the ancient Chinese “Book of Changes,” which uses 64 figures to offer wisdom. Co-author Victor Daniels explains the book also offers 64 topical cells, with an extra one as a starting point.

And as with the I Ching, Daniels adds, this book can be used to randomly suggest insights or new ways of looking at questions or problems.

  Kooch N. Daniels is the other co-author of Matrix Meditations.

Find out more about Matrix Meditations and upcoming events and book signings.

An unpopular plan to privatize the Sonoma County dump has been voted down by county supervisors, rekindling hope that they might still be able to resume operations at the facility, which has been inactive for the past four years.

A sizable crowd was on hand for the meeting Tuesday morning, many of them wearing "Go Green" badges to indicate their opposition to the proposed divestiture deal. Some of them were apparently mobilized by the eight-minute video below, which was posted on YouTube the preceding weekend.

“This agreement does not have a constituency,” observed Supervisor Shirlee Zane, after the parade of speakers unanimously denounced the proposal Tuesday morning. Windsor Town Council member Deborah Fudge (right)  faulted the county for much of that, saying that closed door meetings and a process that assumed any outreach would happen after the divestiture was approved, had backfired on the Board.

One of the repeated messages during public comments on the divestiture proposal was that, even if approved by the board of supervisors, it will still be dependent on the full participation of most of the local municipalities. Yet council members from Santa Rosa, Windsor, and Healdsburg  all expressed reservations. Petaluma, which has already opted out and is now shipping their waste to Novato, might still be open to working with the county, suggested Mayor Pam Torliatt. But none of that seemed to inspire a desire for cooperation in Supervisor Paul Kelley.

Also see these previous North Bay Reports on the Sonoma County landfill issue:

The Deal for the Dump  (Oct. 1, 2009)

Landfill Leak (July 7, 2009)

The Landfill's Future (March 31, 2009)

Sonoma County is far from alone is struggling to deal responsibly and locally with its garbage. This video takes a critical look at the situation in neighboring Marin County.

What segment of California’s population is healthiest?  It’s probably not what you would think.

As Alameda County’s Public Health Officer, Dr. Anthony Iton (left) directed efforts to correlate data from death certificates, parole offices, income reports from the national census and other sources and see where they overlapped in his county. And he found a high correspondence to the areas where poverty is most prevalent.

Taking their cue from the social support systems that many immigrant families enjoy, Dr. Iton suggests that public health departments also instigate informal gatherings of residents in impoverished neighborhoods, as an additional tool for improving their collective well-being.

Dr.  Iton  also co-authored this report (pdf, 87 pages) detailing the relative medical and social factors that shape health outcomes among the population of Alameda County. Similar results apply in Sonoma County and much of California.

In addition to growing grapes, Sonoma County’s microclimates are also well suited for cultivating some micro-crops:  medicinal herbs.

Cotati area herb grower Terri Toso says she and others are constantly trying to expand their repertoire of varieties that can be successfully cultivated locally.

Toso has also experimented with attempts to replicate the intermingled growing conditions in which the desired herbs are found in the wild, up to a point, that is.

One of the complexities involved in growing medicinal herbs, explains Leslie Gardner, is that some plants have more than one valuable part, so harvests may occur at differing times in the growing cycle.

Gardner is also the author of Life in the Medicine, a handbook for anyone interested in growing medicinal herbs.

The Sonoma County Herb Exchange will host their annual Harvest and Herb Festival on Saturday, Oct. 3rd, at Laguna Farm on the south side of Sebastopol. This link will take you to the Herb exchange website where their complete catalog is also posted.