Healdsburg’s City Council is urging rail officials to allow an unused railroad bridge over the Russian River to be employed as a temporary bicycle and pedestrian crossing, but the possible resumption of freight train service may derail the proposal.

For those trying to expose waste, fraud and abuse in government, the path can be torturous. Whistleblowers must contact one agency after another, and in the process, they can lose both their anonymity and faith in any follow up. The Sonoma County grand jury reached those conclusions after months of studying the issue. The panel is now calling for a change.