Journalist Lynne Joiner on China—'Windows to the World' Continues

Longtime journalist and Sonoma resident Lynne Joiner will present "Changing China—One Journalist's Viewpoint" as part of the "Windows to the World" series on Sonoma's sister cities.

Joiner has a 25-year background as a reporter for ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, NPR and Christian Science Monitor Radio. She is an international documentary filmaker and the author of the book "Honorable Survivor: Mao's China, McCarthy's America and the Persecution of John S. Service." Service was a Foreign Service officer in China after World War II, portrayed in the book as a victim of then Senator Joe McCarthy's "witch hunt."

Joiner has had a "lifelong interest in China," according to her website. Her presentation will be at 7 p.m. Jan 10. The lecture series is being held at Sonoma Community Center.

Sonoma's seven sister cities are:

• Chambolle-Musigny in the Burgundy region;
• Greve in Chianti, Italy;
• Penglai, in Shandong, China;
• Tokaj, Hungary
• Kaniv, Ukraine
• Patzcuarto, Mexico
• Aswan, Egypt

The series of lectures on the cities is already under way. Other upcoming topics are:

• March 14: "France and California"— Ultra Wine Blend—speaker Jean-Charles Boisset, owner of the historic Buena Vista Winery just outside Sonoma.
• April 11: "Ukraine's tragic past and present"—Paul Gregory, PhD., Fellow, Hoover Institution, Stanford University.
• May 9: "Italianita in America"—Ken Albala, PhD., Professor of History, University of the Pacific.
• June 13: "The ecology of the Nile"—Amer El-Ahraf, Ph.D., Professor, California State University, Dominguez Hills.

Each lecture has a $15 entrance fee. Refreshments are served.

To learn more about Sonoma's sister cities, go to the Sonoma Sister Cities Association website.

Sonoma Community Center is at 276 East Napa Street. For tickets and other information 707-938-4626 or go online to www.svbo.org