Healdsburg adopted a new general plan on Monday, and Mayor Eric Ziedrich said the council would act separately on an ordinance governing "formula" businesses. That's the new euphemism for chain stores. The conversation, as reported by Staff Writer Clark Mason, touched on big-box stores and Starbucks. You may recall that Starbucks set off a similar debate in Cotati, which ultimately decided some chains were OK -- as long as they kept to the west side of the highway. Other towns have debated other chains. Calistoga once considered running out Copperfields because it had stores elsewhere, including Petaluma, where the City Council is clearly uncomfortable with any bookstore that might compete with Copperfields.

But in all these debates over chain businesses, I've never heard anyone try to exclude Wells Fargo, Chevron, Bank of America, Exxon or Safeway. So some chains are OK? You know, if they don't sell books or coffee?

Just wondering.

-- Jim Sweeney