One less unneeded law

The Sonoma Home Winemakers got corked this year by the ABC, which disallowed them pouring their own amateur wines at the annual fundraiser. The show went on, with donated “professional” wines, but the main draw of the event was lost. Enter Philip Sales and other club officers; they lobbied legislators to change the (long unenforced) law, and it’s done. Thanks to Assemblyman Mark Levine and other wine country politicos, the governor this week signed AB 1425, which allows homemade wines and beers to be donated for fundraising events. Proving, perhaps, that it is indeed the squeaky wheel gets the Cabernet.

The Sonoma Veteran’s Cemetery, now full, is expanding, with 32 additional full plots and 64 in-ground niches. The City Council approved the expansion to meet the ongoing desire for veterans and spouses to be buried there. That’s good. But sad to think those sites will soon be filled as well.

The Sonoma Treasure Artist for 2013 is a man who knows a little something about the spotlight, musician David Aguilar. His band, Tudo Bem, is a club and event staple, and he played guitar for years with Norton Buffalo. He’s taught music at the local schools, as well as the Sonoma Developmental Center, and runs the sound for local events and fundraisers. The award usually goes to someone with a brush in hand, not a guitar. Aguilar is only the fifth musician to receive the award since its inception in 1983.

The empty lot in the 800 block of West Spain Street, opposite Juniper Serra, soon won’t be. The Sonoma Planning Commission has approved an 18-unit development. Eleven units currently on the two-acre lot will be razed to make way for three bedroom, two bath homes built around, and in the center of, a U-shaped drive. Developer Steve Ledson’s plan also calls for a small park.