Three very drought tolerant shrubs

(By Karen Boness) We have had over nine inches of rain since I wrote about drought tolerant trees. With all that rain falling in such a short time frame it is easy to forget that we are still way below our yearly average rainfall. It... Continue

Glen Ellen bank robbery

The West America Bank in Glen Ellen was robbed at gunpoint on Friday by a white male who stuffed the money into a blue backpack and fled northbound on Arnold Drive. Sonoma County Sheriff’s Deputies responding to the 5:42 p.m. call initiated a search of... Continue

Rotary Club supports 'Broadway' series

The Rotary Club of Sonoma Valley presents a check for $15,000 to founding members of the Transcendence Theatre Company, from left, Brad Surosky, Amy Miller and Stephan Stubbins. The company produces the “Broadway Under the Stars in Jack London State Park” concert series in the... Continue

Spirit of the Valley: Virginia and Isiah

The Sun received many worthy nominations for our inaugural Sprit of the Valley Award recognizing the volunteer of the year. Here’s one from B Cullen, executive director of WillMar Center, about a unique volunteer team making a real difference. "Since 2008, Virginia Bertelsen, grief program... Continue

Teenagers acting out-Young actors confront adult emotions in “Rent”

“’Rent,’ is no kiddie play,” said Cat Austin, artistic director of the Youth Winter Performance Workshop. The ensemble of 15 talented young people, ranging in age from 12 to 21, has been in rehearsal for the “The School Edition” of the Tony Award-winning musical at... Continue

Advances in doggie dentistry

Dear Dr. Forsythe: I was interested in getting my dog’s teeth cleaned since I know he has really bad breath. I had them cleaned a couple years ago when I lived in Gilroy, but I don’t remember the vet ever mentioning if “Gus” had any... Continue

Strong letter of inquiry is your foot-in-the-door to grant funding

The 2013 Giving USA annual study reports that, on average, 21 percent of a nonprofit’s income comes from a combination of private foundations and corporations. This is good news for nonprofits because foundation giving is up 4.4 percent over the prior year and corporations are... Continue

Entomophagy and ice cold beer

I like bugs but I don’t like them crawling on me. In fact, when I find an insect on any part of my body, I shiver to the core of my soul. Many cultures throughout the world use insects for food. When animals eat insects they... Continue

The candidates are coming

First, an update of last month’s column about the candidates running in the June election to represent the Springs in the State Assembly: Napa County Planning Commissioner Matt Pope dropped out of the race last week. No surprise, as his fundraising was poor. That leaves three candidates: Napa County Supervisor Bill... Continue

Transparency in government

Everybody’s talking “transparency” these days. I used to think that transparent meant nearly invisible, like glass is transparent, but its meaning seems to have morphed into exactly the opposite. So when we talk about transparency in government today, what we mean is making the operation... Continue