Sonoma’s newest hotel development; Santa on the radio; Readers’ big birthday
The next big thing on the drawing board, city planning-wise, is a hotel/homes development proposed for a 3.4-acre property linking First Street West and First Street East, just north of Vintage House in Sonoma. Existing structures would be razed in favor of 21 single-family homes, a café, a pool club open to the public, and “a small residential style inn.” The project is being designed and managed by local residents Ed and Martina Routhier, who along with their three children, live across the street. The Routhiers say they are committed to making sure the project serves the community and is aesthetically complimentary to the surrounding architecture… They’ve also come up with a new take on the vacation rental business. There will be an in-house reservation staff, taking Airbnb, and its cut, out of the picture. And the potential revenue ($50k per year is their “conservative” approach) now becomes part of the financing equation. “Leveraging the sharing economy to increase affordability of our homeownership was an ‘aha’ moment for us,” the couple states in an initial project description. “Now, friends and relatives who were previously excluded can own a home in this desirable development. This is a particularly good solution for local retirees who really need the additional passive income to stay in Sonoma.”… By the way, what’s so new about a ‘sharing economy’? I share my product or service with you, you share your money with me. Hasn’t it always worked like that?
After Santa Claus works the crowd (and the light switch) December 5 on the Plaza (see page 23 for details), he has few more Valley gigs on his busy schedule. On Tuesday the 8th, Santa will do a guest shot on KSVY 91.3 FM, sharing North Pole news and taking calls from 5 to 7 p.m. On the 13th, he’ll appear in person from 2 to 4:30 p.m. at the Republic of Thrift in the Springs. Photos with St. Nick will be $5, to benefit the Altimira Leadership Program… It may be the hot chocolate talking, but an elf source says he sounds a bit like Altimira Middle School principal William Deeths.
Happy anniversary to Readers’ Books. Andy Weinberger founded the store in 1991, the year the internet was born and seven years before the first eBook. The ensuing digital age, he told The Sun’s Jonathan Farrell, has been “kind of like dealing with high blood pressure. You know it’s there but you just don’t know exactly when or what’s going to make it crop up.” The book business has had its share of ups and downs over the years, including the rise and fall of the mega bookstore. “Borders and big retailers like it have made it very difficult for local and small businesses like mine to compete; especially, when they began offering discounts and markdowns. But where is Borders now? It’s gone.”
Two County Jail inmates being loaded onto a bus Tuesday decided on alternate means of transportation: they ran away. Deputies, police and even a CHP helicopter took part in the search for the brothers, who were found hiding in bushes in a nearby apartment complex. One man surrendered without incident, his brother proved to be “non-compliant,” which is police-speak for “get the canine officer over here.” After a brief tussle, it was back to jail, this time in a well-guarded squad car.
–Val Robichaud
