So you want to open a tasting room…

Is opening a downtown tasting room a smart business move? A wine industry insider – the executive vice president of Silicon Valley Bank’s Wine Division – examines the politics and economics of urban tasting rooms. By Rob McMillan | Special to The Sun Falling on the... Continue

Glen Ellen’s big day

Food booths, vendors, a kids arcade, live music, a community quilt and a parade longer than the town itself? Charm and tradition mark the 27th annual Glen Ellen Village Fair, on Sunday, October 8, noon to 5 p.m. "A Sense of Community" is the theme,... Continue

  Government works

It’s weird to think that in one of the first democratic nations on the planet that a statement like “government works” is now controversial. But the belief that government is incompetent, wasteful, and lazy has been going on for years, and it’s part of our... Continue

The Dark Side

For all the attempts to cast humanity in the brightest way possible -- religious positivism, new-age soul-making, liberal visions of the evolution of virtue, and fairy-tales with happy endings -- the dark side keeps casting a shadow across history. Is this simply, as some believe,... Continue

Sonoma Valley death notices

Julianne Bennett, 72, of Sonoma, passed away September 27, 2017. Eleanor Elsie Combis, 89, of Sonoma, passed away September 24, 2017. Anthony Mark Costa, 66, of Sonoma, passed away September 28, 2017. Eugene Harrison Cross, 86, of Sonoma, passed away September 5, 2017. Machtalina Antoinette... Continue

Tasting rooms and the free market

Discussion before the City Council and on Facebook about wine tasting rooms on the Plaza always seem to include mention of The Free Market. This issue mirrors arguments one hears about the role of government nationally, i.e., should businesses be allowed to regulate themselves? This... Continue

Expansion of hunt club questioned

The appeal of the County approval of the Wing and Barrel Ranch hunt club, a Kenwood Investments venture, will be heard by the Sonoma County Board of Zoning Adjustments on November 2. The self-described “ultimate private hunting club” promises to “bring together the best of... Continue

Top five trees for fall color

If you think your autumn garden looks a bit blah, now is the time to act. The soil is still warm. Plant transpiration rates are down due to shorter daylight hours. Sales abound at plant nurseries. The rainy season is coming soon, too. Fall is... Continue

County road repairs are arbitrary, inefficient

All taxpayers know how fiscally irresponsible our government representatives are. I was shocked to add a bit of stupidity on top of this governance. I live in Boyes Hot Springs on a block that is maybe a football field long and dead ends into a... Continue

Not enough councilmembers to vote on tasting room moratorium

The Sonoma City Council’s consideration of a temporary moratorium on Plaza wine tasting rooms is itself on hold after two councilmembers recused themselves from the October 2 discussion. The meeting agenda included a draft ordinance that, if approved, would have suspended any new tasting rooms... Continue