Jon Early, who submitted to the City of Sonoma signed petitions backing a ballot measure allowing the controlled retail sale of cannabis within city limits, is getting antsy. The city said it had 30 business days, starting with the Early’s formal June 6 submission, to complete the vetting of the (about) 700 required signatures. The review, as city hall has said repeatedly, “is in process.” If it doesn’t get done, the campaign can’t make the state deadline to get on the November ballot, and the measure is on hold until 2020. Early feels he’s getting stonewalled. He says the confirmation process is actually pretty simple, especially since this petition has such a small voter count. “So it begs the questions, why should it be taking so long and why can you not estimate the completion time?”
The ruling is in on the wrongful termination suit against Hanna Boys Center. Tom Norman, the center’s head of clinical care, was fired in 2016 after reporting drug use, safety issues and bullying on campus. His blown whistle was ignored by the administration, which engaged in a “a clear pattern of retaliation.” The jury agreed with a $1.1 million award.
Budget Travel has named Sonoma one of the 10 Coolest Small Towns in America 2018, which is, well, pretty cool. But did “Experience Sonoma Valley,” the marketing brand of the Sonoma Visitors Bureau, really have to hire a PR firm from Colorado to help spread the news? Surely a local firm would’ve appreciated the experience.
Bob Edwards writes with best wishes for success to Justin Mori, the new Sonoma High School principal who he says “bears an uncanny resemblance to Devin Nunes, Republican chairman of the House ‘intelligence’ committee. Parents should remember that it’s probably not his fault.”
— Val Robichaud
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I believe it is the county (Sonoma County Registrar of Voters), not the city, which validates the signatures.
Actually , it’s both. First the city vets the signatures, then the City Council votes to ‘certify’ that result (not to vote on the measure itself), then it goes to the County Registrar for final step in getting it on the ballot.
As a public relations professional of over 30 years, who lives in Sonoma, I’m thrilled that the SVVB hires via an RFP. The most qualified firm should get the job, it should NOT be given to a “local firm” simply because they hang their shingle in the Valley. We want the most qualified firm doing the job, do we not? Also, please do a search for public relations firms that are located in Sonoma Valley. That is a very, very small list.