10 hot summer reads

With summer comes a longing for curling up in a hammock or stretching out at the beach with a good book. A real book, the kind where you can dog-ear your place when you start to doze. Jude Sales of Readers’ Books put together some... Continue

Nature’s lawn mowers

Every shift is a meal break for a crew from Chasin' Goats Grazing, called in to tidy up grassy areas of Sonoma's Montini Preserve. The crew finished the job before the July 4 festivities and nearby fireworks show. Continue

Land Trust gets $700k grant to protect open space at Sonoma Developmental Center

The Sonoma Land Trust has received a $700,000 grant from the Sonoma Valley Fund, the regional affiliate of the Community Foundation of Sonoma County, to acquire and protect more than 700 acres of open space, trails and natural resources at the site of the former... Continue

10 dating tips for a small town

Dating is not something new to people today. For many decades and centuries, people have always been dating. One of the reasons for dating is that it lets you meet someone that can be your soul-mate. There are many dating benefits other than getting the... Continue

Nick Brandt’s photographic odyssey

By Jackie Lee Nick Brandt seeks to change our perceptions, one photograph at a time. He wants us to “get it.” In the process, he does not give himself away; his real life is not on offer. His all-consuming passion concerns the massacre of the... Continue

The subjective environmental law that rules every land-use project

Land use projects in Sonoma are always subject to CEQA, California's Environmental Quality Act. This does not mean every project is required to undergo an extensive and expensive process of environmental evaluation, but it does mean every land use project needs to be declared either... Continue

The importance of saying ‘thank you’

When I was a little girl, every year my grandparents would send me a birthday card with a little check in it so I could put it toward a gift I really wanted. The worst part about the gift was that before I was allowed... Continue

Fire season is here

It’s all too easy to become complacent, and the early high temperatures and smoke from regional fires filling the valley on the first red flag warning day were a needed reminder. Fire preparedness comes to mind: reducing flammables on your property and organizing your resources for evacuation... Continue

Who feeds the geese that lay the golden eggs?

On the heels of City Council’s vote to approve a trend-setting minimum wage ordinance, some in town are now awaiting the Economic Apocalypse, foretold in campfire ghost stories by a few employers in a failed effort to dissuade Council from mandating that employees be paid... Continue

Semi-nude assault suspect found wandering in Sonoma vineyard

The man who crashed his pickup on Broadway, then attacked a passerby who offered to help him early Wednesday morning, was high on meth, according to the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office. The suspect, later identified as Wayne Fortier, 37, compounded the assault by running off... Continue