Has Covid been good or bad for the environment?

As the COVID-19 pandemic took hold last spring, a certain type of news story started to spring up—the idea that, in the absence of people, nature was returning to a healthier, more pristine state. There were viral reports of dolphins in the canals of Venice,... Continue

Student Spotlight: Christopher Rivas

For Christopher Rivas, who is about to graduate from Sonoma Valley High School, it has always been about being willing to put in the effort at school. His hard work is paying off with a full-ride scholarship to Santa Clara University to study Environmental Engineering. ... Continue

A busy month for your Board of Supervisors

"Undoubtedly, cannabis is a divisive issue in our community." After more than a year of critical focus on the COVID-19 pandemic, I am happy to see county staff hard at work on other mission-critical areas of focus. We opened the window for vegetation management grant... Continue

A year without knocking on doors

It’s been one year since Jehovah’s Witnesses adjusted their hallmark methods of sharing comfort and hope from the scriptures due to the pandemic. For many, the change from ringing doorbells and knocking on doors to making phone calls and writing letters expanded and invigorated their... Continue

Thoughts on distance learning from a high school senior

By Meg Jernigan, Sonoma Valley High School class of 2021 “I will finish high school in my bedroom, on a computer.” That’s a phrase I never thought I would utter when I started high school in 2017. What are the pros and cons of distance... Continue

Selling out the neighborhood

Are we willing to sell out our neighborhoods to the highest bidder? That’s indeed the question that Pacaso raises for the residents of Sonoma. Pacaso is a new real estate company backed by hundreds of millions of dollars of funding. They’re buying up properties in... Continue

Crunch time for the Biden administration

The next 90 days will make or break the Biden Administration. The window for the legislative season will start shutting down after Labor Day and the 2022 primary will be off and running. After an impressive first hundred days, culminating in a significant pandemic rescue... Continue

Sonoma County hits 70% vaccine figure

Seven out of 10 Sonoma County residents age 12 and older have now received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, county health officials announced today. The total of 305,501 residents who have received at least one dose equals 70 percent of the county’s... Continue

Pets Lifeline finds its forever home

The gleaming new home of Pets Lifeline, an ultra-modern facility on the grounds of the old structure on Sonoma’s Eighth Street East, is a huge upgrade from the previous incarnation, a hodgepodge of sheds, a trailer, and chain link kennels. It has more space for... Continue

Hoof and mouth

A mixed herd of around 200 goats and sheep on the job at Maxwell Regional Park, nibbling away at poison oak, blackberry bushes and whatever else they can get their snoots into. The for-hire crew works within a fenced corral that is relocated around the... Continue