After negotiations with the union representatives of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), Sonoma’s City Council recently approved an 8% raise for its roughly 25 non-management employees. This is only the first of salary increases totaling 13% over the three years of the agreement. While... Continue
Amid the hair-on-fire frenzy that climate change is dooming the planet are a number of Good News Clues overlooked or ignored by celebrity influencers that strongly suggest the climate will take care of itself, thank-you-very-much. Those distracted by the start of football season may have... Continue
I’ve mostly been writing here about creativity as a positive thing. I’ve explored how making something (or being creative in other ways) can be cathartic and liberating, even therapeutic. That’s what makes creativity such an important force in our lives. But creativity also has another... Continue
The Sun's Anna Pier sat down with the Sebastiani Theatre’s Roger Rhoten to learn the story behind the icon of Sonoma entertainment. Roger will be celebrated with a 30th anniversary roast and concert on Saturday, September 17. As a young man did you ever think... Continue
While 115-degree temperatures were burning this month, city and county officials did a bit of fiddling over dealing with the record-breaking heat. The County announced the opening of several Cooling Centers, public places that were air conditioned, had water, and offered a bit of relief.... Continue
Savoring the effort are proud graduates of the Teen Services' Lovin Oven Culinary Academy. Over the span of a week this summer, the aspiring chefs took a deep dive into a variety of culinary practices. Out of the six participants, one was a foreign exchange... Continue
Before voters get too consumed with the upcoming November election and the myriad of special-interest initiatives on the ballot, let’s take a moment to review a harsh lesson in ballot measure “bait and switch” tactics, specifically Proposition 19 from November 2020. What happened with that... Continue
The Sonoma County Planning Commission will present on September 15 the draft Environmental Impact Report and the draft specific plan for the Sonoma Developmental Center. The initial EIR says that the proposed 1,000 housing units, though not without "unavoidable impacts," is environmentally sound. Public comment... Continue
Jehovah’s Witnesses have resumed their trademark door-to-door ministry after a two-and-a-half-year suspension, just in time for a September launch of a global campaign featuring an interactive program for Bible study. The decision to resume their door-to-door ministry on September 1 marks the complete restoration of... Continue
Updated COVID-19 booster shots specific to the highly contagious omicron variant are now available in Sonoma County. The new boosters, known as bivalent vaccines, are made by Pfizer and Moderna. The Food and Drug Administration has authorized the Pfizer bivalent booster for anyone 12 and... Continue