Box of love

Art Escape is doing something fun for Valentine’s Day, offering an art kit to create a customized Valentine with the enclosed art supplies. Each kit includes two canvases, plus a small vinyl record to use as an additional surface. Lots of vintage magazine cutouts, eclectic... Continue

Parade of monsters

Can you separate Sonoma from what is going on in Ukraine? I can’t. That’s why this column, which was originally intended to be about promising solutions to the global crisis, has been about the war. There’s no solution to the war in Ukraine except to... Continue

Snake in the class

Third-grade students at El Verano Elementary School got up close and personal with wildlife from around the world, thanks to a visit from Classroom Safari. The visit, funded by the Sonoma Valley Education Foundation through their Classroom Grants program, enabled students to see and learn... Continue

My new friend ChatGPT

At my advanced age I’m losing more friends than I’m gaining, so it was nice to spend a little time online chatting with my new buddy ChatGPT, the latest iteration of Artificial Intelligence available to the public. When I was a teen, one of my... Continue

Why we filed the SDC lawsuit

Mountain lions and now black bears pad their way across Sonoma Valley via an ancient wildlife corridor that threads through the lands of the former Sonoma Developmental Center. Endangered salmon swim and spawn in Sonoma Creek that runs through the middle of the historic old... Continue

Wrong turn at Carneros?

Steve Meloan was on his way into the Basque Boulangerie on Tuesday morning when something caught his eye -- a hot air balloon heading west over Sonoma Plaza. "It was amazingly low, such that I could hear the roar of its gas jets. I assumed... Continue

Impact100 Sonoma announces biggest grant pool ever

Women’s collective giving organization Impact100 Sonoma -- one of the Valley’s largest funders -- will award a record $337,400 in grants to Sonoma Valley nonprofits in 2023. That amount will raise the group’s cumulative grant total since 2010 to $3,661,900. For the third year in... Continue

Biden’s war, part 2

We tend to view our political leaders as figures playing their parts in an ideological drama portrayed on our screens, beautifully attired, their faces polished by make-up made to look real. We forget they are human. Not until we read their biographies after they have... Continue

Celebrate Black Americans with Sonoma County Library

February is Black History Month, a time to recognize, celebrate and honor the rich and diverse history, contributions and achievements of Black Americans. Sonoma County Library celebrates Black History Month by hosting events and highlighting books, movies, music and resources available through your local library. ... Continue

Sonoma Community Center ED resigns

Charlotte Hajer, the executive director at the Sonoma Community Center, has resigned from her position effective January 27. She had been leading the Center since April 2021. “We sincerely thank Charlotte for all of the work she has done with our organization to help advance... Continue