Woman dies in crash on wet roadway
Rain-coated pavement may have contributed to the traffic death of a Sonoma woman Tuesday morning.
Maria Castellanos, 43, died at Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital within hours of the 8:30 a.m. one-car accident.
Castellanos was driving east on Highway 12, near Madrone Road, when she lost control of her 2001 Ford Taurus, possibly due to driving too fast for the wet roadway, reported the CHP. The car crashed broadside into a power pole.
Highway 116 project begins
The long-awaited project to make the highway that is Stage Gulch Road safer began this week.
According to Caltrans, the project, southwest of Sonoma and located between Adobe Road and Arnold Drive, will provide new shoulders, horizontal and vertical curve reduction, a new alignment west of County Transfer Road, upgraded metal beam guard rail and new retaining walls.
The first stage will begin with tree removal.
State Route 116 will remain open during construction. Motorists can expect nighttime lane closures with one-way traffic control from 7 p.m. to 5 a.m. during the week with longer work windows on the weekends. Anticipated completion of this highway improvement project is spring of 2012. Caltrans requests motorists drive courteously and cautiously through the construction zone.
Wine and the state budget
The California state budget proposed by Gov. Schwarzenegger did not include any new or increased tax or fee on wine, beer or spirits. The pressure in Sacramento for additional revenue remains constant and intense in light of the chronic $20 billion budget deficit, according to the Wine Institute.
A measure to add a 1280 percent surcharge to wine’s current state excise tax, authored by Assemblyman Jim Beall, D-San Jose, was defeated in committee earlier this month. Beall plans to reintroduce the bill next month.
The proposed budget includes $4.17 million to augment federal and industry money for the fight against Pierce’s Disease and Glassy-winged Sharpshooter Program
