Readers Poll Winners: Best of Sonoma Valley

Here are this year's winners, selected by public vote: Best place to take your dog Sonoma Valley Regional Park Dog Park Best place to take visitors for free Sonoma Plaza Best place to picnic Bartholomew Park Best secret Valley getaway Wolf House Trail,... Continue

Poetry by Joseph Cutler

Author: Joseph Cutler History Interrupted Over the once bright land, The skies turn dark, the coming cyclones Begin to form Where government economists once Painted pretty pictures and showed them on TV and sang us to sleep with statistics. Or we sang ourselves to sleep... Continue

Springs Community Alliance meets on immigration

A panel discussion on immigration hosted by the Springs Community Alliance is set for Thursday, March 16, 7 p.m. at La Luz Center, 17560 Greger Street in the Springs. The meeting is free and open to the public. Translation services will be provided. Panelists include... Continue

Sun In-Depth: What is the Brown Act?

From time to time the Brown Act is mentioned in reference to the actions of a public legislative body, such as the Sonoma City Council. Most people are familiar with some of the acts provisions, particularly the rule against elected officials meeting alone and in... Continue

Does Sonoma water department budget have a leak?

Are proceeds from Sonoma’s water operation – which charges about 20 percent more than comparable cities in Sonoma County – improperly subsidizing the city’s general fund? According to research by Chris Petlock presented to the city council, transfers from water revenues to the city’s operating... Continue

Under the Sun: Jerica Tercero, new generation entrepreneur

Jerica Tercero, age 26, is co-owner of Peace’n Beauty Salon, and sole owner of Crush Beauty Bar; in high school she was a regular at El Nido, predecessor of Teen Services. I heard about you from the Teen Services’ ED, Cristin Felso, as someone who... Continue

The nature of NIMBYism

NIMBY (Not In My Back Yard) is a pejorative term used to describe neighbors who don’t want change. In public land use policy just about any proposed project or changed use is going to generate public opinion against it. This is to be expected. All... Continue

School district mobile app reaches parents on the go

Communication is paramount in education. In the past, before technology such as cell phones, computers, and the internet, communication was simple, although not always effective. (Remember backpack mail?) To increase our communication effectiveness with teachers, administrators and parents, we are launching a school-wide mobile application.... Continue

Disputing claims of ‘hate signs’ at Plaza rally

Because he is one of the owners of several North Bay newspapers, it was shocking to read Darius Anderson's article in the Feb. 28 issue of the SF Chronicle, where he claims that the Women’s March in Sonoma was filled with hate signs, many carried... Continue

Chocolate… and beer?

It figures that the brewmaster at Sonoma Springs Brewing Company is always thinking of different ways to pair beer and food. But beer and chocolate? Absolutely, says Tim Goeppinger, when the brew is his Doppelbock, dubbed Smooth Operator. “This style is very food-friendly and sometimes... Continue