Big 3 closing; Santé takes over

[caption id="attachment_65643" align="aligncenter" width="420"] Big 3 will close on April 24 (Photo: Trip Advisor)[/caption] The iconic Big 3 diner in Boyes Hot Springs will close April 24. Management at the Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn & Spa are relocating breakfast and lunch service to Santé, the... Continue

Culture club

Sonoma Community Center hosts 115 fourth and fifth grade students from Sonoma Charter School and Woodland Star Charter School for a live performance of Brazilian music by Grupo Falso Baiano. The educational event on April 11 was the finale of the Community Center’s Playhouse program,... Continue

Supports “X” zones prohibiting new vacation rentals

Dear Editor, The following letter has been sent to the Sonoma County Planning Commission: 16 April 2016 Sonoma County Planning Commission c/o Jane Riley, AICP Permit and Resource Management Department 2550 Ventura Avenue Santa Rosa, CA 95403 RE: Input on the Proposed Vacation Rental Exclusion... Continue

Walking to end hunger

Sonoma’s seventh annual CROP Hunger Walk (Communities Responding to Overcome Poverty) on Sunday, April 24, is one of many held each year across the U.S. under the auspices of Church World Service, a consortium of 39 Christian denominations working to alleviate global poverty. Registration begins at... Continue

Don’t sign leaf blower petition

After listening to people who opposed a ban on leaf blowers, the Sonoma Neighbors Against Leaf Blowers (SNALB) proposed a compromise to the Sonoma City Council, basically suggesting that they prohibit only gas-powered leaf blowers and allow electric ones. Three members of the city council... Continue

Worth the drive: Two days in Healdsburg (Part two)

[caption id="attachment_65424" align="aligncenter" width="358"] Wine tasting at Jordan Winery (Photo: Sarah Stierch)[/caption] Healdsburg. The northern Sonoma County sister-city of Sonoma. Whether you like it or not, we are related. Two distinctly different plazas with interesting founding stories and more shops, tasting rooms, restaurants and AirBNBs... Continue

Vintage House deserves full City funding

I recently became aware of the proposed change in allocating city grant funds for non-profits. I am particularly concerned about the cut in funding for Vintage House. As a senior, I find Vintage House to be a valuable asset to the community. I am a... Continue

Market rate; contractor sting; and restaurant news

A Sonoma city committee lowered the annual Plaza rent for the Tuesday night Farmers Market from $3,800 to $750, and councilmember Gary Edwards isn’t happy about it. He’s appealed the decision, so the matter will come before the Council. “It’s time to peel the onion... Continue

Keep mobile home parks affordable

The wisdom of the 1992 Space Rent Protection Ordinance has proven itself year after year, allowing park owners reasonable return on investments and citizens, many elderly and lower income families, a safe and desirable location considerably free from excessive worry over exploitive rent increases and... Continue

A career in fun and candy

By George Webber Heidi Geffen, proprietor of Tiddle E. Winks Vintage Five and Dime in Sonoma, found out early on that “if you want to have fun, you have to create your own, as no one else can possibly know what fun is for you.”... Continue