Affordable housing in Sonoma Valley? An SDC ‘village’ is not the answer

Former publisher/editor of the Sonoma Index-Tribune, Bill Lynch, thinks it a wonderful idea that the Sonoma Developmental Center become a new village, a new town in the heart of Sonoma Valley. I do not, for the following reasons. Perhaps Mr. Lynch, who often waxes nostalgic... Continue

Merging ‘then’ and ‘now’

With his Valley of the Moon Main Stem Project, Springs-based artist Mike Acker creates panoramic photo-collages documenting the Highway 12 corridor, including historic images. His comments on this work, featured on the cover and inside the 1/15 issue of The Sonoma Sun: “The Food Center... Continue

The county’s latest plan for developing the SDC campus

Permit Sonoma, Sonoma County’s planning agency, has released its latest a project description for development on the 900-acre Sonoma Developmental Center. The county said the latest iteration incorporates feedback from community workshops, public surveys and stakeholder meetings following the three alternatives published on Nov. 1, 2021. In the County's... Continue

Sonoma Mountain Preservation group weighs in on SDC

(The Sonoma County Board of Supervisors) has an opportunity to think big with SDC on January 25 by focusing on climate-resilient and democracy-supporting decisions. Rather than proceeding with a Specific Plan and EIR for urban housing infill and hotel, designed to pay for the State’s... Continue

Taxpayers should not be forced to subsidize the Cannabis Industry

Recently, the cannabis industry has been lobbying the State and County for tax reductions. They claim the recent drop in prices make cultivation and manufacturing taxes unaffordable. Before granting tax relief, let’s review how the industry arrived at this point, the real problem and if... Continue

Bike lanes come to Broadway

With a CalTrans work order looming for the re-striping of Broadway, Sonoma’s City Council finally reached a conclusion about what type of bicycle lane, if any, it prefers. The vote was 3-2 in favor of a buffered bike lane running next to the lane of... Continue

Keeping it in house

This and that, chit and chat... The city of Sonoma has taken a move toward banning time-shares, including the fractional ownership model employed by Pacaso, with a unanimous agreement by the Planning Commission at a January 13 study session. There was consideration of allowing time-shares... Continue

Acknowledging complexity

We all prefer simple solutions and explanations for serious problems, but our world is increasingly complex, and so are its problems and solutions. As the anniversary of the Capitol riots reminded us, a significant portion of the population prefers conspiracy theories and alternative facts over... Continue

Service with smiles

"I love the soup, it warms my heart,” says Helena Friedman, receiving food, and plenty of attention, from the Vintage House crew. Its Soup's On! program is free to all, every Friday from 11:30-1. The homemade soup is prepared by local chefs, and distributed curbside... Continue

Area advisory panel demands new SDC plan

The North Sonoma Valley Municipal Advisory Council (NSVMAC), an official but non-binding panel that reports to the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors, rejects the current plans for the Sonoma Developmental Center. "None of the current alternatives reflect the many environmental constraints on the site, nor... Continue