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Local Sonoma Valley News:

Winter without a home

This morning it is bitter cold. I go out and pick up the newspaper and it is almost a Minnesota, brittle bite of cold that I feel. But, back inside, in our little Springs house, in my favorite chair, with my feet up on an... Continue

Serving the homeless

Sonoma Overnight Support served its 50,000th meal of 2021 in early December – nearly three times the annual number only three years ago. The increase speaks to the growing number of homeless and food insecure in Sonoma Valley, and is a testament to the hard-working... Continue

Nice, then naughty

Before we get to the snark and smartassery, we begin with something quite sweet and nice. It begins, though, with Beverly Koepplin, a star volunteer at Friends in Sonoma Helping, contracting Covid. There are people with much worse problems, she figured. Then the house next... Continue

Sonoma County mask rules unchanged by state update

Indoor masking requirements in Sonoma County, including its exemptions for indoor dining and some stable groups of fully vaccinated people, remain unchanged under a new statewide mask mandate from the California Department of Public Health. CDPH will allow counties such as Sonoma, which has required... Continue

Jack London State Park: Don’t hide the racism

Confronting the author's clear and troubling bigotry Opinion by By Jonah Raskin The Jack London State Historic Park in Glen Ellen has a problem. The powers-that-be know they do, though they’re doing as little as possible about it. The problem is London himself who has... Continue

End of the line for Sonoma Creek salmon

The Chinook salmon that have been making their run up the Sonoma Creek watershed are reaching the end of their life cycle. In a Sonoma Ecology Center video, you can catch a glimpse of changes their bodies undergo after navigating many miles of estuary and... Continue

New housing: The ins and outs of SB9

Among the latest of several major land use and housing laws enacted in California is Senate Bill 9, known as SB9. Scheduled to take effect after the first of the year, SB9 amends existing state land-use laws to allow owners of single family residential parcels... Continue

Springs homeless project gets big boost from Sonoma County supes

The Sonoma County Board of Supervisors awarded $400,000 to Homeless Action Sonoma to support a tiny-home village in Boyes Hot Springs.   HAS took ownership of the property at 18820 Highway 12 in November and plans to house 22 people in 18 Quickhaven-style shelters.  The $400,000... Continue

Do you know a Treasure Artist?

The City of Sonoma’s Cultural and Fine Arts Commission is seeking nominations for the 2022  Sonoma Treasure Artist of the Year Award. First awarded in 1983, the Sonoma Treasure Artist  is selected and recognized for outstanding achievement in a chosen artistic medium including the  performing,... Continue

A rare look inside the SDC

Just before the County released its controversial plan for the Sonoma Developmental Center, it invited local media members to the campus for a glimpse inside some of the long-locked buildings that have been vacant since the facility was shut down several years ago. SDC once... Continue