This summer, I had the privilege of being admitted to the Harvard Kennedy School of Government's Executive Education program in Comparative Tax Policy and Administration. This program is tailored for senior-level practitioners from government, academia and the private sector and focuses on the latest developments... Continue

In the Spring of this year, the City of Sonoma added a professional cemetery manager to its staff. Carolyn Fulton, formerly the manager at a privately-owned Petaluma cemetery, has years of experience in cemetery operations and now runs Sonoma’s three publicly-owned cemeteries. Historically, Sonoma’s cemeteries... Continue

Ken Wayne, the former evening anchor on KRON TV, and Lou Rivas, husband of Sonoma City Council member Patricia Farrar-Rivas,  are flying at-risk animals to safety. At-risk animals are either domestic animals that are in a shelter or have been injured and need to be... Continue

At the conclusion of an hours long appeal hearing, the Sonoma City Council elected to continue the matter to their meeting of October 2, 2024. With Mayor John Gurney absent, the four council members in attendance struggled to come to terms with the appeal, hearing... Continue

At their August 20 meeting, the SVUSD School Consolidation Committee narrowed to four the possible scenarios that could be followed for the necessary closure of District schools. The Committee will meet again on September 10 and October 15, and Superintendent Jeanette Rodriguez-Chien says there may... Continue

It’s an interesting but not unusual turn of events that Ken Mattson, labeled a “real estate mogul” by the Press Democrat, has been found to be nothing more than a common thief. Like Donald Trump, also a thief, both have taken money from people through... Continue

Sonoma County reports that on average, there are 73 deaths by suicide each year in the County, making it the ninth leading cause of death. The Sonoma County suicide rate of 14.3 per 100,000 residents is considerably higher than the California rate of 10.5. “While... Continue

Local Business owner Lisa Willett posted her farewell post on Facebook today. Community Supply is another great small local business to which we are forced to say goodbye. Every time it happens we vow to shop local, eat local and do what we can to... Continue

The health of the Russian River, Sonoma Valley's primary source of drinking water, is critically important. One indicator of health is the status of Chinook Salmon, which used to migrate to spawn in uncountable numbers. Sonoma Water, the county agency that manages water extraction and... Continue