After months of mulling, the Sonoma Valley Health Care District Strategic Planning Committee has formulated a set of key principles to guide the district toward a viable future. Sonoma Valley Hospital chief executive officer Carl Gerlach has often stated and the committee has long acknowledged... Continue
What’s Happening
Local Sonoma Valley News
Update to water service moratorium The council voted unanimously to approve an update to a policy adopted in 1976 outlining restrictions for properties outside of city limits hooking up to the city water supply. Toni Bertolero, city engineer, said she recently received seven applications for... Continue
Fundamental philosophies, not project specifics, split the Sonoma City Council at its meeting Wednesday night over a proposed 40-unit affordable housing project on Sonoma Highway. Councilmembers Laurie Gallian, Ken Brown and Steve Barbose said the city should provide affordable housing for the teachers, firemen, healthcare... Continue
From a field of 11 applicants, the Sonoma Valley Health Care District Board of Directors has named five committee members and three alternates to form the Citizens’ Bond Oversight Committee. The committee guarantees accountability. As stated in the bond measure, the committee’s charge is to... Continue
Kate Eilertsen will start work as interim executive director of the Sonoma Valley Museum of Art on Feb. 2. The museum has just celebrated its 10-year anniversary and Eilertsen will work closely with the board of directors and staff to review SVMA’s many accomplishments and... Continue
Dear Dr. Forsythe: It is a total sham that veterinarians require a heartworm test every year instead of just letting people have the heartworm medicine. Dogs don’t really get heartworm disease anymore, do they? Please consult with the other vets in town and let them... Continue
A hush fell over Sonoma on Tuesday morning as community members gathered around their television sets to watch the inauguration of Barack Obama, 44th president of the United States. The streets may have been quiet, but the mood was far from subdued. Locals who attended... Continue
A chance encounter with a backpack led a local deputy to the teenager responsible for over $2,651 worth of property damage since August 2008. School resource officer Matt Regan was chatting with one of the administrators at Sonoma Valley High School when he spotted a... Continue
When it comes to housing, everyone imagines the growth of the valley differently. Some people want small homes on big lots, others advocate more live-work housing or mixed-use projects with stores downstairs and apartments upstairs. Now is your chance to give your opinion on how... Continue
Pooling money between friends to rent a swanky vineyard estate in Sonoma for a weekend is pretty close to a guaranteed good time – at least for visitors to the Sonoma Valley. The quiet vacation rental business is suddenly drawing a lot more attention from... Continue