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Local Sonoma Valley News:

‘Winterize’ your pets for the chilly days ahead

Boy it is cold out there! Time to take extra special care of ourselves, bundle up and keep warm. This time of year our pets also need special attention. Here are some tips on keeping our pets healthy and happy during the long, cold season.... Continue

Montini land plan disappoints all around

With less than 10 days left of public comment – extended to Jan. 7 due to the holidays – and no forum scheduled for further discussion, the Sonoma Agricultural and Open Space District seems on course to pursue a public access plan for the Montini... Continue

Council to consider smoking ban in parks

The Sonoma City Council is considering a policy recommendation from the Community Services and Environment Commission to ban smoking in city parks. According to Planning Director David Goodison, the Commission, which advises the council on matters related to the preservation and enhancement of parks, recreational... Continue

12-year computer glitch cheats vets’ survivors of benefits

Congressman Mike Thompson (D-CA) advised his constituents last week that spouses of veterans who died after Dec. 31, 1996, are entitled to benefits they may not have received. By law, since 1996, deceased veterans’ spouses are entitled to benefits for the month of the veteran’s... Continue

There oughta be a law? Now there is!

California has a host of new laws for the New Year. First and foremost on the list is the DMV’s “No Texting” law. Coinciding with the cell phone law of 2007, this law prohibits text messaging with a cell phone or other text-based communications device... Continue

Sonoma responds to Obama health care call

On the eve of the last night of 2008, and 22 days before Barack Obama assumes office, some 64 people crowded into the social hall at Sonoma’s Trinity Episcopal Church to respond to the President-elect’s invitation to communities, extended by the Obama-Biden Transition Project, to... Continue

Human trafficking is a global problem with local reach

Human trafficking – better known as modern day slavery – is a worldwide problem that affects even the bucolic Sonoma Valley. While 70 percent of trafficked victims are women and children who are forced into hard labor or sexual slavery, the plight also hits us... Continue