Bonnie Durrance/Sonoma Valley Sun Council moves forward with at home farming. With costs of living rising along with the cost of fossil fuel, Sonoma City Council is gearing up to take action – allowing homeowners with a bit of land to grow their own. The... Continue

In other actions July 2, the Sonoma City Council: • Requested $400,000 in special funds from the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors to meet the $1.8 million cost of putting Broadway’s utility lines underground between Malet and West MacArthur streets. The project was approved in... Continue

A nine-unit condominium complex on Perkins Street that failed to win Sonoma Planning Commission support on a 3–3 vote in April was approved 3–2 by the City Council at its first July session. Napa property owners Robert and Sara Pursell had appealed the Planning Commission’s... Continue

A fter devoting 17 years and nearly a million dollars to spruce up its namesake, the Sonoma Plaza Foundation has decided this year not to hold its signature Red & White Ball fundraiser. “We’re not doing it this year – we’re giving the Plaza a... Continue

Ryan Lely/Sonoma Valley Sun Two cell phone laws became effective in California July 1 – the first prohibits anyone from using a hand-held cell phone while operating a vehicle on California roadways, but allows for hands-free headset and speakerphone use. The second prohibits drivers under... Continue

Sonoma County’s Agricultural Preservation and Open Space District has hired Bill Keene, formerly with the Sonoma County Water Agency, as Assistant General Manager overseeing administrative services, governmental affairs, public outreach and stewardship. “Bill’s expertise adds to the District’s management depth and capability to oversee the... Continue

Sonoma’s pending law regulating resident ownership of its mobile home parks is still slated for adoption, but delayed, following a request last week by Sonoma City Councilmember Steve Barbose. Barbose, who had been absent from the council’s June 18 session where the ordinance underwent its... Continue

Early last week, Mayor Joanne Sanders, a passionate spokesperson for emissions reductions and sustainability in Sonoma, decided to test local transit by taking the bus to a meeting in Rohnert Park. Starting from Sonoma City Hall, her journey would take (according to Google Maps) about... Continue

Photo courtesy of Jim Shane. An air tanker drops fire slurry onto a fire that was located off of Lomita Drive on Friday, July 4. A swift-moving grass fire swept up a Lomita Avenue hillside north of Sonoma July 4, throwing thick columns of dirty... Continue