The 2008 fire season has roared into high gear – and for the second time in three weeks, Sonoma Valley is responding. At 7 p.m. Wednesday, California's Office of Emergency Services summoned state-wide help to fight a barely contained Butte County wildfire which had burned... Continue

The Sonoma Valley Unified School District Board of Trustees faced a room-full of frustrated parents on Tuesday. They all urged the board to give Dunbar a full time principal. They spoke of the need for continuity, leadership and support. None denied the budget crisis. “We’re... Continue

Gary Nelson announced last Sunday that he and his wife Marcia had committed an additional $50,000 toward support of and an endowment for the emergency room at the Sonoma Valley Hospital, working through the Sonoma Community Foundation. That facility has been a focus of generous... Continue

The voting is over in Sonoma County’s First Supervisorial District – and now, the waiting begins. Tuesday’s election didn’t immediately resolve the question of who’ll represent Sonoma Valley at the county level for the next four years. Although two-term incumbent Valerie Brown failed to gain... Continue

Highway 12’s tagger community will soon face some stiff-brushed competition, following a recent action by the Springs Redevelopment Advisory Committee. The RAC voted unanimously Thursday night to have the county fund up to $3,000 for the Valley of the Moon Teen Center’s budding graffiti abatement... Continue

On June 6, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger made legal what many considered legal all along. Senate Bill 607, which take effect immediately, makes it okay for home winemakers to share their wares at tasting competitions. The bill, presented by Senator Pat Wiggins (D. Santa Rosa), who... Continue

At the Wednesday meeting of the Sonoma City Council, when City Planner, David Goodison introduced Item 5C, the adoption of a moratorium on the conversion of mobile home parks to resident ownership, the response was notably relaxed, compared to earlier meetings when this issue was... Continue

Sister City proposal moves forward On May 9, Ambassador Abderahman Salaheldin, consul General of the Arab Republic of Egypt, who had earlier visited Sonoma as a guest of Mayor Sanders, wrote that the Governor of Aswan has enthusiastically welcomed the idea of a sister city... Continue

In other actions, the City Council: • Held a public hearing for, but tabled a decision concerning, a proposed nine-unit condominium complex at the southeast corner of Perkins Street and Second Street West. The three-story structure failed its use-permit approval on April 10 before the... Continue