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Local Sonoma Valley News

Soccer, sardines and selling school names

This month’s meeting of the Sonoma Valley Unified School District Board of Trustees began on a note distinctly free of recent tensions. Starting with a room packed with red-jacketed girl soccer players, there to cheer on El Verano’s Students of the Year, Alejandra Alverez and... Continue

Bob Ruffner: a life of service remembered

Bob Ruffner with friends at memorial service for Tristan Edwards. Photo buy Abdul Bey This weekend, an extraordinary life of service, dedication and love came to an end. Bob Ruffner, advocate for youth, addiction specialist, and actor, lost his battle with cancer. Ruffner’s reach in... Continue

Mayor builds compromise for affordable housing mandate

Affordable housing? Low-cost housing? Subsidized housing? The words may be vague and undefined on one hand, or carry heavy emotional and political freight on the other, but all are capable of stoking polarizing philosophical arguments, as happened in the city council last week when the... Continue

Murray to step down at GEFD

After 53 years of fighting fires, including 10 as Glen Ellen’s fire chief, Bill Murray is calling it quits – sort of. Murray was expected to announce his resignation at Tuesday night’s meeting of the Glen Ellen Fire Protection District board. He’ll continue as chief... Continue

Vita Bella!

Janis Jennings Snyder owner of Vita Bella! and Vita Bella Too, stocks her shops with one-of-a-kind antiques and period furniture. Plans are underway for featured artists receptions. Ryan lely/Sonoma Valley Sun For those who drive by the Kenwood Village Marketplace on Highway 12 but haven’t... Continue

Conservation means changing habits

In a joint meeting of the Sonoma City Council and the Community Services and Environment Commission Wednesday night, one thing became clear: while there is ample will to reduce emissions, it’s not so easy to leave the cars at home. Commissioner Ilene Addison proposed to... Continue

Hospital bond Measure F fails

When the final results were in, those against numbered 3,590, and those in favor numbered 5,770. That was 61.6 percent of the vote – a majority, but not enough. The hospital bond measure had failed. After four months of effort, the wait for the results... Continue

Bob Ruffner: life of service remembered

This weekend, an extraordinary life of service, dedication and love came to an end. Bob Ruffner, advocate for youth, addiction specialist, and actor, lost his battle with cancer. Ruffner’s reach in this community was broad. In one aspect of his work, he was a driving... Continue

School board to interview candidates

Working with its outside consultants Leadership Associates from Mission Viejo, the board of trustees of the Soma Valley Unified School District has reviewed the resumes from over 20 applicants for the position of superintendent, vacant on July 1 due to the retirement of superintendent Barbara... Continue

City Council honors Irv Mills

At the city council meeting on April 2, Mayor Joanne Sanders honored Irving J. Mills with a proclamation commending him for his continued dedication to the community and extending to him sincere appreciation for all the years of his devoted service. “You came here to... Continue