Scott Orr, who has worked through the ranks of Sonoma County’s permit and planning department, has been named the director of Permit Sonoma. Orr began his nearly 10-year career with Permit Sonoma as an entry level planner processing permits. He worked up through the Planning... Continue
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Local Sonoma Valley News:
Jurassic Quest and Brick Fest Live Come To County Fairgrounds Two events, one billed as “North America’s most popular interactive dinosaur experience,” Jurassic Quest, and the other as “the top family LEGO-inspired event,” Brick Fest Live, will “assemble” together under one roof for the first... Continue
Sonoma’s native oak trees, a defining feature of our landscape and cultural heritage, are in critical danger due to the rapid spread of the Mediterranean oak borer. The Mediterranean oak borer (Xyleborus monographus, MOB) is a very small invasive beetle which originated in Europe and... Continue
The Sonoma Collaborative’s Housing Affordability Roadmap is a welcome addition to the discussion about affordable housing and the challenge to dramatically increase it. The Collaborative is a project of the Sonoma Ecology Center, focused on the preservation and creation of additional Affordable Housing in Sonoma... Continue
The Sonoma Valley’s unique show of fall color has begun at Sonoma Botanical Garden’s (SBG) one-of-a-kind Asian Woodland, full of rare and endangered deciduous trees and perennials. The stars of fall are the Garden’s many species of Asian maples that dapple the tree canopy with... Continue
After autumn rains, the western subterranean termites take flight! Sonoma Ecology Center Executive Director Richard Dale, spotted this swarm during a hike along Rattlesnake Cutoff—the connector between Montini Open Space Preserve and the Sonoma Overlook Trail. Flying termites, or "swarmers," emerge after rain because the moisture... Continue
This Friday, November 7, Sonoma Ecology Center will conduct controlled pile burns at Montini Open Space Preserve as part of wildfire risk reduction efforts funded by the California State Coastal Conservancy. While the park remains open, some trails may be impacted so please observe all... Continue
How, Where, When to Find Free Food By David Bolling The threat to SNAP funding currently crowding the headlines brings even more attention to an issue receiving increased local focus ever since the COVID pandemic – food insecurity, the twenty-first Century term for what used... Continue
The voters of California delivered a decisive victory for democrats in yesterday's election. Proposition 50, which redistricts the state, was approved by 63.8 percent of the vote, vs. 36.2 percent opposed. In Sonoma County, the results were even more lopsided, with 74.2 percent voting for... Continue
By Anna Pier MacArthur Park Charter School (MPCS) Board submitted its Charter Petition and Proposition 39 facilities request to the Sonoma Valley Unified School District on October 31, 2025. The proposed public, tuition-free charter school, envisioned by a charter board composed of current Prestwood parents,... Continue