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

Ryan Lely/Sonoma Valley Sun For grape growers, the problem is the quarantine, not the moth. On Tuesday, at the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors’ meeting, the Sonoma County Agricultural Commissioner and representatives from the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) faced assorted activists, grape... Continue