How to shine more light on the business of government

May 12, 2016

[caption id="attachment_66907" align="aligncenter" width="420"] The goal is transparency -- to see your government at work and follow how decisions are made. With today’s technology, it should be easy. But skirting, arguing or even ignoring the rules happens all too frequently, leaving the public in the... Continue

Will Sonoma be part of the New Potconomy?

March 18, 2016

Though advocating for a robust local economy to meet rising costs, the City of Sonoma continues to prohibit medical marijuana dispensaries, which in other cities are producing very large sales tax revenue. There is no medical marijuana dispensary in the City of Sonoma, but there's... Continue

Under the influence? How the wine industry dominates Sonoma County election campaigns

February 19, 2016

A Sun exclusive by Will Parrish For at least two decades, Sonoma County officials have sided with the wine industry in nearly every major political dispute. The reason? The industry dominates the county's economy – and financially dominates county election campaigns. Last spring, Sonoma County... Continue

Why Jack London Still Matters

February 4, 2016

By Cecelia Tichi / Special to The Sun “Jack London Catches Fish with Diamond!” “Jack London Will Report Great Prize Fight for Herald!” “Author London Reaches Town for Operation!” The triumphs and travails of Sonoma’s celebrity writer were bannered nationwide in newspaper headlines in the early... Continue

The Soil Pioneers: Local farmers dig for climate change solutions

January 8, 2016

(By Stephanie Hiller) -- Progress on climate change has been painfully, frighteningly slow, and as a result we are already grappling with its effects. But COP21, held last December in Paris, proposed new levels of consensus among the nations of the world. One noteworthy accomplishment was... Continue

Can grassroots actions change the world?

November 24, 2015

By Stephanie Hiller Here in Sonoma County, many people have embraced localization to lighten our carbon footprint while becoming less dependent on Wall Street and giant corporations; permaculture, no-till farming, soil restoration and other organic gardening methods; local banking; slow money and slow food. But... Continue

Going local — can Sonoma return to Main Street?

October 19, 2015

(By Stephanie Hiller) “Who controls the food supply controls the people; who controls the energy can control whole continents; who controls money can control the world.” -- Henry Kissinger “Local” has become a buzzword. Even the Sonoma Chamber of Commerce has taken the acronym as... Continue

What the future used to look like

October 15, 2015

General Plans have become a routine part of planning; California state law requires, for example, a housing element that is reviewed every five years. Looking to the past to understand how our community envisioned its future and discovering what, if any, of that vision came... Continue

Building community through family

October 5, 2015

[caption id="attachment_58139" align="aligncenter" width="420"] Maite Iturri and Mario Castillo of the Family Resource Center at El Verano School.[/caption] By Anna Pier Just where you might not expect it, there is a little bit of heaven on Riverside Drive. The Family Resource Center at El Verano... Continue

Sun In Depth Report