The Sun Q and A You and your wife Jen opened Harvest Moon in 2006. What did that take? We took a big chance, even re-financed our home to do it. We had met at the Culinary Institute of America; I graduated in ’95. I... Continue

Justin Mori took over as principal of Sonoma Valley High School on July 1, replacing departing principal Kathleen Hawing, who has returned to teaching. Mori had been the principal of San Jose Intermediate School with the Novato Unified School District since 2012. The Sun’s Sarah... Continue

Where did you grow up, Byron? I grew up in Jacksonville, Florida, the third of three children of working parents. I hated Jacksonville, and in 1968 when I was fourteen, though I looked older, I began working at my aunt and uncle's 24-hour diner in... Continue

2017 SVHS graduate Aaron Marcus-Willers recently returned to Sonoma after a year in China, studying Mandarin and living with a Chinese family. In the fall he is off to NYU Abu Dhabi. The Sun’s Sarah Ford checked in with him the other day about his... Continue

Your photography of the October fires has drawn sensational numbers of views.   Yes, over three million pictures viewed in the last twelve months. My site, Sonomaslife.com, has a life of its own. I’ve never advertised it. How many pictures usually get viewed, in a normal... Continue

What is a Master Gardener? Well, the mission of the program is to “teach home gardeners sustainable gardening.” Master Gardeners love gardening, have experience, and become certified by the University of California Cooperative Extension. You have to apply to get into the program, which entails... Continue

The Sun: This is an exciting time for your Sonoma Valley High School students, with their films being shown in the Sonoma International Film Festival. Peter Hansen: For sure. Getting to see their work on the big screen at the Sebastiani is such a big... Continue

You’ve been on the City Council since 2014. Now that you’re Mayor, how do you like it, and how is it different? I love it! I’m having fun. The difference in being Mayor is you can reach out beyond what you usually do as a... Continue

So you have lived at The Haven?   Yes. It was the turning point for me. In March 2015 we had nothing left and nowhere to go. The other shelters split families up. But The Haven took me, my wife and our teenage son in... Continue