Local ‘Youth of the Year’ advances to state celebration

Maribel Campos, Boys & Girls Clubs of Sonoma Valley's 2015 Youth of the Year, was selected as one of the three Northern California Youth of the Year recipients. Campos was chosen from more than 50,000 teen Club members in the state. She is the first candidate... Continue

A tip of the hat

Judy Baker, coordinator of the Big Hat contest for the upcoming Horses, Hats and Heroes event, gets ready for the May 2 event. “Any individual, business, team or non-profit group can enter," Baker said. "This is a chance to show off your creativity, support your... Continue

Council minds temper, appoints planning commissioner

‏After a lengthy discussion about naming a new member of the Sonoma Planning Commission, including disagreements over the interview and selection process, the selection of retired fireman Mike Coleman was eventually ratified by a 3-2 vote. Councilmembers Gary Edwards and Rachel Hundley were the dissenting... Continue

Council deafness on Broadway Oaks

Last night’s City Council consideration of a proposal to remove Broadway’s oak trees was notable less for its action than the conduct of the City Council. Though only four could participate, Gary Edwards having stepped-down due to the proximity of property he owns to the subject... Continue

Broadway trees get reprieve

The trees on upper Broadway were temporarily spared Monday night as the City Council asked for more information from city staff before making a decision on cutting down the 17 mature oaks between East Napa and Patten Streets. Several property owners had asked for the trees to... Continue

Sun Q&A: Sonoma Restorative Justice volunteer Martina Lutz Schneider

Under the Sun: Sonoma Restorative Justice volunteer Martina Lutz Schneider It's a long journey from a farm outside of Hamburg to Sonoma. Tell us when and how you came to Sonoma. I moved to Sonoma in 2000. We had two young sons and bought a... Continue

Earth Day Sonoma Valley style

April 22 is Earth Day, which celebrates the Earth's natural environs and helps us humans reflect on ways that we impact the environment. Sonoma Valley is no stranger to the ecology movement and we tend to pride ourselves on being locavores (eating food grown within 100 miles from where... Continue

Sonoma man convicted of elder theft in consignment scam

Consignment store owner Dwayne Kershner, 53-years-old of Sonoma, pleaded no-contest today to two felony counts of elder theft and two felony counts of grand theft. The charges resulted from elder victims taking their personal family possessions to the defendant’s consignment store in Sonoma and leaving... Continue

Did Sonoma councilmembers violate disclosure law?

Members of the Sonoma City Council may have violated a state disclosure law when, prior to voting to award a $250,000 contract to the Chamber of Commerce, they apparently failed to announce they were members of that organization. The April 6 decision created the Sonoma... Continue

Removing barriers to quality health care

By Fred Allebach My primary health provider could make much more money in private practice, but has made a principled choice to work at the Sonoma Valley Community Health Center. It’s safe to say that at a non-profit, community health clinic that many are serving... Continue