PG&E’s Wildfire Safety Operations Centerhas been activated due to theRed Flag Warning and elevated fire dangers in the North Bay. We don’t anticipate needing to do aPublic Safety Power Shutoff.  But we do want customers to update their contact info atwww.pge.com/mywildfirealerts. 

Our phone rang off the hook at 4:10 AM on October 9. It was a panicked friend, telling my wife that Rohnert Park was on fire, being evacuated, and that we should leave immediately, even though we live much closer to Penngrove.

While there is a widespread understanding that our housing situation is becoming increasingly desperate, some local public policy seems to be turning away from low and very low income housing and implying that the problem that can be addressed by expanding the supply of market rate rental housing and accessory dwelling units (ADUs). 

The Sonoma County Water Agency (Water Agency) has developed a proposal to reduce flooding on Green Valley Road west of Graton by removing sediment from the adjacent Green Valley Creek and restoring the creek banks with native vegetation. Pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act, the Water Agency released a Draft Initial Study and Negative Declaration (IS/ND) for the project on June 22. The public is invited to provide comment on the project before July 24.

The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) has announced the burn ban suspension, beginning 12:01 a.m. Monday, June 18, 2018, and bans all outdoor burning except for campfires within organized campgrounds or on private property with landowner permission. Campfires may be permitted if the campfire is maintained in such a manner as to prevent its spread to the wildland. A campfire permit can be obtained at local CAL FIRE fire stations. The suspension of burn permits is implemented in response to the extremely high fire hazard conditions.

The Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) lists the near-term transportation projects, programs and investment priorities for the San Francisco Bay Area's surface transportation system--projects that have a federal interest and locally and state-funded regionally significant projects.

From June 4^th through August 10^th, the Redwood Empire Food Bank (REFB) will offer free and healthy lunches to Sonoma County children 18 years of age and younger. There are 29 different Summer Lunch program sites strategically located at parks, libraries and apartment complexes throughout Sonoma County. Lunch is completely free, open to all children, and operates Monday through Friday during lunchtime.  

If Walmart or CVS tried charging five times more than local grocers for bread, milk and bananas, their customers would promptly start buying locally. Yet a new report from the Consumers Union shows those same chains get away with pricing prescription drugs several times higher than local pharmacies.

Most Americans know that a white racist assassinated Martin Luther King Jr. in Memphis, Tennessee on April 4,1968 – fifty years ago. But few understand the historical context and why King was in Memphis.

We held our second Lower Russian River MAC informational meeting on Wednesday, May 9. During the meeting we shared the proposed boundary for the LRR MAC. We expect the boundary to encompass the area of Forestville, Guerneville, Rio Nido, Monte Rio, Duncans Mills and Cazadero (minus the west hills).

For those of us who watched too much Science Fiction as children, Carnivorous plants are like something from another planet. Triffids they may be! But true or false, they are being cultivated in Sebastopol for their singular beauty with a life-long dedication by the owners of California Carnivores.