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: Written by: Noah Abrams; Published: 14 June 2022

Of the many changes to how people navigate urban landscapes because of COVID, one in particular has proven quite popular: parklets. The small parking space - roadway enclaves, sometimes built for public use, but often used by restaurants as outdoor dining spaces, were quickly permitted by many cities early in the pandemic to help restaurants retain customers. It turns out, they've proved tricky to regulate.

Santa Rosa, like many cities with lots of active parklets, has developed and enacted a new set of official rules.

Gabe Osburn with Santa Rosa’s Engineering Department said changes to the rules are limited, and flexibility will allow needed street work to proceed.

"The manual will actually supplement the code and it dives into some of the details that are very unique to parklets and addresses those." Osburn said. "We're proposing to issue those permits for one year with annual renewals and we are not restricting the number of renewals. The reason we have it on a one year cycle is because the universe around a parklet and the public right of way can change."

Osburn said the new rules aim to assure public safety, allowing them only on low speed, low traffic streets.

"We're only proposing to allow parklets on a street with a speed limit of 25 miles per less, and a trip volume of less than 5,000 vehicles a day." Osburn said. "We're proposing to create a separation from intersections of 15 feet. So that would be 15 feet from any street corner, intersection or active driveway."

Losing parking is often a major concern for retailers, but Osburn said permanent parklets under the new rules won't disrupt downtown parking.

"If we look at the downtown and the railroad square area, there is surplus parking." Osburn said. "So when we look at a limited number of parklets, there isn't potentially an impact on the parking revenue."

As covid continues to stick with us, so too will Santa Rosa’s parklets.

: Written by: Noah Abrams; Published: 13 June 2022

Farmworkers, activists and supporters showed up at Sonoma County government offices last week, calling for worker protections.The protestors rallied outside Sonoma County’s Office of Emergency Management Thursday afternoon, June 9th, demanding to be included in negotiations over the direction of the county's Ag Pass program.

The Ag Pass program provides a framework for farm and vineyard owners, and their employees, to enter mandatory evacuation zones to perform, often time-sensitive agricultural work.

With wildfire season already underway, the protesting workers attempted to speak with county officials to deliver their demands, but found the office doors locked.

North Bay Jobs with Justice Executive Director Max Bell Alper said workers have been trying to offer ideas for increased safety.

"And we've been unable to talk with the department of emergency management." Bell Alper said. "And so today workers and community members showed up to offer the workers proposals on a policy to make sure that farm workers are safe and protected this year."

With translation from Bell Alper, Anabel Garcia, one of the worker-organizers with Jobs with Justice, said ag workers have suffered from repeated wildfires and wish to be seen and heard, but have received little attention.

"They need to see us not as robots, but as people, we're the hand of work in all parts of this county." Garcia said. "In my experience, when the fires happen, none of the winery owners called to see how we are doing."

Garcia said the county government should listen to the concerns of the Latino community on working safety during wildfires.

"As Latinos, we have been hit the hardest in the fires in 2017, and then again in 2019 and 2020, and we still don't have an answer." Garcia said. "We need the government to be able to listen to us and to create a real policy that follows the workers because as workers we've suffered a lot in natural disasters."

During natural disasters like wildfires, evacuation orders are enforced by the county sheriff’s office. Carl Tennenbaum, the second place vote getter in the still-undecided sheriff’s race, said, should he make it to a runoff and win the Sheriff-Coroner position in November, his office would be there for the entire Sonoma County community.

"To have an open door and open dialogue with the farm workers, and also with the business owners too, to make sure that everybody's on the same page to ensure that public safety, which is a cornerstone of being the sheriff, public safety is served for all of our residents." Tennenbaum said. "All of our workers, all of our visitors in Sonoma County."

Tennenbaum said he thinks a clear county policy on work in evacuation zones is necessary.

"One of the big topical issues we have is evacuations during natural disasters, whether it's a flood or a fire." Tennenbaum said. And the fact that these workers who are being paid next to nothing with very few benefits are forced to go back and work in the vineyards or work in the fields during, you know, we've got fires raging. And I just think that if either they need to be compensated and taken care of in a health aspect of it, or they need to be evacuated like everybody else."

Kathryn Howell, president of the Santa Rosa Teachers Association, said she and other members of the Teachers Association attended Thursday's rally to support their students.

"Farm workers family’s are the families of the students in our schools." Howell said. "And we need to support our students in every way. And that includes the well being of their families and the safety of their families while they're at work. It's super important to the teachers to make sure that the students have the security of their family and the families have the security of a secure job place."

As grass fires continue to pop up around the county and early summer temperatures continue to spike, calls for fair ag worker safety, representation, and compensation in Sonoma County continue.

: Written by: Marc Albert; Published: 13 June 2022

Dozens of local water-related projects moved a step closer to reality late last week, as the House of Representatives approved a nation-wide bill to upgrade water infrastructure.

Much of the local initiatives that made the cut involve dredging and using spoils to shore up areas against sea level rise and to protect, restore and create wetlands, including in Petaluma.

The Water Resources Development Act of 2022 also authorizes a study to reduce potential flood damage from a catastrophic spillway failure at Lake Hennessey. The 76-year-old earthen dam is rated as in 'fair' condition, though it's considered a 'high hazard' because its failure would inundate heavily populated areas, likely costing lives.

Deteriorating water and sewage pipelines within Santa Rosa were are also included. Without repair, failure is expected within two years, according to North Bay Representative Mike Thompson, who, along with colleague Jared Huffman, voted for the bill.

"Everybody knows we need good sewer systems. Decades of use of the Santa Rosa facility has left us in a situation where we really need to do those repairs. In regard to Lake Hennessey, it is important that it's structurally sound, and that's what these monies will do," Thompson said..

Huffman was able to include a feasibility study of adding floating solar panels to reservoirs managed by the US Army Corps of Engineers. Funding was also secured to deliver recycled wastewater to Healdsburg parks, schools and cemeteries for irrigation, preserving about 40 million gallons of drinking water. A plan to temporarily store water in aquifers near Healdsburg was also included. Water would be injected deep underground, and pumped back to the surface during droughts.

The bill has been awaiting consideration by the full senate after advancing out of committee more than a month ago. The Congressional Budget Office has yet to release a cost estimate. Similar bills are generally approved every two years.

: Written by: Marc Albert; Published: 13 June 2022

Plans to resurrect the long derelict Northwestern Pacific railroad appear dead.

Federal regulators Friday rejected two proposals, including one by investors apparently intending to export Rocky Mountain coal to Asia via the rail line and the Port of Eureka.

The federal Surface Transportation Board rejected the group's offer because it missed a key deadline. The group had said it's chief attorney was on vacation and unable to submit the paperwork in time.

Representative Jared Huffman celebrated the ruling.

"For everyone who's been worried about this toxic coal train proposal, it is for all intents and purposes, dead."

The proposal sparked opposition from environmental groups and elected leaders.

Concerns included potential environmental damage along with disruption to both road and rail traffic by long, slow trains. The trains would ply SMART's tracks through southern Sonoma County. Those behind the revitalization plan oppose plans pushed by local elected leaders to build a recreational trail adjacent to the line, stretching from SMART's multi-use path to Arcata.

Regulators also cast aside a separate group's plan to rent out special bicycles, designed to run on railroad tracks, along two short track segments in Humboldt County. Officials ruled the group failed to prove it had the financial resources to follow through.

A third proposal, from Mendocino Railway, operators of the Skunk Train---remains. It would rebuild a dozen miles of track north of Willits to an aggregate plant, enabling the railroad to ship rock and gravel.

Mendocino Railway president Robert Pinoli says unlike the group that sought to revive the entire line, he believes a trail could co-exist. He said trails are well in his company's wheelhouse and that he'd like to partner with trail proponents.

"To my knowledge, we are the only railroad in the United States that has a full time trail construction crew as part of its regular payroll. We maintain a system of trails along the Skunk Line, so our crews are based out of Ft. Bragg, California."

It's unclear if any lawsuits will emerge challenging the decision.