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: Written by: Marc Albert; Published: 01 June 2021

Candidates hoping to unseat Sonoma County District Attorney Jill Ravitch have about a month left to file their candidacies.

Sonoma County voters will face two questions on a September 14th special election ballot. Whether to recall Ravitch, who has been county district attorney for the past decade, and if so, who will replace her.

Recall proponents accuse Ravitch of failing to prosecute alleged malfeasance by local law enforcement and inadequately prosecuting PG&E for causing wildfires.

The campaign to unseat Ravitch is funded by William Gallaher...a local developer who has donated about half a million to the effort as of the end of March, according to recent campaign finance documents. The money has been spent on consultants, according to public records. Ravitch's defenders raised $18,000 over the same period, with less than $12,000 remaining at the start of April.

Ravitch maintains the recall is political retribution for prosecuting Gallaher, a developer sued by elderly residents of an assisted living facility he operates, over accusations residents left to fend for themselves during the Tubbs Fire. Oakmont Management Group settled with Ravitch and state prosecutors for half a million dollars.

Ravitch's term concludes at the end of next year. She has announced she would not seek another term.

Organizing and holding the recall will cost the county between $600 and $900 thousand dollars, according to an official estimate.

Gallaher has been involved in political fundraising before. In October he donated $10,000 to former Windsor Mayor Dominic Foppoli's campaign.

Gallaher also unsuccessfully sued the Santa Rosa Press Democrat after the paper reported large campaign contributions made by Gallaher's son-in-law to three 2016 city council candidates. A campaign Gallaher was involved with, Concepts for Seniors, was cleared of accusations of campaign money laundering by state regulators in 2016.

Candidates have until July 1 to qualify. As of Tuesday, no prospective candidates had requested signature gathering papers--the first step to becoming an official candidate. Efforts to reach Gallaher were not successful

: Written by: Marc Albert; Published: 01 June 2021

Part of California's big push to build more housing, plans for close to 400 new apartments go before Santa Rosa officials this evening

If approved, the three separate proposals would build 371 apartments, 271 of them either meeting the definition of 'affordable' or classified as 'supportive.' Meaning geared toward the recently homeless and offering on-site services.

All three projects are scheduled for consideration by Santa Rosa's zoning board Tuesday evening. Any final decision could be appealed.

Casa Roseland would rise four stories along Sebastopol Avenue west of Dutton. Part of the larger Roseland Village project, it would also have shops and open space.

The Stony Oaks proposal would bring 142 affordable units to a four-story structure along Hearn Avenue.

The third project, Sage Commons, would add 54 units of supportive housing. Backers of the already-approved project for College Avenue west of 101 are seeking minor alterations. The meeting gets underway at 5.

: Written by: Tessa Paoli; Published: 01 June 2021

Organizers from Sonoma County Pride raised the rainbow flag today on top of the Rosenberg building in downtown Santa Rosa. This kick-off to Pride month was extra special, after in-person events, like the annual parade, were done virtually last year.

"I think this year's pride is so much more important than a lot of other prides in some ways," Grace Villafuerte, Sonoma County Pride's Vice President and Volunteer Coordinator, said. "For a lot of people who have been in isolation they've been asking us all year, when can we come together. So it's this feeling of comfort when we can come together."

Starting today, rainbow flags are flying in various cities throughout the county and cities like Healdsburg are showing solidarity for the first time this year. The theme of Pride 2021 is "Beyond the Rainbow - Thriving, Reviving and Surviving."

The annual parade will resume as a Wizard of Oz themed, drive-through on June 5th at the Graton Resort and Casino in Rohnert Park. And as California emerges this month from pandemic lockdown, a hybrid of weekly virtual and in-person gatherings are planned throughout the month. Including an ongoing virtual scavenger hunt.

Sonoma County Pride’s Christopher Kren-Mora said the organization has been planning this year's festivities for almost a year.

"It will be a nice collection of diversity this year in events, as well as people, I think we will see a lot more people come out now that mask and COVID regulations are slowly being released," Kren-Mora said.

: Written by: Lily Jamali; Published: 27 May 2021

A bipartisan group of state lawmakers has asked for California Attorney General Rob Bonta to probe the spending and administration of the PG&E Fire Victim Trust.

The request comes after a KQED investigation into overhead costs of the Trust, which was established as part of a December 2019 bankruptcy settlement between the utility and nearly 70,000 victims of fires caused by PG&E equipment.

The investigation found the Trust spent nearly 90% of outgoing funds on overhead last year, while the vast majority of fire victims waited for help.

“We urge you to use the full authority of your office to review the fund’s recent expenditures and the fund’s administrators,” said the letter, which was signed by 11 state senators and assemblymembers who represent areas impacted by PG&E fires between 2015 and 2018.

“We hear every week from residents who've been waiting two years for settlement payments that they are due. Their lives are on hold until they receive these dollars,” said state Sen. Mike McGuire, D-Healdsburg, whose district includes parts of Sonoma County.

“It's unacceptable. It's egregious and it has to change, and it's why we're calling on the trustee to expedite payments to fire survivors in Northern California,” he added.

State Assemblymember James Gallagher, a Republican who represents the fire-ravaged town of Paradise, first announced last week on KQED Forum that he and colleagues were preparing a letter calling for more transparency. KQED's investigation "raises a lot of questions and concerns that need answers," Gallagher said. Others who signed on include state Sen. Bill Dodd, D-Napa, Assemblymember Cecilia Aguiar-Curry, D-Winters, and state Sen. Jim Nielsen, R-Tehama, all of whom have constituents harmed by fires caused by PG&E’s equipmentequiptment and are waiting for compensation.

KQED found the Fire Victim Trust racked up $51 million in overhead last year, while $7 million was distributed to fire victims during that period. The investigation was based on an analysis of federal bankruptcy court filings, court transcripts and correspondence between the Fire Victim Trust and fire victims. The largest share of overhead expenses, $16.3 million, went to claims processor fees and expenses, and $12.7 million went to start-up costs. Another $6.8 million went to a line item described as “insurance, data, and other expenses” — nearly as much as went to the fire victims themselves.

“This is outrageous,” the lawmakers wrote to Bonta, “especially in light of the fact that thousands of fire victims are struggling to rebuild their lives.”

In response to an inquiry from KQED, Bonta’s office said the attorney general would not comment — even to confirm or deny — a potential investigation.

Members of Congress have also expressed outrage at the pace of payments to fire victims. In separate emails, Rep. Mike Thompson, a D-St. Helena, and Rep. Doug LaMalfa, R-Richvale, both called for faster payouts.

The pace of payments has picked up in recent weeks. According to the most recent data available, the Trust had distributed $255.4 million as of May 19. Still, just 565 of nearly 70,000 people have had their claims processed and paid, the data shows. While the Trust collects its fees in full, those families are getting 30% of what they are owed. That’s partly a result of the terms of PG&E’s settlement agreement with fire victims. The company is funding the Trust half with cash and half with PG&E stock. Today, the Fire Victim Trust holds almost a quarter of PG&E shares.

One court filing showed the Fire Victim Trust’s Trustee, retired California Appeals Court Justice John Trotter, charged the Fire Victim Trust $1,500 an hour. In a video released last week, he said he is now on a salary of $150,000 a month. All overhead costs come from funds set aside for fire victims.

ftrThe Trust did not offer comment for this story, and has declined all of KQED’s interview requests over the last month.

In his video message, Trotter acknowledged the frustration of fire victims even as he predicted more delays.

"We're still walking uphill on this,” Trotter said. “We're not near the top yet. We're making progress. We're getting there. When we get to the top and down the other side, it will go much more quickly."

Fire victims say that’s not enough.

Earlier this month, retired police chief Kirk Trostle wrote to U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Dennis Montali asking for more transparency from the Trust.

"Families are still living in cars, travel trailers and FEMA trailers," wrote Trostle, who lost his home in Paradise in 2018, in a letter that cited KQED's reporting.

Last weekend, about 100 Camp Fire survivors staged a rally in Paradise to register their frustration, saying survivors have the right to know exactly where all of the Trust’s administrative dollars are going.

“I thought that I was healing,” said Teri Lindsay, whose daughter, Erika, wiped back tears as she watched. “Until that report came out — it changed my life and took me back to the day. I did not realize how well they’re being paid and we’re living in squalor still.”

Page 1 of Special Victims Trust AG Letter - Legislature - 5.21.2021