Written by: Tessa Paoli

Published: 22 April 2021

Instead of offering Spanish translations online during the meeting, like they’ve been doing for the past year, officials switched to Spanish as the primary language this week, with English translations available on Youtube.

The change is an effort to reach the county’s Latinx communities, who have been hit hardest by COVID-19, making up 64 percent of the positive cases and just 18 percent of vaccinations county-wide. 

"I had the same worried as the whole world. First, because this is a new pandemic and a new virus. Second because the vaccine is also new," Remedos Gomez Anau, the head of San Francisco's Mexican Consul, said in Spanish.

 She went on to dispel myths and urge residents to talk to doctors they trust about the shot.

"And everyone definitely has tje right to have these questions answered in full," Sonoma County’s health equity manager Denia Candela said.

In addition to access to information, Candela highlighted the importance of having vaccine clinics where Latinx residents live. Like one opening this weekend in La Luz Center serving Sonoma Valley.

There was also information about the Emergency Rental Assistance Program where renters and landlords affected by the pandemic can apply for help covering rent and utilities. Supervisor James Gore says starting a Spanish meeting shouldn’t have taken a year and that he is pushing to have them weekly or bi-weekly. 

Written by: Tessa Paoli

Published: 22 April 2021

Photo of a Black Lives Matter Protest in 2020. (Photo by Adia White)Santa Rosa Jr. College student and activist Caitie Ferro cried when she first heard the news that Derek Chauvin was guilty of murder, and thought the dozens of marches she went to over the past year might have led to change.

"All of the nights that I spent marching until my feet were sore and I was chanting and screaming, were worth it," Ferro said.

Hours after she heard the guilty verdict, she went to a gathering on campus with other activists. A day later, she said she sees how much more progress still needs to be made.

"It’s something but it’s not everything and there’s still a lot of work to be done. The chants stay the same but the names change," Ferro said.

Tina Rogers, a Sonoma county native,  multicultural arts educator and community activist, said decades after the Civil Rights Movement it’s time for accountability. Rogers facilitated a chat with the Rohnert Park police chief this month to built transparency and trust - the city bordering Santa Rosa, where a former police chief testified in defense of Chauvin during the trial.

"The bottom line is what has been tolerated and what has been tolerated can no longer happen," Rogers said.

And that it’s too early to celebrate. Chauvin still needs to be sentenced.

"Each and every one of us has to be held accountable or at least understand that we have to make changes immediately," Rogers said. 

Rohnert Park Vice Mayor Jackie Elward, the first Black woman elected to Rohnert Park council seat last Fall, said she feels hopeful and sees a future with more accountability towards leaders and people in powerful positions.  

"When you are in a position of power, you should look at your actions and how that impacts people and the consequences of it," Elward said. "Yesterday it shows we cannot take advantage of the people and also shows that yes, Black lives do matter."

Chauvin’s sentencing is slated for  June 16.  Tessa Paoli, KRCB Sonoma County News.

Written by: Marc Albert

Published: 22 April 2021

Written by: Tessa Paoli

Published: 16 April 2021

At least 250 parents in Santa Rosa city schools this week signed a letter asking the district to open full time, in accordance with the state’s updated reopening plan. On April 1st, the district began in-person instruction two shortened days a week for elementary aged children. Next will be secondary students. 

"It’s hard, it’s hard it has a huge impact on the entire family, these schedules and uncertainty. There is no barriers to us being back full time and we just need the leaders to make it happen and get us back to where our kids need to be," Stacia Okura said.

Okura is the mother of a child in TK in the district and one of the parents who signed the joint letter. For Okura, working and dropping her son off twice a week for three and a half hours is a challenge.

Madonna Feather-Cruz, parent of a high schooler and the president of the Indian Education Committee for the district, also signed the letter. She said she’s seen how kids are struggling while they wait for schools to fully reopen.al

"They’ve gained weight, they have been suicidal, they have depression and anxiety. We need to help them. We need to open the schools back up for them," Cruz said.

The parents organized a GoFundMe to hire legal counsel to get schools to fully reopen this month. The GoFund me has already raised over $3,000 since it was created less than a week ago. Tessa Paoli, KRCB News.