As much as Sonoma County residents may be thinking of fire season when they hope for more rain, in the northwest corner of the county, they're hoping the rain will spare the river they depend on from an environmental catastrophe. Where is it? Here's a map. Friends of the Gualala River: https://gualalariver.org/ read more

Sunday's showers dampened much of the North Bay and delivered up to half an inch to the region's parched hillsides. Additional rains this week should put fire season in the rear view, but could also generate mudslides. The chance of another major conflagration in Sonoma County appears to be fast receding. Matthew Mehle is a National Weather Service forecaster. "From a weather standpoint, we're definitely welcoming the rainfall for the north bay that will likely moisten the fuels enough to really limit any type of fire weather concerns." On the heels of Sunday's storm, a stronger one, expected Tuesday into Wednesday is expected to bring substantially more. Up to 2.5 inches in the North Bay… read more

More than a thousand people crowded the front steps of the California Capitol to protest Gov. Gavin Newsom's decision to require all children to get the coronavirus vaccine to attend public and private schools. Some Sonoma County parents joined in a boycott today, keeping their kids home to protest vaccine mandates. Mattie Washburn Elementary in Windsor had 92 children absent today. That's compared with 34 last Monday. Brooks Elementary in Windsor had almost three times as many students out today than last Monday. Attendance was also down about 10 percent at Dunham Elementary, a charter school in Petaluma, where some parents are engaged in a lawsuit over the district's mask policy. Nine… read more

California is facing one of its driest years on record. Weather forecasters are concerned another La Nina weather phenomenon is forming in the Pacific, which could further dry things out by sending much needed rain far north of us. Erik Eckdahl helps run the state water board, the government agency that regulates California's water. He said while the forecast is indeed grim, there is still room for hope. "There's never been a year without any rain,” he said. “And so, looking at last year, which in the Russian River watershed was the driest one on record, is my understanding, worse than 1976-77 and it was the worst or the third-worst in 127 years of record…about as bad as you can get.” Even… read more

Officials say Sonoma County won't meet the requirements, set by Bay Area Health officials earlier this month, to lift the indoor mask mandate until early next year. The reason it will take so long is because the process is complicated. First, the county must get COVID transmission down from its current substantial to moderate spread. Second, COVID hospitalizations must be deemed "low and stable" to lift the mask mandate. County epidemiologist Kate Peck says this is one of the more ambiguous requirements because of how unique hospital needs are in each county and the many factors at play. "As hospital resources and capacity vary very greatly by county, this criteria is being defined locally… read more

In a not entirely unexpected move, the company entered a not guilty plea on all 33 counts. Sonoma County District Attorney Jill Ravitch's office is prosecuting the case. Her office declined comment. Charges were filed against the utility following a CalFire investigation that determined the blaze was sparked by PG&E transmission lines near Geyserville. The fire broke out October 23rd 2019. It injured four people and destroyed 174 homes and 200 other structures. It burnt nearly 78,000 acres. PG&E spokesman James Noonan, in a written statement provided to KRCB, says the company accepts CalFire's determination that it's equipment sparked the fire, but that no crime was committed. Noonan says… read more

Johnson's beach...for decades an iconic swimming and sunbathing spot along the Russian River in Guerneville, will likely be changing hands again. That's generating some unease and concern about what the future may hold. The beach, concession stand, campsites and cabins are something of a throwback to an era before staring at a screen was considered entertainment. As a long-running traditional getaway, the site evokes simpler times, and is among the town's anchors. Offered for sale at 3.7 million dollars, according to the Santa Rosa Press Democrat, an offer from mystery bidders is in escrow, apparently besting other bids, including one from the county. Chef and entrepreneur Crista Luedtke, a… read more

Today a panel of FDA advisors recommended the emergency use authorization of the Moderna booster shot. Similar to the Pfizer booster approved last month, the recommendations include seniors sixty-five and older and adults that are at high-risk of contracting the virus at work. Ahead of the advisory group's vote on the J&J booster shot tomorrow, KRCB's Tessa Paoli talks to UC Berkeley epidemiologist Dr. John Swartzberg about his predictions and thoughts on the J&J booster: In Part II Dr. Swartzberg explains how COVID surges work and why the lifting the mask mandate may be premature. While no Bay Area county has met the recent requirements to lift indoor masking entirely, on Friday San… read more

The wild west days for vacation rentals in Santa Rosa should be winding down. Following a marathon session late Tuesday, the city council adopted an emergency ordinance to regulate short term rentals. The regulations cover the number of rooms that can be rented out on a nightly basis, the size of the home and distinctions between rentals with and without a host, among others. Just under 200 dwellings are registered, permitted and paying fees to the city. An official search found another one hundred sixty one operating illegally. While online platforms such as Airbnb and VRBO can help property owners get more cash, people who book getaways aren't always on their best behavior, a point made… read more

As expected, officials in Santa Rosa Tuesday approved the first steps in a new policy for responding to homeless people and those in crisis. Two measures suspending competitive bidding and awarding a million and a half dollars in contracts to Catholic Charities and Buckelew Programs were approved on a 5-0 vote, with one councilmember absent and another recused. The funds are set to launch inRESPONSE, teams of mental health counselors, homeless outreach specialists and paramedics to respond to certain calls now answered by law enforcement. Santa Rosa police Captain John Cregan said the new teams could be at work as soon as next month. And that the difference will be noticeable. "Everyone on… read more

Santa Rosa is considering substantial changes in how the city's police respond to mental health crises. Proponents call it a sea change. John Cregan is a captain with the Santa Rosa Police Department. "This is going to provide a better level of service for our community." This week, Santa Rosa's city council is being asked to spend 1.5 million dollars to partial pay for the plan. Which is to transition responses for certain disturbances to mobile crisis teams. With training in mental health, de-escalation and medicine, the aim would be diffusing disputes and assessing long term need. "Right now, people will get put on a mental health hold and they'll go to the crisis stabilization unit for… read more

When you walk into Life on Earth Art’s temporary gallery in downtown Petaluma, you see hearts with wings everywhere. The first sight is a 15-foot winged heart rotating around a spherical cage. “Life on Earth Art really utilizes art to shine a spotlight on human suffering and social injustice,” said Life on Earth Art founder Tracy Ferron. “We feel like out of awareness comes compassion.” Ferron founded the organization in 2018 and the art has brought people together from all walks of life, artists, activists, and therapists, to create large-scale installations with healing at the center. And it’s shown up in protests outside of prisons as well as in museums. For Life on Earth Art’s first… read more

There's a bit more disagreement over information sharing and responsibility in the local legal community, after the Santa Rosa Press Democrat reported Saturday that a COVID-19 outbreak among court bailiffs went largely unreported, exposing lawyers, their clients and visitors in five courtrooms to the potentially deadly virus. KRCB's Marc Albert has more. According to the story, nine of the county court's 11 bailiffs were infected with the coronavirus between September 14th and 21st. Word only spread to lawyers at the courthouse through rumor. The outbreak also infected at least one attorney--who was fully vaccinated. Reporting by the Press Democrat's Emily Wilder and Lori Carter found… read more

On Sunday afternoon, on the fourth anniversary of the Tubbs Fire, North Bay Jobs with Justice took over a portion of the Healdsburg Plaza, in the heart of the touristy downtown, to give farmworkers free safety equipment for protection against COVID and wildfire smoke. Santa Rosa resident Gregorio Martinez has worked as an agricultural worker for two decades. Martinez said sometimes employers provide this equipment but other times workers have to buy it themselves. "Thank you to the organizers that support workers," Martinez said. "Because sometimes workers don't have rights and employers simply do the bare minimum." Dozens of volunteers also went door to door to educate local businesses… read more

Under a cloudless sky with a slight chill still in the air, dignitaries stood to honor those lost four years ago when a wind-whipped inferno rained terror across the North Bay. Addressing those gathered, Santa Rosa Mayor Chris Rogers said, "We're here this morning to remember. To remember the lives that were lost and the thousands of people who were so deeply impacted. To remember the bravery of our first responders and everyone who came to our aid. And to remember the generosity the world showed to Santa Rosa and Sonoma County. As I speak, hammers still swing feverishly, trying to rebuild what we've lost and in Santa Rosa, 85 percent of the homes have been rebuilt or are in rebuild. And… read more

Because of severe drought conditions, water releases from Lake Mendocino are at an all-time low. That's the water that keeps the upper Russian River—from the Coyote Dam to Healdsburg—from going dry. According to data published by the Army Corps of Engineers, roughly 80,000 cubic feet per second is being released from the Coyote Dam. But, less than half that volume is surviving the six-day journey to Healdsburg. Records show barely 30,000 cubic feet per second of flow makes it that far. That seems like an excessive decrease over a relatively short distance, so I asked an expert if this was normal. Erik Eckdahl helps manage the water rights division of the State Water Resources Control Board.… read more

While still required at the moment, health officials throughout the Bay Area have released a roadmap for dropping indoor mask requirements. The short answer: it's not now, but soon, sort of. Matt Brown is a spokesperson for the county of Sonoma. "Realistically, we are still a few months away from meeting all the criteria that Bay Area health officers have laid out." Several criteria must be met in each county, before the requirements are dropped. "Case rate and testing positivity both need to be low, in the low levels. To reach the yellow tier, new cases per 100,000 need to be below 50 and the testing positivity needs to be below 8%," Brown said. That's the federal CDC's yellow tier, not… read more

Nurses from Sutter Santa Rosa Regional Hospital held a rally this week to demand the administration hire more staff and provide more resources. California is the only state with a minimum ratio for how many patients a nurse is caring for at a time. Tamara Hinckley, an ICU nurse at Sutter Santa Rosa and member of the California Nurse's Association, said COVID has exacerbated the staffing issues. And that she's witnessed the hospital violate safe patient care laws, including those staffing ratios. "We just really want to be staffed appropriately so we can take care of our patients at the level they deserve," Hinckley said. Just this week she says she's received dozens of "Assignment Despite… read more

A microcosm of the vocal national movement opposing mask use by schoolchildren is playing out here in Sonoma County. A lawsuit was one thing Daniel Hoffman...superintendent and principal at Petaluma charter school Dunham Elementary...said he didn't see coming. "Yeah, it was surprising." The suit, filed by an attorney with a child in the school and other parents, accuses the Dunham School District of overstepping it's bounds by requiring students to mask up during recess or other outdoor campus activities. The suit was filed on the 20th. Hoffman said after a conversation with an unhappy parent, the issue quickly escalated. He says the district is following a strong recommendation from Sonoma… read more

Three career law enforcement officials have launched campaigns to replace Sonoma County Sheriff Mark Essick. Essick announced he won't be seeking re-election next year. All three men have long law enforcement backgrounds. Two, Dave Edmonds and Eddie Engram, with the Sonoma County Sheriff's Office. The third, Carl Tennenbaum, with the San Francisco Police Department. Engram, first out of the gate, was hand-picked by Essick to serve as his assistant sheriff. He admits he received a personal head's up from his boss. He's also received Essick's endorsement. While praising Essick's work on disaster preparedness, Engram said he'll bring his own style to the office. "There certainly needs to be… read more

The free ride for major bicycling events may reach the end of the road next year as Sonoma County officials begin revamping rules for certain gatherings involving public roadways. Separate from a process regulating parties and events at wineries and other private spaces, the special event encroachment permit involves things on public streets: parades, fun-runs, vehicle cruises and bike rides. Unlike the rest, cycling events were exempted from 1985 regulations requiring a special event encroachment permit. That seems likely to change. Unpermitted large rides can create issues for other road users. As county supervisors looked at changing the rules, Jana Blunt of West County said she happened… read more

This year hate crimes have reached the highest level in more than a decade, according to an NPR report. And Sonoma County's Mohammad Jabbari created a project to combat exactly that. Jabbari founded Sonoma County United in Kindness in 2019, with a mission to promote acts of kindness that "advance social justice, embrace diversity and champion equity with respect for all." The project works with local organizations, schools, politicians and cities to propagate acts of kindness. Since its inception in 2019, Jabbari has mobilized a team and gained formal endorsements from the county's board of supervisors and eight cities that vow to foster and sustain kindness, 365 days a year. KRCB's Tessa… read more

Today Sonoma County had a public meeting on redistricting, and how to achieve more equitable representation. According to the new 2020 census data, Sonoma County's overall population grew by one percent in the past decade, now very close to half a million people. And it has the lowest population growth in Bay Area, which may be attributed to people having to relocate after wildfires. Over the last ten years, the Latinx population has grown to 29 percent. And the white population has decreased to 58 percent. The process of how Sonoma County is getting community input about the map drawing is unprecedented. This year the first ever Advisory Redistricting Commission, comprised of nineteen… read more

Sonoma County Sheriff Mark Essick counts emergency preparation and management, creation of a strategic plan and having jail staff wear body cameras as high points. Improving outreach and diversity in hiring remain on the docket. He announced Thursday he would not seek re-election. With three decades in law enforcement, Essick says it wasn't an easy choice. "It is hard sometimes to make that decision, but it's just the right time." He's also known controversy. Declining to enforce the county's COVID stay-at-home order, raised questions of insubordination. Essick said he was concerned about overstepping his authority. "Trying to explain to some of our elected officials that, 'hey, I can't do… read more