After two years of pandemic cancellations, Fourth of July in Sonoma County is back in full swing. Scroll down to get links for more information. Events in Cloverdale include time-honored classics like the fireworks at Cloverdale High School, as well as the first annual Cloverdale Fourth of July Faire and Parade, which promises food, carnival games, and live music. Fireworks, put on by the Cloverdale Lions Club, start at 9:00 p.m., while the parade begins at 9:00 a.m. downtown. Neena Hanchett, director of the Cloverdale Chamber of Commerce, has high hopes for the new event. “We have a lot of volunteers involved…the whole thing, it takes people, it takes people committed to doing it, but I… read more

You may know first hand how people evacuate during natural disasters; have you ever wondered what happens to livestock? A recent state law changed some rules, letting ranchers feed and water their animals, even during an evacuation. That’s opened up a series of questions concerning farmworkers’ health and safety. When wildfires devastated California in 2020, killing animals and scorching fields, lawmakers moved to enact an agricultural pass program. It was meant to ease access in emergencies. Kirk Wilbur is director of governmental affairs at the California Cattlemen’s Association. “As a rancher tried to access their ranch to safeguard livestock…evacuating those livestock in the worst case… read more

After a challenging year of negotiations, Sonoma County and two police labor groups have reached a final agreement, fulfilling the oversight promises in 2020's Measure P. The public release of police body cam footage. Independent review. And discipline recommendations. Rules for each of those provisions are outlined in the new agreement between the county of Sonoma and the Deputy Sheriff’s Association, or DSA, and Sonoma County Law Enforcement Association, known as SCLEA. The two groups represent about 760 county employees. That includes those working in corrections, criminal investigations, probation services, juvenile justice, parks and fire services, and sheriff's office deputies and… read more

The race for Sonoma County sheriff is finally decided. Eddie Engram, the frontrunner and current assistant sheriff has secured victory with over 50% of the vote. As ballots from the June 7th election trickled in, Engram's hold on the margin above 50% needed to avoid a runoff was confirmed. He said his goals for the position remain the same. "Increased services within the jail increase diversity within the office of public safety, which of course is our number one priority and different response to mental health and community engagement." Engram said. Reflecting on the broader political dynamics of the race, Jerry Threet, the former IOLERO director - the county’s independent law enforcement… read more

Though insulated by state protections, local leaders say the end of Roe V Wade will have strong ripples locally. Friday's Supreme Court decision does not spell the end of abortions in California, a state with some of the most wide-ranging abortion rights in the country. Sabra Briere, the leader of Indivisible Sonoma County, said that she does not think the decision will have major consequences here. “I don’t expect it to make a significant difference in Sonoma County except as it perhaps mobilizes people who have been pretty much thinking nothing’s going to affect them.” Congressmen Mike Thompson and Jared Huffman, along with state Assemblymember Jim Wood, all of whom represent the North… read more

KRCB previously reported on allegations of violence, neglect, and squalor at a supportive housing facility south of Santa Rosa. The property's owner and service providers say the situation is more complex. With residents more empowered, operators said they have less leeway or control. “The most vulnerable.” A phrase used by both Akash Kalia, owner of the Palms Inn, and Jennielynn Holmes, Program Officer with Catholic Charities, a service provider there, to describe residents at the motel turned supportive housing. Holmes said the facility is geared toward the most vulnerable. "We've particularly targeted those who had been on the streets for the longest period of time." Holmes said. "People… read more

Some Healdsburg families could see extra cash in their pockets later this year. Healdsburg will be the first city in Sonoma County to experiment with a universal basic income, or UBI, pilot program. The plan, approved Tuesday, June 21st, will provide 50 households within the city with up to 600 dollars in direct cash assistance each month for two years. Malinalli Lopez, Healdsburg’s Community Outreach Coordinator, said the UBI program takes a different approach to public assistance. "The intent of the program is to provide regular payments to residents that need financial assistance to cover the basic cost of living and establish a level of financial security." Lopez said. "The UBI program… read more

You may know first hand how people evacuate during natural disasters; have you ever wondered what happens to livestock? A recent state law changed some rules, letting ranchers feed and water their animals, even during an evacuation. That’s opened up a series of questions concerning farm workers, health and safety. When wildfires devastated California in 2020, scorching fields and leaving livestock abandoned to their fate, lawmakers moved to enact an agricultural pass program. According to Kirk Wilbur, director of governmental affairs at the California Cattlemen’s Association, the law was intended to let ranchers care for surviving animals more quickly in emergencies. “As a rancher tried to… read more

A long anticipated bipartisan firearms-related bill passed the senate Thursday. Long a supporter of stronger action to regulate firearms, Congressman Mike Thompson, who represents much of the North Bay, praised the measure ahead of the final vote, even though the bill fell far short of actions sought by gun control advocates. With the extent of gridlock in Washington blocking movement for decades, Thompson was practically celebrating the senate’s impending passage of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, even if most measures sought by gun control advocates were stripped from it. “I think it is an important step forward in dealing with gun violence prevention, making our communities and our… read more

The U.S. Supreme Court officially reversed Roe v. Wade on Friday, declaring that the constitutional right to abortion upheld for nearly a half century, no longer exists. Writing for the court majority, Justice Samuel Alito said that the 1973 Roe ruling and repeated subsequent high court decisions reaffirming Roe "must be overruled" because they were "egregiously wrong," the arguments "exceptionally weak" and so "damaging" that they amounted to "an abuse of judicial authority." The decision, most of which was leaked in early May, means that abortion rights will be rolled back in nearly half of the states immediately, with more restrictions likely to follow. For all practical purposes,… read more

When all else fails, there's still ham radio. Amateur radio, often called "ham radio," has taken on new significance with all the recent wildfires and other emergencies in Sonoma County. It's also a time-honored hobby whose enthusiast are holding its biggest event of the year this weekend What you're hearing is MORSE code. The message being tapped out is "Welcome to Field Day." Indeed, the many members of the Sonoma County Radio Amateurs club want to welcome you on Saturday, June 25th at Santa Rosa's Finley Community Park . They are joining other ham enthusiasts from across the United States and Canada for the largest annual gathering of amateur radio operators in the world. In years past… read more

The long wait for COVID vaccinations for children under five is finally over. At the County's vaccinations clinic in Santa Rosa there was a sense of relief for long anticipated day. Unable to secure an appointment in Contra Costa County, Jennifer Medici, said after two years of taking extra precaution with COVID safety, having her children vaccinated is a relief. "We've been waiting a long time for this." Medici said. "I know everyone's been waiting a long time and it's just a good day, extra protection for our little ones. Since we couldn't go to our own pediatrician, we found a clinic here and we just got lucky that they got the vaccines today." With doses now approved for children under… read more

Uni. The rich and briny roe of sea urchins. Considered a delicacy by many, an aphrodisiac by some, and now a dangerous pest by ocean experts. These sea urchins took center stage at the Mendocino Coast Purple Urchin Festival, aimed at spreading the word on the detrimental impacts California’s kelp gobbling purple sea urchins can have, and how the public can help. "When you go underwater, you'll see that there are no kelp forests, just miles and miles of purple urchins." Ana Flores said. The Sonoma-Mendocino Coast was for a long time home to a dense kelp forest. It sequestered large amounts of carbon and provided a home for a diverse population of sea life. But between 2013 and 2016 a… read more

Pests, mold, prostitution, drugs, violence and break-in’s. Accusations that a once promising permanent supportive housing south of Santa Rosa has descended into squalor. "What you have at the palms now is you have a, an indoor encampment because the people there are still living like they're homeless." The words of KaLane Raposa, a resident of the Palms Inn describing conditions at a permanent supportive housing site for homeless people along Santa Rosa Avenue. On Wednesday, June 15th, Raposa described decrepit conditions and neglect at the Palms Inn. Raposa mainly blamed case workers, accusing service providers of failing to deliver. "A lot of that falls back on the case managers who never… read more

Inflation might be Webster’s Dictionary's word of the year, and it’s certainly on the lips of many Americans. In the Bay Area, inflation has been felt across the board; with grocery prices up by more than 10 percent from this time last year. Petaluma has taken action to help mitigate those cost increases. Dylan Brady, a lawyer for the city, said the Living Wage ordinance applies to City employees, and those working for companies contracted with the City. "Any contract that's above $10,000 needs to have this included to make sure that the city's public funds are being used to pay contractors and employees livable wages." Brady said. First adopted in 2006, it's re-evaluated annually by the… read more

Despite the disruptions caused by COVID to college campuses, the high cost of higher education hasn't changed. According to the University of California, the average annual cost of attending a UC school, including tuition, housing, and personal expenses is more than $35,000. Trying to make college more accessible and affordable to students of the future, Santa Rosa unveiled its own municipal College Savings Account program for at least 2,000 children up to five years old. Like a federal program known as a 527 account, the idea puts compound interest to work. Angie Dillon-Shore, is with First Five California. She said even small early investments in college savings accounts have huge… read more

Newly installed technology that can detect short circuits and instantaneously cuts electricity, should dramatically reduce utility triggered wildfires this summer. PG&E, has upgraded lines serving three million Californians. The new ‘Enhanced Powerline Safety Settings,’ can sever power in as quickly as one tenth of a second when danger, such as a tree branch touching a line, is detected. The utility says the technology reduced by four fifths the number of incidents it was required to report to regulators last year. Deanna Contreras, a PG&E spokeswoman, said that under normal conditions, PG&E technology prioritizes keeping power on. “There’s a lot of different technology in the lines that… read more

The county’s biggest city is facing a housing conundrum. Santa Rosa must lay the groundwork for more than ten thousand housing units to rise over the next nine years if it wants to maintain control of local housing decisions, according to Mayor Chris Rogers. “We lose local control…if we don’t follow RHNA, if we don’t satisfy RHNA, we lose local control over the ability to approve projects in the city, and so it’s worth maintaining to have that say over the community that we serve.” The housing needs plan, required under state law, anticipates how many units will be needed across all income categories in the future. While municipalities aren't in the home construction business, they must… read more

You’ve heard about shortages of baby formula and computer chips, and restaurant jobs being hard to fill. There’s something else in short supply, at least locally. Bus drivers. Santa Rosa’s CityBus announced Wednesday it would cancel some weekday routes until at least July 8th. They simply don’t have enough drivers. Even more cuts might be on the way. The problem isn’t entirely isolated. Chad Barksdale, Executive Director of West County Transportation Agency, which runs school buses for county public schools, said the issue predates the pandemic. “Across the nation, and especially in California due to its inflation and high cost of living, it’s becoming very difficult to find folks that can… read more

Before European contact, more than 300 Native American languages were spoken in North America. Fewer than half remain. The federal Bureau of Indian Affairs Wednesday announced scores of grants to slow or reverse that trend. In some cases, all that remains of a language are old recordings and archival texts. Marnie Atkins, a linguist and member of the Wiyot tribe of Humboldt County, one of the grant recipients, said the Wiyot plan on using their grant money to make existing recordings more accessible. “A lot of our recordings are inaccessible, especially if you’re a new speaker. It’s as if somebody who doesn’t know French turns on, you know…A French CD and just starts listening with no… read more

Concerned neighbors sounded off to Sonoma County's planning commission Thursday afternoon, expressing concerns about a proposal that would streamline and encourage new development north of Sonoma, near Boyes Hot Springs. The voices there of Mary Shay, Ricci Wheatley, Gina Cuclis, and Tom Conlon. Written comments on the Springs Specific Plan Draft Environmental Impact Report must be submitted by 5 pm on July 19th. Officials say they'll incorporate those comments into the final Environmental Impact Report. read more

It’s promoted as a salve against the worst aspects of poverty, and also dismissed as a giveaway that will undermine initiative. The roll out locally should test both arguments. Buying food, paying off debt, saving for college; what would you do with a couple extra hundred dollars a month? The County of Sonoma, in conjunction with First Five Sonoma County, wants to find out. ‘Guaranteed basic income,’ will put an additional five hundred dollars a month in the pockets of 305 eligible local families for two years. It’s set to launch as a pilot project in January. Officials will also track recipients, adding to a growing body of research about the positives and drawbacks to distributing direct… read more

Disposable masks, takeout containers, Amazon boxes; the pandemic has caused a dramatic uptick in trash. Local officials are upping the game on cleaning it up. Last year, more than thirty-eight thousand pounds of trash were collected in Sonoma County on Coastal Cleanup Day alone, with eighty-five thousand pounds picked up annually statewide. Sonoma, Marin, and Mendocino Counties are collaborating with the nonprofit Leave No Trace in an effort to mitigate littering and promote environmental stewardship. Kelly Bass Seibel, with Sonoma County Tourism, said the new initiative is focused primarily on the coastal areas of all three counties. She hopes consistent messaging about environmental… read more

Neighbors are expected to offer their verdicts Thursday on a proposal to encourage more development just north of Sonoma. Officials say they've already hosted 20 community workshops on the Springs Specific Plan. The lengthy document, if approved, would prescribe in detail the type, design and general location of new construction inside a 180-acre area straddling highway 12 north of Sonoma. It's designed to fast track development proposals complying with the plan. Bradley Dunn is policy manager for Permit Sonoma. He said the ultimate goal isn't to add density for density's sake, but to bolster the area's sense of place and deliver a more walkable community. "To foster that identity by making… read more