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Another closure of salmon fisheries exposes state's water politics
photo credit: Ruth Dusseault/Bay City NewsFrom left to right, Bodega Bay fisherman Dick Ogg; charter boat operator Andy Guiliano; Golden State Salmon Association executive director Scott Artis; seafood distributor Joe Conte; and salmon boat captain Sarah Bates at San Francisco'sFisherman's Wharf on April 11, 2024. For the second year in a row, there will be no commercial or recreational salmon fishing in California. And for the second year in a row, the governor's office has requested federal disaster relief to support impacted fishing communities, like Bodega Bay. "That's just money," said salmon boat captain Sarah Bates at a public address in San Francisco on...
De La Cruz passing torch at county Equity office; much accomplished, much work remains
photo credit: Courtesy of Alegria De La CruzAfter three years as director of Sonoma County's Office of Equity, Alegria De La Cruz is moving on. After three and a half years as inaugural leader of Sonoma County's Office of Equity, director Alegria De La Cruz is moving on, joining the Dolores Huerta Foundation. KRCB's reached out to De La Cruz about what led to her decision. And about the successes, challenges and work still on the table. De La Cruz said jobs where one is charged with leading difficult conversations and catalyzing fundamental change, seldom have long tenures. She said, it's time.
Feds contributing another $20 million toward fixing State Route 37
photo credit: Courtesy Metropolitan Transportation Commission.Rising seas and subsiding earth are causing real problems for commuters. Ambitious short and long term plans to shore up State Route 37 against rising seas moved closer to breaking ground this week. On Tuesday, congressman Mike Thompson and John Garamendi, who represents an area stretching from Solano County to the Delta, announced that $20 million in new federal highway money will be earmarked toward the highway, which connects US 101 in Novato with Interstate 80 in Vallejo. Urgent work on the seemingly perpetually clogged highway with its two lane segments will help reduce flooding and shore up subsiding soil beneath the road to stop it from sinking further, among other work. The funding, via the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, will allow Caltrans to proceed with its “Resilient State Route 37 – Sears Point to Mare Island Improvement Project.” A longer term fix, which may involve eliminating single lane segments, is still being finalized. Travel may be more chaotic over coming weekends---with westbound travel detoured the weekend of April 19 and 26th and eastbound travel detoured the first two weekends in May.
Calls, home visits, counseling help get students back to school
When first grader Jordan Muoz stopped going to school during the 2022-23 school year, his mother attributed it to depression, following the deaths of Muoz's great-grandfather and uncle. Some days, his mom couldn't get him out of the house. Other days, she'd get him dressed and to the corner of Fresno's Fremont Elementary, but he'd take off running. Most often, she failed to get him beyond the school parking lot. "I tried to just take him. Leave him at school. But he would get right in front of my car so I wouldn't leave," said Muoz's mom, Deyanira Pacheco. Aware of the difficulty, administration,...
The sound of wine in the Alexander Valley
photo credit: Tina CaputoAmes Morison(left) and Hugh Livingston at Medlock Winery in the Alexander Valley. A visit to a winery typically engages the senses of sight, smell and taste. But what about our sense of hearing? Medlock Ames winery is bringing this often-overlooked sense to the forefront through an innovative sound experience on its remote estate in Sonoma County’s Alexander Valley. Aside from 50 acres of vines and hundreds of olive trees, most of the winery’s sprawling, 340-acre property at Bell Mountain Ranch — located just outside Healdsburg — has been left in its natural, woodland state. Winery owner Ames Morison explained that the...
Rohnert Park's safe sleeping site closes less than two years after city sanction
photo credit: City of Rohnert ParkThe Roberts Lake Park and Ride lot sitting empty following the closure of the city's safe sleeping program. At times controversial, a Rohnert Park safe sleeping encampment at the Roberts Lake Park and Ride lot is no more. On April 4, the city announced the site is officially closed as a safe sleeping camp. The safe sleeping site has been vacant since the last homeless resident departed on January 31st. It's a big change from where homelessness within the city stood just three years ago. That's according to Rohnert Park Mayor Susan Adams. "We had about 82 homeless encampments...
Groundbreaking on new roundabout at Big Bend
photo credit: Caltrans A rendering of what the new roundabout at Big Bend will look like. Elected and local officials on Thursday broke ground in Sonoma County on a new roundabout traffic feature to replace a four-way stop intersection for state Highways 116 and 121. Caltrans and the Sonoma County Transportation Authority held the groundbreaking ceremony for the project, which will cost nearly $27 million but hopefully improve safety and enhance use for pedestrians and bicyclists. Highways 116 and 121 converge at Big Bend, just north of the Sonoma Valley Airport and surrounded by vineyards. The old four-way stop will be replaced with the...
Parade will go on; Sebastopol finds cash for Apple Blossom festival
photo credit: Courtesy of Sebastopol Apple Blossom Festival websiteThe parade in past years. April 5, 2024 update and clarification: In a story earlier this week, we reported that part of the roughly $14,000 in fees the city of Sebastopol usually bills to organizers of the annual event pays for fencing and portable toilets. In fact, the city bills festival organizers $3,500 for "materials." The organizers are the city's chamber of commerce, for which the annual event is a fundraiser. Myriah Volk, executive director of the Sebastopol Chamber of Commerce, contacted KRCB to correct the record, saying the fencing and portable toilets are...
Sebastopol city council nixes homeless housing on former RV safe parking site
photo credit: Marc Albert/KRCBRV dwellers were kicked off site that may remain vacant lot. A 22-unit apartment building meant to give shelter to those experiencing chronic homelessness was slated to go up in Sebastopol....on the former HorizonShine RV safe parking site. But that new housing is now in serious doubt. Acting on advice of city administrators, the Sebastopol city council chose to remove itself as a partner in the project by a 3-2 vote Tuesday. That's after officials determined the struggling municipality might find itself on the hook for as much as five million dollars, should the project go south. Sebastopol Mayor Diana...
Delta tunnel supporters, opponents respond to Newsom's updated water plan
photo credit: Fred Greaves/California Department of Water Resources via Bay City NewsAn aerial view of the Vogel Cache/Hass Levee in May of 2023. Gov. Gavin Newsom on Tuesday announced the release of the state's updated water plan, which garnered both support and criticism.As he stood in the snow-packed Sierra Nevada for a press conference during the April snow survey at Phillips Station, Newsom said the new reality of climate extremes requires a new approach and elevated sophistication in terms of managing the water system."The water system in California was designed for a world that no longer exists," he said, referring to the...
Nominations due soon for local Latinx community awards
photo credit: Courtesy of Nashelly Chavez/ Press DemocratFrom left to right, recipients of Los Ciens first-ever Puente & Ganas Awards Nohemi Palomino Andrade, Alicia Sanchez and Gabriela Bernal on May 3, 2019. Los Cien Sonoma County is one of the top nonprofits promoting business and civic leadership for the North Bay’s Latinx community. Awards is one way the organization does that, said Los Cien Executive Director Herman Hernandez. "The Los Cien Puente y Ganas Awards Dinner is a community celebration that's really focused on our Latinx culture and celebrating individuals and organizations in Sonoma County who are doing incredible work to uplift...
Controversial ballot measure aims to downsize animal farms
photo credit: TukkataMojiBallot measure supporters want to do away with "factory farms." Sonoma County voters will be asked this November if they want to restrict the size of animal farms. The county clerk and registrar of voters approved the measure for the ballot last Wednesday, after animal rights and environmental activists gathered more than enough signatures to meet the required 19,746. The petition drive was led by the group Coalition to End Factory Farming (CEFF), who want to end large-scale concentrated animal feeding operations, or CAFOs, in Sonoma County. Other environmental and animal rights groups have thrown their support behind the measure. The initiative calls for a...
Financial backer says CapRadio should merge with Sacramento’s PBS affiliate KVIE
photo credit: Chris Hagan CapRadio's current headquarters sign on the campus of Sacramento State University on Sept. 28, 2023. You've heard CapRadio stories on KRCB local newscasts; here's the latest about our news partner in Sacramento: Should Sacramento’s two largest public media organizations join as one? That’s the urging of the independent nonprofit Capital Public Radio Endowment Board, which shares the station’s name but is a separate philanthropic organization. The board requested in a public letter last week to Sacramento State President Luke Wood that CapRadio should merge with Sacramento’s PBS television affiliate KVIE.CapRadio is an auxiliary of Sac State, which owns the station’s operating license. Members...
Bay Area health officials say measles on the rise
Bay Area health departments issued a joint statement Friday, warning people measles is on the rise nationally and to be up to date on their vaccinations. The Association of Bay Area Health Officials (ABAHO) said "The best protection against measles is two doses of the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine, which protects you for life. This is particularly important for anyone travelling internationally in the upcoming months." The group said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports in 2024 there have been 64 confirmed cases of measles across 17 jurisdictions, with more than 90 percent of those cases linked to international travel,...
County raising hundreds of fees by an average 8.1%
photo credit: Marc Albert/KRCBNeed something from the county? It will cost more soon. The cost of electricity, groceries, gasoline, and housing are all up. The cost of county licenses, permits and use fees are about to follow. This week Sonoma County's Board of Supervisors unanimously increased the cost of just about every interaction one could have with local government. Peter Bruland, Sonoma County's deputy county administrator, provided the board with details. "This year, you'll see that most fees that are increasing are going up between five and ten percent. This is a little bit higher than we often have seen and, I really...
Factory farming ban ballot measure secures needed signatures
photo credit: Adam Fagen/flickr A controversial ballot initiative aiming to ban factory farming in Sonoma County has cleared a big hurdle. The Coalition to End Factory Farming is the group behind the initiative. In a press release Wednesday, March 27th, the group said they've collected the necessary signatures, and received confirmation from the county registrar to get the proposed legislation put before voters. The initiative targets concentrated animal feeding operations in Sonoma County - called CAFO's. Campaigner Cassie King said the coalition believes around two dozen local animal agriculture businesses would be affected. "They would have a three year phase out period from when...
The feds want to study giving cash to renters. Will Californians be included?
Guaranteed income has become a buzzword in California, as the state struggles to stop people from getting priced out of their homes and landing on the streets. The latest entity pushing to give cash directly to people in need isn't a nonprofit or an uber-progressive politician -- it's a massive federal agency not typically known for its innovation. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development is encouraging local housing authorities to experiment with giving cash directly to renters in pilot programs it wants to follow. It wants to know if this simplified method, which cuts down on red tape and puts...
Napa County supervisors approve groundwater sustainability work plans
photo credit: Lance Cheung/USDA via Bay City NewsA vineyard in Napa County. The Napa County Board of Supervisors this week approved work plans for implementing the county's groundwater sustainability plan. The work plans -- prepared by water consultants Luhdorff & Scalmanini Consulting Engineers and ERA Economics -- aim to help the county meet its goal to reduce pumping from the subbasin by 10%. They offer guidance on conserving water at vineyards, wineries and other places where water is used throughout the county; reducing groundwater pumping, and protecting and supporting terrestrial and aquatic groundwater dependent ecosystems. The work plans are designed to help roll out the...
CA is clearing criminal records, including violent crimes, to offer second chances
It has been 13 years since Nick C. sat in an Alameda County jail at the age of 24, facing decades in prison and the prospect of never seeing his kids again.He looks back on it as a turning point: Years in juvenile detention and a young adulthood spent dealing drugs culminated in a "bar fight gone sideways." Charged with attempted murder, he pleaded guilty to assault with a deadly weapon, according to court records. In the following years, he took anger management classes, earned a GED and worked as a dishwasher after a higher-paying maintenance job offer fell through when...
Russian River Brewing Company celebrates 20 years of Pliny the Younger
photo credit: Noah Abrams/KRCBThe line for the tap release of Pliny the Younger stretching down the block towards D Street from Russian River Brewing Company's tap room on 4th Street in downtown Santa Rosa on Friday, March 22nd, 2024. The rush for one of Sonoma County’s most renowned beer has begun. It wasn’t exactly a loud or rowdy line on 4th Street in Downtown Santa Rosa - chalk it up to the fact those waiting hadn’t yet had their beer. But it certainly started with a long line - half a city block long - for this year’s first pints of...
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KRCB 104.9 is Sonoma County's NPR station. We provide live radio news, podcasts, and social media news updates covering Sonoma County governmental affairs, wildfire, arts, culture, and breaking news.
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