These 7 companies are making a difference: North Bay Gives Awards for 2022

One of the largest chains of independent wine, beer and spirits stores in the U.S. is planning to open its first North Bay location. An application for tenant improvements was submitted to Santa Rosa for a 22,430-square-foot Total Wine & More store at 2705/2725 Santa Rosa Ave. in south Santa Rosa in April 2022, and in January of this year the application moved to the review phase, according to city records.

Elizabeth Smith has been appointed executive director of Peacetown, a Sebastopol-based nonprofit with a stated mission to ”promote and encourage peace in the individual, the community and the world. Peacetown will do this through events, classes and community gatherings. We will aim to raise funds for the Peacetown Trust...

Andy Jones has been hired as winemaker for the Napa Valley’s Theorem Vineyards, a Calistoga winery founded by co-owners Kisha and Jason Itkin. "Andy shares our family's belief that great wine starts in the vineyard," said Kisha Itkin, who also is company president. "His many years of experience with high elevation vineyard sites, his appreciation for soil and block diversity, and his hands off, minimalistic winemaking approach are perfectly aligned with our mission of crafting deeply expressive, vineyard-driven, wines of place."

Traps in a residential area east of Sonoma have confirmed the presence of a new pest that’s a bane for citrus nurseries. Asian citrus psyllid can carry and vector a disease called citrus greening disease, or Huanglongbing, the Sonoma County Department of Agriculture / Weights & Measures today announced Thursday.

Erika Thibault is the new director for Sonoma County Library, which spans 12 regional libraries, two community libraries, a mobile library and multiple special collections. “I am delighted to continue working with Erika,” said Deborah Doyle, chair of the organization. “I believe she has the exact balance of experience and skills the library needs. She was clearly the strongest candidate in our nationwide executive search.”

DoorDash (NYSE: DASH), a major U.S. player in third-party delivery from restaurants, coffee shops and increasingly grocery and convenience stores, wants to open one of its new delivery hubs in Santa Rosa. An affiliate of the San Francisco-based company leased a 9,380-square-foot former Performance Shoes space at 1993 Santa Rosa...

Winemaker Ted Edwards has announced his retirement after 42 years from Freemark Abbey in Calistoga. Edwards announced in 2020 he was stepping into a emeritus role and that Kristy Melton would be working with him and take over the winemaker’s role. He began his career as an assistant winemaker...

In seven days, the North Bay’s passenger rail system received a sudden avalanche of $74 million for a long-stalled effort to bring the train tracks north to Healdsburg. The first boon came last week, when the California Supreme Court dismissed a long-running lawsuit from a tax advocacy group, freeing up Bay Area bridge toll dollars that includes $40 million for the Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit.

The first phase of residential development at the Napa Pipe property, representing 79 homes across three blocks, is moving into the city of Napa's public approval process. The city's Planning Commission on Thursday evening is set to decide whether to recommend approving the subdivision — proposed by Brookfield Bay Area Holdings LLC — to the Napa City Council, which is scheduled to consider the project later this month. Should that approval process move forward, construction on the Napa Pipe subdivision is scheduled to begin this year, according to previous Register reporting.

Jill Goodrich is the new West region sales manager for Shannon Family of Wines in Lake County. “We are very excited to have Jill join the Shannon Family in her role as regional sales manager west,” stated Chip Wolf, vice president of sales. “Her previous experience building the A to Z and Hess businesses make her uniquely qualified to take us to the next level in our west region.”

Bed Bath & Beyond continues to announce store closures with 12 more in California, including one in the North Bay, slated to shut their doors. On Tuesday, the retailer said it would shutter 87 additional stores nationwide, including locations in Palm Desert, Hawthorne, Upland, Culver City, Glendora, Pasadena and a Harmon store in Los Angeles.

Petaluma’s Planning Commission took another look last week at the Scannell Mixed-Use Development, a massive project proposed for the 500 block of Hopper Street, and again found it wanting. The proposal by Scannell Properties – which calls for 475 residential units and 4,200 square feet of commercial space on...