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Sonoma County officials have issued an alert due to a surge in fentanyl-related overdose deaths, including a case involving a one-year-old child in Santa Rosa. Healthcare providers are struggling with the increasing presence of Tranq, a dangerous combination of fentanyl and xylazine that has proven difficult to reverse with Narcan alone.

He was later identified as Mario Garcia-Villavicencio of Rohnert Park.

A Rohnert Park man was found dead hours after crashing his pickup into the fence bordering a vacant home Tuesday night in Santa Rosa, police said. The crash was discovered about 6:45 a.m. Wednesday near the Santa Rosa Veterans Memorial Building on Maple Avenue, according to the Santa Rosa Police Department.

A one-year-old girl in Santa Rosa is recovering from a fentanyl overdose, while her mother has been arrested and is now facing felony charges. The incident took place around 5:15 AM on Tuesday in the Lead Street area. Authorities received reports of a medical emergency involving a toddler, who was discovered unconscious and not breathing on the floor.

A Santa Rosa man is accused of firing a gun outside his former home before driving away under the influence of alcohol Tuesday night, police said. Jesus Villicana-Hernandez, 28, was arrested on suspicion of negligent discharge of a gun and DUI. About 5:45 p.m. Tuesday, officers responded to a shooting...

A Sebastopol RV village for people who are homeless is set to be replaced with a 22-unit housing project for people with extremely low incomes. The 845 Gravenstein Highway North site is now occupied by Horizon Shine Village, a temporary site for people living in RVs and campers that opened in February 2022.

The Sonoma County District Attorney's 'One Pill Can Kill' campaign aims to raise awareness about the dangers of fentanyl abuse and overdose. The rise in opioid-related deaths, specifically those caused by fentanyl, is staggering. Overdose deaths involving synthetic opioids rose 55.6 percent from January 2020 to January 2021, primarily from illicitly manufactured fentanyl.Visit here for more details.

SANTA ROSA. Calif. - A Santa Rosa woman, 39, was arrested on felony charges after police determined her 1-year-old child was exposed to fentanyl due to the mother’s negligence, Santa Rosa police announced on Wednesday. Early Tuesday morning, Santa Rosa Police Department officers were dispatched to a home on...

North Bay residents are worried after a homeless man attempted to stab a family on a popular Sonoma County trail. A family of three was walking with their dog down Joe Rodota Trail on Friday when they came across a figure sleeping under a blanket.

Sonoma County officials are working on buying Chanslor Ranch and opening its trails to the public. The Sonoma County Agricultural Preservation and Open Space District is now in a contract with the owner to eventually buy the 378-acre ranch. The property is near Salmon Creek and is across Highway One from Sonoma Coast State Park. It is also home to several threatened and endangered species, which the Open Space District plans to protect. Officials are also discussing adding low-impact campsites to Chanslor Ranch in the future.

A fridge malfunction appeared to cause a small fire in Santa Rosa. Yesterday morning, firefighters say that a refrigerator, which was plugged in and operating in a storage area near the home on the 400 block of Hewett Street, had an electrical overload. That sparked a fire to nearby debris and was threatening to spread up the back wall of the home to the attic vent. The fire was stopped within minutes of firefighters arriving and did not reach the main house. No injuries were reported. The fire caused about $10,000 in damages.

A woman will receive nearly a million dollars in damages after getting attacked by a pitbull near a homeless encampment in Santa Rosa. A civil jury has ordered Sonoma County, Caltrans and two homeless people to pay the woman following the attack that severely injured her in 2019. The woman had filed a lawsuit that said the attack happened on Caltrans property overgrown with vegetation. The lawsuit also blamed county animal control officials for failing to install signs warning of a dangerous dog in the area. And, the dog that mauled the woman had already been declared potentially dangerous after biting someone near the encampment a year earlier.

The Sonoma County Fire District is on its way to getting an exclusive contract for ambulance services. Sonoma County public health officials are recommending the contract be awarded to the fire district. For the past 30 years, the contract has belonged to private ambulance company American Medical Response, which locally is called Sonoma Life Support. AMR says the bidding process was tainted by conflicts of interest that swayed the recommendation in favor of the fire district. AMR is planning to challenge the decision in court.

Just two months after she took the job as Sonoma County’s interim health officer, Dr. Kismet Baldwin-Santana has been appointed health officer of San Mateo County. The move came as a surprise to Sonoma County Health employees, who learned of Baldwin-Santana’s departure through San Mateo County media reports.

Sonoma County leaders are hoping a guaranteed-income pilot program launched earlier this year is on its way to making a key difference for low-income families with young children. The Sonoma County Pathway to Income Equity began in February, making the first of 24 monthly payments of $500 to 305 local...

The 28th annual Live at Juilliard free concert series will take place in Juilliard Park, Santa Rosa, from July 16 to Aug. 20. The six-week program includes live music, food, refreshments, and more, with different bands and genres each Sunday from 5 to 7 p.m.

A woman is behind bars on suspicion of assaulting a Santa Rosa police officer. The incident happened Sunday night, but was not announced by authorities until Monday. The officer responded to reports of a woman yelling and making noises behind a building. The officer offered the woman, Ana Valquiria Taylor, help and resources, but she refused. She then allegedly ran at the officer, threw a container of urine at them, then punched the officer several times. The officer grabbed Taylor and forced her to the ground, but she kept attacking. The officer then called for backup, which helped arrest her. Both the officer and suspect suffered minor injuries.

A Santa Rosa Schools Board member is responding to a racial slur. At their May 10th board meeting, trustee Ed Sheffield, who is half black and half white, was called a racial slur by Shelby Pryor, a regular attendee and commentator at Santa Rosa City Schools board meetings who is also mixed race. During the May 24th meeting last week, Sheffield put on a raccoon mask and held up a sign made by his children that said “Talk to the Racoon.” Sheffield said public comment at school board meetings needs to be about schools.

The MCAH Advisory Board aims to promote the physical and mental health of childbearing and parenting people, children, and adolescents in Sonoma County by sharing resources, coordinating activities, and advocating for their needs.

The Jackson family, of Jackson Family Wines, is partnering with Ensemble Investments, LLC—a developer, owner and operator of luxury hotels and commercial real estate—to purchase Vintners Resort in Santa Rosa. Vintners Resort, established by the Carano family in 1984 and located at 4350 Barnes Road, was one of...