Sonoma County On State's Watch List

Posted Friday morning

Sonoma County is now on the State Watch List. State and County officials will now work together on restrictions to the public that hopefully will slow the spread of the coronavirus. For now, businesses that are open can stay open through the weekend, but changes are expected early next week. Failure to adhere to county and state orders could result in fines. (photo courtesy LA Times)

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Santa Rosa Schools

Posted Friday morning

The Santa Rosa School Board approved a plan to open the school year for 16,000 students. The plan has a combination of online learning and some returns to classrooms. State officials are pressuring all public school districts in California to, whenever possible, enable students to return to classrooms. Sonoma County schools continue to work out details for the return to learning next month. (photo courtesy The Daily Californian)

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Downtown Santa Rosa Closure

Posted Friday morning

3 blocks of downtown Santa Rosa will become a traffic free zone for three months. Starting today, 4th Street in downtown Santa Rosa will be closed to driving, but open to walking and dining at extended table settings between B and E streets. (photo courtesy Sonoma County Tourism)

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Return Of Restrictions Possible Soon

Posted Thursday morning

Current openings of businesses will remain in effect through the weekend, but after that, changes could be on the way. Sonoma County Health Officials said the current trend of coronavirus cases could result in the state requiring new restrictions at the beginning of next week, affecting businesses that make social distancing difficult to slow the spread of the virus. (photo courtesy TripAdvisor)

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State COVID-19 Milestone

Posted Thursday morning

California is expected to cross the 300,000 mark in coronavirus cases statewide today. Yesterday the state experienced another record breaking number of new cases. Here in Sonoma County, results from just over 1600 tests showed 32 more cases added since yesterday, and all of them are active cases. Currently there are 1,519 COVID 19 cases in Sonoma County, 732 are active. (photo courtesy PBS)

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Congressman Thompson Town Hall Tonight

Posted Thursday morning

Tonight, Congressman Mike Thompson will hold a Virtual Town Hall meeting starting at 7pm. Thompson will be joined by special guest Ron Klain, the Former White House Ebola Response Coordinator, for a discussion about health care and what must be done to shore up our response to the spread of Coronavirus. This event will be held over Zoom and also be streamed on Facebook Live via Thompson’s page. (photo courtesy Mike Thompson)

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Santa Rosa Paid Time Off

Posted Thursday morning

Many Santa Rosa residents will be able to take paid time off during the pandemic. The City Council voted unanimously to expand the federal requirement to require large company employers to offer up to 80 hours of paid sick time to employees to take care of themselves and their families. The new rule provides an exemption to businesses less than 50 people, and those that are on the brink of financial ruin. (photo courtesy manpower chains)

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Rebuilding Protection

Posted Tuesday morning

State Senator Mike McGuire has introduced legislation that protects homeowners rebuilding after wildfires. Some of the contractors hired to rebuild homes lost in the fires were incompetent with the work, or didn't finish at all. SB 1189 was written to fix and clarify contractor licensing classifications. (photo courtesy World Property Journal)

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State Capitol Closed

Posted Tuesday morning

A coronavirus outbreak is closing California's Capitol and forcing the Assembly to put off its return to work as infection and hospitalization rates soar across the state. The Assembly Speaker's office says four people who work in the Assembly tested positivie for COVID-19. The Capitol building will be closed until further notice for cleaning. (photo courtesy Public Policy Institute)

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Foreign Students

Posted Tuesday morning

International students will be forced to leave the U.S. or transfer to another college if their schools offer classes entirely online this fall, under new guidelines issued Monday by federal immigration authorities. The guidelines provide additional pressure for universities to reopen, even amid growing concerns about the recent spread of COVID-19 among young adults. (photo courtesy Fastweb)

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High COVID-19 Case Numbers

Posted about a week ago

Sonoma County saw record numbers of new cases of coronavirus over the weekend. New counts are being tallied today, adding to the highest one-day spike since March, with 92 new cases recorded Sunday. The new cases bring the ratio to 106 cases per 100,000 residents, a number that could result in more restrictions for Sonoma County to help slow the spread of the virus. (photo courtesy Google)

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Less Help For Fire Activity

Posted about a week ago

Sonoma County fires ignited through the holiday weekend. There were more than 100 Bay Area fires, most of them the direct result of fireworks. With more fires expected because of high temperatures and dry fuel, a new complication has come up, less inmate firefighters available. Because of Coronavirus, prison inmates are not going to be a part of the efforts to fight fires, working as hand crews with shovels and McCloud fire tools. (photo courtesy Cal Fire News)

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SSU Alternate Care Site Closing

Posted about a week ago

Sonoma State University has cancelled the contract allowing space for local positive coronavirus cases. The campus is planning on a return of students 5 weeks from today. Now, the county is trying to locate another site that will work to house people who have a confirmed case of COVID 19, but need to live in an alternate site to not infect others. (photo courtesy Sonoma State)

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Year-Round School Opening Soon

Posted about a week ago

One of Sonoma County's public schools will get going next week with online learning. Richard Crane Elementary is the County's only year-round school, and the campus will remain closed when virtual classes begin on July 15th. Some in person learning will be allowed once the next phase of reopening the county becomes allowed. (photo courtesy WLC Architects, Inc)

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PG&E Helicopters

Posted about a week ago

PG&E will be using be using low flying helicopters to improve its Public Safety Power Shutoff program by making the events smaller in size, shorter in length, and smarter for customers. The pre-PSPS flights are designed to gather information that help crews execute future patrols more efficiently and provide key information to better determine timing for restoring electric service to customers. (photo courtesy Sierra News Online)

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