The Dutra Haystack Asphalt Plant company have requested the US Army Corps of Engineers and the Regional Water Quality Control Board to write a “No Permit Necessary” letter regarding wetlands on their site to Sonoma County. These federal permits protect our River and wetlands under the Clean Water Act (404). These permits are the last barrier to Dutra starting construction.Dutra falsely claims that with a modest reconfiguration of the asphalt factory, no regulated wetlands on their site would be filled by construction and activity of the asphalt plant. 

Defensible Space is space that can be defended. It’s as simple as that. If you prepare your home and neighborhood so that it doesn’t burst into flames and spread rapidly from home to home, it can be defended. Take a look around...

The City of Santa Rosa’s Climate Action Sub-committee (CAS):mission is providing guidance and oversight for implementing and updating Santa Rosa’s Municipal and Community Climate Action Plans, with a goal to reduce local greenhouse gas emissions 

Emergencies don’t respect plans. They happen! Make a WHAT IF plan. Parents are at work…kids are at school…Grandmom is in a nursing home…best friend is across town. How do you get connected and stay connected? The Go Bag is your GRAB IT and RUN bag of everything you need in an emergency...including your passport, insurance documents, birth certificates, titles to your cars, trust/will, insurance documents, bank account numbers, etc..  Put these in waterproof envelopes & box.

“WE” as Americans, own a most unique set of documents. These documents are the personal property of EVERY one of“US”! Together they tell The who, what, when, where, why, and how of our country. As Americans “We” own wealth of Documents. These Documents are among the most beautiful working Documents that the world has ever known, written by the Founders of our Nation , at its birth, to create a framework within which “We”, as a society could agree to go forth, as a Union. These Documents can be used by “Us” to fact check our Government at ALL times, so, familiarity with them is important, and useful. For example;  The constitution, in article 1, section 9, #8, tells “Us” that The President, or any official, may NOT accept , or receive, ANY Emolument, that is, ANY gift, of ANY kind, whatsoever from any foreign State or entity, without the consent of Congress...

California’s three largest energy companies announced a coordinated wildfire safety and awareness campaign to prepare Californians for the threat of extreme weather and power outages during times of wildfire danger. Energy companies turn off power to fire prone areas during extreme weather events as a safety precaution. This is known as a Public Safety Power Shutoff. tel:18667436589

The Housing Authority recently evaluated their current system of 20 years and discovered that they were not meeting the needs of the community. After removing 10,000 unqualified people from the waiting list, 26,000 applicants remained. It would take 90 years to serve these people. Therefore, HUD has taken steps to eliminate the current system of a waiting list and a first come, first serve policy and replace it with a lottery system. The winners who are homeless, disabled, Vets, wives of Vets, seniors and households with children will be given preference and move to the front of the winning list.

In mid-June, the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors took action to meet State mandated septic system regulations that protect water quality and public health. “Our Local Agency Management Program balances state regulations with local septic policy,” said Board Chair David Rabbitt. “In some areas we are providing more flexibility to homeowners. For example, the new policy no longer requires septic system review for certain building improvements to existing structures.”

At a recent community meeting, a woman spoke in frustration...“Why do we expect public services to take care of what we should take care of ourselves? She’s part of a community group who is taking emergency preparation into their own hands. In an emergency, of any kind, there are only so many First Responders available. They will be busy. Map Your Neighborhood (MYN) & Citizens Organized to Prepare for Emergencies (COPE)  are systems people are adopting because it puts them in charge of their own needs and lives. Local governments are supporting this effort by hiring an educational leader who holds classes for neighborhod leaders and also will come to local meetings to help guide people through the process of being prepared for any emergency...fire, flood, and earthquakes.

Once again, Donald Trump has declared his intention to start raids against our immigrant communities. (“ICE”) has formulated a plan to find and deport thousands of immigrants, and announced that it will be implemented starting this weekend. I’ve written the detailed description below as a guide for immigrants as to their legal rights and remedies when confronted byICE - Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Not finding what you are looking for at your local library? Starting July 15, you will have access to a single, online searchable catalog of over 70 California and Nevada libraries; all you need is your Sonoma County Library card. With this new free service, called LINK+, patrons can request books, DVDs, audiobooks, music CDs and more to be delivered to their local branch. LINK+ is known for its speedy service, with most items arriving within a week.https://sonomalibrary.org

In the first six months of 2019 Clean River Alliance has helped remove over 136,664 pounds of material from the Russian River watershed. That’s over 68 tons!

PG&E’s sub-contractors have been busy trimming trees and branches that threaten their overhead high-voltage wires. Helicopters have been seen on the ridge, inspecting the main lines. In the  Timber Cove subdivision, many positive fire-safe changes have occurred in my 30 years here. Common-sense finally prevailed, and fire-safe rules were developed and adopted. 

For many locals in our Northern California community, reading that we are in the midst of a devastating imbalance within our Pacific coastal intertidal zones will not come as a surprise. This is due to a chain of events spanning almost 200 years.  This story is one of ripples, spreading ever outward: one imbalance leads to another, and another. While a perfect solution is not clear, educating the public about the problem is crucial.

Quietly tucked away into a tight fast stretch of Santa Rosa Avenue where if you blink, you’ll miss it, is our local fish monger, Santa Rosa Seafood and a low-key bistro nextdoor. If the culinary adventurer in you hopes it's good, don't worry. It is.  

It started here in Sonoma County: the statewide movement to ban chemical pesticides and herbicides by 2050. Robert Henry (Bob) Cannard, the man who jump-started the movement—with help from Karen Lee and Nellie Praetzel—has grown organic fruits and vegetables ever since 1972, and sold them to cooks and chefs, and at farm stands and farmers’ markets in northern California. The website is https://organiccalifornia2050.org. For decades, Cannard has supplied Alice Waters flagship Berkeley restaurant, Chez Panisse, with fresh produce. He’s also taught thousands of students the practice and the philosophy of organic farming

There are many ways to view the current state of our nation, but I want to look through the lens of a recent trip my wife and I took to El Paso, Texas to work with migrants crossing the border. The situation is very complex, and one of the take-home messages was that polarization in our country is preventing any reasonable conversation about how to deal with these complex humanitarian problems. Very notable was the willingness of our government to risk the lives of desperate people in order to implement deterrence as a central strategy. 

As Santa Rosa continues renewed efforts to develop more housing downtown, several proposed developments near the city center are moving through the city’s approval process. City officials hope to attract denser housing developments downtown, an area roughly within a half-mile radius of public transit options including the SMART station and bus lines.

Despite widespread concerns about the ongoing effects of the 2017 fires, the 2019 Point-in-Time Homeless Count shows that the number of people experiencing homelessness in Sonoma County has declined by 2% during the past year - from 2,996 in 2018 to 2,951 in 2019.

In 2012, I met Rocio, a shy freshman from a local high school who wanted to intern at our law office.  She told me she was a child of immigrants who was determined to make a difference in immigrants’ lives.   Rocio spent four years interning with us after school, then graduated as valedictorian and was awarded a Gates Foundation full-ride scholarship to Georgetown School of Foreign Service.  This year she graduated from Georgetown and has accepted a job at a non-profit in New York City serving the immigrant community there.  I wanted to tell her story to convey in her own words the challenges that many children of immigrants experience.

The California Coastal Commission today posted notice of their upcoming public hearing on the Trump Administration’s proposed helicopter dispersal of 1.5 tons of poison bait pellets in the Greater Farallones National Marine Sanctuary off of Marin and San Francisco this fall.