As Sonoma County’s cannabis industry moves into the regulated commercial market, the County’s Code Enforcement staff has increased its efforts to halt unpermitted cannabis operations. The County delivers quick turnaround times to respond to cannabis complaints and bring these operations into compliance with County ordinances. Since January 2017, the County shut down more than 600 unpermitted cannabis operations, mandated environmental remediation, and billed over $435,797 in related fines.

It’s been a sheep solution: Carefully controlled grazing has eliminated many of the non-native, invasive plants that were choking out flowers and native grasses. Not only that, the sheep have created a significant fire break because the same invasive plants that choke out wildflowers are fast-burning fuel for wildfires.

The Sonoma County Office of Resilience and Recovery's five year Fire Recovery Plan and the Sonoma County General Plan Update will prioritize land-use altercations and other policies with the goal of reducing fire risk, improving emergency preparedness, and making our communities and lands more resilient, healthy and climate-smart.

Rancho Adobe Fire Protection District has operated responsibly for many years, and has been an excellent steward of the public’s trust. However, the District faces a severe financial crisis that could lead to drastic measures, including laying off personnel and closing stations.

After a month of discussion, a legislative committee tasked with writing regulations governing wildfire preparedness and responses released draft legislation on Tuesday night, just three days before the end of the legislative session.

The Wildfire Preparedness and Response Legislative Conference Committee, a ten-member group of Senators and Assemblymembers tasked with writing a bi-partisan bill to improve California’s rules for wildfire response, mitigation and prevention.

The Sonoma County Board of Supervisors declared that September is National Preparedness Month. The preparedness campaign provides an opportunity for all of us to ready ourselves and our families now and throughout the year for potential emergency situations. According to the website Ready.gov the focus of the 2018 National Preparedness Month is:Disasters Happen. Prepare Now. Learn How.

As a result of last year’s Putnam Challenge Grant, nearly $200,000 has been allocated to improvements in this beloved Petaluma park. Helen Putnam Park visitors will notice improved trail access, a rock retaining wall overlook above the pond, and new picnic tables. Over the next 12 to 24 months, expect more trail work, habitat restoration, enhanced directional and interpretive signage and an upgrade of accessible parking and pathways to restrooms.

After a five-hour discussion about proposed changes to cannabis regulations earlier this month, the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors quickly passed the regulatory amendments and appointed three new members to the Sonoma County Cannabis Advisory Group at its meeting on Tuesday morning.

A Red Flag Warning means that critical fire weather conditions comprised of strong winds and low relative humidity are either occurring now, or will shortly.

What if I told you last year there were 2,412,151 cigarette butts or 1,739743 food wrappers all collected from beach cleanups. Shocking, right? Well here’s one more: enough balloons were collected to lift a great white shark according to Ocean Conservancy in 2017. All that trash would still be on the beaches if people like you didn’t help. This year International Coastal Cleanup is Saturday, September 15, 2018. There are cleanups taking place all over the world; many in Sonoma County. So, choose your beach or river and come out and make a difference. Let’s try and get all the trash out before the rains come. If you cannot make the September 15th cleanup there are other ongoing/monthly events throughout the county.

Hopefully, this test will inspire people to sign up for SoCo Alert and that the county will learn enough to understand how cell and computer/phone is not enough t get people's attention in a real emergency.

The Wildlands Conservancy’s Gateway to the Jenner Headlands Preserve is now open to everyone who wants to experience exceptional views of our stunning coast. We now have the opportunity to explore the trails of this spectacular 5,630-acre nature preserve any time — and to climb to the top of the highest peak along the coast on Sonoma Land Trust’s Pole Mountain Preserve.

Sonoma County Gazette Guide to the Potstickers in Sonoma County. We eat, we taste, we dissect, we critique all 46 Chinese restaurants in Sonoma County on how they prepare and serve POTSTICKERS. Then we tell you our TOP 5 and offer up a recipe to try yourself.

I created the Sebastopol Living Peace Wall in downtown Sebastopol to promote the cause of peace and justice by honoring the peacemakers among us. Every year we infuse the peace wall with life by adding four peoples’ names to the granite panels and by putting on an Induction Ceremony and Celebration. This year’s honorees are:Daniel Ellsberg, Dolores Huerta, Tui Wilschinsky andTherese Mughannam.

The County of Sonoma is updating County regulations for septic systems in order to meet state-mandated regulations that protect water quality and public health. Permit Sonoma invites the public to attend upcoming community meetings to share feedback on the proposed Onsite Wastewater Treatment System (OWTS) Manual.

As our children return to school, beauty surrounds many Sonoma County campuses, with bucolic hillsides and sprawling farmland. Yet, unseen toxicity lies within and around these rural schools. For the first time, data about this toxicity is now available to inform parents and the community.