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Sonoma County strips park rangers of peace officer status
photo credit: USFWS Sonoma County supervisors have controversially reclassified regional park rangers away from peace officer status, to the less law enforcement focused public officer status. It's a move widely condemned by park rangers like Kat Pringle. "I don't know that there's much else to be done," Pringle said outside the Board of Supervisors chambers in Santa Rosa after the decision. "As far as I understand it, the director does have this kind of power." County supervisors, minus the absent James Gore, unanimously approved the reclassification. For Sonoma County Regional Parks leadership, it’s a simple change; one which Deputy Director Melanie Parker said puts...
Environmental docs available for comment on Koi Nation casino plan
photo credit: Koi Nation via Bay City NewsRendering of a proposed casino and resort near Windsorproposed by the Koi Nation of Northern California. The public can weigh in on potential environmental impacts of a casino and resort southeast of the town of Windsor in unincorporated Sonoma County proposed by the Koi Nation of Northern California, following the release of a draft environmental impact statement from federal regulators. The U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs completed a draft environmental impact statement that will be open for public comment until Aug. 26 for the controversial proposed development on a roughly 68-acre site that the federally recognized...
State regulators push for electrification could raise PG&E bills even higher
photo credit: Sanika Mahajan/Bay City NewsActivists with the Party for Socialism and Liberation demanded PG&E be nationalized and protested rate hikes. The California Public Utilities Commission opened the door on Thursday to potential PG&E rate increases as soon as next year, adopting a new rate making process that will let the utility recoup its costs for completing energization projects. Energization projects help connect new customers to the electricity grid, increase capacity for existing customers, and increase transmission capacity to deliver greater loads in the future as the state moves to stop selling gas-powered vehicles by 2035 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2045. Prior...
IOLERO seeks judgement for whistleblower complaint subpoenas
photo credit: County of Sonoma There's been plenty of back and forth since its inception in 2015 over what exactly IOLERO, Sonoma County's Independent Office of Law Enforcement Review and Outreach, can and can't do. The saga continues, and the latest chapter is playing out in the courts. The catalyst for this dispute: a whistleblower complaint sent to IOLERO. The Sonoma County Sheriff said IOLERO lacks the authority to investigate. IOLERO Director John Alden has a different assessment. "Measure P gives us the ability to look into whistleblower complaints from inside county government or inside the sheriff's office by issuing subpoenas to take...
Can California’s health care providers help solve the state’s homelessness crisis
photo credit: Marc Albert/KRCB When a shortfall of several hundred thousand dollars almost derailed new homeless housing in Bakersfield, a health care company swooped in to salvage the project. That unorthodox move is part of a broader effort to commingle California’s health care and homeless services agencies. It comes as providers in both areas increasingly acknowledge that it’s nearly impossible to be healthy if you’re living on the street. Health care company Akido Labs covered about 10% of the cost to build that 16-unit project in Bakersfield. Health insurance giant Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield is also funding homeless housing projects...
At long last, Petaluma's Helen Putnam Regional Park set to add most of Scott Ranch
photo credit: City of PetalumaSeasonal Kelly Creek during the winter. A bitter, arduous two decade development struggle over a large ranch on Petaluma's western edge moved much closer to an amicable resolution this week. That's when Sonoma County's Board of Supervisors officially agreed to pony up $1.8 million dollars to help seal the deal. The money unlocks matching funds from the City of Petaluma, along with private donations and will help finalize a deal that will append much of the historic Scott Ranch onto Helen Putnam Regional Park. That's while 28 large single family homes rise on the balance. Jared Emerson-Johnson is...
California bracing for the worst as fires burn vastly more acres than last year
photo credit: Marc Albert/KRCBGov. Gavin Newsom at a wildfire briefing Wednesday Despite unprecedented preparations, full reservoirs and lightning fast response by firefighters, this year's fire season is outpacing recent years. Preventing disaster will require all hands on deck, including a vigilant public. That was the main thrust of an hour-long press conference this morning in Sacramento featuring governor Gavin Newsom along with state emergency officials. Joe Tyler, director of CalFire said hot temperatures are adding new challenges, and despite larger fires, losses have thankfully been minimal. "Though the acres are big, the fatalities at this point are zero, the structures damaged or destroyed...
New airport fuel tank project prompts lawsuit
photo credit: Courtesy of STSSonoma County's airport. Plaintiffs are awaiting a hearing date in a lawsuit alleging a project at the Charles M Schulz-Sonoma County Airport could cause an aviation catastrophe. One of the main flight service companies operating at the airport is suing the county over a new above-ground fuel tank being installed by a competitor. Airport, and by extension county, officials have approved the tank and its location. Les Perry, a partner at Perry, Johnson, Anderson, Miller and Moskowitz is representing the Sonoma Jet Center. It's a firm providing maintenance, flight support and airport hangers, mainly to private planes. Perry told KRCB...
Local white sturgeon fish moves closer to endangered status
photo credit: US Fish & Wildlife Service via Bay City NewsA female sturgeon captured by U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service is tagged to document movement in the San Joaquin River Basin. April 17, 2024. After over 100 million years of existence, the white sturgeon may be fading from the San Francisco Bay estuary. On June 19, the California Fish and Game Commission approved white sturgeon as a candidate species for listing under the California Endangered Species Act. Bay Area scientists say their decline is due to increased pollution and a loss of deep-river spawning grounds. The listing could not only affect the sport fishing...
Prop 4: $10 billion bond for resilience, wildfire prevention makes ballot
photo credit: Stanislavsky A $10 billion statewide bond measure that would fund a range of environmental resilience and other projects will appear on the November ballot after the passage this week of a bill to place it before voters. Major projects funded by the bond revenue would include drinking water infrastructure and wildfire prevention. Passed as Senate Bill 867 on Wednesday, it was numbered by the end of the day by Secretary of State Shirley Weber as Proposition 4. It was one of 10 propositions numbered for the statewide ballot in November, including a separate bond measure for K-12 school infrastructure. Prop. 4, formally titled...
Proposed Sebastopol hotel wins three-year extension, builders hope to wait out high interest rates
photo credit: Courtesy GoogleMapsThe site of a promised hotel remains vacant years after approval. Long-planned as the future site of a swank 66-room hotel, a vacant lot in Sebastopol remains a weedy patch behind a cyclone fence, hopefully not forever. It's the saga of the Sebastopol Hotel, a $90 million dollar boutique hotel viewed by backers as a panacea for the financially struggling small city. In addition to sorely needed property and room taxes, it is hoped vacationing guests bring in more sales tax revenue, while the new edifice fills a hole in the city's streetscape. Councilmember Sandra Maurer told colleagues this...
Pacific Gas & Electric says grid holding stable so far
photo credit: Pacific Gas & ElectricPG&E staff provide an update from their Emergency Operations Center in Vacavilleon power grid status and safety precautions for the early July heatwave on July 3rd, 2024. It’s an all hands on deck approach to the current heatwave in California; and that includes PG&E. On Wednesday, the utility giant provided a briefing from its emergency operations center in Vacaville. PG&E Meteorologist Scott Strenfel said the extreme heat smothering California could set new temperature records. "What we're going to see over the next seven days rivals some of our biggest heat waves that we've ever experienced," Strenfel said....
Toll Fire burns 50 acres; firefighters starting to turn the corner on containment
photo credit: CalFire Air support making a drop on the Toll Fire burning northeast of Calistoga on Tuesday, July 2. Here's the latest information on that fire burning out of control in hills north east of Calistoga. CalFire is reporting that the blaze, named the Toll Fire is now about 50-acres in size, and 10% contained. The agency says 300 firefighters are mobilized on scene. Air attack and most helicopters were released by 4 P.M. Firefighters appear on their way to gaining the upper hand. The app Watch Duty is reporting that the fire is being held to 50-acres as of early Tuesday afternoon. The fire...
Heat wave could cause blackouts
Extreme heat expected locally for at least the next week. Extreme temperatures expected this week will do more than shorten tempers and draw crowds to swimming holes. Widespread and lingering heat across most of Northern California could disrupt electricity this week. PG&E is telling customers in Sonoma and nine other counties to prepare for possible shutoffs. "Normally, at night when the temperatures go down, our equipment has a chance to cool down, but when we have this extreme heat, it's staying warm at night and our equipment never gets a break, so we can see heat-related damage to our equipment which...
Enviros suing feds over vanishing shark
photo credit: Courtesy Michael Meier, Gillclub.The tope shark, also called a soupfin shark, snapper shark and school shark. Two environmental groups are suing federal officials for blowing a year-and-a-half past a deadline over consideration of protections for a shark species living off of our coast. The plaintiffs say the deadline, set by the feds themselves, lapsed in February of last year. David Derrick is a spokesman for the Center for Biological Diversity, one of the groups that filed suit. "Unfortunately, the agencies have a lot on their plate and it's not uncommon for them to miss deadlines, but it's our job to hold their feet to...
Santa Rosa City Schools selects new superintendent
photo credit: Santa Rosa City Schools Santa Rosa City Schools have a new superintendent, but not everyone is in support. On Wednesday, Santa Rosa's City School Board approved the hire of Daisy Morales. She most recently served at the head of the Live Oak Elementary School District in Santa Cruz. School board president Omar Medina said he looks forward to Morales' future with the district. "We are confident that Dr. Morales is the right leader to guide our district into the future," Medina said. "Dr. Morales is not only focused on academic excellence, but also on the overall well being of our students." But the...
Little Woods owners will appeal, vow to close park unless rent hike goes through
photo credit: Noah Abrams/KRCBInside Little Woods Mobile Home Park, Petaluma CA. Last week we reported on a ruling against the owners of Little Woods Mobile Home Park in Petaluma. The arbitrator in the case rejected a jump in the cost of renting space to park a mobile home from $495 to more than $2000 a month. On Tuesday, KRCB News heard back from Nick Ubaldi, of Stockton's Harmony Communities, which is associated with the mobile home park. Ubaldi and park owners declined an interview, but agreed to answer questions in writing. Asked for a reaction to the ruling, Ubaldi wrote that he is...
Rough waters--controversy brewing over riverbank access in Forestville
photo credit: Courtesy UC San Diego, NOAA, Scripps, Shawn BolandThe Russian River downstream of the Hacienda Bridge in Forestville Just when you thought it was safe to get back in the water, there's a new kerfuffle brewing along the Russian River. Lynda Hopkins is the Sonoma County supervisor representing the area. Hopkins looked into a series of complaints aired on social media about incidents along a stretch of riverbank in Forestville after KRCB News reached out to her, Sonoma County Regional Parks and California State Parks. "What we're sort of hearing about is folks attempting to access the beach from the river...
A new park in Healdsburg? One idea is being floated for the future
photo credit: Noah Abrams/KRCBThe remaining conveyor belt support towers stand on the Syar Industries gravel mine along the Bendway in the RussianRiver in Healdsburg. June 25th, 2024. Where the Russian River winds and wraps around Fitch Mountain and Healdsburg, crowds follow. Many flock to the cold water at Veterans Memorial Beach, but could there be another place for people to dip their toes? It’s called the Bendway Park, or at least that’s the name Eric Arneson’s giving it. "The main goal of this design is basically to connect people to the river," Arneson said. A landscape architect based in Santa Barbara, Arneson was...
Grand Jury: County finances opaque, lax oversight of bond measures, sales tax
photo credit: courtesy Civil Grand Jurors’ Association of California. There's no evidence of impropriety, waste or financial skullduggery. But a report from the current Sonoma County Grand Jury found lax oversight, and no authority assuring special funding is being spent correctly. The report instead found that while officials comply with transparency laws, documents released to the public are opaque and are largely indecipherable to ordinary people. It started with a letter about oversight of a local school bond. As Rob Hunter, the foreperson of the 2023-2024 Sonoma County Grand Jury, described it, the body went down a rabbit hole. "In the course of getting that information,...
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KRCB 104.9 is Sonoma County's NPR station. We provide live radio news, podcasts, and social media news updates covering Sonoma County governmental affairs, wildfire, arts, culture, and breaking news.
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