News

Ordinary people make the world go ’round whether we’re in a pandemic or not. Here are just a few of the many game-changers in the west county who’ve made an impact in support of their communities through thick and thin in 2021.

A tribute to Rena

Nonprofit organizations, businesses, service agencies, clubs and local leaders joined forces in Windsor to bring food, gift cards and toys to Spanish-speaking families in Windsor, many of them with parents employed in the local agriculture industry.

The suspect in the Christmas Day stabbing of a ride-share driver at Shiloh Ranch Regional Park in Windsor has been arrested and booked into the Sonoma County Jail, according to authorities.

2021 was another momentous year for west county schools under the pandemic. The year grew especially top-heavy for the West Sonoma County Union High School District (WSCUHSD) striving for stability as consolidation rocked the community.

The following are crimes excerpted from Sebastopol Police Department daily crime log entries and listed at the time the alleged violation was reported.

 Every year, SoCoNews compiles a list of the year’s most noteworthy events, happenings and newsmakers and writes a comprehensive timeline that looks back at the year.

Every year, SoCoNews compiles a list of the year’s most noteworthy events, happenings and newsmakers and writes a comprehensive timeline that looks back at the year.

As the winter rains continue to fall, and hopefully bring relief to our watershed communities mired in a historic drought, the rainwater will begin to soak into our gardens and fields and run down the streets into our storm drains, which are not linked to the sewer. Storm drains are specifically designed to capture excess stormwater from streets and divert the flows through culverts and drainage channels into creeks, rivers, and eventually the Pacific Ocean. Stormwater drainage systems are not limited to just the drains on our streets; they can also include engineered systems which help reduce flooding, increase groundwater recharge, and improve overall resilience of the ecosystem. These engineered systems are called Low Impact Development (LID).

All throughout the month of November, strings of autumn-themed garland hung along the trees of North Main Street in Sebastopol. These were the works of local artist Megan Elizabeth Von Bima, founder of She’s Crafty by ME (ME stands for Megan Elizabeth). But before it was a business, crafting was simply a hobby of Von Bima’s, until her work was discovered by the event organizer for Sebastopol’s Downtown Association, Kathleen Escamilla, who thought Von Bima’s festive holiday garlands would be a fun way to spruce up the main street of Sebastopol.