News

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. 

Reindeers might help Santa put presents under the Christmas tree, but it’s the goats of Independence 4H that help recycle the trees once the holidays are over. This December Independence 4H is hosting a Goat Christmas Tree Recycling (tree-cycling) fundraiser. Independence 4H families will be collecting the trees in Sebastopol, Santa Rosa, Cotati and Rohnert Park and have a drop-off day as well at a small farm in Santa Rosa.

MONDAY, Dec. 13

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 2021 comes to a close, SoCoNews continues its tradition of looking back on our coverage of this past year’s event. This article looks at the people living in, working in and running Windsor, and the organizations that operate out of the town as they made the news this past year.

The calendar wasn’t exactly bursting with big events and gatherings in 2021, but west county managed more than a few special occasions and bad breaks alike during the second year of the pandemic. 

In 2021, west county locals spent another year trying to keep calm and carry on through the pandemic, facing a mutating coronavirus and the ongoing need for regional health care options. This past year was one of strategy and adaptation, compared to the chaos of 2020.

Starting next year, all Healdsburg High School freshmen will be required to take a one-semester ethnic studies course. The implementation of the course comes after several years of work to address inequality in the school district.  

With a community room blasting holiday music full of children and adults of all ages, the Christmas spirit could be felt all around. On Monday, Foss Creek Court Apartments on Grant Street celebrated the holidays with a community posada — the first in a series of posadas being held in Healdsburg throughout the week.