Roundup: All abuzz!
Exciting news from the Sebastopol Times, plus city council and school board election news, Michele Anna Jordan's new column, a grass fire in Sebastopol and more
Our reporting got picked up by SFGATE and L.A. Times!
We are thrilled to share word that our reporter Ezra Wallach’s investigation on Sonoma County’s Cannabis Equity Program (read here) has already gotten picked up by SFGATE and The Los Angeles Times, the two most popular news sites in California.
This goes to prove what we already knew: that the hyperlocal stories we publish here can “reverberate far beyond our funny little town,” in the words of Steve Wax, one of our most dedicated subscribers.
Anything is indeed possible, so long as we have the support of a community behind us.
We keep our publication without a paywall so that local news is accessible to folks who can’t afford a subscription. We also keep our publication without advertising so that we stay truly independent.
In order to do both of those things, we need paid subscribers who are willing to play their part to ensure that Sebastopol and West County continue to have a paper that serves them, and only them.
And so we ask, if you are able and if you are not already one, to become a paid subscriber today. Let’s make news together.
Who’s running for Sebastopol City Council so far?
The initial deadline to file papers to run for city council was Friday, August 9, at 5:30 pm. Although three people pulled papers, only two—incumbent Councilmember Neysa Hinton and Phill Carter, a member of the city’s Climate Action Committee—chose to turn them in by the initial deadline.
Because an incumbent, Mayor Diana Rich, decided not to run again, the deadline was extended by five days. According to an announcement by City Clerk Mary Gourley, “Interested residents must file nomination papers for the General Municipal Election by the new deadline, August 14, 2024, during normal business hours (7:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.).”
High school district updates
West Sonoma County Union High School District (WSCUHSD) Superintendent Chris Meredith is holding an information session at the Laguna High School Library in Forestville on August 22 at 6 pm. Meredith will be sharing “the District’s vision as well as current and future plans for the use of both campuses.”
Additionally, there are a few updates on the upcoming November election of school board trustees.
Debbie Ramirez confirmed that she will be running for the Area 2 seat, which represents Sebastopol. In 2022, Ramirez was elected to an at-large seat on the board, and the term for that seat expires after this year. As her day job, Ramirez is a field representative for 5th District Supervisor Lynda Hopkins. Here’s a link to her website. The contest for the Area 2 will be between Ramirez and Linda Tighe Helton, whom we covered here.
Rio Kuteira has filed to run for the Area 4 seat. His occupation is listed as computer programmer. Area 4 runs from Occidental Road through Forestville up to River Road. Incumbent Julie Aiello who is the board president is not running for re-election for the Area 4 seat.
Michele Anna Jordan starts her own Substack
When Sebastopol food writer Michele Anna Jordan received word in late July that the Press Democrat, for whom she had written for 27 years, was canceling her two food columns, she was devastated, but not for long. She rallied almost immediately and set up a new Substack publication called “Dishing It Up,” where she will continue to share her intimate food stories, farmer’s market finds, and reliably delicious recipes. Her first week’s columns were all about watermelon, like the watermelon vinaigrette above. Visit her column today to discover what’s fresh and what’s new in the Sonoma County food world.
Grass Fire on High School Road on Friday
A car accident caused a grass fire on High School Road on Friday evening. Here’s the report from the Sebastopol Police:
“This evening, shortly before 8:30 pm, Sebastopol Police dispatch received numerous, simultaneous 911 calls reporting a vehicle collision into a field on High School Road. Callers also stated that the vehicle caught fire immediately after crashing, with a driver possibly still inside.
Sebastopol Police officers arrived on scene and located the driver who had been extricated by members of the public shortly before arrival. The driver only appeared to suffer moderate injuries.
The vehicle fire quickly spread, causing a fast-moving grass fire that spread in all directions. Sebastopol Fire Department, Gold Ridge Fire District, Rancho Adobe Fire District and Graton Fire Department arrived on scene and began efforts to extinguish the blaze. The vehicle was believed to be electric, which caused a series of explosions as firefighters bravely fought the blaze.
California Highway Patrol arrived on scene and began the investigation of the collision. High School Road remained closed in both directions as Police and Fire crews remained to ensure a safe mop-up of the scene.”
Police Logs will be back next week
Correction
On Thursday, we mistakenly reported that Vice Mayor Stephen Zollman had been appointed to the council’s new Solid Waste Ad Hoc Committee. He wasn’t. Rather, Councilmember Sandra Maurer will be joining Councilmember Jill McLewis on that committee. These two also worked together on the previous Solid Waste Ad Hoc Committee.
Week of August 12 to August 17
How about Huffman?
UPDATE: It was, as I thought, just a mix-up. See Laura Hagar Rush’s interview with Congressman Jared Huffman here.
ORIGINAL TEXT: Several readers who saw our Ezra’s story on Chris Coulombe, who is challenging Jared Huffman in the 2nd District asked if we’d also interview Huffman. Ezra reached out to Huffman’s office and they declined a request for an interview, which surprised us, but we will find a way to cover him—probably by covering a nearby campaign event when he swings through Sonoma County on his next trip home. Or maybe they’ll change their minds.
Congratulations, this is awesome!
Congratulations Sebastopol Times! I so appreciate that real people are doing real investigative journalism. If you’re using AI, it’s not apparent like it is in so many other news “papers” where they fill space by saying the same thing over and over again. Keep up the good work!