RoundUp: What's new in the new year?

New parking law, new library app, new high school board members, new police logs and thanks for all the essays!

Laura Hagar Rush

and

Dale Dougherty

Jan 05, 2025

Thanks for the amazing personal essays

We were so impressed and gratified by the number and quality of essays we received as part of the Sebastopol Times First Annual Personal Essay Contest.

When we first announced the contest, we said that at the end we’d have readers vote on the best personal essay. We’ve changed our mind about that. The eight essays we chose to publish were each wonderful and moving in their own ways, and it just doesn’t seem right to ask readers to choose a “winner.” We consider the eight that were chosen to be “the winners.”

These are available on our website under the tab labeled Essays.

If you’re wondering how we chose which essays to publish, here was the process: Dale and Laura read each essay and assigned it a number from one to three—1 was no, 2 was maybe, and 3 was yes. In the end, we decided just to publish the threes—the definite yesses. For those whose essays didn’t get chosen, you should know that there were a lot of twos (i.e., maybes) and several missed being chosen by a hair.

As a final note to the essay contest, some of you might still be wondering, “What did Evan Clark’s COVID-era LEGO creation using every piece in the bin look like?” He sent us a photo a week after we published his essay “Life Lessons from LEGO”:

New School Board at WSCUHSD

West Sonoma County Union High School District had two meetings in December 2024. At the first, the board thanked Debbie Ramirez for her two years of service as a trustee. At the second, two new board members were sworn in by Superintendent Chris Meredith—Linda Tighe Helton, who was elected as Area 2 trustee, and Rio Kuteira, who ran uncontested for Area 4, a seat previously occupied by this year’s board president Julie Aiello.

At the same meeting, Lewis Buchner was voted board president, Jeanne Fernandes as vice president and Shawn Chernila as clerk.

New board members Linda Tighe Helton and Rio Kuteira (Photo by Dale Dougherty)

One last Christmas item!

Today, January 5th, is the 12th day of Christmas, which means we still have time for one more heartwarming Christmas tale. A Sebastopol family—we wish we knew who they were—embodied the true spirit of Christmas this year by delivering gifts to all the folks living in RVs along Highway 116. They delivered gift bags bursting with treats and toiletries. RV resident Angie Sebring, who told us about this act of kindness, sends her thanks. She wants them to know these gifts were much appreciated.

New law: No parking within 20 feet of crosswalks or intersections

Edited down from a notice on the Sebastopol Police Facebook page.

Assembly Bill 413 (AB 413), known as the “Daylighting to Save Lives Bill,” is a California law aimed at enhancing safety at intersections by improving visibility for drivers, pedestrians, and cyclists. Effective January 1, 2025, the law prohibits parking within 20 feet of intersections or crosswalks or within 15 feet where a curb extension is present.

The primary goal of AB 413 is to reduce blind spots caused by vehicles parked too close to intersections, thereby decreasing the risk of collisions involving pedestrians and cyclists. The measure is particularly important for protecting children and individuals who might be obscured by parked vehicles.

The Sebastopol Police Department will primarily focus on education instead of enforcement through the month of January. Please call the police department and speak with an officer if you have any questions about the new law.

Sonoma County Library launches new mobile app

In mid-December, Sonoma County Library launched a new library app for iOS and Android devices. With the launch of this new app, the old Sonoma County Library app is being retired.

“The new library app is developed by BiblioCommons, the same vendor behind our new online library catalog used to search, request, and engage with library materials," said Mike Dawe, Information Technology Manager of the Sonoma County Library. “We transitioned to this app because it shares the same backend technology as the new public catalog, ensuring a consistent user experience whether accessing the library via a web browser or the app.”

When you go to the app store to download the app, look for the Sonoma County Library app with the white interface. (The one with the blue interface is the old one and will be discontinued.)

Some of the things you can do with the new app include the following:

Search the library catalog for books, movies, music and place holds.
Renew items, check due dates, view your fines, and view your holds.
One-click access to our eBooks and eAudiobooks.
Check databases and resources available through your library card.
Look for library events.
Ask the library a question.

The annual license for the new app costs the Sonoma County Library $14,271 a year.

Find out more here.

Sebastopol Police Logs, Dec. 23-29

The following are crimes excerpted from Sebastopol Police Department daily crime log entries and listed at the time the alleged violation was reported. You’ll notice that this is a very short police log. I guess even criminals take time off for Christmas.

MONDAY

1:22 p.m. Vehicle theft (felony) at Laguna Park Way and Morris Street. Investigation suspended, leads exhausted.

TUESDAY

9:52 a.m. Disorderly conduct toward a victim under 18 years of age (misdemeanor) at High Street. Pending further investigation.

7:28 p.m. Causing injury to an elderly dependent adult (felony), disorderly conduct involving alcohol, resisting a peace officer, and battery on a peace officer (misdemeanors) at Taft and Wallace streets. Suspect arrested.

10:34 p.m. Vandalism with destruction of another’s property (misdemeanor) at Virginia and Bodega avenues. Suspect arrested.

FRIDAY

1:16 p.m. Served a misdemeanor arrest warrant for an outside agency at Laguna Park Way. Suspect arrested.

OTHER POLICE ACTION

The Sebastopol Police Department also recorded 105 other events requiring police action during the period, such as lost animals, assisting citizens, parking violations, foot patrol, traffic hazards and reckless driving.