SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Sonoma County officials say they will add artificial intelligence technology to help fight wildfires with a 24-7 monitor to track fire outbreaks. The technology will be added to the county’s network of wildfire detection cameras that monitor California’s backcountry to spot the first outbreak of flames. Many of the cameras are… Keep Reading
Amid the prolonged coronavirus pandemic, Ian Velasquez, who works full time as a union official representing public school employees, has struggled to pay monthly rent on the three-bedroom Sebastopol home where he lives with his partner Amy Sprague and their 2-year-old son Neveo. Paying about half of what he owes each month, he’s accumulated rent… Keep Reading
Windsor and Healdsburg are among a dozen Bay Area cities that each would be obligated to build hundreds more affordable homes under an 8-year plan to meet state mandates, a sharp increase that stemmed from a change in the regional housing allocation to achieve greater racial and socioeconomic equity The shift requires Windsor and Healdsburg… Keep Reading
SANTA ROSA – Time is running out for the state legislature to extend California’s eviction moratorium. If lawmakers don’t pass a bill this week, one in five Californians could lose their housing. “I’m like really distressed, so as you can see, I cry a lot,” Ofelia Camacho said. The statewide eviction moratorium is the only… Keep Reading
Extension of federal and state bans on evictions may not be enough says a state lawmaker who proposes the state keep the ban through 2021. “California is staring down an eviction cliff if we don’t extend it. People still can’t pay their rent,” California Assemblyman David Chiu, D-San Francisco, told the Business Journal. The current… Keep Reading
SONOMA COUNTY, CA — The Sonoma County Board of Supervisors approved the purchase Tuesday of a hotel in downtown Santa Rosa for $7.95-million. The hotel will house homeless people who are most vulnerable to developing COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus. Funds for the purchase of Hotel Azura, 635 Healdsburg Ave., were supplied by… Keep Reading
Today the Board of Supervisors approved the purchase of Hotel Azura in Santa Rosa using $7.95 million in funds supplied by the state through the Project Homekey program. Sonoma County’s procurement of Hotel Azura will provide additional temporary housing for vulnerable individuals experiencing homelessness. Sonoma County expects to close escrow next week and proceed with converting Hotel Azura… Keep Reading
Despite the continuing public health emergency, California courts have resumed most eviction cases. From April 6 through Sept. 1, a state Judicial Council emergency rule suspended evictions across the state, except those necessary to protect public health and safety. This emergency protection was critical in preventing unnecessary evictions and protecting public health. Since the order… Keep Reading
For the second time in as many years, California voters will decide whether to give cities more leeway to regulate rentals over what’s allowed under a 26-year-old law limiting rent-control measures. Also called the Rental Affordability Act, Proposition 21 seeks to go beyond the statewide measures that took effect at the beginning of this year… Keep Reading
Two and a half years after the Tubbs fire took out most of Coffey Park in October 2017, the rebuilding of that northwest Santa Rosa neighborhood was proceeding at a remarkably brisk clip. For the most part. During his months working on a house on the cul-de-sac Randon Way, contractor Michael Wolff could not help… Keep Reading
