In the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, it was unceasing demand for masks, face shields and other protective gear for health care workers that strained the system. Now, as the deadly virus spreads out of control across the entire country, the dominant concern is over a shortage of medical workers themselves. Already, traveling nurse companies… Keep Reading
Santa Rosa’s police department is understaffed, suffering from low morale and struggling to deal with critical public perception of law enforcement, the city’s top officer, Chief Ray Navarro, told council members and administrators this week in a wide-ranging discussion about public safety priorities in the coming year. Navarro said mandatory overtime needed to fill key… Keep Reading
It’s been a lonely year for Diana Rose. At 70, the Santa Rosa artist knows she is at high risk for the deadly coronavirus. So she mostly stays at home, visiting friends and family only online. But each night before bed she makes it a spiritual practice to name at least five things she’s grateful… Keep Reading
The Santa Rosa-based Redwood Empire Food Bank has launched a new food distribution site in Ukiah at the Ukiah Unified School District warehouse parking lot, 130 Fircrest Drive, on the corner of South State Street near Grace Hudson Elementary School, the first Thursday of each month from 1:30 to 3 p.m. The first one in… Keep Reading
The damage to water systems can linger for years. The cost in just one small town: as much as $150 million. For more than a month after a wildfire raced through his lakeside community and destroyed his Napa County home, Kody Petrini couldn’t drink the water from the taps. He wasn’t even supposed to boil… Keep Reading
Families struggling to put food on the table during the pandemic have doubled demand at the North Coast’s largest food bank heading into the holiday season, when hunger tends to deepen. “It’s staggering,” said Redwood Empire Food Bank CEO David Goodman. “And, we’re about to head into winter and I think things are going to… Keep Reading
I first reached out to Bianka Alloyn Brunson and Sabreen Naimah Wilkes of Oakland’s Cute Coffee a world ago, in December of 2019. It was their aesthetic that drew me in. Playful pastels, hearts and squiggles, and shimmering holographic coffee bags. It gave me big 90s nostalgia, echoing Rugrats-era Klasky Csupo and Caboodles®. Cute’s design (by Brunson, who… Keep Reading
Santa Rosa, CA – November 18, 2020 – Sonoma County’s 2020 Point-in-Time Homeless Count report released this week shows that the number of people experiencing homelessness in Sonoma County decreased by 7% since 2019. The reduction from 2,951 to 2,745 in 2020 was due in large part to an injection of more than $11 million from the Board… Keep Reading
SACRAMENTO — California is imposing an overnight curfew for nearly all residents as the most populous state tries to head off a surge of coronavirus cases that threatens to overwhelm its health care system, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Thursday. What officials are calling a limited stay-at-home order requires people who are not on essential errands… Keep Reading
In late September, Adventist Health St. Helena evacuated all of its patients for the second time this fire season. Just over a month earlier, the LNU Complex Fires had prompted a nighttime evacuation order for the hospital and its surroundings. This time, though, things were different — the fast-moving Glass Fire was unpredictable, officials told hospital staff,… Keep Reading
