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Sonoma County

A $150 Raffle Ticket Might Win You This ‘Dream House’ in Sonoma County

in News

If you’re dreaming of owning a luxury home in Sonoma Wine Country, but don’t have a few millions to spare, there might be a Hail Mary option. The San Francisco Bay Dream House Raffle is holding its 18th and final contest — the grand prize this year is a sleekly designed, 4,500-square-foot home at 3818 Horizon View Way in Santa Rosa’s Fountaingrove neighborhood.

A $150 raffle ticket buys entrants a 1 in 55,000 chance of winning the luxury property. If you beat the odds, and can handle a monstrous tax bill, then you’ll own a tasty piece of the Sonoma County housing market pie. (The winner also can forgo the home and receive instead a cash prize of $1,000,000 paid over 25 years or a one-time payment of $700,000.)

Continue Reading on the Sonoma Magazine

For Filipinos in Sonoma County, new Rohnert Park market offers taste of home

in Community/Food

When Armie Rivera opened the doors of Kabayan Filipino Market in Rohnert Park at the end of July, she ushered in a new era of cooking in Sonoma County.

Not only does the store make a taste of home more convenient for the county’s several thousand Filipinos, it also opens the world of Filipino cuisine to people who had the curiosity but perhaps not the commitment to drive to Vallejo or San Francisco to visit a Filipino grocery.

Continue Reading on the Press Democrat

15 Best Restaurants Near Sonoma

in Food

It’s hard to pick just 15 dining spots I love in the Sonoma Valley, one of the most beautiful swaths of Wine Country and a place I don’t appreciate nearly as much as I should.

The area roughly spans Kenwood to Schellville (at least in my mind) and the beautiful views, awe-inspiring patios and remarkable chefs do our county proud. I’m only scratching the surface of the food scene here, but I have some definite favorites.

Continue Reading on the Sonoma Magazine

A Former Icehouse in Sonoma Is Transformed Into an Industrial-Chic Home

in Housing

Prospective homebuyers in Sonoma County have a unique opportunity to become the owners of a cool piece of history. A former icehouse just north of the Sonoma plaza, built in 1906, has been artfully converted into an industrial-chic home and is currently listed for $7,995,000.

The two-building home at 301 First St. features 6,743 feet of living space and has four bedrooms and five and a half bathrooms. It enjoys valley views through large windows and from the patio.

Continue Reading on the Sonoma Magazine

Sonoma County nonprofit finds success renting shared homes to chronically homeless

in Community

They weren’t exactly perfectly minted roommates when they all moved into the house called Birch Haven in Santa Rosa early this year.

Each of the three men had been homeless in one manner or another. One is recovering from what he termed “some pretty hardcore drug abuse.” One cannot abide bureaucracy. Another is said to be on the autism spectrum, although he is not sure he agrees with that diagnosis.

One is 29 years old and was a foster child; the other two are in their fifties. Two are veterans. All three suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder.

Continue Reading on the Press Democrat

Summer brings fewer fires but above-average temps in Sonoma County; officials stress vigilance ahead of peak fire season

in Weather

National Weather Service meteorologist Sarah McCorkle said she believed summer was cooler than average this year in Sonoma County. She was surprised when she looked at the data.

One high-temperature record was broken, another matched, and overall temperatures were slightly above-average, she said.

Still, the summer was mostly uneventful, particularly considering wildfires. A lack of extreme heat waves allowed vegetation to retain moisture from the wet winter, resulting in fewer and smaller blazes.

Continue Reading on the Press Democrat

Sonoma County kicks off first weekend of Hispanic Heritage Month with free events

in Community/Event

Hispanic Heritage month, which officially starts Friday, is a monthlong celebration of Hispanic and Latino history and culture in the United States. The first day of the month celebrates the independence of Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua from Spain.

The second night is celebrated with “El Grito“ a Mexican tradition marked at midnight to signify Mexico’s independence from Spain.

Continue Reading on the Press Democrat

Go Wild at These Animal Sanctuaries in Sonoma County

in Animals

Sonoma County may be a dream destination for wine lovers but there are many ways to enjoy the good life here, beyond the tasting rooms.

How about rolling in the mud? Or napping in the hay? Or roaming around with a bunch of furry friends? That’s how pigs, sheep, goats, bobcats, mountain lions and other farm animals and wildlife spend their days at local animal rescue organizations.

Continue Reading on the Sonoma Magazine

‘Sonoma County Stories’ at Museum of Sonoma County tells history of area in fresh new ways

in News

People who think they know local history through luminaries like Luther Burbank, Jack London and men whose names appear on buildings, monuments and big headstones in the cemetery, will now get a different and deeper story when they visit the Museum of Sonoma County.

The museum, housed in the old 1911 Santa Rosa Post Office building on Seventh Street, has scrubbed its 20-year-old local history display downstairs in favor of a new permanent exhibit that interprets Sonoma County’s history through a fresh and wider lens.

Continue Reading on the Press Democrat

Firefighter who pulled driver from ocean says more surf rescue swimmers needed on Sonoma Coast

in Community

The woman in the water was barely conscious when Sonoma County Fire District Capt. Heath Lesik swam through the surf to her.

It was in the early morning hours Wednesday. She was perhaps 100 feet off Duncan’s Landing and was bruised and “icy cold” from being in the chilly ocean water.

She also had other unseen injuries suffered when her car plunged off the Sonoma Coast.

Continue Reading on the Press Democrat

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