May 2026

The future doesn’t belong to the fainthearted: it belongs to the brave.” Ronald Reagan

In Memoriam

• Robert Fraser, 30-year member of Santa Rosa Junior College Agriculture Department
• Hank Lacabanne, longtime Santa Rosa nightclub owner

Sonoma County’s Honor to Veterans

Veterans who participated in the second annual North Bay Honor Flight were greeted by friends and family at Sonoma County Airport on April 29th. The flight took 21 veterans (three Korean War veterans and 18 Vietnam War veterans) to Washington D.C. to see the war memorials. The Honor Flight is a federally recognized nonprofit. All the veterans and their guardians went to D.C. through donations. 

When the veterans returned to Santa Rosa, crowds of people greeted them in the airport terminal to salute them for their service. Supporters were also lined on Airport Boulevard to cheer for the veterans.

Come Fly With Me!

Alaska Airlines will add three more destinations from Sonoma County Airport on November 1st. Travelers will be able to fly to Boise, Phoenix and Salt Lake City. These will be nonstop flights.

On October 6, Delta Air Lines will start nonstop service from Santa Rosa to Salt Lake City. Delta, which is an Atlanta-based airline will offer flights through its Delta Connection partner, SkyWest Airlines.

Don’t blame a clown for acting like a clown. Ask yourself why you keep going to the circus.

Movies: A chronicle of our History

Movies are not just entertainment. They are also a history chronicle. There is one movie that is a wonderful history of Santa Rosa. Did you see the original in the theaters or have you seen it on television? Of course, I speak of Alfred Hitchcock’s Shadow of a Doubt. The movie gives you a look at 1940s Santa Rosa. It is a murder mystery and is set on McDonald Avenue. The house that was featured in the movie is still there at 904 McDonald Avenue. The house is an Italianate Victorian residence with a wraparound porch and is now part of a designated historic district. The movie starts off as so many Hitchcock films do as a picture of ordinary life. In Hitchcock fashion it becomes a very scary murder mystery.  

Let’s not forget the other very famous movie set on McDonald Avenue. Pollyanna was filmed at the McDonald Mansion which is just a block away from 904 McDonald Avenue. 

Bond Measure for Santa Rosa Junior College 

If Santa Rosa Junior College trustees decide to place a school bond on the November 2026 ballot it will be the largest school bond measure in Sonoma County history. A proposed general obligation bond would allow the district to borrow up to $830 Million for repairs and upgrades across campuses and satellite facilities. The proceeds, plus interest, would be repaid by taxes on property owners within the college district. The district spans Sonoma County and includes parts of Marin and Mendocino counties and a sliver of Napa County.

The college has a maintenance backlog of $743 Million across its various facilities which includes the main Mendocino Avenue campus and an $803 Million wish list for new projects. 

Property owners within the district are still paying on two previous SRJC bonds: Measure A in 2002 and Measure H in 2014 for $410 Million. 

The district is evaluating scenarios that would extend the existing combined tax rate associated with those bonds, rather than increasing it over current levels. According to district officials, taxpayers would see no increase in their rate associated with the college borrowing if the bond passes. However, the payoff period for the combined bonds would be lengthened which means the end would be in 2059. 

On June 9th the board will decide whether the bond will be on the ballot. 

District officials have estimated that SRJC faces about $1.75 Billion in capital needs for all its campuses and satellite facilities. That figure includes $743 Million in infrastructure replacement, modernization projects which include roofs, utility systems, seismic improvements, accessibility upgrades, fire and life safety repairs.  

The wish list of $803 Million includes instructional modernization, workforce training facilities which includes nursing upgrades, public safety, industrial trades and additional career education programs.  

There are two other buckets of money: $105 Million in technology needs and $98 Million in various building upgrades such as HVAC, solar, glass and lighting projects. These programs are meant to save money over the long term. 

Trustees and consultants have consistently emphasized that the proposal is designed to maintain the district’s current overall bond tax rate rather than increase it. Under the plan new debt would be issued only as prior obligations are paid down.  

Here are some points that taxpayers might want to study. The overall structure requires the taxpayer to pay 1.12% in interest on every $1 bond compared to (Measure H) 34 cents interest on every $1 on current bond.

Critics of the plan state that the Junior College needs money so badly it is proposing to borrow money in 2027 and not make a payment until the 2030/31 tax year. The raised money will be spent in less than 15 years, but the $30 tax rate continues until 2059. That leaves the district with huge problems between 2039 and 2059.

This entire proposal will need to be studied carefully by county taxpayers.  

Money, Money, Money: Check out Sebastopol 

Cloverdale, Healdsburg and Fort Bragg pay their council members $950 a month. Cotati and Sonoma pay their council members $300 a month. Sebastopol City Council members have voted to move forward with a proposal to increase the monthly stipend for city council members from $300 to $950 a month. The 4 to 0 (one member absent) vote to increase council member stipend comes as Sebastopol has ongoing budget shortfalls. Currently, Sebastopol faces a $1.67 Million deficit going into the next fiscal year. The city’s general fund operating budget is $15.7 Million. As of last year Sebastopol had a reserve budget of a little more than $1 Million. The city’s 2026-2027 budget has not been finalized and City Manager Mary Gourley stated that it was hard to say what the true deficit is right now.  

“It’s the exercise of power, not the exercise of freedom, that requires justification.” David Boaz - The Libertarian Mind: A Manifesto for Freedom

Santa Rosa Appointments

Lori Ann Farrell is leaving her position of Santa Rosa City Manager. Jason Nutt, longtime Santa Rosa administrator and former public works official has been selected to lead Santa Rosa during a transitional period. Nutt will start in the position on June 27 after Farrell (serving since January) leaves for a new job. Nutt will oversee a workforce of about 1,125 employees and a $575 Million budget.

In a 5 to 2 vote, the city council appointed Ashle Crocker as the new city attorney. She replaces Teresa Stricker, who is stepping down June 2nd. Council members Victoria Fleming and Caroline Banuelos voted against her appointment. Crocker is a former land-use attorney who served on the City Planning Commission and the Open Government Task Force. The city attorney provides legal advice to the council, oversees a department of 14 attorneys and support staff and a budget of $4.3 Million.  

“Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance and the gospel of envy. Its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery.”      Winston Churchill

On the Road Again

Fulton Road meets Guerneville Road in Santa Rosa. Fulton Road from that point heading north has been under construction since June 2022. Ghilotti Brothers and its partner Vanguard Construction have been the contractors on the job. In 2023, Santa Rosa city engineers began flagging what they believed were irregular rough surfaces and other issues on a mile-long stretch of Fulton Road where work was underway on the pavement. The contractors determined a “distinct but limited number” of the thousands of concrete panels they had installed needed to be replaced and agreed to do so at the company’s expense.  

However, the contractors stated that the city called for an increasingly greater share of the panels to be ripped out with some being removed more than once.

Apparently, Santa Rosa chose to use a specialized concrete which the contractors claim the city was unfamiliar with and city staff was unable to distinguish between improperly installed panels and what the contractors say is the normal, coarser texture of roller compacted concrete. These choices lead to unnecessary and costly repairs. Of course, this increased the cost and delayed the job being finished.  

City officials have stated that the contractor’s installation of the concrete did not meet specifications in the contract soon after the work started. They also stated that the installation of the concrete did not meet contractual specifications. Certain defects such as delamination, raveling and depressions may result in costly ongoing maintenance. The city also states that 80% of the 10,000 concrete panels that have been installed need to be repaired or replaced.

The city and Ghilotti and Vanguard have a disagreement regarding the scope of repairs. An independent consultant was asked to examine the work. Those findings were that the work met city standards. However, the city has continued to mark additional panels for removal weekly.

On October 26, 2024, Ghilotti and Vanguard submitted a settlement offer to the city outlining what final work was needed for the city to accept the project as well as an offer to resolve disputes over payment for repairs. Per the proposal, Ghilotti and Vanguard agreed to accept responsibility for a portion of the replacement and other repair work which they estimated would cost more than $6 Million.  

On November 12, the city issued a formal notice to the contractors that it was terminating the contract under a clause that allows one party to terminate a contract for any reason without needing to prove the other party was negligent or in default according to the claim notice.  

The litigation goes on. Good news. You can drive on Fulton Road now.

A New Place for Art 

Come to Petaluma and visit the new hands-on-craft store and community meeting place. Dubbed the Hot Spot this is the new art shop and ceramic shop in Sonoma County. Passersby will see racks and racks of unpainted ceramics, rows of bright paints and an entire range of craft items waiting to be decorated. The owner of the new store is Tara Spillane. She is in the space formerly occupied by Hollingsworth Jewelers. Hey, Petaluma. Check it out.

A New Place for Art 

Come to Petaluma and visit the new hands-on-craft store and community meeting place. Dubbed the Hot Spot this is the new art shop and ceramic shop in Sonoma County. Passersby will see racks and racks of unpainted ceramics, rows of bright paints and an entire range of craft items waiting to be decorated. The owner of the new store is Tara Spillane. She is in the space formerly occupied by Hollingsworth Jewelers. Hey, Petaluma. Check it out.

Teacher of the Year

Congratulations to Oak Grove Elementary School second grade teacher Hayley Blondin who has been named 2026 Sonoma County teacher of the year by the Sonoma County Office of Education. Blondin moved to Oak Grove Elementary in 2020. The small 90-student school is part of the Sebastopol-based Oak Grove Union School District. 

Surprise in Heaven 

I dreamt death came the other night

And Heaven’s gate swung wide,

An Angel with halo bright

Ushered me inside. 

And there! To my astonishment,

Stood folks I’d judged and labeled;

As “quite unfit;” “of little worth;”

And “spiritually disabled.”

Indignant words rose to my lips,

But never were set free,

For every face showed stunned surprise—

NOT ONE EXPECTED ME!