The Sonoma County Water Agency (Sonoma Water) will begin the replacement of its inflatable rubber dam located in the Russian River near Forestville next week, and boating access through the construction zone will be closed through the summer.

View a list of our current and upcoming job opportunities, including:

- Accountant III

- Network Engineer

- Real Estate Manager

The County of Sonoma Department of Health Services has issued a Heat Alert in response to the National Weather Service’s prediction of consecutive days of 90 to 100- plus degree temperatures on Wednesday, June 16 through Friday, June 18, 2021.

Sonoma County Supervisor and Sonoma Water Board of Directors Chair Lynda Hopkins said, “This action by the State Water Resources Control Board will help preserve water in the Russian River watershed.

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that a Municipal Special Election will be held in the City of Rohnert Park on September 14, 2021, and that the following measure(s) will be submitted to the voters: 

Sonoma County Health Officer Dr. Sundari Mase made clear today that the County of Sonoma will be aligning with the California Department of Public Health’s plans to remove pandemic-related limitations on restaurants, taverns, movie theaters and other businesses beginning on Tuesday, June 15.

Sonoma County offices will open to the public full time beginning on Tuesday, June 15, following nearly 15 months of limited in-person access due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Members of the public and employees, however, will still be required to wear facial coverings for the time being when entering county facilities.

The County of Sonoma Board of Supervisors this week approved the use of $370,000 in one-time funds to speed up progress on the backlog of cannabis permit applications, as well as for public outreach and staff support in developing cannabis policy goals as the basis for an Environmental Impact Report under the California Environmental Quality Act.

Residents of the Occidental and Camp Meeker areas are invited to participate in a County of Sonoma evacuation exercise that will take place on Saturday, June 19. The exercise is part of a community-wide effort to prepare for wildfires and other potential disasters.

The Sonoma County Board of Supervisors next week will begin its review of the 2021-22 recommended budget totaling nearly $2 billion, which represents a 2.3 percent increase from the current FY 2020-21 adopted budget. The recommended budget reflects a return to the normal budget year timeline, after last year included a two-step process and expanded timeline to account for the impacts of COVID-19.

Medi-Cal recipients are eligible for the Emergency Broadband Benefit (EBB) program which provides up to $50 of assistance a month to help cover the cost of internet access. The monthly discounted internet service will be available until EBB funds are used up, or up to six months after the end of the COVID-19 pandemic, whichever is sooner. Funds are limited, apply today!

The Sonoma County Youth Ecology Corps (SCYEC) is heading into its 13th year of providing young adults with a meaningful, paid work experience, career exploration, and environmental education. Individuals participating in the program will begin working Monday, June 14, but will have their first team-building kick-off event on Thursday, June 17. SCYEC is dedicated to community improvement projects, providing paid work experience and educational opportunities for youth.  The kick-off event will be the only in-person event to provide an opportunity for the media to interview and photograph program participants and providers. 

Sonoma County so far has provided $2,678,957 in rental assistance to more than 1,450 residents through its recently activated Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP).

The County of Sonoma Board of Supervisors today approved the Access Sonoma Broadband Action Plan to explore the creation of a publicly governed entity that would deploy, own, and manage broadband infrastructure for underserved or unserved regions of Sonoma County. The Broadband Action Plan aligns with Sonoma County’s five-year Strategic Plan for resilient infrastructure by seeking to improve equitable access to broadband internet technology, wireless and cell phone services.

Sonoma County emergency officials will hold two live streamed Zoom community briefings on preparations for fire season this week. The briefings will be streamed live on Sonoma County’s Facebook page on June 9 in English, with live Spanish interpretation on YouTube, and on June 10 in Spanish, with live interpretation in English on YouTube. Both events will be at 5 p.m.

This message is to remind you about the Community Advisory Council’s (CAC’s) June 7th meeting which will start at 6:00 pm. 

Water customers throughout the North Bay will be able pick up a free water saving kit during a three-county “Drought Drop By” event on June 12, 2021, from 9 a.m. - 1 p.m. Sonoma Water and its partners in the Sonoma-Marin Saving Water Partnership encourage all water users in the Russian River watershed to save water. Every drop saved helps maintain water flows in the Russian River and extends reservoir storage levels.

La Junta de Desarrollo Económico del Condado de Sonoma (EDB, por sus siglas en inglés) se complace en anunciar la Iniciativa de Prueba de Velocidad de Acceso Sonoma Banda Ancha. Esta iniciativa permite a los miembros de la comunidad probar sus actuales velocidades de internet en el hogar mientras ayuda al Condado de Sonoma a buscar fondos para implementar una mejor infraestructura y servicios en áreas históricamente desatendidas y desfavorecidas.

The Sonoma County Economic Development Board (EDB) is pleased to announce the Access Sonoma Broadband Speed Test Initiative. This initiative allows community members to test their current home internet speeds while helping Sonoma County pursue funding to deploy better infrastructure and services in historically unserved and underserved areas. 

Since legalization, more women than ever report using marijuana, learn about the risks of use during pregnancy and breastfeeding. Attend a free training.

The dry weather season for well yield testing opened June 1, 2021 and soil mottling is now authorized as a substitute for groundwater determinations.

Sonoma County District Attorney Jill Ravitch has announced a consumer protection settlement in a civil action against former MoviePass executives Theodore Farnsworth and Mitchell Lowe for engaging in numerous unlawful, unfair, and fraudulent business acts and practices while overseeing the operations of the now defunct movie theater subscription service. 

Outdoor enthusiasts will once again be able to hike, bike or ride in parts of Hood Mountain Regional Park and Open Space Preserve this summer when Sonoma County Regional Parks re-opens the Sonoma Valley park to limited public access on June 1, 2021. Hood Mountain Regional Park has been closed since September 2020, when the Glass Fire burned approximately 80 percent of the 2,000-acre park.

The Sonoma County Economic Development Board (EDB) is pleased to announce the recipients of 20^th Annual Spirit of Sonoma Awards. Spirit of Sonoma honors those who contribute to the economic development and enhancement of the communities in which they live and work through donations of their time and expertise in support of local business, and in helping others. 

Our latest newsletter is packed with exciting news about financial assistance for COVD-impacted businesses, investments in climate resiliency projects, newly released evacuation maps and more! 

A jury of six women and six men deliberated for three hours today before finding Jeremy Finnerty, 49 years old of Santa Rosa, guilty of felony brandishing a firearm at a motor vehicle, felony vandalism, and misdemeanor resisting a police officer following a week-plus jury trial before the Honorable Shelly J. Averill in Sonoma County Superior Court.

Seven out of 10 Sonoma County residents age 12 and older have now received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, and more than 300,000 residents have been at least partially vaccinated, county health officials announced today.

Sonoma County Health Officer, Dr. Sundari Mase, has joined health officers representing the counties of Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Monterey, Napa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, and the city of Berkeley, to express their collective support for the opening of California schools for full-time in-person instruction for all grades in the fall of 2021.

County Administrator Sheryl Bratton has appointed David Kiff to serve as Interim Director of the Sonoma County Community Development Commission. The appointment will now go to the Board of Commissioners of the CDC on June 8 for approval. If approved, Mr. Kiff will take the role of Interim Director beginning July 1, 2021. Mr. Kiff comes to the position with 30 years of experience in state and local government, including most recently as Interim City Manager for Sonoma and, prior to that, Healdsburg.

On Saturday, June 5, residents of the Fitch Mountain community east of Healdsburg are invited to participate in a County of Sonoma evacuation exercise. The exercise is part of a community-wide effort to prepare for wildfires and other potential disasters. This exercise will provide public safety departments an opportunity to practice alerting an area using the Hi-Lo sirens and to further test the County’s alerting system. Residents will have the opportunity to review the process of evacuating their homes and leaving their neighborhoods.

Starting June 1, Sonoma County’s Women, Infants and Children (WIC) families will receive a temporary increase in their monthly WIC fruits and vegetables benefit thanks to funding from the American Rescue Plan Act.

Nearly all of California is in a severe to exceptional drought state. Now is the time to prepare your family for Fire Season. Local resources to help families and children prepare:

The evaluation panel carefully reviewed and analyzed the proposals received in response to the above referenced solicitation.

Today, the County of Sonoma, City of Santa Rosa, Town of Windsor, City of Cloverdale, and City of Healdsburg announce a collective $31 million settlement with PG&E for public and natural resource injuries and damages caused by the 2019 Kincade Fire, which started Oct. 23, 2019 and burned approximately 77,758 acres, destroying 374 structures. 

The Sonoma County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday passed a resolution authorizing nearly $2.8 million in relief for businesses forced to close during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Sonoma County Board of Supervisors today authorized the allocation of $39,951,890 for road maintenance and paving projects during the 2022 and 2023 construction seasons.

Today, the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors voted to hold a countywide election on Sept. 14, 2021, to determine whether District Attorney Jill Ravitch should be recalled and who should replace her if a majority votes in favor of the recall.

Sonoma County has released its Countywide Assessment of Fair Housing Community Engagement Report. 

La silla de la Junta de Supervisores y la Agencia del Agua del Condado de Sonoma, Lynda Hopkins, y el supervisor y director de la Agencia del Agua, James Gore, serán los locutores de un Ayuntamiento virtual sobre la sequía el jueves 3 de junio a las 6 p.m. El Ayuntamiento se llevará a cabo por medio de Zoom y se transmitirá en vivo en la página de Facebook de la directora Hopkins. El tema de la reunión será la sequía y los impactos en la cuenca del río Russian River. 

Sonoma Water and Board of Supervisors Chair Lynda Hopkins and Supervisor and Sonoma Water Director James Gore will host a virtual Drought Town Hall on Thursday, June 3 at 6 p.m.  The Town Hall will be held utilizing a Zoom webinar and will be broadcast live on Chair Hopkins’ Facebook page.  The focus of the meeting will be on the drought and impacts to the Russian River watershed.

In this May edition of IOLERO's newsletter we will discuss the unsolved murder of Georgia Leah Moses and the Homicide Victims' Families Rights Act, an update on IOLERO's investigation of last summer's protests and the Community Advisory Council's (CAC) June meeting. Also featured is a Spotlight article on qualified immunity, the legal doctrine that shields police officers from liability in civil lawsuits. 

The County of Sonoma is pleased to invite you to respond to a Request for Proposals (RFP) for Housing and Support Services.

The County of Sonoma has released official evacuation zone maps designed to help residents be ready for an emergency that may require them to evacuate their homes, the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office announced today.

The County of Sonoma, Energy and Sustainability Division is pleased to announce the latest workshops in an on-going series for homeowners interested in learning more about the benefits of making improvements that will help make your home more resilient.