Kerry Benefield

3 weeks ago | pressdemocrat.com | Kerry Benefield

Like any campus worth its salt, there are rumors and tall tales that have floated around about the Slater grounds. Perhaps the best one, at least according to Coltrin? “There are rumors that there is a pool on the roof of the gym — just for teachers,” she said with a smile. Other Slater lore includes memories of the lower fields, the ones with the baseball and softball diamonds and the fields where tens of thousands of kids have played youth soccer over the decades.

1 month ago | pressdemocrat.com | Kerry Benefield

To find out more about the Blue-Tailed Skinks mountain biking club, their ride schedule and summer camps, as well as to sign up for the club newsletter, go to www.bluetailedskinks.com It started with an email sent to a handful of friends and acquaintances. In it, Matt Fritzinger, an avid mountain biker with two young boys, asked a simple question: “Want to ride?”It’s safe to say, the answer was a resounding yes.

1 month ago | sacbee.com | Kerry Benefield

By most accounts, it began as an unremarkable day, the kind where details become hazy with time. After all, it was more than 50 years ago. Questions linger. Was it sunny that morning? Were the boys playing baseball or was it softball? Did it happen in physical education class or were they playing at lunch? Those details are lost to time. But for a handful of kids at Santa Rosa Junior High on the morning of April 19, 1972, there are details that will never be forgotten. They are with them every day.

1 month ago | pressdemocrat.com | Kerry Benefield

“Of course,” Oden said of his office’s ability to help Testorelli remove the marker. Testorelli has always felt the memorial was a way to keep Matt from being forgotten as new generations come to campus. But for Matt’s friends, some who were there in the moment that he collapsed, they cannot forget. John Curcio, 66, remembers Matt being prone to fits of laughter so intense that he’d sometimes fall to the floor in hysterics.

1 month ago | pressdemocrat.com | Kerry Benefield

By next month, Sonoma County’s largest school district will have four shuttered campuses within the Santa Rosa city limits. In June 2026, two more schools will join the list. The closures, made in the face of historic budget woes, give Santa Rosa City Schools a massive, potentially lucrative real estate portfolio at a time when the district is desperate for money.