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Roundup: A celebratory week

1 week ago | sebastopoltimes.com | Dale Dougherty |Laura Hagar Rush

Sebastopol Times had a booth at the Rotary Centennial Celebration last Sunday, which was great fun. Huge, free, fantastic cake by Patisserie Angelica. Beautiful weather, great music all day and a nice turnout. Here’s to another 100 years!Octavio Leal, with the band “Senior Discount”, wore what he called his “Halloween Mariachi” outfit at the Rotary Centennial.
Recap of the May 20 Sebastopol City Council Meeting

1 week ago | sebastopoltimes.com | Laura Hagar Rush

Much of the May 20 Sebastopol City Council meeting (2 hours’ worth) was spent discussing the long list of goals and priorities the council developed in April and whether they should be sent to the budget committee who will decide whether those items should be added to next year’s budget. Besides this, the council waived fees for several local events and made some financial decisions based on the ongoing fire consolidation.
The Playground Cafe is opening at St. Stephen's on June 7

1 week ago | sebastopoltimes.com | Laura Hagar Rush

The Reverend Christy Laborda-Harris in front of The Playground, a new outdoor cafe and coffee bar, overlooking the children’s playground at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church. (Photo by Laura Hagar Rush) St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church is going where no church (at least no church in Sebastopol) has gone before. They’re opening an open-air cafe for young families—and everyone else. The cafe is called The Playground, and it is having a grand opening celebration on Saturday, June 7, from 8 am to 4 pm.
WFH West County: Flexibility and Autonomy

1 week ago | sebastopoltimes.com | Dale Dougherty

This is the fifth and final part of a series that looks at the shift to remote work in Sebastopol and West County, what might be considered a hidden-away-at-home workforce. WFH is changing where and how people work today, offering a good living in a good place to live and work. Catch up:Although remote work is not for everyone, those who work from home prefer it for a number of reasons. Flexibility and autonomy seem to be at the top of the list.
Observing Memorial Day

1 week ago | sebastopoltimes.com | Dale Dougherty |Laura Hagar Rush

On a beautiful but windy Memorial Day, VFW Gold Ridge Post 3919 held a moving ceremony at Sebastopol Memorial Lawn. The main road into the cemetery was lined with dozens of large American flags, all fluttering in the wind, while overhead a P-51 plane came in north to south and circled back for one more flyover. The crowd of maybe 50 who were gathered for the ceremony anticipated the arrival of the plane, which came as a burst of sound but was gone almost too quickly to see.
What's happening this week in Sebastopol?

1 week ago | sebastopoltimes.com | Laura Hagar Rush

If you’re enjoying the flags around town today, thank the kids and parents of Sebastopol’s Scout Troop 27. Memorial Day CeremonyMonday, May 26, 11 am, at the Sebastopol Memorial Lawn, 7951 Bodega Ave., Sebastopol. Free. The Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Post 3919 is holding a Memorial Day ceremony, which includes airplane flyovers and music by the Sebastopol Community Band. The VFW will also present a certificate to Mary Ellen Boyd on behalf of all widows of fallen soldiers.
RoundUp: One way or another

1 week ago | sebastopoltimes.com | Laura Hagar Rush |Dale Dougherty

A student at the SRJC who said photography is a hobby of his, Jacob Banks recently spent time photographing the long-tail weasels at Ragle Regional Park in Sebastopol, and he posted them on NextDoor. We got permission from Jacob to post some of his great photos here. Jacob wrote: “The weasels are so entertaining to watch. I stayed for hours at Ragle watching them jump, play and pop out of their burrows.
Rough start at Elderberry Commons, Part Two

2 weeks ago | sebastopoltimes.com | Laura Hagar Rush

5th District Supervisor Lynda Hopkins and Burbank Housing’s CEO Lawrance Florin in the foreground, with Sebastopol City Council members and Burbank staff at the ribbon cutting for Elderberry Commons in mid-April. (Photo by Loren Hansen)[Editor’s note: This is Part Two of a two-part article. Read Part One.] The County of Sonoma purchased the Sebastopol Inn in December 2020 for $6,375,000, with $6.2 million in funding from the state’s Project Homekey award program and the remainder from the county.
Rough start at Elderberry Commons, Part One

2 weeks ago | sebastopoltimes.com | Laura Hagar Rush

Local politicians and homeless advocates at an opening celebration at Elderberry Commons in mid-April. The first indication that something was amiss at Elderberry Commons came from an offhand remark at a city council meeting. Councilmember Sandra Maurer questioned why the police were being called out there so often. After all, the new permanent supportive housing complex for formerly homeless people had just opened a month and a half before.
Wildfire risk reduction grants available in west county

2 weeks ago | sebastopoltimes.com | Dale Dougherty

Residents in Forestville, Monte Rio, Camp Meeker, and Occidental now have a powerful new opportunity to reduce their wildfire risk thanks to a $1.1 million grant awarded to Safer West County and Fire Safe Sonoma by CAL FIRE. The three-year grant is designed to boost community engagement in wildfire risk reduction across West County. The funding supports three key programs:A rebate program to incentivize defensible space work around homes.