Mendocino County tied for fourth in suspensions, and both counties rank near the top of the state for chronic absence.
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October 2026
Main Street (State Route 116) in Sebastopol, Dec. 7, 2007. Photo: Stephen Gold, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:SebastopolMainStreetEdit2722.jpg).
Sebastopol elder care home cited for neglect, fire risk
State reports describe a bedridden resident’s pressure injuries, a resident who tried to set a bathroom on fire and missing records for a state solvency audit at Live Oak Rest Home.
Main Street in downtown Sebastopol in December 2007. Photo by Stephen Gold, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
Sebastopol weighs $5 million federal loan for Well 4 package
City staff recommend a federal WIFIA loan for Well 4 and two other water projects. The packet lists no interest rate, and staff’s own comparison says the state loan fund has the lowest rate.
The Vacation Beach summer dam on the Russian River near Guerneville on Aug. 1, 2018, with water spilling over its flashboards and the fish ladder at left. (Roger Coryell / Wine Country Gazette)
Vacation Beach dam repair outgrows park district’s staff
The Guerneville park district that owns the broken Vacation Beach summer dam is hiring a project manager as the repair grows, and neighbors have started a petition.
A sign reading “Monte Rio Awaits Your Return” hangs above a street in Monte Rio in front of a house and wooded hills, Nov. 9, 2009. (Stepheng3/Wikimedia Commons, public domain)
Lower Russian River rentals top the cap in all 7 zones
County permit records count 188 vacation rentals in seven lower-river zones capped at 5% of homes. Eighteen applicants wait for an opening, the longest since June 2023.
Swimmers and beachgoers on the Russian River at Johnson’s Beach in Guerneville on Aug. 2, 2019. (Lasthib via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0, cropped)
Lower Russian River could run at 70 cfs next summer
Sonoma Water wants the state to keep its Lake Mendocino drought index past Nov. 16 and cut the lower river’s minimum flow in a normal year. Objections are due Oct. 19.
The Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office badge. (Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office)
Guerneville sees fewer deputy patrols as calls hold steady
Sheriff’s data show deputy-initiated activity in Guerneville fell 58% from 2025, while calls from the public stayed flat.
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Clearlake seeks senior center operator by Dec. 1
Clearlake’s request for proposals sets Dec. 1 for a senior center operator to take over. The council discusses it Thursday. The meal contract belongs to Highlands Senior Service Center, the nonprofit running the center now.
Riders from San Francisco Dykes on Bikes lead the Russian River Pride parade down Main Street in Guerneville on Sept. 19, 2026, past storefronts hung with rainbow flags. The Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office has called an Oct. 14 community meeting on public-safety concerns downtown. (Roger Coryell)
Guerneville downtown safety meeting set for Oct. 14
The Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office will meet Guerneville residents 5 to 6 p.m. Oct. 14 at Rio Nido Station on downtown quality-of-life and public-safety concerns, with a county homelessness services official on hand to answer questions.
Floodwater surrounds a house in Sonoma County in January 2017. (Spc. Lani Pascual/California National Guard)
Sonoma County to get $5.5 million for 2017 storm repairs
FEMA approved a $5.5 million reimbursement to Sonoma County for road repairs after the January 2017 winter storms, the county said Oct. 5. The county spent more than $7.3 million on the work.