RoundUp: Dance into spring
Dale at the Senior Center, Analy dance classes saved, volunteer for Apple Blossom and more
Talking News at the Sebastopol Area Senior Center
By Dale Dougherty
I shared the story of Sebastopol Times with 27 people at the Sebastopol Area Senior Center last Thursday. I explained that this version of Sebastopol Times will be three years old next month, and some there remembered the old Sebastopol Times. The appreciative audience asked a lot of good questions. Many were concerned about misinformation. One person asked, “How do you know what the truth is?” I replied that it’s up to us to decide who or what sources to trust.
Most of them were already subscribers, and they were mostly familiar with Substack. When the meeting was over, one man asked where he could pick up the newspaper, and he really meant “paper.” He said that he hadn’t seen it around town. “It’s online, and it comes to you by email,” I told him, wishing I could hand him a copy fresh off the press. Come to think of it, you can print your email edition and read it at your leisure anywhere!
Thanks to Sandy Rosen for inviting me and for those who came to the meeting.
Get ready for the 79th Apple Blossom Festival
The Apple Blossom Festival is coming up at the end of next month. Famous rock and roll artist Stanley Mouse created a poster for this year’s festival, which is the main fundraiser for the Sebastopol Chamber of Commerce. The festival runs on volunteer-power so if you’ve got some time and want to be a part of this wonderful event, sign up here.
Analy dance classes saved from the chopping block
On Thursday, we did a story about the massive turnout of students, parents and grandparents at the March 5th meeting of the West Sonoma County Unified School District Board, seeking to get Analy dance classes removed from the district’s list of classes to cut for next year. Although the board voted to include them in the tentative cut list, a few days later, the district figured out a way to save them.
That’s the good news. Unfortunately, I made several errors in the original story:
CORRECTIONS
I misunderstood what someone said at the school board meeting and mistakenly thought she’d said Art Quest at Santa Rosa High School was closing. What that person actually said was that they were making deep cuts to the program at ArtQuest, not cutting the program altogether.
The following quote—“If this decision is being justified as a financial necessity, we need to take a closer look at the numbers. The purpose of Prop 28 is to stabilize funding for arts and music education so that schools can develop and maintain high quality programs.”—was actually said by Analy student Jonah Caron not the LBC’s Debbie Yarrow. Caron, I am happy to say, is a reader of the Sebastopol Times and caught the mistake. He also pointed out another error: Analy High School receives $209,314 from Prop 28; the $231,000 figure quoted in the article is for the entire district.
These errors have been fixed on the website.
Spring into Parks photo contest
Do you have a fantastic photo taken in one of the County’s regional parks? Enter it into the Spring into Parks photo contest for a chance to win prizes and see your photograph featured in the Sonoma County Parks Foundation’s 2026 calendar. Learn more.
Spring starts this week on March 20
Spring Equinox is this Thursday. Hank Birnbaum snapped this glorious “Welcome to Spring” photo this week. He found them growing in front of the Call House in Fort Ross State Historic Park.
Eviction ban extended in Russian River area
From a Sonoma County press release
At the end of February, the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors approved a temporary ban on evictions in the lower Russian River area neighborhoods where residents were most impacted by flooding during a storm last month. The protections will remain in place until Aug. 25, but could be lifted earlier if the Board terminates the emergency proclamation for the flood emergency.
The Board’s action prevents evictions except in cases of violence or requirements of health and safety, immediate removal from the rental market, or as may be required by law. It applies to the geographical areas hardest hit by the atmospheric river storm that began Jan. 31 and brought up to 15 inches of rain to parts of Sonoma County within a week. The covered postal codes—95436, 95471, 95446, 95462, 95486 and 95430 —include the unincorporated areas of Forestville, Guerneville, Rio Nido, Monte Rio, Villa Grande and Duncans Mills.
“Renters in low-lying areas have faced multiple floods this winter — not only forcing them from their homes but also disrupting their ability to travel to work,” said Supervisor Lynda Hopkins, chair of the Board of Supervisors. “For many, each storm adds another layer of hardship, making it even harder to recover. These eviction protections are a vital safety net, ensuring that no one loses their place to live because of factors beyond their control.”
Sebastopol Police Logs, March 3-9
The following are crimes excerpted from Sebastopol Police Department daily crime log entries and listed at the time the alleged violation was reported.
MONDAY
12:41 p.m. Driving while under the influence of alcohol, with a blood alcohol content level of at least 0.08% (misdemeanors) at Petaluma Avenue. Suspect arrested.
WEDNESDAY
7:00 p.m. Served a misdemeanor arrest warrant for an outside agency at Palm Avenue. Suspect arrested.
FRIDAY
5:40 p.m. Battery on a person (misdemeanor) at North Main Street and Healdsburg Avenue. Pending further investigation.
SATURDAY
12:26 p.m. Battery on a person (misdemeanor) at Eleanor Avenue. Charges unfounded.
5:47 p.m. Vandalism involving property damage, cruelty to animals with the intent to kill, violation of probation, disobeying a court order, and resisting a peace official (misdemeanors) at Pleasant Hill Avenue North. Suspect arrested.
10:54 p.m. Served a misdemeanor arrest warrant for an outside agency at Burnett and High streets. Suspect arrested.
OTHER POLICE ACTION
The Sebastopol Police Department also recorded 130 other events requiring police action during the period, such as lost animals, assisting citizens, parking violations, foot patrol, traffic hazards and reckless driving.
