Sonoma County’s Top Stories of 2016

listing_placeholder

January:

  1. 5th District Sonoma County Supervisor Efren Carrillo tells the State of the County meeting that 2016 will be his 8th and final year on the board. He will not run for re-election. Carrillo stepped down this month after a productive and controversial run.
  2. The largest police brutality payout ever for a tasing case at the Sonoma County Jail. Board of Supervisors writes a check for 1.25 million to Esa Wroth of Forestville: he was tased 23 times while being booked into jail on a drunk-driving charge. Worth suffered torn shoulder blade muscles, head trauma and permanent nerve damage.

February:

  1. California wine legend Peter Mondavi dies at the age of 101. He was the more conservative of the two brothers (Robert Mondavi) who created an American wine industry. Peter spent over 50 years as the winemaker of Charles Krug Winery.
  2. The Lytton Rancheria tribe of Sonoma County receives 10-years of naming rights to the Wells Fargo Center for the Arts, and announces that the events center will turn to its original name: Luther Burbank Center for the Arts. That change takes place in March.

March:

  1. The long-plagued crab season finally gets underway: as the Department of Fish and Wildlife lifts prohibitions for crabbers after levels of demoic acid “no longer posed a significant human health risk” and the state lifted the commercial fishing ban.
  2. A body washed ashore near Bodega Bay was identified as missing Santa Rosa attorney Steve Mitchell. He had represented Sonoma County in a civil suit after a sheriff’s deputy shot and killed 13-year old Andy Lopez. A suicide note was found inside Mitchell’s car.

April:

  1. Sonoma County’s got the best air quality in California: so said The Director of Air Quality for the Lung Association. One other county in the state received straight A’s: Monterey. Los Angeles was considered the worst.
  2. Guy Fieri, who got his restaurant start here in Sonoma County with Johnny Garlic’s before becoming a Food Network star, severed ties with longtime business partner Steve Gruber. Gruber bought him out of Johnny Garlic’s and Tex Wasabi, his other Santa Rosa restaurant.

May:

  1. Construction on the reunification project in Old Courthouse Square got underway in May, after decades of planning. At the time, Santa Rosa mayor Janet Rogers said the first few weeks of construction would probably be the noisiest for businesses and pedestrians.
  2. A miracle sapling was planted in Sonoma’s Montini Open Space Preserve: the sapling was created from the DNA of an Oak tree said to be Jack London’s inspirational spot for 10 of his 60 books and plays.

June:

  1. 77-year old Gayle Gray was sentenced to more than seven years in prison for killing a woman and injuring another near the Oakmont Market in Santa Rosa. Gray was driving under the influence of alcohol and prescription drugs at the time of the crash.
  2. Presidential candidate Bernie Sanders decides to stop for a public appearance at the Cloverdale Airport. 6-thousand people showed up to greet him. It took months for the city to recoup the money it cost for security for that event.

July:

  1. The California State Park and Recreation Commision unanimously voted to rename Annadel State Park to Trione-Annadel State Park. Philanthropist Henry Trione was instrumental in creating the park in 1971. He died in 2015.
  2. Girl power: The Sonoma Stompers made history when two women played a professional baseball game for the first time in 60-years. Stacy Piagno and Kelsie Whitmore drew quite a crowd that night in Sonoma.

August:

  1. The town of Jenner mourned the death of two young sisters after their mother lost control and her pickup and crashed into the Russian River. The 4 and 6-year old children’s bodies were found in the submerged vehicle. It would not be the last time this year young children were lost in this way in Sonoma County.
  2. Santa Rosa’s Maya DiRado makes a name for herself by winning an Olympic medal in the Rio Games this summer. No word on whether she’ll compete again.

September:

  1. The popular Sonoma Music Festival was cancelled this year in Sonoma. Even the draw of John Fogerty, Steve Miller and Toby Keith could not compete with the lineup at the recently announced Coachella show: that one featured the Stones, Paul McCartney, The Who and more. No word on whether the charitable Sonoma Music Festival, headed by Bruce Coen, will be back.
  2. Santa Rosa city officials pledge more money to homeless services: the city increased the amount of revenue dedicated to those services and building affordable housing. Santa Rosa will spend a million and a half dollars on that effort.

October:

  1. G and G Supermarket announces the sale of their two longtime Sonoma County stores to Safeway. The Gong family, founders of the chain, decided to sell after decades in the county. They were also well-known for their charitable contributions to this community.
  2. Crossing guards that don’t work properly, wheels that don’t fit the rail lines, and engines fitted with bad parts: some of the problems the SMART train faced. Those and other issues delayed the start of service to 2017.

November:

  1. Gerardo Ordaz first appears in a Sonoma County courtroom. He was formally charged with killing his 4-year old daughter in the baptismal pool at St. John’s church in Healdsburg. He was ordered to undergo a psychiatric evaluation to see if he’s fit to stand trial.
  2. It was election month: Sonoma County voted in newcomer Lynda Hopkins over insider Noreen Evans in the 5th District: the seat vacated by Efren Carrillo. Meanwhile, Sonoma County protestors took to the streets after Donald Trump beat Hillary Clinton to win the presidency of the United States.

December:

  1. Santa Rosa gets a brand new mayor. The City Council voted in Chris Coursey to lead Sonoma County’s largest city.
  2. Andrew Faulkner entered a Sonoma County courtroom to face charges he vandalized Cardinal Newman High School to the tune of 100-thousand dollars. Faulkner told the judge he was Satan in his first court appearance.