Same sex weddings and Community Impact Reports could both have a notable effect on the Sonoma County economy.

On  October 6, the Petaluma City Council is expected to vote on a resolution requiring Community Impact Reports (CIRs)  for new large retail developments in the city, including those shown on this map.

The Living Wage Coalition of Sonoma County is the leading local advocate forCommunity Impact Reports.

Is believing in gods harmful to humankind? Sunsara Taylor believes it is.

Throughout human history cultures around the globe have developed complex systems of gods and religion. But Taylor questions the idea that these beliefs grow out of an innate aspect of human nature.

You can read an excerpt from Away With All Gods here. Or scan the table of Contents here .

From the author's website: Bob Avakian is the leader of the Revolutionary Communist Party, USA, and he is more than that. He's an innovative and critical thinker who has taken Marxism to a new place; he's a provocative commentator on everything from basketball to religion, doo-wop music to science; and he's a pit-bull fighter against oppression who's kept both his solemn sense of purpose and his irrepressible sense of humor.

 One of the untold stories of the war in Iraq is the millions of refugees who have fled their country, with no idea what their future may hold.

Kathy Kelly describes a typical refugee camp home for an Iraqi family in Syria.

Speaking at at the Oddfellows Hall,  545 Pacific Avenue in Santa Rosa, on Wednesday, September 24^th at 7 pm, renowned activist Kathy Kelly (center)  reports on her recent visit with Iraqi refugees in Amman, Jordan. Highlights of her trip include learning about nonviolence groups operating in Iraq and the efforts of Americans to support these and other Iraqis as they struggle to build a productive and peaceful future. Reflecting on her participation in a peace walk from Chicago to the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Kathy will also talk about "war and memory," drawing parallels with collective resistance to other wars, and reminding us of our connections across regions, national boundaries, and generations. The event is being hosted by the Peace and Justice Center of Sonoma County.

David Smith-Ferri, Kathy's friend and author of Battlefield Without Borders, will open with a reading of new poems. 

The huge number of displaced people, and the shortage of resources to aid them is creating a social disaster that Kelly says will take a generation or longer to repair.

 Kelly has visited Iraq 24 times, and she continues to share her experience and vast knowledge on the economical and living situation for the people of Iraq. To see more about her previous presentations, click here.

For more information about Kathy Kelly and her work with Voices for Creative Nonviolence, click here.

Small, personal stories fill the pages of Petaluma's tiniest literary magazine.

Susan Bono is the editor of Tiny Lights, “A Journal of Personal Narrative”  which features short personal stories not often found in other literary magazines. To view her website, click here .

Tiny Lights publisher Susan Bono on why she does what she does.

You'll find the details on Tiny Lights' annual essay contest here , along with links to past winning entries.

The most critical natural resource on the planet is at risk, but its not one we’re accustomed to thinking of as endangered.

Dr. Vandana Shiva is the founder of Navdanya International , an India-based science and policy research center. Its mission: "To protect nature and people's rights to knowledge, biodiversity, water and food."

Dr. Shiva notes that pesticide use contributes to the "desertification" of soils, a process that is accelerated when the soil is poor to begin with.

One little-known consequence of the widespread adoption of genetically modified cotton seed by farmers in India has been a surge in suicides by debt-ridden farmers whose crops do not earn enough to pay their seed bills. Dr. Shiva says that a generation ago, suicide was rare in India, but the numbers now suggest there is a new death approximately every 20 mintes.

On August 27^th, the Jackson Theater at Sonoma Country Day School in Santa Rosa will host an evening with Dr. Shiva, advocate and author as well as winner of the alternative Nobel Peace Prize. For more information about the speaking event, click here . KRCB will also record her presentation for later broadcast next month.