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.

 The Congressional banking bailout bill that failed yesterday, also failed the thousands of California homeowners already facing foreclosure.

Kimberly Jones, Policy Advocate for the California Reinvestment Corporation, contends that the banking industry is attempting to deflect its own complicity  in the "mortgage meltdown" by blaming the borrowers who signed up for loans they could not repay.  But she says targeting the handful of industry executives who got gaudy salaries and payouts is also a distraction.

 The CRC has produced this short video about the causes of the foreclosure crisis now sweeping California.

 The future of passenger service on the rail line through Sonoma County depends on North Bay voters next month, while the resumption of freight trains should happen sooner, regardless of the election's outcome.

   NCRA Exective Director Mitch Stogner

While the prospect of renewed freight service on the southern portion of the NCWA tracks is drawing close, Mitch Stogner says the process for moving forward with the rail line north of Willits will involve an entirely separate series of studies and hearings.

The North Coast Railroad Authority (NCRA) was created in 1989 under the North Coast Railroad Authority Act with the purpose of developing and ensuring a railroad transportation system for Northwestern California. You can read their full history here .

There's a map of the full NCRA rail line below.