Two Sonoma State students who were among the thousands present for the inauguration of President Barack Obama share their impressions of the historic event.

A crowd of well over one million people flooded into the Capitol Mall to hear and perhaps see a glimpse of the inauguration. Some 240,000 free tickets to the event were officially distributed beforehand.

You can read the full text of President Obama's inauguration speech here.

 One of the difficulties in reuniting families that have been separated by drug-related arrests, says Nick Honey, is creating a new environment where pre-existing dangers to the children have been removed.

Nick Honey explains that almost as soon as a child is placed in temporary foster care, a process to develop a long-term plan for his or her future gets under way.

To report known or suspected child abuse in Sonoma County, call:

1-800-870-7064

or the hotline number: (707) 565-430.

Marilee Eckert, Executive Director of the newly renamed Conservation Corps North Bay, says it is well-positioned to grow into a regional service agency.

Eckert anticipates bringing many of the programs the organization has already established in Marin into Sonoma County under their new banner, such as their youth recycling crew, which is already at work at some Sonoma County parks and schools.

The simple glyph we know as "the Peace Symbol" has become so universally used and recognized that it may come as a surprise to learn that it was actually created specifically as an emblem for nuclear disarmament exactly 50 years ago this year.

That half-century history, including the debut of the peace symbol at a historic march against nuclear disarmament in England in 1958 (pictured below) is the subject of the recentbook, Peace, the biography of a symbol, co-written by Forestville author and activist Ken Kolsbrun. He talks about the book in this North Bay Report:

Ken Kolsbrun has collected more stories about the peace symbol here .

Job skills, high school diplomas, personal responsibility and building low income housing-they're all wrapped up together in YouthBuild Santa Rosa.

YouthBuild has been active in Sonoma County for the past 13 years, but the overall program has a much longer history.

A new cohort of YouthBuild students is forming now, with required interviews on Dec. 15. Casey McChesney outlines the application process.

  The 2001 YouthBuild class were joined by then Santa Rosa Mayor Mike Martini (front, second from left), Congresswoman Lynne Woolsey, and County Supervisor Mike Reilly at the grand opening of their new office seven years ago. The program is now preparing to move into new, larger quarters in early 2009.