Creative financing directly from Sonoma County may soon help local home and business owners add solar and other energy-efficiency improvements to their properties.

County Supervisors have scheduled their public hearing on the proposal for 9:30 am on Tuesday March 24.

 The vast majority of the projects expected to get funding through the Sonoma County Energy Independence Program will be retrofits of existing structures. The program will also fund installation of tankless water heaters, such as the one described below.

Local activism comes in many forms. Two contrasting public events tonight demonstrate that range.

  The campaign to curtail or ban taser use has gained considerably support across Canada, where the RCMP is being pressured to change its policies with marches, such as this one, and legislative inquiries.

Sonoma County 's  October 22nd Coalition Against Police Brutality has organized a march on Friday, February 13th at 5:30pm in Courthouse Square, Santa Rosa, calling on the Sheriff's Department to immediately end their use of the Taser. 

Friday, February 13, 5:30 PM 

California is second only to Florida in the number of taser-related fatalities charted by the Seattle Post-Intelligener.

Candlelight Vigil for Male Victims of Domestic Violence

Join in a candlelight vigil in memory of the men who recently lost their lives to domestic violence here in Sonoma County. We will honor and remember all male victims of domestic violence in a show of strength and peace.

Friday, February 13th , 6pm-7pm

To the Moon: Snoopy Soars with NASA looks at the history of Apollo 10 and the Peanuts characters' role in that flight and in the NASA Manned Flight Awareness safety program. It will feature a one-third scale model of the Apollo command module from the Johnson Space Center, an Apollo-era flight suit, the actual image of Charlie Brown that was flown aboard Apollo 10, and a special children's area for creative play.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION

Curator Jane O'Cain describes some of the details of the exhibit in this audio clip:

As part of the Apollo 17 mission in December, 1976, Cernan became the last man to walk on the moon (above). He maintains an extensive archive of his experiences as an astronaut at his website , including rare and historic video footage, some of which can be seen here. Below, the crew of Apollo 10, taken shortly before launch: Cernan( left) John Young and Thomas Stafford.

As many as 25% of the homeless in Sonoma County are veterans, people who are entitled to services and assistance they often don't know about. But a new volunteer coalition is working to change that.

  One frequent obstacle that Vet Connect volunteers must often overcome, says Andy Pyburn, is a widespread reluctance to accept the services to which the veterans are entitled.

Vet Connect gatherings are held regularly at the following Sonoma County locations:
Santa Rosa Veterans Memorial Building
    Every Tuesday, 9 am to noon
Contact Dave: 694-7614
Guerneville Veterans Memorial Building
    Second Thursday of each month, 3-6 pm
Contact John: 869-9459
Sonoma Veterans Memorial Building
    Third Thursday of each month, Noon -3 pm
Contact Ted: 337-4518
Petaluma, next to the library (310 Payran St.)
    Fourth Thursday of each month, Noon -3 pm
Contact Andy: 763-9924
Participating agencies include: The Santa Rosa VA Clinic (left), Sonoma County Veterans Service Office, Sonoma County Department of Health Services, North Bay Veterans Resource Center, and the Vet Center of Rohnert Park.
All Veterans and family members are welcome!