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.

 

In the eventual recovery from the current economic crisis, there will be geographic winners and losers-and the Bay Area is well positioned to be among the winners.

Richard Florida, is a researcher, educator and the author of several books, including Beyond Mass Production and The Rise of the Creative Class. He also wrote the cover story for the current issue of  Atlantic Monthly, which is titled, "How the Crash Will Reshape America."In it, he explains that some American cities will be much harder hit by the current economic downturn than others.

But in both the regions that prosper in the new economy, and those that will continue to decline, Florida says the Ameircan citizenry will have no choice but to evolve new lifestyles.

You can read Florida's full article in The Atlantic here. The magazine has also prepared online interactive maps showing how population, income an, as a measure of innovation, the number of patents issued, have changed over the years between 1975 and 2002.

Richard Florida's most recent book is Who's Your City,  which is subtitled How the Creative Economy is Making the Place Where You Live the Most Important Decision of Your Life.  In it, he ranks American cities  by their suitability in terms of life-stage, rating the best places for singles, young families and empty-nesters.  Santa Rosa shows up well in both the first and last of those categories.

 

Just about everyone agrees that preserving California's productive agricultural lands is a good idea, even if there have been some highly charged disagreements over the best means to accomplish that objective. Sidestepping these policy debates, California FarmLink is working directly with farming and ranching families to help them decide what they want to do with their lands from one generation to the next, as reported on today's North Bay Report:

Shrinking real estate values in California are prompting some ag families to re-evaluate their plans for their land. But Steve Schwartz, Executive Director of California FarmLink, says the shifting economic climate also holds some unexpected opportunities for new farmers to get established.

California Farmlink is hosting a series of regional conferences in Sonoma, Humboldt and San Luis Obispo counties titled Sowing the Seeds of Farm Succession:  Planning the Transition to the Next Generation of Family Farmers. the next session in Sonoma county will be held on Saturday, Feb. 21 at SRJC's Shone Farm, 6225 Eastside Road, Forestville. Click here for registration information.

 

	As of 8:30 this morning, getting information about non-emergency services throughout Sonoma County just  got a lot easier.
The 2-1-1 calls are answered by operators using an extensive database of Sonoma County service providers, one that is updated every six months. But you don't have to call to make use of it. Visitors can also walk into the 2-1-1 call center, which is housed within the county's Human Services Department offices at 2550 Paulin Drive in Santa Rosa. Or you can access it directly online, right here.

Click here for information about how to volunteer with the Sonoma County 2-1-1 program.

 

 As for the dubious Property Tax Reassessment solicitations, homeowners are advised that the county does not charge for this service, and southern California companies that offer to do it for a fee should not be taken at face value, especially any deadlines they may set. The Sonoma County Assessor's office has set no such deadlines. If you have recieved such a solicitation, you are invited to contact the Sonoma County District Attorney's office at (707) 565-3161.

You can download the form for a no-c0st reassessment of your Sonoma County property directly from the County Assessor's website.  Questions for the Assessor's office can also be called in to (707) 5651888.