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. 

People with developmental disabilities and physical handicaps will be among the first to feel the consequences if California's budget stalemate lasts much longer.

The North Bay Regional Center mains two local offices, in Santa Rosa and Napa:

Sonoma County:
2351 Mendocino Avenue
Santa Rosa, CA 95403
(707) 569-2000
TDD: (707) 525-1239


Napa/Solano Counties:
10 Executive Court
Napa, CA 94558
(707) 256-1100
TDD: (707) 252-0213
Solano County phone number
1-888-256-2555


 

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! 

From courts to consumers, mercury levels in tuna and other seafood remains a hotly debated subject.

Jane M. Hightower, M.D., author of Diagnosis Mercury,  is a board certified internal medicine physician in San Francisco, California. She published a landmark study that brought the issue of mercury in seafood to national attention. She continues to publish scientific papers and give lectures on the subject.

Research on the risks and safe exposure levels for mercury is fragmentary and inconsistent, as are the recommended tolerances from different governmental watchdog bodies. You can see a comparison chart here. For a history of mercury and fish, click here.

 Of course, not all kinds of tuna carry the same levels of mercury and associated risk, nor are those concerns limited to tuna, as Hightower explains.

All of these concerns are dismissed by the Center for Consumer Freedom, an industry-funded advocacy group which has created an extensive website to debunk claims that mercury in fish is harmful to human health. You can access their fish/mercury safety calculator here.

David Martosko, the Center's Research Director, contends the question of warning labels on tuna cans should have been settled by the outcome of the original court case back in 2006.

Established with funding from tobacco giant Phillip Morris, the Center for Consumer Freedom has regularly unleashed broad attacks on a wide range of public advocacy groups, including the federal Centers for Disease Control, Mothers Against Drunk Driving, and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. A lengthy expose from ConsumerDeception.com is posted here. The Center for Media and Democracy has posted its analysis here , and the Center for Science in the Public Interest details its own battles with CCF here.