Not one but two Project Censored stories this past year came from the work of Matt Rothschild, editor of The Progressive magazine.

 Matthew Rothschild (below) the Editor of The Progressive magazine spoke last night at Sonoma State University, as part of Project Censored's Modern Media Censorship lecture series. Rothschild had two of his own stories selected by Project Censored for their Top 25 of th4e past year, including one about a shadowy partnership between the FBI and American businesses called InfraGard. You can read it here.

President Elect Barak Obama is on the cover of the current edition of The Progressive, but editor Matt Rothschild is openly skeptical about the cabinet picks and other early moves by the new chief executive.

Newspapers across the country are struggling to reinvent themselves and survive in the Internet age, but Rothschild suggests that the situation for niche magazines such as The Progressive is not so dire.

Much of Rothschild's other recent reporting has addressed the erosion of civil rights in this country over the past eight years, stories he has compiled in his most recent book, You Have No Rights:  Stories of America in an Age of Repression.

Where there's fire there's smoke, and on Spare The Air days that's not a good thing.

The Bay Area Air Quality Management District has adopted new rules that prohibit district residents from using wood burning stoves or fireplaces on specified Spare the Air Days during the winter months.

You can subscribe to an automated email notification system for "no burn: days here. There is also an automated telephone notification system. The Spare the Air Winter alerts are also available by calling 1-877-4-NOBURN (1-877-466-2876).

Most of Sonoma County is part of the Bay Area Air Quality District, and subject to the new rules.The coastal and northern parts of the county which lie outside the  District are not covered by its regulations, and compliance in these areas is voluntary..To see a list of cities and counties covered by the Spare The Air no-burn rules, click here .

Some seniors are especially vulnerable to financial abuse from people close to them, but the Elder Financial Protection Network is working to reduce those risks.

There's a 24-hour, toll-free hotline for reporting suspected elder abuse at 1-888-436-3600. Additional resources are available through every California county.

  EFPN is holding a online wine auction to help support the local non-profit. Bidding is active from Oct. 31 through Nov. 9.

An online  guide to resources available to residents anywhere in the United States is the Elder Care Locator. If you're not sure exactly what elder financial abuse is, there are answers here.

Victims of domestic violence, including undocumented immigrants, now have some new programs available to protect them.

Here is a link to a page of frequently asked questions about U Visas.

Below are some additional resources with links.

Catholic Charities Immigration Services

Sonoma County YWCA

 US  Immigration Service