As the new restrictions on the use of plastic bags by retailers are phasing in, the Sonoma County Waste Agency is hosting a series of three “Plastic Bag Fairs” for business owners this week. Here’s a look at what they’re about, and why.

The first of the Sonoma County Waste Agency's  three Bag Fairs was held yesterday in Cotati; there’s one today in Santa Rosa, and the third one will be in Windsor tomorrow.

  With a four-point-four billion dollar budget surplus projected, some California Democrats are calling for increased state spending. But, as Katie Orr reports from Sacramento, Governor Jerry Brown pushed back against that message Tuesday while releasing his May budget revision.

Wednesday, May 14, 2014

 California’s large and influential role in the history of country music was widely overlooked or discounted, until a local writer with roots in the Central Valley took pains to fully tell that story.

California’s influence on country music added a chapter in the 1960s, as bands like New Riders of the Purple Sage, Commander Cody and his Lost Planet Airmen and Asleep at the Wheel, The Flying Burrito Brothers and the Eagles found ways to meld country and rock.  But in Gerald Haslam’s analysis, there were other stylistic threads emerging as well.

“Workin’ Man Blues” was initially the title of a song from Merle Haggard’s 1969 album, A Portrait of Merle Haggard, and became a 1# country single.  The undated live video below of Merle and his band performing the song is probably from the early 1970s.

  History unfolds slowly, so a good way to review it is to also move slowly. That’s what the annual all-day walk, hosted by the Sonoma County Historical Society, is all about. But to fully enjoy it, you’ll need to prepare. 

 Jeff Tobes will be leading the Sonoma County Historical Society's 10th annual 25 mile walk on June 7th. Read all about the event and sign up here.