Sonoma County Gazette March 2018.indd

MARCH 2018
Wa t e r R i g h t s & Cannibus Cultivation ~ 6
I m m i g r a t i o n Policy - DACA UPDATE ~ 12
G e t t o K n o w H H o o w w I I d d a a h h o o L L a a w w s s
Easter Egg Hunts ~ 62
our New Tax Laws ~ 22
Could Change Health Insurance ~ 25
Epic
Illustrations by Rik Olson READ Story pg 14
Vital
Open Space
Sonoma County Ag + Open Space Seeks Community Input on Draft Vital Lands Initiative
By Amy Ricard
In 1990, through the foresight of
community leaders and citizens, Sonoma County voters approved
the creation of the Sonoma County Agricultural Preservation and Open Space District (Ag + Open Space) and a quarter-cent sales tax that provides funding for planning, acquisition, and stewardship of the region’s working, natural, and scenic open space lands. Over two and a half decades later, Ag + Open Space is one of the leading land conservation programs in the nation with a mission to preserve the best of Sonoma County’s agricultural and natural resources.
General Manager Bill Keene has been with Ag + Open Space for ten years. “While we are proud of our accomplishments to date, our most important successes are yet to come,” says Keene. “As we look ahead
to the future, we face exceptional challenges—population growth, escalating land values, drought, increased pressure on farmland, open space, and wildlife habitat, and the growing impacts of climate change.”
VITAL LANDS cont’d on page 11
Election
Calls for an Epic Transformation
First Contested Election in 25 Years for a New County
Sheriff Will Likely Heighten Participation by Voters on June 5
By: Daniel Kerbein
People in Sonoma County have arrived at a moment so rare and decisive, it’s not an exaggeration to call it once in a lifetime. With the early departure of former Sheriff Steve Freitas, we are presented the opportunity to elect someone who will transform this beleaguered department, or keep the status quo. Which way things will go, now lies in the hands of the voters.
This year, there is indeed a choice
- for the first time in decades. In the first contested election in 25 years, three candidates are vying to take the position of Sonoma County Sheriff. All three have substantial career backgrounds in law enforcement, and each brings something different in their priorities and outlook.
John Mutz is a retired Los Angeles police Captain and Station Commander, who was in charge of patrol at the Foothill Division when a
EPIC cont’d on page 17
The EVERYTHING to DO Calendar pgs 52 - 71
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