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This month’s crazy high temperatures, which prompted Heat Alerts from the National Weather Service and challenged our electrical grid’s capacity, reflect the ongoing impacts of climate change facing our region, and communities across the world. Extreme weather disparately impacts vulnerable communities, urging our local policy to center climate action with a special focus on equitable resilience. Appropriately, activating cooling centers throughout the county during the recent heat waves was critical to our response, and I and other supervisors this week directed staff to work on standard protocols for standing up both cooling and heating centers during future extreme weather events.

At the Board, our work on climate action is ongoing and intersects with virtually all policy areas including housing, land use and disaster response. In this newsletter we’ve included updates on some of the recent local actions dealing with climate change, including the approval of the Resilient Climate Lands Strategy and the publication of RCPA’s latest greenhouse gas inventory. We’ve also included updates on related issues including progress made on the housing element of the county’s general plan and the Board’s establishment of an evacuation access program for agricultural operations.

In this newsletter, you will also find information on local events, workshops and engagement opportunities. As always, we are grateful for your participation and attention. We look forward to receiving your thoughts and feedback.

Sincerely,

After many months of public discussion and board deliberation on the merits and risks of evacuation zone access for farmworkers, on August 31 the Board adopted a resolution to establish an Agricultural Access Verification Card Program. This program will be administered by the Sheriff’s Office in consultation with the Agricultural Commissioner and will enable eligible agricultural operators to enter evacuation zones to conduct critical functions when first responders deem it is safe.

I supported this proposal as an urgent initial step to place guardrails on evacuation zone entry and establish uniform safety standards for workers, as our region experiences record heat temperatures in the midst of fire and harvest seasons. The program, while imperfect, will advance these goals by limiting evacuation zone access to owners and full-time employees of ag operations, and require fire and worker safety training delivered in accessible formats and requested languages. Initially, the policy was proposed to permit the Sheriff’s Office full discretion to amend the program. I did not support this and successfully moved to remove the provision from the policy.

My affirmative vote for this policy rests on its improvements to previous ad hoc versions of evacuation zone access. However, serious program deficiencies demand further action. A primary concern is the lack of enforcement mechanisms other than existing state agencies, which have been historically insufficient to guarantee compliance with labor protections, during times of disasters and otherwise. Further development is also needed to ensure that the program collects accurate and comprehensive participation data, which is required for complete and accurate evaluation of its performance.

Mindful of the work ahead, the Board has planned to hear this item again. In the upcoming year, staff will return to the Board to address fiscal considerations and proposed program improvements, including the process for receiving and resolving worker, resident and community feedback and complaints. The Board also plans to assess potential local and state resources to support agricultural workers.

To access Board meeting agendas and materials including recordings of past meetings, click here.

 The County of Sonoma is teaming up with three cities and a coalition of community groups to launch a two-year pilot program that will provide a guaranteed minimum income of $500 a month to more than 300 low-income families while also studying the impacts of this innovative approach to reducing poverty and promoting economic stability and mobility.

The Pathway to Income Equity program is actively accepting applications. Visit www.pathwaysonoma.org to apply.

The project is a collaborative effort by the Sonoma County Guaranteed Basic Income Coalition, a group of community-based organizations led by First 5 Sonoma County. The $5.4 million effort is funded by the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors, the City Councils of Santa Rosa, Petaluma and Healdsburg, as well as Corazón Healdsburg and First 5 Sonoma County. More than 90 percent of the pilot project funding is from the federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), intended to help the county recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Permit Sonoma has published a draft of its Housing Strategy, the policy and implementation framework for addressing objectives in the Housing Element of the county’s General Plan.

The strategy outlines programs and policies to achieve the county’s housing goals and address concerns raised by the public, including barriers to development, the habitability of housing and issues of fairness.

The draft is the result of the most extensive and equitable public participation program for any housing plan in Sonoma County history. Permit Sonoma conducted three public surveys over the last year, drawing feedback from nearly 6,400 participants on the county’s housing needs, opportunities, values and policies. The work was shaped by input from a Housing Advisory Committee, composed of housing service providers, for-profit and nonprofit developers, and representatives of the agricultural, farmworker, faith and homelessness communities.

Permit Sonoma is scheduled to publish a draft Housing Element in October.

On September 13 the Board of Supervisors approved the Climate Resilient Lands Strategy, a document designed to provide structure and guidance to climate-related efforts throughout the county, with a focus on natural and working lands. The strategy resulted from a collaborative effort by the Climate Action and Resiliency Division and Sonoma County Agricultural Preservation and Open Space District.

Some of objectives and goals of the strategy include:

• Conserving, managing, and restoring as much of the county as possible across public, private, natural, developed, and agricultural lands.
• Focusing early actions on areas with the greatest potential for carbon sequestration, climate risk reduction and biodiversity enhancement.
• Partnering with Native American tribes within Sonoma County to advance traditional ecological knowledge and preserve tribal cultural resources and tribal cultural properties.
• Identifying funding within the county, state, and federal governments, as well as private funding sources, to advance this innovative and bold plan.
• Prioritizing equity and climate justice approaches that are measurable and clear.

The Regional Climate Protection Authority published its fourth inventory of communitywide greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions with updated data that shows a 22.9 percent reduction between 1990 and 2020. The reduction is just over 2 percent short of meeting Sonoma County’s 2020 goal of 25 percent below 1990 levels.

Report Highlights include:

• Emissions from energy used in buildings decreased 49% between 1990 and 2020. This reduction is primarily attributed to Sonoma Clean Power, created in 2014 to provide cleaner electricity to Sonoma County households and businesses.
• Transportation continues to be the largest source of emissions for the county. Nearly 60% total countywide emissions were from transportation in 2020.
• Emissions from waste sent to landfills has decreased 50 percent between 1990 and 2020. Between new State level requirements and better local access to resources, joint efforts significantly reduced waste-related emissions.

Do you have a passion for service? Do you seek opportunities give back to your community while implementing and building upon your skills?

Apply for the open public service opportunities listed below!

Openings: 

• Advisory Council to Area Agency on Aging: advises the Board of Supervisors on issues and concerns affecting seniors (60 years and over) and adults with disabilities in Sonoma County.
• Park’s Measure M Citizens Oversight Committee: provide transparency and ensure fiscal accountability for the Sonoma County Parks Improvement, Water Quality, and Fire Safety Measure passed by the voters in November 2018. Measure M established a 1/8 cent sales tax to support parks throughout the county.



You can access details, fill out an application and review countywide vacancies here. You also can contact Supervisor Coursey’s office with your questions by email at [email protected] or by phone at 707-565-2241

Join the UC Master Gardeners of Sonoma County, the Office of Supervisor Coursey and Landpaths for a Food Preservation Demonstration. Learn how to safely keep your produce longer through techniques like drying, pickling and more! See the flyer below for more information.

When: Tues Sept 20, 5:30-7:30pm

Where: Bayer Farm -1550 West Ave, Santa Rosa 

For more information, contact Jazmin Gudiño at [email protected]

Everything You need to Know to be Prepared for any Disaster. FREE NOAA Radio while supplies last. Learn about Go Bags, Planning for Evacuations, Signing up for Alerts, and local neighbor-to-neighbor groups preparing and supporting each other for emergencies.

When: Sunday September 18, 2-3pm

Where: Santa Rosa Central Library

Are you a High School Senior or have a student who is? Have questions about the financial aid application process? 10,000 Degrees is here to answer your questions!

Join us for this Financial Aid Information night to learn about:

• FAFSA
• CA Dream Act
• Financial aid timeline
• Types of aid and more!



When: Weds Sept 21 at 06:00 PM

Where: Zoom – Register Here

Path to Hope Live is an online educational event on suicide prevention, resilience-building and dealing with the grief, loss, and mental health challenges of our times.

The community panel will convene on September 22 from 4-6pm on Zoom. The panel has a variety of presenters who pack in heart, lived experience and personal connection to building a healthy network of care in our community. This free event is being offered as a gift to all as we individually and collectively seek balance and renewal in our lives and communities. Register for FREE here.

Sonoma Transit Riders United is celebrating Transit Month in September, promoting the use of public transit and offering prizes for taking their survey. The organization’s goal is to advance safe, reliable, affordable, low-carbon transportation for all. Visit the SoTRU website for transit challenges, surveys and information on engaging elected officials to promote local transit use.

The County of Sonoma, Climate Action and Resiliency Division is holding a series of homeowner workshops on improvements to improve home resiliency.

The free workshops cover a range of topics including energy use, project planning, funding and resources, solar photovoltaics and battery storage, electrification, wildfire safety, indoor air quality and more.

To register, click on the links to the workshops below. 

Workshops are held on Wednesdays from 11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.

• Sept. 28: Making Improvements for a More Resilient Home
• Oct. 5: A Healthier Home – Why Indoor Air Quality Matters
• Oct. 12: Saving Energy at Home – Your House is a System
• Oct. 19: Heat Pumps for Residential Heating and Cooling
• Oct. 26: Funding Your Improvements – Incentives, Rebates, and Financing
• Nov. 2: Solar, Storage, and Electrification – A Perfect Match

For more information or to RSVP directly, call (707) 565-6470 or email [email protected]

Updated COVID-19 booster shots specifically formulated to protect against the highly contagious omicron variant are now available in Sonoma County.

The new boosters, known as bivalent vaccines, are made by Pfizer and Moderna. The Food and Drug Administration has authorized the Pfizer bivalent booster for anyone 12 and older and the Moderna bivalent booster for anyone 18 and older. The bivalent boosters can be given two months after completion of the primary series or the most recent booster dose of a monovalent COVID-19 vaccine. The original monovalent vaccines will still be used for the primary vaccine series and booster doses for the 6 month to 11-year age groups.

In Sonoma County, those eligible for the new booster can obtain a shot through primary health care providers, health centers and pharmacies, as well as Sonoma County’s vaccine clinic at the Roseland Community Center and the LHI clinic at the Rohnert Park Community Center, however supplies may be limited and not all COVID-19 vaccine providers will have doses at first. Sonoma County expects to receive more supply in the coming weeks.

A list of vaccine clinics in Sonoma County is available at SoCoEmergency.org/vaccine.