Former Windsor Mayor Dominic Foppoli's troubles continue, according to the Press Democrat, reality television star Farrah Abraham has officially filed a lawsuit in Sonoma County alleging he drugged and sexually assaulted her at an event in Florida. She joins a list of 14 women who have accused Foppoli of sexual crimes. Foppoli maintains his innocence and continues to live at his castle in Italy.

Petaluma native and NASA astronaut Nicole Mann is currently taking her second spacewalk this morning. Along with a Japanese astronaut, they will install a mounting platform and relocate a portable foot restraint. You can even watch a live stream of her working from the NASA website at NASA.gov

Congratulations to Greg Sarris... Chairman of the Federated Indians of the Graton Rancheria, he has been elected Chair of the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian. The museum's goal is to foster a richer shared human experience through a more informed understanding of Native Peoples. {photo courtesy of SSU}

Representative Mike Thompson has reintroduced a bipartisan bill that would establish universal background checks for firearms. The bill cleared the house last year, but failed in the Senate. The bill would ban most transfer of sale of weapons between private individuals unless a gun manufacturer, dealer or importer conducts a background check. There are some exemptions for transfer between family members. He also is pushing to create an active shooter alert system.

Nikki Haley, a former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and South Carolina governor, is expected to officially announce her 2024 presidential run on February, 15th. Haley would join former President Donald Trump as the second candidate in the Republican presidential primary. {photo courtesy of Wikipedia}

We have a new area code going into effect today... the 3-6-9 will overlay most of the 707 area code, which was created back in 1959. The 707 is expected to run out of prefixes by the end of the year, so a new code was needed. Those with current 707 codes will not be effected, calling a 369 number from the 707 will still be a local call.

The Sonoma County Board of Supervisors has instructed staff to move forward with creating a plan to redevelop the current county campus in Santa Rosa. While no specific plan exists, they are exploring the option of building 1 or 2 new office buildings.. at a cost of somewhere between $680-$720 million dollars. A true framework for a plan is not expected until next year.

The following artists are nominated for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s Class of 2023: Art rock auteur Kate Bush; rootsy hitmaker Sheryl Crow; hip-hop iconoclast Missy Elliott; metal legends Iron Maiden; post-punk-turned-dance-rock pioneers Joy Division/New Order; eccentric pop icon Cyndi Lauper; pop titan George Michael; country GOAT Willie Nelson; rap-metal firebrands Rage Against the Machine; grunge trailblazers Soundgarden; soul vocal pros The Spinners; alt hip-hop progenitors A Tribe Called Quest; garage blues revivalists The White Stripes; and caustic singer-songwriter Warren Zevon. The inductees will be announced in May.

President Biden informed Congress yesterday that he will end the twin national emergencies for COVID-19 on May 11. The move to end the national emergency and public health emergency declarations would formally restructure the federal coronavirus response to treat the virus as an endemic threat to public health that can be managed through agencies' normal authorities.

Sonoma County Board of Education Area One Trustee Gina Cuclis has assumed a statewide school board leadership position as the president of the California County Boards of Education (CCBE) for 2023. Cuclis, who represents the Sonoma Valley, Oakmont, and east Santa Rosa, was first elected to the Sonoma County Board of Education in 2012. {photo courtesy of Twitter}

Boeing bids farewell to an icon today: It's delivering its final 747 jumbo jet. The final plane is the 1,574th built by Boeing since 1969. It's being delivered to cargo carrier Atlas Air.

Home prices across the bay area have been declining... except for four zip codes... and they are all in Sonoma County! Leading the way is 95476, which is Boyes Hot Springs near Sonoma, it saw a 1.8% increase from June to December of last year, but that was the highest. Our other hot ZIP codes are- 95404, 95409, in Santa Rosa and 94952 in Petaluma. All saw a modest home price increase, just proving that Sonoma County is the greatest place to live on earth!

Is there anything more symbolic of the bay area than Jerry Garcia and the cannabis industry? Not any more, Garcia Hand Picked, the celebrity cannabis company launched by his family is leaving California. Citing high taxes, job losses and competition, they say it just does not make sense to continue distribution here. The brand will be available outside of California. {photo courtesy of Rolling Stone}

Elon Musk has apologized for sharing a baseless conspiracy theory about the attack on Paul Pelosi In October, Musk tweeted a link to a story in the Santa Monica Observer which claimed Paul Pelosi was drunk and arguing with a male escort at the time of the attack. "There is a tiny possibility there might be more to this story than meets the eye," Musk said in his tweet, which was deleted shortly after it was posted.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said he will meet with President Biden on Wednesday to discuss the debt ceiling and potential spending cuts. McCarthy and House Republicans are hoping to leverage the need to raise the debt ceiling in order to negotiate concessions from Democrats on spending cuts. {photo courtesy of CNN}

Windsor is following the lead of Santa Rosa and may adopt an ordinance making it illegal to participate in sideshow activity, street races and reckless driving exhibitions on public streets and off-street parking facilities. Those that are caught and prosecuted could face fines up to $1,000 and 6 months in jail. {photo courtesy of Pulse}

The Cariuma X Peanuts sneakers are back. The shoes feature two different drawing of Snoopy and Woodstock and are famous for being a sustainable shoe. The company plants two trees in the Brazilian rainforest for each pair purchased, and uses materials such as bamboo, sustainable rubber and cork. You can check them out at cariuma.com

A federal lawsuit is seeking class-action damages for countless hotel patrons who booked rooms in Las Vegas since 2019. The suit alleges that most hotel-casinos on the Las Vegas Strip have used a third-party vendor to illegally fix prices. The complaint filed Wednesday alleges that MGM Resorts International, Caesars Entertainment, Treasure Island and Wynn Resorts shared information with a company that uses algorithms to "maximize market-wide prices.”

The largest winery in the country, E. & J. Gallo Winery, is closing its California-based distribution operations. The winery's move from Gallo Sales Company, to Texas company Republic National Distributing Company will result in mass layoffs. E. & J. Gallo Winery owns popular, low-cost wine brands Barefoot Wine and André, as well as non-wine brands such as hard seltzer High Noon and New Amsterdam Vodka.

The site of a former resort and golf course in Pope Valley may soon be coming back to life. Six Senses, a luxury hotel brand has announced plans to revitalize the historic Aetna Springs Resort, which operated from the 1870 to the 1970s. The 3,000 acre property includes a 9-hole golf courses which opened in 1893 but closed several years ago. Plans call for a 95 room hotel that could open in 2026. {photo courtesy of the Napa Valley Register}