Category: Top

Doubt the Drought? Rules For Thee but Not for Me

By Adina Flores, May 11, 2023 In recent years, Californians have been instructed by Governor Newsom to conserve as much water as possible due to drought conditions. The question at hand is if this same advisory applies to individuals across the board. According to a 2021 confidential investigative report compiled by Insight Group, Inc; stakeholders within…
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Cannabis Operations Illegally Hauling Water in Petaluma Dairy belt

Growers stealing your public water supply. During a drought. Sonoma County response? Not much. Dear California Water Board and Department of Cannabis Control: I provide here evidence of violations of law with respect to the use of trucked water at cannabis cultivations in Sonoma County. We are experiencing an unprecedented drought during which residents of…
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Sonoma grower seeks to overturn ban on firearms at pot grows – fears for his safety and property

Sonoma County and growers often claim there are no problems at permitted grows—that illegal activity only happens at black market grows. Not true. A grower near Knights Valley, Nicolas Bettencourt, has filed the attached law suit against Sonoma County. He asks the court to strike down Sec. 26-88-254(f)(21) of the cannabis ordinance that includes the…
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Commentary: Sonoma County supervisors correct to require environmental review for cannabis cultivation

May 19, 2021 The Sonoma County Board of Supervisors should be applauded for doing the right thing this week and ordering a full Environmental Impact Report before taking the next steps in considering cannabis cultivation in Sonoma County. The Supervisors overcame heavy lobbying and pressure from the corporate cannabis industry that wanted to open the…
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Rural neighborhoods win a stay and environmental review of proposed cannabis expansion

May 18th 2021 Board of Supervisors Meeting The long and tortured road of our local ordinances governing land use policy and marijuana. After five years of unending conflicts between long time rural residents and hopeful marijuana speculators, our Supervisors finally hit the wall of reality. They must conduct an EIR per State law and CEQA…
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Board of Supervisors Meeting May 18th

The proposed changes to the cannabis permitting process will be some of the most significant land use changes in Sonoma County in the last 40 years. Tuesday, May 18th is our best and last chance to influence the Board of Supervisors before they vote on the draft cannabis ordinance.  Below are directions on how to…
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SOSN Law Firm files letter to BOS against Sonoma County Cannabis Proposal’s flawed SMND in followup to previous letter

The San Francisco law firm Shute Mihaly and Weinberger filed another letter on May 17 on behalf of Save Our Sonoma Neighborhoods. It opposes in detail the County’s proposal to vastly expand commercial cannabis cultivation based on flawed, inadequate review of environmental impacts that is not conformant with California environmental law (CEQA). The comments make two…
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Cannabis fight heats up

Neighbors gearing up for a protracted battle over proposed changes to cannabis cultivation By TYLER SILVYARGUS-COURIER EDITOR Just south of the historic Washoe House bar northwest of Petaluma, the first hints of neighborhood agitations against the area’s nascent cannabis industry appear on the asphalt of Pepper Road. In barely discernible white spray painted letters, someone has…
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Wine Country Fights Back in Weed Wars

© PANNA | Cannabis cultivation has ballooned in California and winemakers worry about its impact.Grapegrowers and wine producers are pushing back against the cannabis industry’s push into prime California wine country.By Kathleen Willcox | Posted Wednesday, 05-May-2021 California winemakers are scrambling for survival as the biggest cannabis farms on earth make their way into wine country, bringing…
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Lack of planning?

Dear Editor: Sonoma County wants to be a mecca for outdoor cannabis cultivation, boasting that people prefer Sonoma County weed because of soil and climate. Yet they bring in external soil, discard spent soil, and shield plants from our natural climate in hoop houses or greenhouses. The proposed new ordinance will attract big players from…
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