A new measure we’re likely to see on the November ballot for Sonoma County voters, now that it has enough backers, is a somewhat controversial one that would shut down any large ag operations in our area that qualify as “factory farms.” In other words, the North Bay Business Journal reports, “The initiative would phase out medium- and large-sized ‘concentrated agricultural feeding operations,’ or CAFOs, in Sonoma County. The definition of a CAFO includes animals stabled or confined for 45 days or more in any 12-month period. The size of the farms that stand to be out of compliance would vary by animal and according to how they discharge manure.” The group behind the initiative is called the Coalition to End Factory Farming — and it’s closely linked to an animal liberation group called Direct Action Everywhere, according to KRCB news radio. Here’s some more background from KRCB: “In a press release Wednesday, March 27th, the group said they’ve collected the necessary signatures, and received confirmation from the county registrar to get the proposed legislation put before voters. The initiative targets concentrated animal feeding operations in Sonoma County — called CAFO’s. Campaigner Cassie King said the coalition believes around two dozen local animal agriculture businesses would be affected. ‘They would have a three year phase out period from when the initiative passes to either close down their operation or come into compliance by no longer being a CAFO,’ King said. ‘Which would basically mean downsizing.’ … Strongly opposed to the measure: the Sonoma County Farm Bureau, said executive director Dayna Ghirardelli. ‘We’re gonna completely see our county change should this somehow pass,’ Ghirardelli said. ‘There’s gonna be farms that we enjoy and see as we drive around our county that will essentially go out of business.’ The Farm Bureau said renowned businesses like Straus Creamery, Clover Sonoma, and Petaluma Poultry would all be forced out of business should the initiative be approved by voters. Besides chickens and cows, animals covered in the proposed initiative include: pigs, horses, sheep or lambs, turkeys, and ducks. The ballot measure would also require Sonoma County to create a job re-training program for workers affected by closures. The coalition behind the initiative is closely associated with the animal liberation group Direct Action Everywhere. Current and former members have been at the center of a high profile court case relating to protests at Sonoma County poultry facilities in recent years. The ballot initiative is likely to go before voters in November.” (Source: KRCB & North Bay Business Journal)

We finally have an answer in one of the last remaining unsettled races from the primary election ballot that many Sonoma County residents filled out earlier this month: the contest for Healdsburg politician Jim Wood’s second-district seat in the California State Assembly, representing the state’s entire North Coast. State election officials haven’t yet formally announced the two Assembly District 2 winners who will appear on the Nov. 5 ballot, and won’t until April 12. But the candidates themselves are making the call. It became clear very early on in the ballot-counting process that the sole Republican in the race — Mike Greer, a school board trustee from Del Norte County way up north — would move ahead to the general election. And he’s still clinching the No. 1 spot, with about 27.5 percent of the vote. But among the six Democratic candidates, three of them have been neck-and-neck from the start: Santa Rosa City Councilman Chris Rogers, closely followed by California Democratic Party Chair Rusty Hicks, followed by Healdsburg City Counclilmember Ariel Kelley. Ariel conceded a week-and-a-half ago. And late last week, Rusty Hicks conceded as well. So Chris Rogers is our guy! Which makes him the favorite to win the seat in November, since our State Assembly district leans Democrat. Chris wrote on Facebook last week: “We can now confidently say that when every vote is counted, we will be moving forward to a run-off in November’s General Election. When we first entered this race, we were told that we would be buried in money — that a local candidate would be drowned out. That the proverbial ‘David’ didn’t stand a chance. But in a race with millions of dollars in outside spending, we had a secret weapon: you. So many of you not only stood with me but stuck your necks out to support our campaign — and your belief that we should win gave me confidence that we could. Together, we had one heck of a slingshot, and I’m so grateful. Onward to November!” Rusty Hicks got some flak throughout his campaign for not giving up his job as the leader of California’s Democratic Party during the race. One would assume that he’s pretty glad he didn’t, right about now — and it means he’ll likely be collaborating with Rogers, if the Democrats do take the seat again. As for the rest of the races on our March 5 ballot: By my read, all the candidates reported to be ahead in the first rounds of ballot-counting are still winning now. One other outcome worth noting, though, is that all three open seats on the Napa County Board of Supervisors will go to women — making this the first-ever all-female county government in the wine country, and only the second in the state. (It happened before in Los Angeles County.) Especially notable is the newcomer among them, Amber Manfree — a progressive local scientist who beat out longtime politician Pete Mott by a little over 500 votes. She’ll replace existing supervisor Alfredo Pedroza in the fourth district, who’s in the hot seat right now as federal investigations look into Napa County government and industry relationships. It’s a new day… (Source: Chris Rogers via Facebook & Healdsburg Tribune & Napa County Government & Sonoma County Government & California Secretary of State)

Remember Dominic Foppoli? Over the past few years, the Healdsburg winery son and disgraced ex-mayor of Windsor has been accused by over a dozen women of leveraging his status to get them into situations where he could sexually assault and abuse them. But now, the California District Attorney has decided there’s not enough evidence to file any charges against him. This announcement last week “marked, for now, the conclusion of the last publicly known ongoing criminal investigation into Foppoli, the once-politically ascendant scion of a wealthy local wine family,” the Press Democrat reports. “The known criminal investigations, eventually, originated in four different states: California, Montana, Florida and Nevada. None of the investigations have resulted in criminal charges. Still, Foppoli must… contend with three active lawsuits filed in Sonoma County Superior Court: Seven anonymous women are accusing Foppoli of sexual assault, claiming he used his ‘power, connections and alcohol to prey on dozens of women in Sonoma County.’ Also named as defendants are his family-owned Christopher Creek Winery, and the Santa Rosa chapter of Active 20-30, which the lawsuit alleges profited from Foppoli, ‘luring Plaintiffs to events held at or on behalf of’ the two institutions, then failing to investigate reports of sexual assault, according to the complaint.” So he still has those civil suits to worry about. And while the D.A. won’t file charges for now, state prosecutors are emphasizing that the “investigation remains open” — and they’re encouraging anyone else “who believes they may be a victim or who has evidence to come forward.” Foppoli, for his part, tells the paper that “the presumption of guilt until today has destroyed the lives of me, my family and our businesses.” He adds: “This has been an incredibly difficult nearly 3 years for my family, my friends, people in my businesses, and for our town. Now is a time for us to learn from the experience and move forward together. I look forward to returning to my beloved Windsor and rebuilding broken relationships to make them stronger than ever.” The San Francisco Chronicle has published a series of in-depth pieces on Foppoli’s accusers — including one of his young campaign volunteers and one of his colleagues on the Windsor Town Council, both of whom claim he raped them at parties. In response to the D.A.’s announcement, one of his anonymous accusers tells the PD: “He knows as well as I do that he is a rapist, that he raped me and multiple women. … How many rape and sex assault victims and survivors will it take for rapists to be held accountable criminally? Sixteen? Twenty? Forty? Seventy? I ask that our state policymakers please take note. The system is broken. The laws need to be changed, to make it easier to hold rapists accountable.” (Source: Press Democrat & Press Democrat & SF Chronicle & SF Chronicle)

There’s something about the so-called “glory hole” on the verge of forming along the surface of the Napa Valley’s Lake Berryessa reservoir that makes it really hard to look away. What we’re talking about here is a giant pipe installed inside the reservoir, to drain it when it gets too full — meanwhile creating the super trippy visual effect of a cosmic black hole in the lake. As the Press Democrat puts it: “Water that pours over the lip of the pipe plunges 200 feet straight down into a narrowing shaft that drains into Putah Creek on the downstream side of the dam and on toward the Yolo Bypass and the Sacramento River beyond. … During these overflows, the water flowing into the hole looks like the drain of a giant bathtub, or a wormhole to another dimension.” So the Lake Berryessa glory hole has become a bit of a local water-supply celebrity — especially now that she’s on the verge of spilling in on herself, for the first time in five years. Since we last checked in on Our Lady a week or so ago, the water line has risen even closer her lip. As of Saturday afternoon, the hole was within a few inches of achieving its iconic formation, according to Solano County’s water agency, the main consumer of Berryessa’s supply. One glory-hole watcher even posted some footage last week of a few trickles of water streaming into her mouth. It’s still unclear, though, if these final rains of the season will be enough to push the water line all the way over the edge — especially because reservoir managers have reportedly been letting some water out through the Monticello Dam, their other lever for avoiding overflow. (Thus further contributing to the… dare I say… “edging” effect of all this. I’m sure they know what they’re doing, but come on!) Meanwhile, though Lake Berryessa and its glory hole are getting most of the attention, the other local water sources that actually feed Napa County residents — Lake Hennessey and the county’s “sub-basin” of groundwaters — are looking pretty flush as well, thanks to these last couple of wet winters. The PD reports that “Lake Hennessey, which supplies the city of Napa, already is at the brim and ‘essentially has been spilling’ since Feb. 4, fed by creeks that run into it,” according to the city’s utility director. (Over in Sonoma County, the two main local water sources — Lake Sonoma and Lake Mendocino — are also way more full than usual, although they haven’t actually overflowed yet.) And at a recent Napa County Board of Supervisors meeting, a presentation on the groundwater situation reportedly showed that this “lifeblood of rural vineyards, wineries and homes is recovering from drought” at last. Still, local officials are trying to take this abundant moment in the recent cycle of “weather whiplash” to plan for an uncertain future. “Still more conservation demands appear to be coming for the farming community that is the major local groundwater user,” the Napa Valley Register reports. “Napa County leaders want to cut total pumping in the valley sub-basin by 10%. … Supervisors on Tuesday adopted a groundwater pumping reduction work plan. Voluntary water conservation and incentives come first. If those don’t work, potential mandatory actions such as well metering and pumping limits for wells or areas could be imposed.” (Source: Trevor Hardee via Facebook & Solano County Water Agency & Lake Berryessa News via Facebook & Napa Valley Focus & KRCB & Napa Valley Register & Press Democrat & Press Democrat)