During last week's council meeting, Vice Mayor Kelso Barnett acknowledged that so-called community benefits are not required for any other type of business, "…If we're trying to normalize cannabis businesses, we should treat (them) like any other business and to...
There are good people doing good things in this industry. In the 30+ years spent advocating for medicinal marijuana, I have been fortunate to work with many right-minded, compassionate, ethical human beings who labor very hard every day to provide relief for those...
One of our members suggested in a recent thread that the council is "unable to relate" to the public. Let's examine that. "Unable to relate" to the general public. Hmmm. According to the IT, "In the 10 opioid-related deaths that happened in 2020 in Sonoma Valley, half...
Dave Eichar’s final question during public comment at the Nov 17 meeting. Inquiring minds *do* want to know. Note the raised eyebrows as the mayor said, “I don’t think so.” Though Staff had a clear opportunity to respond to Dave’s...
Accountability is a bedrock of representative government. It is about trust between government and citizens. The appearance of questionable behavior hurts public trust. This is why we filed a PRA request with the city for all documents related to the second dispensary...
During a break just prior to our item being discussed, Councilmembers Sandra Lowe and Madolyn Agrimonti touch base with Erich Pearson's personal lobbyist and business partner Amy O'Gorman Jenkins. Yes, everyone is oh so friendly. Erich Pearson, CEO of SPARC and owner...
The Sonoma County Registrar of Voters this week began mailing vote-by-mail ballots for the Nov. 2, 2021. So a small group of us came together as a mayoral candidate review committee to suggest an endorsement. We’ve done a lot of research on backgrounds and four of us...
The 200+ member Sonoma Valley Cannabis Group continues to work to prevent a monopoly of service within the city of Sonoma. 1. Great weave by Josette Brose-Eichar of the Mattson issue with the dispensary process. 2. Mayor almost skips over my Zoom public comment 3....
“We’re asking that this process not begin for another year so we can have a year’s worth of data on profitability to see how viable the business is and see if the city can sustain another business.” In a stunning moment at the September 8 city council meeting, Erich...
The second dispensary process is currently delayed pending more information from Staff to the council. SVCG member Perri Ellis Paniagua wrote the following to the Index Tribune: ‘It should not be this hard’ on cannabis EDITOR: I am disappointed with what happened at...