Strictly Business: Instacart, new vet, pot resources and more in this week's column.

Strictly Business: our new name for business news from around the Valley, Jan. 12|

Sessions resigns: Jean Arnold Sessions is stepping down as head of Sonoma County Vintners after two years leading the county’s main winery trade group. Michael Haney, its director of membership and government relations, has been appointed interim executive director as its board conducts a search for a permanent head. Haney said he would apply for the position.

Market Vendors: Valley of the Moon Certified Farmers Market is now accepting vendor applications for this summer’s Tuesday Night Market. The deadline is Feb. 1 to apply.

New vet in town: Valley of the Moon Veterinary Hospital has welcomed Dr. Ashley Atkin to its practice. Atkin received her BS in Animal Science from UC Davis and graduated from UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine in 2010. After graduation, she completed her internship at PetCare Veterinary Hospital in Santa Rosa. She practiced in Pleasanton and San Ramon for six years until recently moving to Petaluma.

Instacart in Sonoma: Instacart has arrived in Sonoma. With the annual membership service fee of $149 you can shop from multiple stores – with free delivery on the whole order (orders must be over $35). Locally, the options are Whole Foods Safeway and CVS. Your Personal Shopper selects all your items and delivery is possible two hours.

Cleanings not closings: Several restaurants around town, including the Girl and the Fig and Swiss Hotel, among others, are closed for a few weeks for their annual winter refurbishing. Don’t be alarmed, all plan to reopen shortly.

Hiring: The Parks Foundation seeks a development and event associate. The part-time employee must be willing to work some evenings and weekends. To apply, submit a cover letter with your resume and three recent writing samples by Friday, Jan. 19 to Susan Bryer-Shelton at susan.bryer-shelton@sonoma-county.org.

Hiring: The Sonoma International Film Festival has several paid positions that are open for this season’s festival. The jobs include two volunteer coordinators, a special events manager and assistant, a sponsor concierge, special events team, general ops, backlot team and sanitation/environmental waste manager. Visit sonomafilmfest.org for more information.

Free rides home: A new law effective Jan. 1 allows beer, wine and alcohol manufacturers and sellers to provide consumers free or discounted transportation (home assumably). Is this in place anywhere in Sonoma yet? If so, let us know.

Have you expanded?: The California Competes Tax Credit is an income tax credit available to businesses which invest and create new jobs in California. The state will be accepting applications from Jan. 2 to 22 for $100 million in tax credits. More at business.ca.gov/Programs/CaliforniaCompetesTaxCredit.

New board members: Sonoma Valley Visitors Bureau has welcomed two new board members – Gary Buffo of Pure Luxury Transportation and Ashish Patel of Olea Hotel. Previous board chair Gary Saperstein continues to serve as Interim Director since Jonny Westom’s departure in December. Rejoining the Sonoma Valley Chamber of Commerce board is John Bast of Peoples Home Equity Mortgage, together with new 2018 board members Ramie Hencmann of Sweet Scoops Ice Cream and Kristie Sheppard of A. Bright Idea.

Fire damage: The Sonoma County Economic Development Board has been working on a county-wide economic plan called Strategic Sonoma, as well as a short-term economic recovery plan related to the October fires. Businesses county-wide are being surveyed until Jan. 16 at surveymonkey.com/r/HPNGLNQ. The EDB will be able to extrapolate data specifically for Sonoma Valley use.

Online pot resources: Secretary of State Alex Padilla announced the launch of Cannabizfile (sos.ca.gov/business-programs/cannabizfile), a new online portal with useful information about cannabis-related business filings with the Secretary of State’s office. Entrepreneurs seeking to start a cannabis-related business in California will need to register their business entity with the Secretary of State. The new site also includes information about registering a business, trademark or service mark. Meanwhile, Sonoma County issued its first Cannabis Cultivation Permit on Dec. 4 to Shannon and Cameron Hattan of Fiddlers Greens. Their permit allows up to 10,000 square feet of outdoor medical cannabis cultivation on their property outside of Sebastopol. Learn more at sonomacounty.ca.gov/Cannabis-Program/.

New cannabis CEO: William Silver, former dean of Sonoma State University’s business school, has been picked to lead CannaCraft as the fast-growing Santa Rosa cannabis manufacturing firm continues to expand.

Same news, different name for 2018. Movers & Shakers is now Strictly Business. Send news to businessnews@sonomanews.com.

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