2020: A year like no other in Sonoma

The phrase “a year like no other” was invented for 2020, or so it seems. An almost biblical series of tests, challenges and disasters has come cascading our way, since Jan. 1 – including pandemic, wildfires, weird weather and celestial phenomena – and with only a week left, there’s no assurance that yet another trial won’t show up.

Coronavirus

The gravity of the year, of course, swings around the virus: the coronavirus, a 2019 variant of the coronavirus now called SARS-CoV-2, which produces the disease COVID-19. It first appeared in these pages on Valentine’s Day 2020, Feb. 14, with the headline “Sonoma Valley’s Risk ‘Low’ for Coronavirus.” One month later, on March 16, the newly-appointed county health officer, Dr. Sundari Mase, imposed a county-wide lockdown on gatherings, classes, shopping and just about everything, and new terms like “social distancing” and “shelter in place” entered the lexicon.

Now, almost 10 months later, all of Sonoma County, most of California and much of the country is once again in a state of lockdown, sheltering-in-place as over 200 new cases crop up daily in Sonoma County alone, over 40,000 new cases in California, over 200,000 nationally – every single day.

Locally, the effects have been widespread. That March 16 edition included the headline “Valley classrooms close; students convert to online learning,” introducing another phrase that is now commonplace. School sports were also halted in mid-season – the SVHS baseball and softball teams had winning records in mid-March, and were eager to show their stuff in a post-season playoff that never happened.

Our March 31 issue headlined “Glen Ellen man details battle with coronavirus,” about Jerry Kram’s struggle with the disease. The April 24 paper celebrated his release from intensive care (“‘It’s a miracle,’ says COVID survivor’s doctor”) and a socially distant car parade followed, but the 74-year-old is still suffering from COVID-related repercussions.

Soon social impacts were revealed, as the disease disproportionally affected Hispanic residents – “Latino Community Hit Harder by Coronavirus” read a May 15 story, detailing some of the factors including multi-family households and work in food services, health care or agriculture.

A June 26 story, “COVID Surge Included Valley Senior-care Facility,” identified Broadway Villa Post-Acute as the site of the first of many deaths in the senior care industry in the county; at that time there had been fewer than 1,000 infections in the county, and only five deaths. Those numbers now sound quaint.

But there were, surprisingly, positive results of the social shutdown. As it began, the concept of “binge-watching” took hold with an outlandish Netflix series, “Tiger King,” written and directed by a sometime Sonoma resident (“’Tiger Mom’ Marilyn Goode Talks About Son’s ‘Tiger King’ Phenomenon,” April 7).

And even as the landmark Sonoma Cheese Factory closed, was sold and reopened, people were learning self-reliance in the kitchen. (“80-year-old Sourdough Starter Is ‘Better Than Sex’” read a May 8 headline.)

Assault

In the glare of the global pandemic, significant local stories were sometimes lost, but had their impact on Sonoma residents. Back in January, the headline ”Sonoma Man Arrested for Sexual Assault of School Girl” (Jan. 10) rocked the Altimira Middle School community. The alleged perpetrator is still in jail, with his next court appearance coming almost exactly a year after the crime, on Jan. 11, 2021.

Less than a month later, another headline read “Homeless Man Arrested for Groping Teen on Bike Path” (Feb. 7), identifying a suspect who sometimes sought services at the Haven, Sonoma Overnight Support’s facility near the police station. That led to an examination of the Valley’s homeless crisis as well – just as county supervisors chose Los Guilicos Village near Oakmont as the location for an emergency homeless camp (“County Supes Redirect Homeless to Sonoma Valley,” Jan. 17), an emergency shelter that is still there today.

Then in mid-year, a young tech innovator was killed by a hit-and-run driver in Glen Ellen, as Adrian Albert rode his bike along Sonoma Highway. It took several weeks before the CHP identified the driver, and several months before she was arrested for the fatal collision (“Suspect in June Hit-and-Run Bike Fatality in Custody,” Oct. 5).

Cannabis controversy

Several other topics that have persisted throughout the year were introduced in January, especially Sonoma’s long-standing effort to permit a cannabis dispensary inside city limits. “City Puts Out Call for Dispensary Operators” was the Jan. 7 headline, and as the year went on the process eventually led to 10 applications for two permits, winnowed down to half that number (“The Final 5: Council Eyes Top Dispensary Hopefuls,” May 26) then two (“Council Backs Locals’ Bids for Dispensary,” June 12), with the final selection, “Sonoma’s Lone Dispensary License Goes to Sparc,” announced in the Aug. 21 issue.

In the interim, the surprise news that “City Manager Cathy Capriola Announces Plans to Retire” (Aug. 4) added to the unease and tension Sonoma felt as the pandemic continued to spread in the wake of a not-very-socially-distant 4th of July holiday. Her departure, though delayed until the end of the year, was the first of several changes to Sonoma’s city governance in a difficult year.

City Hall drama

Soon it came out that in a closed session in June, several council members had proposed “furloughing” Capriola for reasons that were never entirely clear– council members said she was “working too hard” during the pandemic crisis—causing Councilmember Rachel Hundley to file a Brown Act violation against her colleagues (“City Council Member Threatens Legal Action Over ‘Illegal’ Meeting,” Aug. 7).

Early in the fall, some community members (and some council members) objected to Councilmember Hundley’s husband offering to lead a campaign to defeat a pro-cannabis initiative on the November ballot, which some viewed as a conflict of interest for Hundley, as the council’s decision on granting Sparc a cannabis license was still pending. Hundley recused herself from a follow-up vote to advance Sparc’s application; resulting in a 2-2 tie and no action taken. It brought Sonoma’s lengthy cannabis process to a sudden halt. (“Buzz kill: Council Walks Back on Sparc Pot Dispensary,” Oct. 9).

The council’s challenges continued later that month, as the Oct. 30 edition’s “Sonoma City Councilmember David Cook Arrested” story reported on charges of child molestation filed against the two-term council member. Cook did not attend any further council meetings, though he refused to resign.

A week later, in the Nov. 3 election, Sonoma resident Jack Ding became the city’s first Asian American Councilmember-Elect after running unopposed for the seat being vacated by Cook, who did not seek a third term. Other ballot results included the defeat of the Measure Y cannabis initiative; the renewal of the city’s Urban Growth Boundary for another 20 years; and Troy Knox and Anne Ching winning seats on the Sonoma Valley Unified School District’s board trustees.

But the big news from City Hall was far from over. “Hundley to Resign from Sonoma City Council” read the Dec. 8 headline, as the two-term council member announced her impending departure at end of January. Meanwhile the council voted to re-elect Mayor Logan Harvey to a second consecutive term at its Dec. 8 meeting, when Ding was sworn in.

Leadership challenges

The year was rough for most local governance bodies. The school district was disappointed by the May resignation of SVHS Principal Alberto Solorzano (“Sonoma Valley High Principal Resigns Unexpectedly,” May 1), after his predecessor Justin Mori had also only served a year. Vice-principal Jessica Hutchinson was named to replace him (“Meet the Principal,” Nov. 3).

Meanwhile at the Sonoma Valley Hospital, amidst a once-in-a-century pandemic, announced that its CEO Kelly Mather, was leaving at the end of the year for another job (“Hospital CEO Resigns,” July 17).

But the hospital made headlines again Oct. 23 with “Hospital Computer Systems Shut Down by ‘Security Incident.’” And 10 days later: “Hospital’s Security Breach Was Russian Ransomware Attack” (Nov. 3), which eventually turned out to affect records for 67,000 patients over a 10-year period.

Leadership changes also came to Hanna Boys Center, the Sonoma Independent Film Festival, the Sonoma Raceway, the Sonoma Valley Mentoring Alliance, the Sonoma Valley Education Foundation and La Luz Center.

Finally, in a closed-session vote, the Sonoma Valley Unified School District Board of Trustees terminated Superintendent Socorro Shiels’ contract, and began looking for a replacement (“School Board Abruptly Dismisses Superintendent,” Nov. 20). Shiels remains on her $212,000 annual salary until the end of her contract on June 31, 2021, even as the district pays at least $125 per hour for a temporary replacement (“New Contract Drawn for Superintendent Prior to Dismissal,” Nov. 27).

Where there’s fire...

Ever since October, 2017, Sonoma residents have dreaded the approach of fire season. But it was only August when that found “Sonoma Stunned by Heat, Rain, Lightning” (Aug. 18), as a 100-degree heat wave was broken by lightning storms and 50 mph winds.

Weather conditions and widespread smoke from other California fires led not only to high Air Quality Index levels well into the danger zone (“Smoke Can Trigger Heart, Lung Illnesses,” Aug. 25), and a notably weird orange sky that added to the apocalyptic tenor of the times (“Sonoma Glows Orange Beneath a Blanket of Smoke,” Sept. 11).

Then in late September, the Glass fire broke out and over the next 10 days the 67,000-acre blaze swept across the Mayacamas from Napa, burned through Hood Mountain and Sugarloaf Ridge parks, destroyed 30 homes, led to power outages and traffic gridlock from fleeing Oakmont residents (“Glass Fire Burns in Kenwood, Threatens Glen Ellen,” Sept. 29).

That’s not all, folks

Stories that might have grabbed headlines in other years were but blips on the big screen of 2020: Amazon attempted to open a regional delivery hub without proper permitting (“SVCAC Deals Blow to Amazon Delivery Hub,” Aug. 4); Verizon was stymied in its effort to bring new cell towers to residential neighborhoods (“Verizon Withdraws Residential Cell Tower Plan,” Oct. 20); and two aggrieved neighborhoods fought back against the Sonoma County’s permit department (“’North Sonoma Residents Weigh Options After Grand Jury Responses,” Oct. 23; and “Agua Caliente Neighbors Fight Surge in Vacation Rentals,” Dec. 22).

National tensions came to Sonoma in June, following the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, as demonstrators gathered in support of the Black Lives Matter movement (“Protest: ‘I Can’t Breathe,’” June 5). The incident, and too many others like it, prompted even Sonoma to take a look in the mirror (“Sonoma Is Not Hallelujah,” July 3).

A year like no other? We can only hope. As the year drew down toward its shortest days, a second strict lockdown was announced (“Sonoma County to Go Into Lockdown,” Dec. 11) to deal with a post-Thanksgiving surge in coronavirus cases that spiked infections, hospitalizations and deaths across the country.

Which brings us back where we started, at the end of a year like no other – and the beginning of another one.

Email Christian at christian.kallen@sonomanews.com.