petaluma news

• New Petaluma Target approved by City Council

  By GUY KOVNER, THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

  Tuesday February 9, 2010 7:57 am

  

  A big-box shopping center in the works for more than five years won approval late Monday night from a divided Petaluma City Council.

• New Man, 28, arrested after escape from police officers

  Tuesday February 9, 2010 10:33 am

  A Windsor man was arrested on Monday night after showing up on the front door of a Petaluma resident who had requested an emergency protective order against him, and then escaping from officers who had taken him into custody.

• New Woman arrested for false report of sexual assault

  Tuesday February 9, 2010 9:50 am

  A Petaluma woman has been arrested for falsely reporting that she was sexually assaulted by an employee at a local convenience store.

• Petaluma workshop on design of rail stations Tuesday

  Tuesday February 9, 2010 3:00 am

  

  The Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit District will hold a series of community workshops to gather public input about the design of 14 passenger rail stations from Cloverdale to Larkspur.

• Mass free cat spay and neuter clinic Feb. 20

  By DEREK MOORE, THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

  Tuesday February 9, 2010 3:00 am

  

  Around this time every year animal shelter workers across Sonoma County brace themselves for a kitty invasion.

• Casa Grande places second in regional brain quiz

  Monday February 8, 2010 9:01 am

  Casa Grande High School was edged by its main rival, Vanden High School of Fairfield, for the top spot at the final day of North Bay Regional Academic Decathlon competition on Saturday.

• Council to vote on Target center

  Monday February 8, 2010 3:00 am

  The vote needed for the proposed Target shopping center to move forward will take place this Monday at City Hall.

• Japanese TV crew films Casa Grande's United Anglers

  By DAN JOHNSON, ARGUS-COURIER STAFF

  Monday February 8, 2010 3:00 am

  

  While Casa Grande's United Anglers has gained considerable popularity for inspiring students to actively help the environment, its director never realized just how widely the word had spread until a Japanese television network contacted him about doing a segment about the group.

• Boys & Girls clubhouse raises money for COTS

  By DAN JOHNSON, ARGUS-COURIER STAFF

  Monday February 8, 2010 3:00 am

  They tackled the project head-on, raising money at a movie night, snack-shack sale, carnival and bake sale, among other things.

• Donations sought for city fireworks show

  By PHILIP RILEY, ARGUS-COURIER STAFF

  Saturday February 6, 2010 3:00 am

  

  Fireworks are synonymous with the Fourth of July, and organizers of Petaluma's Independence Day event are hoping to keep it that way.

• Rabbitt accused of campaign violation

  Saturday February 6, 2010 3:00 am

  City Councilmember David Rabbitt has been accused of violating Petaluma campaign finance laws.

• Man arrested for hit-and-run crash

  Friday February 5, 2010 3:33 pm

  A 25-year-old man was arrested on Friday after allegedly rear-ending another vehicle on southbound Highway 101, near Pepper Road, and then running away from the scene.

• Carrying on a prestigious legacy

  By DAN JOHNSON, ARGUS-COURIER STAFF

  Friday February 5, 2010 3:00 am

  

  Replacing legendary Academic Decathlon coach Rick Pillsbury might seem to be an unwelcome, intimidating job, but his successor at Casa Grande High School says the transition is going very smoothly as the school competes in this year's regional competition.

• City workers criticize council failures

  By PHILIP RILEY, ARGUS-COURIER STAFF

  Friday February 5, 2010 3:00 am

  

  Petaluma's city employees have accused the City Council of causing city services to reach a “tipping point” by failing to attract business and tax revenue.

• Rainy weekend on tap

  Friday February 5, 2010 9:12 am

  A wet weekend lies ahead, but the bulk of the rain should already be past after what was expected to be heavy rainfall and occasional gusting winds overnight Thursday, forecasters said.

• Roving DUI patrols planned for Sunday

  Thursday February 4, 2010 1:16 pm

  Roving DUI patrols will take place in Petaluma and other parts of Sonoma County on Sunday, Feb. 7 — Super Bowl Sunday — because of the increased drinking that is expected.

• DUI offender arrested after high-speed chase

  Thursday February 4, 2010 10:55 am

  A repeat DUI offender was arrested on Wednesday after leading a California Highway Patrol officer on a high-speed chase when he attempted to pull her over due to a carpool violation on southbound Highway 101.

• Food author Michael Pollan speaks in Petaluma

  By DIANE PETERSON, THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

  Thursday February 4, 2010 7:02 am

  

  Fresh from his appearance on an Oprah Winfrey show, food writer Michael Pollan drew a sold-out crowd Wednesday night in Petaluma to hear him talk about his latest book, “Food Rules: An Eater's Manual.”

• Dutra submits revised plan for asphalt plant

  By PHILIP RILEY, ARGUS-COURIER STAFF

  Thursday February 4, 2010 3:15 am

  

  The Dutra Group has released an updated plan for its proposed asphalt plant on the Petaluma River just south of town that it says should eliminate concerns about river traffic, noise, visual impacts and emissions.

• Phoenix board to review LSD incident

  By DAN JOHNSON, ARGUS-COURIER STAFF

  Thursday February 4, 2010 3:00 am

  

  The president of the Phoenix Theater Board of Directors feels that theater management couldn't have done anything differently to avoid an incident in which a naked, 19-year-old man on LSD broke his back after falling 25 feet off the roof of the theater on Sunday morning.

• Sheriff's Log

  Wednesday February 3, 2010 3:00 am

  The Sonoma County Sheriff's Department responded to the following calls in the south county during the last week.