Top 5 weekend news stories from Sonoma County

Enjoying Sunday’s rain, Press Democrat readers? Nothing like a bit of rainfall to make you want something to read.

How about checking out these weekend stories?

I’m Marie McCain, one of the local news editors, and I’d like to thank you for choosing The Press Democrat as your source for local news in the North Bay!

Here are some stories you’ll want to read as you head into your work week:

Sonoma County families plan to join statewide protest against student vaccine mandate: A statewide protest against California’s planned vaccine mandate for K-12 students is attracting support in Sonoma County, even as local education officials ask parents to refrain from participating.

Parents opposing the mandate are planning to keep their kids home from school on Monday, or in some areas, facilitate walkouts from school campuses during the day, according to media reports from communities across California.

Jennifer McGrath, a west county mother of five who is planning to keep her kids home, is one of the moderators of a Facebook group where locals are organizing to advocate against the mandate, called Sonoma County Parents Stand Up For Our Kids.

“They’re not anti vaxxers,” she said. “A lot are vaccinated, but don’t want their kids vaxxed. They’re not all Trump supporters; they’re not all conspiracy theorists.”

Sebastopol church builds huts to provide beds, storage to homeless neighbors: Hidden from view of traffic along Gravenstein Highway Saturday morning, a steady hum of activity was unfolding in the Community Church of Sebastopol’s parking lot.

Two years of planning had led to this week, said volunteer Peggy Porter.

By the end of the weekend, church volunteers hoped to finish construction of two Conestoga huts, each resembling a covered wagon and about 60 square feet to accommodate a bed and limited storage space. The two structures will provide two participants at a time with a bed to sleep in and a secure place to store belongings as they seek more permanent housing.

Because the huts are cheap to make compared to some other forms of temporary shelter, Porter and others wanted to share their journey.

Benefield: Is it that difficult to be considerate to cyclists?: Columnist Kerry Benefield considers the “Idaho Stop” law for cyclist, which was recently vetoed by Gov. Gavin Newsom.

She writes: “As I was riding west on Montecito Avenue in Santa Rosa thinking about Newsom’s veto of a so-called ‘Idaho Stop’ law for cyclists, the driver of a Honda overtook me ridiculously close to a stop sign.

The driver didn’t come close to me on my left shoulder, thank you, but passed me so close to where the stop sign halted us both that the driver didn’t have space to come back into the westbound lane.

The car came to a stop straddling the center line. It would have been an entirely different story, however, had there been a car coming in the opposite direction. Had that been the case, my guess is that the Honda driver, wanting to avoid a head-on collision, would have swerved to his right and into ... me.“

Blood banks in desperate need for donations as supply dwindles: Blood banks in Northern California and across the nation are sounding an alarm over a blood and platelet shortage the American Red Cross says amounts to a national emergency, with supplies at their lowest levels in at least six years.

The shortage, now in its third week, is the third and most severe supply crisis at blood banks since the coronavirus pandemic began, according to the Red Cross.

It has spurred blood banks, including those in the North Bay, to plead for donors of all blood types to visit as soon as they can, especially those with O-negative blood, the universal type that can be given to anyone in an emergency.

“This is such an unusual situation,” said Justin Mueller, the regional donor services executive for the American Red Cross’s Northern California coastal region. “Throughout this pandemic, it's been 'How are we going to make sure we have enough blood products?' because the need is absolutely still there―and quite frankly, that's what we're tasked with each and every day.”

‘So blessed’: Swift, uneventful harvest season wraps up on North Coast: Those in the local wine sector are letting out a sigh of relief after a relatively uneventful harvest, even though the billion-dollar crop appears to be smaller than the recent historical average.

The season progressed with a quick pace to the picks and will finish up on the early side.

This year’s less newsworthy harvest was a welcome solace as the engine of the region’s economy has spent the past four years grappling with wildfires and the complications they can create.