Sweeney: It’s time for our annual news quiz

Happy New Year.

With the new year beginning on a Sunday, some holiday traditions are on hold. We hope you aren’t in despair over waiting a day for the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl, but we won’t make you wait for The Press Democrat editorial department’s nearly annual Quiz for News Junkies.

You know the rules — no texting, no twerking, no wagering (online or otherwise) on the sports questions.

There is no time limit, but you probably want to finish before the ReliaQuest Bowl kicks off Monday morning. If you get half the questions right, you’re a certified news junkie. If you get them all, you might consider getting outside more often. So, go ahead, test your memory of yesteryear’s news.

1. In March, a Russian lawmaker demanded the return of a Sonoma County landmark. Name it.

2. On June 13, Santa Rosa set a new local record for the highest average gasoline price. Within a dollar, what was the price per gallon for unleaded regular?

3. Name the Bay Area athlete known as “Mr. Irrelevant.” For extra credit, explain the nickname.

4. Cloverdale Mayor Todd Lands made headlines for what?

A. Banning fireworks.

B. Guest hosting “Fox and Friends.”

C. Getting ejected from a high school basketball game for threatening a referee.

D. Perfect attendance at City Council meetings.

5. What barrier did Natalie Rogers break in 2022?

6. Edie Ceccarelli of Willits stands alone among California’s nearly 40 million residents. What sets her apart?

7. What did Sonoma County cities do in the name of climate change (choose all that apply):

A. Ban drive-thru windows.

B. Buy a Tesla police car.

C. Ban new gas stations.

D. Bar publicly funded air travel for elected officials.

8. Name a Sonoma County sports tradition that returned after a four-year hiatus in 2022 and a popular family event that was canceled for the third year in a row.

9. True or false, Sonoma Valley provided the scenic backdrop for “Promised Land,” an ABC-TV drama about a Latino family vying for wealth and power in the wine industry.

10. A sheriff’s report from Hopland had people buzzing an unusual crime. What was stolen?

11. An investigation by the district attorney’s office concluded that the Board of Supervisors held two illegal closed-door meetings to discuss what?

A. Homeless camps on the Joe Rodota Trail.

B. Their district boundaries.

C. Their salaries.

D. Moving their offices to the old Sears store in downtown Santa Rosa.

12. Name the iconic Sonoma County treat that went off the market in 2022?

13. What longtime denizen of the Montgomery Village shopping center got an eviction notice?

14. True or false, a Southern California couple was arrested for cat-napping after taking a pet from a Sonoma Valley vacation rental.

15. Ronald Reagan once said, “A government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we’ll ever see on this earth.” Name the public agency that defied his observation in 2022.

16. When Dick Wilhelm, a Friends of the Library volunteer, picked the lock on a donated safe disguised as a book titled “For the Love of Coffee,” what did he find?

A. Coffee grounds.

B. 500 shares of Starbucks stock.

C. $1,000 cash.

D. Tea leaves.

17. Name Sonoma County’s new district attorney.

18. Santa Rosa’s Brett Stein says he owns the world’s private largest collection of:

A. Star Wars memorabilia.

B. Watergate-related autographs.

C. Jack London’s hats.

D. Santa Rosa parking tickets.

19. True of false, Santa Rosa had its hottest day ever on Sept. 6, with a high temperature of 115 degrees.

20. In numerology, the “angel number” 369 is associated with abundance, creativity and joy. What more prosaic significance does it have for Sonoma County?

21. Nicole Aunapu Mann, a native of Petaluma, made history this year:

A. As the first American Olympic gold medalist in biathlon.

B. By driving across her hometown without hitting a single pothole.

C. As the first Native American woman in space.

D. As the first person banned from Twitter by Elon Musk.

22. Name two County youth-oriented Sonoma County organizations that shared in multimillion donations from philanthropist Mackenzie Scott.

23. The Sonoma County Office of Education released two school district consolidation reports this year, one covering west county, the other Santa Rosa. How many school districts does Sonoma County have? For extra credit, how many of California’s 58 counties have more districts?

24. Grapes and cannabis make a lot of headlines and rank first and third for cash value in Sonoma County’s annual agricultural product report. Name the second-ranking product.

25. Minimum wage employees in Sonoma County are due for a pay raise today. What is the new rate?

Answers

1. A Russian lawmaker wanted Fort Ross.

2. Gas cost $6.61 a gallon on June 13.

3. San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy, the last player selected in the NFL draft.

4. C. Todd Lands has appeared on Fox Business News but made headlines for a conflict with a high school basketball referee.

5. Natalie Rogers became Santa Rosa’s first African American mayor.

6. On turning 114, Edie Ceccarelli became the oldest person in the state.

7. B and C. Cotati bought a Tesla police car, and several cities banned new gas stations.

8. Snoopy’s Senior World Hockey Tournament returned, and the Santa Rosa Rose Parade was called off due to pandemic concerns.

9. False, “Promised Land” was set in Sonoma Valley but filmed in Southern California and Georgia.

10. Millions of honeybees were stolen from a Hopland ranch.

11. B. The supervisors met behind closed doors to talk about their district boundaries.

12. Clover Sonoma ice cream.

13. Rasta Charlie Brown.

14. False, but they were ordered to return Nubbins the cat to her owners.

15. The North Coast Rail Authority, which operated freight trains.

16. C. The safe/book donated to the library contained $1,000 cash.

17. Carla Rodriguez is the new district attorney, starting this week.

18. B. Brett Stein collects Watergate memorabilia.

19. True, Sept. 6 set a local heat record.

20. 369 is a new area code to be introduced in 2023.

21. C. Nicole Aunapu Mann, a member of the Wailacki tribe, commanded a mission to the International Space Station

22. The Boys & Girls Clubs and Girl Scouts of Northern California received gifts from Mackenzie Scott.

23. Sonoma County has 40 school districts. Four counties have more.

24. Milk is the second most valuable local crop.

25. The new minimum wage is $17 an hour for companies with 26 or more employees; $16 for smaller companies.

Jim Sweeney is editorial director of The Press Democrat. Email him at jim.sweeney@pressdemocrat.com.

You can send letters to the editor to letters@pressdemocrat.com.