CLEARED » Niners QB Purdy gets OK to start against Bengals today. C1
‘FRIENDS’ STAR GONE » Matthew
Perry dies of apparent drowning. A7
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Saying so long to Sonoma County EXODUS » High housing costs, wildfires, ability to work remotely among reasons residents are bailing By AUSTIN MURPHY THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
People kept warning Chris Davies about alligators. He would tell folks that he and his family were moving from Cotati to Florida, and they would say, “Watch out for the gators.” So far, reptiles haven’t been a problem.
STONEHOUSE
Historic building’s new paint removed Public outrage over whitewashing spurs sandblasting of site
“It’s the bears,” said Davies, a marketing consultant. “No one tells you about the bears.” He’s kidding, kind of. Black bears are a nuisance in Seminole County, where he and his wife, Renee, and their three young children moved earlier this month. They now live in a suburb 15 miles north of Orlando. “They’re out there, but
According to state-to-state migration data recently released by the U.S. Census Bureau, some 343,000 people left California for other states from 2021 to 2022. No state had more people move away.
they’re not hurting anyone,” said Davies, referring to the bears, not his offspring. “They’re kind of like big cats.” By pulling up stakes, the Davies became part of a larger exodus that has the full attention of demographers. According to state-to-state migration data recently released by the U.S. Census Bureau, some 343,000 people left California for other states from 2021 to 2022. No state had more people move away. TURN TO EXODUS » PAGE A9
DOWNTOWN’S IDENTITY CRISIS WHAT WILL IT TAKE TO REVIVE SANTA ROSA’S URBAN CORE?
By MARTIN ESPINOZA THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
After weeks of public outcry over the whitewashing of Santa Rosa’s landmark Stonehouse on Highway 12, the property owner has removed the offending paint. On Saturday, two construction workers sandblasted most of the paint, leaving the 114-year-old structure a shade closer to its original hue. The property owner said the aboutface was done to appease residents whose objections were heard loud and clear. “We want everybody to be happy,” said Paul Thompson, the Novato-based developer who owns the building. “We don’t want to be swimming upstream.” Thompson, who hired a paint contractor to whitewash the building earlier this month, said that amid the outcry some neighbors offered to help pay for the sandblasting. He wouldn’t say how much the paint removal is costing and, for the moment, TURN TO PAINT » PAGE A9
New stage in Gaza war will be ‘long and difficult’
PHOTOS BY CHAD SURMICK / THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
Pedestrians stroll along a breezeway beneath Highway 101 while making their way from Santa Rosa Plaza to downtown Santa Rosa’s Railroad Square during a recent evening out. By SARA EDWARDS THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
W
indsor resident Dan Young has many memories of growing up in Santa Rosa, from cruising down Fourth Street to visiting Lena’s in Railroad Square and its packed bar and dinner crowd. He says he doesn’t go downtown often anymore because he feels there just isn’t A TIME OF much for him to do TRANSITION and wishes there were more community events and live music. “I don’t think [Old] Courthouse Square The Press Democrat is a very comfortable place to be the way it examines the state of downtown Santa Rosa is now,” he said. “It’s not very welcoming, FIRST IN A SERIES at least to me anyway, but maybe there could be more of an effort to make it more decorative and like a place where people want to hang out for an afternoon.” Santa Rosa resident Kyle Dane wants
By ISABEL DEBRE, JULIA FRANKEL AND SAMY MAGDY ASSOCIATED PRESS
JERUSALEM — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the nation Saturday night that the military has opened a “second stage” in the war against Hamas by sending ground forcINSIDE Hamas’ labyrinth es into Gaza and expanding of tunnels attacks from beneath Gaza Strip poses risk to the ground, air Israeli troops / B1 and sea. He said it will only increase ahead of a broad ground invasion into the territory. “It will be long and difficult,” he said. “We are ready.” The bombardment, described by Gaza residents as the most intense of the war, knocked out most communications in the
Lance Cincera, left, and Mike Hoefer, of Expert Window Cleaning scrub the grime off of awnings at the Blue Polish Nail Spa on Oct. 12 along Fifth Street in downtown Santa Rosa.
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The city of Santa Rosa is considering redeveloping the Third and D Street parking garage into affordable housing in downtown Santa Rosa.
CONTINUED FROM A10 Some longtime residents point to landmark events, including elevating Highway 101 and constructing Santa Rosa Plaza, that have changed the face of downtown. Rogers said he hears from people on how the mall separates and alienates Courthouse Square from Railroad Square making people reluctant to travel between the two. And he hears complaints about parking and potential encounters with people experiencing homelessness as the most common reasons why people don’t want to come downtown. Santa Rosa resident and community planning consultant David Woltering and San Jose resident and urban planner Rick Phillips wanted to look at challenges facing downtown Santa Rosa. The two penned an essay about their findings and possible solutions to combat these challenges for the annual International Making Cities Livable Conference for city leaders, researchers, designers and urban planners. The division of Courthouse Square and Railroad Square by the mall is the “elephant in the room,” they said. The second essay, which the pair presented a few weeks ago at the annual conference in London, took a deeper look at solutions to the division, such as creating a path through the mall to allow people to and from each side and new developments on the north and south side to bring more visitors. A further look at these solutions will be presented later in this series. Raissa de la Rosa, director of the Santa Rosa Economic Development Department, said the city invested heavily in day-
PHOTOS BY CHAD SURMICK / THE PRESS DEMOCRAT, 2022
time businesses, such as the bank buildings just off Courthouse Square, without focusing as much on mixed-use or nighttime business. “One of the big challenges is how do we bury those old bank buildings and what do we do with them as the banks are sort of downsizing and stuff like that,” de la Rosa said. “A lot of buildings are owned in trusts with families that don’t even live here anymore ... so it makes it really challenging to do development with the downtown as well.”
A state of transition Roughly more than half a dozen development projects have been announced over the course of the last few years as part of downtown revitalization, such as the Starks latest and eighth restaurant, Augie’s French, and housing projects such as the development at 420 Mendocino Avenue and another potential project in the former White House lot on Third Street.
The First Street Garage in downtown Santa Rosa. Lack of easy parking and the removal of fountains were among the reasons some residents say they don’t frequent downtown. Allinson said it’s no coincidence these projects are occurring all at once, especially since many have been in the works for years. However, many have been halted by the wildfires, the pandemic and financing.
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“There’s just a desire to get stuff done and I think it has made a huge impact,” she said. “Seeing the ordinance updates and projects that we’ve just been talking about for so long starting to move quickly
underlies the hard work from people in the community and policies of the council and city manager’s office that are really driving it all.” De la Rosa believes that downtown Santa Rosa is
healthier than people think. She said she and her department have seen positive turnover of businesses with temporary vacancies. “If you want an active downtown, you have to actually use the downtown,” she said. “You have to patronize businesses to help them out.” Rogers believes challenges with downtown Santa Rosa are a matter of perspective. “The end goal is a place that has diverse options in housing that is affordable for folks, alternatives to single-occupancy vehicles as transportation and has a vibrant local economy,” he said. “It’s a very broad way to put it, but that’s what we’re really working on.” This is the first in a series. Coming up next: Retail shopping You can reach Staff Writer Sara Edwards at 707-5215487 or sara.edwards@ pressdemocrat. com. On Twitter @sedwards380.
NOT WINE, NOT CIDER » Co-fermenters mix fruit, botanicals for new elixir. D1
WINDSOR WEARS CROWN » Jaguars beat Cardinals to defend league title. C1 WINNER OF THE 2018 PULITZER PRIZE
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SONOMA COUNTY
‘A profound debacle’ Vital services Five decades later, peeling back the layers of the war
running on fumes
VIETNAM
Nonprofits scramble for cash as government falls behind on payments By JEREMY HAY AND ANDREW GRAHAM THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
Divisions opened by the conflict are, if anything, more exaggerated now By AUSTIN MURPHY THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
I
t’s been a half-century since the United States of America, until then undefeated in modern warfare, took its first “L.” The signing of the Paris Peace Accords in 1973 allowed then-President Richard Nixon to complete the drawdown of U.S. troops from Vietnam, ending the so-called “police action” that transmogrified INSIDE into a quagmire that cost 58,220 American The Press Democrat pays lives. Estimates of the tribute to those number of Vietnamwho served in ese soldiers and civilthe Vietnam ians killed vary widely, War. / O1 from 2.1 millionto 3.8 million during the American intervention, and in related conflicts before and after. Those Paris accords served as both an off-ramp for America and a humiliating admission of its defeat at the hands of communist North Vietnam. Without American military might to shore it up, the South Vietnamese government — the bulwark against communism America had spent $140 billion and two decades propping up — collapsed in two years. That defeat was capped by chaotic images of helicopters evacuating Americans from the roof of their Saigon embassy. But the conflict had been lost years earlier, in the court of public opinion back home. Far from fading into history, the Vietnam War has reverberated down through the decades, bending the frame of the republic, punching holes in the doctrine of “American ExTURN TO VIETNAM » PAGE A6
NEAL ULEVICH / ASSOCIATED PRESS
One nonprofit executive director dipped into her personal savings for $12,000 to cover payroll costs. Another took out hundreds of thousands of dollars in bank loans to pay his staff and his agency’s bills. A third has also taken out loans and stopped ordering office supplies to save money. Local providers of essential homelessness and drug and alcohol treatment services are being forced to take extreme financial measures because Sonoma County is so late paying what it owes “I have them. experienced The county contracts with these more than a challenges dozen organi- and felt the zations to pro- frustration vide essential and fear these social services providers are on issues of expressing.” key public con- TINA RIVERA, cern, such as Sonoma County home lessness health departand opioid ment director addiction. In many cases, those county partners have been waiting since July to be reimbursed for services whose costs they are paying for up front. “It’s untenable,” said Adrienne Lauby, board chair of Sonoma Applied Village Services, or SAVS, which provides outreach to people living on the streets. The county owes the nonprofit $124,418.63, she said, though county officials cited a lower pending figure. SAVS has taken out two loans to pay its staff and has stopped buying supplies like printer ink, Lauby said. The agency is not alone. Amy Appleton, executive director of SHARE Sonoma County, a nonprofit that secures housing for people who are
People try to scale the 14-foot wall of the U.S. embassy in Saigon, in an attempt to reach evacuation helicopters, as the last of the Americans depart from Vietnam on April 29, 1975.
TURN TO UNPAID » PAGE A10
Retail therapy could help revitalize downtown OPEN FOR BUSINESS » Santa Rosa merchants have high hopes for turning vacant to vibrant By SARA EDWARDS
her opinion, after the Tubbs Fire in 2017 and didn’t start to return until 2021, when many Ru Scott’s Fourth Street pandemic restrictions lifted. boutique, Punch Clothing, Scott said she looks forhas been there for 25 years, ward to several new housand she’s watched ing developments the downtown in planned for the A TIME OF front of her storeTRANSITION area, and said she front change. would love to see She, along with downtown Santa other longtime busiRosa get an aesness owners, have thetic face-lift and survived wildfires, have free parking economic challengagain. The Press Democrat es and a global pan“I have faith that examines the state of demic. (downtown’s) goThe downtown downtown Santa Rosa ing to have a real energy shifted, in SECOND IN A SERIES surge,” Scott said.
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But even though the easing of pandemic restrictions was a blessing for local brickand-mortar businesses, the downtown retail climate faces ongoing challenges as consumers continue to opt for buying online. This has forced business owners to adapt and innovate, others have opted to move or close their storefronts entirely. Cupcake, a child’s clothing boutique in Courthouse Square, moved to Montgomery Village earlier this year after being in downtown since 2005. Disguise the Limit costume shop in Railroad Square TURN TO RETAIL » PAGE A9
JOHN BURGESS / THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
Ru Scott, owner of Punch Clothing on Fourth Street, says free parking would help draw people to downtown Santa Rosa.
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Justine Malone, owner of Cast Away Yarn Shop in Santa Rosa’s Railroad Square, has lobbied for more retail space to help balance the draw to downtown. The local yarn shop, with its walls of colorful yarn for sale, craft supplies and gifts, has been a staple business in that area for more than 10 years.
CONTINUED FROM A1 closed after 43 years of business because of the decline in foot traffic and consumer preference for bigbox stores or Amazon. The owner, Jenny DeYoung, moved her design company online. But other businesses, mostly dining, have either recently opened or have plans to open in the next few years.
What research shows The Santa Rosa Economic Development Quarterly Report from July found that despite economic recovery from the height of the pandemic, retail vacancy rates in Sonoma County rose slightly since the third quarter of 2022. We previously reported data from commercial real estate firm Keegan & Coppin that found that vacancy rates for downtown rose to around 21% in 2023. The economic development quarterly report, which also used findings from Keegan & Coppin, found that while North Bay retail continues to face challenges, including changes in consumer spending habits, essential retail such as grocery stores or restaurants continue to see an increase in demand. A grocery store could be in the future for downtown Santa Rosa after the city agreed to enter into negotiations with developer Hugh Futrell and affordable housing developer Burbank Housing, who submitted a joint proposal that includes a grocery market and child care facility. City of Santa Rosa Chief Financial Officer Alan Alton said sales tax for downtown has held steady over the last decade at 11% of the overall sales tax revenue the city collects. Sales tax sank to a low 6% during the second quarter of 2020, at the height of the pandemic, and has slowly made its way back to pre-pandemic levels. Many business owners and residents wonder why neighboring cities such as Healdsburg, Petaluma and Sonoma seem to have more vibrant downtowns and appear more successful than downtown Santa Rosa. Economic development department director Raissa de la Rosa said there are multiple factors that differentiate Santa Rosa from neighboring Sonoma County cities. “Ideally, you want a good mix of restaurants, retail and services (in downtown),” she said. “Some factors in our downtown don’t exist anywhere else.” De la Rosa is referring to a number of amenities and services such as homelessness resource centers and the multiple federal and local government offices housed in downtown Santa Rosa. “We (Santa Rosa) were developed differently than Healdsburg, Petaluma or Sonoma,” de la Rosa said. “They don’t have a freeway that got built through their downtown, but what it did allow is for the two areas of downtown (Courthouse Square and Railroad Square) to develop uniquely.”
CHAD SURMICK THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
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Lewis Deng, owner of House of Botanicals, wants to see new businesses downtown. He says it’s not attractive to visitors. walking to their cars at night. She notes there are the customers who leave the store when someone experiencing homelessness comes in, or they leave to put more money in the meter to avoid a ticket. “Most of the homeless people are super cool and I always say hi, but then there are people that struggle with a mental health issue, and I think that’s where things start to become scary for employees,” Hudlin said. “Out of all of our locations, our Santa Rosa location seems a little more unsafe... but overall, our Santa Rosa store does do very well.” While many have noted lower foot traffic, businesses are still hopeful for continued success downtown. Mercedes Hernandez, owner of Holee Vintage on Fourth Street in Courthouse Square and founder of the craft market for millennial-owned businesses The SoCo Market , felt downtown needed new businesses to restore it to the “hot spot” it once was.
She applauds the city’s efforts to bring people, especially youth, back downtown. “Having events (like the SoCo Market) and things like that has definitely helped and I know a lot of businesses benefit,” Hernandez said. “I think we’re heading in the right direction as far as putting downtown Santa Rosa as a destination that people want to visit again.” Keven Brown, owner of longtime gift and stationery store Corrick’s near the corner of Fourth and D Streets, is optimistic. After nearly 31 years as owner, he’s watched downtown go through ebbs and flows and feels that the events and current lineup of businesses have brought young people to downtown. But he feels that communication of downtown projects and advertising of city-held events is minimal and there needs to be more to encourage new visitors to explore the area. Other downtown Santa Rosa business owners
share the same optimism as Scott, Hernandez and Brown. They believe bringing a range of new businesses will help bring back foot traffic and that housing will encourage more activity downtown. But other business owners are much less sanguine. Lewis Deng, owner of urban plant shop House of Botanicals, agrees that new kinds of business will help bring foot traffic downtown but feels downtown isn’t attractive for tourists and visitors. He said his business on D Street in Courthouse Square doesn’t get a lot of foot traffic and that most of his customers find him through his social media marketing efforts, especially the store’s Instagram, which has a hefty 15,800 followers. Cupcake children’s boutique owner Jenny Romeyn share’s Deng’s opinion. She moved her business to Montgomery Village back in March after 18 years of operating in downtown Santa Rosa. Romeyn
said she felt like discussion around change downtown was just that: mostly talk with little action. “I realized at some point, it was like running on a hamster wheel and never getting anywhere,” Romeyn said. “I saw so much potential for downtown and I thought I’d be able to have a hand in changing it and fixing it up because I do think it could be amazing.”
Two squares divided When Jenny DeYoung spoke with The Press Democrat back in March, she said the lack of foot traffic and promotion for Railroad Square contributed to her decision to close her costume rental shop Disguise the Limit. She said the efforts to bring people to the area have only been met with more hurdles, and lack of promotion for Railroad Square keeps tourists and visitors away. “The location here is really poor in the sense that the division of Fourth
Homeless, lack of free parking deterrents A number of downtown business owners contacted by The Press Democrat said the presence of people experiencing homelessness and the lack of free parking have had an impact on both attracting customers and retaining employees. Cristina Hudlin, co-owner of clothing boutique Ooh La Luxe, said her employees at their downtown Santa Rosa location have to either park at the mall or the business has to pay an extra monthly fee for employees to park in a parking lot, an expense the business doesn’t have to BETH SCHLANKER / THE PRESS DEMOCRAT, 2021 pay for its other locations. Her employees also say Mercedes Hernandez, owner of Holee Vintage and the founder of The SoCo Market, says downtown Santa Rosa needs new they feel uncomfortable businesses that draw a younger crowd that will restore the area as a “hot spot.”
Street in Santa Rosa really confuses the tourists and hurts our local economy,” DeYoung said, referring to planning and construction decisions to build the Santa Rosa Plaza shopping mall, elevate Highway 101 and create parking lots underneath it in the middle of downtown. “There’s no promotion of this area.” While Railroad Square is considered within the boundaries of downtown Santa Rosa, business owners feel they are overlooked when it comes to input on downtown issues or receiving city support. Kris Wilson, executive director for the Historic Railroad Square Association, added that there’s always been a perceived separation between Old Courthouse Square and Railroad Square, something she actively wants to change. She said the association plans to work more with Santa Rosa Plaza shopping mall and the Downtown Action District to create solutions on easier flow between the two parts of downtown when the mall closes in the evening. Railroad Square’s The Batcave Comics & Toys owner Mike Holbrook feels much of the focus on bringing people downtown is on Courthouse Square and that parking and decisions made by the city government, such as bringing back the paid parking, are hurting downtown. “People aren’t spending as much money and it’s made it a struggle for our downtown Santa Rosa shop,” he said. Justine Malone, owner of Cast Away Yarn Shop on Fourth Street, feels that Railroad Square has taken a turn for the better over the last six months. She said the new businesses, restaurants and events over the summer have brought interest back to the area allowing people to feel more safe. A further look into safety efforts in downtown Santa Rosa will be explored later in this series. But she shares Wilson and DeYoung’s view on downtown separation and wants to see more city held events in Railroad Square. She said many residents felt the neighborhood wasn’t a safe place to walk, but as the association has ramped up efforts to improve the district, she feels that narrative doesn’t fit anymore. “It seems like Railroad Square is playing second fiddle to what the city prioritizes,” Malone said. “We could really use the city’s help in overcoming that stigma.” You can reach Staff Writer Sara Edwards at 707-5215487 or sara.edwards@ pressdemocrat. com. On Twitter @sedwards380.
CORK TOSS » What’s
PLAYOFFS BEGIN »
more fun than drinking wine? Playing a game while you do it. D1
Opening round of North Coast Section postseason sees big victories, upsets and heartbreakers. C1 WINNER OF THE 2018 PULITZER PRIZE
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SONOMA COUNTY
Student brawls escalating
How a deputy earned $465,000 Agencies must dangle hefty compensation, salaries to fill positions By PHIL BARBER THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
The most highly compensated Sonoma County employee in 2022 wasn’t one of the five county supervisors, or the public health officer, or the district attorney, or the director of public works. The top earner last year worked in the Sheriff’s Office, but it wasn’t then-Sheriff-Coroner Mark Essick, either. It was a very busy deputy. Joseph Ricks supplemented his base salary of $115,000 with a prodigious $240,000 in overtime pay in 2022. Throw in the pension and medical benefits he received from the county, as well as a few other smaller forms of compensation, and Ricks made close to $465,000 in his public job that year. “People see those numbers and their eyes pop out — ‘oh my gosh, a deputy made $400,000,’” said Eddie Engram, who replaced Essick as sheriff-coroner this year. “That deputy probably worked close to 4,000 hours that year.” For context, someone on the job for 40 hours a week, with only two weeks of vacation, would work 2,000 hours in a year. Joseph Ricks basically worked two full-time jobs in 2022. The Press Democrat was unable to reach Ricks for comment. The payroll numbers are contained in a database of county salaries for 2022, the most recent available. An analysis of the data reveals the competitive compensation packages local governments feel they must dangle to
SANTA ROSA » More than 100 videos show school violence has worsened since a teen was fatally stabbed last year
Images from videos recorded by cellphones and posted to the social media app Telegram show altercations at schools in Santa Rosa. Episodes of violence are on the rise in the Santa Rosa City Schools district.
TURN TO EARN » PAGE A13
By ALANA MINKLER AND ADRIANA GUTIERREZ
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR
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Netanyahu rejects calls for truce
T
he video is pure chaos. A Montgomery High School student throws punches at another student’s head while crowds of students gather around to film. Campus supervisors try holding them back as other students start fights of their own. The episode occurred in early October. In another video uploaded Sept. 5, a fe-
By WAFAA SHURAFA AND BASSEM MROUE
male student walks up from behind another girl and pulls her ponytail so hard that her head smashes into a pole, taking her to the ground. And in yet another posted on Oct. 24, several boys can be seen fighting on the ground near lockers as one teacher tries to pull them off each other and another tries to stop others from filming. The videos are among more than 100 accessed by The Press Democrat showing dozens of students, mostly from Montgom-
ery High School but also from other Santa Rosa City Schools, fighting one another on or near school grounds. The hair pulling, head kicking, face punching and tackling takes place across genders, races and ages in hallways, bathrooms, locker rooms, school parking lots and campus surroundings. They are shocking displays of brutality among high school and middle school TURN TO BRAWLS » PAGE A11
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DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pushed back Saturday against INSIDE growing international calls for a Local Jewish cease-fire, saying leaders issue Israel’s battle to statement on crush Gaza’s rulwar in Israel ing Hamas miland Gaza, calling for hope itants will conand peace. / A3 tinue with “full force.” A cease-fire would be possible only if all 239 hostages held by militants in Gaza are released, Netanyahu said in a televised address. The Israeli leader also insisted that after the war, now entering its sixth week, Gaza would TURN TO WAR » PAGE A9
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Dining feeds hope for downtown revival SANTA ROSA » Many say restaurants will boost foot traffic, area’s turnaround By SARA EDWARDS THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
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Raj Sridhara and his wife, Spandana Sridhara, sit near the window Friday at Americana restaurant in Santa Rosa.
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Samantha and Ryan Ramey were frequent visitors to Santa Rosa even before they opened their restaurant, Americana, in Railroad Square just 10 days before the country was shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic. That was in 2020. They reopened slowly the following summer with limited hours and staffing as people became comfortable going out again. Samantha said she feels the restau-
IMMIGRATION: If elected, Donald Trump plans to round up people living in the U.S. illegally on a vast scale and detain them in camps. / A3
rant finally hit its A TIME OF stride last fall. TRANSITION “It feels like people are really coming out and we’re able to build our local customer base,” she said. The Press Democrat “It feels to me, as examines the state of a business owner downtown Santa Rosa and a community member, a lot of THIRD IN A SERIES people are reinvesting in (downtown) and are excited to be here.” Terri Stark, who owns seven restaurants in Sonoma County with
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RUNNERS REACH STATE » Puma boys and girls, Viking girls to compete. C1
ante raised for holiday food drive. A3
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MONTE RIO
A plea to save iconic theater
New housing key to new life downtown?
Owners ask community to help rescue venue — and some famous fabric By AUSTIN MURPHY THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
Plenty of movie theaters are having a rough go in this pandemic-fueled age of digital streaming. The Monte Rio Theater and Extravaganza, perched on a picturesque bend in the Russian River a few miles southwest of Guerneville, has proved no exception. After buying it in 2021, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, then spending two years trying to defibrillate the business — efforts that included painting it a strident pink just in time to screen “Barbie” in August — David and Kim Lockhart recently put the iconic Sonoma County venue up for sale. One of the theater’s main attractions for the Lockharts was the off-white cloth draped across the auditorium’s ceiling. Dusty though they were, those folds of fabric lent a touch of elegance to the 74-year-old converted Quonset hut. That woven white nylon, all 12,000 square feet of it, is the largest surviving section of “Running Fence,” an audacious project conceived and executed by the artist Christo and his wife, JeanneClaude, in 1976. “Running Fence” was an 18-foothigh wall of cloth that meandered 24.5 miles across the private lands of 59 ranchers in Sonoma and Marin counties. An estimated 2 million people flocked to Sonoma County to see it. Four years in the planning, it was dismantled after two weeks. “Both the Rio Theater and the fabric from ‘Running Fence’ are unique to Sonoma County,” Kim Lockhart wrote in a recent email to The Press Democrat. “Before they are sold, we hope that locals can find a solution to keep them here.” Even before Netflix and the coronavirus, this quirky venue never had an easy time of it. TURN TO VENUE » PAGE A10
INSIDE GOLDEN STATE ON HOLD:
PHOTOS BY CHAD SURMICK / THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
Construction continues on The Cannery housing project on Oct 12 as the SMART train heads south along the development that sits along West Third Street at the west end of Railroad Square.
Projects aim to bring foot traffic back to Santa Rosa core By SARA EDWARDS THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
T
here’s an anecdote developers like to share about Santa Rosa: More housing in downtown Santa Rosa will bring more people to downtown Santa Rosa. And keep them there. It’s a story Hugh Futrell believes holds true. Futrell’s company has a number of projects in the works downtown in different sectors such as housing, office and lodging. He recently entered exclusive negotiations with the Santa Rosa City Council in partnership with Burbank Housing to bring a A TIME OF multipurpose develTRANSITION opment with housing and additional amenities such as a grocery store. Another one of his housing projects is in its final construcThe Press Democrat tion phase just outexamines the state of side downtown at 888 downtown Santa Rosa FOURTH IN A SERIES
TURN TO HOUSING » PAGE A8
A pedestrian makes their way Friday along Fifth Street in Santa Rosa’s Railroad Square. City officials and developers are hoping new downtown housing will bring foot traffic back into the core of the city.
Patients, staff leave Gaza’s biggest hospital
Congress averts federal shutdown, but California may have to wait for critical Farm Bill update / B1
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR » Dozens are killed at crowded refugee camp
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Palestinian rescuers evacuate an injured woman found under the rubble of a destroyed house Saturday following an Israeli airstrike in Khan Younis refugee camp, southern Gaza Strip
KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip — Hundreds of patients, medical staff and people displaced by Israel’s war against Hamas left Gaza’s largest hospital Saturday, with one evacuee describing a panicked and chaotic scene as Israeli forces searched and face-scanned men among those leaving and took some away. Israel’s military has been searching Gaza City’s Shifa
Hospital for a Hamas command center that it alleges is located under the facility — a claim Hamas and hospital staff deny. The evacuation, which Israel says was voluntary, left behind only Israeli troops and a small number of health workers to care for those too sick to move. “We left at gunpoint,” Mahmoud Abu Auf told The Associated Press by phone after he and his family left the crowded hospital. “Tanks and snipers were everywhere inside and outside.” He said he saw Israeli troops detain three men. Elsewhere in northern Gaza, dozens of people were killed in the urban Jabaliya refugee TURN TO WAR » PAGE A7
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HOUSING
CONTINUED FROM A1 Fourth St. “When there’s more people on the street, more retailers, more restaurants that attract people or events that attract the community as a whole, those things over time will alter that perception,” he said, referring to the belief by some that downtown is an “undesirable” place to be. “There has also been a decline in the amount of downtown employment, particularly since the pandemic, and reversing that is going to be important to maintain a balanced downtown between housing, employment and hospitality.” Santa Rosa City Council has made housing a priority, easing requirements for developers with plans on bringing high-density housing to the heart of the city. One of the efforts was the passing of an ordinance that cuts the design review process from 10 months to three months and permit costs from $24,000 to $9,000. The Express Permitting Program also was created to cut the planning, engineering and building review times from around 18 months to 6 months total. Housing in downtown Santa Rosa has been a key topic when it comes to revitalizing the historic area. Both market-rate and affordable housing units exist, but more projects have been announced in the past year. Building more places to live downtown will by extensionbring more people downtown. Council member Chris Rogers, whose district includes downtown Santa Rosa, said one of the biggest challenges with bringing more urban housing continues to be high costs of building and construction. “The cost of living is really high here and rents feel very high to us, and
PHOTOS BY CHAD SURMICK / THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
The housing project at 888 Fourth St. is in its final construction phase, just to the east of downtown in Santa Rosa. to many developers, the return on investment is low so we really do have to be creative to get projects built up here,” he said.
State of downtown housing Data from the Up Downtown program shows that 198 units of housing have been constructed in downtown Santa Rosa since 2016, with 418 units currently under construction (as of this year) and another 924 units in the building permit process since 2016. There’s housing in the Rosenberg building, and Catholic Charities recently completed the first phase of its affordable housing project with Burbank Housing known as Caritas Homes. The second phase is expected to break ground next fall. On top of more affordable housing developments, efforts to bring
more workforce housing also have increased. Developer Cornerstone Downtown’s director of marketing and development, Pauline Block, said they hear from employers constantly about the need for workforce housing, especially for people with occupations such as teaching or nursing who don’t qualify for affordable housing but often are unable to afford typical rent. “We really need all levels of housing,” Block said. “It’s going to take a collaboration to really make a difference in downtown, with employers, developers and with the city so I think there’s an opportunity and openness to figure out how to make it happen.” Cornerstone Downtown has two developments currently in the planning stages. The first property is at 34 Sixth St. near the Railroad Square SMART station and will be a six-story
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THE PRESS DEMOCRAT • SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2023
A9
“We really need all levels of housing. It’s going to take a collaboration to really make a difference in downtown, with employers, developers and with the city.” PAULINE BLOCK, Developer Cornerstone Downtown director of marketing, development
CHAD SURMICK / THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
Shoppers pay for parking Friday on Third Street in Santa Rosa. City officials and developers are hoping that new downtown housing will bring foot traffic back into the core of the city.
HOUSING
CONTINUED FROM A8 Barrel Proof Comedy. This project will be an eight-story, mixed-use development with 118 units of housing, a public child care center, a small cafe and shared electric fleet of vehicles for building residents to use. Both are waiting for final confirmations to break ground. Block said there have been many challenges with bringing more workforce housing to downtown Santa Rosa. She says there aren’t the same subsidies, grants or tax credits available for this type of housing. She also said other economic factors such as capital expenses, increased risk associated with borrowing funds and high interest rates have created challenges for developers, not just in Santa Rosa but across California. “Investors and financial institutions are more cautious about the added risks of our market,” Block said. “If you look at places like Oakland or San Francisco pre-COVID, where there was a lot of building happening, you have the same construction costs we have here, sometimes maybe a little more for labor costs. But the rents are much lower here than they are in those areas so that’s where it’s been an issue.” Another challenge is that many local developers specialize in single-family or low-density housing. Economic development division deputy director Raissa de la Rosa said the city has been working with developers from outside the county to bring high-density infill housing and other community amenities to downtown. “In order to survive, we need to have a higher density of housing versus parking,” she said. “We’re still going to have more than enough parking, but it’s one of the incentives that we have to recruit new developers downtown.” De la Rosa added that once the foot traffic increases, more amenities will follow such as a grocery store or more places
MORE ONLINE This story is part of a series. To read more stories, visit pressdemocrat.com. that offer child care. What took so long to bring housing downtown? Mid- and high-density housing wasn’t the development pattern for Santa Rosa. Rather than building up, development sprawled outward toward the city’s edges, which is why housing is limited in terms of finding space near Courthouse Square and Railroad Square. After the Tubbs Fire of 2017 took out more than 3,000 Santa Rosa homes, Santa Rosa and Sonoma County formed the Renewal Enterprise District to accelerate the construction of mid- to high-density housing near public transit hubs. Michelle Whitman, a board member for the Renewal Enterprise District, said the district was able to attract state funding with the goal of bringing more housing to downtown, but interviews with developers and stakeholders revealed that financing issues made the idea nearly impossible. “They faced financing gaps that they couldn’t address and the reason for that was we were trying to accelerate this type of housing that didn’t really exist in downtown Santa Rosa and the city center more broadly,” Whitman said. Whitman said sponsors and developers would typically be able to reach between 90% and 95% of funding for a project, but struggled to close the funding gap because of the lack of proof this type of housing was in demand. The Renewal Enterprise District, using grant money obtained from the state as well as county and state PG&E settlement money from the Tubbs Fire, helped close the gap.
types of housing including affordable, market-rate, for-rent and for-sale options. He said many Sonoma County residents are living in overcrowded conditions, one of many issues surrounding housing that Generation Housing addresses. According to the organization’s State of Housing report from 2022, Santa Rosa has eight out of 10 of the most overcrowded neighborhoods in the county. “We’re trying to ultimately reduce the level of overcrowding and give everyone the standard of living that they deserve,” Weeks said. “There are a lot of (developments) in the pipeline, and we really want to see the city and county as a whole continue making good policy choices to keep up with the momentum.”
Another hurdle
Larry Florin, CEO of affordable housing development Burbank Housing, said the economics of building affordable housing in downtown Santa Rosa has been challenging, especially given the increased demand. Burbank Housing has about 1,700 units of affordable housing in Santa Rosa with fewer than 200 of those in the downtown area, according to Florin. “We’d like to see the revitalization of downtown Santa Rosa include people of all income levels,” Florin said. “That’s the reason we submitted our proposal for the (former White House department store land) to ensure that diversity of socioeconomic populations are represented.” Florin said more affordable housing developments also would mean fewer parking spaces would be necessary considering nearby transit options and shorter walking distance to key services. “(Parking) has a huge impact on the financial feasibility of a project, so being able to produce fewer The push for affordable spaces is really important housing in terms of making projCalum Weeks, policy ects affordable,” he said. director with Santa Rosa-based housing advocacy You can reach Staff Writer organization Generation Sara Edwards at 707-521Housing said the down- 5487 or sara.edwards@ town area needs different pressdemocrat. com.
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Parents call for campus cops SANTA ROSA » Group says officers would keep students safe but school board may be hesitant to reinstate them By ALANA MINKLER AND ADRIANA GUTIERREZ THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
A group of about 15 parents filled Montgomery High School’s library in mid-October, with one goal in mind: to reinstate school resource officers on their campus. Standing at the front of the room was Melissa Stewart, a parent of a sophomore at Montgomery, handing out pamphlets and the agenda for her group, the Safe Campus Alliance. The group formed amid recent
increases in violence on Santa Rosa City School campuses. It is made up of parents, students, teachers and community members who are concerned about student safety and are convinced that school resource officers could provide immediate relief. “I'm listening to these (school) board meetings and it doesn't feel like our concerns were being addressed,” Stewart said. “It made me go: ‘I have to do something else. We need to do something.’” TURN TO OFFICERS » PAGE A11
City manager adds pressure to improve safety, use SROs By ADRIANA GUTIERREZ AND PAULINA PINEDA THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
ABRAHAM FUENTES / FOR THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
Officer Luigi Valencia served as a school resource officer at Montgomery High last year.
Santa Rosa’s top government administrator has written to the city’s school chief about rising concern over campus violence in the district and called for a host of measures that could include the return of campus officers. In a Thursday letter, City Manager Maraskeshia Smith
told Superintendent Anna Trunnell her outreach was prompted by concern over campus safety “that has become increasingly significant in recent months.” “As the individual responsible for overseeing our city’s safety and a dedicated advocate for our youth’s welfare, I am writing to address the urgent issue of school safety,” Smith wrote. “Our schools are facing complex TURN TO SMITH » PAGE A13
A TIME OF TRANSITION
FOOTBALL CHAMPS » MUSTANGS BRING HOME TROPHY
St. Vincent basks in state title triumph
The Press Democrat examines the state of downtown Santa Rosa
FIFTH IN A SERIES
New events inject fresh energy into city’s core MYTH VS. REALITY » Foot traffic up despite perceptions of residents By SARA EDWARDS THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
PHOTOS BY KENT PORTER / THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
St. Vincent’s Ruben Berrera, left, feigns disbelief after teammate Omar Mughannam asked to hold the trophy during a victory celebration after the Mustangs beat the Wasco Tigers on Friday to win a state football championship in Pasadena.
Private Petaluma school tastes thrill of victory that was 3 years in making By KIENAN O'DOHERTY THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
W
hen it was over, when the trophy INSIDE had been won, Trent Herzog See more closed his eyes and lifted his arms photos from into the cool Pasadena sky. St. Vincent’s The St. Vincent de Paul High School footstate title ball coach, surrounded by his players, was game. / C6 heading onto the field to celebrate Friday night’s state championship victory. That’s when his Mustangs started spraying their water bottles all over the place — but mainly at their leader. It was a moment of joy and exultation for a tiny Petaluma TURN TO CHAMPS » PAGE A10
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The St. Vincent Mustangs gather in prayer prior to their state title game against the Wasco Tigers on Friday in Pasadena.
Everyone has a theory of what downtown Santa Rosa needs to thrive. Of the more than 250 people who responded to a recent Press Democrat query, the majority cited more events, less crime and better parking and transportation alternatives. They also cite the need to physically reunify Courthouse Square and Railroad Square. And while that’s not going to happen anytime soon, the other priorities reflect how Santa Rosa’s downtown is in some ways defined by perception rather than reality. The fact is, there already are more events and less crime, and as for the parking and transportation, let’s just say it’s a work in progress. Here’s a look at how the myths stack up against the facts. Santa Rosa resident Gary Lentz said that while there are great businesses in the city to attract people, there need to be more night spots; Courthouse Square’s event space isn’t used enough. While Lentz agrees that the planned residential projects will help bring people downtown, that’s not enough. “I think more bars with bands would be great,” Lentz said. Alice, who didn’t want to give her last name, has lived downtown for seven and a half years. She misses when live music would play in some of the parklets and wants to see more events in the city’s center. “I like coming to happy hours TURN TO CITY CORE » PAGE A8
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CITY CORE
LEARN MORE This story is part of a series. To read more stories, visit pressdemocrat.com.
CONTINUED FROM A1
downtown, visiting my friends and I wanted to be able to walk and not drive,” she said. “I like the live music … and I would like to see more (of it).” Revitalizing Santa Rosa’s downtown has been a topic of discussions and essays ever since shelter-inplace orders lifted. Many businesses embraced a work-from-home model while others adopted a hybrid model and downsized to smaller offices. But studies across the country say complete return-to-office efforts won’t provide the spark downtowns need to revive. A special Zoom event held by Politico in 2021 brought together city officials and planners to discuss how to fix America’s ailing downtowns. Ideas that emerged included creating outdoor spaces with cultural events, rethinking street design to accommodate vehicles, bikes and pedestrians, moving parking areas farther out and making downtown attractive for diverse segments of the population in terms of age, race and ethnicity. In Santa Rosa, those things are easier said than done. Since the unveiling of the renovated and reunited Courthouse Square in 2017, many hoped that there would be more events held in the space. It wasn’t until recently that this became the case. In 2020, Mercedes Hernandez, owner of the Holee Vintage store on Fourth Street started The SoCo Market for millennial business owners, in downtown Cotati. She had noticed that many people who lost their jobs during the pandemic used the opportunity to start a business of their own. Hernandez wanted to give small businesses, particularly those owned
slated to host 70 events, such as the annual tree lighting and Winter Lights Skating, in downtown Santa Rosa in 2023, one event more than in 2022. The Railroad Square Historic Association also hosts its fair share of events with live music and holiday-related activities. Cadance Allinson is executive director for the Downtown Action Organization. It’s great to see because I think finding new audiences and bringing them downtown is huge,” she said. “Most weekends there’s something happening here and the same with the summers. There’s just a lot going on.”
Increased safety efforts
CHAD SURMICK / THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
Diners at Jackson’s Bar and Oven on Fourth Street in downtown Santa Rosa’s Railroad Square enjoy an evening out. When queried, residents said more events, less crime and more parking would help revitalize downtown Santa Rosa. by millennials, a place to show off their goods. She said as the market grew in popularity, Santa Rosa reached out and asked her to bring her endeavor to Courthouse Square. She said as they’ve continued to operate downtown, now with more than 100 vendors, attendance has grown to include people from outside the North Bay. “(These visitors) are also checking out the downtown
area and visiting a lot of local shops and restaurants,” Hernandez said. “It’s kind of put Santa Rosa on the map a little bit more.” Dozens of events and gatherings were canceled in 2020 when the pandemic shut down nearly everything. Data from the Santa Rosa economic development report found that only five special event permits for downtown Santa Rosa were issued that year. The city has continued to
issue more event permits as restrictions have lifted. The report states the city issued 29 special events permits between January and June of this year. As of June 1, an additional 14 were issued. The Santa Rosa Metro Chamber of Commerce also has hosted many events that take place downtown while also bringing outside events to the area supported by the chamber. The chamber is
But others have said they avoid downtown Santa Rosa because it’s “too dangerous” and that downtown is filled with crime, graffiti and drugs. Santa Rosa Police Chief John Cregan said the crimes that occur downtown are more minor offenses, such as public indecency, or general complaints about the homeless. “I don’t think we’ve ever seen a disproportionate amount of violent crimes being committed downtown,” Cregan said. Data from the Santa Rosa Police Department showed that the downtown area had only 0.8% of citywide violent crime. Downtown safety is a topic Cregan has zeroed in on since he took office last year. He said he and his department have seen tremendous progress and that many of the efforts put in place to curb crime have helped, such as expanding the Downtown Enforcement Team, which now has eight officers patrolling seven days a week. The police department
formed a resource team, the inResponse Mental Health Support Team, to help people experiencing a mental health crisis. Members are not sworn police officers but rather licensed mental health clinicians dispatched by 911 operators. “I’ve been very clear from day one as chief that the best resource to go (help people) experiencing a mental health crisis is not a police officer,” Cregan said. “Our officers aren’t going down there to focus on enforcement action, they’re there to build connections with our community, for all members of our community.” Data from the inResponse Mental Health Support Team showed that 410 dispatched calls were made in September alone. Cregan said the goal is to respond to 5,000 calls to service throughout 2023 with plans to launch a third team in early 2024 that would respond to calls between the hours of 9 p.m. to 7 a.m. seven days a week. For the upcoming holiday season, the downtown police ambassadors program has been relaunched. Volunteers are encouraged to offer information, directions and assistance while monitoring the area. They will report unsafe or suspicious behavior directly to the police department. More foot patrol officers also will be on duty, according to a release from the department. These officers will patrol Courthouse Square, Railroad Square and Santa Rosa Plaza, as well as Coddingtown Mall and Montgomery Village. Portions of their time will be spent at parking garages and near storefronts. Property and business owners have told The Press Democrat the homeless population, among other reasons, contributes to challenges they have attracting customers and recruiting and retaining employees. TURN TO CITY CORE » PAGE A9
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CITY CORE CONTINUED FROM A8
Santa Rosa City Council member Chris Rogers, whose district includes downtown, said he’s heard from business owners that things are improving. They cite mental health response and homeless service outreach helping people get the services they need and a debris removal team cleaning up trash and graffiti have helped. “For all the negative things that we hear from people from time to time, we see downtown coming back,” he said. “I have been hearing from downtown business owners over the last couple of months that it’s getting better.” Catholic Charities, which has a resource hub on Morgan Street, has added two dedicated workers to its Homeless Outreach Services Team, or HOST, providing a permanent presence in the area. The team already does outreach in downtown but is often called away to other parts of the city. These two additional workers will stay in the downtown area. Catholic Charities also teamed up with Burbank Housing to create the Caritas Homes development with the first phase of the high-density, affordable housing project opening earlier this year. Catholic Charities CEO Jennielynn Holmes said homelessness has reduced in downtown in her opinion because of specific targeted efforts such as the HOST team and the downtown enforcement team. She said there is typically a higher concentration
of people experiencing homelessness in urban parts of the community. “We know that homelessness affects every corner of our community and at the middle of it is a person suffering,” Holmes said. “So we really see a multifaceted approach to when we help the individual, we’re also helping the community.” Other organizations in Sonoma County are working on improved biking and walking infrastructure to discourage dependence on cars. In response to the Press Democrat’s recent article about housing projects downtown, many readers expressed concern that more housing would bring more traffic to the area. Others worried that the elimination of parking lots in place of new apartment buildings would heighten the parking problem, despite a study from 2022 showing that 74% of the more than 8,700 public and private parking spots in downtown were vacant during peak hours. Chris Guenther, co-founder of the Bikable Santa Rosa campaign, said the group focuses on cycling as ways to get to work or school, and there needs to be better infrastructure to make that possible. “We are thoughtful about creating a viable network, which makes cycling more of an everyday transportation choice,” Guenther said. “We’ve got some good parks, but they don’t all connect and a lot of the parks that we have are sort of the old style of bike infrastructure.” The California Department of Transportation, also known as CalTrans, has a classification system for different types of bike
A9 Miles Lyons rides his bike through the “Unum” sculpture that was installed last January in Old Courthouse Square. It was one of a number of efforts to make downtown Santa Rosa more attractive to residents and visitors. JOHN BURGESS THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
Pedestrians stroll along Fourth Street in Santa Rosa’s Railroad Square. Foot traffic has increased as more events have been slated downtown. CHAD SURMICK THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
lanes. Guenther is referring to the Class II bike lane, usually just a painted lane. “And that’s not safe,” he said. Sonoma County Bicycle Coalition Executive Director Eris Weaver said while there aren’t many bike lanes in downtown San-
ta Rosa, traffic in Courthouse Square and Railroad Square is typically slower. She added that traveling between the two can sometimes be a challenge but that there are plans from the city to make bike travel in and out of downtown safer. She said bike storage
also needs to be addressed. There are bike racks in Courthouse Square and the SMART Train station, but not many other options. Alexander Oceguera, the active transportation planner with the City of Santa Rosa, said the last count in 2022 showed there are 62 bike racks in downtown. At
least 25 more bike racks have been installed since that count with plans to install 50 more. Weaver and the coalition have pitched the idea of turning parking spots into bike storage. The coalition held an event earlier in October in front of Sonoma Clean Power and riders could leave their bikes with a free valet service. “I don’t want to lock my bike where there’s a lot of people hanging out and then go shopping maybe three blocks away only because I”m worried my bike won’t be there when I get back,” she said. “I really feel like in the last couple of years that we’re on the edge of a big shift as people are wrapping their minds around getting away from the auto-centric paradigm.” You can reach Staff Writer Sara Edwards at 707-5215487 or sara.edwards@ pressdemocrat.com.
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