Sonoma Valley Sun

Sonoma Valley Sun Sports Editor Months before the globe’s most popular sport, now playing on its grand stage in the World Cup, I was singing the major soccer blues when the Azzurri, Italy’s national team, failed to qualify for the third straight time. I’m a first generation, 100-percent Italian, and Italy has been my favorite national team since I started following the sport in 1962.

By Kathleen Thompson Hill Many of us, in many ways, have a lot to learn from the indigenous peoples who lived here for centuries before white Europeans showed up to take their land. Members of Pomo, Coast Miwok, and Wappo bands (or tribes) enjoyed their own settlements in Sonoma and Napa counties starting from 8,000 to 5,000 BC.

Sonoma Valley Community Communications proudly celebrates the induction of Dick Conte into the Bay Area Radio Hall of Fame, honoring one of the most respected voices in jazz broadcasting and a cherished member of the Sonoma community. The California Historical Radio Society announced Conte as a member of its 2026 Bay Area Radio Hall of Fame Class, recognizing his remarkable six-decade career behind the microphone and his lasting influence on jazz radio throughout Northern California.

Viviano’s Vineyard Editor’s Note: A longer version of this story was first published in 2018 in Valley of the Moon magazine. It is reprinted here with enthusiastic permission. By Sandi Hansen A common question in winemaking circles is, who was Sonoma Valley’s first private grape grower and cultivator? We know that Father Junipero Serra, founder of the California mission system, is credited with bringing the first grapevines to California.

Emergency fire and medical services critical to public safety have become the prime target of Russian missile attacks in Ukraine. Last winter, frequent blackouts hampered the operation of early warning systems critical to operations in firehouses, hospitals, and civic buildings as they were forced to operate generators on an expensive and and often scarce supply of gasoline. To combat this, Kaniv wants to purchase and install solar panels on their firehouse and they need our help.

The arc of History, from 1776 to 19th Century California (Editor’s note: What follows is a segment from the script for a remarkable historical drama that will be enacted at the Sonoma Barracks on July 4 at 1 p.m. The script was written by George Webber, the multiple-personality Disordered actor/historian/tour guide who inhabits the soul of General Mariano Vallejo, founder of Sonoma, on his tours around town.

Gave Truth To The Night? You know the story. The bully in the playground has always existed. Through history we slayed dragons, lions, other humans, and everything else in sight. America began with stolen land, people and animals broken by force. Don’t think twice, it’s alright. We point fingers, if only we got rid of that politician. But, can we face up – we humans have kept violence and greed going too long. We are an edgy, passive-aggressive, self-centered species.

Will Also Play Amphitheater Concert By Anna Pier Sonoma’s Hometown Band will sport new uniforms in the 2026 Fourth of July Parade, in celebration of the nation’s 250th Anniversary. The beloved local institution was formed in 1967 by Richard Schneider, a retired music director from Sonoma Valley High School, to perform in Sonoma’s 4th of July parade. The first ever record of a Sonoma band was 100 years earlier in July 1867.

While celebrating our country’s 250th anniversary, let’s remember that most of our forebears were immigrants who brought different ideas and goals, and sometimes traditional foods and festivals, from their countries of origin. Many of them also brought hopes of taking advantage of new opportunities to succeed at some enterprise. A few of those meant cooking their traditional foods or making their home-style beverages.

And What Are The Odds? OK, pay attention, kids: 2026 minus 1776 equals 250. Yes, the 250th anniversary of the United States – July 4, 2026 – is here, and it will never come again. For all those years it’s been a wild ride through chaos thick and thin, ups and downs, wars galore, glory and shame, feast and famine, and mostly without wifi. But when the fireworks end and the wine runs out it will be time to start thinking seriously about: How long will it last? No, that’s not a happy thought.