Good morning, Santa Rosa.

The Sonoma County Fair opens today and runs until August 10th with gates open from noon to 9 p.m. daily.

Organizers ended horse racing for the first time due to rising costs and a shortage of horses, and guests must follow a clear bag policy as they enjoy the Hot Dogs & Cool Cats theme.

Alaska Airlines will launch nonstop flights from Charles M.

Schulz-Sonoma County Airport to Palm Springs International Airport on October 26—flights will run five times a week until they pause in May. Palm Springs will be Alaska’s eighth destination from Santa Rosa—adding to five other California routes.

PG&E reported solid Q2 earnings on Thursday and said customer bills are now stabilized with no further rate hikes planned for 2025—CEO Patti Poppe noted that if its small rate proposal is approved, residential bills are expected to remain flat in 2027.

The utility also announced plans to expand data center capacity to 10 gigawatts over the next 10 years, a move meant to lower bills by spreading fixed costs even as consumer advocates remain cautious.

Santa Rosa Police arrested Zhishen Zheng, 30, for defrauding a 74-year-old resident of $43,000 by using a pop-up ad to lure her into withdrawing cash that he later collected from her home — he faces charges of financial elder abuse and grand theft.

Cloverdale Unified School District announced layoffs of over a dozen employees, including teachers and administrators, to address a $1.5 million budget gap caused by lower state funding and one-time COVID-19 relief funds used for ongoing costs.

Students will return to school later this month and may find fewer classroom staff— a change meant to balance the budget.

Santa Rosa’s annual residential slurry seal program will begin on August 4th and run through August 14th on selected streets in the northwest part of the city.

The treatment will extend street life by sealing out moisture—affecting about 2.5 million square feet of roads, and residents can check daily maps online.

The Santa Rosa City Council will vote on a controversial gas station proposal on August 19 — if approved, a gas station and market will be built at the intersection of Highway 12 and North Wright Road.

The Planning Commission had rejected the plan in April due to concerns about health, safety and climate impacts, and developers have appealed that decision.

Greg Papa announced he is diagnosed with cancer — he will step away from his broadcasting duties to focus on treatment.

He will hand his hosting responsibilities to his co-host Greg Silver while planning to return after recovery.