A San Francisco Bay Area police officer who is accused of fatally shooting two mentally ill men in the past three years pleaded not guilty to manslaughter charges Wednesday in the case of the first shooting in 2018, a court official said. Officer Andrew Hall of the Danville Police Department was charged in April with two felony counts for the 2018 shooting death of Laudemer Arboleda, an unarmed Filipino man who was slowly driving away from police when Hall shot him nine times. Hall appeared Wednesday at the Contra Costa County Superior Court in the city of Martinez for his arraignment and entered his not guilty plea, court spokesman Matt Malone said.

https://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/news/bay-area-officer-pleads-not-guilty-in-2018-shooting/

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A 28-year-old Santa Rosa man was arrested Sunday evening following a brief car chase along Highway 12, Santa Rosa police said. Shortly before 7 p.m., a Santa Rosa police officer spotted a vehicle that appeared to be 'driving recklessly' near Maple Avenue and South E Street, according to a news release. The officer attempted to stop the vehicle but the driver sped away west on Highway 12, officials said. The officer began to give chase but 'after losing sight of the vehicle on Stony Road and Glenbrook Drive,' broke off the pursuit, according to the release.

https://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/news/santa-rosa-police-chase-ends-with-weapons-charge-arrest/

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Santa Rosa is seeking input from property owners regarding short-term residential rentals as it develops an urgency ordinance. The city wants to make sure homes or rooms rented for 30 days or less are compatible with the neighborhoods where they are located. Residents and owners or operators of short-term rentals within city limits are being asked to take a short survey by Aug. 31 on how city staff should approach the ordinance. The survey is available in English and Spanish. The surveys are being distributed through a variety of digital channels.

https://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/news/santa-rosa-seeks-input-for-short-term-rental-ordinance/

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KINSHASA, Congo — Ndakasi, a mountain gorilla who famously posed for a selfie with a ranger at Congo's Virunga National Park, has died at 14 after a long illness, the park said. 'It is with heartfelt sadness that Virunga announces the death of beloved orphaned mountain gorilla, Ndakasi, who had been under the care of the park's Senkwekwe Center for more than a decade,' a statement from the park said this week. 'Ndakasi took her final breath in the loving arms of her caretaker and lifelong friend, Andre Bauma,' said the statement, adding that she died on Sept.

https://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/news/ndakasi-congos-famous-mountain-gorilla-dies-at-14-in-virunga-park/

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North Bay restaurants, food trucks, bars and inns secured $210.3 million in federal grants this year to help them survive the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Food service businesses in Sonoma, Marin, Napa, Solano, Mendocino and Lake counties got 620 grants through the U.S. Small Business Administration's Restaurant Revitalization Fund in the first half of 2021, according to the agency's data. The biggest share of the restaurant fund's local grants (37%) went to companies in the North Bay's most populous county, Sonoma.

https://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/business/over-600-north-bay-food-service-businesses-helped-by-pandemic-relief-fund/

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There's more at stake in Sonoma County's upcoming recall election than the tarnished reputation of senior living mogul Bill Gallaher. If voters remove District Attorney Jill Ravitch from office, it will send a dangerous message to other public officials: Holding wealthy people accountable can end your career. The path to the Sept. 14 recall election begins with the Tubbs fire in 2017, when employees fled Villa Capri and Varenna, assisted-living complexes owned by Gallaher's Oakmont Senior Living in Santa Rosa's Fountaingrove neighborhood.

https://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/opinion/pd-editorial-vote-no-on-the-revenge-recall/

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St. Vincent is off to its best start to a season since 2008 after it won a defensive struggle, 15-8, on the road versus Ukiah in a nonleague game Friday night. The Mustangs (5-0) trailed 8-0 after giving up a pick-six to the Wildcats (1-4) in the first quarter but stormed back with two touchdowns in the second quarter to take a 15-8 lead. Kai Hall (25 rushes, 94 yards, 1 TD) scored on a 3-yard run and the Mustangs converted on the 2-point conversion to tie the game 8-8. St. Vincent linebacker Jake DeCarli had his own pick-six of 46 yards for the winning touchdown with :037 to play in the first half.

https://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/sports/high-school-football-roundup-st-vincent-holds-off-ukiah-go-5-0/

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The Santa Rosa City Council is poised to vote Tuesday to pull Sonoma County's largest city out of stringent eviction prohibitions that have been in place countywide since February. The move comes amid support from real estate interests and the Santa Rosa Metro Chamber for a relaxation of rules protecting tenants. It has alarmed renter advocates, however, who earlier urged the Board of Supervisors to adopt the more sweeping set of local safeguards — stronger than those imposed by the state — as a public health and economic security measure amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

https://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/news/santa-rosa-set-to-pull-out-of-sonoma-county-eviction-protections/

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TOKYO — Streaking down the track, with only six steps to go until she reached the finish line, Elaine Thompson-Herah stuck out her left arm and started pointing at the clock. She knew she had the win. It was only a matter of what else would come with it. With a time of 10.61 seconds, the latest in the long string of Jamaican speed stars defended her Olympic title in the 100 meters Saturday. She broke a 33-year-old Olympic record held by none other than Florence Griffith Joyner. And, as a more-than-fitting bonus, she revisited a debate first triggered by the fastest Jamaican of all — Usain Bolt.

https://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/sports/elaine-thompson-herah-breaks-flo-jos-olympic-record-in-womens-100-meters/

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WASHINGTON — An innovative program to help people with mental health and substance abuse problems is being primed for a major expansion as the COVID-19 pandemic deepens struggles with drug use, depression and anxiety for many Americans. Community behavioral health clinics offer 24/7 services to catch people falling into crisis and pull them back. One tactic involves deploying peer counselors who have lived and survived their own trauma. Launched in the Obama administration, the clinics actually got scaled up under President Donald Trump.

https://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/news/mental-health-clinics-angle-for-a-spot-in-biden-budget-bill/

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A man was arrested Thursday on suspicion of home invasion robbery after he broke into a Santa Rosa home, assaulted a homeowner with a baseball bat, stole property and fled, police said. Quontavious Clark, 29, who Santa Rosa police said moved to Santa Rosa about six weeks ago from Georgia, is charged with assault with a deadly weapon, home invasion robbery and burglary. He will be booked into the Sonoma County Jail on $250,000 bail, according to a news release by Sgt. Christopher Mahurin. Police had received calls about a prowler staring into people's homes as well as a burglary, but it wasn't until the reported home invasion that they were able to connect the crimes to one individual, according to the news release.

https://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/news/santa-rosa-police-arrest-man-suspected-of-home-invasion-robbery/

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COVID and side effects EDITOR: I've gone six months without being able to taste or smell anything. Thanks, COVID. I didn't get to taste Thanksgiving dinner. I couldn't enjoy the smell of my Christmas tree. I can't appreciate Mom's home-cooked meals. I'm a wine buyer who can no longer differentiate between wines. I can't taste the food served at my own restaurant. I didn't know the field next to my house was on fire until firetrucks pulled up. I'm grateful we're still wearing masks because I never know if I have bad breath.

https://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/opinion/sundays-letters-to-the-editor-425/

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Years before Frank Herbert wrote 'Dune,' the popular sci-fi thriller recently adapted for the big screen a second time, he was a Press Democrat reporter with a flair for the dramatic. A Washington state native, Herbert was hired in 1949 as a reporter for The Press Democrat when he was about 29 years old. While working at the newspaper in the early 1950s, his interview with two children who hid under a blanket during riots at Los Guilicos School for Girls received plenty of attention after being published by several wire services.

https://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/news/former-press-democrat-journalist-frank-herbert-wrote-dune-in-1965/

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Sonoma County's redistricting advisory panel wanted to make the five supervisorial district boundaries more equitable, but the map they drew is anything but, critics say. The county's Advisory Redistricting Commission, a 19-member citizen's group tasked with drafting the map, will present it to the Board of Supervisors Tuesday, ahead of the state's December deadline for approval. The commission's map, which it voted to forward the supervisors last week, has already drawn a public outcry. The map — known as NDC-D-51162 — would move unite all of Rohnert Park into District 5, which encompasses the Russian River and stretches along the coast up to Sea Ranch.

https://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/news/county-officials-gear-up-for-redistricting-hearing/

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With all the grim news of late, here's something to brighten the day. The National Marine Fisheries Service is expanding protected critical habitat for orcas to cover coastal waters from Canada to Point Sur. Orcas have fascinated humans for centuries. Historically, they were at the center of life for Indigenous tribes of the Pacific Northwest. Orcas featured prominently in Indigenous artwork, and the people of the region revered the animals as a crucial source of food and other resources. As settlers came to the West Coast and hunted orcas, their population dropped precipitously.

https://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/opinion/pd-editorial-orcas-are-now-protected-along-the-northern-california-coast/

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A major U.N. report issued Monday has found that humans must act now to cut greenhouse gas emissions before the effects of climate change worsen. Here are some changes you can make to slow the effects of climate change: 1. Take advantage of opportunities to use renewable energy: Consider investing in an energy-efficient electric vehicle, using solar panels to power your house or even just switching out old appliances like washers and dryers to newer, more efficient models to avoid using a lot of fossil fuels, says the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC).

https://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/news/9-steps-consumers-can-take-to-combat-climate-change/

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HOUSTON — The World Series has its highest broadcast viewership since 2019 — with 13.9 million tuned in during Sunday's Game 5 alone across Fox platforms. Atlanta's 3-2 win over Houston on Saturday night received a 5.65 rating, 15 share and 10,511,000 viewers on Fox, the network said Tuesday. That was up 12% over the roughly 9.38 million who watched Tampa Bay's 8-7 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 4 of last year's neutral-site World Series in Arlington, Texas. It's also 2% more than the approximate 10.

https://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/sports/world-series-seeing-its-highest-tv-viewership-since-2019/

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SAN JOSE — Evander Kane reached the 20-goal mark for the sixth straight season, Josef Korenar made 28 saves to win his second straight start and the San Jose Sharks beat the Arizona Coyotes 4-2 Wednesday night. Kane's goal started a three-goal barrage for San Jose in the first period with Rudolfs Balcers and Kevin Labanc following up to help San Jose sweep the two-game series against Arizona. The Sharks entered the series on an eight-game losing streak that all but knocked them out of playoff contention.

https://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/sports/evander-kanes-20th-goal-leads-sharks-past-coyotes-4-2/

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The waters off California's coast could become vital in the battle against climate change. Last week, President Joe Biden announced an ambitious plan to open 250,000 acres of the state's coastal waters to wind development. If only it could get done faster. Under the plan, wind projects could be built in federal waters northwest of Morro Bay and west of Humboldt Bay. Within a decade, hundreds of huge floating turbines anchored to the Pacific Ocean floor by cables could generate 4,600 megawatts of electricity, sufficient to power 1.

https://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/opinion/pd-editorial-offshore-wind-power-cant-come-soon-enough/

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SACRAMENTO — California's reservoirs are so low from a historic drought that regulators warned Thursday it's possible the state's water agencies could get nothing from them next year, a frightening possibility that could force mandatory restrictions for residents. California has a system of giant lakes called reservoirs that store water during the state's rainy and snowy winter months. Most of the water comes from snow that melts in the Sierra Nevada mountains and fills rivers and streams in the spring.

https://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/news/california-water-regulators-prepare-for-another-dry-winter/

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