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The News in Brief

CAP Sonoma gets grant

SANTA ROSA – The Community Action Partnership of Sonoma County is on the receiving end of a $500,000 grant from the U.S. Secretary of Labor to train skilled workers in the energy industry.

In all, $10 million in grants were awarded to 11 projects. CAP Sonoma was the only California applicant to receive this particular award.

According to CAP Sonoma Development Director John Way, the funds will add a solar installation track to the nonprofit’s Youthbuild construction training program.

“It’ll allow us to serve more youths, about 18 a year for two years,” he said.

Locally, CAP Sonoma will partner with the Sonoma County Human Services Department, Santa Rosa Junior College, Burbank Construction and Solar Works in Sebastopol.

Local judges appointed to state Superior Court

SONOMA COUNTY – Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger appointed 30 new Superior Court judges in 13 counties, including three in Solano County and one in Sonoma County.

Virginia Marcoida, deputy public defender in Sonoma County since 1985, was appointed a judge in the Superior Court of Sonoma County. The 56-year-old Democrat is a Santa Rosa resident.

Also appointed were three judges in Solano County: Robert Fracchia, Alesia Jones and Earl Bradley Nelson.

Mr. Fracchia, a 54-year-old Democrat from Vacaville was a commissioner for the Solano County Court. He worked as deputy public defender with Solano County.

Ms. Jones, an assistant city attorney in Vallejo, is also a Democrat. The 43-year-old Oakland resident was also a deputy city attorney in Berkeley.

Mr. Nelson, 56, and a court commissioner, is registered decline to state. He has been a partner in Hagler and Nelson and was a deputy public defender.

Health Action proposes new campaign

SONOMA COUNTY – Health Action, established last year to analyze health and health care problems and offer solutions, has proposed a broad three-step approach to making Sonoma County a healthier place to live by the year 2020.   

The proposal will be the subject of an upcoming series of public meetings.

A 2020 Vision for Sonoma County is the product of nine months of study by the 31 members of Health Action, which was established by the Board of Supervisors last August. Health Action is composed of a cross-section of key public and private Sonoma County leaders in health, government, business, education, social services, labor and industry.

“We have a plan of action that we believe will help Sonoma County become one of the healthiest places to live in California,” said Supervisor Tim Smith, who co-chairs Health Action along with Rita Scardaci, director of the county Department of Health Services.

“But to make Health Action’s vision successful will require the participation of the entire county. That’s the challenge we are hoping everyone will embrace.”

Health Action is proposing a three-step approach to improving health and health care delivery. The Priorities for Action call for:

• Ensuring that all residents have access to affordable healthy food and adopt healthy eating habits

• Creating a culture that embraces physical activity and supports walking, bicycling and other forms of healthy physical activity

• Ensuring that all residents have a medical home for primary care and other preventive medical services

Health Action’s vision was developed by the group and refined by two separate task forces that included additional representatives from the community.

Mr. Smith and Ms. Scardaci emphasized that the 2020 Vision and the initial action plan are not a cure-all and do not directly address the entire range of health issues facing Sonoma County, including rising costs of services, drugs and health care premiums; low Medicare reimbursement rates; and other issues not easily addressed at the local level.

But they said that the Health Action proposal will help deal with rising rates of obesity and diabetes, create a healthier community, make more efficient use of existing health care resources and health care dollars, provide for an aging population and potentially raise a generation of children who will embrace a healthy lifestyle as naturally and automatically as they fasten their seatbelts and wear bicycle helmets.

For more information on Health Action and a list of public meetings and locations, go to www.sonomahealthaction

.org.