Smittle Fire Near Lake Berryessa Fully Contained At Four Acres

Firefighters have officially reached 100 percent containment on the Smittle Fire near Lake Berryessa. The vegetation blaze broke out Saturday afternoon near Berryessa Knoxville Road, drawing a swift response from Cal Fire crews who managed to halt

The city of Sebastopol has agreed to a 1.95-million-dollar settlement to resolve a federal excessive force lawsuit brought by a former resident who was tased and arrested during a diabetic emergency. The Press Democrat reports Jeffrey Callaghan was driving with his six-year-old daughter in July 2024 when his blood sugar plummeted, causing a slow-speed chase that ended in a crash. Body camera footage showed a Sebastopol officer drawing his gun and deploying a Taser within seconds of Callaghan stepping out of his truck dazed and sluggish. Despite paramedics at the scene confirming Callaghan was in a medical emergency and hospital blood tests coming back negative for alcohol, police kept him handcuffed for hours and booked him into jail. The city maintains the settlement is an economic decision and not an admission of liability, while the Sonoma County District Attorney ultimately declined to file any criminal charges in the case.

The California Attorney General’s Office is urging the state Supreme Court to strip a recent landmark appeals court ruling of its legal weight, warning it could create major confusion in future criminal cases. According to the Press