RECENT BLOGS

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  The kids are gone for the week, and Mr. W and I are left to our own devices as we pretend we aren't parents and do everything we've ever wanted to do. (read the article...) Life without kids
• Michel-Schlumberger Wine Estate will exhibit artwork by Carole Watanabe, internationally known painter and colorist, from Sunday, Aug. 1, through Sept. 30.Watanabe maintains art studios in Collioure and Soreze in France, San Miguel De Allende in Mexico and Sebastopol. For a glimpse of her art, try her website: www.carolewatanabe.com.There will be a public reception for [...] Art show at Michel Schlumberger
• Part of Chanate Road in Santa Rosa is expected to remain closed until late tonight because of a power pole knocked over in a car crash.Santa Rosa Police Sgt. Lance Badger said Chanate is closed from Jeremy Court, which is several blocks east of Parker Hill Road, to Montecito Avenue. He said the pole and [...] UPDATE: Chanate Road closed in Santa Rosa
• Nintendo is running a nationwide, team-based competition to see who the country's best Wii players are. If you're on the North Coast, your best bet is to form a team and get yourself to Six Flags in Vallejo. Top teams will compete in a national event in Los Angeles in September. Think you're good at Wii?
• Low-income individuals can use benefits for marke food Farmer's Markets now accept food stamps
• About 700 athletes on Saturday are expected to swim, ride and run a total of 140.4 miles through western and northern parts of Sonoma County, and that will mean traffic delays on numerous roads.Numerous intersections will have CHP officers and Sonoma County sheriff's deputies and explorers on duty to control traffic as the racers pass [...] Traffic delays likely during Saturday's Vineman
• Are the Warriors going to trade Monta Ellis? Nobody really knows for sure. It seems like dealing Ellis and Andris Biedrins and their large contracts may be a priority for the new owners, but there's no concrete evidence they feel that way. ESPN ran with a reference from Tim Kawakami's blog and made a big [...] Trading Monta Ellis: Part 1
• Here's a look back at the best and worst of TV in the past week (July 23-29), and a peek at what's coming up next week. Weekly wrapup: 'Mad Men,' Shark Week and more
• OK, here is the latest…Kara DioGuardi is also rumored to be out. Not bowing out like Ellen but out as in fired.And rumored to be in are Jennifer Lopez and Aerosmith's Steven Tyler.And one rumor is that the judges' panel will return to the three-person format.And another rumor is that Simon's replacement will be named [...] Kara apparently given an Idol exit
• Dorothy Rudy, an adjunct professor of Spanish at SSU, this summer read thousands of Advanced Placement Spanish exams.It's a duty she has enjoyed for a quarter century.'I get together with so many of my colleagues once a year. We talk about what we are teaching, we talk about what is going on,' she said. 'For [...] Healdsburg teacher marks 25 years of reading AP exams
• The movement is nationwide, in red states and blue states, on both coasts and in the heartland. Local governments are leading the charge by adopting resolutions calling for state policies for extended producer responsibility (EPR), otherwise known as product stewardship. In California, the City of Roseville became the 100th local government, agency or association [...] One Hundred CA Producer Responsibility Resolutions
• Like "Deathsmiles" on the Xbox 360," "Sin & Punishment: Star Successor," a sequel to a much-loved Japanese game, is all about shooting everything in sight as quickly and efficiently as possible. Scorehounds take note. Sin & Punishment: Star Successor review
• Highway 101's construction zone in Rohnert Park is the latest challenge for drivers, but there's hope.In about three months, Caltrans spokesman Robert Haus said, a new southbound offramp to Wilfred Avenue will open, taking drivers onto a new bridge over Commerce Boulevard. At the same time, the Santa Rosa Avenue overpass will reopen, but it [...] Rohnert Park 101 project on track
• The Council on Aging needs volunteers for Santa Rosa seniors who can no longer drive and need help getting to their doctors, the grocery store, the pharmacy and other destinations. Give seniors a ride
• Turn off your brain and go build a cathedral. Watch this (TV for Fri. 7/30)
• The rumors are flying in the 'American Idol' shakeup Your next 'Idol' judge: JLo?
• So, going on the fact that the report is true and that Ellen DeGeneres will not be back as a judge on American Idol for Season 10 … is it a big deal?No, not really.Why?Ellen never really gave us the feeling that she was entirely comfortable in the role.Her comments were often brief and rather [...] Ellen's gone, is JayLo on the horizon?
• ESPN's documentary series announces its fall lineup. What's on tap for '30 for 30²
• Posted by Staff Writer Eric Branch: PETALUMASept. 3: at Santa Rosa, 7:30 p.m.Sept. 10: vs. Maria Carrillo, 7:30 p.m. 2010 Petaluma football schedule
• Posted by Staff Writer Eric Branch: CASA GRANDESept. 10: at Ukiah, 7:30 p.m.Sept. 17: at Maria Carrillo, 7:30 p.m. 2010 Casa Grande football schedule
• The Associated Press is reporting on Thursday that a person close to the show is saying that Ellen DeGeneres will not return to American Idol as a judge for the show's 10 season. DeGeneres reportedly won't return to Idol
• Here's an interesting story by Gary Richards of the San Jose Mercury News:—-The time it takes to reach the toll plaza at the Bay Bridge has fallen almost in half during the peak of the morningcommute, and ridership on BART has increased slightly since tolls were raised to $6 in the region's first experiment with [...] Traffic falls at Bay Bridge with higher tolls

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  Your child will surely use the potty after playing with their own plush pee and poo. Check out this brilliant product and more...

  Creepiest Potty Training products
• Exceptionally un-Wine Country, Morimoto is Japanese cuisine from the Iron-est of Chefs Morimoto, Napa
• Why I am rooting for Rob Gingras Why I am rooting for Rob Gingras
• UPDATE: For reference, here is the link to a story that appeared in Wednesday's Press Democrat about the situation with the CSBA: http://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/20100727/ARTICLES/100729527________________The fallout from the recent scandal at the California School Boards Association has what looks like its first local victim: unanimous support for a proposed parcel tax to support schools in Santa Rosa.While fellow Santa [...] UPDATED: Wakefield pulls back support of parcel tax, says voters are fed up
• In an interview with the Springfield News-Leader, forward Anthony Tolliver said he hopes to have signed with a team by Monday and that he's planning to either re-sign with the Warriors or join the Minnesota Timberwolves.Tolliver, a 6-foot-9 power forward who averaged 11.7 points and 7.0 rebounds in 46 games for the Warriors last season, [...] Tolliver deciding between Warriors, T'wolves
• Cyrus working on a steakhouse concept New Hburg resto in the works?
• "Deathsmiles," a Japanese arcade game that recently saw U.S. release on the Xbox 360, is easily one of this year's most niche video games. You play as one of five teen girls in frilly dresses, and you and an animal friend fly around and shoot everything in sight. Yeah, it's crazy. It's also incredibly accessible and a lot of fun. Deathsmiles review: Carnival of strange
• The Petaluma Music Festival is coming back.Now in its third year, the annual benefit for school music programs presents nine hours of live music, from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 7, the Sonoma Marin Fairgrounds, 175 Fairgrounds Drive, Petaluma.Performers include Trombone Shorty (Troy Andrews) and the Orleans Avenue, A.L.O, Poor Man's Whiskey, [...] Trombone Shorty at Petaluma Music Fest