The 50-pound, Rottweiler-mix called Rocky is recovering from head injuries suffered in a beating in Santa Rosa on Saturday. A 25-year-old Petaluma man has pleaded not guilty to felony animal cruelty charges.

The East Bay doctor caught in a nationally televised child-sex sting in Petaluma in 2006 was sentenced Wednesday to two months in jail and will be required to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life

Sonoma County unemployment hit 11.3 percent in January as a record 28,600 residents looked for work, state labor analysts reported Wednesday. And the jobless rate will likely climb higher.

The heart of Napas grape growing region was placed under quarantine Tuesday to stop the spread of the European grapevine moth. The quarantine boundaries extend to a sliver of Sonoma County that has a small olive orchard and almost 50 acres of grapes.

Eric Chavez has had numerous surgeries in recent years, only to have his hopes of playing full time again dashed. Chavez approaches this season warily.

A proposal to require â??community impact reportsâ?? in Healdsburg to assess the economic and social effects of new development has failed to obtain the needed support from the City Council. â??Its pretty much dead in the water,â?? Councilman Gary Plass said Wednesday.

Last year, Petalumans dug into their pockets to save the annual Veterans Day parade after it lost city funding, and now they are being asked to keep on digging to support the popular Butter & Egg Days celebration next month.

Santa Rosa geothermal company ThermaSource Inc. said Tuesday it won a contract to drill new wells at a growing geothermal energy complex in Nicaragua.

EL CAJON, Calif. (AP) â?? Federal officials are sending an investigator to determine what caused a Toyota Prius to race out of control on a California freeway.

Given the basketball talent returning to many Empire schools, a look to the future might help ease the pain of season-ending losses.