An $84 million project to expand the Charles M Schulz-Sonoma County Airport in order to be able to increase the amount of daily commercial flights received a unanimous endorsement from Sonoma County's Board of Supervisors on Jan. 10. The County Planning Commission voted 4-1 in December to approve the project.

Students may soon find themselves plugging in their cars before they dash off to class. Sonoma County released plans to expand the amount of electric vehicle charging stations throughout the area starting as soon as this spring. "Electric vehicles are important for us to be a more sustainable and self-supporting community and county," said Ervand Peterson, professor for the environmental studies and planning department.

The recession that is depleting funds and budget cuts are furthermore going to impact Sonoma State University, with the campus possibly facing a permanent cut of $2.3 million. Associated Students has begun their monthly meetings regarding current circumstances in all the schools of SSU for the spring and fall semester of 2012.

Last Wednesday, the California State University Board of Trustees held a special committee meeting in regard to university presidential salaries. Despite efforts to present the meeting to the public by having it streamed live over the Internet, the proceeding went almost unheard of to Sonoma State students.

The search is on again for a new Multicultural Center director, despite funding being frozen briefly at the beginning of January. The MCC is expected to hire a director within the next month, if not sooner, according to Gustavo Flores, director of admissions.

It was an all too familiar scenario when students received a timely warning e-mail last month informing of a recent burglary at the campus bookstore. On Monday, Dec. 19 at 6:08 p.m. Police Services responded to a burglary alarm at the bookstore, run by Barnes & Noble, but failed to locate any suspects.

With no changes in regards to state financial support for the California State University system, Governor Jerry Brown's 2012-2013 budget proposal is prompting backlash from the CSU. The proposal, however, is not the worst-case scenario. "The Governor's flat budget is based on the assumption that his tax increase proposal will be approved by the voters in November," said Sonoma State President Ruben Armiñana.

The California State Parks announced a plan last May to permanently close 70 of its 238 Parks by July due to budget cuts. The park closures are meant to achieve an $11 million reduction in the next fiscal year (2011/12), that amount increasing to $22 million in the following fiscal year (2012/13).

Every year on Jan. 1, new laws are announced and enforced among the state of California. Some of the new bills passed include requirements for colleges to produce public records of the money they use, a new option to vote, a new safety requirement for PG&E, allowing syringes to be sold without prescription and higher safety measures for air bags.

This spring semester, students were welcomed back with another announcement of budget cuts. Last semester, Sonoma State issued a cap on the number of units students would be allowed to take in the spring. However, with even more budget cuts than perceived, not only will there be cuts to classes but stricter rules on the unit cap, and cuts from programs outside of academics will be made.

2012's new mayor will soon aid the ongoing process of Sonoma State and Rohnert Park trying to bridge the gap between students and community. Jake Mackenzie, who has served on Rohnert Park city council for the last 15 years, will make the transition to mayor on Tuesday, Dec.

A resolution in favor of peaceful protesting on university campuses was adopted during Associated Students' Senate meeting on Tuesday, Dec. 6. The resolution was passed with unanimous support. The information sheet on the resolution states two intended goals.

The Green Music Center has been in the works since 1996 and the moment is soon to come for the concert hall, now known as Weill Hall's, grand opening. The name has been changed to Weill Hall recently due to the Weill family's donation of $12 million, which is making the opening possible.

Rumors have been floating around California State campuses regarding a potential move by the CSU system to provide more online offerings; essentially, an online CSU. At this very early stage, it is unclear just what these online offerings will entail.

Last week, Ruben Armiñana, Sonoma State University President, was honored with the Spirit of Sonoma Award for his role in developing SSU into a major asset to the Sonoma County community. The president received the award at the 11th annual luncheon sponsored by the Sonoma County Economic Development Board after being nominated by the North Bay Leadership Council.

On Dec. 5, the communications department hosted a retirement party in the Art Gallery for long time communications and English professor Jonah Raskin. Students, friends, family and faculty gathered to celebrate his long and successful career. Since 1988, he has been part of the communication studies department, at one point as chair, and also teaching journalism and film classes.

Over the past several weeks, Sonoma State University students and faculty have been protesting rising tuition fees and a lack of available classes. Students want a diploma in their hands after four years of schoolwork, but with current budget cuts and Administration and Finance's allocation of money, this seems like a distant dream.

E-mails have been sent. Phone calls have been made. Reports have been written. The groundbreaking of the Student Center is just around the corner. Beginning Dec. 5, areas of the campus will be fenced off for the groundbreaking. "Students from both sides of the vote came to me about the Student Center and wondered why the groundbreaking was postponed when the students have already voted," said Alex Boyar, president of Associated Students Inc.

In a survey release in August of 2011 by the U.S. Public Interest Research Group, seven in 10 college students said they had not purchased a textbook at least one time because the cost was just too high. The Affordable Learning Initiative is a campaign that the California State University has put together to raise awareness about the high costs of textbooks within the student and teacher community.

After Kaitlyn Dunaway plead "no contest" to a misdemeanor charge of vehicular manslaughter last September, Judge Bradford DeMeo of the Sonoma County Superior Court overturned his ruling on Dunaway. DeMeo sentenced her to five days in prison and 115 days under electronic home confinement, which is set to begin on Jan.

It remains to be seen what will result from the California Faculty Association's Nov. 17 strikes at Cal State Dominguez Hills and Cal State East Bay. Failure from the CSU to renegotiate "fair" contracts with faculty members has led to the CFA's decision to walk away from the bargaining table with perhaps more plans for rolling strikes.

The CSU Board of Trustees approved a nine percent increase in CSU fees for the start of the 2012-2013 school year during its Nov. 16 meeting. It was approved by the finance committee in a 4-3 vote, and then adopted by the full board with a 9-6 vote. Stephanie Thara, a spokeswoman for the CSU, asserted that lack of funding from the state and trigger cuts were the reasons for the fee increase.

Seawolf Services is bringing change to the university and, while that is going on, students have the opportunity to cash in – electronically speaking. Because of Direct Deposit of Student Refunds, individuals who are enrolled on campus are able to receive a check in their bank accounts.

A select group of Sonoma State students from Mathematics Engineering Science Achievement were chosen to attend the eighth annual leadership conference in Oakland. SSU has attended the past four years and have taken four students each time. This year, the students attending are Heidi Van de Wouw, Kalie Miller, Joshua Disbrow and Mason Rothfeld.

Lawrence Cook Middle School is enforcing a new program to give the students inspiration and hopes of a guaranteed spot at SSU. The Santa Rosa School District is starting to prepare their middle school students for college through the Compact for Success Program, which is modeled after various programs that other school districts have used, such as ones in San Diego.

On Oct. 25, Sonoma State University's annual Chronicle was released, revealing statistics and information regarding the welfare of students and faculty at the university. This year's Chronicle XX: SSU Midterm Evaluation graded Sonoma State University in four areas: high student fees/low faculty salaries, growth of management: lots of MPPs/few students, division of resource, and debt revisited.

This coming spring 2012 semester, all undergraduate students who are not seniors could potentially be subject to a 16-unit cap for open registration. This proposal was one of the subjects of discussion during the most recent meeting of the Sonoma State Academic Senate held last Thursday, Nov.

For the first time in the history of the California State University system, the faculty will be conducting a strike. The strikes will occur on two campuses, Cal State East Bay and Cal State Dominguez Hills, on Thursday, Nov. 17.  The decision was announced by the California Faculty Association last Monday after votes from faculty members on all 23 CSU campuses indicated 93 percent supported the strike against Chancellor Reed's decision to not provide a few, fair contract, amongst a number of other issues.

The newly founded Women's Caucus is designed for female faculty to collaborate and create a network for their time here on campus. It officially opened in the spring of this year and the committee requested each member to gather together as often as possible.

"Welcome to Reach Rohnert Park!" reads Rohnert Park's website. "From here you have 24/7 access to city services." Rohnert Park has created a simple way of dealing with common maintenance issues: Reach Rohnert Park. Just a few weeks ago, the city of Rohnert Park announced that Reach Rohnert Park's community services would be available from citizens' smart phones with the free application, "GORequest.

The California State University Chancellor's office has begun its search for a CSU online executive director, all in hopes of eventually creating more online programs for undergraduate students. According to the Chancellor's office, no formal announcement has yet to be made, nor will this come to fruition until a director is hired.

Philosophy professor John Sullins was recently recognized for his work in the robotics field. Sullins believes that robots will soon become a part of daily life due to the advances already being made as well as their impacts. "Robotics is where computers were in the 1970s.

A student filed class action lawsuit over fee increases has come before the Superior Court of California in the County of San Francisco, which recently released court documents on the case. Earlier this year, California State University students Honora Keller, Samantha Adame, Caitlin Seandel, Vivian Kwak and Xuelian Xie filed a class action suit both individually and on the behalf of approximately 200,000 affected students.

Construction on the Student Center was originally slated to begin on Oct. 10, but as discussion continues over the building and $150 fee, the groundbreaking continues to be delayed. Last week, over a three day span, students gathered in Schultz 1121 at the request of the Fee Advisory Committee to provide feedback and voice their concerns regarding all things related to the new student center and last April's referendum vote.

Many faculty members believe Robert Coleman-Senghor left a legacy at Sonoma State University; he was a professor for 38 years and was the longest serving African-American faculty member in Sonoma State's history. During his years at the university, Coleman-Senghor showed his dedication to students and promoting diversity.

Whether it's enrolling in courses for the semester, becoming a responsible individual or meeting new people from different areas, it is up to the person on what the "college experience" is defined as. But to get to the point, students and their parents either have a full-ride or are, in some sense, paying by loan.

On Oct. 25, the Santa Rosa City Board of Supervisors discussed the problem and situation regarding marijuana and medical dispensaries in the city. In May, Valarie Brown and Shirlee Zane, who currently have city council positions, established a Board Ad Hoc to discuss these issues.

The California Chapter of the American Planning Association has given Sonoma State's Center for Sustainable Communities an academic achievement award for their role in helping to develop the workbook "Health by Design: A Public Policy and Land Use Planning Workbook.