Free Republic

The cabernet sauvignon, enough to fill eight large tanker trucks, spilled at the Rodney Strong Vineyards in Healdsburg Wednesday after a door near the bottom of a large blending tank popped open, spilling all of the wine it was holding into a sanitary sewer system on the property, the Press Democrat reported. The wine spilled into a drainage ditch that feeds into Reiman Creek and eventually made its way to the Russian River. According to the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services, which was notified of the accident on Wednesday, about 20% of the 97,112 gallons spilled were contained. Estimates showed...

The chairman of the House Judiciary Committee today asked President Obama to make seven senior, high-profile administration officials available to be interviewed regarding national security leaks. Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Texas) wants his committee to be able to interview National Security Adviser Tom Donilon, former White House Chief of Staff Bill Daley, Vice Presidential National Security Adviser Tony Blinken, Deputy National Security Advisor Denis McDonough, Director for Counterterrorism Audrey Tomason, Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism John Brennan, and Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism James Clapper

There's high anxiety under the redwoods in Monte Rio as more than 2,000 wealthy men begin arriving today for their annual retreat — to be greeted by an unknown number of people protesting their presence along the tranquil Russian River. But it's not the plutocrats and power brokers of the Bohemian Club who have Monte Rio residents and merchants on edge. It's the demonstrators, who haven't always been polite, or good for business. "There have been some really nice people, and some jerks," said Suzi Schaffert, who has run the Rio Theater since 1993. "I don't know what we're in...

The kid is back in town. That means long lines outside Russian River Brewing Co.'s downtown Santa Rosa brew pub on Friday and lots of voice mail messages on brewer Al Gorton's phone. “I get a lot of friends this time of year,” Gorton said Thursday at the company's south Santa Rosa production facility. Gorton was in the process of filling kegs with Pliny the Younger, a Triple IPA (India Pale Ale) that is so popular with beer aficionados that people come from all over just to sample it. Last year, that included beer enthusiasts from Japan and Denmark, said...