The Sonoma County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday unanimously approved an emergency halt to new vineyards and orchards on forested slopes and hilltops. The four-month freeze was prompted by a wave of new vineyard projects and a need to update 12-year-old farming regulations that don’t deal with tree removal. What, if any, changes would you like to see?

The Sonoma County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday formally dissolved its redevelopment agency to meet a state-ordered shutdown effective today. The deadline affects about 400 redevelopment agencies statewide. “This is a very, very sad day,” Supervisor Shirlee Zane, chairwoman of the board, said before the vote.

Growing unease about a wave of vineyard projects that call for clear-cutting forested hillsides has Sonoma County officials calling for an emergency halt until new regulations are crafted. Sonoma County Agricultural Commissioner Tony Linegar has proposed a four-month moratorium on vineyard projects that would remove trees from ridge tops or slopes greater than 15 percent.

Sonoma County supervisors Tuesday approved spending $204,000 through June on four new jobs centered on economic development and business attraction. It is the first step in hiring plan that calls for $591,000 in new county spending annually over the next five years.

Sonoma County Supervisor Shirlee Zane this morning took over as chairwoman of the Board of Supervisors, receiving the gavel from Supervisor Efren Carrillo. She called 2011 the most challenging year of her life.

Agencies across Sonoma County were scrambling Tuesday to determine the impact of the $1 billion in statewide cuts Gov. Jerry Brown announced as part of his latest bid to balance the state’s budget. The range of public services affected includes programs for the ailing and developmentally disabled, fees charged to the county for housing violent juvenile offenders and support for higher education.

The Sonoma County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday unanimously endorsed a plan to boost annual county spending on economic development by $600,000, but put off a decision on how to pay for the project. “The whole goal is to improve the business climate for job creation and job retention,” said Ben Stone, director of the county’s Economic Development Board.

Two Sonoma County supervisors are calling for a $600,000 increase in annual spending on economic development, saying any turnaround in the county’s 9.4 percent unemployment rate requires public-sector support. Do you think it makes sense? What would you recommend?

For some, the decision by local law enforcement officials to accept Mexican consular IDs represents a violation of the rule of law and an official acceptance of the growing presence of illegal immigrants. But police say it is the most sensible way to play the hand dealt to them by ineffective federal lawmakers who have failed to address issues surrounding illegal immigration. What is your take?

Without a major overhaul of its retirement system, Sonoma County government faces “untenable consequences,” including the continued skyrocketing of pension costs and the further erosion of funding for public services. That is the message being delivered Tuesday to the Board of Supervisors in a 135-page report by two of its members.