A national conservation group has reached an agreement to buy nearly 20,000 acres of timberland in northwestern Sonoma County, a move that derails the long-disputed, forest-to-vineyards conversion project pushed by CalPERS, the giant state workers pension fund.

Windsor didn’t have to go far to find a new town manager. The Windsor Town Council on Thursday announced the job will go to Linda Kelly, the current city manager in Sonoma. The selection came after a six-month search involving almost 50 applicants from the western United States.

Sonoma’s City Council showed little support Monday night for reviewing the city’s policies on consuming alcohol in public to deal with unruly behavior at city-sponsored events.

Sonoma’s police chief is asking the City Council to consider new restrictions on consuming alcohol in public following a raucous Fourth of July celebration that resulted in more than a dozen arrests. In a memo to City Manager Linda Kelly, Chief Bret Sackett attributed the unruly behavior to large crowds, warm weather and Sonoma’s ‘liberal alcohol laws.’

The future of the Sonoma County Library and possibly its controversial director are on the line as momentum builds for revising the library’s operating agreement with the county and nine cities. County officials and several city managers are pushing to form a committee that will consider revisions to the library’s joint powers agreement, which was enacted in 1975 to consolidate library operations and provide funding for the system through property taxes. County Supervisor Mike McGuire, who is spearheading the review, said he is seeking a more collaborative relationship with the library, the cities and the county.

California’s pension system lowered a key estimate of future investment returns Wednesday, a move that will drive up pension costs for cities across Sonoma County and further squeeze public services. The decision will mean yet another hit to beleaguered local budgets as CalPERS jacks up pension contributions by public agencies to make up for lower investment returns.

Sonoma’s City Council on Monday night unanimously agreed to put a proposed sales tax increase on the June 5 ballot on an emergency basis to stem the city’s loss of redevelopment funds.