A judge on Wednesday refused to block construction of three new storage silos at a Santa Rosa asphalt plant. Sonoma County Superior Court Judge Elliot Daum denied a request by neighbors to halt construction of the 82-foot-high silos at the BoDean asphalt plant north of Railroad Square.

A Sonoma County jury may get to decide a case that has far-reaching implications for thousands of in-home caregivers throughout California. The key issue in a civil lawsuit filed by a local caregiver is who qualifies as her employer — the client who receives care through the Sonoma County’s In-Home Supportive Services program or the county itself, or both.