CLOVERDALE - The city of Cloverdale completed the purchase of 5.32 acres of the Thyme Square commercial development site using $3.1 million in funds for low-moderate income housing projects. It also conducted the first of three workshops to gather public input on the Station Area Plan, which will guide the development of a connection between downtown and the SMART station and provide a design for a gateway to downtown as well as proposed uses for the Thyme Square site.
Public participation is strongly encouraged, and the next meeting will be held Aug. 5 at 5:30 p.m. at the Cloverdale Senior Center.
The city received a grant from the Metropolitan Transportation Commission of $175,000 to complete the Station Area Plan, which will identify and address a wide range of development, planning and economic issues.
Sonoma County's jobless rate climbed to 9.5 percent in June up from 9.4 percent in the previous month. In May last year, the county reported a rate of 5.1 percent. The area had 9,000 fewer jobs last month than the same time last year, but it added 400 positions between April and May.
Napa County was the only county to decrease its rate between April and May, sloping to 8.3 percent from 8.6 percent, though still towering over last year's estimate of 4.3 percent. The county shed a net of 4,800 jobs in the past 12 months but added 1,000 positions between April and May.
Marin County's jobless rate was 7.5 percent in May, up from 7.2 percent the previous month. Industry-specific figures were not available for Marin.
The jobless rate in Solano County increased to 10.7 percent last month, up from 10.6 percent in April and up sharply from a year-ago estimate of 6.2 percent. The county had a net loss of 4,800 jobs year over year but a gain of 200 from April to May.
California's unemployment rate increased to 11.2 percent, up from 10.9 percent the previous month, compared with a national average of 9.1 percent up from 8.6 percent.
