The case sheds light on the world of court-appointed receivership, a business that can save taxpayers money and counties grief but can also be controversial — and lucrative for its biggest players.

The Sonoma County Board of Supervisors has selected the county's first stand-alone registrar of voters, after voting to split the position from the clerk-recorder-assessor earlier this year.

Beleaguered Avelo Airlines will close its West Coast operation and exit 10 cities by December as it struggles financially.

The lawsuit, which Healdsburg, Petaluma, Sonoma County and the Sonoma County Transportation Authority joined in June, ...