Bonnie Pannell, who served on Sacramento’s city council for 16 years, died on June 27 from the effects of primary progressive aphasia. Pannell, who was 68, stepped down from her office in 2014, saying that her PPA had compromised her ability to do her job. “I don’t want to leave; my doctor told me I had to retire,” she said at the time. “My voice is gone.” Beloved by her fellow city council members, Pannell was described by one friend as a “protective mother bear” for her constituency and “one of the most effective council members we ever had.” Read more about Pannell in this Sacramento Bee artikel.