Columns

A world champion wrestler signed on to wrestle locally in Healdsburg, the environmental impact of geothermal energy development, and sending aid to a struggling post-War Europe in news from the Healdsburg Museum.

March two years ago, during beautiful bloom, an incredible Healdsburg Jazz concert was held at the home of patron Judy Voigt. In the Dry Creek Valley, her home nestles into the hills naturally and organically, with curated sculptures thoughtfully placed throughout the grounds. Artwork and beauty abound.

I recently received an email from a reputable reporter who works for a reputable newspaper. The reporter said she reads my Cannabis Country columns and wanted to know what I knew about organized crime in the marijuana industry. Her email to me was prompted by a conversation she had with an elected official who claimed that “Bulgarian organized crime runs cannabis in Humboldt County, Laotian organized crime runs cannabis in Trinity and Cal Fire wouldn't go into those areas without law enforcement accompanying them.”

In November 2016, Sebastopol lawyer, Omar Figueroa, told me that Proposition 64, which had just been approved by California voters, was “a travesty of marijuana legalization.”

Note: This week in H’burg is a new weekly column featuring photos and fun facts from local photographer Pierre Ratté. Each week we’ll feature a new photo from Ratté along with a fact about the subject matter of the photo.

There are 500,000 people living in Sonoma County and each of us has our own “sense of place” depending on many things, including when and how we got here. We all tend to think of the place where we live by our first impressions, our early school years or first homes, first jobs or first dates. We think of physical landmarks that by now may only exist in our personal memories.

Hello, Healdsburg! With just over two months under my belt as Healdsburg’s new city manager (and your newest neighbor), I’m happy to share that what I have learned about the community so far has been overwhelmingly positive and impressive. In the months to come, I plan to use this space to provide updates about the work of your city government. This month, however, it may be helpful to introduce myself and share some of my initial impressions of Healdsburg.

All across America teachers are going on or threatening to go on strike and it disgusts me. It disgusts me that this is necessary; next to a parent or a preacher, who has more influence on our children, and our future, than a teacher? Americans...

It’s not too late to sign up for Sonoma County Library’s 2024 Summer Reading Challenge. All it takes to win free books is to sign up, read for a few hours and win. After just five hours of reading, the young reader earns a free book; 10 hours brings two books. Read more, and the prizes get better...