Grateful for the Grateful Dead
Bob Weir took to the road and toured for 60 years. On Jan. 10, 2026, he passed into the land of the bands he founded: the Grateful Dead, the Dead and Dead & Company. He left a legacy of heartful music going beyond hit songs measured in gold records...
That was the year that was
A dramatic sunset closing out 2025 seems appropriate for a year full of world-changing events. That was the year that was, according to Pierre Ratte.
Library ‘recalibration’ as year begins
"We’re returning to most of our usual library events for all ages–Homework Help began Jan. 6, the bilingual Intercambio gab sessions restarted Jan. 8 and Read to a Dog is back on Saturdays from 11am to noon," reports Jon Haupt.
Harvest: ‘For me, Christmas lives inside a cake’
My family’s tradition is the bûche de Noël. A Christmas log. It arrives on an antique silver platter, dusted lightly with powdered sugar for snow, as if it has just been lifted from the forest floor.
Snapshot: Taking it to extremes
The guys and gals from Xtreme Xperience came to Sonoma Raceway last Sunday with 14 supercars, including: a Nissan GT-R, a Corvette Z06 and various Ferraris, Lamborghinis and Porsches, including this 718 Cayman GT4 RS in the photo above.
Twist in slaying of Healdsburg’s sheriff leads to lynching
One of the girls who was a principal in the gangster assault case in San Francisco just five years ago has written a letter which has been turned over to the state board of prison directors, in which she admits that she falsely testified in a 1920 assault trial that led to lynching of three men...
Flashbacks: November through the years
"The sixtieth anniversary sale of Rosenberg & Bush opened this morning (Nov. 19, 1925) with the stock of Rosenberg & Bush reduced for the benefit of those who are interested in securing bargains of merchandise...
Healdsburg’s median price drop tells half the story
The 18% median price decline doesn’t reflect homes losing value—it reflects a fundamental change in what’s selling. Think of it this way: If luxury car sales collapse while economy car sales boom, the median vehicle price drops even though no individual car became cheaper.
Flashback: Aven Theatre opens in 1950, to become the Raven
The new Aven theatre on North Street is nearing completion. Designed by Gale Santocono of San Francisco, the stucco and concrete block building is 73 by 130 feet, with a seating capacity of 738....
Another check off the basket list
Floating above Santa Rosa, Windsor and Healdsburg’s vineyards in a hot air balloon while sipping champagne and eating croissants makes a morning magical. Even if one is not in the balloon, there is something “uplifting” about hot air balloons. Morning commutes to Santa Rosa down Hwy 101 are boring unless one happens upon a balloon piloting its way up the valley.
Arts & Entertainment
Return to the Russian River
When Jake Messing stood in front of the mural he had just completed for Russian Riverkeeper on the north side of the nonprofit’s headquarters at 139 Healdsburg Ave., he had finished more than another mural. He had made a return to the source from the sea himself, like the salmon he portrayed.
