Lifestyle

Danya Richter, who has co-owned the Healdsburg Bar and Grill since 2000, has a new general partner and celebrity chef Charlie Palmer onboard to direct the kitchen at locals favorite HBG.

An increasingly popular local festival returns this year as Scarecrows on the Plaza, bringing the Healdsburg community together to support the arts and Healdsburg youth at Boys & Girls Clubs of Sonoma-Marin.

With the closures and limitations of the pandemic fading into memory, restaurant dining has regained its position as one of Sonoma County’s most popular, close-to-home recreations.

Earlier this month, U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy issued a new advisory highlighting the connection between alcohol consumption and a higher risk of cancer. Alcohol use ranks as the third leading preventable cause of cancer in the United States, following tobacco use and obesity, and is linked to an increased risk for at least seven different types of cancer. That's not good news for the wine industry.

The first major event that comes our way in 2025 is the annual Lake Sonoma Steelhead Festival, on Saturday, Feb. 8. This one-day science fair of all things steelhead (and their allies, anadromous and otherwise), draws about 10,000 people on its single day of exhibitions and activities to the Milt Brandt Visitors Center, Lake Sonoma.

Chef Douglas Keane has now written a revealing and insightful memoir, 'Culinary Leverage.' Last week we spoke with the 53-year-old chef about the book, his interest in dog rescue, his opinion of social media, trendy restaurants and even induction cooking. 

"White walls reaching for an impossibly high ceiling, a haven that appeared like some Xanadu on the west side of the city square just when we needed to hide. Why we needed to hide is another matter," writes Daedalus Howell about finding a place to slake his dark thirst when he discovered Marine Layer Wines. ..

The exterior parking lot of Bacchus Landing was filled with gorgeous lowriders and classics, with several food trucks off to the far side. When I walked into the interior courtyard, I found a “lowrider museum.” Many of these cars had been in actual museums and exhibits, and featured in numerous publications ranging from the car-centric to the Smithsonian.

As “Dry January” unrolls, it’s time to examine the physical side of fitness. With three larger gyms and a half-dozen smaller studios, the options for finding an appropriate level of fitness maintenance is up to you. Their offerings are multiple: mat-based barre, Pilates, cycling classes, yoga, strength training, HIIT, cardio dance, even sound baths and mitt boxing.

Photographer Rick Tang braved the early February storms to make these images of the area surrounding Healdsburg. Click on any image and it will launch a full-size version; use your browser's "back" arrow to return to this page and the Image Gallery.