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"Healdsburg is lucky to be able to have slow streets for our neighbors to walk and bike safely, while also having the highway nearby for those in a hurry traveling from north to south," writes Ariel Kelley. "I know change can be tough, but at the same time, you only get one life."

Whether a tourist or a local (or that broad category of “visitors from nearby”), everyone knows the first stop is Healdsburg Veterans Memorial Beach, where the Redwood Highway crosses the Russian River. According to Sarah Campbell of Sonoma County Regional Parks, the most recent headcount showed about 68,000 visitors for the previous year.

In 2025 alone, Russian Riverkeeper—self-styled protector of the river—pulled roughly a half-million pounds of trash from its waters, a volume that has grown, year over year, for the past five years. To do so, the Healdsburg nonprofit organized 900 local volunteers across 75 separate cleanup events along its length.

Break the town’s sales into price ranges and every single one got more expensive over the past year. Homes under $1 million, homes between $1 and $3 million, and estates above $3 million all rose. The flat headline is not the story. It is barely a footnote to it.

Fireworks and fraud in police logs from June 29 - July 5, plus other crimes and concerns reported to Healdsburg Police.

"I want to support the recommendations,” said Ariel Kelley. “I feel really strongly that this is one of those things that we have the ability to actually improve people’s ability to get in and around our town, or just to slow down. Frankly, lives will be saved because of it. That feels like a pretty compelling reason to me.”

Voting for Healdsburg City Council seats is transiting from an at-large election system to district-based elections. The change, required by a state law and approved under threat of legal action in 2025, affects how residents vote for council members and how representation is structured throughout the community.

Fraud occurred at the United States Postal Service (USPS) on Foss Creek Circle. Other forms of fraud are also becoming widespread, according to this week's Police Log. Meanwhile city police continue their community outreach at events like the 4th of July party.

This Saturday, July 4, Healdsburg will offer family activities from dawn to dusk, beginning with an early morning pancake breakfast and concluding with a half hour of fireworks after the sun goes down.

At first it seemed like a rare misstatement from Mike McGuire. At the May event welcoming SMART to Healdsburg—the so-called “groundbreaking”—the local politician and longtime supporter of the commuter rail system said, “Now it’s on to Geyserville!” Last week revealed it wasn’t a misstatement, but a stealth announcement: