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Healdsburg
November 29, 2025

LETTER: Hospital delivers

Editor: I write to congratulate Healdsburg District Hospital:

Letters to the Editor, May 23

Send Letters of 300 words or fewer to editor@healdsburgtribune.com.
Our readers ask things like, "Why is the City Council in the arts and culture business? I’m glad the City Council members got a raise, but why does Healdsburg even need a City Council? Wouldn’t a city manager be enough? Perhaps the best news from the meeting is how few people were there trying to get more money from the city taxpayers for their special projects...."

Local businesses display lack of respect for flag

Editor: It appears that some Healdsburg businesses who display an American flag have a philosophy of “hoist it and forget it.” U.S. Flag Code requires that the American flag be flown at half-staff for the president or a former president 30 days from the date of death. A presidential order was given on Dec. 1, in honor of former president George H. W. Bush. The code also requires that flags displayed after sunset must have direct illumination on the flag itself.

Battling Ballot Taxes

When we look at our Sonoma County ballot for the Nov. 8 election with the many individual tax increases we wonder why some items are missing. County leaders want us to raise our taxes for parks, libraries and tourist activities to upkeep “the luxury of living in a world class destination.”

A community’s soul

We often banter about the word and the concept of what we call “community.” There’s probably no single definition we can use. Does community just happen, or does it require some sort of strategic planning? We combine the word when we talk about community policing, community mental health, community economic vitality, community diversity and even community journalism. When we say community, we don’t always mean communal; sometimes we also include conflict.

Market Report: Thank you for a perfect year

I’m submitting this terribly late in hopes it’s able to be seen before our final market, Saturday, Dec. 18. If so, you’ll know this will be a packed market: filled with plenty of produce despite many farms ending their season and all our delicious prepared and packaged food vendors you’ve come to know and love. We’ll also have close to 30 craft vendors, many who come throughout the season on a rotating schedule, but lots of new ones who’ve just come for our Fall/Holiday Craft Market. This will be the biggest week for this event.

Speaking for the Heritage trees

Editor: At the last Planning Commission meeting, on Jan. 8, the Mill District development discussion included many speakers who voiced their concerns and criticisms of the project. Most demanded a significantly higher percentage of affordable housing be included. While I agree with these demands wholeheartedly, I want to bring up the sadly overlooked subject of Heritage trees. All too frequently during project presentations in recent years, including the Mill District, the developers have included in their plans the removal of Heritage trees. I have asked the city council and the Planning Commission before, and I am asking them now, to rethink their position on Heritage trees. The word “heritage” has the same root as inheritance; meaning something to be passed on to future generations. It is our duty to do so. If Heritage trees can be cut down for purposes of convenience and profit, then why bother with a special designation? It follows that the name Heritage tree is a misnomer. If the Council and Planning Commissioners have such little regard for our environment that they let investors get away with the destruction of such trees, then at least be honest and remove the designation “Heritage” from all trees.

Can’t get here from there

In a reversal of the folksy joke “you can’t get there from here,” local shoppers should take heed that when they drive south to patronize big box stores or click on virtual shopping carts at Amazon.com they are forever exporting dollars that will almost never return. In other words that’s money that “can’t get here from there.”

Commentary: Will Healdsburg’s city council lead on climate action?

The Healdsburg City Council adopted a climate emergency declaration in 2019 and has taken some isolated actions since then. However, the city lacks a comprehensive Climate Action Plan with deadlines and staff/budget allocations. Healdsburg 2040, a citizen-led grassroots organization, believes the city council must prioritize climate action in its goal-setting session on March 7, 2022.

LETTER: A letter from home

This letter was sent to Ryan Alves, a Healdsburg youth who is
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Arts & Entertainment

The Klezmatics

Klezmatics return to Healdsburg for the Holidays

Topo, in Fiddler on the Roof, was a Klezmer musician, “schlepping his way from shtetl to shtetl… a distinctive image of pre-war Jewish life in the Ashkenazi communities of Eastern Europe,” according to worldmusic.net.