Can Larry Laba walk away from the Russian River?
Despite various interpretations of the meaning of the acronym, SOAR stands for “Somewhere On A River, which is always where I dream of being,” Larry Laba said, as if he knew from the outset what motivated him.
Healdsburg Fire Season, Summer Weather Preview
It's about that time of year in Healdsburg when we all start bracing for fire season. We've been lucky these past few years to avoid some of the more massive, destructive wildfires that tore through local hills, valleys and towns during the summers of...
Healdsburg Pics of the Week: New museum exhibit
Healdsburg Museum officials shared these pics of the opening ceremony a couple weekends ago for their latest exhibit: a stunning collection of baskets and other works by Pomo artists.
“Congratulations to co-curators Meyo Marrufo, Silver Galleto and the Pomo Weavers Society for a beautiful exhibition and...
Healdsburg’s Historic Simi Winery Might Get New Owners Soon
The San Francisco Chronicle made a bold prediction early last month: “This will be the year of California winery closures.” Here in Healdsburg, from where I’m sitting, the 2025 wine-industry shakeup has looked more like a Great Reshuffling — aka, wine bosses selling off certain properties or reshaping their...
Healdsburg Prune Packers Switch Leagues
The Healdsburg Prune Packers, our baseball team in the California Collegiate League (CCL), just announced they're ditching their old league and moving to a new one called the Pacific Empire League (PEL). And five other NorCal-based teams are reportedly coming with them: the Humboldt Crabs, the Lincoln Potters, the Medford...
Chicken Pot Pies Save Cloverdale Drive-In?
A former "food runner" for SingleThread on North Street, Healdsburg's fanciest and most decorated restaurant, is now running an increasingly popular chicken pot pie operation up at a "historic drive-in on Cloverdale’s main drag," the Press Democrat reports. Nicole Hinchliffe and her husband, who...
More Local Headlines: Casino Lawsuit, ICE Alert, Charity Beer
The Graton Indians have sued the federal government in an attempt to reverse the approval of the Koi Nation tribe’s proposed Shiloh Resort & Casino in Windsor — and local elected officials in Sonoma County and Windsor are considering doing the same. (Sources: Press Democrat & Press Democrat & Casino.org & Nextdoor)First...
Sonoma County Airport Neighbors Fed Up With Helicopter Noise
A growing amount of helicopter noise coming from the Sonoma County Airport just south of Healdsburg is driving nearby residents crazy, according to the Press Democrat. The reason there's more chopper noise now is because a company called HeliCo Sonoma set up shop at...
‘Syar’ Mining Site in South Healdsburg for Sale
It looks like the 88-acre property owned by Syar Industries along the far bank of the Russian River, where they've been mining sand and gravel for decades just east of Memorial Bridge, is up for sale. This, according to the Jones Lang LaSalle real-estate...
Regional Pizza Group Mombo’s Brings East Coast Pizza to Healdsburg
It would be unfair to several Healdsburg restaurants to say “At last, there’s pizza!” just because Mombo’s finally opened up in the Vineyard Plaza, where several previous pizzerias rose and fell over the years. After all, we have Pizzando, La Pizza, Vera, Campo Fino...











