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Healdsburg
May 13, 2025

‘Formula Retail’ Limits Return for Council’s Approval

Map of Healdsburg downtown with retail exclusion zone shown
Briefly put, a formula retail store sells a branded line of products with standardized services, menus, decor, uniforms, architecture, signs or other similar features, as if the store is following a formula. If that’s not clear enough, visit the new Faherty’s menswear shop at 326 Healdsburg Ave., half a block off the Plaza.

City Council Struggles with Maps for District Elections

Paul Mitchell of Redistricting Partners
The third public meeting held in the effort to split Healdsburg’s electorate into districts, to satisfy the requirements of California’s Voting Rights Act, led to a general consensus among the council members to stick with their original preference: five districts each to elect a councilmember, with the mayor’s role rotating between them.

March Ave Improvement Gets Okay from City Council

March Avenue bike lane
“Can you speak to how this project does or doesn’t comply with what the recommendations are in the Active Transportation plans, or what the proposed bike and ped [pedestrian] improvements are that people have been emailing us about?” Councilmember Ariel Kelley asked. “I think there’s a disconnect between what you guys are proposing and what the community [believes] is included in the project.”

Local Family Feels Burned in Renaming of Gym

The Frost Hall sign on what is now the Drew Esquivel Gym
Anthony Frost, now of Cloverdale, posted, “I’m lost for words. H.C Frost was one of the founding board members of Healdsburg unified and donated much funds to build the first gym in Healdsburg. The Frost family has been in this town since the early 1800s,” he claimed.

Details Take Shape in Library Remodel

Healdsburg Library being remodeled
As the months roll by, the Healdsburg Library Modernization Project continues along its steady path. Week by week, the contractors complete one task after another, bringing us closer to the reopening of the 139 Piper St. library we all know and love.

City Faces Suit Over Brown Act, Election Violations

Healdsburg City Hall
Retired attorney Jon Eisenberg filed civil suit against the City of Healdsburg, charging multiple Brown Act violations in two recent cases that demonstrate what he calls “a pattern of misbehavior that is deeply embedded in the culture of Healdsburg’s city government…” His action focused on what he called the “tainted decision making” in the effort to get Measure O on the ballot and the campaign to get it passed; and the transition to district elections now underway.

Riverkeeper Recruits to Meet Challenges

Offices of Russian Riverkeeper, Healdsburg
Sharp-eyed motorists have noticed a name change on a long white office building on Healdsburg Avenue, just a quick stroll away from the Quail and Condor bakery. The colors are still blue and white but the Bright Event Rentals sign is gone, and in its place the bold letters proclaim Russian Riverkeeper, now in its umpteenth home in Healdsburg, and still ready to Save the River.

Meet Mella, Stella’s Identical Pup

Mama dog Stella and clone Mella
Now when most winemakers talk about “clones,” they’re talking about varietals selected for specific qualities, such as flavor, color or intensity. The Dijon clones of pinot noir or chardonnay are well known; but the canine clone of a winery dog is a new thing entirely.

The City in Colors: Building Coalitions, Drawing Districts

Liz Stitt of Redistricting Partners speaks
As of Jan. 13, the DistrictR tool was live and functional, and anyone can draw up a city map of four, five or six districts, with the five-district model the only option for a rotating mayor, as Healdsburg has at present. Various tools are located in the upper right corner, as is common in such applications—a hand tool to move the map, a pen tool to select a district and color it, an eraser tool to fall back on. Residents have another three weeks to work with the mapping tool....

Federal BIA Greenlights Windsor Casino

Aerial Shiloh resort and casino rener
Koi leaders asked that around 70 acres of vineyard land they own along the southeastern edge of Windsor be placed in “federal trust”—and the Bureau obliged. This means the Koi are allowed to move forward with their plan to build a giant new Wine Country casino on the plot...
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