News

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.

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....

I don’t know a single person here in Sonoma County who doesn’t already have the Watch Duty app downloaded and poised to start spewing notifications, in case of wildfire. But most of my Los Angeles friends had never heard of it before Jan. 7,...

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...

What makes Healdsburg’s market particularly unique is the continued dominance of non-primary residence purchases. In 2024, 61% of all purchases were for second homes or investment properties, with rural properties showing an even higher rate at 76%. This tracks with 2023 when 64% of properties were purchased as non-primary residences, writes a local realtor.

The Border Patrol conducted unannounced raids throughout Bakersfield on Tuesday, Jan. 7, descending on businesses where day laborers and field workers gather. Agents in unmarked SUVs rounded up people in vans outside a Home Depot and gas station that serves a breakfast popular with field workers. "It was profiling; it was purely field workers,” said the manager of a local gas station.

It was Assistant City Manager Andrew Sturmfels' last meeting in Healdsburg before he begins work for Sonoma County, but the same old City Council was on the dais to double-down on their controversial decision to set a 5-district limit for Healdsburg's new government....

The grumbling attained legal emphasis  just after Christmas, when on Dec. 26 Healdsburg attorney Jon Eisenberg filed a letter with the city that raised a number of alleged Brown Act violations during the lead-up to the Measure O vote in November, violations he clearly is prepared to take to court. He then raises concerns about the Dec. 16 City Council meeting itself, suggesting that additional Brown Act violations took place in that process as well...

A recent article in this paper made reference to the Brown Act, and it warrants explanation what exactly that is. Most people have the correct understanding that it relates to government transparency, to ensure that public business is conducted in an open and transparent...

There’s a tradition in the news biz, at year’s end, of retracing all the major stories that unfolded during the 12 months prior. It feels like a healthy exercise—an opportunity to zoom out and let the bigger picture sink in, free from the frantic 24-hour news cycle (or, weekly in our case). It’s also a great reminder, though small-town life can seem humdrum, that we’re surrounded at all times by modern-day lore and legend...