News

The city of Healdsburg is considering a dramatic change to an ordinance that would make it illegal for anyone under the age of 21 to purchase cigarettes in the city limits.

Ask any child what is in a creek and they will reply, “water.” Ask them to take a look at the creek water after a rainstorm and they will change their answer to “dirt.” In California's North Coast, there is so much “dirt” in local rivers, streams, and creeks that 61 percent of our waterways are considered impaired for sediment by regional regulators.

Put down your turkey and head outside. This weekend will be a busy and festive kick-off to the holidays in Healdsburg and surrounding areas. You can stay close to home and take a carriage ride, see a tractor parade, visit with Santa (more than once) see the Chanukah lighting and much more.

The Healdsburg Unified School District and the City of Healdsburg move forward with the city’s plan to purchase HUSD’s Foss Creek Campus, which has become surplus property for HUSD. The Foss Creek School was vacated seven years ago due to declining student population and has been leased to the city for six years since then.

This is Thanksgiving week and along with the turkey, cranberries and other fixings, usually comes another tradition — a Thanksgiving message written in this space for our local readers. The editorial always urges everyone to not only count their own blessings but to reach out to those who have unmet needs for food, shelter or personal security.

My Indiana friend sent a photo of her dazzling ruby-colored backyard. For your fall fix, she wrote. A California friend visiting Maine posted golden leaves on Facebook and happily reported it blustery enough for gloves and scarves.

I do not intend the following to be mere nostalgia, but rather a description of a safer world in which a teenaged boy would not likely be shot by a police officer.