News

Stephen Sotomayor, the housing director for the City of Healdsburg, announced last week that Freebird Development, in partnership with Jamboree Housing, has been awarded $21.1 million in funding from the State of California’s Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities (AHSC) program. This funding, approved by the...

Healdsburg High School’s new principal is a fifth-generation Sonoma County native—and third- or fourth-generation Healdsburg native—Tait Danhausen. He's been here before ...

Measure J, the initiative on the November ballot to shut down a number of Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations  (CAFOs) or “factory farms” in Sonoma County, has encountered widespread opposition among public governing bodies, most recently including the Healdsburg City Council...

The Koi Nation of Northern California—a tribe not usually associated with Sonoma County, and with fewer than 100 members—is moving ahead with its proposal for a large resort and casino on the southeastern edge of Windsor, on Shiloh Road at Old Redwood Highway. An open public meeting July 30 may be the last chance for the public to weigh in...

In 1926, Foppiano Wines was forced by Prohibition revenue agents to discard 140,000 gallons of red wine into a ditch next to the highway, where the current winery is located. From there, it flowed into a nearby creek and then into the Russian River—but not before locals scooped up buckets full of the illegal beverage...

Montage Healdsburg’s plan to remove 107 blue oak trees to build a new parking lot has been withdrawn by the developer. The plan, approved by the Planning Commission at its May 28 meeting, drew immediate protest from a group of local environmentalists, who took the formal measure of filing an appeal of the approval....

As thick smoke poured across Sonoma and Napa counties, more than 300 residents of the northern Dry Creek Valley and its foothills rushed to evacuate, along with hundreds more lake and tasting-room visitors...

Environmental pioneer and Westside Road winemaker Dr. Martin Griffin died this week at his home in Belvedere, Marin County. He was 103 years old. One of his proteges, Don McEnhill of Russian Riverkeeper, tells of the impact Griffin had on his life.

On top of last-minute permitting issues, it has been a wildly hectic week at Pepper’s, according to Haidar—full of scheduling staff shifts, ordering food and supplies, and getting everything ready for opening day - which could come as early as May 31.

A special five-hour meeting time was blocked out for the Healdsburg City Council on Monday night this week to allow plenty of time for council review, and public comment, on a proposed two-year budget for the city. It even started an hour early, at 5pm, in the usual meeting room at City Hall. But barely an hour and a half passed before Mayor David Hagele gaveled the meeting over, at 6:35pm...