Columns

There’s nothing like opening the mail during the month of a big, round birthday and finding out you have an amazing offer from AARP to join for only $16 a year and you can get a Bluetooth speaker for free! It’s like I don’t need any other present! (The truth is a Bluetooth speaker might be kind of cool. I don’t know. What would I need it for? The ad didn’t suggest why I would want it, only that I would want it.)

Fall is just around the corner, and many of us will be spending our crisp Saturday afternoons trying to catch up with the week’s falling leaves and debris from our trees and landscaping that are shedding, preparing for the winter months ahead. 

Thanksgiving is celebrated on the fourth Thursday in November in the U.S., and on the second Monday of October in Canada. In the U.S., the date of Thanksgiving varied by state until it was proclaimed a federal holiday on the last Thursday of November by Abraham Lincoln in 1863.

The following snippets of history are drawn from the pages of the Healdsburg Tribune, the Healdsburg Enterprise and the Sotoyome Scimitar, and are prepared by the volunteers at the Healdsburg Museum & Historical Society. Admission is always free at the museum, open Wednesday through Sunday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Commentary — As the council takes up important issues regarding the future development of our community, it is critical that it adopts more effective and meaningful strategies to engage with citizens. The need for improved engagement was clearly evident at a city council work session on Jan. 21 (focused on affordable housing, including development of 3 North St.). 

Flower Power. It’s bursting out all over. If you’d like to get in touch with your flowery side, Windsor Garden Club has two new Garden Get-together groups you can join, and one fun event coming up in June.