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This year brings the second Healdsburg Winter Jazz Festival, which starts Thursday, Jan. 29, at the Harmon Guest House’s Merritt Hall and concludes Sunday night, Feb. 1, at the Healdsburg Community Church. It once again showcases a diverse line-up of jazz talent, genres and venues. A total of six programs are being presented at off-beat stages, with a suitably wide-ranging menu of music.

For the past year, Devon Zuegel of Esmeralda Land Company has engaged in talks to purchase nearly 270 acres of land at the south end of sleepy Cloverdale, and to develop it into a new town, or neighborhood, to be called Esmeralda.

Healdsburg’s varsity basketball team plays as hard as any in the county, pulling off the occasional upset while fighting to keep its year record respectable. Second-year coach AJ Crosby said, as the league season began on Jan. 7, “I think we’re starting to hit our stride now.”

Among other events this week there's an informal gathering to hear firsthand reflections from Dr. Gary Barth’s recent work in Ukraine, including stories, progress and challenges from his December 2025 trip to bring protective eye-wear to Ukrainian troops in the field.

125 Years Ago: The laying of the corner-stone of the Presbyterian Church on Friday afternoon took place with great eclat. The weather was fine and the attendance large. There were representatives from every denomination and the addresses were excellent.

Healdsburg’s City Council recently approved “When The Time Comes” (WTTC), a new city service designed to help residents navigate end-of-life planning and support.

Local drama takes another step forward with the next play at the Raven, "Who Will Dance with Pancho Villa?" But the production, which opens on Jan. 22 for an eight-performance run, is hardly new. Gabriel Fraire and his brother John wrote it over 30 years ago and it had its first off-Broadway performance in New York in 1994.

Their current record is 4-4-3 (one could say they tie a lot of games), but the league season has yet to begin. The cagey coach Herbert Lemus admits he frontloaded the schedule to give his team the experience they’d need...

Bob Weir took to the road and toured for 60 years. On Jan. 10, 2026, he passed into the land of the bands he founded: the Grateful Dead, the Dead and Dead & Company. He left a legacy of heartful music going beyond hit songs measured in gold records...

The midday Saturday, Jan. 10 rally was active for 90 minutes, but that was enough time for about 200 people to show up at the corners of Matheson and Healdsburg Avenue, bearing signs they had made for the occasion or left over from the last No Kings march.