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Healdsburg
January 20, 2026

City Council Struggles with Maps for District Elections

Paul Mitchell of Redistricting Partners
The third public meeting held in the effort to split Healdsburg’s electorate into districts, to satisfy the requirements of California’s Voting Rights Act, led to a general consensus among the council members to stick with their original preference: five districts each to elect a councilmember, with the mayor’s role rotating between them.

NCS tourneys extend season for Greyhounds

Raking the infield dirt at Rec Park
With this season’s NBL play now passed, both the boys baseball and girls softball teams look forward to the North Coast Section tournament of the top 16 teams in each division. The girls play in Division 5, the boys in Division 4.

Healdsburg Happenings, June 26-July 4

Swamp Dogg
OPENING ‘School of Rock’ The Raven Players present the stage version of the hit Jack Black film School of Rock, with new music by Lloyd Weber and book by Julian Fellowes. Weekends from June 27-July 13, for details and tickets see raventheater.org. THURSDAY, JUNE 26 Book Release Author Alice...

Meet the New Adel’s: Healdsburg Diner to Reopen Soon

New Pepper's sign
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.

City Settles Inclusionary Housing Fee Lawsuit

Front door of Healdsburg city offices
Last last month the City of Healdsburg reached a settlement with a local couple who challenged a required $20,000 inclusionary housing fee for a new house and ADU on their residential property. The settlement, for $35,000, puts a temporary end to a legal challenge of the City of Healdsburg’s inclusionary housing fee policy.

‘Buckle of the Prune Belt’ from above

Michael Lightfood presents a painting representing Healdsburg in 1972, as seen from the air.
Holly Hoods was taken aback when three men walked into the downstairs office space of the Healdsburg Museum and Historical Society one morning last week. One of them was unknown to the museum director, but he seemed to know a lot about Healdsburg history,...

‘This is how we live here…’ Liza’s market journey

Fresh spring strawberries
At the Healdsburg Certified Farmers’ Market, strawberries are reaching their peak sweetness, their scent lingering in the air before they are even visible in the stalls. Spring onions and green garlic are tender, fava beans are shelled by the pound and sugar snap peas—the kind of bright green that seems to be omnipresent in my life lately—offer that crisp, wet-mouth crunch that makes them an irresistible snack...

Housing Market Update, Fall 2024

House for sale
The housing market in Sonoma County in 2024 has been impacted by high interest rates that have kept some buyers out of the market, resulting in slower activity, especially at the higher end. However, with the Federal Reserve recently cutting interest rates, the future looks brighter as we move into the final quarter of this year.

Mayor Mitchell Steers the City Council Toward New District Map

Alternative maps for city council election districts in Healdsburg
After having reached consensus at the fourth public hearing on March 17 that what has been termed Map A best represented the interests of the city in crafting five separate districts, the expectation was that the council would make a final perfunctory review, then move to adopt and accept that finalize the map. Mayor Mitchell had other ideas.

Wrestling Gym to be Rechristened for Drew Esquivel

Drew Esquivel wrestling
In what Superintendent Chris Vanden Heuvel openly said was a first, the Healdsburg Unified District School Board’s trustees voted to give a newly remodeled gym a new name: Drew Esquivel Hall, in honor of the late 2013 graduate.
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Arts & Entertainment

Ballet Folklorico de Cloverdale

Mexican hero becomes a family legend

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.