Connoisseur Chef Valette Uncorked
Dustin Valette is a true Wine Country chef. His roots run deep in Sonoma County, and growing up here imparted a genuine appreciation for great food and wine upon him. He took time to explore the globe, but then returned to where it all began and to where his family ties were tethered....
The Man Behind the Hot Wildfire Tracking App
When asked how Watch Duty stands out from other wildfire apps, John C. Mills’ answer was simple: accuracy and immediacy. “We don’t speculate,” he said. “We disseminate information directly from professionals. If a first responder says a fire will reach a community in 17 minutes, we relay that information without delay. That’s our commitment to transparency.”
Summer Brings Music, Dance to Wine Country Towns
Summer afternoons are filled with live music most days of the week in Wine Country But one popular local venue for weekly music in town is closing at the end of the month—and its future is anything but clear.
Rail Trails, an Idea Whose Time is Summer
Enter the rail trail. The concept developed in the 1980s as railroads across the country were decommissioned and a growing population sought new trails to travel. Thus the Rails to Trails Conservancy was formed out of timely necessity. Nearly 2,500 rail trails nationally now span 25,000 miles, as practical a reuse of a transportation corridor as one could conceive...
Pizza Week Delivers
After pizza was more or less invented in Naples as a sauced-up flatbread, it took the globe by storm when American G.I.’s returned from World War II, bringing a fondness for pizza that led to a Cambrian explosion of different forms we know now. These include traditional Neapolitan styles, thin crust in New York, Detroit squares, sheet pans and deep-dish variants in Chicago, to name a few. You can find them all in California... and then some.
4th of July Kids Parade: A Gallery of Winners
Always a cheerleader for Healdsburg, Sen. Mike McGuire was an energetic highlight of the Fourth of July celebration in the Plaza, introducing the winners of the Kids Parade...
Here Comes the Twilight Parade!
Marching bands, fire engines, pickup trucks and flatbeds—along with colorful dancing troupes and campaigning politicians—will march through town on Thursday to kick off the 75th anniversary of the Healdsburg Future Farmers Country Fair, or HFFCF...
Photo Gallery: Geyserville Tractor Parade
Santa Rosa has its Rose Parade, Healdsburg has its 4H/FFA Parade, but Geyserville lays claim to the world’s biggest Lighted Tractor Parade, now in its 14th year (or is it the 15th?). On Saturday, Nov. 25, the small town where Alexander Valley meets Highway...
Drivers Asked to Turn Off Idling Cars
“Every time I go to Vineyard Plaza in Healdsburg I notice multiple parked vehicles with engines idling. I see people eating lunch, waiting for a pizza order, talking on the phone, listening to the radio while their car pollutes the air and makes noise,” wrote Steve Davy on Nextdoor. Some people have had enough...
‘In My Kusina’: It’s What’s for Dinna
In her new cookbook, In My Kusina (2013), Healdsburg resident Dinna Villacorta Eisenhart captures the magic of Filipino cooking and culture through her exacting documentation of the well-loved dishes from her childhood.
Arts & Entertainment
The good, the bad and the Oscars
Now that the nominations have been announced, let’s talk about them and what people should try to see before the big show. And once we get closer (the Oscars are March 15 this year), I’ll write my annual piece on what will win versus what should win.






















