Lifestyle

The crash and clatter were familiar, but not the whir and whine of the garbage truck itself. In fact, the noise the truck made was more familiar to owners of Prius’ and other EVs. The truck was a McNeilus side-load electric vehicle, or EV. Tracking its progress were City of Healdsburg Public Works engineers, evaluating the future of all-electric garbage trucks for everyday waste hauling.

Though the price of admission may prove daunting to some, it’s the only way to attend the Welcome Celebration at Mayacamas Golf Course on Thursday, May 16, and Friday’s Platinum Lunch at MacMurray Estate and a Platinum Dinner at Chalk Hill Estate, each with celebrated chefs and winemakers or sommeliers - or both....

Now, the core crew of 200 or so Edge Esmeralda participants who walked, biked and boarded around town this month—plus hundreds of others who dropped in for shorter stints—are preparing to vacate their Healdsburg hotel rooms, or wherever else they found to crash. And plenty of locals are left wondering what just happened, if anything at all...

Andy Katz, a lifelong photographer, used the pandemic to hit the road with a camera to capture striking images of natural phenomena from all of the country's 63 national parks, which was published in A Walk in the Park.

Have a hankering for live music? At last, all the local venues have announced their free summer music in the sun (or on the grass, or at the park, or in the Plaza) programs, so music-lovers can begin making their summer weekday plans.

“I think one of the things that people don’t think about is how long the produce lasts,” said Janet Ciel, Healdsburg Farmers Market manager. “So you buy from a farmer’s market that was picked that morning or the night before, but when you buy from a grocery store, that same head of lettuce, it’s three or four or five days in a freaking truck before you ever get it to your home!”

Photographer Rick Tang braved the early February storms to make these images of the area surrounding Healdsburg. Click on any image and it will launch a full-size version; use your browser's "back" arrow to return to this page and the Image Gallery.

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....

So prevalent if under-reported is this latest Covid surge that CVS Pharmacy ran out of Covid test kits, as did other drug stores. Rite Aid in Healdsburg did manage to keep tests on hand, but the fact that some places did not is pretty clear evidence something’s going around...

As “Dry January” unrolls, it’s time to examine the physical side of fitness. With three larger gyms and a half-dozen smaller studios, the options for finding an appropriate level of fitness maintenance is up to you. Their offerings are multiple: mat-based barre, Pilates, cycling classes, yoga, strength training, HIIT, cardio dance, even sound baths and mitt boxing.