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.

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.”

Don’t look now, but it’s almost Christmas. It may be too late to come up with the perfect celebration, but maybe not—several area restaurants have created special menus and events for the last big holiday of the year. Start off early on Christmas Eve with...

Sharp-eyed motorists have noticed a name change on a long white office building on Healdsburg Avenue, just a quick stroll away from the Quail and Condor bakery. The colors are still blue and white but the Bright Event Rentals sign is gone, and in its place the bold letters proclaim Russian Riverkeeper, now in its umpteenth home in Healdsburg, and still ready to Save the River.

“We had to make a safety call. Without the bridge, there’s no safe way to get across the creek,” Skip Brand of the Lake Sonoma 100 said on Sunday afternoon. “The creek is 6-7 feet deep and raging right now. Plus, the wind picked up in the late afternoon and several trees came down, creating additional hazards.”

An online gallery of images by photographer Rick Tang from the 2025 early-morning St. Patrick's Day parade, in Healdsburg.

This coming Monday will begin a bit differently for most Healdsburgers, as the dawning hours are celebrated with a parade and a party. That doesn’t usually happen, but March 17 is the date of one of the town’s favorite holidays—St. Patrick’s Day. And with...

When one thinks of celebrations at The Matheson in downtown Healdsburg (the town’s de facto club room), one usually goes straight to the top, literally the top-floor Roof 106 brasserie and bar where all manner of shindigs have occurred over the years. However, this year’s release of Valette Wines, which shares a proprietor with The Matheson, was a decidedly ground-floor affair.

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.

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.