News

December 25 is, of course, Christmas Day, the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ. Christians believe that this birth is the turning point, the very center of human history. From it we count the years forward and backward, B.C., before Christ, and A.D., Anno Domini, Year of our Lord. We believe that the baby born in Bethlehem is Emmanuel, God with us, fully human from the flesh of His Mother Mary, and fully God by the power of the Holy Spirit. We also know, along with this and because of this, that every birth is sacred. Carl Sandburg, in his uniquely down to earth way, said that a baby is God’s opinion that life should go on. When my older brother’s first child was born he called me in the middle of the night to tell me that his son’s birth, at which he was present, was the closest thing to a miracle he had ever seen. I had the joy of witnessing the births of my five children and I agree with Carl Sandburg and my brother and certainly with Mary and Joseph. Birth is a miracle, it is God’s opinion, it is God with us.

As the holiday wraps up and it is time to break down the decorations, local waste management agencies are making it easier for residents to dispose of their trees.

As promised by the state of California following the signing of ABXI-29 in July 2011, homeowners living in State Responsibility Area are now paying the price for fire prevention.

Booklists got a bit kinky in 2012. It’s true — it got a little weird. And the proof is in the pudding — or more accurately, in the lists of the top ten bestselling books of 2012.

The new year will usher in a sales tax increase, and immunity from arrest for someone possessing illicit drugs when they are seeking emergency assistance for themselves or someone else suffering an overdose, among a slew of other laws which take effect Jan. 1.

Give blood in Geyserville Jan. 4, in Healdsburg Jan. 15

New platform for wine industry professionals

Three staff members at the Healdsburg Unified School District have been recognized as Educators of the Year at the district level and will find out in January whether or not they will go on to represent their region.