Columns

Our community’s slow-but-sure recovery during the pandemic has been fascinating to witness in the library. At the start of the pandemic, our in-person numbers cratered while use of eBooks and eAudiobooks skyrocketed. During the last three years, those in-person numbers have risen month by month....

Think that Veuve Clicquot is co-branding port-a-potties? Who in the world thinks up a promotion scheme like that? Seriously, what is the messaging? A prankster relabeled a porta-potty on Healdsburg streets.

Panettone is another one of Italy’s culinary gifts to the world. It’s a brioche-like cake filled with raisins and candied fruits, traditionally enjoyed over the Christmas holiday.  Italy reportedly produces 117 million panettone each year, about 10% for export. Italian production since 2005 is regulated...

Russian River water temperatures are about 70 degrees Fahrenheit now, much cooler than recent air temperatures trending above 100 degrees.

As of 75 years ago, after raising over 25 percent of the $20,000 goal for ball park lights, the drive of the Healdsburg Community Recreation Lighting Committee was well under way.

Reportedly, 17 years ago this wall at Fitch and Powell was a blank concrete block wall.  Often it would be “tagged.” That is until somebody decided to do something about it.  That somebody was eight-year-old Haley Fincher. She and her friends took it upon themselves,...

Spring greetings from the staff at the Healdsburg Regional Library.  We have been overjoyed to see the growing number of visitors to the library over the past year—our current numbers are inching closer to those we used to see pre-pandemic. As always, we’re here to...

Bridge Lighting Policy At the December 4th city council meeting I requested city council to revisit resolution 68-2023 and abort the bridge lighting project, returning it to its natural state for the following reasons. ('Healdsburg Chooses the Color of Peace,' Oct. 26) Lighting the bridge was...

Earlier this month, I was at the Healdsburg Museum looking through old editions of The Healdsburg Tribune to familiarize myself with Healdsburg’s Prune Blossom Tour, the subject of my latest feature article, and I came across a selection of recipes — prune nut squares, prune apricot pot roast and prune honey bread.

Mary Ellen Pleasant was a phenomenal woman. Born a slave in 1814, she amassed an estimated $30 million through entrepreneurship and savvy investing. Owning boarding houses, restaurants, laundries, a dairy and a money-lending business, she acquired 2,000 acres around Glen Ellen, including the famed...