Smoke triggers disaster memories

Healdsburg residents and neighbors are experiencing PTSD flashbacks, Post-Traumatic Smoke Disorder. Within an hour yesterday afternoon, as the sun sank into a smoggy sea, the Air Quality Index in Healdsburg rose from 32 to 230 when the airborne particulates (smoke!) from the Woodside Fire moved inland from the coast north of Jenner. It’s still at “only” 140 acres, a mere smudge on a map that would show the fire footprints of 2017 or 2019—but as we learned too well, that could explode with a change in the wind.

Coincidentally the Healdsburg Fire Department’s long-developing plan for its Station # 2 near Enso Village is one step closer to reality. Healdsburg Fire Marshal Lance Macdonald and Fire Chief Jason Boaz will present the Community Risk Analysis and Standards of Cover at the City Council meeting on Monday, Aug. 3, the first since mid-June. That and other agenda items pushes Healdsburg into the second half of the year – a period that will include the first elections-by-district of two city council members.

Much of the engagement with The Healdsburg Tribune takes place not only in the paper, but through social media. A recent Facebook post showed the new, more secure mailbox installed at the Foss Creek Postal Annex, in response to months of mail theft and fraud reports. Another delivered photos by Rick Tang of the Open House at Baci Café & Wine Bar, shut down for repair following the May 23 single-vehicle incident that saw a small SUV drive through the front door and turn the restaurant into ruin. A third Facebook post introduced astrologer par excellence Rob Brezny to online readers of healdsburgtribune.com. The Santa Cruz star-seer has been delivering his personal and cosmic insights to Bay Area followers since the 1970s, and we’re happy to be able to offer his column to online readers (you can find his column in print in our sister publication, the alt-weekly Bohemian).

But first, let’s see what’s in ‘The Trib” this week…

Christian Kallen

News Editor, The Healdsburg Tribune

Boys & Girls Club builds to meet its future

Modernizing a club that has served the community for nearly 80 years and its Piper Street clubhouse built in the 1960s is no easy task. The project aims to balance state-of-the-art educational spaces with historical preservation, specifically retaining the original gymnasium structure

‘Narcan Squad’ returns to work

Three Healdsburg men continue to save lives by distributing Narcan nasal spray throughout Healdsburg public locations, as first reported two years ago in the Tribune. Now they are putting up signs to make the life-saving antidote easier to find.

Police Log, July 13-19

DOWNTOWN ACTION Healdsburg law enforcement converge at the ‘Towne Centre’ earlier this week in response to a man throwing rocks at a business window. After a brief search they apprehended and arrested him....

Kin in the kitchen at Appellation Healdsburg

Reed Palmer is chef de cuisine at Folia Bar & Kitchen, the flagship restaurant inside Appellation Healdsburg. Born and bred here, he returned home after years abroad to apply an internationally shaped palate to Sonoma County. Obviously, Palmer’s path into food began early, with him being son to Michelin-starred, celebrated chef Charlie Palmer. He also […]

Arts thrive in Healdsburg schools

During the 2025-26 school year, two years of planning moved into action as the committee became the Arts Professional Learning Team (PLT). Members mapped essential arts standards across grade levels and created new opportunities for students to learn, perform and share their work.

Things to do in Healdsburg, July 30-August 6

This month’s exhibit at the Upstairs Art Gallery features a collection of oil and acrylic paintings by Willow LaLand, along with the Staircase Smallworks showcase featuring Gen Zorich’s ‘Summertime’ exhibit. Meet the artists on ...

Monte Rio Variety Show distracts the hoi polloi

The Bohemian Grove Club first met in San Francisco in 1872. Its founding was intended to help creatives flourish. Summer camping started in 1878. In 1899 the club purchased 160 acres from M.C. Meeker, but the grounds have now expanded to about 2,700 acres.

Free Will Astrology, July 29 – Aug. 4

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Neurologists say that when you vividly imagine performing an action like shooting a basketball or playing piano, your brain activates many of the same networks it uses in real practice. In other words, mental rehearsal can measurably improve your actual performance. Many athletes use this trick. Do you?