Project Homekey The L&M Village takes in people in transition, but it’s sometimes the scene of police reports 8
HEALDSBURGTRIBUNE.COM
OUR 161ST YEAR
NO 24
Spreading the wealth Healdsburg Forever awards $400,000 at celebration 6
Time was …. Voters rejected a school tax measure 50 years ago, plus other ‘Flashbacks’ 4
JUNE 11, 2026
Healdsburg’s too-popular secret beach ● Social media unleashed a horde on Russian River shore, but it goes too far Photo by Christian Kallen
Is riverside getaway lost to locals? A gravel beach upstream from Memorial Bridge has long been a quiet place for meditation and family time. But ‘flash mobs’ drawn by social media have turned it into a crime scene, with loud music, heavy drinking, fights and gunfire. At last law enforcement takes notice. — MORE PAGE 12
Healdsburg adds fashion to Pride ● ‘Rainbow Runway’ at Pavilion party Staff Report The rainbow colors of the Pride Flag rose above City Hall last Monday afternoon, June 1,
to inaugurate Pride Month in Healdsburg. The City Council was there, although its regular meeting did not begin until 6pm, and although an official Proclamation was drafted and signed by Mayor Chris Herrod, the speakers at the flag-raising ceremony ran out the clock. There was no time to get to the reading of the Proclamation, there or in the meeting, but it’s official anyway: June is “LGBTQIA2S+ Pride Month” in Healdsburg. Several June 1 speakers cel-
ebrated Healdsburg’s historic role in defeating the Briggs Initiative, a statewide proposition in 1978 that would have banned gay teachers and even supporters of lesbian and gay rights from working in public schools. Several of the speakers on June 1 were teachers, who 50 years ago played a part in supporting Larry Berner while opposing Prop 6. Berner, a second grade teacher at Fitch
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By Christian Kallen The May 19 posting on Nextdoor had all the family-friendly, mutual-support vibe the app is known for at its best: “Hi Neighbors, I’m relatively new to the area, but I was wondering where is the best place to find a nice beach on the river that would be safe for little kids to play in the water…” A day later a newspaper story was added to the thread: “Gunfire near Healdsburg park leads to arrest of boy, 17.” The juxtaposition of the innocent mother’s request and the sobering sheriff’s report was striking, especially for a community that has a long history of riverside recreation. The charming postcard of yore with a canoe floating on a hand-tint-
ed riverscape evokes a bucolic scene that, for too many residents, is years in the past. “We’ve lived here since 2013,” said Dave Bent, who with his wife lives in a house overlooking the broad gravel beach. “The first fourth of July we were here, it was unbelievable. It was a massive gathering. I mean, there was no place for bodies to lay down. There was a big tent with the speakers, probably six feet tall, three or four feet wide, 1400 watts blasting straight at my house.” The Bent house sits on the south side of the river, but the entire beach is in county jurisdiction, as the city’s area of
— More on page 7