All-League players named
Movie madness The ‘boob tube’ is no match for the silver screen 4
Soccer, basketball, wrestling notables picked by area coaches 7
HEALDSBURGTRIBUNE.COM
OUR 161ST YEAR
NO 13
Persian war games Conflict can be solved by an ancient game … chess 5
MARCH 26, 2026
Pavilion aces final test for local events ● It’s ‘smile time’ at pop-up market, tianguis and forum By Christian Kallen
— More on page 7
— More on page 6
Photo by Rick Tang
the Healdsburg extension has already been secured through a combination of federal, state, regional and local grants. When it finally brings passengers to Healdsburg, the SMART train will stop at a platform at the historic Healdsburg Depot,
The long-awaited opening of the Foley Family Community Pavilion went off without a hitch, more or less, during last weekend’s three scheduled events. Janet Ciel, the manager of the Healdsburg Farmers’ Market, had a practical measure for how she deemed the success. “That vendors were able to get their vehicles in and get set up,” she said. “So it feels successful to me.” Her colleague at the market’s information booth at the March 21 pop-up, Christine Webster, was more enthusiastic. “It’s great; it’s wonderful,” she said. “The new establishment is going to be even better than we expected.” The vendors themselves seemed pretty darn happy with the experience, too. “I love this market; I love the community; I love everyone coming,” said olive-oil maker Russ Messing, who found himself on the cover
FACEOFF Healdsburg City Manager Jeff Kay, left, exchanges ideas with Eddy Cumins, the general manager of the Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit agency. SMART previewed its design for the railroad bridge over the Russian River on Monday.
SMART begins approach ● Bridge over Russian River a key component of rail’s impact on town By Christian Kallen Active work begins next week on the Windsor-to-Healdsburg extension of the Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit line, when a series of core samples will be bored to evaluate the substructure of the route and let road-builders know what lies beneath the surface.
Some of that work will take place in town at various spots between Matheson Street and North Street, as well as in the Healdsburg Station area itself, at 300 Hudson St. Eventually, all that work is projected to bring service to Healdsburg by December 2028. That may seem like a long time yet to wait, but it’s been a long time
coming just to get to this point. SMART currently operates 48 miles of rail in Marin and Sonoma counties, serving 14 stations between Larkspur and Windsor. The Healdsburg station has always been on its drawing boards, as has the northernmost station in Cloverdale. That one however has yet to be funded, while the money to bring the trains to Healdsburg is already in the pipeline. According to the agency, $269 million in funding for