Volleyball team meets the challenge
Menus with locals in mind Whether it’s a hamburger or blistered peppers, residents can find a midweek deal 4
With two recent 5-game match wins, v-ball girls prepare for league season 8
Flamingo rising Local hotel has ties to the Vegas strip 12
HEALDSBURGTRIBUNE.COM
OUR 161ST YEAR
NO 37
SEPTEMBER 10, 2026
Can one just walk away from the river? ● Larry Laba ends 26 years of float operation By Christian Kallen
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Photo by City of Healdsburg
massive steel beams from the tragedy and gifted them to thousands of cities, counties and local firehouses, in return for the promise to display them publicly. Gilliam obtained a small piece of I-beam and inspired volunteers to create a modest
Earlier this summer Larry Laba announced the news that this would be his last year of renting out inflatable kayaks for self-guided floats down the Russian River. He founded his business, Russian River Adventures, 26 years ago, and he thinks it might be time for someone else to have all the fun. “I’ve always believed this business has to be owner-operated,” Laba said from his current warehouse/office on upper Healdsburg Avenue, not far from Memorial Bridge. “You can’t manage the river experience from an office. The stewardship, the customer service and the relationship with the river all require someone who’s here every day.” Now in his 70s, he remembers “getting into this line of work” when he was about 40. “You
THE AWFUL SHOCK Healdsburg residents come together spontaneously in the Plaza on Sept. 14, 2001, in honor of the lives lost in the national tragedy three days earlier, when three hijacked jets attacked symbols of American strength.
September 11 ceremony at Plaza to be revisited ● ‘The day everything changed’ 25 years ago Staff Report Twenty-five years ago, Healdsburg and every other town in the U.S. reacted with shock, alarm, patriotism and sorrow at the news of an attack upon the nation. Video images of the destruction of the World Trade
Center towers dominated the national consciousness, and locals felt them deeply. An impromptu gathering took place in the Plaza three days later on Friday, Sept. 14, 2001. People came to sing, pray,
light candles and take comfort in the community. Over the next few years, Healdsburg Fire Engineer Ben Gilliam reflected on the horrific loss, especially the 343 firefighters who died. It was the largest loss of emergency responders’ lives in U.S. history. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey salvaged