Age Of COPE + Water Witch Renaissance + Wine Industry 'Calamity'

Happy Tuesday, people of Healdsburg! Here's everything you need to know today about what's happening locally.

First, today's weather:

Yesterday's Red Flag Warning has been cancelled, after a single reported lightning sighting out near Mill Creek. The forecast is hot and clear today, with winds that could gust as strong as 21 mph. High: 94 Low: 48.

Here are the top 5 stories in Healdsburg today:

1. The Trib has a great overview on Healdsburg-area civilian groups on the front lines of emergency preparedness — namely, the growing chapters of COPE, or Citizens Organized to Prepare for Emergencies. "We are our own first responders," one local chapter leader says. COPE has grown from a network of neighbors communicating via GroupMe to its own regional agency of sorts, receiving grants and funding vegetation-clearing projects and running fire safety campaigns and taking residential inventories to help firefighters save homes. Or, if it comes down to it, even save their own. (SoCoNews Healdsburg)
2. The governor made a cameo in next-door Sebastopol yesterday to sign a $12 billion bill for homeless funding — reportedly the "largest funding and reform package for housing and homelessness" in state history. Gov. Newsom, joined by Healdsburg's own Sen. Mike McGuire at the press conference, stressed that the "California dream... should not just be for some people." (KTVU & Sonoma County Government)
3. Sen. McGuire isn't having as much luck with the bill he recently proposed to establish "wildfire reduction standards and planning requirements for new housing developments in Very High Fire Risk Areas (VHFRA) of the state." The bill was reportedly squashed in the Assembly Housing Committee last week. (Sierra Sun Times)
4. The New York Times visits the Wine Country this week to gauge the "calamitous" effect of drought and fire on the local wine industry. "Winemakers are taking extreme steps in the face of climate change," the Times reporter writes. He balks at the concept of sunscreen for grapes, recycled toilet water for irrigation and "uninsurable" wineries. One Calistoga winemaker tells him, "We can’t keep going like this." (NY Times; paywall)
5. A second local drought effect of interest to the Times: The ancient art of water witching, or "dousing," is having a serious renaissance amid this historic drought. Sonoma County douser Rob Thompson says this is in fact the "busiest I've ever been in my life." Thompson takes the Times on a ride-along to a Napa Valley vineyard, where he performs the whole ritual. He holds two L-shaped rods out in front of him, perpendicular to the earth, and feels the energy shift — "causing an involuntary muscular twitch within him that makes his rods cross." (NY Times; paywall)

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Today in Healdsburg

• Sonoma County Airport Job Fair (3-8PM)
• Virtual Pride Club for Teens at Sonoma County Library (4-5PM)
• Healdsburg Tuesday Farmers Market (4-7:30PM)
• Trail Sisters Run & Paddle/Swim at Riverfront Regional Park (6PM)
• Tuesdays in the Plaza: Tom Rigney and Flambeau (6-8PM)

Healdsburg Patch Notebook

• Healdsburg resident Bill Kreck has a great letter to the editor in the latest PD. He asks: Why don't we dig some more reservoirs already? "As a teenager, I helped build a half-dozen reservoirs on private land," Kreck writes. Read the letter in full. (Press Democrat; paywall)
• There's a rousing convo going down on Nextdoor about how to keep Healdsburg kids out of gangs. In particular, reopening the Raven Theater seems to be a focal point. (Nextdoor)
• Healdsburg city officials want to help you solve another pain point of the recycled water tank lifestyle: knowing how much water you have left. Here's how to "get a rebate on your instant read Flume smart water meter device!" (Facebook)
• Yet another catalytic converter theft has been reported by a neighbor on Almond Way. (Nextdoor)
• Here's a pretty cute idea, for those of you who still have working DVD players in the age of streaming. The Healdsburg Library is loaning out "DVD Binge Boxes" with themes like “Can You Smell What the Rock is Cookin’?” or “Stop Saving Matt Damon." (SoCoNews Healdsburg)
• Check out this beautiful early-1900s-era postcard of the old Fitch Mountain Tavern along the Russian River. (Facebook)
• The Sonoma County Sheriff posted the insane story yesterday of a fire they put out near the coast, on Coleman Valley Road, over the weekend — and the epic drug bust that ensued when they found the guys who allegedly started it. (Facebook)
• As for the Dixie Fire currently ballooning to the east, in the Sierra Nevadas — PG&E thinks they may have caused it. (Associated Press)
• These are supposedly the best Healdsburg wineries to take your kids. For example, at Bella, you can "ride a vintage Pinzgauer truck to the top of Lily Hill, where parents sample wine and kids can watch hawks soar overhead." (Wine Industry Advisor)
• Or if dogs are more your thing — another travel blogger has named Healdsburg one of the five best "historic small towns that welcome four-legged road-trippers." (Trips With Pets)
• We recently came across this rather fascinating deep dive into Seventh-day Adventist Church co-founder Ellen White's Healdsburg roots. (Adventist Review)

From our sponsors — thanks for supporting local news!

Event:

• Boys & Girls Clubs of Napa Valley - Silent Digital Auction! The UnGala (July 24)

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• Caregiver (Details)

You're all caught up for today. See you around! If you're loving these newsletters, consider bringing some more friends and neighbors along for the ride. You can send them this link to subscribe.

— Simone Wilson

About me: I was born and raised in Healdsburg, CA, where I was the editor of the Healdsburg High School Hound's Bark. I have since worked as a local journalist for publications in San Diego, Los Angeles, New York City and the Middle East. I'm currently a senior product manager for Patch.

Have a news tip or suggestion for an upcoming Healdsburg Daily? You can contact me at simone.wilson@patch.com.