🌱 Big Hotel Pushback + Sheriff Race + Another Anti-Vax Rally

Hello again, people of Healdsburg! Simone here with your daily dose of everything you need to know about what's happening in town. Let's get right to it.

First, today's weather:

Sunny with afternoon winds. High: 61 Low: 34.

There's a "High Wind Advisory" currently in effect across Sonoma County for "gusty north to northeast offshore winds," lasting through Thursday morning and hitting higher elevations hardest. County officials advise you "secure loose outdoor items and structures, prepare for possible power outages and drive safe." (Facebook)

Air over Healdsburg:

Here are the top 3 stories today in Healdsburg:

1. Famously unvaccinated Healdsburg City Councilwoman Skylaer Palacios took part in a two-and-a-half-hour rally in the City of Sonoma's downtown plaza over the weekend, according to the Press Democrat. She and around 250 other protesters reportedly "turned out to denounce ongoing local public health mandates aimed at reducing the spread of COVID-19." The rally comes on the heels of a couple smaller ones late last year outside Healdsburg City Hall in support of Palacios, after the City Council decided to only let vaccinated people attend meetings in person. Palacios spoke onstage at the latest demonstration in Sonoma. “All I’ve done is ask questions,” she said. “I’ve questioned it but it does not mean I’m anti-vax and anti-science. People should be able to ask questions, but instead, people have been silenced.” (Press Democrat; paywall)
2. At a recent city planning commission workshop, Healdsburg residents pushed back against plans for a sprawling "four-story 16-room hotel — called Hotel Healdsburg Residences — that would be segmented into three separate buildings at 400, 412 and 418 Healdsburg Avenue" near North Street. In a rendering from the developer, which has gone as viral as anything in a town of 12,000 can go, the fancy new hotel, covered in vines, looms over a dwarfed John & Zeke's. The developer is Piazza Hospitality, "the same group behind the Harmon Guest House, Hotel Healdsburg and H2 Hotel," the Tribune reports. They want their latest hotel to have 11 family suites, five multi-room cottages, a public plaza area, 35 parking spaces, a first-floor "retail space and a restaurant and bar similar to the open-air eatery at H2 Hotel" and "a pool and a courtyard for hotel guests." Read the Tribune story for a bunch more details on both the proposal and the pushback. (SoCoNews Healdsburg)
3. The race for Sonoma County Sheriff is ramping up — and Healdsburg leaders are making a lot of noise in support for candidate Kevin Burke, who served as our police chief from 2010 to 2021. At a "crammed Zoom forum" last week, Burke and two of the other candidates pitched their platforms to candidates. A fourth candidate, current Assistant Sheriff Eddie Engram, claims he was excluded from the forum — and some attendees noticed. "Why not have the only Black candidate have a chance to talk about his ideas...?" one wrote. Burke, for his part, pointed out that he led initiatives as Healdsburg's police chief that "demonstrate his chops for leadership and community outreach — including his partnership with Corazón Healdsburg to engage with the Latino community and his support of a mental health response team." Some recent letters to the editor from Healdsburgians published in the Press Democrat have backed him up on that. (Petaluma Argus Courier & Facebook)

From our sponsor:

Last week, we told you about our new favorite non-alcoholic go-to — the refreshingly bitter drinks from our partners at Betera. They’re chef-created from natural botanicals, lightly effervescent and worthy of life beyond “Dry January.” We mentioned that their Ginger-Orange was excellent; we’ve since tried Elderflower-Lime and loved it as well — light and floral with the perfect amount of zing. We're converts.

Enough of you took Betera up on their 15% discount on first orders for Patch Daily readers that they’ve extended the offer for another week. Use PATCH15 at checkout. Highly recommended — try Betera here.

Today in Healdsburg:

Tuesday, February 1

• Corazón Healdsburg Breastfeeding Workshop / Taller de La Lactancia Pt. 1 (5-6:30PM)
• Healdsburg Running Company Ladies Night Bike Path Run, Ending in Cocktails at the Matheson (6PM)
• Virtual Spanish Conversation for Beginners at Sonoma County Library (6:30-7:45PM)
• Healdsburg High School Girls' Basketball Home Game Vs. Santa Rosa (7:30PM)

Wednesday, February 2

• Bilingual Family Storytime at Sonoma County Library: ¡Mambo Mucho Mambo! (10:30-11:30AM)
• Kindergarten Info Night for Healdsburg Elementary School's Fitch Mountain Campus (5-6PM)
• Trivia Night at Coyote Sonoma (7-9PM)

From my notebook:

• Neighbors are raving about the new Troubadour sandwich shop downtown. (Facebook)
• Local nonprofit Corazón Healdsburg is offering free "citizenship classes" starting Feb. 15. You can sign up here. (Facebook)
• Corazón is also planning to open a teen center for high schoolers this month, and is looking for a part-time bilingual staffer to help out with "tutoring, group projects, college and career opportunities, academics through sports, poetry, writing, art, and so much more." (Facebook)
• Another Healdsburg org, Russian Riverkeeper, needs some interns as well. They're looking for current law school students to work on a "diverse range of issues affecting our watershed, from the public trust doctrine to the Clean Water Act, and everything in between." (Facebook & Russian Riverkeeper)
• The Healdsburg Center for the Arts has issued a call for artists to submit work to a new show with the theme "home." The deadline is March 31. (Facebook)
• Healdsburg mom Michelle Tinsley is featured in a new Press Democrat story on "local parents of young children who can't be vaccinated yet," for whom "COVID is like 'a living jail.'" (Press Democrat; paywall)
• Sweet question from a Healdsburg neighbor on Nextdoor: "Every morning I watch a murmuration of starlings out my kitchen window on Grove street, facing East. Does anyone know where they actually are? I’d like to bring the lady I take care of to see them." (Nextdoor)

Loving the Healdsburg Daily? Here are all the ways you can get more involved:

• Send a friend or neighbor this link so they can subscribe
• Get your local business featured in front of readers
• Send me a news tip or suggestion at simone.wilson@patch.com

That's it for today! See you all tomorrow.

— 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.