Boil Water Update + High School Football + Healdsburg Ramen Spot

Hey, Healdsburg! Simone here with your weekend edition of the Healdsburg Daily. It's packed with water news (of course), wine industry news, a ton of weekend events and everything else you need to know about what's happening in town.

First, today's weather:

Hot and sunny, with widespread haze and smoke through late afternoon. High: 98 Low: 59.

Air over Healdsburg:

Here are the top 5 stories today in Healdsburg:

1. The "boil water notice" that's been in effect for a large swath of Healdsburg over the past couple days, after a water main broke at the Mill District construction site, will hopefully be lifted later this morning. City officials gave the following update yesterday afternoon: "The City is required by State Department of Drinking Water to complete two separate rounds of testing of our drinking water. Each sample is required to sit for 24-hours before confirming no-contamination of our drinking water has occurred. As we expected the first round of test has come back clean with no signs of contamination. The second and final round of testing will be complete tomorrow at 10:30 a.m." (Healdsburg Patch & Facebook & SoCoNews Healdsburg)
2. The "picture-perfect wine country town" of Healdsburg is featured in the New York Times this week for our "creative drought fix" — aka, the city's $150,000-per-month recycled water delivery program. From the Times: "Peeking out from side yards of cottages and behind fences of grand multimillion-dollar homes are massive four-foot plastic cubes for storing water. For the approximately 12,000 people who live here, the containers have become a prized commodity. And, for a city struggling with an extremely limited water supply, a solution." There are now nearly 1,000 local households enrolled in the program, or more than a quarter of the city’s residential water accounts, local officials tell the Times. And water usage is reportedly down 48 percent compared to last summer. (NY Times; paywall)
3. The Healdsburg High School football season officially starts tonight, with an away game at Fort Bragg. And the team's first home game will be next Friday night against San Rafael at Rec Park. With a brand-new, fired-up head coach and a "varsity roster of about 25 players," the Trib reports, "the Hounds figure to be much improved this year, boasting solid athletes at most skill positions." Or in the coach's words: "I’ve been told by some guys that this is the best Healdsburg team we’ve had in eight years. We’ve got some really good athletes here and they just need to settle down a little bit and understand each other and we’ll be fine.” (SoCoNews Healdsburg)
4. Healdsburg's wine grape harvest is upon us. Grapes for bubbly wines started being picked a few weeks ago, since they need less sugar, but now it's the main deal. Dry Creek Vineyard, for one, announced the start of its 50th harvest this week "with the arrival of 10.35 tons of Sauvignon Blanc from one of the family's estate vineyards." And Jordan Vineyard & Winery is inviting the public to stop by "harvest lunches" starting next week. Early predictions are that drought conditions will make for a smaller but more flavor-rich crop this year, but we'll find out for sure over the next couple months! (Yahoo Finance & Press Democrat & Press Democrat; paywall)
5. The latest Healdsburg Police Log, for the period of Aug. 16-22, is an especially lively one. It includes a couple different catalytic converter thefts on Healdsburg Avenue and Adeline Way; a report of masks not being worn at a Center Street business; a suspected drunk guy "throwing flowers and smashing candles" on Matheson; a window tagged "with a sharpie in cursive threats," also on Matheson; a counterfeit $100 bill that surfaced on Dry Creek Road; and reports of a drunk driver on Brown Street that turned out to be "rather an elderly individual driving at night." (SoCoNews Healdsburg)

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This weekend in Healdsburg:

Friday, August 27

• Clinica de Vacunacion / Vaccination Clinic at Alliance Medical Center in Healdsburg (8AM-4:30PM)
• Sonoma County Registrar of Voters Virtual Public Hearing: Draft Plan for New Election Model (2PM)
• Kids' Cooking Class & Fall Friday Wine Tour at Preston Farm and Winery (3-4:15PM)
• Estate Sale at Michel-Schlumberger Wine Estate (Aug. 27-29, 8AM-1PM)
• Kids Run Club: Trail Run & BBQ at Parkland Farms (5PM)
• Live Music on the Russian River: Manny and Friends (6PM)
• "Hopeful Monsters" Art Exhibit at 3 North Street (6-8PM)
• Friday Evening Wine & Song at Hudson Street Wineries: Dorian Mode (6-8PM)
• Live at Soda Rock Winery: Ricky Ray Band (6-8PM)
• Dustin Saylor Live at Hotel Healdsburg (6-8PM)
• Blue Luke Andrews Live With The Bossa Nova Duo at The Elephant in the Room Pub (6-9PM)
• Final Weekend: The Raven Theater Presents Shakespeare in the Park (7:30-9:30PM)
• Live at Coyote Sonoma: Joose (8:30-10:30PM)

Saturday, August 28

• Lake Sonoma Run & BBQ (8AM)
• Healdsburg Saturday Farmers Market (8:30AM-12PM)
• "Hopeful Monsters" Art Exhibit at 3 North Street (9AM-4PM)
• Dry Creek Vineyard Series: Estate Biodiversity Walk (10AM-2PM)
• Bella Backyard Summer Concerts: Banjo Boombox (11AM-4PM)
• Fleetwood Mask at Orsi Family Vineyards (2-4:30PM)
• Adam Lieb Live at Spicy Vines Winery (3-6PM)
• Rodney Strong’s Americana Music Festival: John Courage Trio (4-7PM)
• Ted Ludwig Concert at Due Ruscelli Vineyards (5:30-8PM)
• John Mason Live at the Elephant in the Room (6-9PM)
• "Celebrate Our Future" Healthcare Foundation Gala at Mill District (6-10PM)
• Live Music on the Russian River: Amy Obenski (6PM)
• Final Weekend: The Raven Theater Presents Shakespeare in the Park (7:30-9:30PM)
• The Lovin’ Dead Live at The Elephant in the Room Pub (8-10PM)
• Live at Coyote Sonoma: Whiskey & Honey Band (8-11PM)

Sunday, August 29

• Multi-Family Garage Sale on Alexandria Drive (8AM)
• Bella Backyard Summer Concerts: Banjo Boombox (11AM-4PM)
• Live at Soda Rock Winery: Los Bluz (12:30-3:30PM)
• Elton John Tribute at Luther Burbank Center (4-5PM)
• Live at Duke's Spirited Cocktails: Lara Louise (5-8PM)
• Final Weekend: The Raven Theater Presents Shakespeare in the Park (7:30-9:30PM)

Healdsburg Patch Notebook

• In case you missed it, Healdsburg now has a ramen spot. You can order ramen and a bunch of other "Japanese bar snacks" at Asahi's new outpost in the Safeway shopping center. (Sonoma Magazine)
• Applications open next week for the Healdsburg Tourism Improvement District's grant program, which funds "events and activities which add value for both locals and visitors alike." Recipients last year included Corazón Healdsburg's Spanish-language film series, “Tuesdays in the Plaza” summer concerts and the big Fourth of July event downtown. (North Bay Biz)
• Former Healdsburg resident Dr. Joseph Lee Mayo II, an Air Force veteran and an obstetrician gynecologist, died last month at 79 years old. He reportedly served as president of the Healdsburg Food Pantry for eight years. Joe and his wife "loved morning vineyard walks with their dachshunds," his obit says. (Redlands News)
• If you're a Healdsburg renter who's been financially impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, you can apply for rental assistance from the county. Here's how. (Facebook)
• A "fast moving grass fire... spreading into the trees" broke out last night north of Cloverdale, near the Mendocino County line. Firefighters reportedly hopped right on it though, and contained it at under five acres. (Facebook)
• Spotted at the Healdsburg Library: The famous frog in the fountain just got a mini-me. (Facebook)
• Meet Leo, the official therapy dog for the Healdsburg Police Department — a gift from local nonprofit Canine Companions a couple years ago. Leo now "spends his days walking the halls and destressing the staff," police say. "If you happen to be in the downtown area, you might even see him out for a walk!" (Facebook)
• Watch the dramatic unboxing of the Healdsburg Museum's newest display case, delivered from Germany through a "generous grant from Sonoma County Vintners Foundation." (Facebook)
• Did you know you can text-message your sandwich order to Big John's? (Instagram)

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You're all caught up for the weekend. See you next week for another update! And if you're feeling these newsletters, consider inviting some of your friends and neighbors to read along. 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 email me at simone.wilson@patch.com.