🌱 Fentanyl Bust + Healdsburg Homeless Policy + Little Saint Makeover

Hey, guys — hope you're all thoroughly enjoying these mild and sunny winter days in town. I'm here with your latest edition of the Healdsburg Patch newsletter, full of everything you need to know about what's happening locally. Today's issue includes:

• A Healdsburg man allegedly busted in Lake County with a bunch of fentanyl
• A debate about our local homeless policy
• The second coming of Little Saint
• And more...

Today's newsletter is sponsored by CraftWork Healdsburg

Like or Love?

In the spirit of that time honored holiday that comes every February...when members and guests are asked what they ‘Like or Love’ about CraftWork, here is what they say:

• Like their free, ample parking
• Love their inspired design and high quality work spaces
• Love the comfortable, chill atmosphere – especially the fireplace lounge and backyard patio
• Love their high-speed, dedicated fiber
• Like how much they get done in a focused, supportive atmosphere
• Love the unique hosted events — like the new ‘Crafted Conversations’ series
• Love their free Wolf Coffee and espresso
• Like how fun it is to come to work everyday - in downtown Healdsburg!

But donʻt take our word for it! Visit CraftWork here or come in for a tour — then drop a note and let them know what you 'like or love' about CraftWork for a chance to win two free day passes. (Send your response to kayla@craftworkhbg.com)

Want to share the love with someone you like this Valentineʻs Day? Give them a book of Flex-Five passes or tickets to the ‘Crafted Conversations’. The next event is Feb 15th, so grab your tickets today.

CraftWork. What’s not to love!

Now, your local weather:

• Wednesday: Sunny. High: 68 Low: 34.
• Thursday: Mostly sunny. High: 69 Low: 35.

Shoutout to the other awesome local business that keeps this newsletter running:

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Air over Healdsburg:

Here are the top 3 stories in Healdsburg today:

1. At the Healdsburg City Council meeting on Monday night, councilmembers discussed whether Healdsburg should adopt a new Sonoma County government plan to crack down on camping in public areas. The county's plan "prohibits camping from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. and limits it near certain areas, including public buildings, residential zones, and sites within 100 feet of child care facilities, county parks, public roadways, public right of ways and near waterways and high fire-severity zones," according to the Press Democrat. Recent counts have put the current Healdsburg homeless population between 80 and 100 people. And even though a new 22-unit shelter just opened inside the old L&M Motel, our city's housing director and police chief argued at the meeting that it's not enough. They reportedly said "the city needs to 'engage' landlords to accept vouchers, which would ease the pipeline from homelessness to transitional housing to permanent housing," and added: “If we don't build more permanent supportive housing, what happens when that occurs is our shelters fill up and then people move back to an area that’s familiar, and it makes it very challenging." Meanwhile, the PD reports that some locals at the meeting complained they've been "finding human feces and other items strewn near their homes" and have "had to move past people blocking sidewalks or entryways." (Press Democrat; paywall)
2. A couple of nights ago, just past midnight, a Healdsburg resident was busted over in Lake County with a bunch of fentanyl and meth in his car, according to the Lakeport Police Department. Here's the report from Lake County News: "An early Tuesday morning traffic stop by Lakeport Police officers resulted in an arrest and the seizure of an amount of fentanyl large enough to kill tens of thousands of people. ... The officers contacted the vehicle’s driver, James Biocca of Healdsburg, conducted a Department of Motor Vehicles records check on him and determined that his driver’s license had multiple suspensions on file with good service. Officers arrested Biocca and subsequent to his arrest located suspected fentanyl and drug paraphernalia on his person. The officers then searched Biocca’s vehicle and located additional drug paraphernalia as well as a total of approximately 3.48 ounces — or 98.8 grams — of suspected fentanyl and 21.3 grams of methamphetamine, all of which were packaged in varying amounts. They also located additional baggies and a scale inside the vehicle." Police say he's now being held at the Lake County Jail. More from the story: "According to the Drug Enforcement Agency, just 2 milligrams of fentanyl is considered to be enough to cause an overdose and kill someone. Based on this data, the Lakeport Police Department said the amount of fentanyl seized as a result of this one traffic stop could have killed up to 49,400 people." (Lake County News)
3. This may shed a little more light on the slightly mysterious breakup between the Single Thread restaurant's Michelin team and their stepchild of a food/art/event space, Little Saint — located just a couple blocks from each other in downtown Healdsburg. "After parting ways with Single Thread restaurant’s management company Vertice Hospitality in December, Healdsburg’s Little Saint has reopened with a more casual all-day food program and cozy lounge vibe," Sonoma Magazine reports. “'This is 98% of what we originally envisioned. It feels holistically good and will continue to evolve,'” said co-owner Laurie Ubben, sitting on a soft armchair inside the 10,000-square-foot music, food and arts space that formerly housed Healdsburg SHED. Ubben and her husband Jeff, a Bay Area philanthropist, purchased the building in 2020. Gone are the bistro tables and banquettes, replaced by upscale wooden coffee tables, long communal tables and overstuffed sofas. 'This is a Ken Fulk space now,' said Ubben of the casual-chic décor from the well-known Bay Area interior designer who is a business partner at Little Saint." And program director Jenny Hess adds: “We want this to be like your living room with no formality." The wine area, coffee bar setup, cocktail menu and food menu have all gotten a refresh, too — but it's still a strictly vegan operation, of course. (Sonoma Magazine & Little Saint via Instagram)

From our sponsor:

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Healdsburg pics of the day, Lunar New Year edition continued!

Do you have a great local pic to share? You can send it to me here for consideration in the newsletter. I especially love to feature photos of community members! Please just confirm in your email that you took any pics you're sending, and that Patch has permission to republish them. 📸

Today and tomorrow in Healdsburg:

Wednesday, February 8

• SOLD OUT: Household Hazardous Waste Collection Event in Healdsburg (All Day)
• Wine Industry Network Hosts Virtual "Bold Predictions" Conference for Wine Industry Leadership (9AM)
• Sonoma County Government Hosts Virtual Home Resiliency Workshop: "Understanding Heat Pumps for Residential Water Heating" (11:30AM-12:30PM)
• "Game On!" for Teens at the Healdsburg Library (1:30PM)
• Diaper Handout / Distribución de Pañales at Corazón Healdsburg (4PM)
• Homework Help at the Healdsburg Library (Weekly, 4PM)
• "What Moves You?" Spiritual Reflection & Communal Meal at THE 222 (5:30PM)
• City of Healdsburg Parks & Rec Commission Meeting (6PM)
• Canon Book Group at the Healdsburg Library: "The Mountains of California" by John Muir (6PM)
• Copperfield’s Books Hosts Book Release Party at Thumbprint Cellars: "Finlay Donovan Jumps the Gun" by Elle Cosimano (7PM)
• Trivia Night at Coyote Sonoma (7-9PM)

Thursday, February 9

• Healdsburg Wine & Food Experience Hosts Pop-Up Event: Famous Paris Bar Little Red Door Serves "Farm-to Glass" Cocktails The Matheson Roof 106 Bar and Lounge (5-10PM)
• Indie-Folk Musician Cale Tyson Live at Little Saint (5:45PM)
• Healdsburg Running Company Hosts "Newbie Run" on Santa Rosa Trails (6PM)

From my notebook:

• This isn't local news, but I'm having a hard time thinking about anything other than the giant, catastrophic earthquake that hit Turkey and Syria on Monday. If you can bear to read them, CNN has live updates on the staggering death and injury tolls, as well as continued search efforts in the freezing cold. A bunch of firefighters from L.A. County just flew over to assist. And the New York Times has a good list of ways the rest of us can help. (CNN & New York Times & Los Angeles Times & COPE Northern Sonoma County via Facebook)

More from our sponsors — thanks for supporting local news!

Events:

• Mardi Gras 2023 (February 21)
• Add your event

Thanks as always to all of you for following along and staying informed. See you very soon 💜

— 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 Patch newsletter? Contact me at simone.wilson@patch.com