🌱 Goodbye Burke + Salmon Struggling + License Plate Readers In Town?

Hello and happy Monday! It's me, Simone, your host of the Healdsburg Daily — back in your inbox with everything you need to know about what's happening in town. Keep reading for the latest.

First, your daily weather:

• Monday: Cloudy and cool. Chance of rain. High: 58 Low: 37.
• Tuesday: Mix of sun and clouds, with more possible rain. High: 60 Low: 38.

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Air over Healdsburg:

Here are the top 3 stories in Healdsburg today:

1. The streets of downtown Healdsburg were closed off for hours Friday as hundreds of community members memorialized our recent police chief of 10 years, Kevin Burke. A late-morning funeral mass at St. John's Church on Matheson was followed by a celebration of life one block west in the plaza, on what would reportedly have been Burke's 56th birthday. He died just over a month ago from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, right after dropping out of the race for county sheriff. In the plaza on Friday, where Burke currently peers down from a blue tribute banner on a lamppost, "the stories and love for one another were overflowing and it was a beautiful tribute to Chief on his birthday," Vice Mayor Ariel Kelley wrote online. Healdsburg High School art teacher Linus Lancaster played the bagpipes to open and close the ceremony. And according to the Press Democrat, "police from Cloverdale, Cotati, Petaluma, Rohnert Park and Santa Rosa Junior College as well as the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office provided patrol and dispatch services so Healdsburg officers could attend the gatherings." In speeches given from the gazebo by his fellow public officials and personal friends, the retired police chief was reportedly "lauded for his progressive approach to public safety." May he rest in peace. (Twitter & Facebook & Press Democrat; paywall)
2. Word is slowly getting around about the automated license plate reader (ALPR) system being considered by the City of Healdsburg, and neighbors seem split on whether it's a good idea. One week ago, at the regular City Council meeting, our current police chief presented a report on the possible benefits of setting up this kind of system in Healdsburg. Chief Matt Jenkins explained that these special ALPR cameras are able to detect license plate numbers better than normal cameras, which can make an investigation much speedier and more precise. For example, he said that with this technology, detectives might have been able to catch the serial arsonist suspected to have targeted Healdsburg last summer, by identifying cars that drove by the fire locations at the right time. He assured the council that the cameras have no facial recognition technology, and cannot be tied to "personal identifying information" or used for immigration or traffic enforcement. Police are recommending the cameras be mounted onto around eight poles across town, and are urging the council to account for this new tech in their 2022-23 budget. Two residents provided public comment during the meeting — and others have since been debating the pros and cons in a couple different threads in Facebook community groups. The conversation will continue at future city meetings. (City of Healdsburg & Facebook & Facebook)
3. The endangered coho salmon population of Healdsburg and environs is being "battered" by a third year of drought, according to a big new feature in the Press Democrat. The story lays out the crux of the problem: "Recent rains in the Russian River watershed swelled streams as the peak migration of yearling coho salmon, called smolts, was getting under way in early May. But stream levels are beginning to decline again to levels of a few weeks earlier, when the young fish faced the lowest stream flows ever seen so early in the year. Some creeks ran dry, requiring an annual smolt rescue and relocation program — fish and wildlife personnel pull stranded fish from isolated puddles and pools and transport them to survivable streams — to begin earlier than ever." Accompanying the story are photos of local volunteers tagging, measuring, transporting and otherwise monitoring salmon in Mill Creek off Westside Road in rural Healdsburg, as part of the "Russian River Salmon and Steelhead Monitoring" project. Read the full feature for more. (Press Democrat; paywall)

Today and tomorrow in Healdsburg:

Monday, May 9

• Final Day of Pentimento Antiques & Interiors Pop-Up Shop on Healdsburg Avenue, North of Big John's (12-4PM)
• Healdsburg City Council Special Meeting: Virtual Budget Study Session (4-6PM)

Tuesday, May 10

• Foss Creek Pathway Closed Between Grant Street & Healdsburg Community Center (7:30AM-5:30PM)
• Corazón Healdsburg "Mi Bebé y Yo" Taller / Workshop: Parto / Childbirth Pt. 2 (4:45-6:30PM)
• Healdsburg Running Company Magnolia Loop Run, Ending With Pop-Up Pilates (6PM)

Healdsburg pic of the day:

Want to see your local photo here? Send it to me for consideration. Please just confirm in your email that you own the rights to the photo, and that Patch has permission to republish it. Can't wait to see what you've got... 📸

From my notebook:

• The well-loved weekend coffee cart outside The Drink wine-tasting room on Front Street by the river is reopening this Friday after been closed for winter. It will now be open Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. The owners are encouraging the community to "come on by, check out the cute cart and grab some coffee... and stay for some afternoon wine." (Facebook)
• The rose garden just off North Street, along the Foss Creek Pathway, got freshened up by Healdsburg's local branch of the Rotary Club last week. "The 'Yoda' of roses in our Club (Paul Frechette's wife, Cher), taught the workers how to mulch, trim, fertilize, and weed the spectacularly blooming bushes," club leaders say. (Facebook & Google Maps)
• Healdsburg's animal shelter has put out a call for donations of various household items to use during their upcoming kids' summer camp. They're looking for stuff like coffee cans, boxes, "knee high or tube socks" and water bottles. "If you can donate," the shelter says, "please drop off your items in person at... 555 Westside Rd in Healdsburg between 9am – 5pm Mon-Sat." (Facebook)
• For the first time ever, Windsor will host a gay pride festival this summer, on June 25. More info from organizers: "We have Wonderbread 5 and the Purple Ones headlining along with DjLadyChar. There will be a fabulous street fair, with food and artisan vendors from all over the Bay Area. We will also have a Kids Zone with lots of activities to keep the kids busy." (Facebook & LoveWinsInWindsor.com)
• Business is reportedly booming for Healdsburg-based event bathroom company Posh Privy, owned by "entrepreneurial husband and wife power duo Marisa Manna Ferrell and Brian Ferrell." So much so, that they recently purchased a competing "transportable restroom brand" called Fancy Flush. From the press release: "This expansion lets us serve more clients with varying needs, from the size of the trailer to a variety of different price points. The acquisition officially expands the business to 22 trailers and represents a remarkable company growth of 2000 percent." (Posh Privy & News-Journal & Facebook)
• Did you know that Ferrari-Carano Vineyards and Winery in Healdsburg has an emergency tulip hotline you can call? It's reportedly "set up in the late winter/early spring months for fans eager not to miss the winery’s 10,000 tulips in bloom." (Sonoma Magazine)
• Anyone missing a "green, yellow and orange conure type parrot"? The Healdsburg animal shelter says one was found recently near Exchange Avenue and South University Street. Here's a sweet pic of the runaway. (Nextdoor & Facebook)

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Alrighty, that's it for today. See you right back here 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.

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