🌱 Grape Harvest Begins + L&M Update + Parkland Farms Car Part Thief?

Hello and happy Monday! Simone here with your fresh copy of the Healdsburg Daily, filled with everything you need to know about what's going on locally. Let's do it.

First, your daily weather:

• Monday: Possible rain and thunderstorms in the morning (!), followed by a mix of sun and clouds. High: 83 Low: 58.
• Tuesday: Partly sunny. High: 87 Low: 59.

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Air over Healdsburg:

Here are the top 4 stories in Healdsburg today:

1. After more than a month off, the Healdsburg City Council will resume their regular meetings tonight at 6 p.m. According to the city, tonight's agenda includes "awarding the contract for the Rehabilitation of the L&M Motel to DMR Builders in an amount not to exceed $1,348,776 funded by grants from the State of California and Sonoma County"; an "update on City Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion efforts with Acosta Latino Learning Partnership"; and a "recap from the organizers of the Healdsburg Food and Wine Experience," held for the first time earlier this year; a review of the city's current park-naming policy; a discussion about overnight parking on Exchange Avenue; some "appointments to various Boards and Commissions"; and a bunch of other little stuff. You can attend in person or online. (City of Healdsburg & Healdsburg Tribune)
2. The Healdsburg Police Dept. just announced that over the past several weeks, they've "received multiple reports of vehicles being tampered with in the Parkland Farms neighborhood" — specifically, "over 20 separate reports with a total estimated damage value of approximately $4,000." And they just arrested a suspect in the case. From the police announcement: "The vehicle tampering consisted primarily of the removal of mirrors and registration tabs from parked vehicles. On Thursday, July 28th, Silvia Nunez Lopez, 57, of Healdsburg, was arrested and released on a citation for suspicion of vehicle tampering after reviewing surveillance video of several incidents of suspected vehicle tampering. The vehicle tampering is believed to have occurred primarily between 8:00 a.m. and 10:00 a.m. while Nunez Lopez was walking her tan Pomeranian style dog through the neighborhood. If you believe you have surveillance video of any vehicle tampering, please call the Healdsburg Police Department or email at crimetips@healdsburg.gov." (Healdsburg Police Department via Facebook)
3. This year's Healdsburg wine grape harvest has officially begun — and it's "earlier than ever," according to the Sonoma County Winegrowers trade group. The yield this year is also looking pretty light. “We attribute this early start and predicted light harvest to the lack of rain and the warm spring and early summer,” says a rep for the group. More from the Press Democrat: "The earlier start date is not necessarily a bad situation, especially as the danger of wildfires in recent years has made the harvest much more difficult. The direct threat of damage from fires in recent years has destroyed a few winery properties, most notably in the 2020 Glass Fire in Napa Valley. But the bigger threat has been that of smoke taint, which at a certain level can turn the smell of a wine into that of an ashtray or a wet newspaper. ... The July start date also can get more grapes into a facility before weather patterns change, such as a heat spike putting temperatures into triple digits or October rains that, if they linger, can devalue the crop." (Sonoma County Winegrowers via Facebook & Press Democrat; paywall)
4. Another travel writer came through Healdsburg recently — and naturally, she was smitten. In a new piece for Condé Nast Traveler, Janet O'Grady names us "Sonoma County's most charming town" and gives her recommended itinerary for a tourist passing through. Among the local businesses that made the cut: Spoke Folk Cyclery, Ciao Bruto, Marine Layer Wines, The Drink, Lioco, the Healdsburg Museum, Aperture Cellars, Getaway Adventures, Little Saint, The Matheson, Willi's, Spoonbar, Campo Fina, Troubadour, The Madrona, Montage Healdsburg, SingleThread, Hotel Healdsburg and Dry Creek Kitchen. (Sonoma Magazine & Condé Nast Traveler)

Healdsburg pic of the day

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Today and tomorrow in Healdsburg:

Monday, August 1

• "All Sorts of Sports" Kids Camp at the Healdsburg Community Center (Aug. 1-5, 9AM-3PM)
• New Exhibit at the Upstairs Art Gallery: "Sonoma Backroads" by Beverly Bird (Aug. 1-28, 11AM-6PM)
• Farm to Pantry Veggie Glean at Bernier Farm in Geyserville (2-4PM)
• Healdsburg City Council Meeting (6-11PM)

Tuesday, August 2

• Healdsburg Tuesday Farmers Market (9AM-12:30PM)
• "Aeries Help Days" at the Healdsburg High School Cafeteria: Back to School Online Paperwork Help (Aug. 2-3, 9:30AM-3PM)
• Brown Bag Book Club at the Healdsburg Library: "Such a Fun Age" by Kiley Reid (12PM)
• Healdsburg Running Company Trail Sisters Bike Path Run, Ending in the Parklet With Ullage Wines & Tie Dye (6PM)
• Tuesdays in the Plaza, Featuring Live Music by Alt-Rock Band Luce (6PM)
• Healdsburg Prune Packers Play the Walnut Creek Crawdads at Rec Park: Final Home Game of the Season (6PM)
• Steve Pile & Friends Live at the Elephant in the Room (7-10PM)

From my notebook:

• Quick correction from the weekend edition I sent out Saturday! A reader noticed I accidentally wrote "decimated" instead of "disseminated" in my blurb about the Watch Duty fire alert app. Not sure if I can blame autocorrect for that one... (Inbox & Healdsburg Patch)
• Save the date: City officials will be hosting a virtual community meeting on the L&M Motel homeless shelter project next Wednesday, Aug. 10. They say they'll be "providing a 30-minute update on the project, the clients it will be serving, the operation of the facility, and information on construction activities that will commence soon." And "after the presentation, there will be a question-and-answer session in which the public can provide comments." (City of Healdsburg)
• Also: You have until Aug. 15 to give your input on the big new "Dry Creek Commons" apartment complex being planned in the lot behind Big John's. (City of Healdsburg)
• You know that hot-pink fire retardant stuff that planes drop near wildfires to stop the spread? Well, some of it recently landed a truck driven by Marshall Turbeville, our local fire chief for the Northern Sonoma County Fire District — and some very cheeky industry banter ensued. "Turbeville and the tanker pilot who are friends and both live in Geyserville had coffee this morning," the fire district reports. "Jerome the tanker pilot presented the Chief with a bottle of 'touch up paint' so he could finish painting his truck pink." (Northern Sonoma County Fire District via Facebook)
• The new exhibit at the Healdsburg Museum — called "Stories Behind the Structures: Preserving Healdsburg's Hidden History" — includes these two old city benches from the turn of the 20th century. "If these benches could talk!" museum officials say. (Healdsburg Museum via Facebook & Healdsburg Museum via Facebook)
• The Healdsburg Chamber of Commerce is encouraging local "microbusinesses" with less than five employees to apply for one of the $2,500 grants being handed out by the county as ongoing COVID relief. (Healdsburg Chamber via Facebook)
• Orsi Family Vineyards in Healdsburg has been named one of the 10 best new wineries of 2022 by USA Today, based on a reader poll. The other Sonoma County winery on the list is Bricoleur Vineyards in Windsor. (USA Today)
• Healdsburg neighbor Donna O'Brien just shared a sweet video on Facebook of a bunch of newly hatched baby quails scurrying around in her front yard. (Facebook Group)
• A local dog named Boots, described as a "sweet black and white McNab/Heeler Mix," has gone missing out Dry Creek Road. Here's what to do if you spot him. (Nextdoor & Nextdoor & Facebook Groups)
• And does anyone recognize this sparkly rainbow unicorn purse rescued by a Good Samaritan from the bench outside Mr. Moon's? (Facebook Groups)

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Now you're in the loop for today! Love y'all, see you 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 Daily? Contact me at simone.wilson@patch.com