🌱 Healdsburg Farm Protest + Vacation Rental Crackdown + Book Sale

Hey, everybody — hope you all had a wonderful Earth weekend, and have been enjoying this serious sunshine. I'm back in your inbox today with everything you need to know about what's happening in town. Let's get right to it.

First, your local weather:

• Wednesday: Mostly sunny and hot. High: 89 Low: 50.
• Thursday: Mostly sunny and even hotter. High: 90 Low: 52.
• Friday: Heat wave continues... High: 88 Low: 51.

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Air over Healdsburg:

Here are the top 3 stories in Healdsburg today:

1. Sonoma County government officials just cracked down on vacation rentals in some of the more rural areas of the county, including Fitch Mountain and parts of the Dry Creek Valley on the outskirts of Healdsburg (see map below). The county's Board of Supervisors "voted to change vacation rental regulations, create caps and exclusion zones for vacation rentals and to define fractionally owned housing as timeshares," says a press release from the county. "The first action involved creating a business license program that standardizes operating requirements for vacation rentals to protect neighbors from nuisances, while the second action placed caps and exclusion zones in specific neighborhoods in the first, fourth and fifth supervisorial districts to reduce over-concentration of vacation rentals in these areas." Healdsburg is located in the fourth district — so Fitch Mountain and the parts of Dry Creek shaded in dark green below now have caps on the number of vacation rentals that can operate there. (The rentals themselves are the red dots.) County officials say that the new business license program in particular — "combined with the complaint hotline that Permit Sonoma launched last year" — introduces "additional enforcement tools that will expedite enforcement and allow proportional measures to be applied to violations." You can find out more on the county website. (KRON4 & Sonoma County Gazette & Sonoma County Government & County of Sonoma via Facebook)

2. More than 100 farmworkers protested at the Vino Farms property out Eastside Road in Healdsburg last Friday, according to the Press Democrat. They were "calling attention to what they described as inhospitable, sometimes dangerous working conditions at one of the largest vineyard management companies in Sonoma County," the paper says. The North Bay Jobs With Justice advocacy group reportedly helped organize the protest. More from the PD: "Former Vino Farms workers said the company uses synthetic pesticides such as Roundup, which has been linked to higher cancer risk and that workers often have to apply those chemicals without much protective gear. Other complaints: Supervisors often prohibit water breaks during the hottest, busiest times of harvest; the company has used temporary agricultural workers to illegally replace longtime field employees; and that workers have been retaliated against for pointing out those issues. 'When we were spraying at night, the Roundup was blowing because of the wind and it affected us, but … the bosses did not give us much protection,' said Tomas Uriarte. He said he was one of a group of 12 workers who were let go in 2021. 'You couldn’t complain,' he said." Read the full story here. (Press Democrat; paywall)
3. Another group of local farmworkers has also been working with the North Bay Jobs With Justice org to get certified in controlled burns and land management, according to big new feature in a social justice magazine called "YES!". These farmworkers are "(re-)learning skills many of their ancestors knew well," the magazine says, and "putting that know-how to work healing a fire-ravaged landscape and people" in Healdsburg and environs. Here are some more details from the feature: "On most days, Sandra de Leon prunes grapevines in Northern California’s wealthiest vineyards. But today she is dressed head to toe in a yellow fire-resistant suit, helmet, safety goggles, and gloves, carrying a machete and drip torch. ... De Leon is one of 25 immigrant and Indigenous farmworkers gathered on a cold December morning in Sonoma County, California, for the first-in-the-country Spanish-language intentional-burn certification program. Like de Leon, each of these firefighters-(and firelighters!)-in-training has been haunted by fire. During a massive inferno in 2017, de Leon was one of many 'essential workers' escorted by vineyard managers through mandatory evacuation zones to harvest grapes while breathing in toxic fumes from nearby blazes." She and others later protested outside Healdsburg wineries like Simi, rallying for better treatment amid natural disasters. Now, they're taking fire management into their own hands. Click through to find out more about the program — definitely worth a read. (YES! Magazine)

From our sponsor:

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Healdsburg pics of the day:

Note from Simone: I love when you guys send me local pics for the newsletter! If you have one to share, you can submit it here for consideration. Pics of community members are especially appreciated. Please just confirm in your email that you took any photos you're sending, and that Patch has permission to republish them. 📸

Coming up in Healdsburg:

Wednesday, April 26

• Friends of the Healdsburg Library Host Annual Book Sale at the Library (April 26-28, 10AM-5:30PM)
• Sonoma County Government Hosts Virtual Home Resiliency Workshop: "A Water Smart Future - Innovations in Water Reuse and Efficiency" (11:30AM)
• Job Fair at the. Sonoma County Airport (1-4PM)
• "Universal Yums" for Teens at the Healdsburg Library (1:30PM)
• Homework Help at the Healdsburg Library (4PM)
• Healdsburg High School Track & Field Team Hosts Home Meet Vs. Piner (4PM)
• Northern Sonoma County Branch of Communities Organized to Prepare for Emergencies (COPE) Hosts Free Public Webinar on Earthquake Readiness (5-6PM)
• Healdsburg Chamber of Commerce Hosts Networking Mixer at Limerick Lane Cellars (5:30-7:30PM)
• Trivia Night at Coyote Sonoma (Weekly, 7-9PM)

Thursday, April 27

• Healdsburg Elementary School & Grupo Folklórico Quetzalén Host Baile Folklórico Workshops for Students (2:30-3:30PM & 4-5PM)
• Visitation Service for Deceased Healdsburg Resident Luisa De La O at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church (4-8PM)
• Healdsburg High School Softball Team Plays at Home Vs. Santa Rosa (5PM)
• Healdsburg Running Company Hosts "Run With the Crew" to Dry Creek Vineyard (6PM)
• Trivia Night at Fogbelt Station Beer Garden (Weekly, 6-8PM)
• Community Encuentro / Discussion at the Healdsburg Community Center: "Is the Dream Alive and Well in Healdsburg? / ¿Está Vivo el Sueño en Healdsburg?" (6:30-8:30PM)
• Karaoke Night at Coyote Sonoma (Weekly, 7-10PM)

Friday, April 28

• Opening Day of the Alexander Valley Film Festival (AVFest) in Cloverdale: Screenings of "What's Love Got to Do With It?" & "Anima" at the Clover Theater, Followed by Block Party on First Street & Late Night Shorts (All Day & Night)
• Healdsburg Library Hosts Bilingual Storytime for Kids Aged 0-5 at Giorgi Park, Featuring Miss Charity & the BiblioBike (10:30AM)
• Free Organ Concert at St. Paul's Church, Featuring Abraham Ross Playing Mostly Max Reger (6PM)
• Healdsburg High School Baseball Team Plays at Home Vs. Santa Rosa (7PM)
• Dynamic Brazilian Duo, Nilson Matta & Jovino Santos Neto, Perform at THE 222 With Special Guest Percussionist Ami Molinelli (April 28-29, 7PM)
• St. John's Catholic School Students Perform "The Wizard of Oz" at the Raven Theater (April 28-29, 7PM)
• Marshall House Project Live at Coyote Sonoma (8-11PM)
• Third Thursday Live at the Elephant in the Room (8-11PM)

From my notebook:

• Healdsburg city crews are finishing up their annual crosswalk striping work at six different "street sections and intersections" in town today. "Thank you for driving carefully!" city officials say. Click through for the full list of spots they're striping. (City of Healdsburg via Facebook)
• Four different wildfires broke out Monday thanks to "escaped pile burns" in Lake County and Sonoma County, according to our local Cal Fire unit. So the agency is reminding everyone: "Before lighting that landscape debris pile, consider current conditions. Heat & wind can turn your burn into a wildfire quickly." (CAL FIRE Sonoma-Lake-Napa Unit via Facebook)
• Jill Ziedrich Gaylor, the 39-year-old president of Healdsburg Lumber, was just named one of the North Bay Business Journal's "Forty Under 40" winners for 2023. Congrats, Jill! (North Bay Business Journal; paywall)

More from our sponsors — thanks for supporting local news!

Featured events:

• Passport to Dry Creek Valley - Sonoma County's Premier Wine & Food Festival (April 29)
• International Sculpture Day: A Galactic Gathering of 9 Sonoma County Sculptors (April 29)
• 5th Annual Garagiste Wine Festival: Northern Exposure (April 29)
• Add your event

OK, you're all caught up for today. I'll see you soooon...

— 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