🌱 Healdsburg Rain Totals + Winery Owl + Kindness Box At Local Biz

Hello all! Simone here with today's Healdsburg Patch newsletter, full of everything you need to know about what's happening in town. Keep reading for updates on:

• How much rain we've gotten in the past few weeks
• The heartbreaking story of a woman who died in the floods just south of town
• A sweet initiative in town to encourage kindness
• And much more...

But first, your daily weather:

• Thursday: Mix of sun and clouds, with wind and a chance of rain. High: 62 Low: 49.
• Friday: Rain expected to get heavier again. Possible thunderstorms. High: 56 Low: 51.

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• Looking to buy, sell, or rent in the Healdsburg area? Stacey Bernd at Healdsburg & Artisan Sotheby’s International is a second generation realtor who has lived in Sonoma County for 50 years. You could say she has real estate in her genes – even her daughter is a real estate agent! Work with a local agent you can trust. Thinking of listing a property to rent? Stacey is a wiz at successfully matching quality owners and tenants. Contact Stacey and work with Healdsburg’s best.

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Air over Healdsburg:

Here are the top 3 stories today in Healdsburg:

1. Wondering exactly how much rain we've gotten over this nonstop parade of storms? We're finally seeing some numbers reported today in the Press Democrat. The rain gauge at the Sonoma County Airport about 10 miles south of Healdsburg is reportedly showing just under 14 inches between Dec. 26, when "the first in a series of atmospheric river storms hit Sonoma County," and Tuesday, Jan. 10. And the numbers in the hills just outside Healdsburg are nearly double that. From the PD: "Already, remote communities in the western hills of Sonoma County have seen in some cases feet of rain since a series of moisture-heavy atmospheric rivers took aim at the region two days after Christmas. The tiny road stop known as Venado in the Mill Creek watershed west of Healdsburg received almost 28 inches between Dec. 26 and Tuesday, according to Sonoma Water. Cazadero has received something closer to 18 inches, while about 13.74 inches have fallen at the Charles M. Schulz-Sonoma County Airport during the same time frame." Meanwhile, PG&E officials say that down in San Francisco, "the 15-day rainfall from Dec. 26-Jan. 9... is the 3rd highest in the city’s history, only topped by storms in 1862 and 1866. And that total, 12.37 inches, represents half of the annual average rainfall in San Francisco." (COPE Northern Sonoma County via Facebook & Nextdoor & Press Democrat & Press Democrat; paywalls)
2. One of the more heartbreaking things to happen during these storms has been the death of 43-year-old Ukiah mom Daphne Fontino. She reportedly drowned when floodwaters overtook her car yesterday morning just south of Healdsburg, near the end of Eastside Road. From the Press Democrat story: "Daphne Fontino was a driver for North Bay Transit and was on her way Tuesday morning to Graton to pick up a client that needed to get to Redwood City, south of San Francisco, her husband said. About two hours after she left, Marc Fontino said he received a call from investigators. They said his wife had been in an accident and they were looking for her. He wanted to help rescue her. He asked where they were searching but they couldn’t tell him." In that hours that followed, various county departments reportedly sent water rescue crews on foot, in boats and in a helicopter to search for signs of the Daphne, to no avail. So "the search was called off at sunset." The worst case scenario for Daphne was confirmed, the PD reports, when responders returned the next morning and found her car "in about 8-10 feet of floodwater at 7:46 a.m. about 100 yards off Trenton-Healdsburg Road in a vineyard, according to the Sheriff’s Office. A deputy dove into the water, and determined the car was occupied. Fontino’s body was found." Daphne's family and friends have since set up a GoFundMe to cover her funeral expenses. Daphne "lost her life attempting to do her essential job as a medical transportation driver — to get the patient to their appointment safely," the fundraising page says. "Please please be careful driving and hold your loved ones tight tonight." (Healdsburg Patch & GoFundMe & Press Democrat & Press Democrat; paywalls)
3. I've been meaning to tell you about a really sweet initiative going on at Fincher's Auto Service at 82 Healdsburg Ave., near the 101 freeway exit at the south end of town. Tim Fincher's wife, DeAnna, has set up a raffle box of sorts with a slot in the top. She's encouraging customers to jot a happy thought or a few kind words onto a blank notecard, then drop it into the slot. It's called the "Bee Kind" box, and DeAnna says the idea is to encourage people to leave Fincher's in a positive mindset that they then bring out into the world. "There are a lot of negatives in this world and we at Fincher's want no part of it," says an instruction sheet next to the box. "We have designed a happy 'Bee Kind' box for you to leave a kind happy thought as you receive auto repair on your vehicle. Please put your message, name and phone number on the card provided. We want you to leave our business feeling happy with a positive kind thought on your mind. At the end of each month we will draw a happy, kind thought. The winner will receive $25 towards their next service. Have a happy day, Fincher's Auto Service." DeAnna says she hopes other local businesses will set up similar boxes in their shops, setting off a whole local kindness movement. Who's game? (FinchersHealdsburg.com)

Today and tomorrow in Healdsburg:

Thursday, January 12

• Sonoma County Board of Supervisors Hosts Hearing on "Fire Hazard Safety Severity Zones" (2PM)
• Healdsburg Running Company Hosts "Local Loop" Run to Mombo's Pizza (6PM)
• Rio Lindo Adventist Girls Basketball Home Game Vs. Pleasant Hill Adventist Academy (5PM)
• Tara Renze Book Signing at Breathless Wines (7-8PM)

Friday, January 13

• Sandy’s Live at Little Saint (5:45PM)
• "Books & Roots" Bilingual Reading Program / Programa de Lectura Bilingüe "Libros y Raíces" at Corazón Healdsburg: "Tito Puente: Rey del Mambo" (6-8PM)
• Healdsburg High School Girls Soccer Home Game Vs. Rancho Cotate (7PM)
• Rootstocks Live at Coyote Sonoma (7-9PM)
• Healdsburg High School Girls Basketball Home Game Vs. St. Vincent (7:30PM)
• Eric Long Band Live at the Elephant in the Room (9PM)

Healdsburg pics of the day:

Do you have a good storm pic to share, or a pic of anything else interesting in town? 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. 📸

From my notebook:

• Winemakers at Healdsburg's Hartford Family Winery tell the story of a tiny western screech owl who took a "60-mile ride from Annapolis to Forestville in bin full of wine grapes." (Press Democrat; paywall)
• The Healdsburg Tribune has some more scary details about the conifer tree that "crashed to the ground near Giorgi Park at Reed and Bianca just after 11pm" on Saturday night. "The tree took down power lines and cables and split a wooden utility pole, cutting service to approximately 145 City of Healdsburg electric customers in the residential area," the Trib reports. More from the story: "For Steve Neilsen and family, at the house on the corner of that intersection, it was too close for comfort. 'My daughter heard something and looked out the window to see it fall,' he said. A 40-foot cedar tree toppled to the ground, uprooting a cement walkway, destroying a hand built porch, pushing aside a metal storage house and crushing another on its way to demolishing part of the fence and taking down the power lines strung across the intersection. 'Good thing it didn’t fall the other way,' said Neilsen. He, his wife and three daughters moved into the residential neighborhood following the loss of their own home on Mill Creek to the fires of 2020. Compared to that disaster, this was an inconvenience." Read the full story here. (Healdsburg Tribune)
• And over in the Napa Valley, the beloved 275-year-old oak tree at the V. Sattui Winery in St. Helena has fallen to the storms as well. From the PD: "'It’s been so sad around here. That tree has been so much more than just a tree,' V. Sattui President Tom Davies told the Business Journal on Tuesday morning. In 2020, winery namesake and longtime vintner, Dario Sattui, saw his prized Castello di Amorosa resembling a Tuscan castle in Calistoga sustain damage when the massive Glass Fire jumped Highway 29, also in the morning, taking out the winery’s farmhouse. With that, more than 100,000 bottles of wine valued at least $5 million were destroyed in the aftermath. ... 'We can make more wine. With this tree, there’s more to it,' Davies said." (North Bay Business Journal; paywall)
• Meanwhile, down in Petaluma, a California kingsnake was spotted swimming along a flooded city street. (Press Democrat; paywall)
• PG&E officials say they currently have 6,000 (!) crew members working across Northern and Central California to restore power for residents. "In the last 24 hours, approximately 140,000 customers have had their power restored," PG&E announced yesterday morning. "Since the storms first arrived on New Year’s Eve, more than 2 million customers have been restored. At 8 a.m. today, about 43,500 customers remain without power with Santa Clara, Santa Cruz and Sonoma counties seeing the most impact. The weather looks favorable for restoration over the next few days, although issues with flooding and access remain in some locations." (Nextdoor)
• The IRS has "extended federal tax filing and payment deadlines for California storm victims" — including individuals, local businesses and farmers — to May 15, state officials say. (Internal Revenue Service & Nextdoor)
• Barndiva is back open after a short break, according to owners. And they say they're "raring to go with an exciting new (rainy) winter menu" — including a lobster dish with "vadouvan beurre blanc, rainbow chard, yukon, and carrot." (Barndiva via Facebook)
• At their meeting last night, the City of Healdsburg's Parks and Rec Commission spent nearly half an hour discussing how to name the new Saggio Hills development at the north end of town. Tantalized? You can watch the full meeting here. (City of Healdsburg via Facebook)

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That's all for today! 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