JC Wildfire Classes + Local Farm Animals 'Dumped' Amid Drought

Yay, it's Friday! Simone here with your weekend edition of the Healdsburg Daily. Let's get you all caught up on what's happening locally so you can go into your weekend on an informed note.

First, your weekend weather:

• Friday: Gonna be another hot one. Sunny and clear throughout the day, with wind gusts up to 18 mph. High: 95 Low: 55.
• Saturday: Cloudy in the morning, clearing up in the afternoon. High: 88 Low: 49.
• Sunday: Mostly sunny again. High: 87 Low: 48.

Here are the top 5 stories today in Healdsburg:

1. More news today on local farms struggling to carry on through this brutal drought. Healdsburg's Front Porch Farm on Rio Linda Drive above the Russian River has "had such steep water curtailment they’re discontinuing selling at our market at the end of this month," Healdsburg Farmers' Market manager Janet Ciel writes in the Trib. Other farmers' market vendors who've had to cut back their offerings due to the drought include Longer Table Farm in Santa Rosa and Achadinha Cheese Company in Petaluma, according to the market manager. (SoCoNews Healdsburg)
2. In particular, Sonoma County farmers with large animals are feeling the pinch of drought-era farming, the PD reports. The strain of keeping cows, horses and goats alive on limited water, limited grazing grasses and increasingly expensive hay is reportedly forcing many farmers to cull their herds. There's even been a rise in "dumping" farm animals "into a neighbor’s field or onto a country road," hoping someone else can take care of them, one local rescue worker says. "You haven’t known pain until you’ve seen an 84-year-old farmer crying about his cows and his land growing dry." (Sacramento Bee & Press Democrat; paywall)
3. Wild animals in Sonoma County are suffering from the drought, too. With their creeks dried up, many frogs and other amphibians "are not able to breed this year," says Petaluma biologist Dana Riggs. Meanwhile, larger mammals are "out roaming in the less populated areas at night" looking for a drink "and may be frightened, skittish and desperate for water," says a Sonoma County Wildlife Rescue rep. Here's how you can be the most helpful. (Petaluma Argus-Courier)
4. This is awesome: The Santa Rosa JC is launching a "Wildfire Resilience Program" within the school's Dept. of Agriculture and Natural Resources. Which means by this fall, you'll be able to take classes like "Sustainable Ag Production with Animals," "Restoring Native Habitats" and "Landscape Plants: Summer/Fall." Find out more here. (Santa Rosa Junior College)
5. The New York Times has a great video report live called "Meet the People Burning California to Save It," which explores the prescribed burn method of curbing wildfire damage. Times reporters ask the question: "Why isn’t California lighting more of them?" (New York Times; paywall)

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Healdsburg pics of the day, library edition:

Today in Healdsburg:

Friday, July 30

• Exchange Bank Healdsburg Community Blood Drive (9AM-2:15PM)
• Healdsburg Prune Packers Baseball Game at Rec Park (3PM)
• Girl Scout Meeting at Healdsburg Community Center (5-7PM)
• Friday Evening Wine & Song at Hudson Street Wineries (5-8PM)
• Spring Music Series: Dustin Saylor at Hotel Healdsburg (6-8PM)
• Secret Ladies Night Out at Vanity Salon (6-8PM)
• Jeremy Gorman Live at Coyote Sonoma (6-8:30PM)
• Live Music on the Russian River: Rootstocks (6-10PM)
• Spike Sikes and the Awesome Hotcakes at The Elephant In The Room (8PM)

Saturday, July 31

• Healdsburg Cycle Tour at Giro Vigneti (7AM-3PM)
• Healdsburg Saturday Farmers Market (8:30AM-12PM)
• Hike with Cub Scout Pack 25 at Riverfront Regional Park (10:45AM)
• Healdsburg Prune Packers Baseball Games at Rec Park (3PM, 6PM)
• Live Music by Melissa Fulkerson at Spicy Vines (3-6PM)
• Americana Festival with The Highway Poets at Rodney Strong Vineyards Concert Green (5-7PM)
• Live Jazz at Hotel Healdsburg: David Correa Trio (5-8PM)
• SIMI Winery’s “Wine is Food” Festival (6-8PM)
• Hey Jude Live at Coyote Sonoma (6-8:30PM)
• Live Music on the Russian River: Amy Obenski (6-10PM)

Sunday, August 1

• Volunteer Opportunity: Lake Sonoma Trail Work (8AM)
• Comstock Winery White Flight Brunch (11AM-12:30PM)
• VML Summer Concert with Nicole Marden (11AM-1PM)
• Summer Sunday Music with Ricky Ray at Truett Hurst (11AM-4PM)
• Live at Duke's Spirited Cocktails: Lara Louise (5-8PM)
• Live Music on the Russian River: Brian Francis Baudoin (6-10PM)

Healdsburg Patch Notebook

• In case you missed yesterday's Healdsburg Housing Forum, the full recording is available to watch on Facebook. And the Trib has a good roundup of all the affordable housing projects coming down the pike — including in the Mill District, the North Village development; the Saggio Hills development; and a Burbank Housing project on Dry Creek Road. (Facebook & SoCoNews Healdsburg)
• Did you know that all Californians can request a digital copy of their vaccination card? (State of California)
• First it was Sonoma County's largest homeless shelter, now it's the county jail. Read about the latest COVID-19 outbreak down in Santa Rosa. (Press Democrat; paywall)
• According to the foodies at Sonoma Mag, the best avocado toast in Healdsburg can be found at Plank Coffee on the northwest edge of town. (Sonoma Magazine)
• Another baby earthquake struck late Wednesday night on the Sonoma-Lake County line. (Healdsburg Patch)
• Check out the bell schedule for the 2021-22 school year at Healdsburg High School. (Facebook)
• Matt Jenkins "has been appointed by City Manager Jeff Kay to serve as the next Police Chief of Healdsburg," according to the city. He's already been serving as interim chief. (Facebook)
• Here's what downtown's West Street looked like in the mid-1950s. (Facebook)
• And here's what Lake Sonoma looked like in the late '70s slash early '80s, when it was just starting to get filled up with water. (Facebook)

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You're all caught up for today. See you soon! If you're enjoying these newsletters, consider bringing some of your friends and neighbors into the fold. You can send them this link to subscribe.

— 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? Email me at simone.wilson@patch.com.