🌱 Mombo's Pizza Opens + Funds For Drought Project + Fall Election

Hey, everybody! I'm back with your weekend edition of the Healdsburg Daily, full of everything you need to know about what's happening around town. Let's get right to it.

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Now, your weekend weather:

• Friday: Fog and clouds in the morning, turning to sun. High: 78 Low: 56.
• Saturday: Same deal. High: 81 Low: 54.
• Sunday: Same! High: 83 Low: 53.
• Monday: Mostly sunny. High: 87 Low: 52.

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Air over Healdsburg:

Here are the top 3 stories today in Healdsburg:

1. Guys! It finally happened! Mombo's Pizza just opened their newest location in the Safeway shopping center, in the rotating pizza-place spot at 1051 Vine Street that used to house DiVine and Mountain Mike's. Naturally, the pizza lovers of Healdsburg are totally freaking out. "The pieces are all huge and SOO GOOD," one neighbor writes on Facebook. "An absolutely great group of people… amazing food!!" says another. And a third observes that "the hype of this place is like the second coming of Christ." Mombo's serves "authentic New York style thin crust pizza by the slice or in whole pizza pies," according to the "Love Healdsburg" Instagram account, and "have two other locations one in Santa Rosa and Sebastopol." Folks who've stopped by the new Healdsburg location report that there are a bunch of big TV screens for watching sports, but no beer yet. There also appears to be pasta, salad and sandwiches on the menu alongside the pizza. Let us know if you stop by and check it out... (Love Healdsburg via Instagram & Facebook Groups & Facebook Groups & Facebook Groups & Facebook Groups)
2. The City of Healdsburg has received a little over $6 million in federal grant money toward a drought-related project costing $8.5 million, state officials say — part of $180 million that the state just secured for sustainability projects in communities and counties across California. I'm not 100 percent sure this is the project that the money is for, BUT the city did say earlier this year that it was waiting on $8.5 million in state and federal money to build new "aquifer storage and recovery wells" expected increase our water supply by "60 million gallons per year, or 9% of our current demand." Anyway, I'll share more as I learn it. State officials said when announcing the grants yesterday that "leveraging federal funds through the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities program, [the California Governor’s Office of Emergency of Services] received grants for nine projects submitted for Fiscal Year 2021 that range from seismic retrofitting of buildings in socially-vulnerable neighborhoods to the construction of groundwater wells to store water for use during drought conditions." In response to the announcement, Patrick Fuss, utility engineering manager for the City of Healdsburg, said in a statement: “We are very excited to help the City of Healdsburg weather through droughts like we are going through right now. This grant will allow us to support our community members when they need it most." (CA.gov & YubaNet)
3. Along with Healdsburg's three open City Council seats, you'll see two local measures on your ballot for the November election, the Healdsburg Tribune reports. From the Trib: "The first is a measure to implement an X% tax on cannabis businesses, when and if they ever become allowed in the city. As that implements a tax that goes to the general fund, it only requires a majority to pass into law—placing it on the books even before Healdsburg hammers out a commercial cannabis policy. The second is a bit more complicated: a revision of Healdsburg’s Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT) applied to overnight visitors, which currently stands at 14%. This charge is added to hotel lodging costs (and motels, B&Bs, resorts and suites, occupied for less than 30 days) and is entirely paid by visitors to town, not by city residents or others doing business in Healdsburg. ... The TOT has become a go-to method for jurisdictions that attract tourists to raise funds, in part to offset the impact of tourism itself." (Healdsburg Tribune)

This weekend in Healdsburg:

Friday, August 5

• Friday Evening Wine & Song at Hudson Street Wineries, Feat. Food by SoCo Paella (5-8PM)
• Humane Society of Sonoma County Charity Dinner at Kendall Jackson Wine Estate & Gardens, Featuring Furry Friends, Local Wines & Brews, "Cake Frenzy," "Paddle Raise," Silent Auction & Raffles (5:30PM)
• Wilson Artisan Wines Summer Music Series at Soda Rock Winery, Feat. Music by Stax City & Food by Wine Country Artisan Pizza (6-8:30PM)
• Soulshine Blues Band Live at Coyote Sonoma (6:30-8:30PM)
• Raven Players Perform "Twelfth Night (With A Twist)" in the Plaza (Aug. 5-6, 7:30PM)
• Big Bad Voodoo Daddy Live at the Luther Burbank Center (8PM)
• DGIIN Live at the Elephant in the Room (8-11PM)

Saturday, August 6

• Healdsburg Running Company Sugarloaf Ridge Run With BBQ Finish (8AM)
• Healdsburg Saturday Farmers Market (8:30AM-12PM)
• Corazón Healdsburg Hosts Día de Trabajo en el Jardín / Garden Work Day at the Healdsburg Community Center (Weekly, 10-11AM)
• Read to a Dog at the Healdsburg Library (11AM-12PM)
• Artist Talk at Hammerfriar Gallery: Kristen Throop, "How Do You Talk About Art?" (1PM)
• Lobster Feed at Rodney Strong Vineyards (5:30-8:30PM)
• The Lovin' Dead Live at the Elephant in the Room (7-11PM)
• John Jorgenson Quintet Live at the Raven Theater (8PM)
• The Funky Dozen Live at Coyote Sonoma (8-11PM)

Sunday, August 7

• Sundays in the Plaza, Feat. Live Music by the Speakeasies (1-3PM)
• 40th Anniversary Party for Former Healdsburg Farm Tierra Vegetables in Santa Rosa (4-7PM)

Monday, August 8

• Kinder Bridge at Healdsburg Elementary (Aug. 8-10, All Day)
• Tai Chi Lessons at Giorgi Park (Weekly, Mondays & Wednesdays, 6:30PM)
• City of Healdsburg Housing Element Work Group Meeting (6:30-8:30PM)

From my notebook:

• If you were seeing some smoke to the east yesterday, it might have been from the Ogulin fire over in Clearlake. It prompted some evacuations but seems to be under control now. (Sonoma County Scanner Updates via Facebook & Lake County News)
• Healdsburg's baseball team in the California Collegiate League, the Prune Packers, won their first game of the playoffs down in SoCal yesterday versus the San Luis Obispo Blues. (Healdsburg Prune Packers via Facebook & Press Democrat; paywall)
• Starting in November, you'll be able to fly to and from Palm Springs via the Sonoma County Airport. (Sonoma County Airport via Facebook & Press Democrat; paywall)
• There's a new chair massage booth at the Saturday edition of the Healdsburg Farmers Market. Stop by tomorrow to check it out! (Healdsburg Farmers Market via Facebook)
• Ladysmith Black Mambazo, of Graceland fame, is playing the Raven Theater a week from now. (Healdsburg Tribune)
• Ehret Family Winery opened a tasting room recently at 422 Healdsburg Ave. — and to celebrate, they're offering free tastings to locals this month. (Facebook Groups)
• The Sonoma County Fair down in Santa Rosa is back! It's open every day from now through Aug. 14, with the exception of Monday, Aug. 8. And it has an epic theme: "Tropical Fairadise." (Sonoma County Fair & Press Democrat; paywall)
• Wanna work for the City of Healdsburg? They say they're "currently recruiting for the following positions: Finance Director, Police Officer, Utility Worker, Senior Building Inspector, Administrative Analyst, Code-Enforcement Officer, Parking Enforcement Officer and Reserve Firefighter." Here's how to apply. (City of Healdsburg via Facebook)
• And Bishop's Ranch out Westside Road is looking for a "director of hospitality operations." (Episcopal News Service)

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OK, you're all caught up for today. See you next week!

— 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