New Healdsburg City Position + Vineyard Robot + Singletree Legend

Hello again, Healdsburg! Let's get this Thursday started off right with some fresh local news and community information. Here's what's going on in Healdsburg today.

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First, today's weather:

Hot and sunny with a few clouds, some wind and a slight chance of nighttime thunderstorms. A fire weather watch goes into effect at 5 p.m. Locals are advised to keep an eye out for possible dry lightning that could spark wildfires. High: 93 Low: 51.

Here are the top 5 stories in Healdsburg today:

1. The City of Healdsburg is planning to hire a new, full-time "emergency response coordinator" with a $130,000 annual salary. A very helpful Daily reader who watched the entire four-and-a-half-hour City Council meeting Tuesday night pointed out the buried line item in an email. "Much needed position as our emergencies don’t seem to end," our tipster says. The first year of the new staffer's salary will be covered by Healdsburg's $2.8 million federal COVID relief grant. At the meeting, councilmembers spent a long time debating how to spend the rest of these funds — it got pretty heated. Watch for yourself, if you dare! (Inbox & Facebook)
2. The Press Democrat has the backstory on the "Healdsburg Remembers" 9/11 memorial monument in the plaza. Former Healdsburg firefighter Ben Gilliam secured the monument's "90-pound segment of steel I-beam from the twin towers at the World Trade Center" on a trip to NYC circa 2011, the PD reports. It now "sits on a five-sided concrete pillar that represents the Pentagon and a surrounding patch of grass representing the Pennsylvania field where the fourth airliner crashed." Ben says he visits the plaza each day to touch it and pay his respects. And in other 9/11 anniversary news, three Sonoma County firefighters are planning to scale a 52-story San Francisco skyscraper Saturday to "raise money for first responders with post-traumatic stress injuries." (Press Democrat & Press Democrat; paywall)
3. As a last-ditch effort to keep from folding, the Healdsburg Literary Guild is searching for new members to infuse some life back into the guild. Over the past couple decades, the local org has hosted tons of cool lit-themed events around town, such as "Sunday salons, open mics, youth laureate programs and readings with notable authors." However, membership and participation has kind of ground to a halt in a post-pandemic Healdsburg, organizers say. The Trib has more info on how you can get involved. (SoCoNews Healdsburg)
4. Sonoma County officials are reminding residents to make sure and return their vote-by-mail ballots for the bizarre and contentious California Gubernatorial Recall Election by Sept. 14. From the county: "Due to a new state law (SB 29) and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, every active, registered voter was mailed a ballot in this election regardless of whether they had previously signed up to vote that way. However, voters who wish to vote in person will still be able to do so by going to their assigned polling place." Here's how to make sure your vote gets counted. (Patch Press Release Desk)
5. The latest Healdsburg police log, current through Monday, is as illustrative as ever. It's got reports of a couple different suspected drunk-driving incidents, including one on Chablis Road in which a woman was seen "running into trees and swerving in the road" but responding officers "determined counseling would be better suited and she was left in the hands of her sober daughter"; a report of a large group of men "drinking and playing music on the tracks" near Ward Street; an alleged burrito theft on Healdsburg Avenue; and a guy on Grove Street who told police he got in a fight with his girlfriend, tried to order an escort and instead got roped into an elaborate blackmail scam thing. (SoCoNews Healdsburg)

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Healdsburg pics of the day:

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Today in Healdsburg:

• Sonoma County Farm Bureau Trip to the Capitol: Rally for Critical Water Projects, Against AB 616 (8:15AM)
• School Photo Day at West Side Elementary (All Day)
• Harvest Lunch at Jordan Winery (12-2PM)
• Let's Talk: Virtual English Conversation Class at Sonoma County Library (2-3:30PM)
• Healdsburg Elementary School 4th, 5th Grade Virtual Back to School Nights (5PM, 6PM)

Healdsburg Patch Notebook

• One half of the legendary duo who ran the Singletree Cafe at the south end of town for 25 years passed away last month after a "long and complicated illness." Nancy Van Praag is remembered in the Tribune this week for her "heart of gold" and "endless generosity to faithful customers, her employees and her adopted Healdsburg community." She was even known to "reward her most devoted customers with a lifetime of free meals," the Trib reports. R.I.P. (SoCoNews Healdsburg)
• In the latest coronavirus update from Sonoma County government officials, they say 75 percent of residents are now fully vaccinated, and around 83 percent at least partially vaccinated. More good news: After a big spike last week, the county's COVID case count now continues to "stabilize or decline," officials say. Watch the full video update here. (Facebook)
• The Healdsburg Library is looking for a part-time, bilingual "library specialist" — and the application window closes today at 5 p.m. (Facebook)
• Over in Napa Valley, a team of viticulture academics is staging some experiments to see if a robot can run a vineyard. "One of the plots is a no-touch vineyard, meaning it is 100 percent managed by a machine," the Business Journal reports. The results? "Yield has dramatically increased, while also cutting the per vine labor burden from $1.20 to 22 cents for the entire season." (North Bay Business Journal)
• Clover, the Petaluma-based dairy brand, is launching a children's line of yogurt smoothies called "Clover the Rainbow," because they never could resist a pun. (Drug Store News)
• The deadline for PG&E's offer to remove any trees on your property that were cut down for near-term safety after last year's wildfires is coming up on Sept. 14. (Napa Valley Patch)
• Cal Fire expects more fires to hit over the next three months. "Some have turned to looking forward as if this is now fall, summer season is over," the Cal Fire chief says. But "we're right smack in the middle of wildfire peak season."(Lamorinda Patch)
• Starting this Friday, Bacchus Landing, Healdsburg's new wine-tasting collective, will be hosting a weekly dinnertime food truck from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. at their campus near the intersection of Westside and West Dry Creek roads. This Friday's truck will be Santa Rosa Mexican seafood staple Charro Negro. (Press Democrat; paywall)
• A darling little Yorkie mix was found wandering in Healdsburg's Tayman Park without a collar or microchip earlier this week. Recognize him? (Facebook)
• Meanwhile, over on Westside Road, an adult gray cat with apparent injuries has been spotted "hanging around a winery crush pad." (Nextdoor)

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— 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.