🌱 Cool New Library Bike + HHS Icon Dies + Future Of Food Trucks

Hello again, people of Healdsburg! I'm back from a long holiday weekend to tell you everything you need to know about what's going on today in town. Let's get right to it.

First, today's weather:

Mostly sunny. High: 72 Low: 44.

Rent this space!

Are you a local real estate agent, law firm or business owner? Keep your business top-of-mind in Healdsburg by becoming a premium local sponsor for the Daily. Learn more about how it works here.

Air over Healdsburg:

Here are the top 5 stories today in Healdsburg:

1. The Healdsburg Library just got a shiny blue "BiblioBike," after years of waiting — and librarians interviewed by the Tribune are like kids on Christmas. The model is "an electric pedal assist tricycle with a big blue cabinet attached to the bike that can be loaded up with books." It's reportedly tricked out with library branding, foldout shelves, "a WiFi hotspot and audiovisual equipment for public programming" and an umbrella attachment for summer. You can even get a library card or check out books from the bike. "We’ll be able to meet the community where they are at outside," says kids' librarian Charity Anderson. "We can show up at Healdsburg music on Tuesday nights, we can go to the farmers market, we can go to senior living centers, we can go to preschools, we can go to schools, etc.” (SoCoNews Healdsburg)
2. Robert Thurman Harbaugh, a former U.S. Army captain who spent 34 years on staff at Healdsburg High, died earlier this month at the age of 82. In his time at the high school, he taught French; served as vice principal, union president and athletic director; and "founded the schools wrestling program," leading the team to a league championship within just three years. His former students, athletes and fans have been sharing fond stories about him on the "You Know You're from Healdsburg, CA if..." Facebook page. "His little room at HHS was a happy place," one person writes. Harbaugh's teaching and mentoring style is described as tough but kind — and always entertaining. "I always remember him ripping a Sonoma County phone book in half!" another person writes. R.I.P. (Facebook & Legacy.com)
3. Business is booming for the twin sisters behind trendy downtown Healdsburg clothing store Ooh La Luxe, which also has outposts in Petaluma and Santa Rosa, the PD reports. The company "generates a few million dollars in sales annually, and online sales quadrupled during the pandemic," according to owners Cristina Wilson Hudlin and Michelle Wilson Bien. Their secret? They doubled down on the store's digital shopping experience around six years ago, and got a boost "when a contestant on 'The Bachelor' TV show wore a sweater featured at Ooh La Luxe and posted to her more than 2 million Instagram followers." Now they ship so many online orders that they need a 5,000-square-foot warehouse in Petaluma to house all their inventory. (Press Democrat; paywall)
4. The Healdsburg City Council has been talking about food trucks. Nothing substantial has been decided yet, but city leaders seem interested in opening up more opportunities for local restauranteurs on wheels. They want to craft a new policy that "prioritizes local entrepreneurs and is focused in an area of town that wouldn’t take business away from local brick-and-mortar restaurants," the Tribune reports. And a handful of Healdsburg residents who spoke at a recent council meeting "were largely in favor of allowing more food trucks in the city" as well, "citing benefits for both aspiring business owners and for Healdsburg’s low-income communities that might not be able to afford some of the restaurants that are already in town." The topic will be picked back up at a future council meeting. (SoCoNews Healdsburg)
5. We missed this when it ran a month ago, so bringing it up now! A heavy Los Angeles Times column argues that Sonoma County vineyard workers, especially when undocumented, are the ones "bearing the brunt of California’s climate crisis." Local laborers tell the Times that without insurance or other support offered by their employer when nearby wildfires and thick smoke make it dangerous to work the vines, they're forced to push through and work anyway. “They are so on the margins to begin with, that they can’t in good conscience make the safe decision,” Healdsburg City Councilmember Ariel Kelley says. From the Times: "Although undocumented workers are entitled to workers’ compensation for injuries on the job, many work for farm labor contractors or other third parties, said Kelley of the Healdsburg City Council. Sometimes, they don’t even know their employers’ names to file for benefits." (Los Angeles Times)

Today's Healdsburg Daily is brought to you by our friends at Ring, the home security company. Ring does a lot more than doorbells: check out their full suite of smart home products at Ring.com. And thank you Ring for helping to make local news happen in Healdsburg!

Healdsburg pic of the day:

We haven't been getting many submissions for pic of the day recently, so consider this an official callout! Want to see your local photo here? Submit it for consideration.

We love to feature pics of Healdsburg wildlife, plants, homes, signs, shops, food, vines, roads, skies, community members doin' their thing — whatever stands out to you during your day. Please just confirm when you send your photo that you own the rights to it, and that Patch has permission to republish it. Happy snapping, y'all. :)

Today in Healdsburg:

• Meet the Artist at Upstairs Art Gallery: Willow LaLand, Wine Country Small Works Collection (11AM-2:30PM)
• Virtual Pride Club for Teens at Sonoma County Library (4-5PM)
• Corazón Healdsburg Workshop / Taller: La Vida Después del Parto / Life After Childbirth (5-6:30PM)
• Healdsburg Running Company Pub Run, Ending at Duke's Spirited Cocktails (6PM)
• Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) Meeting at Healdsburg Elementary School's Fitch Mountain Campus (6PM)
• Book Club at ParkPoint Gym (6-7PM)
• Virtual Spanish Conversation for Beginners at Sonoma County Library (6:30-7:45PM)

From my notebook:

• It's Giving Tuesday in America today — and fortunately for us here in Healdsburg, there are soooo many good places to give in town. Sonoma Magazine has compiled a bunch of the best nonprofits across the county that need your support, including Corazón and Farm to Pantry in Healdsburg. (Sonoma Magazine)
• Patch has a roundup of more local places to give, too, like Healdsburg Forever and the Healdsburg Education Foundation. (Healdsburg Patch)
• If caring for nature is your thing, there's also the wonderful Healdsburg nonprofit Russian Riverkeeper. As well as Stewards of the Coast and Redwoods, another local org currently restoring Armstrong Woods and Bullfrog Campground in the mountains west of Healdsburg. (Facebook & Patch Neighbor Posts)
• Volunteering is an option, as well! LandPaths is holding its regular "Broom-a-pull-ooza" starting tomorrow, Dec. 1, through Saturday at the Riddell nature preserve out West Dry Creek. And there's a Secret Santa event going on countywide that could use extra hands. (Press Democrat; paywall)
• It's manger time at St. John the Baptist Church on Matheson! For the seventh year in a row, a group of dedicated local girl scouts are installing a life-sized nativity scene in the church's front yard this week. Only thing is, "the baby Jesus is missing and will arrive on Christmas Eve after mass." (Facebook)
• The Patch local news network is hosting a contest for the "best holiday lights in America." Think your Healdsburg display has what it takes? Enter it here before Dec. 15. (Healdsburg Patch)
• Providence Northern California, the healthcare system that owns Healdsburg Hospital, just got a new female leader. (North Bay Business Journal)
• In case you missed it: The smash-and-grab trend sweeping malls across the state hit Santa Rosa on the morning before Thanksgiving. Police say they responded to a "brazen daytime burglary in front of customers and staff" at the Apple Store in the Santa Rosa Plaza, in which four young male suspects allegedly "grabbed over $20,000 worth of merchandise from the store and fled the area in an unknown vehicle." (Facebook & Press Democrat; paywall)
• You know those street trees with waxy branches and stinky white flowers that turn dark red in fall, scattered all around the Healdsburg downtown area? They're Bradford pear trees. And while the city has called them "delightful," "impressive" and "popular," a New York Times takedown story this week says this "tree that was once the suburban ideal has morphed into an unstoppable villain." Worth a read! (Facebook & City of Healdsburg & New York Times; paywall)
• Is anyone missing a young male cat on Chalk Hill Road? "He is awfully sweet, and at some time must have had a home," a neighbor writes. (Nextdoor)
• An impossibly cute terrier puppy was also found in the Parkland Farms area yesterday. The person who found her is doing the hard work of looking after her until someone comes forward. (Facebook)

From our sponsors — thanks for supporting local news!

Featured businesses:

• Add your business here

Events:

• Dining Out For Life® (December 2)
• The Wickhams: Christmas at Pemberley (December 3)
• Mercatini di Natale - Christmas Markets (December 4)
• Add your event

Okay, you're all caught up for today. See you soon! And BTW, if you're feeling these newsletters, consider bringing some friends and neighbors on board. 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? You can contact me at simone.wilson@patch.com.