🌱 New Neighborhood + No More City Hall Vax Rule + Pruner Contest

Happy Thursday, people of Healdsburg! It's me, Simone, your host of the Healdsburg Daily — here to tell you everything you need to know about what's happening in town. Come follow me down the rabbit hole...

First, today's weather:

Sun and some clouds. High: 57 Low: 28.

The overnight "freeze warning" issued by weather officials is still in effect through tomorrow morning, as is a "cold weather warning" from Sonoma County health officials. "Sensitive plants and crops may damaged or killed in these conditions," the county says. "Be sure to properly shelter pets and livestock in warm and dry places. Outdoor plumbing and irrigation may become damaged if not prepared for these freezing conditions. Also, please check on the elderly [and] those without adequate access to shelter." Shelter beds are reportedly open at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church on Matheson. (NWS & Facebook & Healdsburg Patch)

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Air over Healdsburg:

Here are the top 5 stories today in Healdsburg:

1. The Healdsburg City Council will no longer require meeting attendees to be vaccinated when council meetings start to be held in person again on March 21. These are the new rules, according to the Tribune: "Those who attend the meeting in-person will be required to wear a mask regardless of vaccination status and social distancing measures will be implemented as well as a 50% capacity limit for the council chambers." People will also be able to attend virtually, via Zoom. The dropped vaccination mandate comes after months of controversy over whether Skylaer Palacios, the only unvaccinated councilmember, was being discriminated against for her choice. Palacios' supporters thought the decision was effectively silencing her and other unvaccinated community members. So yeah, that won't be a thing anymore. (SoCoNews Healdsburg)
2. A wonderful pre-pandemic Wine Country tradition was revived this week: an annual vine-pruning competition called the Richard Kunde Sonoma County Pruning Championship. And more women participated than ever, the PD reports. One of them was Elizabeth Ruiz, "a four-year veteran with Hoot Owl Creek Vineyards in Healdsburg." She and the 30 other vineyard workers in the competition were reportedly judged not only on how fast they can prune, but also for the "preciseness of their cuts — a skill crucial to ensure a good harvest later in the year." From the PD: “'You get nervous to make the right cuts. To make a split-second decision, it’s always challenging,' Ruiz said through a Spanish translator. She also didn’t mind being one of the few women going up against the guys. 'I show up to win,' Ruiz said." In the end, Jose Avila of Lynmar Estate Winery in Sebastopol took the top spot. But another female participant from Napa did make it to the finals. (Press Democrat; paywall)
3. The new "North Village" neighborhood being shaped by developers at the north end of town, right across Healdsburg Avenue from the Montage Healdsburg driveway — on the way out to Alexander Valley — is getting some negative attention from neighbors in a couple different Facebook community groups. The website for the manufactured 'hood says it will consist of "a retail promenade featuring local shops, cafes and much needed affordable housing"; a new hotel from "modern visionaries and local residents Charlie Palmer and Christopher Hunsberger" set to open in mid-2023 with a "restaurant and rooftop bar, premium wedding and event spaces, and community access to pools, spa and fitness facilities"; and Enso Village, a "Zen-inspired senior living community with a focus on mindful aging and contemplative care" also shooting to open next year. You can see renderings of the whole vision on the North Village website. (The North Village Healdsburg & Facebook & Facebook)
4. Have you heard about the controversy over Sonoma County health officer Sundari Mase and her quiet court conviction last summer of "misdemeanor reckless driving with alcohol"? All five county supervisors — and the voters — didn't find out about it until last week, when it was unearthed by the Press Democrat. Many local leaders have come out in support of a "regretful" Mase, though, who has led the local fight against COVID-19 since the onset of the pandemic in spring 2020. One of her supporters is Healdsburg Vice Mayor Ariel Kelley. According to the the PD, Kelley "doesn’t believe Mase’s arrest and conviction undermine her ability to lead the local public health campaign against COVID-19." Speaking "as an individual and not as a city official," she said Mase "has done a tremendous job navigating our community through the largest public health crisis of our lifetime" and that she thinks "this was a lapse in judgment and she’s taken full responsibility for it." (Press Democrat; paywall)
5. There's a great feature in the Tribune, as well as in the latest physical issue of News From Native California magazine (it's not online yet), on Dry Creek Pomo basket weaver Clint McKay. His beautiful work is a centerpiece of the current Dry Creek Rancheria exhibit at the Healdsburg Museum. He describes one of the baskets, for example, as a sort of family crest, with "quail top designs on the side, and stars around the top." McKay also speaks to the importance of carrying on the basketweaving tradition and the language of his people: "Our numbers are really scary right now. That's why we try to support people at any level at any age that's interested in learning and carrying on this part of tradition. We need you, I don't care if you're five or 50." As for his own children? "We're putting an incredible responsibility back on them," he says. "Our children speak their language, our children know their dances, they know our songs, they know what those songs mean." (SoCoNews Healdsburg & Facebook)

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Today and tomorrow in Healdsburg:

Thursday, February 24

• Free "Our Juntus" Program at TCElite Gym: Zumba for Adults, Tumbling for Kids (10-11AM)
• Senior Chair Dancing at Rec Park (10-11AM)
• Healdsburg American Association of University Women (AAUW) Virtual Forum: "Interpreting Works of Art - Your GPS for Visual Literacy" (10-11:45AM)
• AARP Tax Help at Healdsburg Library (10AM-3PM)
• First Responder Resiliency Family Session at Bishop's Ranch (10AM-5PM)
• Bingo at Healdsburg Senior Center (1:30-3:45PM)
• Jazz & Friends Bilingual Storytime on Zoom at Sonoma County Library (4:30-5:30PM)
• Virtual Cooking Class: Papapietro Perry Winery & Liberty Ducks Culinary Experience (5-6:30PM)
• Creativity as Self-Care Class at Healdsburg Center for the Arts (5:30-7PM)
• Healdsburg Running Company Thursday Night Run: Kickoff to Mardi Gras With The Parish and EITR (6PM)
• District English Learner Advisory Committee (DELAC) Meeting at Healdsburg Unified School District (6-8PM)
• Film Screening at THE 222: "Elevator to the Gallows" by Louis Malle (7PM)

Friday, February 25

• Pajama Pancake Breakfast With First Responders at Pacifica Senior Living Community (8-10AM)
• COVID-19 Vaccine Clinic at Alliance Medical Center (8:30-11:30 AM, 1-4:30 PM)
• Healdsburg Library Family Storytime With Miss Charity at Giorgi Park (11AM)
• Poyntlyss Sistars Rockin' Show Band Live at Coyote Sonoma (5:30-8:30PM)
• Corazón Healdsburg Presents "Together We Are More," a Conversation With Luis Valdez at the Raven Theater (7PM)
• Zumba With Chuy at TCElite Gym (7:15-8:15PM)
• Ailey II Dance Performance at Luther Burbank Center (8-9:30PM)

From my notebook:

• It finally rained!!! Only like a fraction of an inch, but still. And did you catch that glorious rainbow over town afterward? (Facebook & HealdsburgWeather.com)
• In their annual update to the City Council on Tuesday, Healdsburg police officials said the No. 1 type of crime report they received in 2021 was related to transients, or "people experiencing homelessness." Transient-related reports nearly doubled from the year before. (Facebook)
• Overall, though, Healdsburg crime rates were down in 2021, police said. The only crime category that saw a significant increase was "simple assaults" — aka, "assaults and attempted assaults where no weapon was used, or no serious or aggravated injury resulted." You can watch the full update from Healdsburg police in this recording of the City Council meeting, lasting from the 24-minute mark to around the 1-hour-20-minute mark. (Facebook)
• The woman killed in a hit-and-run on the shoulder of the 101 through Healdsburg last week has been identified at 45-year-old Chrisdee Jaensch of Lakeport. (Healdsburg Patch)
• The Press Democrat has a great piece on Healdsburg winemaker Bruce Perry, who died recently. He's described as one of the original "garagistas" of the wine country. (Press Democrat; paywall)
• The Healdsburg Museum is currently taking submissions from local third- through eighth-graders for the "2022 Family History Essay Contest." The deadline is April 15. (Facebook)
• According to the Tribune, Rosanne Park, the longtime owner of the Purls of Joy yarn and knitting shop on Healdsburg Avenue, is “changing gears” after 12 years. She will now reportedly be "doing her own separate in-store and online creations as Comfort and Joy Yarn Co.” (SoCoNews Healdsburg)
• Meanwhile, a local group of fiber-arts enthusiasts have rallied around Purls of Joy. They're trying to purchase it and run it as a co-op. They need some more funds to make it work, though — and fast. If you haven't donated yet, here's where you can do so. (GoFundMe)
• Girl scout cookie season is in full swing! Cookie sellers are reportedly stationed outside Big John’s, Safeway, ACE Hardware and Enso Management. And FYI, there’s a new "brownie-caramel" flavor called Adventureful. (Facebook & SoCoNews Healdsburg)
• Did you know there was a fiction book published in 2013 about a teacher at a Healdsburg high school — Samuel Cooke, a "nerdy, disabled computer genius" — who falls for Greta Cassamajor, a "sarcastic gym coach with zero sense of humor"? It's called "Courting Greta" by Ramsey Hootman, and it's featured on a new list from BookTrib of "women’s fiction titles that showcase small-town settings." (BookTrib)

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Thanks for following along and staying informed! See you all tomorrow for another update.

— 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.