🌱 Parklets Thrive + Police Logs + Duck Crossing + Electric Bill Hike?

Hi, everybody! It's me, Simone, your host of the Healdsburg Patch newsletter. I'm back in your inbox this morning with an abundant weekend edition of the newsletter, filled with everything you need to know about what's happening in town. Today's issue includes:

• Some more police logs, at last!
• Bad news for the future of your electric bill
• The status of Healdsburg's pandemic-era parklet program
• What's on the docket for the Alexander Valley Film Fest this weekend
• A good dose of Giorgio's nostalgia for your weekend
• And more...

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Now, your weekend weather:

• Saturday: Mostly sunny. High: 81 Low: 48.
• Sunday: Mostly sunny again but cooling down a bunch, with some wind. High: 70 Low: 48.
• Monday: Partly sunny and even cooler. More wind. High: 64 Low: 45.
• Tuesday: Chance of rain, hail and thunderstorms! High: 61 Low: 42.

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Air over Healdsburg:

Here are the top 3 stories today in Healdsburg:

1. In case you missed it: Healdsburg residents could see their monthly electric bills go up by more than $20 over the next four years, according to the Press Democrat. This, after some pretty steep increases to our water bills were approved last year as well. From the PD story last week: "On Monday night, Healdsburg City Council heard a presentation on future electric rate increases tentatively planned for the next four fiscal years starting in November, given City Council approval. 'Extreme inflation, energy market volatility, and desired community improvements necessitate rate increases to ensure fund stability,' said a staff report. The average residential customer’s utility bill could increase by about $13 per month in the first two years and $8 per month in the second two years, should they be approved at the June 5 City Council meeting, said Terry Crowley, utilities director, who presented the item before council. Electric rates are governed by City Council via Healdsburg Electric, a publicly owned utility. Proposed rate increases are 16% in 2024, 14% in 2025, 8% in 2026 and 7% in 2027, according to the Monday night presentation. This set of increases is 'catch up' for the city, which last increased electric rates by 2.1% in July 2018, Crowley said. The funds cover costs for staff wages, maintenance, to generate or purchase electricity, transmission, energy distribution and capital improvement projects, according to the city website." You can read more about these projects — many of them in service of moving to a more environmentally friendly energy model — in the PD or on the city site. (City of Healdsburg & Press Democrat; paywall)
2. NorthBay Biz magazine has an interesting feature on the status of the various parklet programs around the region that developed as a way for restaurants and other local businesses to operate during COVID. The one in Healdsburg is reportedly still going strong. "City sanctioned outdoor dining structures have some North Bay towns salivating — and others biting off more than they can chew," the story goes. "Healdsburg is ahead of Windsor in its move from a free temporary parklet program to an ongoing program and has been less ambivalent about the fiscal and social advantages of retaining the parklets. Merchants were required to sign up in January 2023 for a three-year OPP agreement to cover rental and fees for parklets." Owners and staffers at the Taste of Tea restaurant and Portalupi tasting room on North Street, as well as Healdsburg Running Company around the corner and Thumbprint Cellars over on Matheson, talk to the magazine about how clutch their parklets have been for them and their customers, both at the height of the pandemic and now. At Taste of Tea, owner Tai Tokugawa says her 20-seat parklet would “certainly cost more to tear down” at this point, and that "our customers love it.” The folks at Portalupi echo that sentiment, and add: “We plan to keep it as long as the city allows.” Meanwhile, the parklet at Healdsburg Running Company has become a critical gathering place for local runners. "It’s a bonding thing and a lot of fun,” a staffer says. As for Thumbprint Cellars, a boutique winery and gallery whose parklet seats 25: “It has added so much potential to our business," the sales manager says. Read more here! (NorthBay Biz)
3. It's high time we flipped through some Healdsburg police logs! The Healdsburg Tribune publishes them online on a weekly basis nowadays, so you can always check them out there. They're also available in their raw form on the Healdsburg Police Department website, under "Bulletin." Here's a recap of some notable incidents reported over the past couple of months: There was the woman who called cops to report a burglary after she "woke up to a female inside her house," but later suspected it might be "a mistake by the people who live upstairs”; a guy who reported his car stolen (with his wiener dog inside) from outside St. Johns Church, but later suspected his wife when he found his dog back at home; video evidence of a serial wine thief at Oakville Grocery on the plaza; two guys arrested for possession of meth, one at Carl’s Jr. and one at Amy's Wicked Slush; a kid at Healdsburg High busted with a vape pen; two men who refused to leave the tarmac of Healdsburg Airport, claiming they were "ultra-light pilots"; a middle-aged woman cited for "petty vandalism" at Harmon Guest House after an allegedly rowdy night; a guy in orange sunglasses seen "eating products from the shelf" at Safeway and "drinking alcohol in the store"; an "automatic license plate recognition (ALPR) hit on two stolen plates" that sent officers to Parkpoint, where the vehicle owner reportedly acted clueless; quite a few domestic and public arguments; some hit-and-run crashes, including one where a "new white 4-Runner" was spotted running straight into a fire hydrant at Fitch and Mason streets, causing water to spew everywhere; the usual Big John's sandwich and hot food thefts; and much, much more. (Healdsburg Tribune & Healdsburg Police Department)

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Healdsburg pic of the day:

Note from Simone: If you wanna see one of your own pics right here in the newsletter, I would love if you would submit it to me for consideration. Please just confirm in your email that you took any photos you're sending, and that Patch has permission to republish them, K? 📸

This weekend in Healdsburg:

Saturday, April 29

• Annual "Passport to Dry Creek Valley" Wine & Food Festival at 35 Wineries (April 29-30, All Day)
• "Les Dames d’Escoffier" Kitchen Rummage Sale at Relish Culinary Adventures at 14 Matheson St. (9AM-2PM)
• Vineyard & Garden Hike With Lunch at Chalk Hill Estate (Monthly, April 29-July 15, 10AM-1PM)
• Qigong Class at Badger Park (10:15-11:15AM)
• Alexander Valley Film Festival (AVFest): Student Film Competition at The Clover Theater in Cloverdale (10:30AM)
• T Barny Gallery & Sculpture Gardens on Pine Flat Road Hosts "Galactic Gathering of 9 Sonoma County Sculptors" for International Sculpture Day (April 29-30, 11AM-4PM)
• Healdsburg Farmers Market in the West Plaza Parking Lot (8:30AM-12PM)
• Healdsburg Garden Club Hosts Pop-Up Plant Sale in the West Plaza (9AM-12PM)
• Friends of the Healdsburg Library Host Annual Book Sale & Bag Sale at the Library (10AM-3PM)
• Lila's Street Side Eats Food Truck Parked Outside The Drink (12-5PM)
• AVFest: Matinee Shorts at The Clover Theater in Cloverdale (1:15PM)
• Faith Ako Plays Traditional & Contemporary Hawaiian Music at the Healdsburg Library (2PM)
• AVFest: Screening of "Smoke Sauna Sisterhood" at The Clover Theater in Cloverdale (4PM)
• Live Brazilian Jazz at Furthermore Wines (5PM)
• AVFest: "Neighbor Night" Screening of "Jack Has a Plan" at Alexander Valley Hall (6PM)
• Dynamic Brazilian Duo, Nilson Matta & Jovino Santos Neto, Perform at THE 222 With Special Guest Percussionist Ami Molinelli (7PM)
• St. John's Catholic School Students Perform "The Wizard of Oz" at the Raven Theater (7PM)
• Rock Candy Live at Coyote Sonoma (8-11PM)
• The Rowan Brothers Band & Jenerator Live at the Elephant in the Room (8-11PM)

Sunday, April 30

• AVFest: Screening of "Lynch Oz" at The Clover Theater in Cloverdale (11AM)
• St. John's Catholic School Students Perform "The Wizard of Oz" at the Raven Theater (2PM)
• Wags N Wishes Animal Rescue Fundraiser at Roadhouse Winery Estate, Featuring Food, Wine, Raffle, Shaved Ice, Video Games, Bubbles & Adoptable Dogs on Site (1-4PM)
• AVFest: Documentary Shorts at The Clover Theater in Cloverdale (1:45PM)
• AVFest: Screening of "Ricochet" at The Clover Theater in Cloverdale (4PM)
• AVFest: Screening of "Our Father, The Devil" at The Clover Theater in Cloverdale (6PM)

Monday, May 1

• Registration Opens for Healdsburg Youth Soccer Leagues (All Day)
• New "Water Songs" Art Exhibit Opening at the Upstairs Art Gallery, Featuring Watercolor & Oil Paintings by Marsha Connell (May 1-May 28, 11AM-6PM)
• Tween Hangout for Kids in Grades 4-6 at the Healdsburg Library, Featuring "Light Up Cards" (3:30PM)
• Healdsburg City Council Meeting (6PM)
• AVFest: Documentary Shorts at The Lost Church in Santa Rosa (7PM)

Tuesday, May 2

• Healdsburg Center for the Arts Hosts Watercolor Basics Class for Adults at the Community Center (Weekly on Tuesdays, May 2-30, 10AM-12PM)
• Spanish Music & Movement for Kids Aged 0-6 at the Healdsburg Library: (11AM)
• Healdsburg Brown Bag Book Club: "You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty" by Akwaeke Emezi (12PM)
• Friends of the Healdsburg Library Hosts Annual Meeting (5-6:30PM)
• Healdsburg High School Softball Team Plays at Home Vs. St. Vincent (5PM)
• Healdsburg Running Company "Trail Sisters" Host Local Loop Run (6PM)
• AVFest Hosts AAPI Heritage Night at Lo & Behold in Healdsburg, Featuring Film Screening of "7 Days" (6:30PM)
• Caroline Rose Live at Little Saint (8-11PM)

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From my notebook:

• Duck crossing alert in Healdsburg! A neighbor writes on Facebook: "I have recently noticed on Grove Street, near the Healdsburg Montessori School, a female duck that crosses the street — sometimes alone and other times with her baby ducks, and even the mallard following behind. I gladly stop to let them safely pass and hope other too will be aware and be cautious when passing through this area." 🥹 (Facebook Groups)
• Healdsburg food justice nonprofit Farm to Pantry plans to deliver 12,480 jars of apple sauce — that's 1,040 cases, on 13 pallets — to the Redwood Empire Food Bank down in Santa Rosa on Monday afternoon. Here's the backstory, according to a rep for the Farm to Pantry org: "Our hard-working volunteers hand-harvested thousands of pounds of apples from local orchards last year to ensure none would drop from the trees and be left to rot on the ground. ... With Sonoma County, and Sebastopol in particular, being a popular place to grow apples, we ended up with surplus apples, even after all of our fresh deliveries. Since we cannot allow ANY waste when people are hungry, we teamed up with Manzana Products, who generously offered to receive and press our excess apples into applesauce." (Inbox & Farm to Pantry)
• There are a couple of great threads going in the "What's Happening Healdsburg" Facebook group about Giorgio's and all the other beloved local businesses we've lost over the years. "This page needs to consider changing name to… 'What’s Happening w/Giorgio’s'," one guy says. Amen! (Facebook Groups & Facebook Groups)
• The Daily Mail, a UK tabloid, is blasting the "snooty New York Times" for printing an English "toad-in-the-hole" recipe from famous Healdsburg chef Kyle Connaughton (of the three-Michelin-starred SingleThread restaurant downtown) that features scrambled eggs on toast. In fact, the Daily Mail staff points out, "actual recipes for the UK staple feature sausages cooked in batter — and neither scrambled eggs nor toast." They seem very pissed. (Daily Mail)
• Quick real estate update from the Press Democrat: The average price of a home sold in Healdsburg in mid-April was around $1.2 million, or $712 per square foot. Here's a roundup — including pics — of the eight most expensive among them. (Press Democrat; paywall)

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Featured events:

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Now you're in the loop! See you all 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 Patch newsletter? Contact me at simone.wilson@patch.com