🌱 Plans For New Healdsburg Movie Theater + Young Woman Punches Cop?

Hello, hello! Simone here with your Monday edition of the Healdsburg Daily, filled with all the community info you need to know right now. Today's briefing includes details on:

• A new movie theater planned for downtown Healdsburg
• A young woman arrested for allegedly attacking police in town
• Recent trends for our local housing market

But first, your daily weather:

• Monday: Fog and clouds in the morning, turning to sun. High: 83 Low: 51.
• Tuesday: Same deal. High: 83 Low: 52.

And a shoutout to our premier local sponsors:

• Looking to buy or sell a luxury property in Sonoma County? Healdsburg’s Sotheby’s International Realty is a local firm with global reach that specializes in luxury real estate, vineyards, wineries and land in Sonoma County. Healdsburg's Sotheby's: local expertise, deep market knowledge, and a passion for the community. Whether buying or selling, it pays to work with the best. Call Healdsburg’s Sotheby’s at 707-433-4800.

• Have you stopped by Amy's Wicked Slush near Memorial Bridge lately? Amy's has Slush in glorious flavors like root beer, mango, and orange cream and soft serve in flavors like Cupcake, Blueberry and Brown Sugar Cinnamon. Can’t decide? Get the Split — half-slush, half-soft serve layered up like a parfait! Do yourself a favor and stop by ASAP.

Want to see your business featured in this spot? Click here to get started.

Air over Healdsburg:

Here are the top 3 stories today in Healdsburg:

1. Healdsburg could be getting a small new movie theater downtown called "Plaza Cinema" in the near future, if plans just announced by the Alexander Valley Film Society (which now goes by simply "AVFilm") come to fruition. This, according to the Shop Local Healdsburg blog and social media account, who watched Kathryn Hecht, head of AVFilm, give a presentation over the weekend at the Cartograph Wines tasting room about their plans. AVFilm "just approved the building lease of Plaza Cinema Center aka ‘Plaza Cinema’ at the courtyard entrance of Healdsburg Ave and North Street," right along the Foss Creek Pathway, says Shop Local Healdsburg. You heard that right — our new movie theater won't be in the old, neglected shell of the Raven Film Center. Kathryn explained at the event that "at the end of the day the numbers just didn't work — the [Raven] theatre was just too big. So what we found with this new space is, we have the opportunity to create a state of the art, responsive, smaller and responsible carbon footprint — a cinema that reflects a contemporary understanding of movies, audiences and community." Crews are reportedly scheduled to break ground on the theater this coming February. Plans for the project include three screening rooms "with 20, 56, and 33 seats, respectively"; "meeting and classroom spaces for aspiring film students"; an "event courtyard"; and "office headquarters." AVFilm is still looking for donations and other help — check out Shop Local Healdsburg for more info on how you can get involved. Plus maps and renderings of the future Plaza Cinema! (Shop Local Healdsburg via Instagram)
2. Healdsburg police say they arrested a young woman near Lilly Street and March Avenue in the wee hours last Friday morning for allegedly attacking an officer. After responding to a "report of a physical fight" near that intersection, officers say they arrived to find two women — one of whom "explained that they were not fighting, but she was instead trying to get her intoxicated friend home." Then, according to the police announcement: "As one of the officers tried to talk to the suspected intoxicated woman the woman suddenly attacked the officer striking the officer multiple times in the face with her fists. The second officer on scene assisted in stopping the attack and subduing the assaultive suspect who continued to resist efforts to take her into custody." The woman who was arrested, 22-year-old Chelsea Raeann Blosser, was charged with "felony battery on a peace officer causing injury, resisting arrest with violence, and being drunk in public," police say. And "the officer who was assaulted required medical attention as a result of injuries sustained during the incident." (Healdsburg Police Department via Facebook & Sonoma County Scanner Updates via Facebook)
3. Last week we lost Gloria Christensen, a lifelong Healdsburgian who grew up on her family's prune ranch, at the age of 94. Here are some more details on Gloria's rich life, from her obituary: "She graduated from Healdsburg High School and shortly after she joined Bank of America. She had a 50-year career at the bank and was a long-time branch manager in various cities in Northern Sonoma County. She had countless friends and coworkers that loved and respected her in the community. She was named the Healdsburg Harvest Festival Queen in 1947 and she was very active in the community. She was also active in the Healdsburg Boat Club with her husband Art and many friends water skiing in the Russian River above Memorial Bridge." Gloria's friends and family will be holding her services and celebration of life this Friday afternoon at St. John's Church on Matheson. (Legacy.com)

Today and tomorrow in Healdsburg:

Monday, September 26

• New Art Exhibit at the Upstairs Art Gallery: "Bathed in Golden Light," Sonoma County Landscape Paintings by Nancy Gray (Sept. 16-Oct. 23, 11AM-6PM)
• Campaign Launch at the Harris Gallery: Ron Edwards for Healdsburg City Council (5:30PM)
• Burrito Supper Club at the Healdsburg Senior Center (5:30PM)

Tuesday, September 27

• Farm to Pantry Apple & Garden Glean at Home Farm (9AM-12PM)
• Healdsburg Tuesday Farmers Market (9AM-12:30PM)
• Open Writing Group With Shonnie at the Healdsburg Senior Center (10AM-12PM)
• Nutrition Class for Parents at the Healdsburg Library / Clases Gratuitas de Nutrición de "Food Smarts" Para Padres de Niños en Edad Preescolar (5PM)
• CraftWork Healdsburg & Mill District Host Design Dialogues: "Designing for Dignity," an Affordable Housing Discussion With Nationally Acclaimed Architects (5-7:30PM)
• Healdsburg City Planning Commission Meeting (6PM)
• Healdsburg Running Company Hosts Sebastopol Pub Run at Crooked Goat Brewing (6PM)
• Portland Band Sweet N' Juicy Live at the Elephant in the Room (7-10PM)

Healdsburg pic of the day:

Want to see one of your photos in the newsletter? Send it to me for consideration. Please just confirm in your email that you took the photo, and that Patch has permission to republish it! 📸

From my notebook:

• This year's wine grape harvest is coming to a close in Healdsburg. As of last Thursday, aka the first day of fall, the harvest was "almost 80% complete across Sonoma County," according to the Sonoma County Winegrowers trade org. "Harvest started early and as fall is upon us, we will be wrapping up with the reds and getting ready for the vines to begin their work for the next season," the org says. (Sonoma County Winegrowers via Facebook)
• The Foss Creek Cleanup over the weekend had "great weather" and a "great turnout," according to Healdsburg's vice mayor, Ariel Kelley. And she says the Healdsburg School won the event's top prize — the excellently named "Crud Cup" — for the second year in a row. (Ariel Kelley via Facebook)
• The Healdsburg housing market has been cooling off a little this summer, according to a new report in the Press Democrat. "In August 2022, the median listing price in Healdsburg was $1.3 million, while the median sold price was $895,000," the PD reports. "These numbers signify that the listing prices for homes in Healdsburg are trending down by 8.4% when looked at year-over-year." Also: "In August 2022, houses in Healdsburg sold for 1.56% below the asking price, and currently, Healdsburg is a balanced market: the supply and demand for houses in the area are about equal." (Press Democrat; paywall)
• The Eater SF food blog just ran a great piece on Sonoma Family Meal, a local nonprofit that has been working with Healdsburg orgs and businesses like Farm to Pantry, Corazón Healdsburg, Costeaux and SingleThread since the start of the pandemic to distribute hundreds of thousands of meals to residents in need. (Eater SF)
• Despite a recent spike in tasting fees at wineries in Healdsburg and the rest of the county, wine tourism is reportedly surging. For example, the folks at Rodney Strong Vineyards say they've seen a "20% increase in visitors this year compared to 2021." (Press Democrat; paywall)

More from our sponsors — thanks for supporting local news!

Events:

• Design Dialogues are Back! (September 27)
• Greek & Middle Eastern Food Festival (October 1)
• Add your event

Now you're in the loop for the day! Til next time...

— 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