🌱 Rain Forecast + Local Awards + Healdsburg Christmas Traditions

Welcome back, everybody! Simone here with your Tuesday edition of the Healdsburg Daily, filled with everything you need to know about what's going on around town today. Let's get right to it.

First, today's weather:

Cold, rainy day. High: 49 Low: 45.

Air over Healdsburg:

Shoutout to our premier local sponsor:

If you still need a last-minute Christmas tree and would rather find it locally than go to one of those big pop-ups, Grandma's farm at 17740 Healdsburg Avenue, just north of the Alexander Valley Road turnoff, is your best bet. They've still got a bunch of fresh-cut, 6-to-7-foot Noble, Douglas and Nordmann firs, as well as wreaths, garlands and mistletoe. If you wanna hang out a while, there are other fun things to do, too — like sit on tractors, listen to grandma's wild stories, check out the farm animals, buy some eggs, make some s'mores, sip hot drinks, etc. You can even bring your dog! Stop by any day til Christmas, between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m.

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Here are the top 4 stories today in Healdsburg:

1. The floodgates have opened, and we're in for a long week of wetness, weather forecasters say. It should be more subtle than our last storm or two, though. “The good thing is that’s spread out over a lot of time," one local meteorologist tells the PD. "We’re not expecting a fire hose of heavy rain in a short amount of time." Instead, "light to moderate rain should fall in waves and cloudy skies may be prevalent the entire time." But officials are still warning the public to be extra careful on wet local roads, what with all the holiday traffic. All in all, Healdsburg could get up to 4 inches by the time next Tuesday rolls around. (Healdsburg Patch & Press Democrat; paywall)
2. The Healdsburg Unified School District has a new school board president for 2022. Mike Potmesil, who was previously serving as the board's vice president, was promoted to president at a board meeting last week. And former trustee Rose McAllister was named the board's new vice president. These votes were part of a regular, yearly internal reorganization of board leadership, much like it works for the Healdsburg City Council. And much like the council did while appointing our new mayor earlier this month, school board members gave a dramatic recap of what it's been like for Aracely Romo-Flores, outgoing president, to serve during this crazy year. You can read more details in the Tribune. (SoCoNews Healdsburg)
3. There's also a great story in the most recent issue of the Trib about Christmas traditions in Healdsburg, past and present. Tales from years past include a pair of flying elves who were supposed to "parachute onto the town’s green," but never landed; a local toy store owner who organized "the region’s smallest Santa parade" in the mid-1980s, which then "grew a little longer" each year; and lots of Christmas tree drama in the plaza, ending with this year's tree, a "50-foot-tall white fir from Grants Pass, Oregon... decorated with 3,000 LED lights and 502 ornaments" and costing $13,425 including transportation etc. And the city reportedly spent another $24,000 this year on "street pole, archway, gazebo and other decorative holiday lighting." (SoCoNews Healdsburg)
4. Here's your year-end Healdsburg award roundup! Two local businesses won a North Bay Business Journal award for the region's "top projects" of 2021: Montage Healdsburg and the Bacchus Landing wine-tasting collective. Meanwhile — the Matheson, Quail & Condor and Hazel Hill at Montage all made Sonoma Mag's list of "the biggest Sonoma restaurant openings of 2021." And as for the Press Democrat's list of "22 to watch in 2022," Healdsburg chef Douglas Keane earns a spot. He's the co-owner of Healdsburg Bar and Grill and founder of now-defunct Healdsburg restaurant Cyrus, of Michelin Star fame, which he's planning to reopen in Geyserville next summer. (North Bay Business Journal & North Bay Business Journal & Sonoma Magazine & Press Democrat; paywall)

Today's Healdsburg Daily is brought to you in part 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:

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Today in Healdsburg:

• Community Posada Navideña at Canyon Run Apartments (6PM)
• Healdsburg Running Company Ladies Night Run, Feat. Holiday Light Tour, Cookie Exchange & Festive Costumes (6PM)

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You're all caught up for today. I'll see you tomorrow morning for your next 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.