🌱 Water Projects + Bottle Buy-Backs + Outside Students In Healdsburg?

Hey there, neighbors. Glad to be back in your inbox this morning with a brand-new copy of the Daily. My heart is heavy this week, as are many of yours I'm sure, with the news of the Healdsburg Tribune shutting down after 157 years as the uniting hub of our community. What a serious loss — hopefully not forever, but for now it hurts. Anyone who wants to commiserate can reach out to me at simone.wilson@patch.com; I always love hearing from you. ❤️

First, upcoming weather:

• Tuesday: Partly cloudy in the morning, turning to sun. Could get pretty windy, too. High: 71 Low: 42.
• Wednesday: Mostly sunny. High: 69 Low: 41.

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Air over Healdsburg:

Here are the top 5 stories in Healdsburg today:

1. At the city's Water Town Hall last week, officials gave updates on "some of the long-term and short-term projects we are working on to build our long-term resiliency." One of these projects is a proposed $8.5 million "construction of new aquifer wells" that would "enable us to tap into a new source of water that could be replenished during rainy years" — thus increasing Healdsburg's water supply by a projected "60 million gallons per year, or 9% of our current demand." The city has asked for the money from FEMA and the state, and is waiting to hear back. The other big proposed project is a $10 million "municipal recycled water pipeline" that would "bring recycled water to parks, schools, and the golf course." Around $7 million of that money has already been awarded by the state, but we're waiting on FEMA for the rest. As for this year's drought outlook overall: City officials said at the town hall that our water supply is in a better position than last year for sure, but it's "still below average" and we still need to conserve. You can rewatch the full meeting on Facebook. And a second Water Town Hall, this time in Spanish only, will be held this Wednesday. (Facebook & City of Healdsburg)
2. In one of the Healdsburg Tribune's final stories before the paper shuts down this week, "An American Dream," reporter Elsa Cavazos interviews a 22-year-old immigrant who works in Healdsburg half the year and goes to architecture school in Tijuana for the other half. “I like the people here and how it’s very calm," the young man, whose identity is kept private because he's undocumented, tells Elsa. "I like the silence and it makes me feel tranquil and comfortable. People are nice and kind and they focus on helping people." By working various jobs in Healdsburg and environs, he was even able to save enough money to buy a home in Tijuana. He reportedly considered living here full-time, but said he "would be scared to be reported and then have my life taken away" because of his legal status. More from the Trib: "Sometimes he looks for a job at the labor center in Healdsburg. Currently, he has a regular job but he looks for day gigs every now and then. He had the opportunity to work for a local boutique owner, and Martinez said the owner offered him a free shirt because he was so helpful." (SoCoNews Healdsburg)
3. We could be getting our own bottle buy-back location in Healdsburg as soon as next month. The planned "beverage container redemption site" at the Healdsburg city corporation yard — part of a larger local effort to reopen these sites, after thousands were shut down across the state — will reportedly take our old bottles and cans on Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays and give us back the 5- and 10-cent deposits we paid when we bought them. Plans for the site "eventually include mimicking bag-drop models already in use in states like Oregon that would allow consumers to leave bags marked with bar-coded tags or something similar... for processing in Petaluma," the Press Democrat reports. "Redemption credit would be processed electronically over 72 hours, instead of paid out immediately." You can read more in the PD about the collapse of California's Bottle Bill infrastructure and Sonoma County's attempt to revive it. (Press Democrat & Press Democrat; paywall)
4. Healdsburg school officials are strongly considering opening up the high school and junior high to outside students who live in other school districts, given the local student population in our district keeps shrinking every year. "Six years ago, the district had 1,674 total students," the Trib reports. "This year, there are 1,274 students enrolled, a dip under 1,300 for the first time. ... Current high school enrollment is 540 and Healdsburg Junior High School is at 280." This situation has threatened some well-loved programs at HJH and HHS, such as our local FFA chapter. As Healdsburg's superintendent said at a recent school board meeting: "Keeping an optimal number of students in our secondary schools is something that will help us keep programs and opportunities for our kids alive, and it also creates a livelier culture for our kids on the campus.” The new interdistrict transfer policy, if it becomes a real thing, would include a lottery (if needed) with a class size limit so things don't get out of control. School officials will draft and review the policy over the next couple months — and if it's approved, it would reportedly go into effect for next year. (SoCoNews Healdsburg)
5. Healdsburg residents have a "rare chance" to pick a new county judge this June, after 12 years of no judicial elections, the Press Democrat's editorial board points out. That's because "the vast majority of judicial vacancies are filled by the governor, and sitting judges are rarely challenged for reelection, at least in Sonoma County." And "when they run unopposed, Superior Court judges’ names don’t even appear on the ballot." For the upcoming election on June 7, though, "two sitting judges opted against running for reelection." So now we can choose who's calling the shots! The candidates for one of the open seats are Santa Rosa attorney Oscar Pardo and Healdsburg attorney Joe Passalacqua; and for the other, Glen Ellen attorney John LemMon and court commissioner Laura Passaglia McCarthy. There are more details in the PD editorial on each candidate, and tips for what to look for when electing a new judge. The county's election website has some good info as well. (Sonoma County Government & Press Democrat; paywall)

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Today and tomorrow in Healdsburg:

Tuesday, April 26

• Sonoma County Airport Job Fair (1-4PM)
• After-School Art Lab at Healdsburg Center for the Arts (Weekly, 3:30-5PM)
• Friends of the Healdsburg Library Annual Membership Meeting (4-5PM)
• AVFilm & Corázon Healdsburg's After-School Film Program (Weekly, 4-6PM)
• Corazón Healdsburg "Mi Bebé y Yo" Taller / Workshop: "Crear un Plan de Parto" / "Create a Birth Plan" (5-6:30PM)
• Healdsburg City Planning Commission Meeting (6PM)
• Healdsburg Running Company Pub Run at Henhouse Brewery in Santa Rosa (6PM)

Wednesday, April 27

• Sonoma County Board of Supervisors Budget Workshop (8:30AM)
• City of Healdsburg El Ayuntamiento del Agua en Español / Water Town Hall in Spanish (6PM)
• Healdsburg Unified School District Scholarship Award Night at the Raven Theater (6-8PM)
• Trivia Night at Coyote Sonoma (7-9PM)
• Zumba With Chuy at TCElite Gym (7:15-8:15PM)

Healdsburg pic of the day:

I 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.

I love to feature pics of Healdsburg wildlife, pets, plants, homes, signs, shops, food, art, vines, roads, skies, pretty stuff, ugly stuff, community members doin' their thing — whatever stands out to you during your day. Please just confirm when you send me your photo that you own the rights to it, and that Patch has permission to republish it. Can't wait to see... 📸

From my notebook:

• A familiar face on the Healdsburg police force retired last week after 24 years. Sgt. John Haviland "made a true impact to his community of Healdsburg where he grew up then came back to serve," department officials say. "He will be missed by all those whose lives he touched during his career." They also shared a very sweet pic of him posing with his German Shepherd police dog. I myself remember Sgt. John roaming the halls of HHS as our first school officer in the early 2000s! We teased him a lot, but he was a good sport. (Facebook & Facebook)
• Another public servant retired last week as well: Dave Jahns, recreation manager for the Healdsburg Community Services Dept., aka parks & rec. His boss says that since joining the department in 2016, "Dave has been an integral part of our team" — refining the city's rec program lineup and leading the way on local sports, senior services, after-school programs, community center and swim center operations, special events, arts and culture planning, and emergency response. He's now headed to St. Helena to lead the parks & rec operation over there. (Facebook & City of Healdsburg)
• The Mill District development will be discussed at tonight's city planning commission meeting. In particular, city officials will consider allowing "a two-phase design process for development on Lot 1 (hotel site)"; getting rid of the "prohibition on restaurant use in conjunction with the hotel on Lot 1"; and "requiring that adequate parking shall be provided for any future restaurant use on Lot 1." There will also be an update at the meeting on the Healdsburg Housing Element project and its progress toward "meeting Healdsburg’s future housing needs for all income levels." (City of Healdsburg & City of Healdsburg)
• Healdsburg is mentioned in a recent Reason Magazine article on California cities who are "rethinking their marijuana business bans." For some city leaders, including ours, the prospect of allowing local weed shops is attractive as a potential revenue stream. Healdsburg City Manager Jeff Kay "estimates that marijuana sales could bring in jobs and hundreds of thousands of dollars in tax revenue," Reason reports — "though he also warned that the money 'would not be a transformative cash cow.'" (Reason)
• Did you know that NYC's famous Blue Note Jazz Festival is launching an offshoot festival in the Napa Valley this summer, at Charles Krug Winery in St. Helena? It includes some huge names, not just in jazz — Talib Kweli, Erykah Badu, Floying Lotus, etc. — and is being hosted by comedian Dave Chappelle. All this on the weekend of July 30-31. (Blue Note Jazz Festival)
• Healdsburg's Costeaux bakery plans to open a new deli inside the Hotel Petaluma — bringing their total count of storefronts across Sonoma County to five. (North Bay Business Journal; paywall)
• The city is currently taking bids from local companies to handle a "flood mitigation project" at Healdsburg's award-winning water reclamation facility, where we turn our sewage into recycled water for irrigation etc. The work will include the "construction of an approximately 650 feet long berm." Last day to submit your bid is May 5. (City of Healdsburg)
• A few different Healdsburg residents have shared heartwarming stories of wallet retrievals in town lately — including one rescued from a storm drain by local firefighters, one kept safe and returned by a "guy with a guitar and nice voice" in the plaza, and one recovered by another "nice lady" in the Olivers parking lot. "My faith in humanity has been restored," says the guy who dropped his at Olivers. (Facebook & Facebook)
• Organizers of Healdsburg's annual Fourth of July "kids parade and duck dash" downtown want to add "maker races" to the event this year, in the form of "traditional Scout Pinewood Derby races." So they're looking for some "local Scouts who want to earn some merits and help with this." (Facebook)

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Alrighty, you're good for today! See you soon...

— 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.