🌱 Year In Review + New Wildland Park + Wine Industry Comeback

Good morning, people of Healdsburg! Hope everyone had a fabulous holiday weekend, and that the dreaded omicron stayed away. I'm having a bit of a COVID scare myself right now — it's crazy out there! Here I am, though, with everything you need to know about what's happening today in Healdsburg. Keep scrolling for the latest. And remember, you can always give me a heads up about anything you think I may be missing.

First, today's weather:

Super cold and cloudy, with a little rain. High: 41 Low: 37.

It won't be cold enough in Healdsburg proper for snow today, unfortunately, which had looked like a slight possibility in the forecast last week. However, our rural parts could get some snow at elevations of 1,500 feet and higher this morning, weather officials say. Locals in the "What's Happening Healdsburg" Facebook group have a great thread going about the closest places you can drive to play around in the snow. Pine Flat Road out through Alexander Valley sounds promising — or you can always just hit the 101 north and keep driving til you see some white stuff. (Facebook & NWS via Twitter)

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Air over Healdsburg:

Here are the top 5 stories today in Healdsburg:

1. On the front page of the current issue of the Healdsburg Tribune is an interesting "year in review" of all the events held in Healdsburg in 2021, despite the ongoing pandemic. There's also a recap of the situation at local schools and businesses, as well as a roll call of the "names and faces who helped shape the 2021 year." Some standouts: The "Illuminations" light-inspired art exhibit across town; various political, social and environmental demonstrations at the plaza and City Hall; a bunch of fun drive-through events for seniors; the sold-out Healdsburg Jazz Festival; a survivalist season of the farmers market; the brand-new zombie walk downtown; a school year filled with shifting restrictions and safety measures; and much, much more. (SoCoNews Healdsburg)
2. The Healdsburg Center for the Arts is "ready for the new year in a new space," the Press Democrat reports in a feature this week on our prized downtown arts space. "The first thing visitors notice when walking into the Healdsburg Center for the Arts’ new location on Center Street is the light," the feature begins. "Glorious light brightens the location and highlights the beautiful and beautifully curated treasures inside. The west-facing windows and the new lighting accent the center’s reason for being — art." Read more in the PD about the center's past and future in their cool new building, former home of Plaza Paints and Supplies. (Press Democrat; paywall)
3. A young man from Healdsburg, 24-year-old Federico Morales, was arrested in Petaluma late last Wednesday afternoon for allegedly "driving under the influence and then attacking an officer who was trying to take him into custody." According to local police, Morales was involved in a minor collision near Lakeville Highway and Casa Grande Road — and when they approached him afterward, he "allegedly showed signs of intoxication and became confrontational with officers conducting field sobriety tests, then struck one of the officers who were trying to take him into custody." (Bay City News via SF Gate)
4. Just a "year or so" from now, Healdsburg residents will reportedly be able to drive a couple hours north on the 101 to visit California's newest wildland park: the Eel River Canyon Preserve. It's known as the "Grand Canyon of the Eel River," and its final link — a 27,000-acre, $25 million ranch — was just added to "a chain of 10 preserves... spanning 110 miles of the Eel River from Mendocino County to the Pacific Ocean estuary," according to the PD. Next comes a "parking lot, restrooms, ranger station and residence, campground and 25 miles of well-marked trails to accommodate hiking, horseback riding, mountain biking, camping and kayaking." Healdsburg's own state senator, Mike Mcguire, calls the preserve “one of the most spectacular landscapes in all of America." He says he's currently fighting "tooth and nail" against a proposal from Big Coal that would disrupt it. (Press Democrat; paywall)
5. A couple new features on Healdsburg's thriving wine and tourism industry were recently printed in out-of-town publications. First, the San Francisco Chronicle writes about the "redemption harvest" of 2021 for local winegrowers, shockingly "smooth and easy" after two years of chaos. From the Chronicle: "In 2019, a significant portion of Healdsburg’s Grist Vineyard grapes went unpicked due to concerns about wildfire smoke; in 2020, none of its grapes was usable. This year, finally, it made wine: 'The feeling of being able to pick everything in our vineyard was so foreign,' said Woody Hambrecht, Grist’s owner." Meanwhile, Fortune Magazine has a swanky story about the droves of tourists who started traveling to the wine country again this year, sick of lockdown and ready to spend. The story centers on the Montage Healdsburg resort and nearby Aperture Cellars. (Fortune & SF Chronicle; paywall)

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Today and tomorrow in Healdsburg:

Tuesday, December 28

• New Year's Break Basketball Camp at Healdsburg Junior High (Dec. 27-30, 9AM-3PM)
• LandPaths "Mushroom Madness" Hike at Riddell Preserve (10AM-2PM)
• Healdsburg Running Company Pub Run to Crooked Goat in Sebastopol (6PM)
• Book Club at ParkPoint Gym (6-7PM)
• CANCELED: Healdsburg City Planning Commission Meeting (6-10PM)
• Virtual Spanish Conversation for Beginners at Sonoma County Library (6:30-7:45PM)

Wednesday, December 29

• Sonoma County Library Family Storytime on Zoom (10:30-11AM)
• "Comité de Healdsburg" Community Meeting at Corazón Healdsburg (6-7:30PM)
• Trivia Night at Coyote Sonoma (7-9PM)

From my notebook:

• Local pharmacies are having a heck of a time keeping take-home COVID tests in stock right now, as COVID cases rise and families gather. (Press Democrat; paywall)
• Some Healdsburg residents are wondering why there's a "NO SOCCER ALLOWED" sign posted in the Giorgi Park tennis courts. (Facebook)
• The North Bay Business Journal ran a really illuminating piece yesterday about the labor shortage in Sonoma County and what's driving it. An excerpt: "Employees want more than cash. They seek flexibility with their schedule, they want bosses who care about them as a person and not merely as a worker, they crave being valued, and to join a workplace culture that is human driven and not profit centric." (North Bay Business Journal)
• Also: The Los Angeles Times has a super comprehensive, and rather mesmerizing, followup story on the black truffle found in Alexander Valley last month. (LA Times)
• Here's how to recycle your Christmas tree in Healdsburg this year. In short: Leave it on the curb before Jan. 7 if you live in town, or take it to this facility out Westside Road. (Healdsburg Patch)
• A young Santa Rosa man who reportedly spends time in Healdsburg is wanted for allegedly stabbing his rideshare driver on Christmas Day. (KTXL FOX 40 Sacramento & Facebook)
• This is pretty cool: Healdsburg resident Mary Marlowe Muller made replicas of her parents' and grandparents' homes for Christmas, including a "replica of 556 Matheson Street with the Muller family out front." Healdsburg Museum officials are very impressed. (Facebook)
• This coming Friday, Dec. 31, is the deadline for Healdsburg businesses "negatively impacted" by the pandemic to apply for a federal "COVID-19 Economic Injury Disaster Loan." (Facebook & Small Business Administration)
• There's a big conversation happening among Healdsburg neighbors on Nextdoor about local people living on the streets, and how best to help them. (Nextdoor)
• The Alexander Valley Film Society is offering a "FREE 8-week after-school program for filmmakers of all levels," starting Jan. 5. Classes will be held at Windsor High. Here's how to register. (Facebook)
• Also coming up in February at the Healdsburg Center for the Arts is a "three-day oil painting workshop" for "beginning to advanced artists, ages 15 and up." (Facebook)
• Check this out: Healdsburg nonprofit Farm to Pantry was able to donate 12,000 jars of applesauce to the Redwood Empire Food Bank just in time for Christmas. It was "made from 50,000 pounds of apples gleaned by volunteers" at local farms who had extra apples that were about to go bad. Congrats, y'all! (SoCoNews)

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You're all caught up for today! 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.