Hey, Healdsburg! It’s meeee. Let’s start this weekend off on an informed note, shall we? Here’s everything you need to know about what’s happening in Healdsburg these days.
First, your weekend weather:
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Friday: Partly sunny. High: 64 Low: 35.
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Saturday: Partly sunny. High: 65 Low: 35.
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Sunday: Mix of sun and clouds. High: 63 Low: 37.
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Monday: Mix of sun and clouds. High: 64 Low: 36.
Air over Healdsburg:
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Here are the top 5 stories today in Healdsburg:
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Healdsburg’s much-anticipated new Troubadour sandwich shop, a project of the Quail and Condor bakery folks, is officially open downtown. It’s located inside that little shopping complex less than a block north of the plaza on Healdsburg Avenue, right where Moustache Baked Goods used to be. Sonoma Magazine and the “Stay Healdsburg” tourism group posted some pics and descriptions this week of the insane-looking sandwiches on the menu at Troubadour. A standout seems to be the “soon-to-be-legendary Hokkaido milk bread and egg salad sandwich,” reportedly “made with inch-thick slices of pillowy Japanese-style bread, creamy egg salad and whole hard-boiled eggs.” It costs $12. They’re also serving up some interesting pastrami, chicken liver mousse and Dungeness crab creations. You can stop by any day — except Tuesday and Wednesday — between 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. (Sonoma Magazine & Stay Healdsburg via Facebook & Google Maps)
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Update on our piece of Sonoma County’s ongoing efforts to consolidate its bajillion fire departments and districts! The county has committed to pay the $1.2 million needed for the Northern Sonoma County Fire Protection District, which protects Healdsburg’s rural outskirts, to take a bunch more land in the Dry Creek and Sotoyome areas under its wing. Our fire district officials had initially opposed the consolidation because the source of funding seemed unclear, but they seem to be on board now that the money is accounted for. “It’s been a long time coming and today the agreement was really all about the money, which then allows us to move forward and puts us into position to annex these area,” Fred Peterson, district director, tells the PD. He says this will allow for “more robust and coordinated” response and fire prevention in the region. There are still a couple bureaucratic hoops to jump through, but if all goes well, the new map could go into effect as early as this summer. (Patch Press Release Desk & Northern Sonoma County Fire & Press Democrat; paywall)
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Longtime Healdsburg grape grower and winemaker James “Jim” Forchini died unexpectedly last week while crab fishing in Tomales Bay. He was 83 and “still strong and active in the vineyard,” his obituary says. “He missed his late wife Anita terribly and died just ten months after her death.” The couple moved to Healdsburg full time in 1971. They reportedly owned two ranches together, were “active in many local and charitable organizations” and started Forchini Vineyards and Winery in 1996. A celebration of life will be held for Jim at his winery on June 11. The community also recently lost Healdsburg native Jean Morikawa Mukaida, a WWII internment camp survivor and Healdsburg School District aide, as well as Sheridan Watt Bertolli, who was active in the Alexander Valley School Parents’ club and Alexander Valley Ladies Aid. Love to all their families and friends – may they rest in peace. (Legacy.com & Legacy.com & Legacy.com)
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Wine Enthusiast magazine has an interesting industry piece on various Healdsburg wineries and how they fared in the drought last season. Bodkin Wines was hit especially hard, with their Sauvignon Blanc vineyards on the coast and in Lake County only getting around a “third of the fruit they expected in a typical year,” due to “early frost damaged buds and drought.” But other local vineyards, such as Vérité Winery‘s Merlot vines in the Chalk Hill area, were able to use some innovative techniques starting very early in the season to salvage as many grapes as possible. Oh also, speaking of Merlot: Healdsburg’s Jordan Vineyard & Winery is featured in another piece on an (apparently unrelated) “Merlot crisis” unfolding across the wine country. “Wineries that rely on Merlot for Bordeaux-style blends and varietal wines are struggling to secure enough high-quality grapes,” Seven Fifty Daily reports. The piece investigates “what’s driving this shortage and what can be done to fix it.” (Wine Enthusiast & Seven Fifty Daily)
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Here are three weeks’ worth of Healdsburg police logs for you! Incident reports for the month of January so far have included a man in a store on Vine Street allegedly “yelling and threatening because he was denied coffee”; a fiasco in the wee hours on Brown Street where neighbors spotted and heard a pack of people “in hoodies” either shooting guns or lighting fireworks, but they were never found by police; a group of transients on Healdsburg Avenue reported by neighbors after they allegedly “put up tents, left behind garbage and their belongings… were defecating in a planter box on the property” and “screaming racial slurs”; a shoe thrown through someone’s front window overnight on Tucker Street; and a woman who reported her daughters for “behaving erratically at the tennis courts” at Giorgi Park, “yelling, screaming, laughing, rolling around on the ground, climbing trees and saying they were going to beat someone up.” After that last report, police say “an officer responded but was unable to locate the two females.” (SoCoNews Healdsburg & SoCoNews Healdsburg & SoCoNews Healdsburg)
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This weekend in Healdsburg:
Friday, January 28
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Meet the Artist at Upstairs Art Gallery: Willow LaLand, “Bold Flavors in Fauve” (Jan. 28-29, 11AM-6PM)
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The Remedies Live at Coyote Sonoma, Feat. Hot Dogs, Snacks, $5 Beer & Wine (6-9PM)
Saturday, January 29
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Healdsburg Running Company Run to Bluff & Burritos in City of Sonoma (8AM)
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Stewardship Day at Fitch Mountain: Broom Cleanup (9AM-1PM)
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Info Meeting on How to Save “Purls of Joy” Knitting Shop (9:30AM)
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New Volunteer Orientation for Stewards of the Coast and Redwoods (10AM)
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Tree Giveaway For Sonoma County Wildfire Victims at Harmony Ag Supply in Fulton (10AM-2PM)
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Healdsburg High School Girls’ Basketball Home Game Vs. Lower Lake (1:30PM)
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Sonoma County Wine Library Association Tasting at Costeaux, Feat. 24 Award Winning East Coast Wines (3:30-5:30PM)
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Gypsy Trio Live at Hotel Healdsburg Spirit Bar (5-8PM)
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Campfire Music at Wildhaven Sonoma: Chris Todd (7-9PM)
Sunday, January 30
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I got nothin’!
Monday, January 31
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New Art Exhibit at Upstairs Art Gallery: “That’s Amore” (Jan. 31-Feb. 27, 11AM-6PM)
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Mindful Monday Virtual Yoga for Teens at Sonoma County Library (4:30-5:30PM)
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“ScripTease” Public Reading at Raven Theater: “Cesar Died Today” (7PM)
From my notebook:
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A reader reached out to remind me that Healdsburg yarn and knitting shop Purls of Joy is still up for sale — and she says the shop will be forced to close in a month if they don’t find a buyer. “There are however a group of interested people who want to start a CO-OP of sorts to purchase the yarn shop,” says Janice Orrego, one of the potential co-op members. “We need more people to make this a reality.” So they’re holding an informational meeting tomorrow morning at 9:30 a.m. at the shop, located at 461 Healdsburg Ave. near Piper Street. “Together we can keep this gem of a store opened and maintain the community that has been vibrant for more years to come,” Janice says. Feel free to contact her at jorrego@icloud.com for more info. (Inbox & Facebook & Google Maps)
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Healdsburg’s own amateur collegiate baseball team and defending California Collegiate League champions, the Prune Packers, will host a golf tournament on April 29 at the Windsor Golf Club to raise funds for their upcoming season. (SoCoNews Healdsburg)
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What do you think of all the new purple twinkly lights strung around lampposts downtown? There’s a big neighbor discussion about them in the “What’s Happening Healdsburg” Facebook group, of course. (Facebook)
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As COVID case numbers in Sonoma County begin to drop a little after the recent super-spike, county health officials are clarifying that indoor events — especially sporting events — can have up to 50 spectators, NOT including “staff involved with the event, media, players or performers.” (Sonoma County Government & Facebook)
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County officials are also warning locals to “be aware of illegitimate pop-up COVID testing centers” that “take your money and never provide test results or request personal information in order to engage in fraud.” Here’s how to tell the difference between legit and fake testing. (Facebook)
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There’s a very fancy collaboration in the works between Healdsburg’s three-Michelin-starred Single Thread restaurant and Atomix, a two-Michelin starred Korean restaurant from New York City. They plan to “craft a 10-course tasting menu reflecting both restaurants’ Asian-influenced cuisines and service styles,” then serve it at a “night of haute dining in Healdsburg” on March 31 for $425 per person (or $725 with wine pairing), “plus tax and gratuity.” Reservations open Feb. 1. (Sonoma Magazine)
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Did you know the Healdsburg Library has an app where you can do stuff like “browse the catalog, place holds, and arrange for curbside pickup”? (Facebook)
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This female Chihuahua mix was recently found running loose on Grove Street near March Avenue. Anyone recognize her? (Facebook)
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That’s all for now. I’ll be back in your inbox next week with another 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.
This article originally appeared on the Healdsburg Patch