🌱 Fire Marshal Retires + Local Biz Directory + Community Meeting

Simone Wilson
Updated ·8 min read

Good day, neighbors! It's me again, Simone, your host of the Healdsburg Daily — back in your inbox with everything you need to know about what's happening in town. Let's get right to it.

First, your daily weather:

  • Wednesday: Mostly sunny and windy. High: 70 Low: 43.

  • Thursday: A little cooler, with a mix of sun and clouds. More wind, too... High: 66 Low: 41.

Heads up: County officials have issued a wind advisory for our area, starting tonight at 8 p.m. and lasting through tomorrow morning at 11 a.m. "Wind gusts of 45-60 mph are possible," they say. "Secure loose outdoor items and structures, prepare for possible power outages and drive safe." (Facebook)

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Air over Healdsburg:

This is what the air over Healdsburg looked like earlier this morning. (Photo courtesy of Holly Wilson)
This is what the air over Healdsburg looked like earlier this morning. (Photo courtesy of Holly Wilson)

Here are the top 3 stories in Healdsburg today:

  1. The second-in-command at the Healdsburg Fire Department is retiring next month. Fire Marshal-Division Chief Linda Collister has been a "mainstay" in the department and the community — and a "a champion of fire prevention and preparedness" — for the 15 years she's worked there, the Healdsburg Tribune reports. "In her time as fire marshal-division chief, Collister — who was one of Sonoma County’s first female fire marshal-division chiefs — worked to unify the county fire code, set the precedence for city sprinkler system installation in schools, businesses and new housing; oversaw the department’s weed abatement and hazardous materials program; built strong connections with community groups; helped locals gain skills in wildfire preparedness; organized fuels management projects; and advocated for a citywide community wildfire prevention plan (CWPP)." Healdsburg's fire chief, Jason Boaz, adds that “one of her crowning achievements is her relationship she has built with all of the COPE (Citizens Organized to Prepare for Emergencies) groups" and that she's "really been the point person for me in keeping all of those people in the loop." City officials are now searching for a new fire marshal-division chief, the Trib reports. They hope to "fill the role as soon as possible." (SoCoNews Healdsburg)

  2. A brand-new 2022 directory from the Healdsburg Chamber of Commerce shows just how big of a local-business boom we've seen since the start of COVID, despite the many challenges of the era. In the past couple years, the following businesses (and more!) have reportedly debuted in Healdsburg: THE 222 venue, Aeris wines, Orsi Family Vineyards, the Artemedica plastic-surgery practice, Asahi Ramen's new location, the Bacchus Landing wine-tasting collective and event space, Barth Vision & Optical, Bon Ton Baby, Leaven women's clothing, the Lucky Heron gift shop, the Forager mercantile shop, property management company HBG Concierge, restaurants The Matheson and Little Saint, the Shine Healdsburg art gallery, etc. Check out the full new directory — and corresponding map! — for a listing of the hundreds of business still up and running, and in many cases thriving, in the City of Healdsburg. (Facebook & Healdsburg.com & Google Maps)

  3. The latest Healdsburg police logs, covering the week of April 18-25, have been posted on the department's website. Reported incidents during this time period included the big Chase Bank robbery by a suspect in a ski mask last Thursday; a couple of alleged hot-food thefts from Big John's; a Montage staffer who suspected that a coworker threw a water bottle at her car, and possibly keyed it, after a company party; another incident at a construction site near the Montage, where thousands of dollars worth of "copper pipes and fittings" were reported stolen; a man who called police claiming he had been sexually assaulted by a Healdsburg pastor when he was 11 years old; a complaint about a guy with dreadlocks and a bike on Mitchell Lane who allegedly "defecated on the sidewalk"; someone who rented a car from Silveira on Healdsburg Avenue and never returned it; a driver on the 101 seen "braking on straightaways with no one around, making jerking movements and swerving," then pulled over by cops near Russian River Covered RV Storage; a vehicle "pulling a mobile home trailer" that ran into a caution sign near Westamerica Bank; a few other suspected drunk drivers; and more. (Healdsburg Police Department)

Today and tomorrow in Healdsburg:

Wednesday, April 27

  • Sonoma County Board of Supervisors Budget Workshop (8:30AM)

  • English Conversation Virtual Class at Sonoma County Library (11AM-12:30PM)

  • 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)

Thursday, April 28

  • Healdsburg American Association of University Women (AAUW) Forum: "Interpreting Works of Art - Your 'GPS' for Visual Literacy" (10-11:45AM)

  • Advanced Spanish Conversation Virtual Class at Sonoma County Library (1:30-2:45PM)

  • Healdsburg Running Company Fitch Mountain Trail Run With Tailgate Party & Finish at Duke's for Boiler Makers (6PM)

  • Northern Sonoma County Fire District Virtual Community Meeting on Prescribed Burns at Lake Sonoma (6PM)

Healdsburg pic of the day:

Healdsburg photographer Russell Porcas took this pic last week of an old truck crossing Memorial Bridge. You can <a href="https://www.behance.net/gallery/121896065/Personal-Work-Russell-Porcas?tracking_source=search_projects%7Crussell%20porcas&fbclid=IwAR0NTaSQRBcl7onhhyJ2BsE24eS8lPqJrFJQ33JbzaGeHyyb4CIeMcScANg" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" data-ylk="slk:see more of his work here.;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas" class="link ">see more of his work here.</a> Russell and his wife also run a cool <a href="https://mypaperghosts.com/?fbclid=IwAR3dtyYT-nj656Jjhxy4e2sPRTbJ-6yJEaMBhvjdqrdrPhuhGJUCPRfWYG4" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" data-ylk="slk:vintage photo project called Paper Ghosts;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas" class="link ">vintage photo project called Paper Ghosts</a>. (Photo courtesy of Russell Porcas)

Note from Simone: I love to feature local photos! Submit yours whenever. Please just confirm in your email that you own the rights to the photo, and that Patch has permission to republish it. 📸

From my notebook:

  • Healdsburg High School just came in at No. 679 out of 1,603 schools in California, and No. 2,411 out of 17,800 schools across the nation, in the new definitive high-school rankings from U.S. News & World Report for 2022. (Healdsburg Patch)

  • Local nonprofit Corazón Healdsburg says that over half the participants in the city's recent "participatory budgeting" process identified themselves as Hispanic or Latino. "Representation is a crucial part of building a more compassionate and just society, which is why we were so excited..." org leaders say. (Facebook)

  • The Alexander Valley film festival that starts Friday — aka "AVFest" — is in need of volunteers to help set up, work the film screenings and parties, etc. (Facebook)

  • Two Healdsburg High School students won Press Democrat Youth Service Awards earlier this month. 4H and FFA member Allison Grande won in the agriculture category and Citlaly Garcia Alonso won for "community care." The judges said of Citlaly: "This nominee has been creating safe spaces for the youth of Healdsburg for many years. She started going to the Boys & Girls club as a kindergartner and eventually grew into leadership positions. Moreover, she places large importance on imagination, play and her deep passion for helping create a diversity of experiences for youth and staff alike." (Press Democrat; paywall)

  • There will be a big, free May Day celebration this Sunday up in Geyserville, with a maypole and everything. (Facebook)

  • The rave reviews keep rolling in for Little Saint. (Thrillist & SF Chronicle; paywall)

  • It's college acceptance season at Healdsburg High! The career center has been posting a constant stream of who's-going-where announcements for this year's seniors on social media. (Facebook)

  • Healdsburg Hospital surgeon Michael Bollinger was recently named best orthopedic surgeon in Sonoma County by the Bohemian. "Dr. Bollinger specializes in upper extremities (including shoulders, elbows, arms, wrists, and hands), joint replacement (hip, knee, and shoulder) and sports medicine," hospital officials say. "We're so grateful to have Dr. Bollinger in our caregiver community!" (Facebook & North Bay Bohemian)

  • Sonoma Magazine has a roundup of five — count 'em, five — upscale Healdsburg restaurants serving fancy Mother's Day brunches this year. (Sonoma Magazine)

  • Here's a weird one: A random lawn-care company who ranks cities for their plant power has named Santa Rosa the flower capital of the United States. (LawnLove.com)

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Annnd now you're in the loop. I'll be back in your inbox tomorrow 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