Healdsburg Tribune April 4 2024

TRUETT HURST MOVES TO THE ROUNDABOUT, WHILE AESTHETE TAKES ITS PLACE ON DRY CREEK ROAD

By Simone Wilson

About five months after boutique Healdsburg wine brands Truett Hurst and VML went on the market, they found a buyer: the same man who founded them back in 2008. Phil Hurst sold his beloved brands to a large, Washington-based company called Precept Wine & Spirits around six years ago. When that company put Truett Hurst and VML up for sale last fall, Hurst seized the opportunity to take back what he built— with a little help from his friend Ken Wilson, of Wilson Artisan Wines. The two well-known local vintners made a joint purchase of Truett and VML in late March. They’re calling it a “groundbreaking partnership” that will leverage Wilson’s vast local infrastructure—including the Rockpile Vineyards tasting room along the roundabout—to help Hurst’s wines thrive.

“Together, Hurst and Wilson plan to invest in crafting world-class, award-winning wines and create a downtown Healdsburg tasting room experience that captures the essence and personality of the wineries,” Wilson Wines said in a statement. Hurst will collaborate with longtime winemaker Ross Reedy to make the wine. Hurst’s son, Clay, will uphold the family tradition by overseeing the tasting room. The Wilson Wines team will handle operations and brand growth. And Wilson himself will design the tasting room

Futuristic ‘Popup Village’ Plans Summer Residency in Healdsburg

BAY AREA TECHIES

GIVE AI, CRYPTO TALKS IN TOWN AND USE FOSS CREEK PATHWAY AS ‘SERENDIPITY LANE’

By Simone Wilson

Heads up: Healdsburg will likely look and feel a lot different for the whole month of June.

More than usual, we may hear crypto words like “blockchain” and “Ethereum” being thrown around in the aisles of Big John’s. We may see large clumps of out-of-towners huddled together on laptops and doing other mysterious business in local buildings.

We may see the normally tranquil Foss Creek Pathway overflowing with foot and bike traffic. And

don’t panic, but we may also have a slightly more difficult time finding a parking spot.

That’s because 150plus Bay Area techies and other thought leaders from across the globe are being invited by two outside organizations—Edge City and the Esmeralda Land Company—to become the “full-time residents” of an ambitious, monthlong “popup village” here in town, from June 2-30. Hundreds more shortterm visitors are invited to stop by as well.

Onlookers speculate it might be one of the largest-ever influxes of visitors to Healdsburg in search of something other than wine.

The Edge City organization is run by Janine Leger, a South Africa native and

Austin resident in her early 30s, and Timour Kosters, a young New York City startup builder and investor. They recently hosted a similar weeklong event in Denver—inspired by a couple of giant, twomonth-long seaside crypto villages they attended and helped organize last year in Montenegro and Istanbul. And they’re already planning another six-week village in Southeast Asia this fall.

The raison de vivre for these excitable young entrepreneurs is nothing less than to reimagine the way society works—and they’ve chosen Healdsburg as the next staging ground for their grand experiment. They’re calling it a “gathering for people building the future.”

The Healdsburg event

will “help us expose top builders and funders in the SF tech scenes to the movement we’re building,” Edge City organizers say on their website.

No new housing will be constructed in Healdsburg to create the village of “Edge Esmeralda,” as its founders call it. Instead, attendees will be encouraged to stay in existing hotels at a discount—particularly the cluster of hotels near the Dry Creek exit off Highway 101, including Hotel Trio and the Best Western, and, about a mile south, the H2Hotel and Harmon Guest House.

Participants will then be encouraged to walk and bike along the Foss Creek Pathway to attend daily seminars, meetups, work parties, communal meals

and other events scheduled within close proximity to that mile stretch.

“I've long dreamed of living in a small town while also being surrounded by interesting, creative people,” says Devon Zuegel, the head of Edge City’s partner organization, the Esmeralda Land Company. “Healdsburg is one of the few places I’ve been that hits both notes at the same time.”

Zeugel says the hope for the event is to “add to the amazing community that Healdsburg already has, mix in new ideas and people, and learn from and collaborate with locals.”

Healdsburg City Coun-

cilmember Ariel Kelley, who’s been in the loop and shown her support for the past few months, thinks of Edge Esmeralda

➝ Summer Residency, 4 ➝ Tasting Rooms, 5

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, OTTO

SAFARI WEST’S YOUNGEST RHINO IS 1 YEAR OLD THIS WEEK

By Dan Pulcrano

Photo courtesy of Edge Esmeralda

GOINGS ON AROUND TOWN THIS WEEK & NEXT

‘The Mountaintop’

A two-person drama by Katori Hall about the last day of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., entirely set in his Lorraine Motel room the evening before his assassination. It opens April 4 and plays most days through April 14, 7:30pm. At The 222 stage, 222 Healdsburg Ave. Tickets start at $45, students free, available at www. the222.org.

‘Wizard’ at the Raven This Raven Players production of the musical The Wizard of Oz concludes its run with performances on Friday, Saturday and Sunday this week, April 5-7. Tickets $10 students, $40 adults. See schedule and ticket links at raventheater. org/event/the-wizard-ofoz. Raven Performing Arts Theater, 115 North St. Barrel Room Music

Live music continues at Hudson Street Wineries on Friday afternoons, from 5-8pm. $5 cover for a danceable way to end the work week at 428 Hudson St. On April 5 the Bluebyrds fly in for the show; see the season’s schedule at hudsonstreetwineries.com/ upcoming-events.

Generations

Saturday, April 6, Gail Mojo of Sly and the Family Stone, and Nick Otis, Johnny Otis’ son, on stage at Furthermore Wines, 328A Healdsburg Ave. Starts at 5pm, no cover.

Prez Jazz Noel Jewkes, a disciple of Lester Young, a.k.a. “Prez,” will be joined by guitarist Randy Vincent and bassist Chris Amberger for a topflight night of bebop at the Spirit Bar, from 6-9pm on Saturday, April 6. Located in the lobby of the Hotel Healdsburg, 25 Matheson St.

Dinner and a Show

The Funky Dozen take over the stage at Coyote Sonoma on Saturday, April 6, for a program of danceable favorites. Special tritip dinner menu available at 6pm; $55 wine club members, $70 non-member rate includes the show. Music starts at 8pm, 44F Mill St.

Hotcakes Spike Sikes and the Awesome Hotcakes play jump blues and swing on Sunday, April 7, at Elephant in the Room, 177A Healdsburg Ave. $10 cover, show starts at 6pm. More at elephantintheroompub.com.

Slow Wine

A discussion, book sale and signing by renowned wine writer and educator Deborah Parker Wong, national editor of the Slow

Wine Guide , including a wine tasting from 6:308pm on Tuesday, April 9, at the Healdsburg Regional Library. 139 Piper St.

Planning

The city’s influential Planning Commission is the vanguard of public review for new and ongoing projects. It will meet Tuesday, April 9, at City Council Chambers, 401 Grove St., 6pm.

Dad Country

On Thursday, April 11, hear Low Cut Connie (Adam

READERS WEIGH IN ON HEALDSBURG’S WEIGHTY ISSUES

I am deeply concerned about the continued high turnover rate of the Healdsburg High School administration. From 2016 until now, only one principal has lasted longer than two years. What seems to be the problem?

If they are being terminated, why do unqualified candidates continue to be hired? If they are resigning, is the environment so terrible at HHS that someone doesn’t want to work there for longer than two years?

From where I stand, with this continued turnover, it doesn’t seem to be a problem of the principals themselves, but rather the levels above.

continue to decline. I’ve asked the Board to be the strong advocates we elected them to be—to ask tough questions and demand accountability. This is critical to our community!

Jessica Hicks Healdsburg

Rising Water

Rates

cannot afford those new initiatives and need to refocus city funds.

(DYI) co-ownership. Purchase a whole vacation home using Pacaso’s legal templates (about $300)

I know it’s important for local children to attend Healdsburg public schools. The population of students is dwindling due to economics and alternative schooling options, among other factors.

I would like to send my children to HHS, but I have no faith in the backbone of the school. New principals come with new rules, curriculum, programs, ideas about funding and more. If there is a new principal each year, there is no consistency and our students’ education will suffer.

As elected trustees representing our community to oversee the district, our local Board of Education has an important oversight role to play in ensuring our schools are high performing.

With this lackof continuity in administrative leadership, our schools

Healdsburg’s failing water and sewer infrastructure, and the need to secure a reliable water source, are now an emergency priority for the city to address (“Water, Wastewater Rate Increases On Tap,” March 28). It will be costly and will require rate increases. However, the new rate structures borne by residents should not be made in isolation and without the current City Council rethinking its entire budget and allocation of resources. Under the city’s current proposal, the rate increases are eyepopping. The average family households’ water and sewer bill will go from $166.53/month to $200.73/month. That is the highest in Sonoma County, and 80% higher than the $111/month rate in Windsor. In 2 years, the rates will reach $272.30/ month—that is an extra $105.78/month, and almost + $1,300 a year more than we pay now.

In the past three years, the Council has expanded our local government’s role beyond critical infrastructure, public safety and affordable housing to spend millions on new initiatives such as DEI, Universal Income Pilot Studies and Climate Action projects that surpass state mandates. While laudable, we

Residents and businesses in Healdsburg should require the City Council to prove that they have scoured their budgets to 1) reduce overhead/staffing costs where possible, and 2) redirect funds allocated for any “nice to have” projects to address our critical infrastructure needs and, as much as possible, reduce the dramatic impacts born by residents. We cannot continue business as usual in the face of this elephant in the room. When city staff notes in their Feb. 5th preliminary report that “while the new proposed revenue increases are significant, they are fundamental to meeting the basic operating needs of the utility funds and securing safe and reliable water and sewer services”—they are correct. But that must include the City Council and staff making hard choices about their operating costs and projects, in addition to residents.

Karen Maley Healdsburg

Timeshares in Healdsburg National real estate firm Pacaso offers fractional ownership “vacation homes” in tourist destinations. Pacaso homes are functionally timeshares: each 1/8 owner gets 44 days a year. Now, Pacaso has entered the Healdsburg housing market—even though Healdsburg prohibits timeshares. But there’s a new addition to the Pacaso playbook: “do it yourself”

Photo by Christian Kallen

Easter Egg Scramble

MAD DASH Members of the Healdsburg Rotary Club’s noontime chapter hosted their annual ‘Easter Egg Scramble’ at Healdsburg Elementary’s Fitch Mountain campus on Saturday morning—sending dozens of local kids ages 10 and younger darting across the school field in search of colored eggs. This year marked the 30th anniversary of the event. The club also created little play areas for toddlers and kids with special needs. And after the scramble, three lucky youngsters won raffle prizes: new bikes and helmets from Spoke Folk Cyclery.

Photos by Rick Tang

OPINION

National Library Week

READY, SET, LIBRARY!

By Erika Thibault

Come celebrate National Library Week at Sonoma County Library, from April 7-13. The theme this year is “Ready, Set, Library!” National Library Week honors the invaluable contributions of libraries and library workers in communities across the nation, and serves as a reminder of the essential role libraries play in fostering literacy, promoting lifelong learning, and serving as centers for knowledge dissemination and cultural enrichment. In an ever-changing world, the library is a truly special place where you can connect with others, learn new skills and focus on what matters most.

One of the core themes of National

Futuristic ‘Popup Village’

KAREN BOSWORTH

June 2, 1940 – March 15, 2024

Karen Bosworth passed away peacefully at her home in Geyserville on March 15, 2024.

Born and raised in Healdsburg, Karen was the daughter of a local doctor and nurse, Kenneth, and Ruth Dunlavy.

With a love of science, Karen graduated from University of the Pacific in 1962 where she was a member of sorority Delta Gamma. She then went to work in San Francisco at Southern Pacific Memorial Hospital as a medical technologist until she was introduced to Harry Bosworth, of Geyserville, on a blind date in 1966 and they were married the following year.

In 1968 they bought the local hardware store, then a small ranch and started a family. After a few years of trying to “live on love,” Karen went back to work as laboratory technician at the Healdsburg family practice of Grace, Neal, and Wellock, where she worked for close to 20 years. She then transferred to Healdsburg Hospital and occasionally covered shifts at Palm Drive Hospital in Sebastopol. After retiring, she enjoyed pouring wine in both Geyser Peak and Silver Oak’s tasting rooms.

Karen was a devoted mother to her two daughters Rachel and Gretchen, and with the arrival of her granddaughters, Morgan and Amy, Karen happily retired to help with their care.

Karen tried many hobbies and participated in many activities: She collected carnival glass, she taught Sunday school, she enjoyed photography and took classes at the SRJC, she played with the Geyserville Mickeys coed softball team, and loved her monthly dominoes matches with friends.

Karen was very active in her community and especially with support for healthcare or public education. She was a past president of the Geyserville Chamber of Commerce and member of the Geyserville Community Foundation and Historical Society. She served on the boards of Alliance Medical Center and the Healthcare Foundation, as well as the Geyserville school board, Sonoma County Committee on school district organization and over 20 years as a trustee of the Sonoma County Board of Education.

Karen is survived by her daughters Rachel (Dean Prat) and Gretchen (Brian Crebs), her granddaughters Morgan and Amy Crebs, her brother Norman (Peachie) Dunlavy and several nieces and nephews. She is preceded in death by her husband Harry Bosworth.

A celebration of Karen’s life will be held on Sunday, April 28, 2024 at 11:30am at Catelli’s Restaurant in Geyserville.

In lieu of flowers, please donate to Alexander Valley Healthcare.

Library Week is inclusivity. Libraries serve as democratic institutions that welcome people from all ways of life, regardless of age, background or socioeconomic status. They provide a safe and welcoming environment where anyone can access information, pursue their passions and be inspired.

Sonoma County Library is committed to the idea that libraries are for everyone. We demonstrate this in the robust array of program offerings that we provide every week, as well as with our diverse physical and digital collections.

as a cross between a conference and a festival. She likens it to the weeklong Aspen Ideas Festival in that “folks who are outstanding professionals in a variety of spaces are coming to participate and walk and bike and be part of the local vibe.”

Kelley adds: “I think it’s a cool concept. We’ve mastered the art of wine tourism, but this is a much different approach to inviting people to experience Healdsburg.”

Attendees from out of town will be paying around $500 to $2,000 to attend for the full month—or more if they want to invest in the concept, a la venture capitalists.

However, those with a Sonoma County address can skip the application process and pay a special price for locals: $195 to access all the Edge Esmeralda programming in town during June.

That’s less than a single meal at the Healdsburg Wine & Food Festival weekend the month prior.

Links to tickets and a form for Healdsburg residents to submit input and ideas can be found online at EdgeEsmeralda.com.

The dozens of talks, salons and sessions being cooked up for the village calendar are divided into the following themes: human organization, including “new towns and cities” and the “evolution of education and parenting”; artificial intelligence; “real-world crypto”; “health, longevity and bio” topics, including neurotech and biohacking; and “hard tech” innovations in areas like geoengineering, nanotech, space exploration and renewable energy.

Many in town who’ve checked out the Edge Esmeralda promo materials have had trouble wrapping their heads around the whole thing.

The materials are full of sci-fi imagery, like floating cities and poolside live-work utopias, and are packed with buzzwords from crypto counterculture: Zero-knowledge. Unconference. Solarpunk.

Speaking to the Tribune in the lobby of Hotel Trio, Edge City co-founder Janine Ledger says: “Solarpunk is about techno optimism. It’s about being optimistic about technology and integrating technology into nature in a more synergistic way.”

A real-world map of Healdsburg released by organizers in late March shows the main local venues that will host Edge Esmeralda events or serve as a resource for attendees: at the north end there’s the Healdsburg Community Center,

National Library Week reminds us that libraries are at the forefront of efforts to promote literacy and reading; we serve as hubs for books, magazines, newspapers and digital resources. We offer literacy programs for children, teens and adults, as well as resources for English-language learners and people with special needs.

Through storytelling sessions, book clubs and literacy workshops, libraries inspire people to become lifelong learners. Every day of the week, you can find storytimes in libraries, and we offer a unique program for young readers, called Read to a Dog. Children build confidence in their

reading skills by reading aloud to well-trained dogs who love to listen to stories in English, Spanish or any language!

National Library Week celebrates the vital role of library staff as information specialists and community leaders. Librarians are passionate advocates for intellectual freedom and access to information, helping you navigate a sea of resources. They curate collections, provide research assistance and teach information literacy skills that are essential in today’s digital age.

National Library Week is an opportunity to recognize and appreciate the dedication and expertise of library

workers who serve their communities. It is a time to celebrate the enduring importance of libraries as vibrant community hubs that foster literacy, promote inclusivity, and empower people to pursue their educational and intellectual goals.

Get ready to explore, be inspired and connect during National Library Week. We’d love to hear from you—tell us your favorite thing about the library or about a positive experience you’ve had recently, by emailing news@sonomalibrary.org, and we hope to see you at your local library!

Erika Thibault is the Sonoma County Library Director.

Big John’s grocery, Planck Coffee and the hotels nearby; and at the south end there’s the CraftWork co-working space, Raven Theater, Paul Mahder Gallery and the hotels nearby. Organizers are hoping more local institutions will keep coming forward to get involved, too, as hype builds.

They’ve also reached out to local nonprofits, like Corazón Healdsburg and Farm to Pantry, to see where they can be of service.

Farm to Pantry leaders confirm they’re working with Edge Esmeralda organizers to set up volunteer harvest days and other farm work for participants.

“When I met with them, I was struck by their innovative look to the future and commitment to long-term impact, despite the designated one month for the popup,” says Rosa Gonzalez, interim executive director. “Farm to Pantry is a natural fit for Edge Esmeralda’s healthy aspects of building community; they seem aligned with our mission for equity and access in land and food.”

Leger, one of the organizers, says: “What we want to do here is not come and use Healdsburg. We want to give back and help improve it.”

Organizers are also trying to avoid a parking catastrophe downtown, which they know wouldn’t win them any fans. In messages to potential attendees, they’ve repeatedly stressed that this is supposed to be a car-free experience.

“You can bike and walk to everything,” Leger says. “We want it to be fully walkable along the corridor.”

By “corridor” she means the Foss Creek Pathway, an idyllic trail along the edge of town that city leaders have been building out for years. The Edge folks have taken to calling it

their “serendipity lane”— because that’s “where you’ll bump into fellow attendees between sessions and go for walks with new friends.”

Organizers plan to truck in “a bunch of bikes” for attendees to use as transportation—along with the notorious blue e-bikes that already litter the streets of Healdsburg, and the free Sonoma County Transit shuttle that loops around town all day.

Councilmember Kelley says it’s been interesting to watch the Edge Esmeralda people marvel at what already exists here. “We take so much of that infrastructure for granted,” she says. “When people from an outside place look at how truly walkable and bikeable Healdsburg truly is … they get really excited.”

Another big goal of the village is to “integrate family life with creative life” by offering ample programming and activities for kids and families.

Here’s the vision for June in Healdsburg, as described in a recent public letter from Edge Esmeralda organizers: “Imagine living in a small town within walking distance of friends, family, and people you admire. On your way to the coworking space, you run into your favorite author in the town square.

After a productive morning, a friend a few desks over invites you on a walk to brainstorm a hackathon project. Then, at dinner, everyone gathers for a healthy meal grown just over the hill. The mayor pops in to share an update on the upcoming art festival, alongside a jampacked weekend on the latest in AI and Biotech.” Leger also says she envisions a community run each morning, and a “sauna/cold plunge” situation somewhere near the hotels at the north end.

Much of the dream for

Edge Esmeralda, however fantastical, does seem to come down to combating loneliness and isolation by bringing people with similar new-age interests together in physical space and time.

It draws on a growing movement, made manifest by a crypto-backed group called Zuzalu at popup villages in Montenegro and Istanbul last year, that hopes to forge a real home for internet tribes.

“A large part of what we are testing is different ways of living and working together,” Edge Esmeralda organizers say of their Healdsburg village. In fact, Zuegel from the Esmeralda Land Company is looking to use this as a model to build an actual village—possibly somewhere north of us, in rural Mendocino County.

“My inspiration for this work was the place where I spent summers growing up visiting my grandmother,” Zuegel says. “It’s called Chautauqua, a small town in western New York that, like Healdsburg, punches way above its weight in terms of culture and creativity. For nine weeks every summer, the town hosts daily lectures, workshops and performances.”

She continues: “You can think of Chautauqua kind of like a college campus, but instead of having full-time students, it’s for multigenerational families. It’s a place where neighbors wave from their front porches and kids have complete freedom roaming around on bikes, because the community is so closeknit that you always know there’s someone keeping an eye on them.”

So get ready, Healdsburg. Unless this is a farce of Fyre Festival magnitude, we’ve got a lot to live up to this summer.

Photo by Christian Kallen

SERENDIPITY LANE Healdsburg politician Ariel Kelley is seen here riding her bike along the Foss Creek Pathway—an integral part of the plan for Edge Esmeralda.

Photo courtesy of Sonoma County Library

SPORTS

Girls Swim Team’s ‘Turn to Shine’

SOMETHING IN THE WATER AT HEALDSBURG HIGH SCHOOL

By Simone Wilson

The swim team at Healdsburg High School has long punched above its weight.

At a school of just over 500 students, nearly 5% of the student body is on the swim team. And in recent years—under the guidance of head coach Dean Clark and assistant coaches Lorna Hayman and Alison Fealy , former Stanford University swimmer—the boys and girls swim teams from Healdsburg High have triumphed over many of the larger schools within their division and league.

The boys team has done particularly well over the past two years. It beat out the four other teams in the Redwood Division of the North Bay League for the No. 1 spot in the division both years, and placed in the top three of 10 teams at league championships last year.

“This is our best finish in years, and we are the smallest high school in the league,” Clark said at the league meet, held last April 27-28 at the Santa Rosa Junior College pool.

The girls, meanwhile, came in fifth at last year’s league meet—still a recent best. And their coach thinks 2024 may be an even bigger season for them.

While many of the fastest swimmers on the boys team graduated last year, the girls team is 12 members strong and looking “a little better this year,” Clark says. “It’s

their turn to shine.”

The coach is always shocked by how quickly the young athletes improve over the course of a single three-month season. “It

New Tasting Rooms Open

➝ Tasting Rooms, 1

and “create exciting new consumer experiences.”

The new Truett Hurst and VML tasting room at 113 Mill St. is open from 11am to 5pm daily.

“This is the legacy we’ve always dreamed of,” Hurst says.

Truett’s whimsical VML offshoot, which dabbles mainly in pinot noir, is named after one of the winery’s original winemakers, Virginia Marie Lambrix. The brand’s artsy wine labels are equal parts ethereal and steampunk. They’re emblazoned with the phrase, “At equinox fall they planted the first seed and left it in the hands of the moon and the stars”— an “homage to the etheric forces at work in the vineyard” and a nod to biodynamic farming methods.

Not included in Hurst and Wilson’s recent purchase is the former home of Truett and VML—a picturesque, 24-acre rural

property in the Dry Creek Valley with farmland, vineyards and tasting experiences for visitors. Instead, another boutique wine brand called Aesthete Wines bought that property earlier this year—and the new Aesthete tasting room at 5610 Dry Creek Rd. is already open for business. Visitors can taste wines creekside or among the property’s gardens and grazing animals. Aesthete’s winemaker is Jesse Katz, the same Forbes “30 Under 30” wunderkind behind Aperture Cellars on the other side of town. For the Aesthete line of wines in particular, he says he’s focusing on “the unique soils and cool climate at Dry Stack Vineyard in the Bennett Valley AVA,” or American Viticultural Area, near Sonoma. The Santa Rosa brothers who founded the winery, Jeff and Peter Jones, are focusing on turning

happens overnight,” he says. “High school is amazing. From the start of the season to the end, there’s a 10 to 50% improvement on their speed and how well they do.”

Both the boys and girls teams from Healdsburg have won their two meets so far this season, against Piner and Rancho Cotate, and have two left, against the more competitive Windsor and Analy teams, before league championships. As of press time on Wednesday, they were about to compete in a home meet against Windsor High—arguably their biggest rival within the division, with a much more populous student body and at least a dozen more swimmers. It’s a friendly kind of rivalry, though. Since the Windsor swim team doesn’t have its own pool, “Windsor’s home pool is our pool,” Clark says. “So it’s kind of a home-onhome meet.” The swimmers like to call these meets “cats versus dogs,” seeing as

the Windsor Jaguars are playing the Healdsburg Hounds.

Another challenge for this week’s Windsor meet is that some of Healdsburg’s best swimmers—including senior team captain Hadley Rueter, a star student in the high school’s renowned culinary program—are down in Southern California, competing in the annual SkillsUSA contests for vocational arts.

“The kids have a lot of things pulling them in different directions,” their coach says.

Still, the small but mighty swim team at Healdsburg High has undeniable pull. “We’re lucky to have a pool right here on campus,” Clark says. “Kids think it’s fun and tell their friends that it’s a good time. It’s got a good reputation.”

Coach Clark has high hopes for his swimmers at championships this year. But no matter what happens, he says, “We’ll be up there, and the kids are having fun. That’s what matters.”

the former Truett Hurst and VML property into “a healthy and vibrant estate” where “emphasis is placed on the integration of crops and livestock, recycling of nutrients, soil maintenance, and the health and well-being of the animals,

the farmer, the farm, and the earth,” according to the Aesthete website.

For its part, the Truett deal reflects a recent trend wherein winemakers are buying back the brands they founded. Within the past half a year, the same

thing happened with both Patz & Hall Winery in Sonoma and Breggo Cellars in the Anderson Valley. “After significant consolidation of brands over the last 10 years, I believe consumers have lost touch with the people

and stories that meant so much to them,” Hurst says. “The wine industry is experiencing a downturn in sales for the first time in 20 years—and it’s up to the founders to rebuild trust and experiences that consumers love.”

Photos by Michael Lucid

HUDDLE Head coach Dean Clark speaks to his swimmers during a recent meet against Piner.

Photo by Will Bucquoy, courtesy of Wilson Artisan Wines

SMART BLEND Local winemakers Phil Truett, left, and Ken Wilson, right, are going into business together.

YOUNG TALENT Healdsburg freshman Sienna Yielding swam in a freestyle race versus Piner last month—staying strong despite her goggles falling off as she dove into the pool, a common conundrum in the sport.

SNIPPETS OF HISTORY FROM THE HEALDSBURG TRIBUNE, PREPARED BY THE HEALDSBURG MUSEUM

By Healdsburg Museum

100 years ago: April 3, 1924

Grange Formed Here with 43 Members

With many residents of this city and its outlying valleys and many visitors from other parts of the county present, a new subordinate grange was organized in Healdsburg Monday night. The organization meeting was held in Red Men’s Hall, 43 persons having signed as charter members. The charter is to be kept open until next Saturday, when a meeting will be held for the purpose of closing it.

ln the meantime

National Organizer H.

A. Craig will remain here and, accompanied by officers of the new organization, will visit with various persons in the section in an endeavor to double the number of charter members. Master of the State Grange George R. Harrison and Mr. Craig, who is also overseer of the state grange, had charge of the institution of the grange here.

The new organization is the second Grange in Healdsburg, Progressive Grange having been active in the interests of the residents of the rural sections here for some 20 years until it disbanded about four years ago.

75 years ago: April 1, 1949

Need for Second Elementary School Aired at Citizens’ Meeting Here

The pending and present overcrowded conditions of the Healdsburg Union Elementary School have resulted in action by the school’s Board of Trustees and a 15-person citizens’ committee appointed to aid the Trustees to alleviate present conditions and plan for the expansion of the physical school property to take care of increased enrollment known to be forthcoming.

Present and forecasted enrollment figures compiled by Byron

Gibbs, school principal, convinced the Board of Trustees and the citizens’ committee that action is necessary immediately to take care of the increasingly heavy enrollment scheduled to confront the school during the next tabulated nine years.

Gibbs’ figures, based on the birth rate for this area, reveal the high point in elementary school enrollment to come in the 1956-1957 school year. He pointed out that the figures do not necessarily mean the increase in enrollment would stop at that time, but stressed that present birth rate figures projected to that date are actual. After 1957, he said, enrollment figures must necessarily be based on opinion and not fact.

50 years ago: April 4, 1974

Marble-slingshot spree hits downtown businesses, schools

Some person or group had a smashing good time last Thursday night by methodically breaking large windows the length of Healdsburg Avenue and

Center Street. Police are looking for someone possessing a high-powered slingshot and the remains of a bag of marbles. Preliminary estimates from a half-dozen of the worst hit businesses

amount to more than $4,600. Police report windows were not shattered but left with a dime sized hole. Perhaps hardest hit was Rosenberg and Bush, at North and East Sts., and Value World, 461

Healdsburg Ave., owned by the Rosenbergs. First to be reported hit was St. John’s School at Tucker and Fitch Sts. at 8:09 p.m. Soon the police telephone was ringing with calls of other damage.

Among those losing the largest windows were First National Bank, 511 Healdsburg Ave.; Maherajah Waterski, 226 Healdsburg Ave.; and Sonoma County Farm Supply, 82 Healdsburg Ave.

Photos courtesy the Healdsburg Museum and Historical Society

MEMBERS The Healdsburg Women's Grange, early 1900s.

Monday, March 18

• 12:03pm Reckless driving was reported on March Avenue at University Street. The Reporting Party (RP) indicated that a subject on an electric bicycle did not stop at signs and made unsafe passes. An officer responded, but the bicycle was gone on arrival and unable to be located.

• 12:08pm The RP indicated there was a fight in a vehicle at Rotten Robbie on Healdsburg Avenue. Officers responded. A 28-year-old (YO) man was arrested and transported to county jail for domestic violence.

• 1:05pm Possible drunk driving was reported on Healdsburg Avenue at the Central onramp to Highway 101. The RP followed the vehicle, which swerved and almost drove off the road. The vehicle parked at the Russian River Pines Apartments. Police did not respond due to a priority call. 3:36pm A burglary was reported at Enso Village on Boxheart Drive. The RP was an employee who stated that a resident was missing $500 from her unit. The money was taken from the resident’s bedroom drawer on March 16. An officer responded and took a report.

Tuesday, March 19

6:06pm The RP indicated two subjects were smoking marijuana on the path behind O’Reilly’s Auto Parts on Healdsburg Avenue. An officer responded and contacted the two subjects and advised them of the complaint.

Wednesday, March 20

• 7:41am Graffiti was reported near Powell Avenue Laundry on Powell Avenue. 8:29am Vandalism occurred at Ceja Quality Tires on Healdsburg Avenue. The RP indicated that someone overnight threw eggs, ketchup and mustard at the business windows. Officers responded and took a report.

Thursday, March 21

• 3:48pm A probation violation occurred at Russian River Trailer Park on Healdsburg Avenue. A vehicle was stopped for lack of a valid registration. A 67-YO man was cited and released for driving with a suspended license for driving under the influence of alcohol (DUI), violating probation, not having required insurance and lack of a valid registration. 4:06pm Petty theft occurred at Big John’s Market on Healdsburg Avenue. The subject took $114.64 worth of items. Officers responded and took a report. 9:22pm Threats were reported at Foss Creek Court Apartments. The RP indicated a former employee continuously called and texted at odd hours. An officer responded via telephone and provided advice.

something and went to pick the item up. She was hit from behind by the bumper of the vehicle, in her lower back. The suspect driver got out of the vehicle and stated, “Oh I’m sorry, I didn’t see you,” and then the suspect left. An officer took a report.

• 7:12pm Petty theft occurred at Big John’s Market on Healdsburg Avenue. A man walked out of the store with two burritos and hot food. Officers responded and took a report.

8:23pm Threats occurred at Dollar Tree on Vine Street. The RP stated a person pushed and threatened him. An officer responded. Both parties had been drinking, so the officer was unable to get a clear story.

10:08pm The RP indicated a person on Westside Road at Kinley Drive was on the ground unconscious but breathing. Officers responded, but the man refused medical treatment and decided to walk back to his camp.

Friday, March 22

10:42am Graffiti was reported on Healdsburg Avenue near the 7-Eleven sign.

9:45am A hit-and-run accident occurred at Healdsburg Veterans Memorial Beach on Healdsburg Avenue. The RP stated the suspect vehicle left after causing damage to the driver’s front side of the RP’s vehicle. An officer responded and took a report. 10:15am Vandalism to a vehicle occurred on West Grant Street. The RP’s vehicle was egged. Officers responded and took a report. 10:52am Threats occurred on West Grant Street. The RP stated her neighbor threatened to kill her. The RP believed the neighbor also kicked the RP’s vehicle and possibly left a dent. Officers responded. A 57-YO woman was cited and released for criminal threats. 11:19am Graffiti was reported at the Railroad Depot on Harmon Street. 12:41pm Fraud occurred on Orchard Street. The RP stated someone on the internet attempted to open an account with Golden1 Credit Union, but no money was taken. The RP used a system called LifeLock which notified her the account was being created. The RP also received the debit card in the mail. Officers responded and took a report.

• 10:42am Graffiti was reported on Jasmine Court at Ferrero Drive. 2:46pm Three transients were on Healdsburg Avenue smoking marijuana near the old Bear Republic. Officers responded and advised the people to move along.

2:46pm Graffiti was reported near Powell Avenue Laundry on Powell Avenue. 2:57pm A fraudulent call occurred on Highway 128. The RP stated that someone claimed to be from Amazon calling on behalf of Wells Fargo Fraud Prevention. The RP provided his first name, last name, date of birth and the last 4 of his social security number. No money was taken. The RP was advised to put a fraud alert on his credit report and monitor his accounts. 4:25pm Public intoxication occurred at Safeway on Vine Street. A man inside the store harassed employees and threatened the RP’s coworker to a fight. The man was asked to leave but refused. He smelled like he had been drinking. Officers responded and arrested the 44-YO man for public intoxication and trespass. He was brought to county jail. 5:17pm An officer contacted a 49-YO man in the back parking lot of the Healdsburg Police Department on Center Street. The man was arrested and taken to county jail for possession of methamphetamine, possession of drug paraphernalia, violating probation, theft of lost property and carrying a concealed dirk or dagger. 7:04pm Drug activity occurred on Plaza Street. The RP stated that four of her friends, including her partner, were drugged on March 16. The RP did not get drugged and stated her friends did not want to come forward. The RP’s partner said they only had one or two drinks at the bar and then blacked out. They felt the amount they drank did not correspond to how intoxicated they were. The RP’s partner believed the bartender was responsible. Due to no victims coming forward, the incident was logged.

Saturday, March 23

• 8:35am Drug activity occurred on Grant Street at Larkspur Drive. The RP heard whimpering coming from a van in Rotten Robbie’s parking lot. The RP knocked on the door, but no one answered. Officers responded. A 29YO woman was cited and released for possession of methamphetamine and possession of drug paraphernalia.

• 9:42am The RP went to the lobby of the Healdsburg Police Department on Center Street to report tools worth approximately $3,000 were stolen from his vehicle on March 22 or March 23.

A report was taken. 11:15am A woman with a no trespassing letter against her was at the counter of Garrett Ace Hardware on Healdsburg Avenue. An officer responded and contacted the woman. She moved along.

• 3:27pm A hit-and-run accident occurred at Safeway on Vine Street. The RP saw a Jeep hit the back of a truck and saw the victim vehicle pull over, turn its hazards on and assess the damage. The RP located the Jeep in the Safeway parking lot and provided a license plate number to the police. Officers responded and located the suspect and victim vehicles. A report was taken. 4:03pm The RP on Linda View Drive stated he was assaulted,