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HEALDSBURG TEENS BRING ‘ALGAE BATTERY’ TO CLIMATE FEST THIS WEEK
Healdsburg, California Healdsburg, California
April 18, 2024 Date, Date, 20202020
LOCAL SKILLSUSA WINNERS DREAM OF ‘SOLARPUNK’ FUTURE By Simone Wilson
Photos by Lets Wander Productions
Among the 70-plus environmental information booths slated to line the Healdsburg Plaza for the town’s second annual Climate Fest this Sunday, April 21, is one that might stink a little: Three teens from Healdsburg High School have plans to show off a large battery pack they made out of living algae. “Our dream is basically a solar panel of algae, using photosynthesis to power homes,” says team member Ross Fitzpatrick, a junior at Healdsburg High School. He calls it a “true realization” of the solarpunk movement, which he describes as “a utopian idea of the future with all solar-powered technology.” Healdsburg’s awardwinning young algae whisperers will be displaying their prototype at their local Climate Fest, also called Festival del Clima, in the plaza this Sunday. The focus of the second annual Climate Fest, much like the inaugural event, is “how we can reduce greenhouse gas emissions, both individually and collectively, in Healdsburg,” says one of the organizers, Climate Action Healdsburg member Tyra Benoit. More than 2,000 people attended last year—and organizers expect an even bigger crowd this year. Leading up to the festival, the local “Move! Healdsburg” group will be hosting a community bike ride this Friday night, starting at 5:45pm in the plaza. The festival itself will then hit the ground running on Sunday morning with a 5k run/walk
GOING THE DISTANCE Rod Farvard, top finisher in the men’s marathon during the Lake Sonoma 50, midway through the course on Saturday, April 13.
Muddy Run on ‘Relentless’ Lake Sonoma 50 Course RECORDS SET DESPITE SLOPPY CONDITIONS FOR MARATHON, LS50 DISTANCES By Christian Kallen
The annual Lake Sonoma 50, the local ultrarunning classic that’s bringing international talent to the April competition, faced the unexpected for last Saturday’s races—cold weather and rain that put a damper on the event and created an often muddy course, especially for those who followed the leaders. Regardless, high-caliber runners turned the challenge into course records—perhaps finding the damp 50-degree weather preferable to the
80-degree-plus temperatures of previous years. Francesco Puppi, a 32-year-old professional mountain runner from Como, Italy, set a new course record of 6:30:17, 14 minutes and 3 seconds faster than Drew Holman’s 2023 time of 6:44:20. Puppi is a Nike-sponsored trail runner, and world champion at 2017 World Long Distance Mountain Running Championships. Second place was claimed over an hour later by 37-year-old Daniel Button of Idaho (7:48:59), while Healdsburg’s Grant Hotaling, 40, placed third (7:52:19). Hotaling, who grew up in Healdsburg and now manages Santa Rosa’s Treehorn Books, said it
was his fourth time competing in the Lake Sonoma 50. “The course is pretty good, mostly single track— not a lot of rocks or roots,” he said. But it had rained much of the night before, and that eventually made an impact. Skip Brand, of Healdsburg Running Company, was especially proud of Hotaling appearing on the same podium as a worldclass athlete like Puppi. “He runs Lake Sonoma every single Saturday,” Brand said. “For him to be able to compete against 20-year-old pups at this level is the story.” Said Hotaling, “I didn’t have an issue running toward the front, but there were a couple areas where the water just sat
in—on the return leg, it was crazy to see how transformed the surface was thanks to the pounding of a thousand feet.” There were 627 registered runners for the race, though not all of them finished.
Women’s Times
The women's division for the 50-miler was a nailbiter, as the top three women ran closely together throughout the entire race. Lindsay Allison, 28, from Telluride, Colorado, took first in 8:44:11, only 33 seconds faster than Anna Fisher, 31, of Midway, Utah, in 8:44:44. In third place was 28-yearold Andrea Stofko, of Salt Lake City, in 8:47:48. “Watching the runners
work through unpleasant conditions for multiple hours always leaves me feeling so inspired and excited for next year's event,” said Gina Lucrezi of Trail Sisters, which took over operation of the run in 2022. “Lake Sonoma 50 founder John Medinger really did create a relentless and grueling race, and I truly believe that runners who take on the course are some of the toughest in the country and abroad!” The full distance of the race, from the Warm Springs Recreation area around the narrow Warm Springs Creek arm of Lake Sonoma and back, was 50.8 miles. A shorter marathon-length run returned over the Skaggs Springs bridge. ➝ Muddy Course, 6
➝ Climate Fest, 4
GAZA WAR PROTESTERS AT GENERAL DYNAMICS TUESDAY MORNING DEMONSTRATION TARGETS HEALDSBURG DEFENSE CONTRACTOR By Christian Kallen
Photo by Christian Kallen
TO THE POINT Wearing a black hat and sweatshirt with an
anti-war message, an organizer pumps up the crowd at a Sonoma County for Palestine demonstration in Healdsburg on April 16.
For many on their way to a Tuesday morning workout at Parkpoint Fitness, or into the offices at the post office or City Hall, the day began with an unexpected surprise—some 30 people chanting and waving flags and banners on Foss Creek Circle and Grove Street, in
protest of the war in Gaza. “General Dynamics, you can’t hide—stop arming genocide!” they chanted, among other slogans, calling attention to the Healdsburg offices and factory of General Dynamics, a defense industry business that has long quietly operated in town. “Healdsburg Says No to Bomb Factories!” read a large red banner; “Block the Bombs! Free Palestine!” another. The Healdsburg action has been in the works at least since Saturday, when a press release was distributed with an embargo time to prevent early publication until 6:30am Tuesday, April 16. Sonoma County for Palestine, which labels itself a grassroots coalition of Sonoma County residents, coordinated the effort. The group held banners and waved their
signs (“No Kill-Tech in our County” and “General Dynamics Profits Off Genocide”), echoed antiwar chants and beat hand drums for almost two hours on Grove Street, not far from City Hall. M a ’ a y a n P e ’ e r, a 24-year-old Petaluma resident and self-described “trans girl” who identifies in the plural, served as spokesperson for the group. “As a Jew I was raised as a Zionist and thus pro-Israel as well, so I’ve been around this topic since I was born,” they told the Tribune as the chanting continued in the background. “It’s not since the past few years that I’ve really started engaging with Israel and Zionism from an anti-Zionist lens, in Sonoma County.” They said they were in Israel on Oct. 7, when Hamas militants attacked a m u s i c f e s t i va l a n d ➝ Demonstration, 4