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HEALDSBURG’S HOMELESS NUMBERS DECREASED IN 2022
Healdsburg, California Healdsburg, California
August 31, 2023 Date, Date, 20202020
COUNTY CENSUS HIGHLIGHTS SUCCESS IN REDUCING UNHOUSED Staff Report
Photo by Bryan Meltz
Results of Sonoma County’s annual Point-in-Time (PIT) count, reflecting the number of unhoused as of Jan. 27, 2023, were originally released in May. But according to Jeff Kay’s weekly City Manager’s Report, its recently updated statistics show that Healdsburg is making significant strides to reduce homelessness. The PIT Count data is used to track progress towards ending homelessness in Sonoma County, identifying potential gaps in services and informing future planning for providing homeless services. The annual one-day snapshot found a total of 33 individuals experiencing homelessness in Healdsburg, down from 97 individuals in 2022. These results align with broader positive trends in Sonoma County and Northern Sonoma County that also had reductions in their homeless populations. “Much of the local progress can be attributed to the opening of the L&M Village, a transitional housing facility for individuals experiencing homelessness,” said Kay. “The City facility is operated by Reach for Home and includes a broad array of supportive services and assistance aimed at moving participants toward permanent housing solutions.” The L&M Village was funded through the State of California’s Project Homekey program and with funding from the Sonoma County Community Development Commission. It opened
MAKING THE ROUNDS Beekeeper Candice Koseba visits the hives she manages near vineyards in Dry Creek Valley.
Beekeepers Swarm City Council Meeting SONOMA COUNTY REVERSES CONTRACT By Christian Kallen
At the Aug. 7 meeting of the Healdsburg City Council, the first five speakers in the open public comment period had a common topic: honey bees. Starting with Candice Koseba of Sonoma County Bee Company and ending with Michel Thiel of Apis Arborea, the speakers outlined a crisis that was threatening the health and genetic integrity of local bee populations: a commercial beekeeping operation that had just begun a three-year contract with Sonoma County. The agreement, which was announced in February, was with Tauzer Apiaries of Petaluma to host up to 120 beehives seasonally on a portion of vacant county property adjacent to the Healdsburg Transfer Station, the county’s refuse disposal and recycling
Board of Supervisors Chair Chris Coursey said at the time. But for the local beekeeping community, Tauzer’s practice of “parking” their commercial hives on public land was anything but a positive step for the environment or habitat preservation. At the Healdsburg City Council meeting, one after another, the speakers stated their case. “Healthy local backyard beekeepers and small operations like mine are robbed of their honey stores, stripped of their resources and made susceptible to disease brought in by these migratory bee operations,” said Koseba. “Migratory beekeeping is detrimental to the health of native hives and native pollinators, destroying local biodiversity.” Christine Kurtz, who calls herself the “Petaluma Bee Lady,” outlined the limited five-mile radius of any colony of bees. The Tauzer installation overlapped many local, native hives to their detriment,
facility on Alexander Valley Road. Less than a month later, the county’s Department of Public Infrastructure announced that the contract with Tauzer had been terminated with the required 60 days notice. “I applaud the individuals who spoke up for letting us know that there was not just concern, but some true issues there,” said Supervisor James Gore, whose office pursued the public complaints with the county department. “I think it’s appropriate that our folks executed their right to terminate on the contract.”
High Hopes
When it was first announced, the three-year agreement with Tauzer Apiaries was publicized as a positive, environmentally positive program “to help local farms, orchards and gardens, while at the same time support a local business in its mission to enhance biodiversity in Sonoma County and throughout California,” as
she said. “Where there isn’t enough food available, colonies will rob each other. Robbed colonies will die or consequently starve,” Kurtz stated. Pests, parasites, disease and pathogens can be introduced, again to the detriment of native bees, she added. The other speakers included Sierra Castillo of Pollen & Fox, and Joy Wesley, owner of Bee Focused. “I have observed several of my healthy hives get robbed to death within days of seeing new bees placed by migratory beekeepers in the surrounding area as they bring them in to ‘rest,’” said Castillo. “It’s a helpless feeling.”
‘Pollination Services’
Tauzer’s business is to provide bees to pollinate commercial crops, such as almonds, primarily in the Central Valley. Between pollination contracts, the bees are kept or “parked” in areas far from the orchards. Tauzer has a 200acre Bloomfield Ranch property near Petaluma where they keep many
➝ Homeless Numbers, 8
HARMONIES AND HISTORY IN PETER & ALBERT SHOW LEGENDARY PRODUCER, GUITAR HERO BLEND TALENTS AT THE RAVEN Photos courtesy of Peter Asher Collection
HARMONY DUO Peter Asher (left) and Albert Lee will
perform a show of recollections and song at the Raven Theater on Sept. 12.
By Christian Kallen
“Peter & Albert, Sept. 14” reads the marquee at the Raven Theater. And while the names are familiar, their conjunction is not. Dig a little deeper and it begins to make sense. That’s Peter Asher of Peter and Gordon. Although Albert Lee only rarely gets
top billing, his role as a guitar gunslinger with Emmylou Harris, Joe Cocker and the Eric Clapton Band gives him serious cred. The two are touring together with a low-key performance that emphasizes the Art of the Duo, two singers telling their song stories through harmony. It’s a time-honored tradition; in fact, Asher (who should know) thinks it’s one of the foundations of the rock song. And it all orbits around Don and Phil, the Everly Brothers. “As a duo, there is nowhere else to look,” said Asher by phone from Nashville. “If you talk to any duo—Simon & Garfunkel, Lennon-McCartney, Chad & Jeremy, whatever—we all undoubtedly share the fact that the Everly are the role model. I know Paul Simon feels that way, and I know Paul and John did when it came
hives, and they actively seek other “hive hosts” to keep honey bees that can provide “places to forage on diverse plants and flowers,” according to tauzerbees.com. Trevor Tauzer, a second-generation beekeeper, responded to the recent public concern when contacted by the Tribune. “While our management of our hives is different than what someone with a backyard hive will do, there is much more common ground than anything else,” he replied in an email. “I believe there is a healthy fear of what is happening in the natural landscape and the negative changes we are witnessing, but our business and activities in the region are not the problem.” He continued, “We are providing pollination to farms and crops that are dependent on insect pollination. Without honey bees, our agricultural system in California would crumble. The importance of pollinators cannot be overstated.” ➝ Beekeepers, 6 to singing as a duo.” The easy familiarity with which Asher cites these artists is fully warranted. After all, Peter & Gordon were part of the so-called British Invasion of the 1960s, and scored their share of hits between 1964’s “World Without Love” and 1967’s “Lady Godiva.” Many of them were written by the Lennon-McCartney duo, though they were primarily Paul McCartney songs, including one of their biggest singles, “Woman” (1966). McCartney published it under the pseudonym Bernard Webb to see if it would still be a hit. It was. The inside track Peter & Gordon enjoyed to these songs was understandable, given that the “cute Beatle” was spending a lot of time in the intellectual, artistic ferment of the Asher home with 18-year-old, ➝ Peter & Albert, 6