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TheHealdsburg HealdsburgTribune Tribune The Enterprise & Scimitar Enterprise & Scimitar
Visit for daily updates on local news views www.healdsburgtribune.com for daily updates on local news andand views Our 157th year, Visit Number 52 www.healdsburgtribune.com Healdsburg, California 1865 –December 29, 2022
Our 155th year, Number 00© ur 155th year, Number 00©
HEALDSBURG BRIGHTENS AS HOMES ILLUMINATE FOR SEASON
Healdsburg, California Healdsburg, California
Date, Date, 20202020
OVER A DOZEN HOMES IN THE RUNNING FOR BEST HOLIDAY LIGHT SHOW By Christian Kallen
FLOODED December 2014 found Foss Creek overflowing in downtown Healdsburg, leading to stuck traffic and backed up drainage lines throughout town.
Healdsburg Braces for New Year’s Storm FLOODING NOT RARE FOR RUSSIAN RIVER TOWN By Christian Kallen
Last week, the National Weather Service issued a “coastal flood warning” for the entire Sonoma County coastal area—including Healdsburg. But a quieterthan-expected rain event over the weekend averted the dire warnings that the higher-than-normal tides would bring to coastal cities. This week, however, the weather service again cautioned that a flood watch was in effect due to a “potent Pacific storm (that) will bring periods of moderate to heavy rain, causing localized flooding as well as rapid rises on area streams.” Most cities and towns in Sonoma and Marin counties were put on alert early Tuesday morning as rain pelted down over the
upper Russian River area, including Healdsburg. In a single hour at 8am on Tuesday, half an inch of rain fell, part of a system that brought just over two inches of rainfall to town. That raised the season’s total to 7.33 inches; last year, at this time, Healdsburg had 18.12 inches of rain, and that was a drought year. (The so-called “rainfall year” extends from Oct. 1 to Sept. 30.) Precipitation waned on Wednesday, but Thursday was expected to bring another three straight days of rain as an “atmospheric river” settles over the region. The water level of the Russian River is expected to crest on Saturday, New Year’s Eve, at between 12 and 14 feet, as measured at the gauging station on the river near Camp Rose. Flood state is marked at 23 feet, so the river itself is not expected to overfill its channel. Historic highs at this
Photo courtesy of Healdsburg Museum
➝ Lit for the Holidays, 3
Photo by Christian Kallen
As in every town, there are many houses in Healdsburg decorated for the holidays, with strings of colorful lights, blow-up Santas and Grinches, tableaus and crèches, and sometimes even invisible speakers playing carols or sleighbell sounds. But some of them are more decorated than others. For Ariel Kelley, this seasonal explosion of holiday creativity was just one more thing about Healdsburg to love. Of course, Kelley is the mayor of the town for the next 11 months, so her civic pride is to be expected. But this time, she and some friends decided to launch a bestof-holiday light competition as a fundraiser for the Healdsburg Firefighter’s Association. “I decided to launch this ‘friendly’ competition at a holiday gathering with some of my mom’s friends in Healdsburg in early December,” Kelley told the Tribune. One woman, who lost her family home in the 2019 Kincade fires, said she didn’t have the heart to decorate her rental house, but said she “has been getting her holiday fix by driving around at night with her kids to see all of the good Xmas light displays.” So the dinner guests launched a conversation about who had the best lights and which houses were always worth visiting. Continued Kelley, “And then we decided it would be fun to create a friendly competition and have it be open to anyone who wanted to enter.” At first, it was just word-of-mouth, as Kelley
FLOOD OF 1955 North Street is inundated during Foss Creek flood, with Rosenberg Bros.
building in background (aka Cerri Building) on North Street. gauge include 30.8 feet on Dec. 1, 1937; 30 feet on Feb. 28, 1940; 27 feet on Dec. 23, 1964; and two 1995 high water marks,
one at 26.23 on Jan. 9, and again at 25.16 almost a year later, on Dec. 22, 1995. Foss Creek, however, a small tributary of the
Russian that runs through town, may be subject to local flooding. Residents
NEW YEAR’S EVE IS A PARTY WAITING TO HAPPEN
Barndiva
LOCAL EATERIES PROMISE SEASONAL MENUS, SPARKLING TOASTS TO RING IN THE NEW YEAR By Christian Kallen
Photo by Christian Kallen
WINE WALL The self-serve wine station at The Matheson is sure to be a busy place
during New Year's Eve.
Here’s a list of restaurants with special menus or plans for the year-ending holiday. Many other area restaurants will be open their regular hours; one may call them to verify and make reservations.
➝ New Year’s Storm, 8
(231 Center St.) Lukka Feltman and company will present “an exquisite a la carté seasonal winter menu, with special NYE bells & whistles,” including caviar, white truffle tarte flambee, Scott Beattie cocktails and the like, with Isabel Hales at the piano. No special admission, menu prices.
Barndiva Studio B
(237 Center St.) Chef Erik Anderson's multi-course tasting menu draws on classic French technique to create “a vibrant and fresh vision of modern French fine dining.” Thirteen courses comprised of all food groups, with optional beverage pairing. $300 per person, $250 for beverages. ➝ New Year’s Eve, 5