Dismayed
EDITOR: On June 5 our city council denied an appeal that would have prevented the establishment of yet another tasting room in downtown Healdsburg. The Paul Mahder Gallery at 222 Healdsburg Avenue now joins three other tasting rooms and two bars in that block.
Mr. Mahder’s 10,000 square foot gallery is also an event space and, according to its website, can accommodate 250 seats. Several events hosted there have been of benefit to the community and many residents attended the meeting to speak in support of the tasting room so that these kinds of events would continue.
To make his case for the tasting room, Mr. Mahder said that he was having difficulty making rent on the space.
Council members seemed to be conflicted about the proliferation of tasting rooms and wanting to support Mr. Mahder. Healdsburg residents have long opposed the saturation of the town with tasting rooms. I was under the impression that the council supported these concerns and saw the wisdom in a more diverse downtown. The council’s vote appeared to be driven by emotion and I believe sets an unwanted precedent for future applications.
Why did Mr. Mahder choose a tasting room as the best and highest solution to his financial issues, when it flies in the face of the concerns of so many Healdsburg residents? Surely a solution exists that better reflects his commitment to the community.
I hope Mr. Mahder will seek that solution and I’m disappointed that our council supported this one.
Julie Kennedy
Healdsburg
Unnecessary light
EDITOR: Do you remember when the city decided that a traffic light wasn’t needed on the corner of Matheson and Center Streets? Having the light there was actually a detriment to traffic. Replacing that light with stop signs improved the flow of traffic remarkably.
It’s my belief that we have a similar situation at the west end of Memorial Bridge. The traffic light is a deterrent to decent traffic flow. I’ve repeatedly been stuck for multiple iterations of that light. Yesterday it took me three changes of that light to make a left turn onto the bridge.
Please, city of Healdsburg, give consideration to replacing those lights with stop signs. A great use for them, when no longer in use at the bridge, would be at the Dry Creek Road off ramp from Highway 101. That’s where we really need a light.
Al Loebel
Healdsburg
Thanks from Plass
EDITOR: I wanted to thank the Healdsburg Community for all of the years of support and guidance during my years on the city council. Your advice and friendship has meant the world to me. The election did not go the way I had hoped. The community, however, has spoken and I accept that. We have accomplished so much and we need to stay diligent as a community to be insure that Healdsburg continues to thrive and prosper.
I am not going anywhere and I will be one of the Healdsburg citizens paying attention, as I know all of you will. Thank you for all of your emails, calls and texts in the last week. They mean the world to me and my family. Again, thank you all.
Gary Plass
Healdsburg
Heinous falsehood
EDITOR: The bodies of the innocent dead still must have been warm when our sitting president twisted the words of London’s Mayor Kahn to have it appear that Kahn was minimizing the terrorist attack that had just rained down upon his city. As part of his message about the attack, Kahn asked that his citizens “not be alarmed by seeing more police officers on the streets.” Trump’s tweet turned Kahn’s message on its head: “7 dead and 48 wounded in terror attack and Mayor of London says there is ‘no reason to be alarmed!‘”
Why was I so shocked? Delivering such a heinous falsehood was completely consistent with Trump’s character. Why did he do it? During the 2016 presidential campaign, Kahn criticized Trump for his anti-Islamic stance and endorsed Clinton. Presumably, this was Trump’s attempt to get back at Kahn.
Way to pick your timing, Donald. But regardless of your motive, shame on you. I just hope citizens of the world know how mortified the majority of Americans are with each new callous and craven performance that’s presented by our current president. And I hope Londoners know that Americans stand in solidarity with them in this time of mourning.
Kathy Timberlake
Healdsburg
A legacy of philanthropy
EDITOR: The residents of Healdsburg and Geyserville may not know how indebted they are to Lee Chandler. Lee passed away recently, however his imprint on our communities will be evident forever. Lee was a founder of what was initially called the Healdsburg Area Fund, now named Healdsburg Forever, our community endowment established under the auspices of Community Foundation Sonoma County.
Lee was part of a group of committed community members who sought to create a permanent source of funds to support our local non-profits so they didn’t have to work so hard at fundraising. The founding campaign involved a match gift of $500,000, and all that was needed was to raise another $500,000 to get the fund going. No small feat, but Lee was tireless in going door to door, raising small to grand amounts by talking to neighbors one on one about the importance of this community asset.
That initial effort has blossomed into the philanthropy engine we now enjoy that enables us to give over $100,000 each year in grants to worthy organizations serving Healdsburg and Geyserville. Lee served as our board chair, stewarding the endowment and raising awareness about the needs in our communities any time and any where he could, even after he served for seven years on the board.
He and his wife Norma have been a model of community focused philanthropy and I learned a lot by watching their example. I will miss seeing Lee at our Healdsburg Forever events, and I will remember him always as his gift to our community lives on. I hope his legacy will inspire others to pick up where he left off and I, for one, hope to emulate his devotion to this place he called home.
Taya Levine
Healdsburg
