By Simone Wilson
There’s a tradition in the news biz, at year’s end, of retracing all the major stories that unfolded during the 12 months prior. It feels like a healthy exercise—an opportunity to zoom out and let the bigger picture sink in, free from the frantic 24-hour news cycle (or, weekly in our case). It’s also a great reminder, though small-town life can seem humdrum, that we’re surrounded at all times by modern-day lore and legend. History is happening right now.
So let’s do the time warp again, shall we? Here are the top five local news stories of 2024.
Restaurant Roulette
Now that Healdsburg is one of the top global foodie destinations, the sound of a restaurant closing here can be heard ’round the world. A trio of our buzziest spots blinked out this year, all within a block of each other: Chalkboard, billionaire Bill Foley’s trendy hotel restaurant (which he quickly replaced with Arandas, an upscale Mexican-food joint that’s struggling to fill seats); Molti Amici, a casual Italian eatery that promised to revive the spirit of shuttered local favorite Campo Fina; and Second Story, the high-end vegan restaurant upstairs at Little Saint. The owners of Little Saint are now focusing on community events and their more casual downstairs cafe.
A similar pivot took place in January a few blocks south, where Barndiva—one of Healdsburg’s longest-running fancy restaurants—shut down its multi-course, Michelin-starred experience in the main barn, in favor of a new communal dining program in the cozy studio building next door. Barndiva also lost its star this year, which might have been sort of the point.
We said goodbye to other businesses, too, like Summer’s Market on Powell Avenue and a few different tasting rooms and wineries that felt the squeeze of a general wine-industry downturn. But all the high-profile closings were, in the end, outnumbered by openings. New restaurants El Milagro, Pepper’s, Acorn Cafe, Tizsa Bistro and the Healdsburg Bubble Bar all debuted this year to lots of love from locals.
Some new tasting rooms popped up as well. And beyond the food-and-wine scene, we saw Yoga on Center move back to town; a dance studio open at Dragonfly Farm & Floral; a couple of hundred seniors move into the new Enso Village zen living facility at the north end of town; the Fitch Mountain dog park and trails reopen after a total makeover; the Solful weed dispensary set up shop in an old Victorian on Healdsburg Avenue; and an affordable YWCA child care option launch out of the Healdsburg Community Center. And the wheel keeps spinning …
Read more: Meet the New Adel’s: Healdsburg Diner to Reopen Soon, May 29; Legal High Comes to Healdsburg, Oct. 16; Restaurant Dream Ends With Rude Awakening, Nov. 6
Protests in Healdsburg
The first big one, in spring, was an offshoot of the regional Gaza war protests. Activists from the Sonoma County for Palestine group discovered that General Dynamics, a major U.S. weapons manufacturer behind some of the bombs that Israel is dropping on Gaza, has operated a large facility in Healdsburg for years—right next to the post office on Foss Creek Circle.
In a protest at the building one April morning, they chanted: “General Dynamics, you can’t hide—stop arming genocide!” This impassioned demonstration in turn reinvigorated the weekly Thursday-night antiwar protests long staged at the bus stop on the western edge of the Healdsburg Plaza.
Local farm and vineyard workers also took to the streets of Healdsburg en masse this year, to demand higher pay and better treatment—especially during natural disasters like fires and floods. First, as is now tradition, they stormed the Healdsburg Wine & Food Experience’s deluxe “grand tasting” event near the Plaza in May.
Then they returned with hundreds of additional protesters in July for a march through town that shut down Memorial Bridge. The organization behind it, farmworker advocacy group North Bay Jobs With Justice, said it was the largest protest in its decade of existence. One highlight: Bay Area performance artist and University of California professor L.M. Bogad played the character of a big, bad winery owner, complete with a jumbo wine glass and a dollar-sign necktie.
North Bay Jobs With Justice, along with Corazón Healdsburg and other allies, are gearing up for more action in 2025—especially given recent threats from the Trump administration to deport all undocumented immigrants, many of whom live and work here in Healdsburg.
Read more: Gaza War Protesters at General Dynamics, April 17; Farmworkers March for ‘Disaster Pay’, July 31; Open Mic: Is Deportation A Cause for Local Concern?, Dec 18
The Housing Debate
Healdsburg city officials scored a couple of big wins for affordable housing this year. They cut the ribbon on the new Monte Viña Apartments near the hospital, and plans moved forward for more large-scale housing projects near Big John’s and Parkland Farms. But fearing this pace wouldn’t be enough to meet the state’s steep housing goals, the City Council penned Measure O for the General Election ballot in November. It proposed we loosen the rules on how much multi-unit housing can be built in Healdsburg per year—thus opening a Pandora’s box of citizen concerns.
Warring yard signs dotted lawns across town. Facebook and Nextdoor groups exploded with accusations from both sides. In the end, the “No on Measure O” camp won out—forcing city leaders to go back to the drawing board. Keep an eye out for alternate housing/growth solutions making their way through City Hall in 2025.
Read more: Milestone Monte Viña Project Adds Affordable Housing at a Lower Cost, May 1; State Windfall Brings $21 Million to Healdsburg, Aug. 28; Measure O Defeat Shows Split City, Nov. 13
Local Election
We all took some time off from the national election drama this year to watch some key political face-offs play out at the local level. In particular, the contest to replace longtime California State Assemblymember (and Healdsburg resident) Jim Wood got pretty spicy. An avalanche of mailers, gossipy at best and vindictive at worst, made the case for and against certain candidates in the Assembly District 2 race.
One of them, Healdsburg’s own City Councilmember Ariel Kelley, tried to make the “McGuire leap” from Healdsburg to Sacramento. But State Sen. Mike McGuire’s own pick, down-to-Earth Santa Rosa politician Chris Rogers, ended up clinching the spot.
In comparison, this year’s Healdsburg City Council race was fairly low key. We voted three incumbents, including Kelley, back into their seats—leaving us with the same set of local council members we’ve had for a couple of years now. But within a month of the election, our incumbents managed to light another flame of controversy with their hasty handling of a switch to district-based City Council elections in town. Expect more heat on them in the coming year.
Read more: Campaign for Assembly Gets Down and Dirty, Feb. 22; Last Election of Its Kind, Nov. 6; Redistricting Gets Started, Dec 18
Dry Creek Wildfire
On a windy Father’s Day afternoon, frighteningly early in the fire season, rural Healdsburg saw its first major wildfire since the Walbridge fire in 2020. The Point fire, as officials named it, churned through 1,200 acres of bone-dry vegetation near Lake Sonoma in a single night—prompting hundreds of residents, workers and tourists to evacuate; destroying three country homes and seven other structures; threatening dozens of world-famous wineries and damaging some of their grapevines; and prompting widespread PG&E power outages that lasted for days.
But once it was over, most agreed: The Point fire could have been so much worse. A combination of prior prescribed burns, smart firefighting and a lucky turn in weather gave this one a happy ending, all in all.
Still—the scare was so intense, and the summer so hot, that Healdsburg city officials made the tough call to cancel Fourth of July fireworks a few weeks later, due to high fire risk. They’re still discussing whether that should be a permanent change, though leaning toward bringing back the tradition. Stay tuned.
The rest of our 2024 fire season was marked by minor blazes that firefighters stamped out early. Cal Fire officials also made an example of three different men who they said started fires near Healdsburg, with felony charges and years of likely jail time. The clincher: One of these alleged arsonists actually worked for Cal Fire.
Perhaps more impactful than the fire season this year was the rainy season. A couple of historic rain storms hit Healdsburg, to kick off and close out 2024—pushing the Russian River and Foss Creek to their limits and exposing our weakest links by flooding them. And the rain just keeps coming. Remember when all we could talk about was the drought?
Read more: Point Fire Torches Dry Creek Valley, June 19; 4-Day ‘Cyclone’ Hammers Healdsburg, Nov. 27
Many other local storylines captured our hearts and changed our lives this year: Rising utility bills. Battles over ancient oaks. Multiple violent crimes along the Foss Creek Pathway. A massive casino proposed in Windsor. Some movement on the SMART train’s slow march northward. A curious tribe of “techno optimists” who set their sights on Healdsburg, and now Cloverdale. Plaza festivals galore. Another state trophy for the Prune Packers baseball team, and a repeat league win for the Healdsburg High School girls basketball team—even a glimmer of hope for the school’s beleaguered football squad.
The rest, as they say, is still unwritten. Here’s to the next chapter of our Healdsburg epic.
