Good tidings to you, dear Healdsburg. Let’s link arms and kick off another lovely warm week in town with a hop and a skip through the latest Healdsburg Event Log, shall we? “Alice in Wonderland” style! I’ll warn you, though: The longest day of the year is nearly upon us, and our local calendar can be extra copious during this exuberant transition from spring to summer. It’s a bit much, really. My only advice is to take it day by day, and relax into the event parsing and planning like it’s a spiritual practice. (And I mean… what a great problem to have, right? Too much fun stuff to do!) Among the happenings to integrate into your schedule this week:

Before we get started, though, I’ve got a quick update on Baci — that cozy little Italian place a block north of the plaza, at 336 Healdsburg Ave. Exactly one month ago, a wayward Honda SUV plowed straight through the front of the restaurant while it was closed on a Saturday morning and completely demolished the dining room. I spoke to co-owner Lisbeth Holmefjord on the phone the other day, and she told me that Healdsburg’s local Eddinger construction company is deep in the repair process — the restaurant needs all-new walls, windows, doors, floors, furniture etc. — while she and her husband, Baci co-owner Shari Sarabi, also deal with insurance claims and payroll for their large roster of employees and all that.

“I’m spending 10 hours a day on this, trying to get organized,” Lisbeth told me. “But we’ll get the restaurant back. We’ll have a big party when we’re back. I’m hoping we’ll open by end of July.” In the meantime, the Baci team could use all the financial support that our community is willing to give; you can pitch in via their GoFundMe campaign, which is currently around two-thirds of the way to a goal of $100,000. In an already nasty economic climate for small community restaurants, this one may take village…

Pssst! Remember to share The Healdsburg Newsletter with any lost souls out there who may still be in search of a calming and connective source of local news, events and information. Be a good Samaritan and send them this link to subscribe — or just forward them the email you’re reading — much like someone probably did for you once. We love a good full circle moment. 🌀

No one ever wants to need a lawyer — but for the rare moments in life that you do, it means everything to find someone local who you can trust. Healdsburg brothers Rich and Joe Passalacqua are celebrating the 40th anniversary of their practice this year, which was founded by their father Emil Passalacqua in 1976 and is now run out of a beautiful old Victorian at the corner of Piper and East streets in downtown Healdsburg. I know Rich and Joe personally, and they’re exactly the kind of guys I would want on my side in a pinch. They’re great listeners, communicators and advocates who know how to stand up for their own.

“Today, we carry on our father’s commitment to providing legal guidance that is effective and affordable,” they say. “We serve individuals from all walks of life in a broad array of practice areas, with special emphasis in estate planning, wills and trusts, criminal defense and personal injury matters. We give our clients personal attention and avoid formulaic approaches, preferring instead to develop legal strategies that suit each client’s individual needs.” Reach out to the Passalacqua brothers for more info on how they can assist in your time of need. 🙏

After one magical and bewildering day of June rainfall last Monday, we came under the spell of some crazy heat over the past week. High temps in Healdsburg cracked 100 degrees last Wednesday and Thursday, accompanied by some gusty winds — prompting a “heat advisory” from the Bay Area office of the National Weather Service, a “red flag warning” from our local Cal Fire unit and power shutoffs by PG&E in parts of Sonoma County, to lessen the chance of power lines sparking a wildfire.

Thankfully, we ended up avoiding any major fires in our area last week — but you may have seen smoke from various prescribed burns across the region. The largest was the 860-acre Putah Fire last Tuesday along Highway 128 in Yolo County, about 60 miles east of us. It was actually a planned Cal Fire burn that hopped its bounds; I’ll share more on that whole phenomenon in an upcoming newsletter. For now, here’s our official local weather forecast from the NWS for the week ahead, which is looking much more mild than the week behind us. Think foggy mornings and sunny afternoons in the 70s and 80s, for a smooth and tranquil start to summer…