Dear Editor:

To exploit every single aspect of a small town is not to appreciate—it is to dishonor. 

After fully participating in the Vertice LLC a.k.a. Single Thread “Farm” community input meeting (2/7/24) held in Healdsburg’s former movie theater, I remain committed to asking questions about more elite and so-called “Farm-to-Table” dining experiences.

Why tie up half of Downtown Healdsburg with a single thread? I prefer multi-threads for a more representative tapestry. Our town’s General Plan honors the value of balance in our Downtown. It emphasizes “a mix” of housing types and affordability. Follow our plan.

What is at stake when we say/write nothing (which means we agree)?  

Silence means Yes. We are seeing predatory capitalism, and we become negligent stewards.

Yes, we are lucky to live here and, agreed: “Thankfully, there’s Healdsburg,” but we should be more than “Thankful” for the surrounding fertile valleys that sustain us. How about protecting our precious, troubled Russian River Watershed, and safeguarding housing units for our shrinking working class, and enrolling children in our public schools?

Healdsburg’s most vital wealth is not real estate; it is our intelligence, our commitment to our social capital and our commitment to cultivate public good. What is happening, Healdsburg? 

What is the “cost” of our attraction? How are these ultra-luxury hotels and restaurants and second homes impacting our future sustainable economy?

How will our town earn its “Three Stars,” its Badge of Honor? What I know is our “rankings” must come from the welcoming, hard-working folks who can, hopefully, live here, the 95448s, the people who made this small town what it is today. The “finer things” have always been here. I am For Growth, just not the growth I am seeing.

Brigette Mansell

Black History Month 

A good article by Ron Edwards (“Councilmember recalls family influences,” Feb. 15). We all have our stories. My Irish ancestors were serfs, if not slaves, back in Ireland. All of our families struggled. The police, colleges and other institutions have been bigoted towards many ethnic groups in the past.

We all agree that this is wrong.

Today Asians and Europeans say that they are being prejudiced against in college admissions.

Race, the idea of race, is a mythical ideology invented by the rich WASP eugenicists in the 1800s. Charles Darwin’s father was a eugenicist. Hence the theory of evolution. The idea of different races is evil.

We are all of one race, the human race.

We are all brothers and sisters, only here for a short while.

Tim McGraw

Yes, this comment is spot on. We are all members of the human race. The idea that we can be–or should be–classified and segregated by skin color is abhorrent. Jews have for millennia been rejected because of both their religion and their supposed ethnicity. The calls for the slaughter of Jews is now heard daily on college campuses and in rallies in both the U.S. and Europe. It seems the world has never learned from history.

Julia Weller


Readers are welcome to send letters to ed****@he***************.com, or comment on articles on our website at www.healdsburgtribune.com.

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