1) When school starts back up this fall for the kids at Healdsburg High School, they’ll have a new principal: HHS alum Tait Danhausen. He’ll be returning to his hometown from Tennessee, where he’s been serving as a principal and administrator for a public charter school system called LEAD Public Schools for the past 14 years, according to Healdsburg Unified School District officials. “Mr. Danhausen sought out the HHS Principal position exclusively as he felt a calling to return to and serve the community that invested so much in him,” they said in a press release last week, “and we are very excited to welcome him back! Once a Hound, always a Hound!” More from the district’s announcement: “Mr. Danhausen will be coming full circle in his educational career, as he was raised in Healdsburg and graduated from Healdsburg High School in 1998. As a student at HHS, he participated in drama, competed in track, tennis and cross country, where he was part of the 1997 Sonoma County League Championship team (coached by current HHS teacher and Cross Country coach Mike Efram). Education is also part of his family’s local legacy as his grandparents both taught in HUSD for many years and his mother served as a teacher in the nearby Mark West District. Mr. Danhausen holds a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science from the University of California, San Diego in Political Science, an Master’s in TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) from Long Island University, and a Doctorate in Learning Organizations and Strategic Change from Lipscomb University. He is an expert teacher of English Language Development, having taught in New York City public schools and in Oakland through the KIPP system. As a Principal in Nashville, he was able to transform two middle schools from being identified by the state as low performing to high performing.” Maybe this time will be the charm for the musical principal’s chair at Healdsburg High. Outgoing principal Francisco Manriquez only stayed for one year — and his predecessor, Amy Jones-Kerr, only stayed for two. Before that, Bill Halliday served four years as HHS principal after a long stint at the junior high. (Source: Healdsburg Unified School District & Healdsburg Tribune & Healdsburg Tribune & Tait Danhausen via X)

2) Healdsburg’s fanciest and most decorated restaurant, SingleThread — which serves farm-to-table, Japanese-fusion type fare, for hundreds of dollars per head — just landed another big accolade. SingleThread on North Street takes the No. 46 spot on this year’s list of the “World’s 50 Best Restaurants,” which everyone seems to treat like the definitive source of international restaurant rankings. Here are the details, from the Eater SF food blog: “The World’s 50 Best Restaurants list dropped on June 5 in a Las Vegas ceremony that honored restaurants across the globe. It’s a difficult endeavor to land on the annual international ranking, but Healdsburg’s SingleThread managed the feat, landing at No. 46 this year — jumping from its spot at No. 68 in 2023. The only other U.S. restaurant to land on the acclaimed list is NYC’s Atomix which snagged the No. 6 ranking, up from its placement at No. 8 last year. SingleThread has bounced around the World’s 50 Best list in the last few years; beyond its 2023 ranking at No. 68, the restaurant hit no. 50 back in 2022. No other Bay Area or California restaurants managed to make it onto the runners-up list of 51-100. The number of U.S. restaurants to land on the fuller list was sparser this year compared to other years. Beyond Atomix and SingleThread, NYC’s Cosme ranked at No. 99 and Le Bernardin took No. 71, while Chicago’s Smyth landed at No. 90.” Also: SingleThread’s small upstairs inn, where a stay costs $1,500-plus per night, landed its own posh award earlier this spring. The Michelin Guide, which normally hands out one to three “stars” to restaurants, took a foray into the hotel industry for the first time this year — handing out one to three “keys” to hotels of the highest caliber. And just as the SingleThread restaurant has been handed three Michelin stars year after year, the inn now gets three keys. It’s one of 11 hotels in the U.S. to get this new distinction. From the Michelin website: “Don’t be fooled by the small scale of this downtown Healdsburg hotel — though it weighs in at a mere five rooms and suites, SingleThread Inn offers what might be one of the most luxurious experiences in California. It’s the work of the Los Angeles–born chef Kyle Connaughton, who has worked in celebrated kitchens in Japan and the UK, and his wife Katina, who operates the affiliated SingleThread Farm. The accommodations are anything but an afterthought, with their modern-classic aesthetic and their top-shelf comforts, not to mention their extravagant daily breakfast. But the main attraction is the Japanese-accented SingleThread Restaurant, where Inn guests enjoy preferential booking — advance planning still required.” A couple of other Healdsburg hotels made the cut as well, with two Michelin keys each: the Montage resort at the north end of town and the newly renovated Madrona on the west end. Fanciness abounds. Beverly Healdsburg, indeed! (Source: SF Eater & World’s 50 Best Restaurants & Sonoma Magazine & Michelin & Michelin & Michelin & Sharp Magazine)

3) Let’s get a tad more down-home now, shall we? Back in April, Healdsburg city leaders handed out their second-ever round of public art grants to six local initiatives “intended to enrich the public environment for city residents and visitors.” This year’s winners split a pool of $50,000. City Councilmember Chris Herrod, who has a great newsletter of his own (you can subscribe here), published a full list of the city grant recipients in a recent issue. Here’s a summary. First, $700 will go to an adorable “little free art gallery” called Lil’ Moha — short for the Little Museum of Healdsburg Art. It will take the form of a little hut-like thing outside someone’s house near the intersection of East and North streets, where “anyone can contribute or take home small pieces of art” as a way to “democratize art and foster a community of creativity and sharing.” Next, we have $10,000 going to programming at The 222 live music and performance art venue, which lives inside the giant Paul Mahder Gallery hangar building on Healdsburg Avenue. In particular, the money will go to events “highlighting culture and traditions of indigenous communities in Northern California” and “a program on the fictional depiction of Martin Luther King Jr’s last night at the Lorraine Motel on the eve of his assassination,” which actually happened already. Next up: $5,000 for a river art project that involves, as I understand it, a waterproof camera attached to a platform with a manmade beaver hut on it. This contraption will float on the Russian River (and/or other local creeks) and record footage that will then be streamed into local hotels and other Healsburg hotspots. The project, called called “Your River, Downtown,” debuted at Climate Fest and is being spearheaded by Healdsburg High School art teacher Linus Lancaster — who seems to have his hands in pretty much everything cool that happens around here — as well as some of his students and local artist Hugh Livingston. The goal being to create “a sense of community around the Russian River and its vital role in Healdsburg, demonstrating how artwork can connect audiences to important ecological issues,” according to the project’s website. “Currently confirmed participants hosting a video display are: Cartograph tasting room, Craftwork co-working space, Livingston Projects @Loft120, Harmon Guest House. Future participants would likely include high-traffic locations such as City offices, tasting rooms, coffee shops, real estate agencies, hotels, gyms, Chamber of Commerce visitor center.” Next, we’ve got $2,500 for an interactive, tree-like sculpture called “Infinity Mirror” inside the Healdsburg Library. The art piece will be “crafted using reflective materials to create mesmerizing illusions of depth and dimension,” the city says, and will “allow visitors to engage with the artwork on multiple levels, encouraging them to contemplate their own place within the vast universe of knowledge housed within the library’s walls.” The next and largest grant of the bunch — at a cool $19,000 — goes toward a temporary mural on the windows of the Harmon Guest House hotel along Healdsburg Avenue. “Over a six-month timeframe, the mural would allow for the light to transform the artistic image from both within and outside of the hotel, giving viewers a daytime and nighttime experience,” the city says. “The artist would engage the community in ‘Community Workshops’ and begin the installation in June 2024.” And last but definitely not least, $7,300 is going to Yolanda Girón’s wildly popular ballet folklórico group, which practices at the Healdsburg Community Center and can be seen doing their thing in elaborate costumes at any local celebration worth its salt. (Source: Chris Herrod via Mailchimp & City of Healdsburg & Healdsburg Tribune & Livingston Sound & Your River Downtown via Instagram)

4) One of the public art projects funded by the city’s first round of grants last year, a mashup sculpture called “Adopt-A-Stop” that fuses an old red bicycle frame with a stop sign, was installed in April and is now settling in along the Foss Creek Pathway. (Or “Serendipity Lane,” as the out-of-towners participating in the Edge Esmeralda event in town this month are calling it.) The sculpture was created by students from the Marce Becerra Academy at the high school, under the mentorship of Healdsburg artist Jendala and art teacher Linus Lancaster. Told you he’s involved in everything cool! From a recent city announcement: “The stop sign, located along the Foss Creek Pathway, is a wonderful addition to the art you see as you walk, run or bike the pathway. The stop sign was designed by Kevin Herrea and assisted by Diego Asuncion and Santiago Garcia. The welding and fabrication was done by Phynn Azlant while doing an internship at Black Iron Welding, and the installation was performed by Katie Beth and Pidge Farias Flecther. Please STOP by to see the great work of the City’s young artists.” (Source: City of Healdsburg)

5) Another student art project of sorts was just unveiled this week at Healdsburg High. It’s called a “peace pole,” and it’s the latest of around 250,000 similar monuments that have been erected across the country, according to the Peace Pole Project website. Here’s some more info on our local version, courtesy of the Healdsburg Rotary Club: “Healdsburg Noon and Sunrise Rotary announced the dedication of the Veterans for Peace ‘Peace Pole’ inaugurated on the campus of Healdsburg High School on June 5th. The Peace Pole is a 4″ by 4”, 8′ tall pole inscribed with ‘May Peace Prevail on Earth’ in 8 languages determined by students. The pole was created and installed by a non-profit organization, Veterans for Peace. Veterans for Peace, Rotary, and the Healdsburg High School Interact Club share the same goal with this project, to promote interracial, cross-cultural harmony by creating a message of peace. Languages selected by the students include, English, Spanish, Chinese, Pomo, Hebrew, Arabic, Ukrainian and Hindi. Healdsburg High student and Interact Club member Julian Johannsen Giuffre explained the significances of the languages while Veterans for Peace chair and Vietnam War Veteran, Fred Ptucha led the crowd in a peace pledge. ‘I pledge to use my words to speak in a kind way. I pledge to help others as I go throughout my day. I pledge to care for our earth with my healing heart and hands. I pledge to respect people in each and every land. I pledge to join together as we unite big and small. I pledge to create peace for one and all.’ The pole will remain on the campus to inspire students for years to come.” (Source: Peace Pole Project)