Bad Day In Black Rock

 Almost 60 years ago, I attended a talk at UCLA given by the man who had written the movie BAD DAY AT BLACK ROCK. It was a classic "rotten town" movie. You know, a stranger comes to town and discovers that all the key leaders are corrupt or cowardly. HIGH NOON might be another example.

In the last 15 years Healdsburg, a small town (12,000), has shifted from being an old isolated farm community (like something you might find on a secondary road in Nebraska) into a world wine destination. That has an upside. The bakeries near the town plaza produce tasty cream puffs. You can buy a monogrammed linen neckerchief for your toy poodle. The city council switched from Republican to Democratic, but like nearly all city councils in this nation, Healdsburg's council continues to bow to developers. The voters, half-submerged in a tide of tourists and wine zombies from Paris and Tulsa, stumbling along the cracking sidewalks with glasses in hand, can hardly find a place to park in town or find a dinner out that costs less that $70 to $300. But the council is intent on converting the few remaining parking lots into new upscale hotels.

The voters want slow growth, but the people they elect unanimously support rapid development, increased property values, more beds, less parking, more wine, more town revenue. Most city fathers are so eager to hand out permits that the developers don't need to bribe them, aside from some campaign contributions and cushy local jobs for relatives. In a way the city is overwhelmed by the development corporations that come here from all over the world--corporations that have 1,000 lawyers for every attorney a small town can afford to hire. 

If a city father becomes a holdout, then he might get a little special attention from the professional permit-buyers, but for the most part the city fathers like to spread their legs and give the town away for free. It's the American Way.