When a town is losing kids, it isn’t always obvious.
Just ask David Hagele. The Healdsburg council member has enjoyed nothing more than raising his kids, now 12 and 14, in the picturesque Wine Country community known for safety and great schools. His children spend afternoons walking downtown with their friends and hanging out at the bookstore. They stop by Mombo’s Pizza, which is tucked in a strip mall just off the city’s famed main square, after sporting events. They pop into the Safeway after school to buy candy.
“If you’re worried that Healdsburg doesn’t have any more kids,” Hagele said, “just go to Starbucks at 3 p.m.”
- Map:Do you live in one of the Bay Area’s oldest neighborhoods?
Or ask Cindy Beth, the president of Healdsburg’s thriving Little League. There are more kids playing baseball now than when her son played almost two decades ago, she said, and the close ties built among parents and kids are as strong as ever…