Cloverdale news briefs

Winemaker Trini ?Amador featured at ?literary luncheon

Trini Amador III, winemaker and founding partner of Healdsburg’s Gracianna Winery and author of “Gracianna,” will be the featured guest at the Cloverdale Senior Center’s Literary Luncheon, held 1-3 p.m. Saturday, April 11.

The book was inspired by true events in the life of his French-Basque great-grandmother, Gracianna Lasagna. Amador’s research took him to the Pyrenees, Paris and Auschwitz.

“Naturally, this chilling story had to be told,” he said, “and I’m proud to be able to offer it alongside the wine that bears her name.”

Lunch, prepared by the Pasta King, will include lasagna, salad, garlic bread and tiramisu, paired with wine from Gracianna Winery.

Tickets are $30, available through Tuesday at the Senior Center, 311 N. Main St.

For more information, call 894-4826.

Donations fund?field trip to see film

Generous donations by two anonymous benefactors have financed field trips to the Clover Theater, enabling all Cloverdale middle and high school students - nearly 800 - to see the movie, “McFarland, USA.”

The new Alexander Valley Film Society matched the gift, opening up the opportunity for all K-12 students throughout the Alexander Valley to see the movie for only $5 during its run in Cloverdale.

Why all the fuss over a movie that stars Kevin Costner as the coach of an underdog cross country team? The movie might as well have taken place in Cloverdale, said Clover Theater owner Kathryn Hecht.

“The events of the movie touch on important thematic elements of racial and cultural diversity,” she said. “It takes place in a small town in California, has a mostly Latino cast and looks at the lives of agricultural workers from all sides.”

Hecht said they have been overwhelmed by the support received for the students and this movie.

“This generosity of spirit and community dedication is exactly why we decided to open a movie theater. Bravo, Cloverdale.”

2014 water cuts leave city well prepared for Brown’s exec order

Cloverdale is in a good position to comply with Governor Jerry Brown’s Executive Order on the California Drought, said Cloverdale City Manager Paul Cayler after a preliminary review.

“City water production for January and February 2015 shows an approximate 40% reduction over the base year of 2013,” he said.

In addition, Cloverdale has an active turf replacement rebate program and a low flow toilet replacement project already in place, as well as a tiered water rate system based on consumption.

While there may need to be some additional conservation adjustments made to meet the governor’s order, Cayler said he believes the governor is pointing out to other regions in California the importance of getting serious about water conservation.

With rain in the forecast for this week, Cayler said he is optimistically hopeful that the wet weather will produce some significant runoff.

Contact Cloverdale Towns Correspondent Mary Jo Winter at Cloverdale.Towns@gmail.com.