Rate Rant

napaisthelargestcityofcaliforniawinecountry
Our water bill topped out at $625 this winter during a time where outdoor sprinkling was practically non-existent.
napaisthelargestcityofcaliforniawinecountry

As is often the case these days, I will blame this month’s rant on the calamity that is COVID-19. Normally I might let certain issues slide, but since I am feeling extra onery, I will aim arrows at the sorry state of Calistoga’s water system instead. First, there is the issue of quality, which still remains questionable. Next, there’s the matter of money. Our water bill topped out at $625 this winter during a time where outdoor sprinkling was practically non-existent. If one were to measure price to purity, it would be unclear how such a bill could be mathematically plausible. My husband has taken to turning off the water while lathering up in the shower and has tried (and failed) to get my 8-year-olds to do the same. The fact that years and thousands of dollars later our water still smells like poopy, swamp stank (and remains undrinkable) makes the exorbitant rates hard to swallow, especially where there is no potable water to wash down the pill.

The robbery was set into motion back in January 2018, when the Calistoga City Council overruled an onslaught of written and in-person protests and passed Ordinance 735, which instituted yearly rate increases that would rise to 51% by 2022. After much canvassing, I have not found one person in favor of the increases, which were in part attributed to the city’s debt problems of yesteryears. I would raise a glass of tap water to commiserate, but I would have to stop short of drinking it.

In other overpriced public utility biz, I will redirect my daggers at PG&E, a recent entrant to the price-gouging game. Over a three-month period, the bill for our four-person home has increased manifold, while our usage has barely changed. I am not alone in my annoyance. There have been multiple posts on Nextdoor where locals rant over rates, one which garnered more than 256 comments by those who question and object to rate hikes. For its part, PG&E has sent a flurry of communications offering helpful Youtube presentations with cost saving tips to assist customers with better managing their power needs. Some of my favorites include lowering thermostats to 65 degrees in winter and opting for a microwave instead of an oven for stirring up family meals since we all know how everything tastes much better when cooked by electromagnetic radiation. Thank you, but no. Rather than implementing any suggested cost savings plans, I feel my time could be better spent producing TikTok videos with a few hundred disgruntled neighbors.

They come, they go

As I pine for my utility bills past, I will also mourn the loss of the popular Napa eatery, Ca’momi, which closed its doors after an extended hiatus in January. In a Facebook post, owners Valentina Guolo-Migotto, Dario De Conti and Stefano Migotto, who moved from Northeast Italy to California in 1997, stated, “We gave it our best for as long as we could. We weathered economic downturns, earthquakes, fires, unreal labor shortages and a pandemic … until we had to decide our health, and what’s left of our mental sanity, need to matter too.”

Gratefully, with each restaurant that closes its door, others open. Mangia Mia in Calistoga is set to serve up the good stuff this spring in the space behind the Mike + Michiko gallery, which was once home to the longstanding All Seasons Bistro. The Italian eatery, dubbed a fresh pasta and wine bar, will be helmed by life and work partners Rebecca White and Kara Keefe. This is not the first venture for the new Calistoga residents who met in Key West in 2015. On a surprise vacation in Rincon, Puerto Rico, the duo decided to open a restaurant that focused on homemade pasta, pizza and locally caught fish.

Last year, during another fortuitous trip, this time to Napa Valley, White and Keefe were inspired to open a new restaurant in Calistoga. Meals will be served family style with a rotating daily menu, which will feature fresh pasta, pizza and local wines, with plans to offer take-home pizza kits, pasta and sauce. I hope this new venture brings an end to my quest for the perfect slice outside of New York City.

In other food news, the popular Los Agaves food truck, situated near the Napa Premium Outlets, moved beyond its wheels-only operation, when it opened a brick-and-mortar restaurant along the Napa Riverfront. Owner Ricky Gonzalez is not a newbie to the restaurant scene, having worked at Tra Vigne, La Toque, and Bistro Don Giovani in both front and back of the house posts. I found the food and setting to be fresh and inspired.

While I don’t foresee my surly self retiring anytime soon, I look forward to softening the utility blows by bingeing on tasty, local eats.

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