Preschools strained under Covid rules

An already precarious preschool situation is looking at a deeper crisis: Restrictions related to Covid-19 are limiting class sizes to 12 kids, leaving many families potentially without childcare and schools without critical income. To adapt, preschool directors have cut back hours, furloughed staff, rearranged classrooms and increased sanitation. Intensive planning...

Water supply dwindling for small districts

The streams and creeks that supply West Marin are running low after the extraordinarily dry winter, and local water system managers are sounding the alarm. The Bolinas Community Public Utility District and North Marin Water District have already imposed water-use reductions, and the Inverness Public Utility District may do so...

Longtime Lagunitas teachers retire early

Two teachers in the Lagunitas School’s Open Classroom have retired after 30 years, marking the end of an era for the alternative education program. The resignations of Marlene Maiello, who taught kindergarten and first grade, and Larry Nigro, who taught second and third grade, were accepted by the school board...

Locals invest to purchase downtown Point Reyes building

The block-long, historic Emporium building in the heart of downtown Point Reyes Station changed hands last week in a $2.3 million deal. Four West Marin residents who hoped to keep rents affordable for the longstanding businesses housed in the building stepped in as investors, helping Leslie Kruth of Dogtown—whose parents,...

Toward a culture of sustainable food production

Our region will someday emerge from the pandemic with a fresh way of thinking about the way we live and the way we use, share and value our resources, especially food. The accelerated change taking place now is a chance for us to reprioritize our values toward a local, sustainable,...

West Marin’s census response still below expectations

The rate of response to the 2020 census has been low in West Marin—but there’s still time. The survey opened in March, and residents have through October to respond, a nationwide deadline that was pushed back several months after outreach efforts stopped cold due to the pandemic. The initial invitation,...