NEWS
Jury reopens Measure A funds debate
Before voters renewed Measure A—which funds the maintenance and acquisition of county parks, open space preserves, and protected farmland—the county spent a lot of time rethinking how to allocate the revenue it generates. Now, just four years later, the Marin County Civil Grand Jury wants to rethink it again. In a new report, the jury…
Landlines at center of new showdown
AT&T has won an important round in its ongoing battle to end traditional landline service for 184,000 California households, including many that rely on copper-wire phones as an essential connection during natural disasters such as fires, storms, and earthquakes. The win came in a June 29 decision from the Federal Communications Commission, which contradicted a…
On July 4 in Woodacre, a valley reunites
On the Fourth of July, hours before the first float rolled down Railroad Avenue, the San Geronimo Valley was awake and hungry. By 9 a.m., the line snaking through the Marin County Fire Department’s Woodacre campus was five firetrucks long. At the front, firefighters wielding spatulas flipped pancakes and scrambled eggs. This breakfast is where…
Curtain call for 10X10 variety show
Followers of West Marin’s 10×10 Performance Lab & Variety Show may not be ready for the curtain to close, but the upcoming installment could be its final act. Organizer Shelley Rugg said that even as loyal audience members stop her on the sidewalk and implore her not to end the series, finding new performers has…
New director hired for the West Marin Fund
A Fairfax resident began work this week in her new role as executive director of the West Marin Fund, a community foundation that provides grants for local nonprofits and works to expand social services. Elizabeth Warner, 53, brings more than 25 years of experience in nonprofit leadership to a role previously held by Sarah Hobson.…
NOAA begins review of California’s coastal plan
The Trump administration has announced it will review the powers of the California Coastal Commission, the 12-member body that regulates development along 840 miles of shoreline and has long been a target of the president and his allies. The review, by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, will examine the state’s decades-old coastal management program,…
Marin updates emergency operations document
Marin has approved an updated emergency operations plan aimed at making its disaster response nimbler, faster, and better equipped to support rural areas like West Marin. It is the first update since 2014. “This has been a big lift and I think a very important one,” Marin County Fire Department Chief Jason Weber told the…
FEATURES & OPINIONS
“Running in the Family” by Michael Ondaatje
Inverness reader Barbara Heenan reminded me of another brilliant memoir among her top 10 favorites, along with Nabokov’s “Speak Memory.” This one is by Michael Ondaatje, cleverly titled “Running in the Family.” The book is composed of remembrances of two return visits to Sri Lanka, in 1978 and 1980. Sri Lanka, also called Ceylon, was…
Nature Notebook, July 9, 2026
Tomales Bay beach campers should set up tents high above the wrack lines, as the new moon of July 14 brings extreme tides—very low close to sunrise and then 7 feet in the midnight hours. Sand is again covering rock formations that were exposed by winter waves. Each year, sand is washed off beaches, deposited…
A relay walk across America
Last Tuesday, a friend texted to tell me that if I was in Point Reyes, I should join the first leg of a 6,800-mile relay across America kicking-off at Limantour Beach on July 1. I showed up, in the wind and fog, wearing shorts and sneakers, ready to run 13 miles to Five Brooks with…
