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Preschools strained under Covid rules

07/08/2020
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

07/08/2020
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

07/08/2020
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

07/08/2020
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,...

West Marin’s census response still below expectations

07/08/2020
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,...

CHA merges with larger Petaluma Health Center

07/01/2020
Yesterday, the Petaluma Health Center took over the Coastal Health Alliance, a merger that a decade ago executives at the small rural clinic said was necessary to keep the doors open. Staffing at the alliance will stay the same and patients will see few changes, though West Marin services may...

Marin faces grim budget outlook

07/01/2020
A budget is commonly referred to as a moral document, because it reflects a government’s values and priorities. Marin County, losing $10 million in revenue this fiscal year and anticipating growing budget shortfalls for the next five years, will face some difficult moral decisions moving forward. The Board of Supervisors...

Mark Ropers, who lived gently on the bay

07/01/2020
Mark Ropers, an attorney, a sailor and a watercolorist known for his dry humor and gentle demeanor, died at home in Inverness on April 19. He was 81 years old. Mark grew up in Menlo Park and spent his early years sailing with his father up and down the West...

Teachers troubled by school guidance

07/01/2020
Teachers are pushing back against Marin’s recommendation to reopen schools five days a week in the fall, arguing that guidelines released by the county office of education would be impossible to follow. They say that public health officials did not listen to educators before putting forward the recommendations, and that...

Doubling of Covid-19 cases leads Marin to roll back re-opening plans

07/01/2020
In addition to positive Covid-19 cases more than doubling in Marin communities over the past month, the largest prison outbreak in the state has occurred within the walls of San Quentin, which is turning to local hospitals for assistance. Public health officer Dr. Matt Willis moved to roll back re-opening...

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