West Marin celebrated a mostly calm Christmas—well, at least until nightfall. Other than a domestic argument in the parking lot outside the Lagunitas post office, which ended in the arrest of a woman accused of attacking the father of her children, there were few daytime incidents. Just after dusk, deputy Jason Swift observed a black compact car speeding down Highway One past West Marin School. The driver had failed to stop at a stop sign and was crossing the double yellow line, and Deputy Swift chased it—siren blaring, lights flashing and speeds pushing 100 mph—to Inverness Park, where he lost sight of it. The deputy who replaced him for the night shift returned to the Inverness area to search for the vehicle, and at around 7:30 p.m. he caught sight of a car that matched the description of a recently stolen vehicle. He stopped the driver, and the car, a Chevy Malibu rental with out-of-state plates, came up stolen out of Alameda. Oakland resident Anthony Owens, 42, was arrested on charges of car theft and possession of a stolen vehicle. But the excitement did not end there: at around 2 a.m. a man phoned for medical assistance in downtown Bolinas, saying his finger had been bitten off at the lumberyard. The victim, who was intoxicated after a night drinking at Smiley’s Schooner Saloon, was “kind of uncooperative,” Deputy Swift said. But the man did explain that he had met the assailant (neither a friend nor an acquaintance) at the bar, where he, the victim, had likely instigated an argument—though he could not fully remember. The two had left the bar to carry on their argument and had ended up outside the lumberyard, where a physical fight had broken out. There are presently no suspects in that incident. Here’s to an exciting New Year’s Eve for all—but please, keep yourselves intact!