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​One hundred years ago this month, the Mt. Tamalpais and Muir Woods Scenic Railway took delivery of a brand-new Heisler steam engine — the ninth engine since the railway’s inception in 1896. Engine No. 9 turned out to be the last locomotive the company would purchase before the railway’s demise and dismantling in 1930, and today…

Marin businesses are in the midst of one of the more sustained stretches of reopening progress  during the COVID-19 crisis. But none of those business owners need reminders of what they’ve been through, nor the daunting prospect of what a reversal of the current good fortune would mean for their economic survival. To better understand how dig…

UPDATE 4.9.21: As the government prepared to start taking applications for a $16 billion relief fund for music clubs, theaters and other live event businesses, thousands of desperate applicants waited eagerly to submit their paperwork right at noon, when the system was scheduled to open. And then they waited. And waited. Five days later, the Shuttered…

The Sweetwater Music Hall crew. The days of the complex color-coded system of rules known as the “Blueprint for a Safer Economy,” which has dictated reopening restrictions across California’s 58 counties since last summer, is not long for this world. Gov. Gavin Newsom announced this week that the state will “fully reopen” its economy on June 15, with…

The Store & The Local owners Evan Woolf and Ronnie Unger. There’s been no shortage of evidence over the years that the landscape for retailers has been consistently getting harder year after year, from the ever-growing footprint of big box retailers to the one-click, instant gratification online shopping that is laden with fraught consequences for…

We are absolutely thrilled with the lineup of brewers and winemakers we’ve lineup for 39th Annual Mill Valley Wine, Beer and Gourmet Food Tasting!  On April 15-16, one of Mill Valley’s iconic events returns as a pair of one-hour virtual tastings – one for the latest craft beers, one for ultra-premium wines and with an array of…

Three years on, Marin Conservatory of Dance founder ​Melinda Neal is going for it. ​The longtime professional ballet dancer and revered Bay Area ballet instructor opened her studio on Miller Ave. in 2018, filling a void for a solely classical ballet-focused conservatory in southern Marin. The program grew steadily and organically within its small space at 448 Miller Avenue, and…

Mill Valley has a plethora of lessons learned from the Bay Area’s catastrophic wildfire disasters in recent years to incorporate into its own evacuation planning. Those efforts come with the knowledge that a large portion of our community is located within the ‘Very High Fire Severity Zone’ as identified by Cal Fire. In the aftermath…

From bike wheel-centric pieces and gorgeous ArtBoxes to all manner of benches, both big wave and asymmetric, the footprint of the City of Mill Valley’s public art program has been expanding steadily in recent years, particularly on the heels of the “Knitting Us Together” project and the Black Lives Matter-styled utility box in 2020. Now comes perhaps the most…

Image courtesy Marin HHS. Just two months ago, Marin County Public Health Officer Dr. Matt Willis lamented the limited vaccine supply available to Marin and “no sign of any significant increase in the near future,” a status that forced health officials to prioritize distribution to residents age 75 and older. County officials efforts have remained steadfast in…