Skip to content

Santa Rosa Press Democrat Editorial Board: CEQA Reforms Clear a Path for Housing

The two bills signed by the governor create sweeping exemptions for urban infill housing developments up to 20 acres. Projects still will have to exclude sensitive areas like wetlands, prime farmland and protected species habitat. Predictable regulatory review without prolonged lawsuits should lower development costs and allow more projects to go forward more quickly and less expensively.

Read More

Golden Gate Bridge Hikes Toll Rates July 1 and Rescinds DEI Resolutions, Fearing Loss of Federal Funds

Freda B

The district that operates the Golden Gate Bridge has removed diversity, equity and inclusion language in policy documents to avoid backlash from the Trump administration. A $400 million federal grant to support the final five-year phase of the seismic retrofit of the iconic span was potentially at stake, said Denis Mulligan, general manager of the Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District. Bridge tolls are the district’s primary source of revenue, and, unlike most other transit agencies, the district receives no dedicated state or local tax funding.

Read More

Danna Lewis’ Luscious Leadership Monthly – šŸ’« June 2025 From the Bedroom to the Boardroom—Your Experience of Yourself and the World Matters. Let’s Create One That Energizes, Aligns and Sustains You

Luscious LeadershipĀ Launches: A New Monthly Newsletter to Light the Way – Where Presence Meets Power. Marin-based leadership coach, author, and Mill Valley Chamber of Commerce team memberĀ Danna LewisĀ has launched a powerful new monthly newsletter:Ā Luscious Leadership. Designed to help readers create lives and leadership styles that energize, align, and sustain them, this grounded yet soulful resource invites you to lead with more presence, purpose, and pleasure. TheĀ Luscious LeadershipĀ newsletter is your monthly dose of soul-sourced strategy, sacred rhythm, and whole-life well-being. Each edition begins with a themed reflection published onĀ Danna’s blog, offering insight and inspiration for the month ahead. But subscribers receive so much more—exclusive content designed to help you embody your leadership and live with luscious intention.

Read More

Marin IJ: ā€˜Reckless’ US Stiffs Marin Schools on $14.5M in Mental Health Grants

ā€œMCOE is actively working to seek clarification on what that means and how the grants might be reinstituted,ā€ he said. ā€œThe office will appeal this decision and will pursue legal action as necessary.ā€ Lisa Miller, an assistant superintendent at the county office, said staffing and students at five Marin school districts — Miller Creek, Sausalito Marin City, Shoreline Unified, San Rafael and Novato — will be directly affected. ā€œHundreds of kids in Marin County are going to miss receiving really important services if this funding stream ends,ā€ Carroll said. ā€œThere should be plenty of public outrage about this.ā€

Read More

Marin IJ: Marin City Bus Shelter Art Project Honors Community’s Black Pioneers

ā€œHer granddaughter and my brother are married,ā€ she said. ā€œSo the legacy doesn’t stop — because we are a close community. Even though a lot of first-generation people who came here are gone, their legacy continues.ā€ The bus shelter art project is part of an ongoing effort to tell the enclave’s Black history led by Felecia Gaston, a local historian, educator and nonprofit executive who has partnered with the county’s schools and libraries to teach this California story. ā€œThere were maybe 20,000 Black people who worked in the shipyard from 1942 to 1945,ā€ said Gaston. ā€œWe selected a few because we actually have their oral histories.ā€

Read More

SF Chronicle: People Say California Has No Seasons – This Bay Area Resident Has Proved Them Wrong

Killion studied history at UC Santa Cruz, but he also studied art and the art of fine books. ā€œI wanted to do my own book,ā€ he said. The result was ā€œ28 Views of Mount Tamalpais,ā€ produced at UC Santa Cruz’s Cowell Press. You could see the influence of the Japanese masters in Killion’s work. And you could see the influence of his own world. ā€œIt’s in my blood,ā€ he said. ā€œI grew up in the shadow of MountĀ Tamalpais.’’

Read More

Mill Valley Resident Audra Weiss, 57, Passed Away on Dec. 31, with her husband and children by her side. Audra was a quiet yet powerful force who walked through life exuding grace, strength and class.

Born and raised in Coram, NY, Audra graduated from the Whitman School at Syracuse University and forged a career in healthcare communications. She met her husband Jim through a mutual friend and found they had been living parallel lives. He also went to Syracuse, bled Orange and worked in the same field but they had never met. Like “When Harry Met Sally,” they built a strong friendship that led to an unbreakably strong marriage of nearly 25 years. She knew from the get-go that she’d happily trade in her stellar professional career for a lifelong role of motherhood.

Read More

Marin IJ’s Leanne Battelle: What Came & Went in Marin’s Food Scene in 2024

Mill Valley got its first swanky day-through-midnight craft cocktail and chef-driven food venue with the opening ofĀ Corner BarĀ in April, moving into the prominent downtown space briefly occupied by Coho in 2023 and, before that, Vasco for 23 years. In July, Petaluma-foundedĀ Angela’s Organic Ice CreamĀ debuted its fourth North Bay location in Mill Valley. In August, Tam Valley resident and chef Tony Adams openedĀ Mill Valley Pasta Co., a downtown retail store catering to cooks and gift givers alike. Adams also operates a factory store in San Rafael and maintains a strong presence at seven Bay Area farmers markets along with other retail outlets.

Read More

Scop Family’s Chabad Mill Valley, Throws a Shofar in the Park Event in Old Mill Park – Oct. 3rd, Old Mill Park

Chabad Mill Valley, the local chapter of one of the largest Hasidic groups and Jewish religious organizations in the world, has been in Mill Valley for nearly 20 years. Chabad Mill Valley founders Rabbi Hillel and Chana Scop have another reason to celebrate. They’re hosting Shofar in the park with a Tashlich ceremony at Old Mill Park. Meet at the Amphitheater.Ā “Join us to hear the sounding of the Shofar on the first day of Rosh Hashanah, followed by Tashlich!” says Chana Scop. “Adults and children of all ages are welcome.”

Read More