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The COVID-19 crisis has ravaged every sector of Mill Valley’s economy over the past seven months, but few industries have faced as many whiplash-inducing fits and starts as restaurants and food-serving businesses. But as we begin to inch our way toward the orange tier 3 within the statewide Blueprint for a Safer Economy framework as soon as Oct. 27…

From left, Malugani Tire Center’s Kendal Savelli, Michael Monge, John Savelli and Ken Monge. Dan Malugani Sr. opened Malugani Tire Shop 72 years ago. It’s safe to say that none of those 72 trips around the sun have matched 2020 for pandemic-induced stress. But like so many Mill Valley business owners, Malugani’s third-generation owner Kendal Savelli, along…

Let’s Go Orange! While every crumb of good news comes with a cascade of caveats during the COVID-19 era, it sure does look like Marin is on the verge of advancing from the red tier 2 to the orange tier 3 within the statewide Blueprint for a Safer Economy framework as soon as Oct. 27. Such a move would…

Like just about every business owner on the planet, Mill Valley Music shop owner Gary Scheuenstuhl’s past six months have been about adaptation to conditions beyond his control.  For Scheuenstuhl and record shop owners all over the country, the October 24th arrival of the third of three chapters of Record Store Day – the world’s largest single-day music event to support independent…

Scenes from the 43rd Mill Valley Film Festival. Courtesy images. The 43rd Mill Valley Film Festival wrapped Sunday night after 11 days of virtual and drive-in screenings, panels, and special events, as did its conjoined DocLands Documentary Film Festival, which was postponed due to COVID-19 in May. Through the course of 11 days, MVFF featured virtual…

Johanna Pfaelzer. Courtesy image. As lovers of our renowned Marin Theatre Company know all too well, 2020 has not been kind to theater organizations given our inability to gather in a room and immerse ourselves in theatrical performances. But as MTC Artistic Director Jasson Minadakis has shown, one positive out of the COVID-19 mess is…

Recent scenes form Terra Marin Schools. Courtesy images. After launching Terra Marin Micro-Schools in August and drawing media coverage from the likes of NBC Bay Area and the Marin Independent Journal for its use of 12-student cohorts that visited  locations throughout the Bay Area and conducted school in nature five days a week, Terra  Marin Schools, Wendy Xa continues to innovate through…

Helen Russell and Dana Williams. From his presence at – and sponsorship of – some of Mill Valley’s major events, as well as his multi-faceted marketing and community engagement, Compass real estate agent Dana Williams has long been a ubiquitous presence in Mill Valley. Spurred on by the desire for connection during the pandemic, Williams…

City of Mill Valley’s Public Safety Building at 1 Hamilton Drive. A citywide review this month of an array of options to potentially create an affordable housing development in town for the first time since 1986 quickly became largely a neighborhood’s defense of a pair of City-owned vacant lots near Scott Highlands Park. City officials…

Mark and Curtis Fong and Ivan the bird at Critterland Pets. Mark Fong needs – and has long deserved – a vacation that extends beyond a quick weekend camping jaunt. “It’s been a long run – it’s time to hang it up,” Fong says. That’s Mark’s take on his decision to close his Critterland Pets,…