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Marin IJ: Mill Valley Taps $500K for Wildfire Defense Buffer – Home Sellers in Risky Areas Must Give Prospective Buyers Fire Inspection Reports, and Cities Must Update Building Standards to Qualify for for State Fire-Protection Grants

ā€œWe have a very robust program with the Marin Wildfire Prevention Authority, where we do a lot of projects of fire fuel removal and fire fuel reductions, and public education and inspections,ā€ Hilliard said. ā€œSo we need to know where the state says, these are high priority areas that you should also be looking at.ā€ The state continues to impose fire-protection mandates for homeowners and municipalities, Hilliard said. Sellers of homes in risky areas must give prospective buyers fire inspection reports. Cities must update building standards to qualify for state fire-protection grants.
Hilliard said the state’s new fire maps do not influence decisions by insurers on who can obtain coverage. The insurers use other data.

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Connie Leyva and Steven Glazer: Meta & Google Garnered Tens of Billions of Dollars in Q1. Should Tech Pay Their Share to Mitigate the Impact of their Products? Tax Big Tech to Mitigate Harm on Kids

We have a common and accepted practice of requiring housing developers, or any business that creates an impact on its neighbors, to mitigate the damage to communities from their actions. These fees pay for traffic, school and environmental impacts. We should now assess the same cost to these technology platforms for the harms they have caused to California teens, the public school system and independent news reporting. No one likes new taxes, but most people understand the necessity if the money is going to compelling needs, with accountability and oversight. In this case, the new proposed tax would only be paid by the entities causing the harm. Last month, Google, Meta and Amazon reported first-quarter profits in the tens of billions of dollars.

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Mill Valley’s Danica Remy of the B612 Foundation: ā€œThe Fact Is That Humanity Has a System That’s Been Put in Place & it Worked for YR4ā€

In December, astronomers calculated that the asteroid YR4 had a small but not insignificant chance of striking Earth in 2032, a scenario that experts postulated could have more explosive potential than 500 Hiroshima nuclear bombs. Researchers reclassified YR4 as a non-threat in February, but the interim period was the first time that the International Asteroid Warning Network had been activated to respond to a threat since its formation about a decade ago. ā€œThe fact is that humanity does have a system that has been put in place in the last decade, essentially, and it worked for YR4,ā€ said Danica Remy, president of the B612 Foundation, a Mill Valley nonprofit focused on identifying near-Earth objects (NEOs) that pose a threat to humanity.

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The New York Times Created a Spectacular, Multi-Media Piece Around the History of Coyotes in San Francisco and Marin County – It’s Well Worth Your Time

They walk along busy San Francisco streets. In Chinatown plazas. Across the paths of Muni buses. One was found dozing in a laundromat. Many people simply wonder where they all came from in the first place. Scientists found that the DNA of the first arrivals did not match that of coyotes to the south. Instead, it matched the DNA of coyotes found to the north, beyond the strait and bay that separate the city from Marin County. ā€œDid they walk over the Golden Gate Bridge?ā€ asked Christine Wilkinson, a carnivore ecologist at the University of California, Santa Cruz. ā€œThat’s my top theory.ā€

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Marin IJ Earns Statewide Awards For News Coverage, Photos, Opinion Section & Much More!

The Marin Independent Journal has been a beacon of top-notch journalism for decades, and this year has been no different.The organizationĀ earned 20 awards — including five first-place honors — in an annual statewide journalism contest. The California News Publishers Association announced theĀ resultsĀ of its California Journalism Awards at a gala in Universal City on May 17. The association, which distributes awards by circulation division, includes hundreds of publications. The judges honored the IJ with a first-place award for in-depth reporting for a six-part series on President Trump’s impact on Marin. The paper also took the top prize for outstanding local news coverage of the November 2024 elections.

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With an Eye on Updating Parking Regulations Within City Limits, the MV Planning Commission Hosts a Study Session on the Subject – More to Come in the Months Ahead

City planners are working to update the City’s parking regulations, which have not been updated in decades. The City hired Walker Consultants to assist the City in collecting parking data and best practices to update the regulations.Ā The parking update will mainly focus on commercial parking regulations, which at times have hindered changes in uses, infill development, and broader economic development.Ā City planners invite and welcome public comments on the draft parking study and offer feedback to staff on proposed parking regulations at the May 27th Planning Commission Study Session (6:30pm; Mill Valley City Hall, 26 Corte Madera Avenue).

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The Mercury News: California’s Insurance Crisis Continues, As State Farm an Insurance Rate Hike of 30%, Soon After the Company Won Emergency Approval for a 17% Rate Increase After the LA fires

While the insurance industry faces headwinds, State Farm, for instance, is now seekingĀ to boost California home insurance rates by 30%.Ā The company last week won emergency approval for a 17% rate increase after the Los Angeles fires. A week after winningĀ emergency approval to raise Californians’ home insurance premiums, State Farm is seeking to boost that rate hike even higher to 30%. On May 13, the state’s largest insurance company got the OK from regulators to increase rates by an average of 17% starting next month. State Farm secured the expedited rate hike after asserting it was in financial distress and expected $7.6 billion in claims arising from the deadly Los Angeles wildfires in January.

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The Legendary Sequoia Theatre Welcomes the Return of Summer With $1 Screenings Starting šŸæ, Community, and More This Memorial Day at the Sequoia šŸæ

The Legendary Sequoia Theatre Welcomes the Return of Summer With $1 Screenings Starting šŸæ, Community, and More This Memorial Day at the Sequoia šŸæ – The California Film Institute this week is bringing back a beloved cultural landmark to the heart of Mill Valley. Lilo & Stitch (Regular Pricing):Ā Dir. Dean Fleischer Camp (US 2024).Ā Starring Maia Kealoha as Lilo with originalĀ Lilo & Stitch writer-director Chris Sanders reprising his voice role as Stitch.Ā A live-action animated reimagining of the beloved Disney classic about a young Hawaiian girl and her unusual pet, who happens to be a genetically engineered alien with a knack for trouble.

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Internationally Acclaimed Australian cellist Anthony Albrecht, a Juilliard School’s Performance Program Grad, Performs an Unmissable Recital in Mill Valley – United Church of Christ Community Church, Tuesday, May 27th, 7:30-8:45pm

Internationally acclaimed Australian cellist Anthony Albrecht is set to perform an unmissable recital in Mill Valley. A graduate of The Juilliard School’s Historical Performance program, where he received his Master of Music on full scholarship, Anthony has appeared as soloist and with prestigious ensembles throughout the world. Don’t miss this concert of love and compassion!

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Marin Voice, Via Dave Perron: Social-Service Organizations Deserve Our Support

All of us are impacted in different ways by actions on the national scale. You can help us sell out our upcoming benefit on May 29 at The Sweetwater in Mill Valley. We plan an outstanding concert titled, ā€œLebo and Friends Play Dylan.ā€ Those joining us will experience the joy of a talented collaboration playing iconic acoustic and electric tunes by Bob Dylan interpreted through their own unique lens.

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