Archive for February, 2008
Tuesday, February 26th, 2008
A tale of Kosovo, West Marin, and a bored battalion of Norwegian soldiers
Fatimir Sejdiu, president of newly independent Kosovo. Its sovereignty has been recognized by the US, Great Britain, Germany, France, Italy, Denmark, and other countries — but not Serbia or Russia.
When Kosovo proclaimed its independence of Serbia two weeks ago (Feb. 17, 2008), news of the momentous occasion — and of rioting and an attack on [...]
No Comments » - Posted in General News, History, The Point Reyes Light Newspaper by DavidMitchell
Friday, February 22nd, 2008
Dillon Beach sewage spill update
North Marin Water District manager Chris DeGabriele this afternoon announced, “Cleanup of the sewer spill which occurred Monday, Feb. 18, in the Oceana Marin subdivision [of Dillon Beach] has been completed.
“Sewage debris deposited on the steep hillside where the sewer spill occurred has been removed. Staw wattles, jute netting, and native grass seeding have been [...]
No Comments » - Posted in General News, Marin County by DavidMitchell
Thursday, February 21st, 2008
‘Drive-by journalism’
It is easy to underestimate the power of coincidence; nonetheless, I am surprised by a sudden rekindling of interest in The Point Reyes Light and West Marin Citizen as representing two poles of community journalism.
A German journalist, Stephan Russ-Mohl, showed up at my cabin yesterday to interview me about the changes at The Light since [...]
No Comments » - Posted in History, Personal, Point Reyes Station, The Point Reyes Light Newspaper by DavidMitchell
Tuesday, February 19th, 2008
Sewage spills into ocean at Dillon Beach
A pipeline apparently broken by tree roots caused a small sewage spill into the ocean at Dillon Beach Monday, North Marin Water District manager Chris DeGabriel announced today.
“It’s estimated that over 250 gallons of sewage surfaced from a broken pipeline on a steep hillside in the vicinity of Kailua Way,” he said, adding that the [...]
No Comments » - Posted in General News, Marin County by DavidMitchell
Sunday, February 17th, 2008
Nature’s Two Acres XXVI: Which came first, blacktail or mule deer? Hint — their venison is oedipal
A herd of up to nine blacktail deer have taken to spending their days on this hill, here joining the horses of Point Reyes Arabians for a late-afternoon snack.
California’s Department of Fish and Game has estimated that well over half the roughly 560,000 deer in California are Columbian blacktails, the deer native to West Marin [...]
No Comments » - Posted in History, Marin County, Photography, Point Reyes Station, West Marin nature, Wildlife by DavidMitchell
Friday, February 15th, 2008
Nature’s Two Acres XXV: Talking turkey
What is there to say about the American turkey that hasn’t recently been said? In the last 20 years, wild turkeys have spread throughout West Marin. I grew up in Berkeley and six weeks ago attended a New Year’s Eve party there; to my surprise, residents of my old neighborhood were likewise talking about wild [...]
3 Comments » - Posted in General News, History, Marin County, Photography, Point Reyes Station, West Marin nature, Wildlife, agriculture by DavidMitchell
Monday, February 11th, 2008
Here’s hoping ‘the goose hangs high’ this Thursday for Valentine’s Day
O Western wind, when wilt thou blow,/ That the small rains down can rain?/ Christ, that my love were in my arms/ And I in my bed again — Anonymous, circa 1530
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Happy Valentine’s Day! from a flock of Canada geese and from SparselySageAndTimely.com (or WestMarinNews.com for those of you using the URL that’s easier to [...]
No Comments » - Posted in West Marin nature, Wildlife by DavidMitchell
Wednesday, February 6th, 2008
Signs of bureaucratic contamination
A fascinating article in Wednesday’s Marin Independent Journal reveals a “second massive sewage spill” at the same Mill Valley treatment plant discussed in the last posting here. The total amount of sewage spilled in one week is now put at 5.2 million gallons.
Because of a bureaucratic snafu, the Jan. 25 spill of 2.45 million gallons [...]
No Comments » - Posted in General News, Marin County, Point Reyes Station, West Marin nature, Wildlife by DavidMitchell
Saturday, February 2nd, 2008
A final thought about the Caltrans worker who just did his job — and saved the day
Before we forget the wrecks that never happened near Dogtown a week ago — when half the southbound lane in a 55-mph section of Highway 1 dropped away….
You may recall that storm water pouring off the roadbank at left undercut a 20-foot stretch of highway about 5:30 p.m. Jan. 25. Fortunately, a Caltrans supervisor “proceeding [...]
