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Video Of The Day - Hummingbird Hatchling

Exquisite video of a newly hatched hummingbird-      

Novato infant found unharmed, father arrested after baseball bat murder

A five hour manhunt resulted in the capture of James Raphael Mitchell, a Novato man who is accused of kidnapping his infant daughter, after killing her mother.  He was captured around midnight Sunday evening at an undisclosed location in Northern California after an Amber Alert was issued for the infant.

Mitchell allegedly beat the 29 year-old woman to death with a baseball bat around 7 p.m. on Sunday, and fled with their one year-old daughter, Samantha Mitchell.  The mother has not been identified.

Mitchell is the son of Jim Mitchell, the infamous San Francisco pornography entrepreneur who together with his brother, Artie, ran a porn production empire that included the O'Farrell Theatre in the city and porn movies.  Artie Mitchell was shot to death by Jim Mitchell in 1991 in Corte Madera.  Jim died in 2007.

The victim's mother, Claudia Stevens, told authorities her daughter who was not married to Mitchell, had a restraining order against him.  The SFGate has more.

More Soapbox - Desalination plant debate continues

Reader Editorial - by Michael Hartnett and Errol Tremolada
 

Marin Republicans have had a strong tradition of conservatism, from William Kent to more recently, Peter Behr and William Filante.  We are proud to announce the formation of the Marin Chapter of Republicans for Environmental Protection (REP).  Our motto is, "Conservation is Conservative!"

REP-Marin has grave concerns over a proposed plan to build a desalination plant to meet the water needs of residents during drought years. To their credit, the Marin Municipal Water District (MMWD) has held over a dozen meetings on the issue and taken in hundreds of public comments.  However, all indications are that MMWD plans to proceed with desalination, as the MMWD board has spent millions studying the issue.  The board approved an Environmental Impact Report this spring that many in the environmental community felt did not adequately address the deleterious effects of sludge in the bay and other problems.  Moreover, MMWD General Manager Paul Helliker and board members have dismissed conservation alone as a viable alternative.  They have raised rates more that 20% in the last two years, perhaps in anticipation of financing desalination. At recent meetings some board members have sounded increasingly alarming scenarios that would leave Marin without water. The implication is that only desalination will save us from disaster.

Marin News Roundup

	Obesity Costs Bay Area $9.1B Each Year, Study Says: Marin County posted the region's lowest number, at $178 million. (Read more)
	Reward Offered for Info on Murder Suspect : A $3,000 reward is being offered for information that leads to the location and arrest of a suspect indicted for the murder of a Novato man. (Read more)
	Pedestrian Hospitalized After Marin Accident: An 18-year-old man is in the hospital with two broken legs, several abrasions and a concussion after he was hit by a Dodge going about 45 mph near Mill Valley Friday morning, according to the California Highway Patrol. (Read more)
	Tribute program to be launched at Novato library for Melody Osheroff: In her honor, other avid readers have the chance to sign a library book starting Sunday, which would have been Melody's 10th birthday. (Read more)
	Report shows 1 in 4 U.S. homes have lost value: Marin County had the highest percentage of homes with price cuts in the region - 32 percent of listings were reduced by an average of 11 percent. (Read more)
	No funds for Sudden Oak: Thousands of native oak trees in Marin County are quietly succumbing to Sudden Oak Death, and the potential hazard of standing and fallen infected oaks concerns local experts and citizens. (Read more)
	Larkspur waterfront fire leaves two homeless Saturday night: A two-alarm fire along Larkspur's boardwalk area Saturday night left one structure destroyed, another damaged and a mother and grown son temporarily displaced. (Read more)
	Youth hit hard by lack of jobs, school grants: Jordan Atkinson had all the trappings of a typical Marin County childhood. (Read more)
	Miller Avenue…vacant store updates: First, the fast food joint previously occupied by Jack in the Box has been sitting vacant for a long time. The chairs are out, the sun shades are up, but nobody's home. (Read more)
	San Rafael Twilight Criterium: Revenge served under the lights in men's Cat 1-2 race: "This is an amazing group of riders," Harless said of the men's field, "I'm just happy to stay upright." (Read more)
	This week's perfect pet: Video from the Marin Humane Society (Read more)
	A whale of a day near the Farallones: Thomas, 75, has spent a lifetime on the water, starting as a kid working the boats out of Monterey, then as a licensed skipper in the Bay Area for 41 years, taking customers out the Golden Gate from his berth in Sausalito. (Read more)
	Contractor gives San Anselmo bee swarm a new home: When Pat Burton saw the massive swarm of bees streaming from the walls of her San Anselmo home, her first instinct was to call the exterminator. (Read more)

Amber Alert issued; Novato man suspected of abducting child after beating her mother to death

Update: Amber Alert Cancelled.  Click here for more.

An Amber Alert has been issued for a one year-old baby who was allegedly abducted by her father, James Raphael Whitty Mitchell of Novato, who is also suspected of beating the child's mother to death with a baseball bat.

Mitchell is reportedly traveling in a Gold Honda Accord, license plate #5XAT527.  The girl is wearing a pink and white jumpsuit.  According to KTVU, Mitchell is armed and dangerous and has threatened to kill any law enforcement personnel who come in contact with him.  The assault was reported shortly before 7 p.m. in Novato on Diablo Court.

Obama picks regional NPS director for top job

Jon Jarvis, who previously headed up the National Park Services' western states region, is now the top dog.

President Obama just picked Jarvis to head the NPS, but Jarvis, pictured at left, is not without controversy.

Jarvis has been prominently featured in recent stories about the ongoing fight between the NPS  and Drakes Bay Oyster Company (DBOC) which sits in the Point Reyes National Seashore.  The NPS has been at odds with DBOC for years over the oyster farming operation in Drakes Estero which the NPS alleged was harming the environment.  Those allegations were later found to have been misrepresented, and Jarvis later apologized for the 'mistakes.'  Additionally, a National Academy of Sciences study was conducted on the oyster operation and the subsequent report found minimal impact on the environment.  The report also concluded the NPS appeared to be targeting DBOC in an attempt to oust the farming operation.

Senator Feinstein, and more recently Senator Boxer--both citing the report-- called on the NPS to extend the DBOC lease which is set to expire in 2012.

Jarvis was all over the front pages just over a week ago when it was revealed he had written a letter to California state officials threatening to 'take back' some state parks that were previously under Federal parks jurisdiction.  This was in response to Governor Schwarzenegger's threat to close down several of those parks due to the huge budget shortfall.

Jarvis has worked for the parks service for 30 years including stints in Washington, Idaho and Alaska.

Love Potion No. 9...the liquor, not the song

"I told her that I was a flop with chicks, I've been this way since 1956,
She looked at my palm and she made a magic sign,
She said-- What you need is Love Potion Number Nine."

It had to happen, and now it has. 

Someone's finally created a liquid version of the 1959 classic hit song made famous by the Clovers.  One Marin guy had a lot to do with it; read about how Love Potion #9 made it's way from song to bottle in MoreEats.

Somewhere in Marin!

This is somewhere in Marin, but where? 

Can you guess which town it's in and what it represents?

For the answer, click below.

Video of the Day - Friday's Music Video

United Airlines apparently busted this singer's guitar and ignored his pleas to fix it.  To their peril, we might add.  Now it's one of the most watched videos on YouTube and it's our pick for the Friday Music Video      

Marin youth singer-songwriter to play in the Big Apple

It's a long way from Marin County to the Big Apple, especially for a 14 year-old singer-songwriter-musician.

Less than a year ago we profiled Matt Jaffe, a musically gifted Mill Valley teen who has been bringing his special brand of folk-rock to people all over the county for years now.  In the nine months since we profiled him, he's won songwriting contests, recorded a handful of songs and landed three gigs in New York City later this summer.

We caught up with Matt a few days ago at the Sleeping Lady Cafe in Fairfax where he performed a short set for open mic night.  Read about Matt's transition to the big time here in MoreCulture.

Tech Talk - TV comes to the cell phone

As if burying your face in your cell phone to text and talk isn't enough, now comes television.  Yes, real honest-to-goodness CNN, the O.C. or Sponge Bob at your fingertips, anytime, anywhere-      

Marin News Roundup

Smile, you soon could be on candid camera in Tiburon, most Marin residents want desalination and Senator Boxer supports extension of DBOC lease,all here:

	Tiburon eyes cameras to scan license plates: The picturesque town that juts into San Francisco Bay is poised to do something unprecedented: use cameras to record the license plate number of every vehicle that crosses city limits. (Read more)
	Fairfax market asks witch to leave: Occasionally, she'll receive requests to perform black magic - but Talley always tells those clients she's not that kind of witch. (Read more)
	MMWD Releases Water Poll Results: 58% support desalination and 24% oppose it. (Read more)
	Market Talk: Wild Blue Farm: Market talk is is a series of interviews with the farmers and vendors of the Point Reyes Farmers Market. (Read more)
	Sen. Boxer supports Drakes Bay oyster farm lease extension: Sen. Barbara Boxer has agreed to support a proposal by Sen. Dianne Feinstein to allow the county's largest oyster company to operate within the Point Reyes National Seashore for 10 years beyond the expiration of its lease in 2012. (Read more)
	Tutankhamun Presentation at the Novato Library : This free event is presented as part of the Marin County Free Library's Adult Summer Reading Program (Read more)
	San Rafael residents jailed in marijuana raid: Investigators found several hundred marijuana plants, packaging material and about $27,000, plus evidence that the utilities were rigged to deliver stolen electricity, Marziano said. (Read more)
	Cheerios used to rescue stray goats: Two stray goats were rescued Thursday afternoon from a busy road in San Rafael. (Read more)
	Stinson Beach man selling 75,000-acre property in Kenya: It encompasses the Rikunga Wildlife Sanctuary, which is teeming with more than 450 animal species including lions, buffaloes, cheetahs and giraffes. (Read more)

Happy #5 Lark Theater!

Birthday cake, root beer floats and memories of five wonderful years of film, festivals and friends!

The Lark Theater turned five today and it was a beautiful day for a birthday.  The Lark, once a rundown eyesore, was refurbished and reopened five years ago on July 9, 2004.  Re-modelers retained the gorgeous Art Deco architecture and lights, but included eco-conscious features making it the only green movie theater in Marin. 

Congratulations to Bernice Baeza, the woman who really was the driving force around the resurrection of the Lark!  (photos by Ashley Cosgriff)  

Dining With Danielle - Rumi

Danielle, our dining diva, took a trip to Persia recently.  Well ok, not really, but she did happen to find an exotic Persian eatery in a strip mall, of all places. 

Come take a trip to the Middle East with Danielle- by way of San Rafael- in MoreEats.

Trembling about the recent tremors on the San Andreas fault

Although we're not exactly sitting here quaking in our boots (pun completely intended), this little story from the AP does give us pause. 

Apparently there's been an uptick in tremor activity on the storied San Andreas fault (pictured at left) and scientists think it could mean stress is building up down deep in the earth faster than previously thought.

Even though it could be nothing, it's always nice to be prepared just in case.  (photo courtesy of the U.S.G.S.)

Video Of The Day - Post It Love

It's summer...time for romance, love and weddings.  We found this "love at first post-it" for all you love-birds out there-

No tan lines- a guide to Marin County nude beaches

(Fair warning; the link in this story contains nudity)

Just in time for summer comes the 35th annual Nude Beaches Guide from the folks at the Bay Guardian. Included in the guide, are the Marin County beaches, featuring the (in)famous nude Little Beach cove at Muir Beach which was the subject of so much attention a few weeks ago due to some unsavory behavior.

Muir Beach, however, rates an "A" for it's amenities, unsavory behavior notwithstanding.  The guide lists two dozen clothes-free beaches, which came as a surprise to us.  We didn't even think there that many beaches in the county.

So long Smith & Hawken, it was nice while it lasted

The Smith & Hawken website says it all-

"Thank you for 30 wonderful years in the garden."

For those of us who knew S&H back when it was that neat little store in Mill Valley with the wonderful gardening tools, Wednesday was a sad day.

Marin News Roundup

Girl scouts build ramp at Osheroff home, an update on the new Trader Joe's and Mill Valley may face $60 billion bond issue next November,all here:

	Sausalito City Council clams up on closed session issue: The Sausalito City Council didn't move toward disclosing closed-door deliberations regarding an attempt to buy a waterfront parcel, despite a petition signed by more than 500 residents. (Read more)
	Front-yard spruce-up grew into ramp construction: Sargent designed and poured concrete for an inviting new pathway and porch that also serves as a ramp to make the front door accessible to Aaron, whose leg was amputated after an allegedly drunken motorcyclist hit him and his daughter on San Marin Drive on May 27. (Read more)

Five years of film and fun as the Lark Theater celebrates anniversary

The once rundown and abandoned Lark Theater opened to much fanfare five years ago on July 9, 2004.  That was after the community banded together to refurbish and remodel the beautiful Art Deco building which has been considered a town treasure ever since.

This Thursday, the Lark will be throwing a little birthday party to celebrate the past five years of providing film, music and events to the grateful Marinites. 

MoreMarin featured the Lark in one of our Focus on Green stories as its the only green theater in Marin.  The Lark hosts Oscar parties, Met opera broadcasts, annual film festivals and is a great place to just come down and see a movie.

Come out and help celebrate at 2 p.m. on Thursday, July 9.  The festivities are free with cake and root beer floats!

The Lark Theater is located at 549 Magnolia in historic old Larkspur.

SubUrban Legend - Mt. Tam Amphitheatre

The 40 rows of massive stone seats at the Mountain Amphitheatre were carried up Mt. Tamalpais by a lost tribe of Egyptian slaves, or aliens from Pluto...

Video Of The Day - Marijuana Ad

Check out this ad that began airing today.  It's by the folks at Marijuana Policy Project and they're pushing for legalization of pot based on the tax revenue it could create.  These days, every penny counts and they may have a point-      

Sign of the times- startup company to develop solar panel theft deterrent

With alternative energy all the rage these days and something that is firmly in our future, it's inevitable that criminals would figure out a way to cash in the trend. 

Solar panel theft is surging along with the installations, and one new startup company in the North Bay has decided to tackle that problem head on.

San Quentin prison to stop accepting inmates due to swine flu

San Quentin prison in Marin County is severely overcrowded, but now- in the category of 'that's one way to reduce the prison population'- comes this news.

According to the Marin IJ, the prison- which has quarantined 2,100 inmates due to swine flu fears- will stop accepting inmates from 19 other counties. The prison began quarantining men suspected of having the H1N1 virus last week but the initial number grew from 800 to nearly half the 5,200 population within a few days.

Over 40 men are listed as suspected cases and of those, four are probable for swine flu. Prison health officials are awaiting final confirmation on those cases.

Marin News Roundup

Will Angel Island revert to the Feds?  Marin schools make a proposal to the state and San Rafael moves to cut back services:

	Angel Island plays the waiting game: Visitors to Angel Island State Park arrive at Ayala Cove by ferry. (Read more)
	State halts plan to allow bikes on Samuel P. Taylor trail: After an outcry from environmentalists and others, state parks officials have rescinded approval of a plan to allow mountain bikers on a popular four-mile trail through Samuel P. Taylor State Park (Read more)