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Historic history book unvieled at Tomales Regional History Center

Posted June 26, 2007 -------- The Tomales Regional History Center held a reception Sunday, June 24, for Ruth McCaughey Burke in honor of the Center's recent publication of her book, An Intimate History of Bodega Country and the McCaughey Family. The two volume set, running to 1260 pages not including nineteen pages of black and white photographs, is the result of years of volunteer work at the History Center. The project was spear headed by Lois Parks, curator of the History Center, and Meg Shores, who served as principle editor. The book is drawn from the archives of Burke and her father, the late Howard C. McCaughey. It includes their own writing, as well as a wealth of material gleaned from newspaper accounts, family correspondence, pioneer diaries, public records, and local ephemera. For more than 20 years, Burke has undertaken the monumental task of incorporating this information into a comprehensive history of the Bodega area and its pioneer families.
Those interested in the book can contact the Tomales Regional History Center at 707.878.9443 or email info @ tomaleshistory.com.

Left to right: Lois Parks, Ruth Burke, signing her book and Ted Jones. Burke is signing a copy of the history of Bodega as told through Ruth Burke . These are amazing two volume books with wonderful historic photos. This has been a six year project with the History Center.

Destructive fire at artist's studio

Posted 9 pm June 8, 2007 -------- A fire destroyed a glass blower's studio Friday afternoon in Inverness Park. The fire caused several small spot fires in the nearby Point Reyes National Seashore. The devestating Mt Vision fire in 1995 started just three miles from the studio fire. Responding Marin County Firefighters put out the spot fires before they spread.

The two-story studio Volunteer Firefighters from Inverness and Tomales as well as Marin County Firefighters responded to the first reports of smoke and flames at 2:18 pm. The extensive smoke was visible for miles. Park officals worried the fire might spread into the Seashore with its heavy brush and trees.

Sherbourne Slack, the owner of the home and studio, said the studio was completely destroyed. He had used the studio for glass blowing but stopped when he injured his back over one year ago. He said he had no insurance on the wood frame building. Fire officials have not determined the cause of the blaze.

For a complete story with photos follow this link: http://www.sparselysageandtimely.com/blog/

Open Letter celebrating the graduating class of Tomales High School

Dear Members of the Shoreline Unified School District Community,

Last week Tomales High School held its annual Senior Academic Awards Dinner. This is an event the community looks forward to attending every year. It is a time when awards/scholarships are announced and an opportunity to congratulate each student for the fantastic job they have done in preparing for high school graduation and their future. The evening is one filled with community pride.

The 2007 Tomales High School Senior Class totals 52 students and will be sending 90 percent of the class on to college. They have collectively received a total of over $166,000 in scholarships.

The following is a list of the colleges that the members of this class have been accepted to in 2007:

University of California

• Berkeley-4

• Davis-4

• Los Angeles-1

• Santa Cruz-2

• Santa Barbara-5

• San Diego-1

California State University

• Cal Poly SLO-1

• Chico-6

• Channel Island-2

• East Bay-1

• Humboldt-1

• Long Beach-1

• Maritime-1

• Monterey Bay-2

• Fresno-1

• San Francisco-6

• Sonoma-8

• San Diego-1

• San Jose-1

• Sacramento-6

Community Colleges

• Santa Rosa Junior College-17

• College Of Marin-1

• Mendocino Community College-4

Privates Universities

• University of Pacific

• University Puget Sound

• University Of Redlands

• Dominican University

• Evergreen

• Northland College

• St Mary’s

• Collin College of Arizona

• Gonzaga University

• Gettysburg College

• Montana State

• Menlo College

• University of Oregon

• University of Nevada

• Reed

• Washington College

• Whitman College

• Willamette

I would like to thank the entire SUSD staff, Board, parent body, and Shoreline community for their support and guidance that has enabled the 2007 THS Senior Class to achieve such a high level of academic success. I know that members of this class will go on to achieve great things in making this world a better place. Congratulations to the THS Class of 2007!

Sincerely, Stephen Rosenthal, Ed.D., Superintendent

Murder on Dillon Beach

Posted May 27, 2007 -------- The suspects were identified as Robert Marcus, 20, of Elk Grove, Robert Martell, 24, of Antioch and Daren Bell, 24, of Sacramento. All three were booked into Marin County jail and held without bail.

Three men were arrested for murder and booked into Marin County Jail early Sunday morning (May 27). Robert Marcus, 20, of Elk Grove, Robert Martell, 24, of Antioch and Daren Bell, 24, of Sacramento were arrested after a man was found beaten to death on Dillon Beach.

A 911 call at 1 a.m. brought Marin County and Sonoma County Sheriff’s Deputies to the coast and campground. At the mouth of Tomales Bay, the large private campground’s population swells to several thousand during three-day weekends.

Marin County Fire Tomales Station and Bodega Bay Fire ambulance responded to the scene. The 24-year-old beaten man, whose name is withheld pending notification of relatives, was declared dead at the scene. Marin County Sheriff’s spokesman said the man was from Santa Rosa. The three men attacked one victim. Other details were not released.

Update: all three men have been released from jail. The District Attorney is reviewing the case before filing charges. Robert Martell, 24, a Marine Corps reserve from Antioch; Robert Allen Marcus, 20, of Elk Grove; and Daren Corbett Bell, 24, of Sacramento, appeared in Marin Superior Court briefly Tuesday May 29.

New weekly newspaper announced in West Marin

The editor and publisher of the Bodega Bay Navigator Online Joel Hack announced Friday the formation of a team to publish a weekly newspaper "of, by and for West Marin. A pilot edition will appear Friday June 1 timed for the Pt. Reyes Station Western Weekend. The 58th annual Western Weekend will receive coverage in the announcement edition. Regular weekly publication will begin July 1.

The team to publish the new newspaper will include several former Pt. Reyes Dark staffers as well as former columnists. Feralwest cartoonist Kathryn LeMieux will be included in the pilot edition.

The new newspaper invites the community to participate in finding a name. West Marinites are encouraged to submit names for the new newspaper. The pilot edition will carry the temporary name West Marin Pilot Volume 1, Number 0.9. Rules are simple, announced Jim Kravets, editor of the Pilot and the unnamed new newspaper, “the name should tell the readers of West Marin who we are and how the new newspaper will honor the sacred trust that animates a community newspaper.”

The team met Friday for an editorial conference. “The energy and commitment to community that emerged from that conference astounded me,” said Hack, publisher and editor of the Bodega Bay Navigator for 12 years, “Community is what we are all about.” Dewey Livingston, also a team member, forwarded a clipping from the Point Reyes Light in 1971. Written by Mike Gahagan, the piece neatly summarizes the goals and aspirations of the new newspaper.

Remove the spaces around the at symbol to use the address in your email client.

Additional information is available at www.wmarinpilot.info

The newspaper without a name is available at select locations around West Marin.

Former Pt Reyes Dark bookkeeper locked up awaiting trial for embezzlement

Lashanda Goldstein, 29, of Santa Rosa pleaded not guilty to one felony count of embezzlement and one felony count of burglary Friday May 25 in Marin Superior Court. The arrest is the result of the theft and embezzlement first reported January 19, 2007. At the time the amount of the theft was assumed to be just over $20,000. The investigation by Marin County Sheriff's Detectives now places the losses at the Pt. Reyes Dark at $62,000.

The money was taken from payroll accounts and through use of the business' credit card. Information from former employees is Goldstein spent a lot of money on champagne, salon appointments and trips to LasVegas.

Goldstein worked at the Dark for six months when the abuse of her position as business manager became known. She is being held with in Marin County jail with bail set at $62,000.

Update: Goldstein has entered a plea of gulity and awaits a sentencing report. Goldstein has no previous criminal record.

See this story in the Marin I-J: http://www.marinij.com/ci_5993100?source=most_viewed

Next principal at Tomales High School is multi-lingual

Posted May 19, 2007 -------- Thursday evening May 17 the Shoreline Unified School District Board of Directors voted 7-0 to hire the multi-lingual Dino Battaglini to be the next principal for the 190-student High School. Battaglini last post was as vice principal at 2500-student Antioch High School.

Battaglini speaks fluent Spanish, a bit of Italian and his native tongue, English. Raised in South San Francisco by an Italian immigrant father and Argentine native mother he graduated from Santa Clara University, with advanced degrees from San Jose State and California State University, East Bay.

District Superintendent Stephen Rosenthal was enthusiastic about the new hire, seeing him as a good fit because of his language ability and his creditionals.

Battaglini will replace Trina Legacy who filled the post as an interim principal for the past two years. She is moving to the Sacramento area for family obligations. The position pays over $110,000 annually plus health insurance and other benefits.

Kerry Weir, Shoreline School District Board member and Bodega Bay resident, commented that having Battaglini come to was really exciting. She cited his native Spanish abilities and the rave reviews he received from Antioch High School. She said Shoreline District Superintendent Stephen Rosenthal visited Antioch High and was impressed with the deep and obvious respect Battaglini earned there.

Weir said, the Board was enthusiastic that he could bring an ability to communicate with parents in their native language.

Bolinas resident Josh Churchman appointed to California Marine Life Protection Act Initiative Regional Stakeholder Group

Bolinas resident commercial fisherman Josh Churchman is a member of the Regional Stakeholder Group that will participate in the process of designing and managing Marine Protected Areas along the Sonoma, Marin, Mendocino and San Mateo counties' coastline.

Over the past three years, the Fish and Game Commission has overseen a process to determine the Marine Protected Areas for the Central Coast of California. At the end of the process, commercial fishermen worried that half the reef areas most productive for marine life were protected leaving the fishermen with only a marginal ability to earn a living from the sea. Sport fishermen and other user groups were also skeptical but generally supportive.

Long-term experience with protected areas along the extensive New Zealand coastline have proved successful - improving fish populations. At first opposed, New Zealand fishermen are now wholly enthusiastic about the now abundant fishing.

The intent of the Marine Life Protection Act was to move the management of ocean ecology and fish resources out of the hands of politicians and into science-based programs.

Several others with Marin connections were also appointed to the important group.

Dr. Sarah Allen, Science Advisor, Point Reyes National Seashore (alternate for Don Neubacher)

Neal Desai, Bay Area Program Manager, National Parks Conservation Association (alternate for Frederick Smith)

Don Neubacher, Superintendent, Point Reyes National Seashore

Karen Reyna, Resource Protection Specialist, Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary (alternate for Irina Kogan)

Frederick Smith, Executive Director, Environmental Action Committee of West Marin

Robert J. Wilson, Policy Liaison, The Marine Mammal Center (alternate for Santi Roberts)

Click here to see the entire list of appointees and a press release from the Department of Fish and Game with detailed background on the process

Salmon safe: new certification labeling program highlights efforts to protect salmon habitat

Marin County, CA -- Marin Organic announced a new program “Salmon Safe.” The Salmon Safe label will ensure that the food was grown with environmental stewardship of waterways and riparian habitats. The program is the result of a partnership between Marin Organic and Salmon Safe Oregon, in collaboration with the Environmental Action Committee of West Marin.

“This is an important program for Marin and beyond,” Marin Organic Executive Director Helge Hellberg said. “There are so many in this county who are delighted that the Coho salmon have returned to Marin. Marin Organic’s Salmon Safe seal is another layer of verification that our local and organic producers are excellent stewards of the land.”

Hellberg points out that the program is not just for organic farms, but for any local producer that uses non-toxic, integrated pest management practices and meets the Salmon Safe standards. Salmon Safe certified operations follow strict guidelines developed over three years by California Certified Organic Farmers and Salmon Safe Oregon to ensure that the wild Coho salmon and Steelhead populations in Marin's waterways continue to grow and flourish.

“We are really excited to be involved in partnerships that support both environmental protection and sustainable agriculture,” Executive Director of the Environmental Action Committee Fred Smith said. “Salmon Safe is a great example that environmental stewardship can be beneficial to businesses.”

Through the program, Marin Organic offers certification to Marin producers, technical assistance to meet the strict guidelines if needed, and incentives in the form of a recognizable label which designates a product as grown with the health of local waterways and their denizens in mind.

Many individuals and groups, such as the Salmon Protection And Watershed Network (SPAWN), have been working for years to protect the rivers and streams of Marin County and restore riparian habitat in an effort to foster the return of the salmon to Marin County, according to Hellberg. The Salmon Safe program is a means of verifying that Marin agricultural producers are doing their part as well.

“This program demonstrates that collaborative efforts and mutual understanding can result in an improved environment, farming viability, habitat improvements, enhancement of biodiversity, and the protection of threatened and endangered species,” Marin Agricultural Commissioner Stacey Carlsen said.

Marin Organic is an association of Marin County organic producers whose livelihood is based on a respect for nature and a sense of place. We are dedicated to promoting sustainable agriculture and creating a model program to keep farming in Marin County alive. Marin Organic is an essential link between organic farmers and consumers throughout Marin and has become an integral part of the agricultural and educational landscape in Marin County.

Keeping West Marin wild since 1971, the Environmental Action Committee of West Marin is dedicated to responsible environmental stewardship to ensure that human activities are in harmony with the area‚s irreplaceable wildlife, scenic and other natural resources. We advocate for restoring native habitats, ecologically sound land management practices, and protecting rural character to preserve West Marin‚s unique natural and cultural heritage. Member support helps us to continue our efforts to investigate, advocate and inform to protect the best of West Marin for the benefit of future generations.

Lyme disease tick season

May is the peak of the nymphal tick season. These immature ticks cause most human cases of Lyme disease, since they are the size of poppy-seeds and people don’t even realize they have been bitten. An average of 12% of local ticks are infected with the bacteria that cause Lyme.

“Many people have Lyme disease and don’t know it or can’t get treated locally for it,” says patient advocate Phyllis Mervine, president of the nonprofit California Lyme Disease Association (CALDA), an affiliate of the national Lyme Disease Association (LDA). “Tests are not always definitive and doctors prefer less controversial diseases like MS, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue, or even psychiatric illness, which can look identical to Lyme, so people never get treated appropriately. The alternative is traveling long distances to see a Lyme specialist.”

If not treated promptly, Lyme disease can lead to a debilitating chronic illness that attacks the brain, heart, joints, and other organs and causes extreme fatigue, headaches, depression, panic attacks, OCD, pain, and other symptoms. Although debate continues over the best treatments for chronic Lyme, studies show it often responds to longer treatments and combinations of drugs.

There are two “practically opposite” standards of care for diagnosing and treating Lyme, which causes confusion, Mervine says. CALDA works closely with the International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society (www.ILADS.org), whose published peer-reviewed guidelines recommend an individualized treatment plan that sometimes includes long-term antibiotic treatment. As part of their educational mission, CALDA offers $800 scholarships to healthcare professionals who attend the ILADS and LDA annual scientific conferences for the first time. This year both conferences will be held near Boston on October 26-28.

The other guidelines are published by the Infectious Disease Society of America (IDSA). CALDA is supporting a civil investigation of IDSA by the Connecticut Attorney General for possible antitrust violations in the formulation of their guidelines, which recommend no more than three weeks of treatment and deny the existence of chronic Lyme. After the IDSA guidelines were published in December, 2006, ILADS wrote and requested their immediate retraction, saying that the guidelines committee selected research that agreed with their opinion and ignored opposing views. Of 18,537 articles about tick-borne diseases listed on National Library of Medicine website, the committee looked at only 400, the letter said.

ILADS president Dr. Raphael Stricker worries that the IDSA guidelines do not offer an answer for the thousands Lyme patients left with a poor quality of life after their three-week treatment.

“Many recommendations in the IDSA guidelines are based on the weakest evidence, namely opinion rather than scientific fact,” said Dr. Stricker. “The guidelines make doctors afraid to diagnose or treat Lyme disease, and this chilling effect harms patients and patient care.”

Mervine adds that insurance companies often use the IDSA guidelines to deny reimbursement of the cost of treatment, and medical boards use them to discipline doctors. California is one of the few states with a law protecting doctors who treat people with chronic Lyme, provided certain conditions are met, but many doctors shy away from Lyme because of the controversy. The resulting difficulty in finding a doctor and desperation drive many patients to experiment with unproven and sometimes risky alternatives, Mervine says.

CALDA publishes a quarterly lay journal, the Lyme Times, which can be ordered on the CALDA website, www.lymetimes.org. There are online groups for almost every state at Yahoo Groups where members share support and information. Healthcare professionals interested in the scholarship to attend the ILADS/LDA conferences should call Lee Lull at 415-927-9553 or email CALDAgrants@yahoo.com for an application.

About California Lyme Disease Association (CALDA)

CALDA, an affiliate of the Lyme Disease Association, is a non-profit corporation that acts as the central voice for all tick-borne disease issues in California and a supporting voice for national issues. Through advocacy, research and education of the public and health care professionals, CALDA seeks to prevent tick-borne diseases, encourage early diagnosis, and improve the quality of healthcare provided to people with tick-borne diseases. CALDA publishes the Lyme Times, a lay journal that is distributed nationally and internationally. For more information, visit www.lymedisease.org

TOUGH JOB GETS MORE DIFFICULT

Blood centers can no longer use plasma donated by female donors

Santa Rosa, CA (May 1, 2007) Blood Bank of the Redwoods, the only full-service blood center in Sonoma, Lake and Mendocino counties, announced today that blood centers can no longer use plasma donated by women; plasma is one of several components of blood that is collected from donated blood. As a result the pool of donors providing plasma has decreased by half, making it even more difficult to create the supply needed by local donors.

Recent discoveries in medicine show that women plasma donors may contribute to a serious yet uncommon complication in blood transfusion. As a result, women can no longer donate plasma, and the responsibility lands squarely on the shoulders of the men in our community. The decision to no longer use plasma from women was based on a recommendation from the American Association of Blood Banks, an international organization that develops standards for voluntary compliance in blood bank blood component collection, processing and transfusion.

The complication that spurred the change in policy regarding women and donated plasma is called TRALI (Transfusion-Related Acute Lung Injury). The actual mechanism of this complication is not well understood, however it has been established that plasma from women who have been pregnant sometimes contain antibodies that contribute to the reaction.

“We certainly don’t want to send the wrong message to the women in our community. We need them as we always have, we just can’t use their plasma,” said Kent Corley, Public Relations Manager for Blood Bank of the Redwoods. “We’re encouraging the women in our community to do other types of blood donations, like give a whole blood donation or donate red blood cells and platelets through our apheresis program.”

What many people may not know is that a blood donor can donate individual blood components by donating through our apheresis process, which captures one or more particular types of blood component such as plasma, platelets or red blood cells.

Blood centers around the country are asking their female donors to give red blood cells and platelets. Red blood cells are often needed during trauma cases, platelets are used to treat cancer patients. Since blood centers can no longer use plasma donated from females, many male donors are encouraged to donate plasma. Plasma donations save lives everyday. Plasma can be used to treat certain bleeding disorders, and is often used as a coagulant in trauma situations and for cancer treatment. It is also used for products like Albumin, used for restoration of plasma during shock, trauma, surgery and burns.

Federal funding restores Drakes Estero watershed

Posted April 14, 2007 --------- The Point Reyes National Seashore announced today that it has received $2.44 million in federal funding to conduct the Drakes Estero Coastal Watershed Restoration Project. The project includes a number of specific physical treatments within five coastal watersheds, all draining into the Drakes Estero system, the centerpiece of Point Reyes National Seashore and one of the most ecologically significant estuarine areas in the state of California. The project area lies within the Central California Coast Evolutionarily Significant Unit for the federally listed coho salmon and steelhead trout and contains habitat critical to these species' survival.

The project will remove or replace nine facilities (culverts and dams), currently in various states of disrepair and restore natural conditions and increase estuarine habitat. The project will reduce the maintenance demands at Point Reyes, eliminate the risk of catastrophic failure of culverts and dams, and increase sustainability, both operationally and ecologically within these small coastal watersheds. Overall, the project will restore fish access to 20 miles of streams.

Removal of facilities from wilderness and estuarine areas, and replacement of existing road crossings with structures that allow for natural hydrological process and fish passage will ultimately allow for the reintroduction and enhancement of endangered aquatic populations, including federally threatened steelhead trout and federally endangered coho salmon. These facilities were the result of coastal development activities that threatened the area in the late 1950s and led directly to the Congressional establishment of the Seashore on September 13, 1962.

Drakes Estero is within Point Reyes National Seashore and is a nationally prized marine resource. The waters of the Estero were designated by Congress as potential wilderness by the 1976 Point Reyes Wilderness Act (Public Law 94-544). The Act designated over 33,000 acres as wilderness, including the waters of Drakes Estero. The wilderness area honors the preservation legacy of the late Congressman Philip Burton.

It is the only federal marine coastal wilderness between Washington State and Mexico and one of only 11 marine wilderness areas in the U.S. The estuary was recently designated a Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network, a site of Regional Importance in the U.S. Shorebird Conservation Plan because it is critical to a great diversity and abundance of shorebirds. A similar waterbird designation is pending. Drakes Estero is adjacent to Estero de Limantour, a State Ecological Marine Reserve, established in 1974 by the California Department of Fish and Game.

The estuary is a remarkable resource. Extensive eelgrass beds are highly significant to the ecological function of the estuary because they provide cover, food and a nursery for fish and invertebrates. Several marine species such as lingcod, English sole, speckled sanddab, rockfish, and Dungeness crab, spend their larval and juvenile stages in eelgrass beds. The bird life is highly diverse and abundant, with maximum estimated numbers ranging between 10,000 and 100,000 seasonally. Biologists have identified several federal threatened, endangered, or species of concern such as Osprey, White Pelican, Brown Pelican, Peregrine Falcon, Black Brant, and Western Snowy Plover. Black Brant over-winter feeding on eelgrass, and are on the Audubon species Watch List. The Estero is a sanctuary for harbor seals, annually producing 300-500 pups. During the breeding and molting season there are close to 2000 harbor seals in the estuary system. Point Reyes is a significant harbor seal area, protecting around 20% of the California mainland harbor seal population.

Restoration of Drakes Estero is a critical endeavor, locally and nationally. Our global oceans are in dire condition according to a recent publication in the journal Science. If the long-term trend continues, all fish species are projected to collapse within the next 50 years. Already, researchers have found that 90% of all the fish species in the world’s oceans have been depleted. Coastal waters have been degraded by water diversion, chemical and biological pollution, oil spills, and noise. Invasive non-native species have been introduced through bilge water, oyster farming and recreational activities. A scant 0.01% of the global ocean is effectively protected now, with Drakes Estero forming an important part of that small percentage.

The National Park Service (NPS) completed an Environmental Assessment (EA) process, including public review, for both the dam alternations and culvert replacements. Findings of No Significant Impacts (FONSIs) were determined after the public review process. Consultation for each of the projects was conducted with US Fish and Wildlife Service, Regional Water Quality Control Board, Army Corps of Engineers, and NOAA Fisheries, who all concurred with NPS environmental analyses.

Central Coast Marine Protected Areas adopted

Bodega Bay, Friday April 13, 2007 --------- There were commercial fishermen, spear fishermen, kayakers, gadflies, abalone farmers, sports fishermen and the Assemblyman author of the law crowded into the spacious halls of the Bodega Marine Lab Friday morning. Cars were parked for over a half-mile along the entry road. Over 200 were at the meeting – about 75 had one minute at the microphone. Two hours later the two-year process ended. The State Department of Fish and Game Commission approved Marine Life Protection Areas (MLPA) for the Central Coast.

Some speakers hailed the fundamental change the MLPA restrictions bring to environmental management. Some thought the restrictions were too much. Others wanted an adjustment favored by the coast users they represented. One castigated the commission for an illegal and undemocratic route to the proposals at hand.

Many in the audience were there to get a preview of the process coming to the North Coast.

Then Assemblyman Fred Keeley – with others – authored the law when the State Legislature passed the bill in 1998. The Marine Life Management Act created a system to implement Marine Life Protection Areas. Recognizing California’s fisheries and marine environment could easily be loved to death, legislators extended the range of their protections. No longer would the Legislature regulate by political decision but utilized a science-based structure of protections to the entire ecosystem – to all the critters. They also changed the approach to regulation from exploitation of the resource until destruction to sustainability. Each part of the entire coast would manage its species and habitats be conserved to its productive and sustainable life. They also recognized the ocean resources were not simply extractive – a kayaker’s experience of the coast was as valuable as the fisherman. Marine life need not be consumed to provide important benefits to people, including aesthetic and recreational enjoyment as well as scientific study and education.

This approach was revolutionary. No longer would politicians – beholden to supporters and lobbyists – make decisions about fish harvests. The Department of Fish and Game would become a science-wielding tool for restoring depressed fisheries and maintaining the sustainability of the coast. The commission would have final approval of the areas and would could or couldn’t happen within.

Click here to read the rest of the story

Salmon, salmon, salmon

Tuesday April 10, 2007 -------- The buzz at the marinas and coffee spots is salmon. The sport salmon season opened Saturday. The Pacific Fishery Management Council (PFMC) finalized their version of the commercial troll fishery last week.

“Looks like we get more time on the water,” said commercial fisherman and President of the Bodega Bay Fishermen’s Marketing Association Dave Yarger.

Off Bodega Bay the commercial troll season will be May 9-31, July 1 thru August 29 and Sept. 1-30. After Sept. 1, the minimum size moves up to 28 inches. The two days off at the end of August are to allow fishermen to land their catch with possibly smaller fish. Commercial fishermen are limited to 27-inch minimum in May and Sept. The size is bigger than in seasons past which means fishermen land and sell larger fish. “We catch less but they weigh more and we get a better price,” said Yarger.

The seasons north of Point Arena are shorter. On the coast in the area of the mouth of the Klamath, the season is practically non-existent. Fort Bragg fishermen fish in April, August and Sept. From Point Arena to Pigeon Point the season is May, July, August and Sept. Recreational fishermen on the same range of the coast fish April through Nov, 11.

Sports salmon fishermen also fared well at the opener. Ed Liebig and Vince Orsini, operators of the sport party boat Miss Anita said, “We did alright. Everyone on board caught a fish. One was over 21 pounds.”

Sports salmon fishermen reported some fish just outside Bodega Bay. The fish were not plentiful but were of good size. A Miss Anita angler caught a 21-pounder.

Lynn Schnitzer filed this report Thursday April 5.

Jodie Mazzucchi wins Lions Club speech competition

16-year-old Valley Ford resident Jodie Mazzucchi is the latest Tomales HighSchool student to win a speech competition sponsored by the Lions Club. "It started out as an extra-credit assignment from my junior English teacher, Mrs. Webster, to write a speech for this contest, so I wrote it and I won the first round," held at Tomales High School. "The Lions Club gives us the topic, which was 'Global Warming, Fact or Fiction.' I just felt that it was something interesting that I wanted

to write about and maybe I could change people's minds, so that they might do something about it, like not drive a car, but ride a bike." Jodie went up a level of competition, winning out of a field of three competitors at a meet held at the San Rafael Community Center. She goes back there April 5, where she will vie for a chance to win a $4,500 scholarship in regional competition. That money will come in handy when Jodie graduates next year, as she wants to attend the University of California, Santa Barbara, where, she says, "I don't know what I want to study yet, there are so many things to choose from."

Jodie Mazzucchi meets the press in the Tomales High School Library, following her string of wins in the Lions Club speech contest.

Photo by Lynn Schnitzer

Lynn also reports the Tomales Town Hall has a new sign as well as a new tree.

Click to view full-size image

Animal cruelty reported in Tomales

Tuesday March 20, 2007 –– TOMALES – A rancher at 10:53 am reported a cow killed by someone with a small caliber gun. Cow had three bullet wounds. Rancher said the animal was wounded on Monday but didn’t die until today. Rancher had some witness information. Report filed for 597A PC cruelty to animals. This incident was similar to another on Feb. 16 on Marshall-Petaluma Road. When area ranchers were interviewed about the killings several recalled a simailar incident about a year ago. However the rancher involved with that incident wasn't located.

UPDATE:

Farm Bureau establishes reward fund for cattle killer arrest Sonoma County Farm Bureau has established a reward fund to assist law enforcement officers in their investigation and arrest of those responsible for shooting and killing three cows in Marin County over the last month.

The roadside shootings have shocked the Sonoma-Marin farm community, which is coming together to raise money to solve the case. Sonoma County Farm Bureau’s reward fund will be in addition to the $7,000 already offered by other groups outraged by the drive-by shootings on rural back roads.

“Sonoma County ranchers are very concerned about this senseless killing of cows. There are no county borders when it comes to horrifying cases like this. We all need to work together to arrest and convict those responsible for these random acts of violence against livestock,” said Lex McCorvey, executive director of Sonoma County Farm Bureau.

McCorvey said increasing the reward money could help in getting someone to come forward with valuable information. The $7,000 already offered in the cow killings includes $5,000 from the Marin Humane Society and $1,000 each from the Marin County Farm Bureau and the California Department of Fish & Game.

Fish and Game is offering reward money because officials believe those responsible for killing the cows also are the poachers who killed three deer over the last month in the same area.

Chileno Valley rancher Mike Gale, president of the Marin County Farm Bureau, said a witness saw someone speeding away in a small, tan-colored sedan following the cow shooting last week on Chileno Valley Road. On Feb. 16, cows were shot and killed in pastures on the Gambonini and McDonald ranches, both located along the Marshall-Petaluma Road in west Marin County.

Gale said a small caliber handgun was used to shoot the cows.

Contributions to the reward fund can be sent to Sonoma County Farm Bureau, 970 Piner Road, Santa Rosa, 95403. Further information is available from Lex McCorvey at: 707- 544-5575.

Read this informative article in the Marin I-J about Shoreline schools:

"Nearly half of students in Shoreline School District are Hispanic."