Smokey sunrise this morning over Tomales Bay. Fall is in the air.

"This dog running around in the street outside IP Market right now." - thx CLC

These people looked like they had a winning sand castle coming together today at Drakes Beach. And some people seemed to be building below the high tide line. Oops.

LABOR DAY WEEKEND! Some hot tips: Go see 'A Midnight Summer's Dream' at St. Columbia's Church at 4pm Sat/Sun/Mon. If you have a kid who plays tennis, Xerxes Whitney having a mini-kid-tennis tournament Saturday at 4pm at Second Valley. The sand castle contest is at Drake's Beach on Sunday. It's going to be a mess, so unless your ready for traffic, avoid the area (this photo from last year). And there is a major wind event happening this afternoon.

Photo from Drake's last year.

LINK TO PLAY INFO: https://www.facebook.com/event...

Be prepared for wind on Saturday. "Locally gusty W to NW winds forecast late Sat. afternoon and evening. Yellow shading on map = 30-40 mph gusts"

"Amazing Shipwreck Gym in Pokémon GO! The Point Reyes in Bolinas Bay" Riiiiggghhht. I was wondering if there was Pokemon happening in Point Reyes. Now I know. At the famous shipwreck that was burnt up by Instagrammers. Of course. Anyone else experienced any Pokemania in West Marin? FULL VIDEO IF YOU DARE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?...

From Marin IJ: "Marin's representatives in Sacramento this week side-stepped legislation expanding overtime pay for farmworkers.

Dominic Grossi, a West Marin dairy farmer, former Marin County Farm Bureau president, and candidate for county supervisor, said, "I would have voted against it."

Grossi said Marin farmers would have to pay overtime because they are relatively small and typically employ no more than a handful of workers, while much larger farming operations in the Central Valley could avoid paying overtime by hiring more workers and giving each worker fewer hours.

"The people who are going to get hurt are the workers because they're going to get their hours cut," Grossi said.

Grossi said he employs two agricultural workers in his dairy, both of whom live on his farm.

"Almost every dairy up here supplies housing," Grossi said. "It's a significant cost that people don't think about."

Dennis Rodoni, who is competing with Grossi for the District 4 seat on the Board of Supervisors, said that wages and housing for farmworkers need to be improved, "but I don't know if this is the right bill because I really haven't had a chance to study it.""

FULL STORY: http://www.marinij.com/governm...

SFD outside of Inverness has both lanes closed right now for "milk transfer" from accident. Expect major delays for next hour.

Bad day on the roads today. This accident at Five Brooks required a helicopter medvac. Slow down and drive safe! And thanks to our local police, fire and rescue crews. (Photo via Marin County Sheriff)

UPDATE: Traffic getting through now with delays. TRAFFIC ALERT: There is an overturned milk truck on Sir Francis Drake between Drake's View Dr. and Inverness blocking both lanes. No word on when re-opening. (thx NT and SC)

A bald eagle is hanging out at the Nicasio Reservoir, sitting on a rock above the submerged road. Very cool.

"A rarely seen Baird's beaked whale turned up on a beach in the Point Reyes National Seashore this week, a possible victim of a strike by a ship. Scientists plan to perform a follow-up evaluation of the cetacean's carcass Thursday to determine whether any vertebrae were fractured. Specialists will also determine the sex of the 35-foot animal, which feeds about 20 miles off the Marin coast." FULL STORY: http://www.marinij.com/environ...

Looked they are shooting a movie or something at the reservoir tonight. Reports of stopped traffic. Anyone have details? (Thx SD)

Magic sunset out at the beaches in Point Reyes tonight. Anyone else get a good picture?

"Repairs are expected to start next month on an eight-mile section of a key road in Marin County that's been closed since a March mudslide, county officials said. The section of Fairfax-Bolinas Road between West Ridgecrest Boulevard and the Meadow Club country club in Fairfax has been closed since March 11.

The Marin County Board of Supervisors approved a $305,692 contract on Aug. 16 with Engineered Soil Repairs in Walnut Creek for the repairs.

The repairs could be completed by November if not earlier, according to county officials." FULL STORY: http://patch.com/california/pe...

Rare sight. A whole fleet of sailboats out by Chimney Rock with dead calm conditions. Was it some sort of race?

Flotsam (jetsam?) at South Beach. Local beachcomber theorized it was from Japan. #pointreyesnationalseashore #flotsam #jetsam

A large dead whale was floating about half a mile offshore of South Beach this morning with what appeared to be some sharks making a meal of it. Couldn't get a photo, did anyone else see it? Wonder if it was that minke whale from the Estero...

Inverness Shakespeare: A Midsummer Night's Dream. Theater returns to that really cool little stage at the St. Columbia Epsicobal Church this weekend. Dates: 8/27, 8/28, 9/3, 9/4 & 9/5, 4pm show times. Support your local thespians! MORE INFO: https://www.facebook.com/event...

"Roadwork on Shoreline Highway near Dogtown resulted in the subcontractors dumping asphalt into a seasonable creek that feeds into Pine Gulch Creek watershed and located within Point Reyes National Seashore. Happy to report due to public response and complaints filed through CalTip, Marin County Sheriff, Caltrans and to the Point Reyes National Park resulted in Fish and Wildlife officer response and NPS fisheries biologist review. Status today: the asphalt has been removed and any residual damage needs to be assessed. Thanks BOC for the pic and heads up on this!" - via the EAC

Reposting this important story because I accidentally deleted it while trying to remove just the photo. ""The harsh lives of ranch workers in West Marin took center stage last week at a Human Rights Commission hearing held in Point Reyes Station, where workers and their advocates discussed long hours, precarious housing and virtually nonexistent access to mental health services, among other problems. Concerned citizens also spoke up about elder issues, housing problems and youth services." FULL STORY: http://www.ptreyeslight.com/ar...

Nature photographer extraordinaire Carlos Porrata captured this amazing photo of an elk from the Drake herd in Point Reyes having some issues with his antlers. I believe the park was able to free the poor guy from his predicament, anyone know more about this?

Video of helicopter rescue on Route 1 by Stinson this afternoon. Everyone was ok.

https://m.facebook.com/story.p...

Highway 1 closed roughly 1 mile south of Stinson. Car went down cliff. Time of re-open unknown. (Thx WS)

Can you identify this creature found laying eggs on Shell Beach the other day? (Thx MB)

Anyone see lightning or hear thunder last night? Pretty sure I did.

There are some folks who are such a part of the fabric of the community, it's easy to think that they'll be here forever. Long time Inverness resident Joe Marino was one of those people. He was 80 going on 30 with a huge smile and genuine heart of gold. Chicken Ranch Beach will never be the same without him. You will be deeply missed and forever loved Joe.

That time of year. "Today at Chimney Rock in Point Reyes National Seashore I saw a shark breach. It was totally insane. It breached once which I caught out of the corner of my eye. I couldn't ID it as it was so fleeting. Then. A FULL breach, straight up, entire body out, tail and all, an arch in the air and the "SPLASH" down on its side. 5 seconds later, it hit the surface again and thrashed, seemingly like it had something in its jaws and was shaking it to death." via local nature photographer Daniel Dietrich

"The harsh lives of ranch workers in West Marin took center stage last week at a Human Rights Commission hearing held in Point Reyes Station, where workers and their advocates discussed long hours, precarious housing and virtually nonexistent access to mental health services, among other problems. Concerned citizens also spoke up about elder issues, housing problems and youth services." FULL STORY: http://www.ptreyeslight.com/ar... (photo by Press Democrat)

What a moonrise, anyone get a better picture then this?

"Free fire wood if you cut it up. At the corner of 5th and B. Please call first, don't just show up. There are logs there that are not part of this give away. Matt Bauer 541-930-2925"

Here is a picture of the live, stranded Minke Whale in the Estero. Very sad, never heard what happened to it...

"On Sunday, we were kayaking at Drakes Estero and came upon a live Minke Whale stranded on a sand bar. The whale was situated about a mile from the opening to the ocean and 3 miles in from the old oyster farm. We contacted the Marine Mammal Center to request help." (thx DC)

From a local reader: "Residents living in more rural towns may find that the U.S. Postal Service does not deliver mail to their homes. Instead, those residents must obtain a Post Office Box in order to receive mail. Unfortunately, I have heard about people in this situation, in nearby communities and beyond, being charged a yearly fee for the post office box. If the U.S.P.S. refuses to deliver mail to your home, it must provide a no-fee PO box." FULL STORY: https://broadlandsspectator.co... (thx JS)

"Several environmental groups are seeking an injunction to prevent the National Park Service from moving ahead with a ranch management plan seeking to extend leases to livestock operations that dot the Point Reyes National Seashore. The groups filed for an injunction Friday in U.S. District Court in Oakland to stop any work associated with the management plan. A judge could take up the injunction issue in October."

"Former Interior Secretary Salazar "” a cattle rancher himself "” unilaterally and out of the blue instructed the park service," according to the filing. "Secretary Salazar's surprise directive was not supported by any environmental analysis, nor informed by public notice and comment, as the law requires."

FULL STORY: http://www.marinij.com/article...

"Anyone missing a kitten? He followed us back to our car last night from the parking lot at Saltwater over to Inverness Way, we brought him home rather than leave him roaming along SFD, he seemed pretty happy to come home with us, but I'd hate to think someone is out there missing their kitten. He's sort of grendel colored, maybe a few months old." - via Aaron Ely

Looks like someone else us taking a shot at opening a restaurant at the boatel in Inverness. Anyone know more about it? Fog's Kitchen?

Want to buy Inverness? "The more-than-century-old building that encompasses almost all of downtown Inverness is for sale with a listing price of $2.5 million. Longtime Inverness resident Marshall Livingston has co-owned the building since 2001, but said his business partner, Dick Lemon, has moved to Santa Fe and wants to sell; Mr. Livingston co-listed the property with Sotheby's realtor Rick Trono after deciding he could not buy him out." FULL STORY BEHIND THE PAYWALL AT THE LIGHT: http://www.ptreyeslight.com/ar... (photo by Martha Proctor and the Inverness Assocation)

The Inverness Fair gets underway tomorrow by, Saturday, August 13 at 8 am with pancakes on the grill to support the Tomales Bay Youth Center! Browse the book sales for Marin County Free Library; eat a tostada to support Waterdogs and then some pie to support CLAM (my favorite kind of eating!) Plants and rummage sales for the Inverness Garden Club and much more - don't miss it! Right in downtown Inverness by the fire station.

"DRIVERS BEWARE - Last Monday the timbers used for the walkway across the Green Bridge located on Shoreline Hwy at the south end of Point Reyes Station caught fire damaging the walkway. CalTrans has inspected the damage and determined the walkway is now unsafe for pedestrians and cyclists to use until it is repaired.

The immediate problem is that this is really the only place for cars, people and cyclist to cross the creek without having to swim or at least get wet traveling into or out of town from the south. This is also a concern to me as there are children who use this walkway to go back and forth to school, which reopens next Thursday here in West Marin.

PLEASE pay extra attention when driving across the bridge no matter what time day or night to look for pedestrians and whoever and whatever shares that bridge and walkway until a time CalTrans can repair the walkway, CalTrans thinks they can get this done in the next 2-weeks.

ps: The fire is under investigation and initial observations lead to the thought that this fire may have been caused from a "warming fire" used by transient(s) seeking shelter under the bridge.

Lt. Doug Pittman
your local Sheriff 😊"

Let us know if you see any!!! "This month's Perseid meteor shower August 11-12 is going to be spectacular, according to scientists at NASA. Normally, the Perseid shower offers about 60 meteors an hour, but this year scientists expect an outburst to deliver more than twice as many." FULL STORY: http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.c...

The Transportation Authority of Marin decided to make the volunteer crossing guard positions at West Marin School and Bolinas School into paid positions. School is starting on Aug. 23 and guards are needed twice a day, 8 am and 3 pm. Shifts are an hour but TAM will include time & travel ( $27.00 per shift).

PLEASE Help or pass this on because right now, we have no guards.

To sign up please call Lynn Menard at 415-858-2148.

Background check will be needed before you start (very quick finger printing and ID check). A short training will be provided by TAM.

"Point Reyes National Seashore announced today that the restoration of Drakes Estero, a 2,500- acre wilderness estuary within the park, will begin this week. Workers will remove an estimated 500 tons of marine debris. They will extract and dispose of 5 miles of dock-like wooden racks, and clean several acres of plastic and other man-made debris on the estero floor and sandbars. " FULL STORY: https://www.nps.gov/pore/learn... (photo from Press Democrat)

A local citizen just saw smoke smoldering at the Green Bridge, called it in and the fire department responded quickly before things got out of hand. A reminder, if you see smoke, call it in! (Good work LN)

Maybe this isn't new, but someone spotted that the Bovine is using pasta as coffee stirrers. Compostable! Nicely done. Via Kevin Day on Instagram.

Every day is a day for something. Today happened to be National Lighthouse Day! Of course! Here is a short video from the PRNPS to celebrate our favorite lighthouse. #nationallighthouseday VIDEO: https://www.periscope.tv/w/1dR...

From the Point Reyes Light: "This is Tess and David responding to Karen's (and later to Abbie Durkee's) comments. First, we would be so much happier if you came to us with your complaint before posting it on Facebook. We always welcome any and all responses to the newspaper"”our family business, our livelihood, our work in progress. We are human and make mistakes, and we care deeply about the impacts of what we do. We are not in it for the money; there is very little money in this business and, contrary to what you state, publishing inflammatory or antagonizing material is not lucrative. Quite the opposite. The paper has suffered whenever we have printed something perceived as inflammatory or antagonizing.
About your letter title: I simply did not realize that a portion of your email subject line was intended as the title. I apologize for that. (I am working these days with a 10-month-old with me full-time, and my 5-year-old with me almost all of the time; things can slip past me.) Many people who email their letters don't include titles, and I have gotten into the habit of putting place-holders above letters when I send them to David for layout. I used to write the titles myself when an author did not draft one that fit into our space constraints; now I'm out of the office most of the week and letter titles are often written by David (as in your letter). It was not his intention to write an inflammatory headline; we both agree it was not a good title (and in fact I had intended to change it, then forgot to). None of us are great headline writers; none of us jumps at the task of writing headlines. I think we both have a good dose of anxiety about it"”it's difficult to write something in a very short space that captures a story or letter. Additionally, most letters come to us in the letter-to-the-editor form that we have on our website, and there is no space to write a title there. Most newspapers write their own letter titles, and as far as I can tell almost no newspaper goes through the trouble I do to edit letters with authors and gain approval of any tweaks and edits prior to publication. Karen, you will remember that I had to substantially trim your letter to fit it in"”it was still hundreds of words beyond the standard limit"”and I got your approval and even your praise before publication. You never mentioned your title in our editing process. Still, we are going to make a very concerted effort in the future to keep letter titles that authors draft. There are times when they will need to be shortened or tweaked for space constraints, but we will take extra care to keep originals. And if any of our readers are especially concerned about their titles being printed as is, just make a note of it. Call me! Email me. I'm super available and responsive.
Finally, we take serious issue with the idea that we try to pit people against each other to try to sell more papers. There seems to be the idea among some that we are nefarious people, tapping our fingers together while we ponder evil things to write so we can make more money. Please come meet us. We try very hard to make ethical decisions about everything we write. We make mistakes, but we do not intentionally slant writing to sell a few more papers. These kinds of accusations, and the Light bashing that happens on Facebook, hurts us and our family. They cause us an immense amount of stress. Thank you for thinking twice before doing it.
To Abbie: it's true, we changed the title of your letter. It was originally titled "Two sides of a white line" and we changed it to "Speak up for safety," which we did not think was a disservice to the point of your letter, which was summed up in your last sentence as ""¦ it takes a community to create a safe environment for everyone. Join the conversation." The reason for the change was to fit the whole headline on one line so that we could fit all the letters in the paper that week. Your title was the more creative one, but we changed it for technical reasons, not to make it antagonistic, as you imply."

From Karen Gray - "Today's Point Reyes Light features a Letter to the Editor that I wrote encouraging readers to take into account the need for notice to our first responders about crowd events in our villages. It was titled, "Permitting Crowd Events," and included contact info. for locals to get in touch with Marin Co. permitting and our local Disaster Preparedness representative for future events. The editor replaced my title with her own: "Music Festival Was Illegal." I would never use such inflammatory language. It is hurtful and disrespectful to my neighbors. More to the point, "illigal" is also irrelevant. Jay-walking across an empty main street in Point Reyes is "illegal." So what? Community health and safety is what matters - for locals and our guests who are visiting. I sincerely hope that this destructive move on the part of the Point Reyes Light Editor doesn't inflame the past antagonisms that we are working hard to leave behind. Setting neighbor against neighbor may sell papers but it is a real disservice to our community."

Don't forget, the Inverness Fair is this Saturday from 10am to 3pm by the Inverness Library. The Inverness Fair Scholarship Flea Market raises money each year for the IGC Scholarship Fund, so be sure to come out! Also a pancake breakfast at 8am!

"PATIENCE will be the word this Saturday on our West Marin roadways with one of the largest organized bike rides tomorrow, The West Marin Century.

Drivers, riders, cyclists, tourists and pedestrians need to be more aware than usual as our West Marin roads will be host to hundreds of cyclists competing in several bike races this weekend. CHP & Sheriff's deputies will help out where we can but we all must expect some slow downs as some of our roadways will have partial lane closures to ensure added safety for all. Primary roads impacted will be Lucas Valley Road, Nicasio Valley Road, and Petaluma Point Reyes Road.

Lt. Doug Pittman
your local Sheriff 😊"

Secret spot of the day, do you know where this is? (Thx CP)

"Four Latino families that have lived for decades at Olema's Stewart Ranch moved out of their homes this month." A very messy situation here, anyone have more details?. FULL STORY: http://www.ptreyeslight.com/ar...

"Law enforcement is searching for a motorist who abandoned a vehicle after striking a power pole in Inverness, resulting in a loss of power for more than 1,220 residents. Power is still out for 126 Pacific Gas and Electric customers in Inverness and Point Reyes Station, while California Highway Patrol officers seek the driver of the red 2002 Subaru Outback left at the scene at 11 Drake View Drive." FULL STORY: http://www.marinij.com/general...

UPDATE: Car accident on SFD by Perrys took power lines out. Power out in Inverness and Inverness Park. Someone reported seeing two bright flashes in Sir Francis Drake by Perry's before power went out. Anyone else have info?

Spotted in West Marin today. Keeping it real.

There is a pod of about 15 whales a mile out from South Beach in Point Reyes breaching, spy hopping and generally being wild. Perfect viewing conditions, grab your binos and get out there!

"Norman Solomon, the veteran left-wing activist (from West Marin), is good at his job. He knows there are thousands of reporters in Philadelphia eager to write stories about restive Sanders delegates at the convention. So he formed a group of restive Sanders delegates, the Bernie Delegates Network, and is staging a press conference each morning on their behalf at the Marriott in downtown Philadelphia The actual Bernie Sanders campaign, which at this point really just wants to have a nice convention and help Democrats win in November, has nothing to do with this group, which is here to make trouble." FULL STORY: http://www.vox.com/platform/am...

A very sad ending to this story. "Bones found by hikers on the sweeping shoreline of Drakes Beach in Point Reyes National Seashore in April were identified as those of a missing UC Berkeley graduate student, officials confirmed Wednesday." FULL STORY: http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/...

"An alert Sheriff's Sergeant Damon Davis observed a suspicious vehicle parked on Lucas Valley Road just east of Nicasio Valley Road, Nicasio. Looking inside the car Sgt. Davis observed numerous cans of spray paint and other items that are used in "tagging" or more commonly known as vandalizing other persons property.

Sgt. Davis now joined by Deputy Chellson checked the area and found 2 water tanks close by that had fresh "tags" painted on them (one pictured below). As the deputies began to search more closely 2 subjects suddenly stood up from where they were hiding in the grass and fled from the deputies up the hillside.

More officers arrived to assist with the search for the 2 suspects including CHP officers, a CHP helicopter, and 2 canines, one from Novato PD and another from San Rafael PD. The canines, only used to track down the suspects successfully located 1 of the suspects hiding in the grass. The second suspect was not located and it is assumed he continued his flight cross country to who knows where by the time the search was called off.

The suspect caught was identified as James Oliver Browning, 23 year old Novato resident. The second suspect got away but his days of freedom are numbered as we have been able to identify who is is during the course of our investigation and plan to be "catching up" with him soon.

If your home or property has been tagged by what we call a moniker ("BERG") like the one shown in the attached photograph, please call us at 415-473-2311 to report it as we can include it in our prosecution of these 2 individuals. It is our belief these two may have vandalized property not only here in West Marin County but also in many of our adjacent counties.

Doug

Lt. Doug Pittman
aka: your local Sheriff

What's with all the gunshots across the bay tonight? Target practice? Deer hunting? Quail for dinner?

We are lucky to have such incredible rescue resources in Marin. Helicopter rescue of stranded kids in Bolinas. Great work.

Car hit power lines on SFD past Balboa. Power is out. Traffic is blocked both ways for at least an hour.

Car hit power lines at Balboa at SFD. Traffic stopped at Perrys for now.

Car crash blocking SFD by Inverness, power lines down and power may be out.

This should be interesting. "Due to the recent wild Soberanes Fire in Big Sur we are moving this year's WOODSIST FEST to Point Reyes, CA. The new Fest site at Love Field in Point Reyes will be wonderful and ALL attendees are now able to camp on site as part of their ticket purchase." Dates: Tuesday July 26 and Wednesday July 27. Jonathan Richman in the line up! FULL STORY: http://www.montereycountyweekl...

A rare day when they're handing out parking tickets at Shell Beach for blocking the fire lane.

Low tide brought out geometric beauty last night on the Estero Trail.

Blimp! Who saw it?

"A lawsuit targeting dairy and beef cattle operations in the Point Reyes National Seashore can move forward, a federal court has ruled. Senior U.S. District Judge Saundra Brown Armstrong rejected a legal motion by the National Park Service to dismiss a lawsuit brought by conservation groups seeking an updated general management plan and assessment of the environmental impacts of commercial dairy and cattle grazing at the Point Reyes National Seashore." FULL STORY: http://www.marinij.com/article...

Full moon tonight, should be a good one. Can anyone get a good picture of it? I never can. "The full moon of July will rise tonight (July 19), bringing us a lunar charm commonly known as the Full Buck Moon which symbolizes the time of the year when male deer, known as bucks, start to grow their new antlers." FULL STORY: https://www.yahoo.com/news/ful...

"Emergency units are responding to a report of a vehicle roll over Shoreline Highway north of the Point Reyes Vineyard mile marker 31.34" - via KWMR

The Point Reyes Light is reporting that, "The epic rope swing that once hung from a large fir tree at Bass Lake came down when the tree fell recently." But naked people are still jumping into the lake. (photo by Ape Do Good)

If you haven't experienced Big Time before, I highly recommend. A very special event, right in our own backyard.