LATEST STORIES
Mendocino County to host six public workshops on sea level rise strategy
County planners and consultants will present findings and draft strategies from Sept. 29 to Oct. 5.
Fiesta Latina returns to downtown Fort Bragg on Saturday
The celebration brings music, folkloric dancing, food and a salsa contest to North Franklin Street.
Your Mendocino: A smile on the ground
A smiley faced drawn on the ground at a forest in Mendocino County.
Hearing all the voices: Fort Bragg’s Latino and senior residents
City Council candidates tackle how to engage and serve Latino and older residents.
Fort Bragg asks water users to cut back immediately after supply line breaks
Don’t water lawns, take short showers—drinking water service continues as crews repair line.
Hospital seismic retrofit estimated at $20 million, district weighs credit line
The Mendocino Coast Health Care District expects a building permit by the end of the year.
Fort Bragg City Council candidates discuss tourism’s importance to the economy
The puzzle is how to strike a balance between dependence on tourism and its impacts on jobs, housing and essential services.
5 local measures on Mendocino County ballots Nov. 3: What each one does and costs
Two are city taxes, one pays for ambulances on the south coast, and two are bonds from districts based in neighboring counties.
The Coastal Act turns 50 today: what it has decided on the Mendocino coast
Half a century after Gov. Jerry Brown signed it, the law still decides what gets built, and what gets launched.
McNear: Emma Barton Coombs had a magnetic presence that transmits through photos
A teacher by training, she was part of a foundational Little River family.
The circus at Crowley came in by train. So does the audience
The Flynn Creek Circus runs until Sept. 27, with over 20 performances in a clearing near Willits.
Mendocino Dance Project to invite audiences on a journey through nature with dance
Aerial and climbing techniques aim to immerse audiences in art and nature.
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FEATURED STORIES
UC climate scientist gives the skinny on Mendocino County’s winter
What is forecast to be the strongest El Niño on record tilts the whole North Coast toward a wet winter. What that means on the ground is not so easy to say.
Newsom vetoes Jackson Demonstration State Forest bill, citing need for ‘flexibility’
Mendocino County backed AB 2494. A rural counties group asked for the veto.
Mendocino County’s healthcare backup to Medi-Cal may cut its eligibility and benefits
The program for those who can’t get Medi-Cal could reduce eligibility. The first public hearing is Friday.
Mendocino schools broke water permit rules, county staff says
The school district filled two big water tanks in the dry months, which its permit didn’t allow. On Thursday, the county may rewrite the rules.
A white-eyed vireo is hiding in a Big River thicket
Found Aug. 31 and reported again Friday, it appears to be only the second instance of this eastern songbird on record in Mendocino County.
Mendocino’s sheriff is treasurer of a private nonprofit that funds the county’s trafficking raids
Five county sheriffs and a district attorney run a nonprofit, paid for by a Buffett family foundation, that funds cannabis and trafficking enforcement in five Northern California counties. It has yet to win a trafficking conviction.
POLITICS & GOVERNMENT
Ukiah citizens’ group Mendo Matters debate draws 3 of 8 city council candidates
John Strangio, Matt Froneberger and Robert Bazzani agreed on most things but split on annexation and license-plate cameras.
Fort Bragg City Council candidates discuss obstacles to progress
Candidates offer ideas to increase economic diversity, job creation, energy independence and more.
Newsom clamps down on California data centers as voters turn against the industry
Gov. Gavin Newsom signed seven data center bills into law, signaling a tide change toward regulation of the industry.
Police & Courts
Feather Alert issued for missing at-risk 22-year-old woman last seen in Ukiah
Ariana Arnold is a member of the Scotts Valley Band of Pomo Indians.
Ukiah man, 46, held on suspicion of murder in Hensley Creek Road killing
The caller told a dispatcher a woman had been killed with a knife, the sheriff’s office says.
Ukiah man jailed on suspicion of firing at a home on Calpella Road
Sheriff’s deputies say Skyler Blue Dausman, 43, pointed a rifle at his neighbors house.
ARTS & CULTURE
The Mendocino Setlist: September 21-27, 2026
Your weekly guide to upcoming music events in Mendocino County.
Printmaking exhibit combines with the 44th annual Steam Festival in Willits Saturday and Sunday
Mendocino County Museum volunteers will help visitors carve their own linoleum blocks to join the prints on display through Sept. 27.
Ukiah Library mounts show with local artists
Mixed media and paintings by local artists Cottie Morrison and Janet Rosen are on display.
Mendocino College displays new art created by students in first mural painting course
Mural reflecting themes of Mendocino College now on display near campus café.
FOOD & DRINK
The oldest bar in Mendocino County?
One bar at a time, one claim at a time, until the county runs out of either.
On Mendocino Ridge, a winemaker says wine’s real problem is trust
“Regenerative,” “sustainable,” “natural” — they’ve been stuck on so many bottles that a shopper has no way to tell which ones mean anything.
After years of pop-ups, Floyd and Connie’s opens a permanent Fort Bragg restaurant
“We’re telling people it’s like a sexy mid-century steakhouse” — if that steakhouse sported a large deck overlooking Noyo Harbor and personal touches everywhere.
COLUMNS & OPINIONS
O’Neill: A love letter to the Hog Farm
And to all the farmers who make up the community that supports local food and resilience.
Your Mendocino County Garden: September
The coast finally gets its summer, the tomatoes all show up at once, and the seed packets get a second chance.
Word Junkie: Mendocino County’s autumn edition
In which we rake up the season’s words and find a few from Boonville in the pile.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Letter to the Editor: State senators and assemblymembers should override Newsom’s veto
Newsom’s AB 2494 veto mires us in the ‘40s. We need restoration, not timber production.
Letter to the Editor: Fairgrounds are a safe haven during emergencies
Ask Governor Newsom to sign AB 1711 so our fairgrounds are in good shape when we need them most.
Letter to the Editor: The AMEX timber harvest plan at Jackson Demonstration State Forest relies on out-of-date plans
AB2494 will modernize forest management in many ways. Cal Fire should not lock in prior practices.
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Environment & Natural Resources
Navy won’t schedule North Coast sonar training meeting
This year the only in-person meetings are in Washington state. Public comments are due Oct. 19.
Lake Mendocino boat inspections funded two more years after golden mussel scare
Alerted by a mussel detection dog, a June boat stop at Lake Sonoma turned up lab signs of golden mussels.
Mendocino County Board of Supervisors weighs sea level rise rules for coastal building
People building in hazard areas would accept the risk and give up seawall rights.
Potter Valley Project series
U.S. House of Representatives votes to speed up stalled Lake Mendocino dam study
The Army Corps paused the Coyote Valley Dam study last October for lack of federal money. The bill adds none.
New models say a rebuilt Eel River water link could keep Russian River supplied
Computer models show that a planned water project on the Eel River could move about as much water to the Russian River each year as the Potter Valley Project.
Opinion: A seismic threat to the Potter Valley Project’s Scott Dam
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and PG&E should make public the internal studies of seismic risk to Scott Dam.
COMMUNITY
Sheepdog trials drew a full crowd on the last day of the Mendocino County Fair
Eight dogs who made it to the finals herded sheep through a course against a clock.
Mendocino County celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month
More than a quarter of the county’s population is Hispanic or Latino. A fiesta in Fort Bragg is on Sept. 26.
Winesong 2026 raises more than $700,000 for Mendocino Coast healthcare
The 41st annual event plays a vital part in funding healthcare needs—and offered a smashingly good time.
ANIMALS
Featured Pet: Hulk
Mellow Hulk knows how to dance and settle in as a happy, easygoing companion.
Jackson Demonstration State Forest marks Biodiversity Week with guided owl walk
Guided dusk walk on Saturday marks California Biodiversity Week with a search for the forest’s resident owls.
Spotted a western monarch? Conservationists are asking public to report sightings
Sightings can be submitted through the free iNaturalist mobile app.
Ukiah dog toast of the Big Apple. Welcome home, Jinny Lu!
She got in at 2 a.m. and announced that she was done talking to reporters.
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