LATEST STORIES
Author of historical novel What Came West Josh Weil comes to Mendocino’s Gallery Bookshop
Saturday’s meet-the-author event offers a chance to get a signed copy and chat with Weil.
Mendocino County supervisors hold off on housing amnesty, study why last one stalled
The board voted 5-0 to review files from homeowners who couldn’t finish the county’s last amnesty.
Ukiah Branch Library hosts the last Produce & Pantry Share Saturday
Gardeners and others contribute free produce and pantry items for those in need.
Letter to the Editor: Ukiah’s Palace Hotel has been deemed dangerous since 2002
Two years ago, the city issued an order to either stabilize or demolish the building.
Ukiah man on parole booked after allegedly attacking woman, threatening two with a knife
Sheriff’s deputies say 26-year-old man struck a woman in the face, then returned hours later with a kitchen knife and threatened her and a man who stepped in.
Letter to the Editor: Ukiah City Council race subject to heavy spending
Mailers against the incumbents funded by No on Annexation supporter.
Escondido committee’s mailer hits Ukiah incumbents over 73% council pay raise
A Ukiah business owner gave the committee $5,000 three days before it paid for the mailers.
Cooley Fire over 1,300 acres, 23 percent contained
The fire started on Friday near Cooley Ranch, south of Yorkville, and has increased to 1,365 acres as of Monday.
Housing advocates plan to fill Mendocino supervisors’ chambers Tuesday
Owners of old homes built without permits say Mendocino County pushes them toward liens and teardowns. County staff insist they work to keep people in their homes.
The Mendocino Setlist: October 19-25, 2026
Your weekly guide to upcoming music events in Mendocino County.
Larry Spring Museum puts on participatory project Oct. 21 to build a drum kit
Biosound artist Scott Kidall and Anne Beck will upload the result to a central website for a group drum kit that can be played and shared.
Ukiah to celebrate its city-owned fiber network Oct. 27
The city and operator Vero Fiber say fiber now runs to more than 2,000 homes and businesses.
Caltrans’ Albion River Bridge repairs start Oct. 19, with weekday delays on Highway 1
Caltrans doesn’t expect to close the bridge overnight, but its permit allows up to 20 night closures through May 1.
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FEATURED STORIES
Fort Bragg’s blue whale comes home to the Noyo Headlands
The Noyo Center cut the ribbon Sunday on the Whale House LaBONEatory, where a 73-foot skeleton will be put back together.
Ukiah father and business owner detained 19 months ago for undocumented status
Married to a US citizen, he survives by his art and helping others.
Mendocino’s watchdog for 50 little governments says it has no hammer
LAFCo reviews water, sewer and fire districts on a schedule and fits the rest in ‘as we can.’ The coast hospital district has waited 12 years.
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.
If Measure D fails, ambulances on Mendocino County’s south coast could drop to one during some hours
A single hospital run can take up to seven hours start to finish.
Mendocino County Board of Supervisors warned that the county may not be ready for El Niño
Supervisors ratify a local emergency that brings no money.
2026 ELECTION
How would Xavier Becerra and Steve Hilton manage California’s most precious resource, water?
California governor candidates Xavier Becerra and Steve Hilton discuss how they’d manage conflicts over water. The Republican endorsed more spending on dams.
‘No Kings’ rallies in 5 Mendocino County towns Saturday push early voting
Fort Bragg, Ukiah, Willits, Point Arena and Gualala have events listed for Oct. 17, the fourth national No Kings day.
Prop 45 explained: CEQA overhaul could shift who holds power over building
Prop 45 would set deadlines on environmental reviews and lawsuits for projects like housing, roads and water systems.
POLITICS & GOVERNMENT
Mendocino supervisors to hire a Santa Clara County lawyer as county counsel Tuesday
The board also will vote on a permanent contract for interim CEO Sara Pierce and discusses amnesties for unpermitted structures.
Mendocino County supervisors to vote on 3-year contract making Sara Pierce chief executive
The contract would pay her $275,000 a year, about $481,000 with benefits, through Oct. 20, 2029.
Opinion: California’s Civil Grand Jury is in a hole, and it keeps digging deeper
Training is not remotely adequate, and that’s just the start of serious structural problems.
Police & Courts
Sheriff’s Office names father in deaths of his 2 children near Ukiah
Preliminary autopsy findings say Alexander Gonzalez-Gonzalez, 44, died by suicide. The cause of his children’s deaths isn’t being released yet.
Covelo man sought in Oct. 1 stabbing arrested after second stabbing
Jefferey Joaquin had been out of jail 3 weeks when the first attack happened.
Fort Bragg committee sends draft noise ordinance to city council
Ordinance sets noise limits for food truck generators, constructions, barking dogs, parks and harbor
ARTS & CULTURE
The Mendocino Setlist: October 19-25, 2026
Your weekly guide to upcoming music events in Mendocino County.
Ukiah Library hosts poet Jack Crimmins Saturday
Crimmins is part of the LOBA Poetry Series. An open mic for teens and adults follows.
Why California rural schools struggle to expand arts education despite Prop. 28 windfall
Prop. 28 is a chance at ‘rebuilding’ the arts in rural districts
A Redwood Valley vineyard, a grieving teen and a lot of miracles
Lili Zwart’s debut young-adult novel is best when Gabe Chureste has his hands in the vines.
FOOD & DRINK
The Golden West Saloon’s wildest story mostly checks out
Fire-insurance maps from 1898 put a saloon, a jail and three brothels on its Fort Bragg block. The oldest bar in Mendocino County, part two.
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.
COLUMNS & OPINIONS
O’Neill: Failures are part of farming
`Hotober’ caused aphids and blow-outs with the brassicas. The cannabis loved it.
McNear: Jensen Albertson’s Time and the Maiden took 7 years to carve
Albertson carved the sculpture from a single redwood log at his cabin in Big River Beach.
O’Neill: Temperatures are dropping in Laytonville but work hasn’t slowed
We try to replant with winter starts as soon as the cannabis stumps are out.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Letter to the Editor: John Haschak supports Eric Hart for District 3 Supervisor
‘Hart truly cares about all of the 3rd District and Mendocino County.’
Letter to the Editor: Democratic Club Candidate Recommendations for Fort Bragg
Dem Club and Central Committee support Godeke, Albin-Smith and Kaczorowski for Fort Bragg City Council.
Letter to the Editor: Prop 44 could hurt the rural patients it claims to protect
Patient care is about much more than what happens inside an exam room.
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Environment & Natural Resources
KelpFest brings kelp science, art and food to Mendocino Coast
The five-day festival runs Oct. 8-12 in Fort Bragg and Mendocino. It celebrates the coast’s bull kelp forests, most of them lost since 2014, and the people trying to bring them back.
Coast Residents rally against offshore drilling at Big River Beach
Sierra Club members say they’ve been here before and expect to fight it again as federal offshore drilling plans expand.
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.
Potter Valley Project series
PG&E plans November repair of void at Cape Horn Dam in Mendocino County
Federal dam-safety records show a void at the base of the Eel River diversion dam that sends water to Potter Valley and the Russian River.
Opinion: We have a once-in-a-generation chance to own our water future
Working together, we can ensure that our water infrastructure stays in local public hands.
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.
COMMUNITY
A potter’s estate helps Friends of the Fort Bragg Library start $1.5 million annex
Work began Oct. 7 on a building with a meeting room, a teen room and quiet rooms next to the library.
State budget sends $900,000 to Boonville fairgrounds for drinking water fixes
The work helps the fairgrounds connect to a water system the Anderson Valley Community Services District has proposed.
Mendocino County Planning Commission to weigh 74-foot Tibetan temple near Leggett
County planners recommend approval, citing federal religious land-use law.
ANIMALS
Featured Pet: Smiley
A wonderful, happy dog who needs a second chance.
Hopland donkey rescue opens a Texas hospital near auction site
Oscar’s Place had to put sick and healthy donkeys on the same 32-hour trailer. No longer.
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.
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