Super‑Low Tides – Salmon Season’s First Catch, Judge Pekin’s Impressive Tally – Buffy watch begins – Why the College Bond Is Failing

It’s spring‑tide week again, and some of the lowest, most visible tides of the year will hit the Mendocino Coast over the next few days. Early risers will get rare views of exposed ocean “real estate.” Spring tides occur each month when the sun and moon align on opposite sides of the Earth, creating maximum pull during the moon‑tide portion of the two‑tide cycle.

Expect big high tides around midnight and lows between 5:30 a.m. and 7:30 a.m. during this three‑day window. If you head out, don’t walk on or crush intertidal life. And be aware: some of us are watching with telephoto lenses for poachers.

College bond likely doomed by Lake County votes

Votes are still being counted and some races could shift in the final tally, but the college bond is unlikely to be one of them.

The college bond has almost no realistic path to passage, even though the numbers appear close and ballots are still being counted. Much of the reporting elsewhere has focused only on Mendocino County’s totals and has left out Lake County’s vote. While about 53 percent of Mendocino County voters have said “Yes,” the bond needs 55 percent districtwide. Lake County voters are currently voting “No,” and the Lake Campus had fewer projects included in the measure.

Because the bond must reach 55 percent across both counties combined, the current totals would require a statistical outlier in the remaining ballots to change the outcome. To see the full results, use the official county links.

Current Election Results | Mendocino County, CA

Prelim Results | Lake County, CA

Race draws interest: Pekin’s vote total beats new judge running unopposed

Judge Patrick Pekin has received more votes in his race against Willits attorney Colby Friend than newly appointed Judge Fredricco McCurry has in his unopposed contest, at least in the latest count. Many voters simply skipped the unopposed race. It underscores Friend’s point that contested elections are healthy for a democracy. Voters engaged, asked questions, and learned a great deal from the debates and the coverage of this race.

Would Buffy Bourassa be the first indigenous Mendocino County Supervisor?

Early results show Buffy Bourassa leading Eric Hart in the four‑way race for Third District supervisor. The margin in the latest count suggests she and Hart are likely headed for a runoff. Bourassa, a tribal leader who works for the Sheriff’s Office helping jail inmates get back on track, would be the first Indigenous person we know of to serve on the Board of Supervisors if ultimately elected. However, it’s possible that Native candidates in past decades did not publicly identify their tribal affiliation, so the history isn’t definitive. Hart, who owns a consulting business, has said his experience improving large organizations could translate to better government.

In the Fifth District, early returns show Supervisor Ted Williams with a commanding lead, making a runoff in that three‑way race unlikely.

The state candidates on Mendocino County ballots will all return in November, regardless of their margins in the primary, because California uses a top‑two primary system.

Salmon season starts—Get pink, just not silver

June 13 marked the dramatic start of salmon season, and anglers wasted no time rushing back onto the water in hopes of landing the big pink fish. The ocean has been closed to salmon fishing for three years, aside from a brief two‑day opener last season, so the pent‑up demand is obvious.

Remember: it’s illegal to keep Coho (silver) salmon, even though they’re relatively easy to hook in the ocean. Only Chinook (king) salmon may be retained — with the rare exception of a Sockeye (red) salmon, which can be kept if caught here because they’re considered stray fish. If you can’t reliably tell kings from silvers, go with someone who can or book a party boat; most are running combined salmon‑and‑rockfish trips right now.

Fishing deeper is one reliable way to target Chinook instead of Coho. Coho are endangered in California, even though they remain legal to catch in Oregon. The concern here is that rivers from Central California through Marin County have lost their Coho runs, and any Coho hooked in local ocean waters could be one of those endangered Central Coast fish. Salmon in our own rivers and streams are slowly recovering, but none of those populations are considered strong enough to support fishing yet.

The salmon season reopened primarily because of three consecutive wet years, which boosted river flows and improved survival conditions for young fish. Restoration work has also helped, but the wet winters were the main driver behind the improved outlook.

In the Fort Bragg area — from south of Shelter Cove to Point Arena — the 2026 recreational ocean salmon season runs from June 13 to July 19, and then reopens for the entire month of August.

In the Fort Bragg management area, the commercial ocean salmon season runs from June 13 to July 19 and again from August 1 to 31. The season closes once 5,100 Chinook are landed, and in‑season management actions can shut it down early if the quota is approached.

Bruno’s market in Lakeport said to be closing…. what’s next?

A major story in Lakeport is the reported closure of Bruno’s grocery store after the business was unable to renew its lease, according to Lake County News. The situation is puzzling: county property records list the owner of 335 Lakeport Blvd. as “Bruno’s Property Management LLC Lessee.” The founder of Bruno’s sold the grocery business in 2006 to C&K Markets of Oregon, yet the land records we located show the seven‑acre plaza changing hands in 2019 for just $285,000 — a figure that seems unusually low for a commercial center of that size.

It raises questions about how the ownership and lease arrangements evolved over time. Bruno’s sold to C&K, but the entity tied to the Bruno’s name appears in property records as the landlord. The result is a head‑scratcher of a story that will need more documentation to fully understand.

It’s unfortunate for Lakeport shoppers. A store like Harvest Market would be a major upgrade, but the demographics likely wouldn’t support it. Markets such as Napa or Petaluma would be a better fit for a high‑end independent grocer, though those areas are already crowded with chains like Whole Foods that dominate the market.

There are several other places to buy groceries in Lakeport — Safeway, Grocery Outlet, Nature’s Food Center, La Fiesta Market and a handful of smaller markets — but many residents will miss Bruno’s Shop Smart if it does close. We don’t usually cover Lakeport, but a few readers over there asked whether we could look into this one. For now, all we can offer is this puzzling picture based on the records available. We’ll keep asking around.

In a region where salmon return after years of silence, where elections twist into runoffs no one predicted, and where a grocery store lease can turn into a riddle, the news has a way of reminding us that Northern California never moves in straight lines. The stories here wander, double back, and surprise you just when you think you’ve got them pinned down. Maybe that’s why people keep asking us to chase them — because even the smallest thread can tug loose something bigger.

We’ll keep following where they lead.