7/31/26 Newspaper-Is corporate Hill House/Mendocino Hotel good news? + update on death of Stephanie Sprague, volunteers needed for Lions Club’s Carnival by the Sea+ Minnesota man missing from Dolphin Isle

FORMER MINNESOTA GOLD MINER MISSING IN FORT BRAGG

Joseph Paul Kruchowski, 65, was the subject of a search by authorities on Thursday after he was reported missing from his trailer at Dolphin Isle Marina. Kruchowski was born, raised and worked all his life in Minnesota, having a renowned bait and tackle business there. He became famous in the media when he opened a gold mining claim on the famous military Area 51 in Nevada, a few years ago. He disappeared from Dolphin Isle Thursday just before noon. At nightfall, he was still missing.

Sheila English posted this about the missing man..

“Missing around noonish- a Fort Bragg man in his early 60s with long, dark bushy hair. Clean shaven. Caucasian. Approximately 6 foot tall. He may be confused. His name is Joe. If you see him please contact local law enforcement and/or the sheriff.

You can also text his wife, Kelly – ‪+1 (775) 962-2252‬. Thank you”

POLICE STILL MUM ON NAME OF DRIVER IN FATAL

The investigation into the fatal crash that killed Stephanie Sprague, 67, continues and we believe you will be surprised when the full story comes out. This story will come out soon and it is different than what you might expect.

Stephanie’s cats were still outside on Thursday afternoon and being implored by Stephanie’s daughter to come along with her. They apparently escaped when the county deputies went there to investigate. Her dog has gone home with her son, Travis Squires, to Washington state.

Judy Martin at the Mendocino Coast Humane Society loaned Amber a have-a-heart trap, which hopefully will get the timid meowers into family hands. No information has been released by Fort Bragg Police so far about the driver or the circumstances. Jeffrey Sprague came down from the Red Bluff area to deal with the horrible aftermath of the unexpected death of his big sister. He looked into what happened, talked to police and walked the scene of his sister’s death, mapping out from markings left by investigators what happened.

Stephanie was walking her dog when she was hit or run over near the corner of South Franklin and Cypress Street. Attempts to revive her were made at the scene but she died at the accident scene and no transport was attempted. This is an odd story and PLEASE don’t jump to any conclusions here. The facts have not yet come out and when they do, you will regret making wrong assumptions..

We think the FBPD is doing the right thing in taking its time and not releasing the info until the investigation is done. This avoids the toxic Social Media trolls, people locally who have jumped into crashes, tragedies, crimes, and spouted misinformation, rumors, and engaged in hate mongering. In 2026, better to release information immediately only when there is some sort of continued public safety issue.

That being said, family was not notified nor told about the case in a timely enough fashion and they heard on Facebook who it was. NOT Mendocinocoast.news, this all came out on social media before our first story. We took time needed to verify and get the true, human story of this lady, so we were behind those just sharing facts or gossip.

We were able to tell some of Stephanie’s compelling story before the press release rubber stampers got a hold of the story. When her name was released, none of the media outlets sought to humanize her. Each story came with a photo of a FBPD badge and none made the effort to get a photo of the funny and lovely Stephanie.

This is truly heartbreaking to me, that they do this every time and are so willing to unquestioningly be the willing hammer of whatever the official viewpoint of everything is. Media that only give official viewpoints are fascist media by definition. Never questioning authority and spending tremendous effort to solicit donations to “independent media.”

NYC BASED OWNERS PARTY WITH MENDO DIGNITARIES AT HILL HOUSE, TELL ABOUT PROGRESS ON MENDOCINO HOTEL

Yes, it’s corporate. Also yes—it’s a very nice addition to our community with some great ideas and creative, still emerging grounds. They don’t overdo Murder She Wrote, There is a nice nook celebrating the 1980s TV show starring Angela Lansbury. The show was partly filmed at an earlier incarnation of the Hill House and the new owners have an approach worth reading about.

Can Mendocino welcome more out-of-town owners to two key properties here? Can a big corporation actually tell us the truth for once?

We went to the grand opening of the new Hill House, with an admitted bias in our belief that corporate chains and colonization of communities by money and power have caused the demise of America in my lifetime. That being revealed about my perspective, let’s take a look at the plusses and minuses.

The gala opening on Wednesday of the Hill House was suitably stylish and utilitarian and just step one for Castle Peak Holdings, which also owns The Mendocino Hotel, scheduled to reopen in Spring 2027. Both projects are clearly focused on different niche businesses. The Hill House at Trailborn’s focus includes fresh and attractive venue space, suitable for a corporate conference that employees will love WAY more than if their company picked Redding or Fresno for the convention. Yuck!. Its also good for a multi-level concert-party or an upscale auction of rare antiques, with viewing rooms and a fine auction gallery. Upstairs is accessed by an elevator as well as a spiral staircase. The major focus is partnering with local attractions like the Skunk Train and Botanical Gardens. And Trailborn is willing to put money on the table, not just talk about what a nice idea it would be if we all worked together.

‘As we look around this room, I know there are people here that are going to be important funders of ours or already are important partners of ours at Trailborn,” said MIke Weiss, co founder of the company that owns the Hill House.

“Here now are experts on the market and experts on all the things that I should be doing, and they helped me explore that and have that adventure while I was there. We can’t do that all on our own. We have to find the vendors that we want to work with, the partners we want to work with. Whether that’s a kayak tour or a wine tour, we’re bringing wineries here to show off all the great wine that they have. So we’re going to be planning some of that. We want to hear all of your ideas and suggestions, and you tell us what you want to see happen here, and we’re going to try and do our best to make that all,” Weiss said.

The 44-room Hill House stands out among Mendocino hotels for having more rooms than most and in that it was built in 1978, while many of the others are roughly 100 years older than that. On paper, Castle Peak got a bargain at $4.26 million in June 2022, but locals knew how much fixing it would need. The company got a $20 million USDA-backed loan to fix up both the Hill House and the Mendocino Hotel. While some don’t like it being conglomerate-owned and based out of NYC, its probably what was needed to have the money to turn this back into a big contributor to the local scene and economy. They purchased the Mendocino Hotel at the same time for $5.8 million.

The Hill House opened on Father’s Day weekend and has had lots of guests since, as the peak season is upon us. Construction is ongoing of the grounds, giving grand opening guests what could come next. Reporters Cheeser, Brubacker, Frank and Linda particularly loved the creative use of driftwood in the chairs in one area. Fabulous flower arrangements reminiscent of the Botanical Gardens in the front with other areas still bare ground or with flowers going in. Rooms will run from as low as $199 in the winter to $500 in the peak season, or whatever the going rate is around here at the time, staff predicted.

Unlike many of the businesses launched around here, a big effort is being made to be different at these two iconic Mendo properties. (Planners of yet another pizza parlor or Mexican eatery in Fort Bragg should take note). Creativity is the first thing lost to most corporate chains. And most corporations of every type are total screwups with no plan and just lots of money. They are usually staffed by MBA bean counters. Usually–the entire strategy is usually to shout marketing and advertising messages louder than any local, while actually putting as little money into the once locally owned property. The community and workers get shafted by con artists. Think the previous owners of the Heritage House.

We were delighted by the nice reception the corporate types gave the bigwigs in our community and also to see local people very involved in this operation. As creative owners of local businesses, we are lucky to have them and their strategy for both the Hill House and the Mendocino Hotel, in our view.

The strategy for Hill House is twofold. The most fun part is they are working hard to link visiting hotel guests with adventure companies locally, creating special deals and ease of going for a ride on the Skunk Train, enjoying a day at the Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens, touring Noyo Harbor or taking a Kayak ride at Van Damme. Although owned by a giant corporation based in New York City, the division or subsidiary is called Trailborn. Trailborn focuses on properties located in the most awesome place on earth. (Like Mendocino). They won’t be buying a property in Ukiah or Yuba City. In all those places, they try to give guests the full adventure experience.

“Trailborn is a collection of hotels and resorts, and what we think are the most extraordinary outdoor destinations in the country. Like Mendocino is. We started the business with the view that life should be an adventure; that life is better when you’re outdoors, when you’re seeing the most beautiful places, meeting new people, taking the time to take a step back, find yourself, breathe the fresh air, see some things you haven’t seen before, and there’s no better place in our minds than Mendocino. So this is going to be a big market for us. We’ve got two of our properties here, and we’ve been working on this for a very long time. It’s taken longer to get the doors open here than we wanted, probably longer than a lot of you wanted,” said Castle Peak’s co-founder Mike Weiss.

Part two is offering snazzy but not overdone convention and local meeting space at Hill House. That was one thing Hill House was famous for in the past: their grand ballroom, which has been brought back better than ever with a better music stage. And upstairs are two conference rooms, very nice. And there is an elevator, so all can participate.

The ballroom was always grand and has been brought back as such. Some is totally renewed, such as two upstairs. Because the Hill House dates from 1978, it was built by a modern penny-pinching, tall tale-telling developer. It was cheaply made and required a massive renovation investment to put it back into service in the style that Trailborn needed. These corporate owners also got bucked off the Mendocino horse at first. First came the pandemic worker shortage and then they used somewhat heavy-handed hiring practices that work elsewhere, from what I found along the way. Frank was first to report this story, back when he worked for the Mendocino Voice.

They learned and they truly have innovated and they are trying something really cool. And they really have plowed money into this project. I listened to the speech by the head guy (Weiss) and watched them all during this grand opening. I don’t usually care for CEO types, who are usually stuck in perpetual con artistry and platitudes, but I liked this guy. See the photos. A goofy local guy asked Weiss a question about Barstow that was supposed to be funny or throw him off but he joshed back and continued. Of course, this is just an outsider’s view, but it looked like a place to work that is demanding and also fun.

I asked Weiss how much Trailborn had spent turning the wreck that the Hill House was into something snazzy but not super upscale working hotel. He said he didn’t know how much he could tell me as some of that information is proprietary in partnerships. Rarely for me, I believed a corporate leader from some thing with “Holdings” in the name.

The original developer said he made Hill House to resemble an “New England fishing village,” whatever that is? I never got it but Hollywood did. The Hill House got to be famous when they were filming Murder She Wrote there, which was supposed to be in New England. I lived in New England and still don’t see it. Hill House, while located in one of the coolest destination towns ever, misses actually being in the declious part of Mendocino. There is a death defying walk down the eponymous Hill to town, unless you cut through the cemetery. Hill House stands apart, being up on the hill and above the cemetery, not downtown or in old Victorian homes around the town of Mendocino (which was called the City of Mendocino in the old days, although it was never an incorporated city). There is the Hill House and then there are the nearby residences and that is it, barring a car ride a few hundred feet in either direction to dramatic beauty or the fun old town or the ocean.

Hill House was dying and falling apart before Trailborn. One could get a room for $90 and the toilet wouldnt work. It had one star reviews at the end of the previous ownership.

Nothing like that will likely ever happen under the ownership of Trailborn, a partner with Marriott (I was told it’s incorrect to do what others have published and say the Hill House/Mendocino are owned by Marriott. But there is a bit of Marriott and its famous conference centers in the Hill House.

Their Mendocino Hotel is a whole different story. It is the property in the heart of Mendocino, the grand dame of the old and new Mendocino. Humorously, it too was built cheaply–back in the Old West. It was never a grand hotel in its original incarnation. But as the 20th century became focused on tourism (fairly early on). It was brought “back” in grand style, as if it was the Ritz of Mendocino originally

Mendocino’s premier hotel visionary of the mid-20th century, Heritage House creator Loren Dennen, was the second to totally renovate the Mendocino Hotel, about 60 years ago. Thirty years later, Jack in the Box Founder and late life Super Mendoman R.O. Peterson renovated it again. But neither of these two hotels had the bones that one might expect.

Trailborn plans to open the Mendocino Hotel next year surprisingly focused on getting locals in to the restaurant and bar and having it be a fun place to put up Uncle Bob and Aunt Sally. Weiss talked about a desire to have the truly grand old bar, likely the coolest one on the Coast, as a focus for local brews, eats and gatherings. Linda and I loved the restaurant for its French Onion soup.

“We’re going to be opening a full-service restaurant down at the Mendocino Hotel. We’re going to bring that bar back to life, and really hope that that lobby down there is a place where all of you want to come and spend time and gather with each other. And so I know that that’s been a special place in this community. And so we’re trying to update that just a little bit while we’re working on a lot of the history and the charm and celebrating that space. We’ve also renovated all the guest rooms. We’re renovating all the guest rooms down there, adding suite bathrooms to to the second floor, which is the we didn’t have there. And we’re going to have a lot of events and activations,” Weiss said.

Weiss explained tht their approach is different than that of other corporations.

“What’s unique about Trailborn is every one of our properties is unique and different. We go in, we study the market. We understand the history of these places. What makes them special? And our job is to help bring that to life. And so, both of these properties here, and as you know, are historic places. There are a lot of things that have happened in these markets: gatherings, weddings, events that have happened. And our job is to try and create a space that you all want to come back to and fall in love with again. And so, to give you a little preview of of what we’ve done here, there’s going to be tours that happen after this. We’re going to do a quick ribbon cutting, and then we’ll do some tours. But as you can see, we’ve got in our minds two of the best spaces in the northern coast. to update them a bit to bring them back to life and make them a place where people want to have their special events, while maintaining as much of the charm and the history as we could. So, if you walk around the space, you’ll see in the artwork, in the programming, we’ve tried to celebrate a lot of what Mendocino has to offer, the things that have happened here, we’re going to do even more of that down at the Mendocino Hotel, and so we’ve renovated all of our guest rooms here. We’ve opened up Pizza Standard Time, which is a fun pizza concept here.”

Downsides of corporate ownership at these two hotels? The ownership will always be in NYC.. The profits will go back there and the creativity will come from there and from the sharp-appearing partnerships and subsidiaries. Even if we like the boss, there is always a new boss and there is no actual local control. And the sad fact is that corporations almost universally seem to eventually resort to loud marketing and little follow through on the big vision.

Compare Trailborn and its two properties to the The Grove and The Cove, two even more innovative places to stay in the local hospitality business. They are owned by a local couple who came here from Napa but now live near one of the properties. When the boss lives here, its always way better for the community. People can talk to the actual power and vision. And they are involved big time locally. Co-owner Theresa Raffo is a driving and funding force for the Noyo Food Forest.

So we hope that local businesses will partner with Trailborn and other hotels and places to stay and create great experiences for visitors. But remember our critical thinking skills, doubt all advertising and marketing message and do know virtually all the local media are in the service of power and willing to publish whatever anyone who sends them a press release might send them. And the rest won’t ever question corporate power ever at all, for any reason. Mendocino is in the grips of the right and there is nothing to be done about it unless we start using our critical thinking skills again.