NEWS ARTICLE ARCHIVE — in chronological order, with pagination below
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Frankly Speaking
Sudden Death of GOP Congressman Will Reshape California Water and Farm Politics as well as DC; Frank Shares His Take on a ‘Very Smart, Very Dumb’ Politician
We offer some personal reflections and speculation about how a rock solid rice farmer could have such extrememe culture wars opinions and how his death might impact everything from the gray wolf to the future of water in Mendocino county. (Read the article in Politico first for the facts of what happened to the congressman…
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Frankly Speaking
Holiday Tradition Continues: Lions Club Turkeys & Capt. Tim’s Famous Stuffing Served Christmas Morning; Free Take‑Out at 1:30 While Supplies Last
The Lions Club was getting ready for their annual free Christmas Eve dinner for seniors, with turkey take‑out and delivery lined up for Christmas Day. The current Lions have been carrying this tradition for 25 years, but the annual holiday meal itself goes back even further — a long‑standing community ritual that has fed generations.…
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Crime Reports
Storms and Holidays Bring Flurry of First‑Responder Calls; Forks Ranch Market Among Inland Sites Hit, Suspects Arrested, Property Recovered
I’m sorry to report it’s been an unusually busy stretch for law enforcement in our county—right in the middle of the Holidays and on top of all this bad weather. The scanner has been far too active tonight. As always, we don’t report scanner chatter unless it involves a potential threat the public needs to…
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Roads & Transportation
We will be Staying on This Side of the Westport Washout — Wednesday Is a Stay‑Home Day – Cruise With Us for the Last Summer Day of the Year — And Let’s Hope the Robbery and Drowning Mark the End of the Bad News
The storm didn’t hit as predicted on Tuesday, so we’re holding off on full storm coverage for now while we focus on the big washout and everything unfolding between Fort Bragg and Westport. Up to nine inches of rain are still forecast for the higher elevations through the weekend — stay tuned. We’re expecting around…
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MacKerricher State Park
This ocean kills! Stay back! Deputies seek help to ID woman, 70, pulled alive from surf who was alone at MacKerricher- stay home today, get ready for power outages, Voice IDs victim as Diane Wittig
UPDATED PRESS RELEASE (12/29/2025 at 2:00 P.M.):As a part of this continuing coroner’s investigation, Sheriff’s Deputies were able to identify and notify the legal next-of-kin for the decedent. The decedent was identified as Diane L. Wittig, a 77-year-old female from Fort Bragg, CA. An autopsy was performed as a part of this investigation on 12/23/2025…
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CalTrans
Westport washout now open to one way traffic, defying early Caltrans forecast, 128 also reopening by 1 p.m, the current forecast says
State Route 1 sinkhole opens just past Westport; Highway 128 closed at Navarro, possible reopening after noon. King tides, storms, and more rain are lining up this week. How much flooding will we see? Help us track it. When we first started reporting this morning, there was only one way in and one way out…
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Crime Reports
Nevada gunman, 21, staying at Motel 6 in Fort Bragg arrested in armed robbery of Sinclair- oh no not the Dino! It blew over the same night!
It was a bad night for the Sinclair, robbed Saturday night and then the beloved logo blew over in this morning’s high winds. Fort Bragg Police had a better day, they canvassed everywhere right after the robbery and located the alleged gunman in the Motel 6 in Fort Bragg. Less than 4 hours after the…
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Crime Reports
MCSO investigates report of shooting on Robin Road in Simpson Lane area of Fort Bragg, unable to determine if crime occurred or not
Mendocinocoast.news investigated scanner reports about a shooting on Robin Road in Fort Bragg that was broadcast. There were reports on the scanner for about two hours. Mendocinocoast.news does not report on scanner talk until we can confirm what actually happened with authorities. We asked Quincy Cromer of the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Department and he provided…
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Frankly Speaking
Light Up the Coast – Show Us Your Christmas Lights! From Westport to Elk, We’re Posting Them All-Showcase the Lights!
Update- go see the lights tonite!!! From KOZT calendar. Monday, December 22 will be Fort Bragg Holiday Lights Year 3. A walk around the residential path along Fort Bragg streets all dressed up for the holidays. Meet on sidewalk in front of Skate Park at CV Starr Community Center We’re inviting readers to send in…
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Environment
Death cap mushrooms kill one, sicken 21 in San Francisco and across Northern California—only forage mushrooms you know are safe! State fails to give out any relevant info in alarmist press release
We have no idea who died, how they died or if all 21 or 22 mushroom hunters were in one county, all together or what, but the state has issued a press release imploring everyone to stop all wild mushroom hunting. The state is saying that death cap mushrooms are taking their worst toll on…
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Frankly Speaking
Clear the Path to the Waves: We Urge Removal of the Neighborhood Group’s ‘Stop’ Sign, Restore Pine Beach Access, and Celebrate the Classy but locally friendly New Inn’s Arrival
MendocinoCoast.news believes it is our responsibility to champion public access to public lands too long kept out of reach. Today, we take up that charge with the beach that first opened below the Pine Beach Inn in 1938—now reborn as The Mendocino Cove—and with a second nearby area still restricted. Our work is to clear…
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Noyo Harbor
Without recent data, Cal Fish & Game Commission Extends Abalone Ban to 2036 (Probably!) — Crab Season Opens in Fort Bragg; No California challenge to salmon rules
Third grader Felix Savedra was king of the Fort Bragg fishermen on Saturday, and it came as no surprise to those who know the veteran fisherboy, Felix, 8, was among the first to haul in a full limit of crab off Fort Bragg since last spring. He also landed the day’s biggest catch aboard the…
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CalTrans
Saving Highway One with 100 Boulders a Day, Plumbers, and Millions to Keep It from the Sea
The 1970s brought a peculiar terror: that California, land of sunshine and seismic fault lines, would one day slide into the Pacific Ocean. Don’t laugh too hard—our collective imagination still runs wild, and we believe far sillier myths today. The hysteria may have faded, but the reality is stark: beyond Pacific Star Winery, the Mendocino…
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Events
State Parks’ lifeguards help train surfers during a fun day of learning, bbq at Russian Gulch Saturday
A day of fun at Russian Gulch State Park on Saturday will feature lifesaving techniques, CPR and how to use the water safely. The fees normally collected at the entry station at Russian Gulch will be waived for the event. It’s a great chance to check out a program that has saved lives on the…
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Frankly Speaking
We were truly in a fog when we went to check on Jack Peters Creek opening, come with us and the feth fiata through a familiar coastal wonder!
We were told on last Friday by Caltrans that the light at Jack Peters Creek Bridge would be pulled sometime this week, marking the first time in two years we could drive through there without that infernal red light wait! . We didn’t like that. We wanted to know an exact day. So we engaged…
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Business & Labor
Haywire, Fort Bragg’s western wear store is closing at the end of January…. ending 107 years of Makela’s and Haywire selling shoes in Fort Bragg
Haywire, New Work and Western Apparel is closing at the end of January, the owners announced today on Facebook. It will be the end of more than a century of tradition, from what our research shows. The Anderson family saved Makela’s a shoe and retail store in Fort Bragg from 1918-2013, expanding it into work…
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Skunk Train
Breaking News It’s a Train & It’s a Skunk: Appeals Court Grants Skunk Train Eminent Domain Victory — Will work on the tunnel now actually start?
Update- we got a response from Robert Pinoli-seeking reply from other side as well Update- We just got information from Trout Unlimited saying the Skunk was NOT compensated for delivering materials on the railraod to TU. We have put this in the story at the relevant spot. MendocinoCoast.news has just learned of a major development…
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Frankly Speaking
Hate Crime Report Clarified — No named Suspects, No Arrests as of Monday
Police issued a weekend press release seeking help to identify those behind a possible hate crime; we now have updated information. This remains a puzzling matter; readers may want to revisit the original press release and our earlier story first. Previous story on odd alleged hate crime On Monday afternoon, police confirmed no arrests have…
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CalTrans
Red light ‘district’ north of Mendo ends after 2 years this week!~ Let’s seize an amazing ‘concert venue’ above Jack Peters Creek Bridge!
Jack Peters Creek Bridge doesn’t have a grand reopening day planned so far like Noyo or even the Pudding Creek Bridge. But the traffic light that has been tying up traffic for two years should be removed by Wednesday, said Caltrans spokesman Manny Machado and a guy I talked to on the scene Monday morning.…
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Environment & Natural Resources
Come join me tomorrow on a Mendocino Land Trust King Tides walk after the KOZT broadcast and send us your king tides photos- here are ours
Annual King Tides Return to Mendocino Coast It’s that time again — the highest and lowest tides of the year are rolling in. The California Coastal Commission invites residents to photograph these extreme water levels as part of its King Tides Project, creating a visual record of our changing shoreline and we want your photos…
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