NEWS ARTICLE ARCHIVE — in chronological order, with pagination below
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Police & Courts
Graffiti, Hate Crime, and the Digital Vigilantes: Youths Target Homes Near Middle School— Online Mob Reacts to what? We have no idea
THIS STORY HAS BEEN UPDATED. See the updated story It’s one of those awful days in Fort Bragg. First reports point to young people involved in an incident, though officials haven’t confirmed what happened. Police are asking for videos of suspicious activity near Fort Bragg Middle School near Fort Bragg Middle School. Suspicious in what…
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Frankly Speaking
Running for Tradition, Feeding for Tomorrow: Turkey Trot & Presbyterian Feast
Fort Bragg lay sound asleep as we rolled through town. At the Cookie Company’s outside window, two grateful customers clutched their morning coffee. No cars sat in repair bays, no banks or stores stirred, even one gas station stood shuttered. The roads were clear, stretching hushed and empty in the holiday pause. Not everyone was…
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Fort Bragg
“The new chief might have gone federal, but instead the road wound from Santa Rosa to Napa to Georgia—finally landing in Fort Bragg as the town’s top cop.
Eric Swift once planned to become a federal marshal, but chose to stay with what he knew best—working in sheriff’s offices across two states. After a stint in Georgia, he longed to return to California. Knowing Chief Neil Cervenka, Swift applied when he learned of Cervenka’s retirement, first serving as interim chief before seeking the…
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Frankly Speaking
Blake More- please help save Mendocino Poetry in the Schools program- sign petition below
Dear fellow poets, teachers, students and friends, Some of you may have heard the rumors that the Mendocino County Office of Education is “postponing” the Mendocino Poetry in the schools program, despite the fact that it has operated uninterrupted in Mendocino County since 1974. I have been part of this program since 2001, its director…
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City of Fort Bragg
Big shakes at Fort Bragg PD: New Chief today?, Grand Jury Response, Transparency Portal
Three men — two from within the Fort Bragg Police Department and Interim Chief Eric Swift — are vying to become the city’s next chief this week. We expected a decision by Friday but the smoke signals have still not been sent out by Jason, Marcia, Lindy, Tess and Scott. It could be Monday now.…
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Frankly Speaking
UPDATE 10:10 PM — Woman found, cold but fine; taken to hospital for checkup. UPDATE 9:35 PM — Rescuers dispatched after 911 call near Summers Lane, Fort Bragg
SGT Ochoa reports she was located just after 10. Though cold, she appears fine and is expected to go to the hospital for a precautionary checkup. No further updates are planned. Sgt. Ochoa of the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office reports that the woman lost in the woods after parking near Summers Lane and State Route…
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Fort Bragg
New Pelican Wings over Noyo Harbor for Joanne Frazer’s Former Travel Agency—And a Video That Could Change How You See Flock Cameras
Check out this video from an investigative journalist on YouTube about Flock cameras. We’re still working on a long‑delayed story about Flock, and in the process we combed through more than 100 sources online. Most of what we found was the usual modern‑day noise—light on facts, heavy on filler, and often recycled from press releases.…
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Caspar
From Mushrooms to Milestones: Fungi Fest continues today & Fort Bragg’s New Police Chief
The Mendocino Coast Fungi Fest is back in full bloom this Sunday, running 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., with favorite vendors, mushroom-inspired treats, and a lively talk from the scientist who proudly calls himself the “Fun Guy for Fungi.” He’ll share his insights and sign copies of his book—adding a dash of wit to the…
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Caspar
Fungi Face‑Off: Truffle Dog and Scientist to show what they nose at Mendocino Coast Fungi Festival in Caspar Saturday and Sunday
The Second Annual Mendocino Coast Mushroom Festival has officially gone to the dogs in its second year—and you won’t want to miss it. Todd Spanier will lead a workshop and truffle tasting, while Heather Dawson offers a truffle‑dog demo. Admission is $35 for each day (Saturday and Sunday), with a special $25 rate for Mendocino…
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City of Fort Bragg
ICEBERG!! the wave energy desalinization buoy arrives! As first city in California to try wave energy, Fort Bragg about to step into role as world leader in ocean technology
After three years of refining both engineering and financing, the Oneka wave-powered desalination buoy, called Iceberg has been delivered and will be ready for its marketing “launch” in Fort Bragg this week—by its Canadian inventors, here to finalize logistics for the groundbreaking device. Iceberg’s test launch for the media is scheduled for Friday. Write us…
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Police & Courts
We Requested and Received Judge Clay Brennan’s Retirement Notice—We Didn’t Expect This
We requested Mendocino County Superior Court Judge Clay Brennan’s retirement announcement under the California Public Records Act (CPRA). The courts informed us that, by statute, the CPRA does not apply to judicial branch records. However, Mendocino County Court Executive Kim Turner released the email anyway—under the proper authority: California Rule of Court 10.500, which governs…
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Crime Reports
50 year old man arrested in Westport on gun charges, but this really doesn’t impact your life
Editor’s Note: Below is a press release about an arrest made by the Sheriff’s Office on November 9. As usual, it’s well put together by Capt. Quincy Cromer, who’s done his part. Now it’s in the courts. There’s about a 1% chance this case will affect your life. What will affect your life—and this case…
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Police & Courts
Court executive says there is no plan to close Coast courthouse, surprise cuts are blamed on Judge Brenann’s sudden retirement but there is much more to this story, stay tuned
With two unelected judges recently appointed and another on the way, it’s time to speak up for Fort Bragg about cutbacks to the Coast. Coastal supervisors, we need you! At MendocinoCoast.news, we’re calling on Supervisors Ted Williams and Bernie Norvell to speak publicly about the future of the Fort Bragg courthouse. We’ve had to take…
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Fort Bragg
7 people hurt in big accident on Highway 20 East of Fort Bragg- not as bad as feared, two extricated, helicopters called off, injured taken by ambulance
From the CHP Ukiah log… more details when we get them. 1:03pm CANCEL SONOMA COUNTY 1, AIR AMBULANCE. 12:58PM ALL PATIENTS TRANSPORTED. SOME WENT BY PRIVATE VEHICLE. 12:33PM 2 w/MINOR INJ. TRANSPORTED TO HOSPITAL ON COAST. REACH 5 CANCELED. 11:59AM ALL OCCUPANTS GETTING OUT, MAIN CONCERN IS TRANSPORTING PULL AHEAD OF STATE PARKS, WILL NEED…
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Frankly Speaking
NTSB Releases Report on Reach Air Crash; Fort Bragg Lions To Launch Thanksgiving Love Package from the Coast
Paramedic Margaret “DeDe” Davis was the one who called the Mayday after noticing the power had gone out—just moments before the Reach helicopter crashed in Sacramento on Oct. 6. The crash severely injured Davis, pilot Chad Millward, and flight nurse Suzie Smith. Smith succumbed to her injuries four days later. Davis and Millward have since…
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Police & Courts
Letter to the Editor- Wellington- I want to serve but Mendo Courts make it much harder for jurors than need be
Dear Editor, I finally made it to jury duty in Ukiah on Monday because they said they were no longer allowing anyone to get out of it because of distance. There were over 150 of us (many from the coast) at 9 am waiting for a felony trial that never happened because the defendant got…
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Frankly Speaking
First Friday Sparkles: Good News & Gorgeous Faces
Gotcha! We’ve had our fill of grouchy news lately—time to lighten the mood. Word Press has a very irritating main photo feature. So we run our main photo twice. Each photo from the rambles of Caesar, Brutus, and me comes with a story we hope brings a smile (and maybe a little learning too). We’re…
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Frankly Speaking
Mendocino County’s Judges Eliminate Civil Court in Fort Bragg-Without Telling the Public- Fort Bragg Courthouse: Criminal Court continues here but Death by a Thousand Cuts?
Are Mendocino County’ s judges trying to axe the Fort Bragg Courthouse once again? The year 2025 has seen slow cutting of Coast court services, all of them unannounced. The biggest hit so far has just come. Civil court on the Coast will be no more as of Nov. 14. What about the clerks? Will…
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Albion
Albion-Little River parcel tax for fire services may be reduced from $600 to $400 after committee listened to residents, discussed and revised
An informal committee of elders from Albion and Little River has now proposed a $400 annual property tax to support the local fire department. This ia a HUGE change from the initial $600 amount proposed. The amount is actually $200 per parcel, but any parcel with a residence gets taxed at $400. The previous tax…
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Covelo
Brick Walls and Burning Questions: Seeking Truth in Covelo -No Answers Yet: The Unfinished Story of Chief Bill Baker – Covelo history trip
We’ve hit wall after wall trying to uncover the truth in this troubling case. Attached are the CHP’s courteous but unyielding responses, and the only official facts we’ve received—a month-old press release that leaves the most pressing questions unanswered. Though Covelo isn’t our usual beat, we thank the three readers who sounded the alarm about…
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