Your Tuesday paper — Thar’ she goes up! First building on old millsite in 60 years! + Music Festival band offers famed impromptu vibe + Caspar break‑in update
FORT BRAGG’S GIANT BLUE WHALE HOUSE COMING VERY SOON
Some readers noticed a pause in the very fast construction of the LaBONEatory which the Noyo Center for Marine Science will use to show off the bones of the beautiful 73 foot female blue whale which was killed by a ship strike from a research vessel off Fort Bragg.
The Whale House is the first new structure built on the Noyo Headlands/Georgia‑Pacific millsite proper in 60 years. Hikers on the Coastal Trail have watched it rise quickly with amazement and asked us to find out why construction paused briefly.
Toni Rizzo, editor of the Noyo Center newsletter, said the pause came while they waited for a contractor to deliver the windows. “We’re waiting for the windows to come in. The grand opening is tentatively set for Sept. 13. We have signup sheets at the Crow’s Nest and the Discovery Center for the newsletter and our events. We’ll also have signup sheets at our Science Social on humpback whales this Thursday at the Field Station — happy hour at 5:00 and the presentation at 6:00,” Rizzo said.
That needs repeating: a Science Social on whales is set for Thursday, with humpbacks, happy hour at 5 and the presentation at 6 — wow that sounds fun.
The Science Social appetizers and presentation are free, and they’ll have drinks for sale.
Dobie Dolphin, beloved across the Coast for her ocean‑lover spirit and her terrific writing, recently passed away. “We really miss Dobie. She was a remarkable person. She wrote excellent articles for our newsletter, which I am the editor of. We’re going to have a special issue on her,” Rizzo said.
UPDATE FROM MCSO ON THE CASPAR BURGLARY WE REPORTED EARLIER
MendocinoCoast.news talked to the Sheriff’s Office, which tracked down the report that some burglars had broken into an oceanfront house in Caspar. Neighbors were worried, since it appeared the thieves had come on foot. The video images we obtained showed two young men. The Sheriff’s Office investigated and found no evidence of a break‑in. Yes, the owner reported one, and we worked with neighbors to confirm that something had happened. But for reasons unknown, the owner apparently did not tell the Sheriff what he told us — perhaps insurance or something else; no one knows. Deputies did not have enough to file a case but did obtain the video, did investigate, and did make extra patrols along this remote road. They told us they have not seen any other break‑ins like this since. We had hoped that by putting the young man’s face online, he might see it and think better of doing what may have seemed like a prank. The two‑way camera inside was used to tell the pair to leave, and they did, and nothing was taken.
MENDOCINO MUSIC FESTIVAL TURNS 40 — A MAGICAL BLEND OF FINE MUSIC BY OUTSTANDING PERFORMERS IN ONE OF THE MOST ENCHANTING SITES IN NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
Reporters Frank, Brubaker and Cheeser walked the headlands while the chamber orchestra played Beethoven. It was surely incredible inside, but outside listening was its own kind of awesome. Beethoven’s pickle‑sharp treble peaks and murmuring bassoon lines make his music instantly recognizable, and all species react — the dogs twisted their heads at the sounds. Cheeser wanted to go in; Brubaker said he was off duty and headed for the beach. The music carried all the way to the front door of Dick’s bar across the lawn and street, where it finally lost out to the jukebox. I attended several picnic table parties. The three of us talked and planned what to do next. Soon, we were at the beach.
Tuesday night features Brittany Davis leading a group of jazz musicians. People love them for their impromptu, moving, jam‑session style sound. Check the discussion in the middle of the video we found — and the music. It reminded me of the mythical supper club days and listening to Billie Holiday, who mastered impromptu music like no other.
I once stopped outside a genuine supper club along the backroads of Louisiana while I was catching fish and getting eaten by mosquitoes. We heard the music start up and decided to go find it. It was all dirt roads, no signs, no ads, and packed with people dressed to the nines. My two friends were nervous about going in, but everyone was focused on the music, not us. It was very cool, but there was no place to sit.
Later, Mom and I went to a really old‑fashioned supper club on the Mississippi River in Iowa — huge, full of stuffed birds and deer, and yet its style blew our minds. We had one of the best dinners ever there, one of the best “finds” of our lives. It’s gone now, sadly.
Mendocino Music Festival 40th year
and out
GUALALA PROPERTY SALE, WHERE DO OUR BUYERS COME FROM?
Jeffrey Rosenthal of Woodland, acting as trustee, recently bought two parcels east of Highway 1 in Gualala for $425,000. The properties are on Pacific Wood Drive near Robinson Gulch. We check out cool parcels and sale prices whenever we get the chance, so nothing hugely news‑worthy here — it’s just that these properties don’t change hands very often, in our experience. Andrew and Diana Sharper of Alameda were the sellers. As the name suggests, the road is heavily wooded and also close to the ocean, a nice combination. The new buyer gets more than an acre, while single lots there are typically under an acre. Info from county records. We also find it interesting to see where people come from who buy property on the Coast, and after reading hundreds of these transfers, we’ll soon have some data to report.
Tuesday certainly has that familiar Coast feeling — music drifting over the headlands, dogs tilting their heads at treble peaks, volunteers hustling, crowds showing up even without publicity, and the festival rolling on as if powered by its own tide. Another time where Mendocino proved it doesn’t need much prompting to gather, listen, wander, and make a little magic out of whatever’s happening. Tomorrow waits, and we’ll be there.
