Free Republic

A two-mile strip of road in posh Marin County, California – which George Lucas, Tony Bennett and Robin Williams have all called home – has been overrun by a vagrant camp that has brought drugs and devastation to the area. Binford Road in the city of Novato has devolved into a makeshift neighborhood of “tweakers” with hordes of people living apparently rent-free in a shabby collection of broken-down RVs and trailers parked at the side of the street. The Post counted 71 vehicles during a recent visit, where locals blamed local authorities for encouraging the encampment in the area —...

Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin was one of the youngest leaders on the global stage today. She was also a far-left narcissist and a national disaster. Sanna Marin was a hardliner on the Ukraine War. She says Ukraine represents Western values. Last week Ukraine arrested one of the top Orthodox priests in the country. Only government approved churches are allowed in Ukraine today – sort of like in China. Back in August video leaked of Sanna Marin partying with celebrity friends. She was urged to take a drug test after videos of her partying it up with her celebrity friends...

Official says the fire was likely started by an illegal campsiteA tragic loss in the North Bay, where one of the last remaining old growth redwoods in Marin County was destroyed by a fire this week. The Pioneer Tree inside Samuel P. Taylor State Park was hundreds of years old. Fire officials believe an illegal campsite could be to blame. "It's lost forever," said Marin County Fire Chief Jason Weber. Fire crews were still on scene of a blaze on Friday which destroyed an iconic piece of Samuel P. Taylor State Park, known as the Pioneer Tree. The loss is...

I am starting the new year feeling frustrated and verklempt. It’s not how I usually start a new year. I generally am full of hope for the months ahead even while acknowledging that time is a social construct and that nothing dramatic is going to happen when Dec. 31 becomes Jan. 1. But this year is different. My community is ever so slightly more at risk, and I’m distraught. For the past few weeks I have been hosting, in a separate unit, a mom and her son who are moving to Marin. By now they should be settled into their...

Residents of Marin County near San Francisco claimed that a caravan of Trump supporters that rolled through the area reminded them of “terrorists,” according to the San Francisco Chronicle. Allen-Peirson said she was worried that the Trump convoy had purposefully selected Marin City as a minority-majority community in a county that is 80% white. Marin City has had a strong African American presence since World War II, when many people worked in wartime shipyards.

National Park Service officials were telling people that the water in the area is off limits.A surfer was bitten on the foot by a shark today near the mouth of Drakes Estero, an estuary off the coast of Marin County. As of 3:48 p.m., National Park Service officials were telling people that the water in the area is off limits until further notice. No other information was immediately available.

Highway 37 began life as a private toll road, and was later converted to a state highway. But climate change and sea-level rise will doom the road unless something is done. For the short term, the ridiculous two-lane section between Sears Point and Vallejo needs to be widened to match the rest of the road, which is four lanes. Wetlands surrounding the road also need to be restored. It would be reasonable to use some toll money for wetlands restoration, in part to mitigate the effects of construction. Even with the new funding approved by the Legislature by raising the...

TIBURON — A resident of an exclusive San Francisco Bay neighborhood is the target of online outrage and may face criminal charges for shooting to death a doe and its fawn that were eating newly installed landscaping. Tiburon police arrested Mark Dickinson, 54, shortly after 5 a.m. on Sept. 2. Officers were responding to a report of a suspicious person when they found two severely injured deer in the street near Dickinson's bay-view home. The animals died a short time later. Officers arrested Dickinson after they determined he shot the deer several times with a high-powered pellet gun with scope,...

The California Assembly on Thursday unanimously approved a bill to rename the Waldo Tunnel after late comedian Robin Williams. The Waldo Tunnel is a tunnel on U.S. 101 between the Golden Gate Bridge and Sausalito in Marin County. William Waldo was a California politician who ran unsuccessfully for governor in 1853. The tunnel’s archways are painted in rainbow colors, which is why people sometimes call it the "rainbow tunnel." Williams was a long time resident of Marin. The idea to rename the tunnel started with an online petition that received more than 60,000 signatures. Julie Wainwright, who started the petition,...

Dr. Simon and presumed wife of 38 years, center. Dr. Simon had the charges against him dismissed by the judge during a preliminary hearing on Tuesday, 6 January, 2015.  He had plead not guilty and had claimed self defense.   The incident occurred about six months ago on July 17, 2014, at his home in Corte Madera, in a canyon in Marin County California. Dr. Simon and his wife, in a "Smart car" drove around business mogul William D. Ostenton, who was in a small Mercedes.   Perhaps Mr. Ostenton was on the phone or distracted.  Notice that the Doctor...

Call it "Bambi" on the bridge. Reports of a pair of deer hanging out on the Golden Gate Bridge Friday evening sent social media abuzz in the Bay Area. California Highway Patrol officers were called to the bridge, but the deer were already gone by the time they got there. Twitter users reported that traffic stopped moving momentarily, but was soon flowing normally again. "It was Deer on the Golden Gate Bridge! Hope they are safe! Kind of awesome!" tweeted out Twitter user Rydalia with a picture, which has since gone viral. This video shot by NBC Bay Area viewer...

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Forensic tests made public Wednesday show that George Zimmerman's was the only DNA that could be identified on the grip of the gun used to fatally shoot 17-year-old Trayvon Martin. The results rule out Martin's DNA from being on the gun's grip. Zimmerman's DNA also was identified on the gun's holster, but no determination could be made as to whether Martin's DNA was on the gun's holster, according to the report from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

NOTE: her video invitation is at the link Justin Timberlake Accepts Marine's Invite to Ball Justin Timberlake Sounds like a pair of Marines have quite a story to tell. Justin Timberlake, after encouraging his "Friends With Benefits" co-star Mila Kunis to accept an admiring Marine's video invite to the upcoming Marine Corps Ball, has accepted a video invitation to another ball from his own admirer in the Corps. "I don't feel backed into a corner at all," Timberlake joked when asked by a reporter whether he would go. "I'll tell you what, I accept. But not because she shouted out...

The Santa Rosa Press Democrat is reporting that Democratic Rep. Lynn Woolsey is set to announce her retirement on Monday. The 73-year-old Democrat has publicly said for months that she was considering not seeking an eleventh term in Congress, telling reporters she would likely make a final decision in June.

Not surprising, we have one of the most far-Left members of Congress promoting incivility in the House of Representatives against our ally Israel. Code Pinko Activist Rae Abileah interrupted Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu during his speech to Congress last month, in violation of House rules for guests in the gallery. She was arrested and later claimed she was injured. Rep. Lynn Woolsey, who represents the aging hippie socialists in Marin and Sonoma counties, had Rae speak at her anti-America rally in San Rafael this past Saturday. After chanting "Not one dollar, not one dime" against Israel, Woolsey said Rae...

The slogan to the Marin Convention and Visitors Bureau is "Marin: It's just a little out there." Their site also notes that "It's different here. And not by accident." One difference is that Marin is the culturally, pretty plain vanilla. It's probably not a shock that of all the pockets and regions in the Bay Area, Marin County is the least diverse of them all. Or translated differently, Marin has one of the highest percentage of Caucasians. While this is most likely a well known fact, The Bay Citizen last week confirmed this, in compiling the 10 Whitest Cities in...

Some southern Marin pet owners are outraged by a proposed plan that would change rules for dogs in the Marin Headlands, banning them at some spots and requiring leashes at others. In January, Golden Gate National Recreational Area officials released a hefty 2,400-page proposal on how the federal parkland can update its dog management plan, which has been unchanged for more than 30 years. In Marin, the more contentious suggestions are to ban dogs at Muir Beach and on some hiking trails, while requiring them to be leashed on other Marin Headlands trails. Some frequenters of Rodeo Beach were relieved...

A few moments before 4 p.m. on a recent Wednesday, nine men ages 25 to 67, filed into a small, bare office in San Anselmo, arranged their chairs in a circle, sat down and prepared to cry. Few knew each other. Some hadn't cried since they were young boys and wanted to learn how to cry again. A few cried often, and were thrilled to have found a safe space to do so. These were the Men of Tears.

Wilmington, Delaware (CNN) -- Police have found homicide victim John Wheeler's cell phone, according to a taxi driver who was interviewed by investigators this week. Athel Scott told CNN National Correspondent Susan Candiotti that police told him they found the cab driver's number in the phone of Wheeler, the former Pentagon official who was found dead in a Delaware landfill. He said investigators wanted to know how his number got there. Scott... says he told the police he didn't have any idea. "I never got a call from the man. I don't know him... He's never been in my cab....

Two West Marin women were arrested Wednesday for standing in front of trucks delivering Pacific Gas and Electric Co.'s SmartMeters to Inverness. It was the third consecutive day that a group of West Marin residents have attempted to stop employees of Wellington Energy from installing meters in Inverness. Wellington was hired by PG&E to do the work. Katharina Sandizell, 41, of Point Reyes Station and Kristin McCrory, 32, of Inverness were arrested by Marin County sheriff's deputies, said sheriff's Sgt. Gary Wilbanks. The women were handcuffed and taken to the sheriff's office in Point Reyes Station, where they were issued...