Free Republic

Which came first, the pigs or the pioneers? In Barbados, that has been a historical mystery ever since the first English colonists arrived on the island in 1627 to encounter what they thought was a herd of wild European pigs. A recent discovery by an SFU archaeologist is shedding new light on the matter. Christina Giovas uncovered the jaw bone of a peccary, a South American mammal that resembles a wild pig, while researching a larger project on prehistoric animal introductions in the Caribbean... Giovas and collaborators George Kamenov and John Krigbaum of the University of Florida radiocarbon-dated the bone...

One Marin County school district hopes to set a national example when it comes to healthy eating. Sausalito Marin City School District started serving only organic and GMO-free meals to students this week, becoming the first school district in the nation to do so. It's an extension of what is considered to be a successful pilot program begun in 2013 at Bayside MLK Jr. Academy in Marin City. The other school in the district, Willow Creek Academy in Sausalito, has now joined Bayside MLK Jr. Academy in installing a permanent program. “The results speak for themselves,” Steve Van Zant, superintendent...

BAD NEWS BARED Sausalito,California – known for its views of the Pacific – and its laid-back attitudes toward people who embrace varying lifestyles – is having a problem. It seems an unidentified man has decided swimming nude along the shoreline is his favorite hobby : a hobby that places him in “up close and personal” view of hundreds of tourists . The tourists , who patronize the upscale harborside restaurants , used to be able to watch the antics of harbor seals , and are less-than-pleased with this unwanted substitute. Police say they would like to chat with the swimmer...

SAUSALITO, Calif. - A local woman's "missile art" has bombed so badly with an exhibit manager that she has reluctantly agreed to remove the work. Artist Dixie Brown of Kentfield agreed to removed her nine realistic-looking "missiles" made of gray and black lamb's wool from the Fiber Dimension exhibit at Sausalito's Bay Model facility, which is operated by the Army Corps of Engineers. Other exhibits also depict war images, but Brown's are particularly striking because they hang from the ceiling. Facility manager Chris Gallagher asked Brown to take the woolen missiles away before an officer's retirement party next week. "They...

Around 50 retired US diplomats have written to US President George Bush to complain about America's policy towards the Middle East. The letter is similar to one written by 52 former British diplomats to UK Prime Minister Tony Blair last week. The former US diplomats complained that President Bush's approach is losing the US "credibility, prestige and friends". They criticised what they say is Washington's unabashed support for Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. The American diplomats said they were deeply concerned by Mr Bush's endorsement last month of Mr Sharon's plan to withdraw unilaterally from Gaza. 'Great danger' They were...