Ben Stocking

2 weeks ago | ptreyeslight.com | Ben Stocking

The closing of the Lagunitas Grocery, which went out of business on May 31, caused heartbreak in the San Geronimo Valley, where neighbors have relied on the store for food, sundries and conversation for more than a century. But much to their relief, customers will soon be walking through the historic establishment’s doors once again. Loring Jones, who bought the store in 2019, sold the grocery last week to a couple with strong community ties: Vanessa and Patrick Odenthal.

2 weeks ago | ptreyeslight.com | Ben Stocking

Invoking emergency powers, Marin County plans to purchase a Point Reyes Station lot where it intends to place at least 12 units of short-term housing for residents displaced from West Marin ranches. The county’s long-term goal is to develop permanent affordable housing at the one-acre lot, located at Sixth and B Streets, in partnership with the Community Land Trust Association of West Marin. CLAM is under contract to buy the property, known as the calf lot, for $1.1 million.

2 weeks ago | ptreyeslight.com | Ben Stocking

Skip to content West Marin homeowners who operate Airbnbs and other short-term rentals must apply for licenses by July 1 or forfeit their ability to remain in business. That is the date that the county will implement its new S.T.R. regulations, which it approved last year after a two-year moratorium on new registrations that sought to ease impacts on workforce housing.

3 weeks ago | ptreyeslight.com | Ben Stocking

Finding individual Giacominis in the West Marin ranch family’s sprawling family tree—all those sisters, brothers, uncles, aunts, grandparents, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, cousins and cousins of cousins—is a complicated affair. But on Saturday, locating Bob Giacomini will be easy. You’ll find him at the front of the 48th Western Weekend parade, serving in a role he did not anticipate: Grand Marshal.

1 month ago | ptreyeslight.com | Ben Stocking

AT&T’s attempt to abandon traditional landline customers in rural California failed last year, when state regulators unanimously rebuffed the company’s effort to withdraw. Now it’s trying again. The telecommunications company is pursuing two avenues that could end its status as a so-called carrier of last resort, which requires it to provide a traditional copper-wire landline to anyone who requests one. One route would require pushing a bill through the legislature.