Daniel Jewett

Feb 20, 2025 | marinlivingmagazine.com | Daniel Jewett

For local podcast host and creator Sara Payan, cannabis was a game changer and lifesaver during her battle with stage 3 colon cancer. It also wound up being a great topic to spark deeper conversations about life, death and everything in between. “I was not feeling well and suffering from cyclical vomiting and cramping. I had a colonoscopy and they found a tumor the size of a lemon,” says Payan, the current vice chair of the California Cannabis Advisory Committee.

Aug 23, 2024 | marinlivingmagazine.com | Daniel Jewett

Those who regularly attend Mountain Play performances on Mount Tam may wonder about something that happens just offstage — a small team of interpreters signing and emoting along with the performance. If you happen to be deaf or hard of hearing, they are as important to enjoying the performance as the singers, dancers and actors onstage. This team is led by Sherry Hicks who says more goes into ASL interpretation than many realize.

Jun 27, 2024 | marinlivingmagazine.com | Daniel Jewett

In May of 2021 Dan Smiley thought he’d drop a note on Nextdoor to see if any neighbors wanted to join him for a night sky viewing through one of his telescopes. More than 100 people responded. So he set up at the Tennessee Valley trailhead parking lot and marveled as about 60 people actually showed up along with a few other telescope-toting astronomers he didn’t know. “I discovered that there was a pent-up interest and enthusiasm for astronomy and stargazing,” Smiley says.

Jun 27, 2024 | marinlivingmagazine.com | Daniel Jewett

The fishing boat, the S.S. Point Reyes, was built in 1944 as a World War II launch boat. The vessel was later acquired and operated by Merrel Rocca Sr. on Tomales Bay in the 1960s and 1970s. Finally, it was purchased and brought to Inverness as a fixer-upper (a task that was never completed) where it eventually washed up on a sandbar and became a Marin Instagram icon. Local photographer Matt Fraser (@mattfraser9) has a deep connection to the site.

Jun 27, 2024 | marinlivingmagazine.com | Daniel Jewett

Professional ballet dancer John Lam grew up in a poor household in San Rafael’s Canal District where the family — his parents were refugees from Vietnam — leaned heavily on community childcare services. When he was 4, something happened that changed his life forever. That something was a visit from Performing Stars of Marin to the childcare center, with an offer of free dance lessons. For a hyperactive, shy kid, dancing was the perfect outlet — until he started getting teased.