After covering San Anselmo and Fairfax for almost four years first at the Ross Valley Reporter and then launching this Patch site, it's time for me to move on. Thursday is my last day as your San Anselmo-Fairfax Patch editor. After that, you all are on your own. Kidding! Tracey Ruiz will be serving as guest editor for the next few weeks and the editors of the other Marin sites will be pitching in on San Anselmo-Fairfax Patch, which of course will continue to cover all the news and events and people in San Anselmo and Fairfax, while they look for a permanent replacement. I'll still be in …
If you're like us, you wake up every day wondering what's going on in your neighborhood, in your town and around Marin County. That's where the daily Patch email newsletter comes in. Every morning, as you're rising to start your day, we send you the latest local headlines, events, blogs, photos and community tidbits — right to your inbox, free of charge. All you have to do is sign up. Here's why we think you'll like it:1) It's quick. We know you get a lot of email and we made it easy to read. 2) We're all about your community. With a quick scan, you'll find stories about your schools, the …
Merry Christmas! Happy Hanukkah! And a joyful vacation period to those simply reveling in the atmosphere! As you finish up those few things still on the to do list at the office, make a couple last-minute gift runs, and start in on the cookie making, be sure to use all our holiday handy guides: cheap gifts under $10 and eco-conscious gift tips, best Christmas tree lots, a map of holiday decorations around Ross Valley and a favorite holiday recipe from Iron Springs. We’ll have some more holiday tips this week, including what’s open this weekend and places to get last minute food. In the …
Today may not be a glamorous Presidential election, but who your town councilmembers are can matter more to you on a day-to-day basis than what's going on in Washington. Your mayor will have more say on if you can walk your dog off-leash or if there should be overnight parking (controversial topics!) than your Senator. Your school board members will decide whether your kid will continue to have art classes or if they'll have three fewer school days next year. Voting is straight-forward. Use marinvotes.org to look up your polling place. But, voting isn't easy. It's a responsibility you shouldn…
San Anselmo-Fairfax Patch is about 14 months old now, which means some of you have been participating here for about 14 months. But, a great many more San Anselmo and Fairfax residents are showing up every day wondering what exactly is Patch - and how does this internet news thing work anyway? Patch is, first and foremost, a place for you. It's most successful when you comment, you write, you blog, and you post events. So, how do you do all those things? COMMENT ON ARTICLES If you've been following the possibility of a Phil Lesh-backed music venue in downtown Fairfax, then you know that lots …
Happy Birthday to Us! San Anselmo-Fairfax Patch is one year old today. Some of you (though not all of you) may remember some of the stories we covered that first day: like this one and this one and this one. A lot has changed, though, since I sat in Bolinas Park one year ago and listened to the engineers countdown to our site officially going live. We've added blogs (if you want to blog email kellyd@patch.com) to the site, new event features for you to add your own events here (please, no commercial advertisements), and a Q&A section for you to get all your local questions answered. But, some…
Now that was a lot of green. Patch editors joined the Marin Organic Glean Team on Monday afternoon to pick greens - all kinds of greens - under gorgeous sunny skies at Green Gulch Farm off Highway 1. About a dozen volunteers gathered to pick kale, chard, collard greens and broccoli leaves as part of Marin Organic's School Lunch and Gleaning Program. (We also learned what the differences between all those are -- ok, only I didn't know the difference.) The organization uses gleaning, or collecting leftover crops from farmers' fields after they've been harvested, to provide high-quality produce …
Since May 4, San Anselmo-Fairfax Patch has been making room for local bloggers on the site. Maybe you've checked out some of our great bloggers (all of whom can be found under the News tab in the menu bar, under Local Voices): former Mayor of Fairfax Mary Ann Maggiore writes about going without a car, former San Anselmo Mayor Peter Breen writes about political issues around the county and state, Town Manager Debbie Stutsman runs her weekly newsletter, MCBC Membership Director Tom Boss writes about cycling issues and events, and there's nearly a dozen more bloggers from throughout the Ross …
Membership has its privileges and by creating an account on Patch, users will have access to do an incredible amount of cool things on the site. This tutorial shows users how to create an account, activate the account and log in. Once you create an account on the Patch, you will be dialed in to all its wonderful features. Becoming a user of Patch will allow you to Comment on stories Upload photos or videos directly to the stories Post announcements for just about anything you can think of Post events to let the community know about it Post free classified ads Post comments on our shout wall …
Yes, you might have noticed something new on the San Anselmo-Fairfax Patch site -- all those new posts on the left side of the homepage? Yes, you noticed that? Those are brand new blog posts straight from our community members, leaders, commenters and experts. If you haven't read them, check them out now. Since launching our new Local Voices feature on Wednesday, we've had Sarah Shideler blogging about how to make the perfect Sunday dinner, Stephanie Sharp telling us the secret that's not so secret to a perfect butt, Alex Zwissler writing about the science of why we believe (or don't believe…
This past Saturday, the Patch team took the floor for the first annual Duck, Dip, Dodge Drake dodgeball tournament to raise money for the Drake Benchwarmers. The gym was crowded. The balls were flying. The hot dogs sizzling. But, it turns out we, here at Patch, might be good at writing and reporting on the community (I hope!), but we're not so good at ducking and dodging. I'm proud to report we lost every match - including to a wily team of 7th-graders from White Hill - and retired gracefully to nurse our wounds at Iron Springs. Most importantly, I saw some of you out and about and we got a…
You might not be able to tell, but we're undergoing renovations and a remodel here at Patch. Lots of new things that are aimed at helping you every week will be rolling out this Wednesday and Thursday. And lots of things you're used to will be moving to other days and times -- just like your favorite TV shows! Starting Wednesday, we'll be focused on moms (and dads!) with deals to help you stretch your budget, a weekly grab and go planner for kids, a parenting Q&A forum [how do I get my kid to eat her vegetables? what if my four-year-old is addicted to video games?], a profile of a local Whiz …
Would you like headlines from San Anselmo-Fairfax Patch sent directly to your blog or website? (Of course you would.) Now you can stream all the Ross Valley news — or just certain categories — directly there for you and your visitors. That upgrade was just one of several changes made to the San Anselmo-Fairfax Patch site last week. New changes also included free classified ads and news feeds from the other Marin Patch sites. With the new widget feature, you can create a box that's insertable into blogs and websites that shows all the San Anselmo-Fairfax Patch news. The box is also …
Christmas is the best holiday. There really is no argument for any of the others. Halloween was ok, until it took on some weird undertones once you hit an age where it stopped being just about the candy. Easter was fun when it included color-coded egg hunts, but there were always too many floral dresses involved. Thanksgiving is just a sad shadow of Christmas' awesomeness. And what other holidays are there? Fourth of July? Arbor Day? No, Christmas is my favorite. Which is why it came as a bit of a shock a few years ago when Christmas stopped being a smorgasbord of chocolate goodness, wrapped …
UPDATE: Here in San Anselmo-Fairfax, it seems we raised $45.91 in the four hours sitting at the Coffee Roasters. We'll have to wait and see how the other Patch towns did and more details to follow. Just because the fun competition fundraiser is over, doesn't mean the Marin Food Bank and other charities don't still need holiday donations. Contact the organizations directly to give, typically tax-deductible, donations. We'll also follow up with a number of ways to give in the community right now. Thanks! --- On Thursday, Dec. 16, all 12 of the Patch communities in the North Bay (you didn't …
Hey, I wanted to take a moment to introduce you to Patch's newest feature: the Q&A section. You can find it right up there on the menu bar. The Q&A is a place where readers can ask questions and get answers on any number of topics. Want to know where to go for a romantic dinner? How about where you can find free WiFi in town? Or just need a new book recommendation? Some of you have already been using to it to find the best piano mover or figure out what that giant hole at Broadway and Bolinas was about? Post the questions here on San Anselmo-Fairfax Patch and get the answers from readers, …
This past Monday and Tuesday, I attended the Patch West Coast Conference in San Francisco. The President, Editor-in-Chief, and all the editors of different sites around California came to talk about ways to make the site better. I learned a lot of things to make San Anselmo-Fairfax Patch better for you and some new plans that are down the road. If you have any questions about Patch, post them in the comments and I'll do my best to answer! Or, come by Fat Angel today from 1 to 3 p.m. and get some free Patch stuff, too! I have pens, magnets, bags, water bottles, and notebooks to give out. Want …
Last night, Patch writers, photographers, editors, and columnists gathered at 123 Bolinas for some fun and food. We all got to put faces to names and get to know one another. And, you can be a part of Patch, too. Write letters to the editor, guest columns, or submit photos of your kids' soccer games. This is a community site and it needs your input. Don't forget to submit photos for the Halloween Photo Contest by emailing kellyd@patch.com!
As I'm sure you all anxiously noticed, there were no open community hours yesterday! A number of errands took me to the East Bay, but today will be bigger and better if you come by the Fairfax Coffee Roastery between 1 and 3 p.m. to say hi, let me know what you think about the site, or share information about Fairfax and San Anselmo. Here's some information about San Anselmo and Fairfax you might not have known: residents can enter our Halloween Photo Contest! Just send along your best Halloween photos -- like the accompanying photo of my sister and I in our elementary school costumes -- by …
Don't forget, I'll be hosting community open time every Tuesday. Tomorrow, we head to Fairfax, where I'll be at the Coffee Roastery from 12-2. Come say hi! Or complain. I might have to leave a little early, though, to head over to the Whitman-Brown debate at Dominican. Sure, it's a whole 1.5 miles from San Anselmo, but the roads are going to be packed, traffic will be a nightmare, and every NBC reporter in California is descending on our little private university. Check back throughout the afternoon and evening; I'll be posting live updates from the debate here and at San Rafael Patch. And, …
