Novato News

Marin County supervisors, mounting a record "community service" spending spree as a deadline nears to use funds from their controversial discretionary accounts, handed out more than $250,000 this month.

Board chairman Paul Sosnowski listens during a meeting of the Bradford Island Reclamation District in Bethel Island, Calif.

Graduates listen to the keynote address during commencement ceremonies at Dominican University in San Rafael, Calif.

Brightening fiscal news will be reviewed Monday by Marin transit officials as they consider a $26.2 million operations budget for next fiscal year, up slightly from this year's $23.9 million.

John Purdue, an opponent of fluoridated water, holds a glass of tap water as he poses for a photo in San Rafael, Calif.

May 23 will be "Safety Day" at Olive Elementary School, with representatives from the California Highway Patrol, Novato Police Department and the Novato Fire District sharing information on how they keep citizens safe in the community and on roads and highways.

Marin chanteuse Raquel Bitton, best known as renowned interpreter of the music of Edith Piaf, continues her exploration of the Latin-French musical connection with this beautifully self-produced CD of songs by Tino Rossi, a legendary French singer and film star who was one of the great romantic idols of the last century.

Katie Hanrahan, Brian James and Gary Alexander, Sacramento State Archaeological Research Center staff assist on a dig for Indian artifacts on Thursday, May 16, 2013, along Highway 101 in Novato, Calif.

* What: The 1976 American tour by former Beatle Paul McCartney and his band Wings is captured in the concert film "Rockshow," presented in a digitally restored and remastered print.

A Novato woman is taking on the San Francisco Police Department in a whistleblower lawsuit filed Wednesday against the department and its chief.

Family and friends take a moment to remember those killed or injured on their bicycles before the start of the international Ride of Silence at BlackieOs Pasture in Tiburon, Calif.

Lights from a ride blur in a long exposure as fireworks light up the sky over the carnival at the Marin County Fair in San Rafael, Calif.

The Mountain Play presents 'The Sound of Music' from May 19 through June 16 at the Cushing Memorial Amphitheatre in Mount Tamalpais State Park.

The fundraiser, "Sunset in the Vines," will feature food, wine and music from 5 to 8 p.m. at Azari Vineyards, 1399 Spring Hill Road.

Two design review applications for properties along the North Redwood Corridor have the Novato City Council considering an urgency ordinance that would put a temporary moritorium on permits-giving time to consider if the projects will fit in the bigger picture of land use for the area.

The 30th annual Novato Festival of Art, Wine and Music will be from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. June 8 and from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. June 9 along Grant Avenue between Redwood Boulevard and Seventh Street in downtown Novato.

Novato Police officers issued 319 citations for distracted driving in April, a crackdown that coincided with heightened enforcement across Calfornia during as part of Distracted Driving Awareness month.

While Metallica frontman and guitar god James Hetfield 's Lucas Valley home was the subject of all sorts of controversy in the late 2000s , the home he and his family occupied prior to that - off Vineyard Road in western Novato - is generating lots of buzz in the real estate world this week.

I REALIZE there will be those who disagree with the Board of Supervisors' "Community Service" program.

On November 7, 2012, the day following the election, drivers passing the fire station in downtown Cotati were greeted by a large banner: Fire Station Closed Today Due to Budget Crisis.