Mendocino County

Oaksterdam Raid: Journalist Is Only Person Charged One Year Later

Our friends over at SFist today posted a reminder that it's been one year since federal agents -- mostly the IRS, though DEA and US Marshals were on scene -- raided the campus of Oakland marijuana grow college Oaksterdam University and the offices and apartment of its founder, cannabis legalization ... More >>

Feds Might Stop Trying to Seize Marijuana Grow Records

While real casualties abound, by and large the U.S. Justice Department's crackdown on California's medical marijuana industry has been half-hearted. True, about one-third of San Francisco's licensed medical marijuana dispensaries were shut down from 2011 to 2012. But more are open now, and the fed ... More >>

Checkmate: Who's Letting Debt Collectors Terrorize Consumers

Mendocino Fights Feds on Medical Marijuana Subpoena

A year ago, the federal Justice Department took aim at legal medical marijuana in Mendocino County. The feds warned that the county's novel cannabis plant licensing program, which generated cash and kept sheriffs patrolling the rural area, violated federal law and needed to go; otherwise county offi ... More >>

Federal Grand Jury Digs Into Mendocino Marijuana Growers

Maybe it's the helicopters flying overhead from April to November, or maybe it's their cash crop. Whatever it is, marijuana growers love rumors. And a big one -- that the United States attorney had convened a grand jury, and was poking around state-legal medical cannabis operations, looking for crim ... More >>

Mendocino Beer, Wine & Mushroom Festival Starts Today

Mendocino Beer, Wine & Mushroom Festival Where: Locations throughout Mendocino County (check here for full festival schedule) When: Nov. 2-11 Cost: Varies, but many events are free The rundown: If you're considering a road trip up to Mendocino County, consider going in the next week and a half dur ... More >>

Top 5 Reasons Good Eggs Should Be Your New Go To

After a launch party at the Mission Community Market last Thursday, GoodEggs has gone live. It's an online food marketplace that allows local farmers and foodmakers to sell directly to people in their area -- people are already comparing it to Etsy -- and though what's live now is technically just a ... More >>

BBQ & Wine: Pairings for Your Holiday Grilling

A mid-week 4th of July timing either means you'll have a lot of mid-week BBQ days, or almost none at all. So we'll suggest some wines from our recent tastings to cover you from a quick prep on the light side to a heavy-weight overnight marinade big meat bonanza. Light Pick - For a light BBQ leanin ... More >>

NORML: Attorney General Eric Holder Lied to Congress About Marijuana Crackdown

Attorney General Eric Holder "lied" to members of Congress when he insisted that the only targets of the federal Justice Department's medical marijuana crackdown were breaking state law, cannabis advocates said today.On Thursday, Holder told the House Judiciary Committee the same mantra he and the f ... More >>

Marijuana Legalization Efforts Fail in California, Thanks to The Feds

Few successful political movements count their finest hours a loss. Yet 2010 will remain the high water mark of the marijuana legalization movement for at least another two years -- or longer, if the federal situation worsens.Buoyed by Oaksterdam University founder Richard Lee's cash and energy, Pro ... More >>

Oaksterdam University Pledges to Re-open After Federal Raid on Marijuana Leader

What many saw as the inevitable hit Oaksterdam founder Richard Lee on Monday, when federal agents came knocking at the home and businesses of the man who has become the marijuana movement's de-facto figurehead.After Lee revived a moribund part of downtown Oakland with a school dedicated to the pot t ... More >>

BREAKING: San Francisco Suspends Medical Marijuana Licensing Program Indefinitely

​San Francisco city officials indefinitely suspended the city's medical marijuana dispensary permitting program on Wednesday, according to the Department of Public Health.Pending permits had been on hold since December, after a ruling in a state appeals court case halted similar permitting program ... More >>

S.F. Begins Issuing Medical Marijuana Dispensary Permits Again

It's a go -- for now.​San Francisco has begun issuing medical marijuana dispensary licenses again, following a recent state Supreme court decision that will allow local pot dispensaries to do business -- for now. The city's Medical Cannabis Act permitting process had been on hold for several month ... More >>

Medical Marijuana License Fees That Saved Cops' Jobs at Risk in Mendocino

​The one-of-a-kind cooperation between medical marijuana growers and the Mendocino County Sheriff's Department -- which legitimized cannabis cultivation in the eyes of the law and saved the jobs of deputies facing layoffs -- is at risk, pending the outcome of a court case.Since 2010, Mendocino Cou ... More >>

Obama's War on Weed: President Attacks Medical Marijuana

Scharffenberger Makes Great Bubbly Affordable

​The world would be a happier place if we all drank more bubbly. Wars would end, reality TV would show people being nice to their families, and it would never rain again, except when we want to frolic in it. Drinking sparkling wine always puts me in a sparkly mood, and even more so when it's ... More >>

Pot Legalization Measure Has Support of Mendocino Growers

Drug Policy AllianceThat's the idea​Can Protections for Medical Patients Help Succeed Where Proposition 19 Failed?Cannabis advocates promised they'd be back at the California ballot following marijuana legalization measure Proposition 19's historic failure in November 2010 (the measure received mo ... More >>

New Bill Would Stop Federal Enforcement of Marijuana

Not feeling it​Congressman Ron Paul (R-Texas) defines the word "maverick." His stance on hemp farming and his position against the Federal Reserve earned the 2012 presidential hopeful the moniker long before the Republican establishment hijacked the label in 2008. The hero of political independent ... More >>

Fetzer 2010 California Moscato

​Muscat may be the most sensible, down-to-earth grape there is. Unlike so many other varieties, it doesn't play around: Ferment it into wine, age it for a time, and pour it into the glass, and it still smells and tastes like the grapes from which it was made. Muscat, in fact, is said to be the ... More >>

Saturday: Mendocino Seduces You With Its Exceptional Food and Booze

This will be you at Taste of Mendocino.​Taste of Mendocino Where: Festival Pavilion, Fort Mason Center When: Mon., June 13, 5-8 p.m. Cost: $35 in advance, $45 onsite, enter discount code of "alice" or "KGO" to save $14.75 on online admission fee. The rundown: Experience the "Mendo vibe" ... More >>

A Guide to NorCal Music Festivals

California DA's Association Is Fighting Bill to Make Pot Growing a Misdemeanor

Mesage received​You don't need to tell David Eyster about marijuana crime. As Mendocino County district attorney, he deals with pot crimes more than anyone else in the state. Yet the prosecutors in California's "Emerald Triangle" pot-producing region all sponsor AB 1017 --  the bill in the st ... More >>

Blowing Smoke: Obama Promises One Thing, Does Another on Medical Marijuana

California: 100 Million Marijuana Plants

You keep growing, they keep seizing​Seizures Rise Under Obama Administration as Cops Bust More Plants Than Ever.The marijuana-related headlines on Wednesday were hogged by a report, issued by a private "cannabusiness" company, that says sales of medical marijuana nationwide will top $1.7 billion t ... More >>

Taxpaying Cannabis Deliveryman Branded Snitch for Trying to Get Others to Pay Taxes, Too

"No taxes can be devised which are not more or less inconvenient and unpleasant." ​Kevin Reed sells medical cannabis. Lots and lots of it. He sells it for $35 for an eighth of an ounce, delivered anywhere in San Francisco. Why shouldn't he? As the Green Cross delivery service president, Reed pays ... More >>

Arizona More Progressive Than California? When it Comes to Marijuana, Yes.

In Arizona, what he does on his own time is his business. Not so in the Golden State.​Arizona's taken quite the beating from Californians recently, what with the red state's anti-immigrant, anti-civilization stance creating both headlines and policy. But Arizona's not all bad -- in fact, it ca ... More >>

Strong Medicine

Concentrated cannabis — hash, kief, and oil — has special purposes.

The High Road

Growers who cashed in on illegal pot now welcome legalization and taxation.

10 Things To Do This Weekend For Under $10

EpiscoDisco hits Grace Cathedral on Sat.​The holidays make everyone broke. First there's all the money you spend on loved ones, and then there's all the money you spend drinking as you think about all the money you spent on loved ones. Luckily, you can still give yourself the gift of entertainment ... More >>

Marin Goes All Backwoods Next Month for Swamp Cabbage Feast

perrygrl/FlickrWear your fishing vest.​On Sunday, Nov. 15, Mill Valley is where the wild things are -- smoked, roasted, and stewed. Savory Thymes, an organization dedicated -- in large part -- to the "cross-pollination" of inspired ideas about sustainable food systems in the global economy, is ... More >>

Another 24 Hours: Craigslist Farm and Garden Classifieds

CraigslistTerrorize the squash-phobic in your life.​SFoodie's weekly look at some urban essentials offered up on Craiglist. • Five little ducks went out one day, over the hill and far away. Mother Duck said, "Quack, quack, quack, quack," but only four little ducks came back. Why? Because yo ... More >>

Another 24 Hours: Craigslist's Farm and Garden Classifieds

Got $800? You can keep this bull from becoming hamburger.​SFoodie's weekly look at some urban essentials offered up on Craiglist. • Looking to improve your flock? Look to the city of Sebastopol, that charming namesake of a lackluster Jay Farrar solo record renowned for its apples, where one ... More >>

Bank Accused of Burning Through More Than Money: Wells Fargo Sued Over Toxic Industrial Blaze

In a lawsuit that redefines the phrases "toxic assets" and "burning through money," Wells Fargo was last week sued in San Francisco federal court. The bank is accused of first allowing noxious chemicals to seep out of lumber equipment it was in the process of selling off in Mendocino County before ... More >>

Chronic City: There's Pot In Them Thar Hills! How To Make Marijuana Scary Again.

But the authorities say 'not so fast...'​The latest mainstream media narrative in California's marijuana wars is a spruced-up version of an old favorite: "Mexican drug traffickers" are growing massive amounts of pot in state and national parks, and are despoiling the natural environment in doing s ... More >>

Hacking Up Pigs? Kid Stuff. Bloodhound Event Promises to Butcher a Steer

Maybe pigs are the gateway agilitynut/FlickrSteers = the new hogs.drug of butchery, the giggly little high that leads inevitably to the synapse-busting experience that leaves you watching the fibers in your flokati coalesce into runes. On Tuesday, July 28th, meat gods Ryan Farr and Taylor Boettiche ... More >>

Chronic City: Big Marijuana Headache For Mendocino District Attorney

mendonews.wordpress.comMendocino grow room: Puff, puff, pass? Not so fastIt's not easy being a district attorney, especially in a mostly pot-friendly place like Mendocino County. Whatever law enforcement priorities you follow, it's guaranteed you're going to piss off one group while pleasing another ... More >>

What the Confederacy and San Francisco Bay Guardian Have in Common

Was secessionist John C. Calhoun the Bay Guardian's predecessor?In December of 1860, the state of South Carolina declared independence from the U.S., setting the stage for four bloody years of civil war. In its written pronouncement of sovereignty, this first of the would-be Confederate states laid ... More >>

Ironically, bike hater Rob Anderson advances cause of cycling in S.F.

Instant Karma: Man Blocking Handicap Ramp Cited -- Then Busted For Outstanding No-Bail Warrant

Sir, you're blocking a ramp ... and you've got too many damn knives ... and a warrant. We're going downtown.Instant Karma's gonna get you/Gonna knock you right on the head/You better get yourself together/Pretty soon you're gonna be dead.-- John LennonThe San Francisco Police Department -- perhaps a ... More >>

Sierra Nevada World Music Festival Announces Lineup

EKAphotographyFemi KutiConfirmed artists for the 2009 Sierra Nevada World Music Festival  have been announced, and tickets are now on sale. The Festival takes place June 19-21 in Boonville, Mendocino County (about a four-hour drive from SF). The lineup this year looks particularly strong (thou ... More >>

Bulrusher Conjures Jena 6 Tension in Wilds of Boonville

Troublesome Pastimes

One local busybody collects letters from serial killers. Another attacks environmentalists. Guess which one's misguided.

Hemp and Housing

Ready to Rumble

It's the 100-year anniversary of the 1906 earthquake. Are you a fan of all the hoopla? Take our quiz and see.

Banquet de Luxe

The grand French tradition, updated, at a redecorated temple of cuisine

Best Microbrew

Current Events

How development pressure and environmental law may force radical change along the seemingly idyllic but deeply troubled Russian River

Dog Bites

Ken, Ken, Ken; Hey Hey! Ho Ho! Boring Clothes Have Got to Go!; This Week in Lavish Dot-Com Parties

Country Rogue

Mendocino publisher Bruce Anderson is smart, sophisticated, and savage

Slap Shots