A chunk of change for the birds

The Federal Interior Department, on International Migratory Bird Day, granted money
"internationally for birds that transcend continents," Acting Secretary Scarlett said.

According to the San Luis Obispo Tribune, Federal funds were given to 43 conservation partnerships in 34 U.S. states and 17 Latin American and Caribbean countries.

In California, Point Reyes Bird Observatory received $171,000 for research and restoration of riparian areas along Stinson Beach and $35,000 to the Ventura Wildlife Society of Salinas for monitoring bird populations along the Central Coast.

Best lodging deal is but 2 miles away (on foot)

As much as I'd like for readers of this journal (blog) to stay at our vacation home (just one click away), I thought I'd point to a sweet deal on Mount Tamalpais. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, the West Point Inn charges $35 per adult, $17.50 for kids under 18, and $700 for groups of as many as 20 that reserve the entire inn.

What's the catch? There is no electricity. And, except for those with certified disabilities, everybody must hike 2 miles. You'd have to pack your own sleeping bag, food, etc. In return you'd get sensational views from the south face of Mount Tam, at 1,785 feet.

Local Point Reyes newspaper controversy cited in The New York Times

According to the Point Reyes Light, the small, local paper is "one of the few weekly newspapers to ever win a Pulitzer Prize."

The paper was sold last year to Robert I. Plotkin by David V. Mitchell. Now, according to The New York Times, "the two men are scheduled to appear in court on May 12 for a hearing related to a temporary restraining order Mr. Plotkin obtained in February against Mr. Mitchell."

"The nasty public feud between the past and present owners of The Light — Mr. Mitchell, a gangly, corncob-pipe-smoking 62-year-old who looks like an aging folk singer and won a Pulitzer Prize, and Mr. Plotkin, a 36-year-old onetime prosecutor with a GQ fashion sense who describes himself as 'a man of action, like James Bond' — has captivated the 14 far-flung villages here on the western tilt of Marin County."

So if reading the weekly Point Reyes Light is just too much to bear, then try the monthly Coastal Post, which currently does not have a swirl of contention around it.

Thinking of Moving to Stinson Beach? Bring Your Kids!

According to the Marin Independent Journal, "enrollment in the small West Marin district has been on the decline for more than a decade, plummeting 48 percent since 1991, when it had 233 students. Now there are just 112 - 33 in kindergarten, first and second grades at Stinson Beach School and 79 in the third through eighth grade at Bolinas School, according to figures provided by the district."