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A Quibble: Did SF Chronicle Story About Tech Industry's Impact on Mill Valley Get It Right?

7/22/2014

4 Comments

 
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We’ve had more than a week to chew and stew on the San Francisco Chronicle’s July 12 piece on our little town, “Are tech-sector newcomers elbowing out Mill Valley’s funky-arty vibe?” And after a deluge of reaction on social media and in the comments section of the article itself (450 comments and counting), we want to hear what you think about it.

Did the story get it right? Is the tech industry specifically changing Mill Valley? It seems "Mill Valley is changing for the worse" has been the theory du jour in town for years, if not decades. Is the Chronicle onto something new and different this time around?

As we see it, there’s no doubt that Mill Valley faces some huge challenges, namely in the way of traffic, housing affordability and school district enrollment. And we’re really glad the writer spoke to the likes of Mayor Stephanie Moulton-Peters and local business owners Will Hutchinson (Prooflab) and Susan Griffin-Black (EO Products) – they all provided some good context and, in Susan’s case, some Seinfeld-inspired levity.

But we were left feeling a bit underwhelmed by the piece, particularly from a “How is this really news?” perspective. Demographic changes have been occurring in the 94941 for decades – “new money” has been coming here for so long that it’s now long since “old money.” The median single-family home price in Mill Valley in April 2014 was $1.83 million, and it was nearly $1.5 million for the same month 10 years ago. And while traffic has indeed spiked in recent months, the connection of the dots between gridlock and the latest tech boom seem tenuous at best.

We would’ve loved to read a single quote from or an anecdote about a “tech-sector newcomer” who recently moved to town, or at least more than a mention of a “former venture capitalist” who was once a contestant on “ABC’s “Wife Swap.” It would’ve been nice if the premise of the article – the tech industry’s boom specifically changing Mill Valley – was supported by some evidence other than somebody who saw someone flying a consumer drone. Right?

A few other minor points of contention:
  • Mickey McGowan closed his Unknown Museum in 1989, having been initially been displaced by Smith & Hawken, the gardening store that was born in Mill Valley and which shut down in 2009. You can’t blame Twitter and Facebook money for the loss – 25 years ago – of a quirky cultural institution.
  • Charlie Deal, creator of the toilet-seat guitar, passed away in 2007. Not sure that occurrence can be laid at the feet of the tech industry.
  • Ditto with the original Sweetwater, which closed in 2007.
  • And what does a guy from Kentfield badly beating someone up while riding his bike through town have to do with Mill Valley?

Hutchinson perhaps said it best: “I think that the tech boom that's happening in San Francisco sends waves out in every direction, so it's impossible not to be affected by that.”

The impact of the latest tech boom is being felt virtually everywhere in the Bay Area. Mill Valley is not immune to that, better or worse. The only thing that feels unique about its impact on Mill Valley is that the history of the 94941 is more colorful and interesting than many of its counterparts.

What did you think of the Chronicle story? Tell us in the Comments below.


Want to know what's happening around town? Click here to subscribe to the Enjoy Mill Valley Blog by Email!
4 Comments
Stephanie Witt
7/25/2014 04:16:21 am

Reply
stephanie witt
7/25/2014 04:23:33 am

First of all, I noticed that there are many categories in enjoy MV, but not a real estate category?? Curious why this huge segment of MV is left out? Naturally, it seems self serving, but actually I used to blog on this website -Patch - but no longer relevant. I know there is real estate news snatched from other Huffington Post media, but not necessarily local.

About the Chron article. Naturally, this has gone on for many years dating back to the 1970's when my parents left because they were not enamored with the hot tubs and peacock feathers. So there you are. I notice the sheer intensity of people living here which translates into rudeness and an entitlement attitude. This trait, which many long time locals notice, doesn't have to go hand in hand with money - does it?

Reply
Jim Welte
7/29/2014 04:04:58 am

Hey Stephanie,
Thanks for your comment. You can find the Real Estate section here:

http://www.enjoymillvalley.com/real-estate.html

You can find it in the future as one of the drop-downs under the "Shop" at the top. Hope that helps!

Jim

Pat Dundas link
4/6/2020 03:45:10 pm

It’s the money
I just subscribed to the blog and went immediately to Mill Valley History. I pre-date the 1960s musicians and hippies. I pre-date the wealth. Back then the whole town was a settled family; very few newcomers, very few moneyed.
As kids we freely roomed the hills, the creeks, the redwoods. Our nickels, dimes, and quarters took us for banana splits at Espasti’s Soda Fountain, 25 cent Saturday Matinees at the Sequoia, candy from the Ben Franklin five and dime. We had the first TV in our neighborhood; B&W.
I could go on.
After graduating Tam in ’58 and started a career that took me away. Now, the hope of return is gone. It’s the money!

Pat Dundas
patdundas4@gmail.com

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