Let’s just get this out of the way: Gary Ferber has lived life to its fullest.

He’s traveled the world. He lived in a lighthouse for years. He’s photographed more than 2,000 weddings, and “has been on plenty of honeymoons without ever getting married,” Ferber says with a laugh. The longtime Marin photographer has taken headshots for the likes of Jay Leno and Willie Brown, snapped live concerts at the Sweetwater and shot prominent sporting events like the America’s Cup and the Tour de California. Ferber was on hand to shoot a private reception for Queen Elizabeth and then-President Ronald Reagan at the de Young Museum in 1980, an event where he met the likes of Billy Graham, Joe Montana and Willie Mays.

But while “The Life & Times of Gary Ferber” would likely be scintillating, the star-studded, would-be tome wouldn’t tell the full story of one of Marin’s most ubiquitous photographers.

Ferber has been an invaluable presence in Mill Valley for decades, volunteering to photograph countless events and gatherings all over town and beyond. For that unparalleled level of dedicated service to our community, Ferber has been named the Mill Valley Chamber of Commerce & Visitor Center’s 2016 Business Citizen of the Year, and will thus be honored with a Spirit of Marin Award by Bank of Marin at a reception at St. Vincent’s School for Boys in San Rafael on September 23.

“In addition to being a wonderful photographer, Gary is the ultimate volunteer,” says Ann Aversa, who chairs the Chamber’s Board of Directors and whose family owns La Ginestra restaurant. “He goes the extra mile and devotes a great amount of his personal time to attend and voluntarily photograph and document nearly all of our local events. His kindness is noticed and appreciated by all of the people and businesses in our community that Gary has touched. His skill and creative gifts have enabled our community to create a collective memory of the life of our town.”

Ferber has been a member of the Mill Valley Chamber for 22 years, photographing every one of its Monthly Mixers and dozens of ribbon cuttings over that span, as well as all of its Spirit of Marin Awards entries, 15 State of the City dinners and a dozen Business Expos. He served on the Chamber’s board for four years, and has taken photos of the annual Wine, Beer & Gourmet Food Tasting for 14 years as well as the Annual Winterfest celebration. Ferber donated photos shoots for families and individuals that were auctioned off to raise money to build the Community Center, which just celebrated its 15th Anniversary.
​
Ferber arrived on the Marin scene in the mid-1970s from Laguna Beach, drawn by Marin’s beauty and the Northern California lifestyle. “It’s prettiest place in the world,” he says. “I’ve been all over the world and I’ve never seen anything like Marin. And Mount Tam is just spectacular.”

Working out of his photo studio in Sausalito, Ferber connected with organizations like the North Bay Ad Club and the American Advertising Federation, which led him to volunteer work with the March of Dimes, which had him shoot fundraisers and – get this – be raffled off as an eligible bachelor.

“I was living the high life,” he says.

Through his work for March of Dimes, Ferber began connecting with other nonprofits and local organizations, including the Rotary. He met former Mill Valley Mayor Dick Spotswood through the Mill Valley Rotary and became a regular at the service organization’s weekly lunches. Through Rotary and Mill Valley Market co-owner Bob Canepa, Ferber connected with the Chamber, and quickly became the go-to photographer for nearly every major event in town. Over the years, Ferber has helped the Mountain Play, the Dipsea Race Foundation, and Harbor Point Foundation with their events.

"Whether it's been Rotary events, Chamber Mixers, our Wine, Beer & Gourmet Food Tastings or countless other local gatherings, Gary has played an invaluable role here in Mill Valley and throughout Marin County as well," Canepa says. "His commitment and service to our community is absolutely worthy of this honor."

Ferber says that despite plenty of change in Mill Valley over the years, one thing hasn’t. “People have always been warm, open and appreciative to me in Mill Valley,” Ferber says. “I’m thrilled to be honored by the community.”

Rock the Ages, the senior chorus at The Redwoods, possesses a fantastic tagline: "At The Redwoods, our rockers aren't just chairs!"

The members of the chorus, comprised of more than two dozen residents from their late 70s and up, put their spin on their grandchildren and great grandchildren's hits from the 60's to today, performing songs by ColdPlay, James Brown, The Beatles, PussyCat Dolls, The Ramones, The Rolling Stones, X Ambassadors, The Clash and many more. They'll do just that at the Sweetwater Music Hall on July 10 from 7-8:30pm.

Tickets are $15 in advance and $20 day of show and can be purchased in person at Sweetwater Music Hall, 19 Corte Madera Ave., Mill Valley or online at Ticketfly. Here are a pair of teasers:

Want to know what's happening around town? Click here to subscribe to the Enjoy Mill Valley Blog by Email!

Sausalito artist BJ Thraikill often finds herself “easily distracted by ordinary objects and critters – sinks, doorknobs, crows and even plastic bags. Interesting compositions stop me in my tracks everyday as I’m out jogging. I pause to capture pictures of these observations on my phone for later contemplation.”

But while “Sinks & Things” might be a mere compositional distraction for some, Thrailkill has turned them into her latest exhibit in Mill Valley. She’s showcasing her “Sinks & Things” oil paintings at the at the Mill Valley Chamber of Commerce & Visitor Center (85 Throckmorton) throughout July with a wine reception on July 5 (6–8pm) as part of the Mill Valley Arts Commission's First Tuesday Artwalk. The monthly celebration of local art includes a host of venues, including the O’Hanlon Center for the Arts, Seager Gray Gallery, the Mill Valley Public Library, Dolls and Dandy Salon, Terrestra, the Depot Bookstore & Café and City Hall. Receptions at each venue are Tuesday from 6–8pm. Here’s the First Tuesday Artwalk Guide with venues and a map.

Thrailkill grew up in rural Maryland in the 1950s, and learned at the feet of a neighbor who was an accomoplished artist and taught weekly painting classes for children in the neighborhood. ”We were quite young and painted with oils and sketched outdoors,” she says. “She was a remarkable individual and a lasting gift to us all.”

Thrailkill took painting and sculpture classes in her 20s but didn’t fully engage with her art until her children left for college several years ago. Over the years since, she’s exhibited all over the North Bay, including Falkirk Cultural Center, Veterans’ Memorial Auditorium, Marin Open Studios, O'Hanlon Center for the Arts, Napa County Main Library, Marin County Fair and Sausalito Public Library.

“My inspiration flows from a curious observation of everyday things,” she says. “Over the past year, I have been working on painting a series of ordinary sinks, inspired by Gordon Cook, who painted everyday objects with great feeling, with a fascinating focus on form over function. Sinks and faucets appear like faces to me; sometimes almost comical. I’ve also always had a fascination with tree branches.  Recently, I have been dragging home orphan branches for inspiration and have just started a series of branch paintings.”

The 411: BJ Thraikill exhibits her "Remembrance" paintings at the Mill Valley Chamber of Commerce & Visitor Center, 85 Throckmorton Avenue, throughout May. The First Tuesday Artwalk receptions are Tuesday, May 3, 6–8pm. First Tuesday Artwalk Guide with venues and a map.

Annual fundraiser for Mount Tamalpais State Park from the Roots & Branches Conservancy also features Bill Frisell’s Guitar in the Space Age and The Stone Foxes, KNBR radio personalities Murph & Mac (aka Brian Murphy and Paul McCaffrey) serving as MCs.

It looks like Michael Nash has another hit on his hands.

One year after the Mill Valley resident morphed his Mount Tam Jam day-long music festival to benefit Mount Tamalpais State Park into Sound Summit: A Benefit for The Mountain – an event with the same goals but a different structure – he's landed a lineup that's sure to delight rock fans of all stripes.

Nash has nabbed an eclectic lineup for the 2016 edition of Sound Summit, set for Saturday, September 17 (11am-7pm) at the historic, 3,750-seat Mountain Theater on Mount Tam. It's headlined by Wilco, the veteran indie rock band that NPR has called the “best rock band in America” and Rolling Stone dubbed "America's foremost rock impressionists.” The band, which in 2015 released its ninth studio album, Star Wars, blends its distinctive, indelible songwriting, stunning guitar work, and adventurous ensemble playing into consistently powerful and resonant live performances.

The bill also features Tex-Mex rock mainstays Los Lobos, San Francisco rockers the Stone Foxes and the awesomely-monikered Bill Frisell’s Guitar in the Space Age, hailed by critics as “a revered figure among musicians” and “one of the most sought-after voices in contemporary music.” Frisell's latest project features Greg Liesz  (steel guitars), Tony Scherr (bass), and Kenny Wollesen (drums). KNBR morning show hosts Murph & Mac (aka Mill Valley resident Brian Murphy and Paul McCaffrey) return as the day’s masters of ceremonies.
 
Nash produces Sound Summit as an annual fundraiser for Mount Tamalpais State Park by his Roots & Branches Conservancy. He produced Mount Tam Jam in the wake of drastic cuts to the State Parks budget. And although Mount Tam Jam was a success by many measures, with bands like Galactic and Cake drawing a sell-out crowd and garnering the approval of state park officials, it did not continue, as event sponsor Tamalpais Conservation Club decided to both not be involved in any future rock shows on the mountain and to keep the rights to the name Tam Jam, even though they had no plans to use it.
 
Nash kept at it, creating Roots & Branches to sponsor the festival, which is the second (after Mount Tam Jam) major rock show to occur on Mount Tam since the Summer of Love in 1967. Nash describes the event as “good deed-doing for a very special place in the neighborhood." Last year, Sound Summit reaffirmed everything we felt was resonant about both the event and the beneficiary. In terms of community spirit, it felt like the ultimate backyard party in an astonishingly beautiful backyard.”

The 2015 edition of the event boasted a lineup that included the Tedeschi Trucks Band, Dr. John & the Nite Trippers, Marin favorites the Mother Hips, the Portland Cello Project and the Mother Truckers. In the wake of Sound Summit 2015, Roots & Branches Conservancy’s announced a $40,000 grant to Mount Tamalpais State Park, allocated to projects with tangible impact in fire prevention, water conservation, emergency equipment, and visitor services.

And if you need a reminder of just how gorgeous that Sleeping Lady is above us (you shouldn't), check out the amazing Gary Yost's Sound Summit 2016 video, set to Bill Frisell's cover version of Pete Seeger's “Turn, Turn, Turn."

The 411: Sound Summit: A Benefit for The Mountain is Saturday, September 17 from 11am-7pm at Mountain Theater, on Ridgecrest Blvd. in Mount Tamalpais State Park. Advance tickets are $100 for adults, $50 for kids 12 and under. Children under 2 are fee. Day of show tix are $120. MORE INFO & TIX

Want to know what's happening around town? Click here to subscribe to the Enjoy Mill Valley Blog by Email!

After more than a decade of planning, fine-tuning, budgeting and incorporating the community's myriad priorities, the City of Mill Valley marked the groundbreaking of the The Miller Avenue Streetscape Project on June 21. By putting shovels in the ground – both literally and figuratively – kicked off the official beginning of the City's $15 million overhaul of one of Mill Valley’s two main arteries. 

The project, by far the biggest road renovation the City has undertaken in decades – spanning approximately two miles of Miller Avenue from Almonte Boulevard near Tamalpais High all the way to Sunnyside Avenue near downtown – is expected to last until late 2017. 

The event featured all five members of the Mill Valley City Council, as well as City Manager Jim McCann, past City officials as well as a number of City staff members and residents who had served on Miller-related committees and panels over the years.

"As you see the construction trucks rolling into town, along with chippers and backhoes, join us in picturing a future Miller Avenue that we can all be really proud of," Mayor John McCauley said in his letter to the community about the project. "A Miller Avenue with safer bike lanes for our children to ride to school, safer crosswalks, as well as wider sidewalks and gathering places that are more inviting to use as we do our shopping and errands. We hope you will picture new landscaping and trees that will beautify the roadway and reflect the character of this important “complete street” that we all use every day.

McCauley asked for the community's patience and understanding about the project, particularly its impact on traffic and its removal of trees from the central section of Miller Avenue, known as the “Main Street” area. Fifty trees were removed from the section of Miller Ave between Willow St. to Reed St./Valley Circle.  

"The trees that were removed have many issues – most of them are stressed by the drought, others are not appropriate trees for this urban setting," he added. "They are struggling in poor soil conditions, and a lot of them are at the end of their lifespan. The new streetscape will require some of the medians and crosswalks to be moved, and the trees that exist in those spots were removed as well. 

Many of the community's beloved redwood trees are among the 38 trees that have preserved in the Main Street area, McCauley said. "We have also worked with landscape designers to carefully create a replanting plan that will add 142 new trees in this section of Miller Avenue. When the project is done the total number of trees on “Main Street” will increase from 88 to 180." More on the tree removal.

City officials have also asked commuters and employees of Miller Avenue businesses to park in the area from around Willow Avenue up to near Park Avenue to keep spaces in the Main Street area available for customers of the businesses in that area. 

MORE INFO ON THE MILLER AVENUE STREETSCAPE PROJECT.

MILLERUP: SUPPORT MILLER AVENUE BUSINESSES!

Here are the latest renderings of what the project will look like when finished:

With the theme of "75 Years – What a Ride!," the 2016 Marin County Fair – set for June 30–July 4 at the Marin Center Fairgrounds in San Rafael – celebrates more seven decades of history, nostalgia, art and fun, as the first Marin County Fair and Harvest Festival was held in 1925 in Novato.  

The theme What A Ride! refers to the 75-year history, nostalgia, carnival rides, and other fair-going experiences. It also refers to the Hunter S. Thompson quote, “Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside in a cloud of smoke, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming ‘Wow! What a Ride!’”

“Fast-paced, forward-thinking and always on the fast track of cultural developments, we strive to offer first-caliber everything from the arts, technology, facilities, learning, exhibits and unique programs found nowhere else in the nation,” said Gabriella C. Calicchio, the Director of the Department of Cultural and Visitor Services. “The Marin County Fair combines classic fair exhibits with innovative new ideas. Add to that, one-of-a-kind events, cuisines both local and global, welcoming staff, cultural diversity and a rich history and legacy. This is the reputation and brand that the Marin County Fair has built over the past 75 years and I look forward to carrying that tradition forward to next 75 years.”

​Fair organizers say this year’s Fair will reflect back on those years of the beloved summer event while looking forward as a leader in the Fair industry celebrating art, agriculture and community. Here are some highlights:

• The amazing Chinese Circus of Beijing perform at 1 p.m., 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. daily in the 800-seat Marin Veterans’ Memorial Auditorium.
• 28 Free Carnival Rides featuring 10-story Giant Ferris Wheel and Solar Carousel from Butler Amusements.
• Fireworks over the lagoon nightly at 9:30 p.m.
• Attractions for the entire family: Something Ridiculous comedy juggling duo, Street Drum Corps, Balloonacy, Golden Gate Garrison – 501st Legion, Jeremy the Juggler and Rawhide Express Train.
• Special 75th Fair Exhibit - the exhibit organized by Fair Manager Charlie Barboni and Laurie Thompson, Librarian in the Anne T. Kent California Room of the Marin County Free Library will feature historic photographs, press coverage, anecdotes and more dating back to the very first Marin County Fair and Harvest Festival in 1925.
• Special exhibit titled Stars & Stripes featuring 30 color photographs by artist Phil Shaw recognizes the powerful iconic value of the American Flag. Shaw records the many different ways he has seen the flag, or simulations of the flag, displayed over many years.
• More than 12,000 Exhibits including Fine Arts and Crafts, Art Chairs, Cartoons, Photography, Bonsai, Home Arts, Baked Goods, Junior Arts, Gardens and Flowers.
• Animals!  Barnyard farm animals, Great American Pig Races & Petting Zoo, Fur & Feathers Tent, Vaulting, Junior Dairy Cattle Show, Sheep Dog Trials, Junior Dairy Goats and Classic Beef Show, Market Swine Show and Pygmy Goats.
• Three Twins Solar Stage features popular contests: Hip Hop and Break Dance, Dancing Stars, Singing Stars and “Star Search” Performing Arts Competitions.
• Headliner Concerts: Renowned for presenting world-class music, the Marin County Fair once again announces a stellar lineup of bands every night of the fair June 30–July 4, all of them free with the price of admission. 

           
Thursday, June 30, 7:30 p.m. – The Wallflowers
Fronted by co-founder Jakob Dylan, the Los Angeles-based alternative rock band has taken home several Grammys, released six studio albums and sold more than seven million records worldwide. The Wallflowers perform new hits and classic favorites such as One Headlight, 6th Avenue Heartache, The Difference and more! 
           
Friday, July 1, 7:30 p.m. – Kool & the Gang
Kool & the Gang has sold over 70 million albums worldwide with their bulletproof funk and jazzy arrangements and have influenced the music of three generations. Thanks to songs like Celebration, Cherish, Jungle Boogie, Summer Madness and Open Sesame, they’ve earned two Grammy Awards, seven American Music Awards, 25 Top Ten R&B hits, nine Top Ten Pop hits and 31 gold and platinum albums.
 
Saturday, July 2, 7:30 p.m. – Sheila E.
Grammy-nominated singer, drummer, and percussionist Sheila E daughter of legendary percussionist Pete Escovedo and goddaughter of Tito Puente, At the age of  21 Sheila E met Prince at one of her concerts, and, after working with him during the recording of his 1984 album, Purple Rain—on which she recorded vocals for the song “Erotic City” (the B-side to the single “Let’s Go Crazy”)—she joined the former’s backing band as Prince’s drummer and eventual bandleader before leaving the group in 1989. Her solo career spawned such hits as Hold Me, A Love Bizarre and The Glamorous Life.
                                               
Sunday, July 3, 7:30 p.m. – Plain White T’s
Plain White T’s kicked off their career in the Chicago suburbs playing a mix of pop, punk, and melody-driven rock & roll in basements and clubs across the metro area. Years later and a string of platinum—selling singles, including the mega-hit Hey There Delilah (the 18th most downloaded song of all time), under their belts — the guys haven't stopped heading back to the basement to dream up new sounds. There’s where the Plain White T’s put the finishing touches on American Nights, the band’s first independent album since 2001. 
                                                        
Monday, July 4, 7:30 p.m. – Foreigner
With ten multi-platinum albums and sixteen Top 30 hits, Foreigner is universally hailed as one of the most popular rock acts in the world with a formidable musical arsenal that continues to propel sold-out tours and album sales, now exceeding 75 million. Responsible for some of rock and roll’s most enduring anthems including Juke Box Hero, Feels Like The First Time, Urgent, Head Games, Hot Blooded, Cold As Ice, Dirty White Boy, Waiting For A Girl Like You, and the worldwide #1 hit, I Want To Know What Love Is, Foreigner continues to rock the charts more than thirty years into the game.
​
The live music lineup also includes Mill Valley's own Matt Jaffe, the local prodigy who continues to grow as a musician and has built a burgeoning audience in the North Bay and beyond. Now 21 years old, Jaffe connected with fellow Mill Valley resident Jerry Harrison, keyboardist of Talking Heads fame, when he was a teenager performing solo at a local open mic. The two worked together to produce his first set of studio recordings, which were inspired by the pop, punk, and rockabilly mixtures of groups such as The Clash, X and Elvis Costello.

The 411: Fair admission (concerts included): Ages 13–64: $20 at gate, $15 in advance online; Seniors 65+: $15 at gate, $12 in advance online; Children 4–12: $15 at gate, $12 in advance online; Children under 4: FREE. Gold Circle concert admission is $50 per person and includes reserved seating in a special section and fair admission. To order online visit www.marinfair.org/2016 or call the box office at 415.473.6800.

In the world of Internet service providers, gigabit-level service over fiber optic cables – that’s 1,000 megabits per second (mbps) compared to the 4mbps that most Americans enjoy – has long been considered the holy grail. But outside of Google Fiber and some successful municipal projects in places like Chattanooga, Tenn., that dream has remained largely elusive.

Unless, that is, you live in Sebastopol or the Sunset District in San Francisco, where Sonic, an unlikely independent in an industry full of giants, has carved out its own niche by delivering its Gigabit Fiber service selectively to areas with high customer density. As Mill Valley resident Tara Sharp, Sonic’s marketing director and a member of the North Bay Business Journal's 10th annual Forty Under 40 list, says of Sonic CEO and founder Dane Jasper, “His mission is to bring Gigabit Fiber Internet to everyone.” Sonic’s Gigabit Fiber customers pay less than $60 a month for the service.

That strategy has made Sonic an “unlikely survivor” that “one might have expected to go extinct like most of its brethren after the Federal Communications Commission largely deregulated the DSL business,” according to an ArsTechnica story on the company.

Dan Gillmor, the former longtime tech columnist for the San Jose Mercury News and a professor at at Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication, agrees. “It’s an independent in an industry dominated by a cable-phone cartel notorious for greed, customer disservice, and control-freakery,” Gillmor wrote of Sonic in a Slate column titled “This Might Be the Best Internet Service Provider in the U.S.” in 2015. “Sonic is innovative and aggressive in good ways, expanding its footprint by providing excellent service at a fair price.”

And while Consumer Reports’ 2016 survey of telecom service ratings showed broad dissatisfaction among customers with cable TV and internet plans, Sonic “received top scores for value and reliability.”

Sonic, which Jasper founded in his mother's back room 22 years ago, is the largest independent ISP in California and has been for several years. That achievement comes despite a marketing approach that almost entirely subsisted on word-of-mouth until Sharp came on board less than three years ago. And although usage has “skyrocketed” since then, Sonic has been quite deliberate in its Gigabit Fiber promotion.

Of Sonic’s its Gigabit rollout in the Sunset District, Sharp told Hoodline that in an effort to stay under the radar of their much larger competitors, the company had “been building our network quietly in the western neighborhoods of San Francisco for some time now, often using unmarked trucks. We wanted to have the core network ready to go, so that when we started hooking up our customers' homes we could move as quickly as possible from block to block."

Sonic officials say that the company bases its decision on where to deploy Gigabit Fiber service on a variety of factors, including customer density, housing density, local regulations and logistical considerations around deployment and infrastructure.

“Marin is a hotbed for us,” says Sonic’s Nicole Weeber.

While it remains to be seen if Gigabit Fiber becomes an option for Mill Valley residents, Sonic has an array of not-as-fast-but-still-fast services, including a trio of Fusion DSL services that garner speeds of up to 100mbps.

And while speed is often king for Internet service providers, Sonic has also prioritized its users’ privacy, consistently getting a perfect score from the Electronic Frontier Foundation for protecting users’ privacy. And the company fought back when the government subpoenaed a user’s information during its ongoing investigation of WikiLeaks—“so he would have an opportunity to fight it,” says Jasper, according to Gillmor.

As expected for an independent in a world of giants, Sonic doesn’t own and control all of the infrastructure it uses, often leasing the copper lines of companies like AT&T.

Sharp says the company is laser-focused on delivering great service to more communities.

Keep your fingers crossed, Mill Valley. ​

Tamalpie Pizzeria owner Karen Goldberg has sold her soon-to-open Mexican restaurant Playa to Bill and Vanessa Higgins and Peter Schumacher, a trio of longtime local residents whose restaurants are among the most popular and widely acclaimed eateries in Mill Valley and beyond.

The sale came together quickly after Higgins, whose Real Restaurants company with his wife Vanessa and Schumacher owns Mill Valley landmarks Buckeye Roadhouse and Bungalow 44 as well gems like Picco, Bar Bocce and Bix, reached out to Goldberg in May.

It marks a huge jolt of adrenaline for one of downtown Mill Valley's two prominent vacancies. Playa is located at 41 Throckmorton Ave., the space where Champagne was from 2002-2013 and where the legendary deli/cafe Sonapa Farms had been from 1959 to 1995 (with a Noah's Bagels stint from 1998 to 2000 in between). 

Details of the sale were not disclosed, but hinged on the buyers' willingness to honor Goldberg's original concept, which she has been developing for two years. Playa means beach in Spanish, and Goldberg has said it be "modern Mexican serving authentic Oaxacan cuisine," as well as "healthful, local, organic Mexican food – something that is family-friendly and casual yet sophisticated."

"I was all set to open in August when I received the call from Bill Higgins," Goldberg says. "It turns out, he also had a dream of a restaurant at this location ever since it was Sonapa Farms.

“Playa has been an exciting project and it’s bittersweet for me to say goodbye," Goldberg added, noting that the news owners are committed to following through on her concept, location, and design—especially the Redwood grove visible off the back and the preservation of the old brick construction. "But I am passing the torch to a group of professionals that I have admired and respected for 25 years. I’m excited to see how this amazing team will make Playa a beloved spot, and years from now know I had a part in it.”

Goldberg will continue to run Tamalpie along with chef Scott Warner at 477 Miller Avenue. Goldberg briefly opened a candy shop called Bon Bon in 2015 before handing it off to Honeymoon Ice Cream. Goldberg, whose sister Susan Griffin-Black is the co-founder of EO Products, which has a retail shop in downtown Mill Valley, is no newcomer to the restaurant business. More than two decades ago, she opened Rustico restaurant in San Francisco’s Potrero Hill district. A native of Pittsburgh, Pa. who has lived in Mill Valley for 30 years, Goldberg closed Rustico in 1996 and then bought Annabelle’s, in the space that is now Vasco on Throckmorton Ave. at Bernard Street.

In November 2014, Goldberg received unanimous approval from the Mill Valley Planning Commission for a massive remodel of the 2,058-square-foot space, including expanding its 300-square-foot back deck to include outdoor dining, adding a walkway through and a sculpture garden within the grove of redwood trees at the back of the property near Sunnyside Avenue, as well as bicycle parking and a children’s play area and an expansion of alcohol service to include liquor and a new streetfront that re-exposes the historic brick façade behind the existing stucco.

Bill and Vanessa Higgins and Schumacher say that Playa's menu "will feature the Marin golden triad of local-sustainable-organic food. Playa will be a relaxing and fun gathering place with a full bar specializing in craft tequilas and mescals."

Look for an exact opening date in the coming weeks.

As a contemporary figurative artist, art lover and the owner of a gallery – Room Art Gallery in downtown Mill Valley – Agne Christensen is fully immersed in the art world in the Bay Area and beyond. That vantage point put her in an ideal position to identify one of the art scene’s greatest needs: a virtual meeting point for art collectors and galleries near them, showcasing their greatest artists. ​

She’s done just that with Seek Fine Art, a search engine app for all digital devices that leverages location-based technology to allow users to search fine art near them sorting by location, gallery, artist or art style.

“Art is for everyone!" Christensen says. “Seek Fine Art is my way to bring joy of discovering art to the masses and turn art lovers to collectors. I want to know every gallery, every artist and all art everywhere at anytime. I can do this with music, so why not with art? I’m thrilled to be able to help make the journey of 'meeting' art easier and more enjoyable.”
​
Christensen, who opened Room Art Gallery in 2008, came up with the concept for Seek Fine Art three years ago, and spent the next two years working with developers to create its design and architecture. A mom of two, Christensen says it was not easy to juggle the roles of mother, artist, gallery owner and now tech company founder.

In late 2015, she launched the first version of the Seek Fine Art on the Apple Appstore, and brought on Karolis Karalevicius, a product manager who knows a thing or two about startups. Karalevicius' background includes a stint at Google and as the director of operations for StartupHouse, a San Francisco-based hub for early-stage startups.

The Mill Valley Lumber Yard Project took a major step forward Tuesday night as the Planning Commission voted unanimously to recommend to the City Council that the project be approved, with several conditions attached that are largely related to parking.

The recommendation comes two years after the project first went to the Commission in a Study Session. In front of a packed house in the Council Chambers at City Hall, commissioners said the deep level of engagement on the project from both the Commission and the community – and the delays that came with it – propelled the project’s evolution.

“It’s not that we’ve tried to put this project through any undue analysis,” Commissioner Jason Tarlton said. “Our town is kind of at a tipping point in terms of traffic and development, and we’ve tried to make sure that this project is the right fit. Ultimately, what will come out of this process is a better project for the town. That’s been the driver here.”

“Everyone feels very passionate about this project and it’s wonderful to see this unprecedented level of community participation,” Commission Chair Anne Bolen said at the outset of the hearing. “But it’s critical that we all have respect for each other and each other’s opinion. Let’s focus on our common goal of making this the best project we can make it.”

The Mill Valley Lumber Yard is a 42,500-square-foot site at 129 Miller Avenue with 17,616 square feet of existing building space, which includes the existing Guideboat, Ambatalia and Bloomingayles retail shops. The site is located between the inbound and outbound lanes of Miller Avenue. Matt and Jan Mathews bought the property in 2012 from the Cerri family, which had owned and maintained it as a lumber yard and True Value hardware store for the previous 14 years. The property was built by lumber magnate Robert Dollar in 1892 as Dollar Lumber Company.

The Mathews, who have hosted five neighborhood meetings about the project and presented at informal "study sessions" before the Commission in 2013 and 2014, previously renovated some of the buildings and are proposing to upgrade others. Those buildings are primarily at the southeast half of the property and include a proposed small cafe/restaurant, as well as some retail, offices and an artist-in-residence space, in addition to what's there now.

Because of the size and scope of the project, it requires the City Council to approve its environmental review – in this case, an Initial Study/Mitigated Negative Declaration (IS/MND), as well as a re-zoning from RM, Residential Multi-Family, to NC, Neighborhood Commercial with PD, Planned Development Overlay and HO, Historic Zoning Overlays. The property is designated as part of the downtown commercial area within the MV2040 General Plan, the City’s constitution of sorts that was approved by the Council in late 2013.

The Commission had sorted through many of their concerns about the project at a March 29 hearing, and the Mathews had assuaged concerns about noise relate to garbage pickup and deliveries since the last hearing. The Commission spent the bulk of the hearing on parking-related issues, particularly conditions of approval that the  applicants pay for a feasibility study on a residential parking permit program for the neighborhood and create delineated parking on and around the Presidio Avenue median before additional tenants can occupy the project. That parking would be limited to between two and four hours.

The City had directed consulting firm Kimley-Horn to conduct a peer review of the project’s parking study, and the firm came to a similar conclusion of the initial study by Nelson-Nygaard that the project needed approximately 40 parking spaces to satisfy the demand based on the size of the project and its proposed uses.

The Commission ultimately decided that the applicant could put up a deposit the guarantee their funding of the Presidio parking, and would pay up to $5,000 in seed funding for the exploration of a residential parking program, and that further occupancy of the project wouldn’t be predicated on the implementation of those two conditions. The applicants will have to create 17 parking spaces on the project site and also lease six spaces off-site to accommodate its needs.

“Jan and I feel that we’re the caretakers of this property,” Matt Mathews said. “It can’t peak for itself and we’re its voice. These are likely the oldest buildings in town, and we take that responsibility seriously.”

The Mill Valley Lumber Yard Project goes to the City Council for a public hearing – date TBD.