The California State Park and Recreation Commission today voted to approve “Point Cabrillo Light Station State Historic Park” as the park’s new name. The vote was unanimous after the commission visited the light station and heard impassioned pleas from a wide range of supporters to keep “Light Station” in the name despite a park staff recommendation to leave it out. Mendocino County Supervisor Kendall Smith appeared in support as did representatives for Congressman Mike Thompson and State Senator Patricia Wiggins. Point Cabrillo Light Station draws nearly 100,000 visitors a year, many of whom stay and eat in Fort Bragg.

Cammie King, who got the coveted role of ‘Bonnie Blue Butler’ in the 1939 film classic Gone With The Wind, left show business shortly after the movie premiered.

“I peaked at age five,” she jokes, in the parlor at Little River Inn where serves as public relations representative.

Like the nationwide search for an actress to play ‘Scarlett,’ producer David O. Selznick also launched a search for ‘Bonnie,’ her doomed daughter. “We lived in Los Angeles, and I remind people that in 1939 it was a much smaller city. And it was an industry town. It wasn’t that big a deal for neighbors and friends to work at the studios.”

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One of the world’s most beautiful gardens is the Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens on Highway 1 in Fort Bragg and it’s open free to call locals (Mendocino and Lake Counties) from 9am-5pm Sunday, May 18th.

The only catch: you need to bring a non-perishable food item to benefit Fort Bragg’s Hospitality House.

Subsidizing the day are three other Fort Bragg organizations: Fort Bragg Electric, Surf Motel and Gardens and the Mendo Lake Credit Union, which has brand new offices on Main in downtown. The Gardens will offer tours at 10am, 1pm and 3pm. I took a walk in the there last week and everything is blooming and beautiful. The Rhodies are still radiant.

I recently met Carole and Greg White at a Thanksgiving Coffee fundraising dinner and learned that their “kids” are owners of two Fort Bragg businesses.

Kyle White, 30, launched WHITEOUT!, a mobile document shredding micro-enterprise more than five years ago. He handles shredding assignments for doctors, dentists, clinics, CPA’s and more. What is particularly interesting about this is that Kyle is developmentally disabled. He is one of the first Californians with a developmental disability to receive funding from the California Department of Rehabilitation to start his own business. Typical sources of employment for individuals with special needs are sheltered workshops and supported employment jobs. With the support of five local businesses and assistance from parents Carole and Greg White, WHITEOUT! was launched in 2002. With privacy conscious clinics, doctors, dentists and CPA’s as clients, Kyle’s inability to read is an asset.

Hilary, 27, owner of If The Shoe Fits, has an similar interesting story to tell … (more…)

With salmon fishing off limits, where will local boat tour operators go? In search of flying fish perhaps?

There are indeed flying fish — 40 species worldwide. But they are found in warm oceans, not in our cool north coast waters.

However, the Mendocino Coast Audubon Society is sponsoring a pelagic birding trip on May 18, taking a boat load of locals and tourists from Noyo Harbor in Fort Bragg aboard the Trek II to search for birds at sea. Trip leaders are Fort Bragg’s noted wildlife photographer Ron LeValley from Mendocino Coast Photographer Guild and Gallery in the Company Store on Main Street in Fort Bragg. For details and reservations, contact Karen Havlena jkhavlena@yahoo.com or 707-964-1280. Noyo Habor-based trips also are planned for Aug. 8 and 10 by Debbie Shearwater Journeys.

Johanna Jensen, a major Fort Bragg booster and former owner of Cowlick’s Ice Cream, loves dogs. So much so, that she got together with a group of other civic minded folks, such as Doug Hammerstrom and Diane Harris, to build an off-leash dog park in Fort Bragg. Here’s the story Johanna submitted:

MCDOG, Mendocino Coast Dog Owners Group, is pleased to announce the Fort Bragg Dog Park is officially open, and it’s a huge success! The dog park is located on the grounds of the C.V. Starr Community Center, at Maple and S. Lincoln in Fort Bragg. The park is almost an acre of fenced land where well-behaved dogs can romp and play between dawn and dusk each and every day. There are two areas, one for big dogs, and a slightly smaller one for small and shy dogs. Visit on a sunny Saturday afternoon and you’ll find a dozen or more dogs, and their people, enjoying the park. (more…)

As Fort Bragg continues to build a reputation as a popular tourist destination, local businesses are building and running green businesses. Not surprising. Living in a rural community, especially one surrounded forests and ocean, tends to heighten your awareness of the earth’s beauty and its limited resources. (more…)

There is lots of talk these days about “going green.” And, that’s good with global warming playing havoc with the planet. But one company, Thanksgiving, has been supporting sustainability since the company was founded by Paul and Joan Katzeff 37 years ago. Their company motto is “Not Just a Cup, but a Just Cup.” And they have backed up the words with support for gorillas, songbird habitat, fair trade pricing for poor farmers in third world countries and more. (more…)