Talk:Marin County, California

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[edit] 63.197.235.94 (Cities and towns) suspect edits

Edits by this person are suspect. Enters a lot of unsatisfied links (20 in Contra Costa County, California) bad spelling, bad naming, nonexistent locations, bad link syntax, etc. Unclear if vandalism or simply not capable, See article talk for CoCoCo and this user's history. I cleaned up for CoCoCo but reverted all in Alameda County, California -- Leonard G. 05:36, 24 Oct 2004 (UTC)

[edit] "Other socioeconomic groups"

No significant part of Marin County suffers from "overcrowding" (incredible!) and "poverty" -- this is all a fabrication on the part of a bitter editor who wishes to disparage the county. This intent is reflecting in the language employed to describe this supposed marginalized subsection of society. Although there are certainly social problems in Marin, none necessitate such a lengthy addition to the introduction of the entry -- perhaps in the demographics section one could note that the hyperaffluent regions of the county tend to be concentrated in its southern portion and that the wealth is certainly not uniformly distributed throughout.

I agree - even the Canal district in San Rafael or Marin City are hardly overcrowded. --googuse 01:55, 22 November 2005 (UTC)
I am the "bitter editor"... and a Marin native who is usually regarded as tilted "pro-Marin" on everything. I'll give you both a why and factual backup for my edit.
  • The numbers: Belvedere, Kentfield, Ross, Tiburon and the parts of the other towns where there are rich enclaves are just that... smaller enclaves. The middle class and people below the poverty line in the county are the great majority compared to the rich. But one $5,000,000 a year income moves the average compared to a lot of people where two incomes total $72K a year.
  • Re crowding and poverty: The San Rafael Canal area has lots of cases of three and four families living in places designed for one or two. (Call the Canal Community Alliance if you want confirmation.) And the Canal area was historically the highest density housing in the city. Drive down Bellam or Anderson and look at all the guys standing there waiting for work... it's an eye-opener. Marin City is different: it's public housing but the density per square mile is still quite high, and the average income is very low, with many people below the poverty line (hence my use of the word poverty). This is also true in the Canal.
  • The why: Saying that Marin is uniformly rich and well-heeled (apart from accuracy issues raised above) makes both the people below the poverty line and the middle-class groups in the county disappear, despite their numerical majority. If we lead the world to believe that the whole county is a rich enclave we'll never get the public and government support to address the issues of middle class and low-income people despite their numerical majority.
So if you guys think my phrasing is wrong, how would you put it if you had to go to Pickleweed Community Center and stand up in front fo the crowd and defend your wording? That should be a good standard for the wikipedia: if it sounds accurate to the people who live here and the numbers back it up then it's encyclopedic. Coll7 02:51, 22 November 2005 (UTC)
I have heard no counter-proposals. In the meantime, I found the following text from a government grant proposal describing those neighborhoods:
"The communities to be served are Marin City (a section of the City of Sausalito) and the “Canal District” of the City of San Rafael, California. These communities are distinct in Marin County as they are populated almost exclusively by low-income persons of color as opposed to the surrounding population of Marin County, which is largely Caucasian and affluent. Marin City has a population of 2,500 and is geographically isolated from the other parts of Marin County with only one major artery for entrance and exit. The population is ethnically diverse with large East Asian, Hispanic, and African American populations. The population in the “Canal District” is largely Hispanic, with many households residing in over-crowded apartment units. The social issues that exist in Marin City are an increasing sense of isolation and dislocation as the community experiences an ever-widening economic gap between newer homeowners and the public housing residents."
BTW, many Marinites do not realize that the apartment buildings highest on the hill in Marin City above Best Buy and Ross Dept. Store are in fact public housing, with severely impacted families living in close quarters. From the freeway it looks like an extension of the nice neighborhoods by the shopping center.
I will take a crack at a new draft version of the wording. See what you think, but please debate here rather than just reverting. Coll7 21:08, 7 January 2006 (UTC)

Different anon users keep trying to edit all mention of poverty out of this article. I don't know if this is being done due to real estate agents trying to sugar-coat reality, but if someone wants to change that issue after all the information exchange above they have to discuss it on this talk page first. Also, please always sign your posts. Coll7 01:56, 24 April 2006 (UTC)

The economic disparity referenced in the introduction is also mentioned in other parts of the article; in any case, such disparity is NOT unique to Marin County and has absolutely no place in the first paragraph (which should highlight Marin's postiive attributes). The fact that so many people have disputed the placement of these comments should render it clear to you that the changes instituted are unnecessary, if not inaccurate.
First of all, please use four tildes (the ~ sign) to sign your posts. Secondly, the purpose of the opening paragraph of the article is to summarize the contents, not to "highlight positive attributes." If you want to present a case that the contrast in populations is not a major issue in the county, this page is the place to present that case. If you believe the picture of the county presented in the government grant document quoted above is inaccurate, this page is the place to make your case. If you make it convincingly the article page would in fact get changed. If anonymous people keep coming in and editing the text, however, editors will revert back as a matter of good practice. Our job is to be encyclopedic, not to affect real estate values. Coll7 23:25, 24 April 2006 (UTC)
I think part of the problem is that a lot of information is being crammed into the first section, which should really be a summary. There ends up being one line about liberal politics and then 2 lines about small enclaves. While I don't think that anyone would dispute the facts about the canal and marin city, the problem isn't any worse than other places in the greater bay area (Hunters Point, part of the more affluent San Francisco as a whole, Berkeley hills vs other parts of Berkeley). Would it be possible to just add a "challenges" section that outlines both points of view, and then give more of a "summary" approach in the first section (which seems a little disjointed anyways)? --Xyrrus 17:06, 12 May 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Frank Lloyd Wright Civic Center

I added some language at the top about this. An architect may be able th phrase it better. Coll7 21:41, 7 January 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Nancy Pelosi

I removed the claim that Nancy Pelosi is from Marin County. She represents San Francisco's district in Congress, and according to her Wikipedia article, she was born in Maryland, went to college in DC, and lived there until she and her husband moved to San Francisco. So I see no basis for claiming she's from Marin. Jcb9 07:47, 21 February 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Establishment date

"Created 1850" vs. "formed 1889": unless the latter refers only to the board of supervisors, this is a contradiction. Biruitorul 05:37, 12 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Notable residents and former residents of Marin County

I diverted this lengthy section to a whole new page. I don't think 20% of the article on Marin County should be devoted to who used to live there. Noneofyourbiznez 00:56, 4 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Conservatism?

From the introduction paragraph: "Marin County is world-renowned for its stunning natural beauty, staunch conservatism and affluence." I'm not so sure about that claim to 'staunch conservatism' as a renowned trait of Marin, as it politically tends towards the liberal side. Perhaps the term that is meant is conservationism (although I'm not sure that this is a word, perhaps conservationist?) in reference to the open space provisions of the county? Cuffeparade 06:43, 4 April 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Angel Island

I noticed that there is only a incidental reference to Angel island in this page (referring to the Angel island ferry service in the public transportation section). I want to add a bit more information about Angel Island here, but am not sure where it should go, whether stuck in Geography or perhaps in the list of Cities, Towns and Unincorporated places? Alternatively there could be a new section on state and national parks with Angel Island included in ther with the Headlands, Mt Tam and the other various parks in Marin. Any thoughts? Cuffeparade 11:09, 4 April 2007 (UTC)

[edit] More photo

For an article that claims the subject is known for "its natural beauty", it is unfortunate that the article includes only two photos. __earth (Talk) 02:20, 10 November 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Jewell?

Does anyone know what the deal with Jewell is? If you go a couple miles past Samuel P. Taylor Park on Sir Francis Drake, you'll see a sign announcing a place called Jewell. There is a sign in each direction on the road, which I assume designates some sort of border. What is the status of Jewell? Does it officially exsist? I grew up in Marin and know absolutely nothing about it, except we traditionally held out breath when passing through it. Anyone? googuse (talk) 13:37, 22 November 2007 (UTC)

Some of the land was owned by a family with that name. There was a rural school and a train stop. I think that the locals called the area "Jewell's", while the whistle stop was labeled "Jewell". The Point Reyes Light has run stories about local controversy concerning demolition of the remmaining residences by the GGNRA.
http://www.co.marin.ca.us/depts/lb/main/crm/oralhistories/nmcisaacft.html
http://www.calarchives4u.com/Biographies/marin/mar-jewe.htm
http://www.ptreyeslight.com/stories/may20_99/tocaloma.html
--Hjal (talk) 20:21, 22 November 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Educational Institutions Organization

Does anyone know the deal with the way the elementary and middle schools are organized? Looks like it started out being alphabetically by school, and then partly by town. I'm rearranging them to match the format for high schools, because it's more legible. If anyone has better ideas, they are welcome. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Authentic You (talk • contribs) 01:37, 4 December 2007 (UTC)


brandeis hillel is not in Novato, it is in San Rafael.---