Francisco Martinez
What I cover
Francisco covers Tiburon: the Town Council and town government, development and housing, and the people and events of the town.
Background
Francisco joined The Ark in July 2023. He previously worked for NPR member station KCBX-FM in San Luis Obispo, where he reported "Beyond the Furrows," an award-winning 12-part series about farmworkers in Santa Barbara County. Francisco was also a reporter, news anchor and radio DJ for student-run Mustang News and KCPR-FM at the California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo; he graduated in 2021 with a bachelor's degree in journalism. Francisco lives in Point Richmond with his wife and their four cats. A former record store employee, he spends his free time listening to music old and new, going on walks and solving puzzles of all kinds. Francisco remains an eternally suffering Tottenham Hotspur fan.
Our standards
Ark journalists avoid conflicts of interest, refuse gifts, favors, free travel and special treatment, and correct information throughout the life of a story. Read The Ark’s ethics policy and corrections policy.
Latest from Francisco
Tiburon eighth grader is one of fastest middle-distance runners in the nation
Tiburon 13-year-old Dash Keffer won big at two Amateur Athletic Union competitions last year, taking home first in the 1,500-meter race...
By FRANCISCO MARTINEZ ·
Tiburon board offers early update on ideas for parks improvements
Tiburon’s parks board is exploring options for indoor pickleball, a downtown launch for kayaks and paddleboards, shaded picnic areas and...
By FRANCISCO MARTINEZ ·New laws include e-bike, ‘daylighting,’ ADU rules
A ‘daylighting’ law to eliminate parking within 20 feet of the approach of intersections and crosswalks — as seen on Beach Road in...
By FRANCISCO MARTINEZ ·
Tiburon parks committee looks to reprioritize club soccer at McKegney
Tiburon parks officials want to give the local youth soccer club more time on McKegney Green, saying it appears too much has been ceded...
By FRANCISCO MARTINEZ ·Tiburon sees post-pandemic rebound in business revenue
San Francisco residents Kei Ishii and Asahi Kato, strolling through Shoreline Park, said they were staying the night in town. It Ishii’s...
By FRANCISCO MARTINEZ ·Scrapped subdivision dashes plan to close gap in Tiburon Ridge Trail
The owners of a 52-acre parcel that stretches from Hacienda Drive to Paradise Drive have scrapped a project to turn the property into a...
By FRANCISCO MARTINEZ ·
Councilmember absences force cancellation of Tiburon diversity task force meeting yet again
Tiburon’s Diversity Inclusion Task Force canceled its second consecutive meeting Dec. 11 for lack of quorum, making the board about 50-50...
By FRANCISCO MARTINEZ ·Tiburon commission rubber stamps second-unit alignment with state laws
Tiburon planning officials have agreed to update local second-unit rules to align with existing and pending state laws — such as allowing...
By FRANCISCO MARTINEZ ·Marin supervisors will try to settle dispute over accidental sale of Tiburon residents’ land
The Tiburon View Homeowners Association, representing 68 apartment units on the interior of Circle Drive, owns seven parcels around an...
By FRANCISCO MARTINEZ ·
Tiburon residents in traffic workshop want smart signals and roundabouts
Requests for roundabouts, better traffic-signal timing and coordination and reduced speed limits on Tiburon Boulevard were among the...
By FRANCISCO MARTINEZ ·
Tiburon accepts county’s roadmap for building electrification as supplement to climate-action plan
Tiburon has given a thumbs up to Marin’s 10-step roadmap toward electrifying buildings, an energy-efficiency strategy through 2031 that...
By FRANCISCO MARTINEZ ·Thier named Tiburon mayor, Welner is vice mayor in annual shuffling of seats
Tiburon Town Councilmember Holli Thier (left) was elected by her colleagues Dec. 4 to serve as mayor for the next year, while...
By FRANCISCO MARTINEZ ·
Tiburon local takes command of Air Force Reserves squadron
U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Steven Chandler (right), who was raised in Tiburon, takes command of the 70th Air Refueling Squadron at Travis...
By FRANCISCO MARTINEZ ·
Belvedere teammates, friends turn rivals for girls tennis crown
For most of the tennis season, Belvedere’s Mirabel Arlander and Katie Warrin are practically inseparable. It was tennis that brought them...
By FRANCISCO MARTINEZ ·
Tiburon council OKs long-term plan for parks and recreation
Tiburon has completed a long-term plan to guide use of the town’s parks system, with officials saying they hope to take quick initiative...
By FRANCISCO MARTINEZ ·Festive weekend includes craft sale, town holiday fair and Day of Giving
Tiburon will kick off the holiday season with kid-friendly crafts, music, train rides and photos with Santa at its Dec. 8 holiday...
By FRANCISCO MARTINEZ ·Tiburon council adds member to traffic-study panel, declines to remove Belvedere member
Tiburon Town Councilmember Jon Welner has been added to an advisory panel for the ongoing study exploring traffic on Tiburon Boulevard,...
By FRANCISCO MARTINEZ ·Tiburon council honors resident behind effort to save open space
The Tiburon Town Council honored resident Jerry Riessen and his grassroots organization Tiburon Open Space for their successful efforts...
By FRANCISCO MARTINEZ ·Tiburon allocates last of its pandemic-relief funds toward sanitation ponds
Tiburon has earmarked the remaining $6,000 of its federal pandemic-relief funding toward grading the decommissioned sanitation ponds near...
By FRANCISCO MARTINEZ ·Angel Island-Tiburon Ferry named chamber business of the year
The Angel Island-Tiburon Ferry Co. has been named the Tiburon Peninsula Chamber of Commerce’s Business of the Year in recognition of its...
By FRANCISCO MARTINEZ ·
