Kevin Hessel
My role at The Ark
Kevin directs The Ark's journalistic mission and its coverage of Tiburon, Belvedere and Strawberry.
Background
Kevin is the executive editor of The Ark. He joined the paper in June 2011 and took co-ownership in June 2023. He came from the Marin Independent Journal, where he began as an intern in 1998 and left as assistant copy desk editor, design chief and online editor. He previously was a teen columnist for the Dana Point Times, wrote for his high school newspaper, was the editor of the Saddleback College Lariat newspaper and Inkslinger magazine, studied journalism at San Francisco State University, trained in newsroom leadership at the Poynter Institute in St. Petersburg, Fla., was a Knight Digital Media Center fellow at the University of California at Berkeley and guest lectures in newspaper design at S.F. State. Kevin lives in San Francisco with his wife and The Ark's office dog, Luh-Loyd.
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 Kevin
‘It’s going to be weeks’ more on watch list, Marin health official says
JULY 27 — Marin’s coronavirus case rate remains nearly 2½ times what’s required to be taken off the California watch list — a list that mandates more than 30 counties roll back economic activity and halt any new reopenings, including in-class instruction. Health officials warn the local freeze won’t be lifted any time soon. “It’s going to be weeks if our numbers continue as they are,” Marin Public Health Officer Dr. Matt Willis told the Marin Board of Supervisors at its July 21 meeting. ...
By KEVIN HESSEL ·Joan Frances (Mitchell) McFetridge
Joan McFetridge passed away due to complications from dementia on June 27, 2020. Joan was born in Somerville, Massachusetts, on November...
By KEVIN HESSEL ·
Marin adding civil, commercial fines; new single-day case high; Tiburon, Belved
JULY 20 — Marin saw 106 new COVID-19 cases in a single day last week, shattering the previous one-day record of 75 as the county continues to be monitored by the state for exceeding minimum case and positivity rates. Tiburon’s total case count also grew to 26, while data for Belvedere is being reported for the first time as the city hit 14 total cases, giving it the highest per-resident concentration of infections in Southern Marin. But Marin’s top public-health official notes that despite...
By KEVIN HESSEL ·Belvedere cops can now issue citations to enforce mask rules
Belvedere is giving police new flexibility to issue citations for violations of face-covering mandates amid the coronavirus pandemic,...
By KEVIN HESSEL ·Robert Benton Jaffe , MD
Robert Benton Jaffe, MD, an internationally renowned physician, died peacefully at his home on June 22, 2020, in Tiburon, Calif., where...
By KEVIN HESSEL ·
State shuts down salons, offices and malls in Marin
JULY 13 — Gov. Gavin Newsom has ordered more than 30 counties, including Marin, to shut down indoor businesses amid a surge in...
By KEVIN HESSEL ·State halts indoor dining in Marin amid coronavirus surge
JULY 6 — Less than a week after being given the green light to reopen, restaurants across the Tiburon Peninsula and the rest of Marin...
By KEVIN HESSEL ·Sebastian Paul Kobus-Bergin
Sebastian Paul Kobus-Bergin August 5, 2002 - June 24, 2020 On June 24, 2020 we lost our sweet beautiful Sebastian. He lived a short time...
By KEVIN HESSEL ·
Richard Stanley Kassberg
Richard Stanley Kassberg, born January 11, 1926, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, died June 22, 2020, in Reno, Nevada, at age 94. For seven...
By KEVIN HESSEL ·
Salons, gyms, indoor dining can start June 29 as county wins variance to move f
JUNE 23 — Marin public-health officials have announced residents can now join 12-person “social bubbles” and added that indoor dining, hair salons and barbershops, nail salons, hotels, motels and short-term rentals can resume operation this month, alongside gyms and fitness studios. The indoor activities firing up June 29 will coincide with the reopening of additional outdoor activities as part of Marin’s sector-by-sector reopening of the economy amid the coronavirus pandemic. The guidelines...
By KEVIN HESSEL ·Marin plans to reopen more sectors as cases rise; antibody test value unclear;
Despite a surge in the rate of new COVID-19 infections across Marin that’s outpacing the county’s increase in testing, health officials last week continued to reopen the economy by issuing new public-health guidelines that allow for indoor retail, automotive sales and household cleaning services. Health officials are also looking ahead, saying they hope to restart indoor dining service and reopen hair salons, gyms and hotels in Marin by June 29 — even if it requires petitioning the state for...
By KEVIN HESSEL ·Serge Martial
French former rock star Serge Martial passed away on May 27, 2020, at his home in Tiburon where he lived for the past 42 years. After...
By KEVIN HESSEL ·
Jay Pearson
It is with great sorrow that we announce the passing of Jay Pearson on July 2, 2020, after a short, one-year battle with ALS (Lou...
By KEVIN HESSEL ·
Outdoor worship, protests, swimming return as coronavirus cases pass 500, count
JUNE 9 — Worship and cultural ceremonies, peaceful protests and use of swimming pools are among the outdoor activities that can resume on the Tiburon Peninsula and across Marin under a surprise announcement from the county last week, which came even as Marin has the highest coronavirus new-case rate in the Bay Area, infections surpassed 500 countywide and Marin recorded three new deaths, the first in nearly a month. Dr. Matt Willis, Marin’s public-health officer, said the acceleration in...
By KEVIN HESSEL ·Outdoor dining, retail firing back up; Tiburon to consider seated service on Fo
JUNE 1 — Seated outdoor dining at restaurants, bakeries, coffee shops and pubs on the Tiburon Peninsula and across Marin County was given the green light to resume this week as public-health officials issued new guidelines for reopening the local economy amid the coronavirus pandemic. In response to the eased order, which took effect June 1, Tiburon’s COVID-19 Small Business Relief Task Force will recommend the Town Council set up outdoor dining for daily use on Fountain Plaza, and the...
By KEVIN HESSEL ·Tiburon Peninsula communities have fewer than 10 cases each
Tiburon, Belvedere and Strawberry each have fewer than 10 cases of the coronavirus, according to new Marin County public-health data that...
By KEVIN HESSEL ·Lawrence J. Duke, MD
Lawrence J. Duke died peacefully on May 24, 2020, in his home in Tiburon after a long battle with Parkinson’s disease. He was 75 years...
By KEVIN HESSEL ·
John J Doherty
John J Doherty Jr., 64 years old, passed away unexpectedly on May 24, 2020, due to suffering a heart attack while on a Sunday morning...
By KEVIN HESSEL ·
Marin groomers can reopen; case surge due to contact testing; health order now
MAY 26 — Little Fluffy can now get a trim at the groomer, as long as your dog or cat is dropped off and picked up at curbside, sans collar and leash, in a no-contact system that allows you to depart before your pet is taken inside. Pet groomers were among the five new sets of industry-specific guidelines quietly released by Marin County on May 22 in the slow march to reopen the economy amid the coronavirus pandemic. In at least one case, the rules for summer camps, Marin appears to be moving...
By KEVIN HESSEL ·Nina Rutan Wells
A ray of light, Nina Rutan Wells passed April 24, 2020, in a sudden and sad accident at the age of 21. Born and raised in Marin County,...
By KEVIN HESSEL ·
