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
Barbara Wulf Browne
In the early morning hours of May 7, 2020, Barbara Wulf Browne’s life gently slipped away. She spent her final days in her beloved home...
By KEVIN HESSEL ·
Coronavirus roundup — Next steps: Pet grooming, dining, malls and hair salons?
MAY 18 — While Tiburon Peninsula retailers began rolling out curbside sales this week under Marin’s newly relaxed public-health orders,...
By KEVIN HESSEL ·Peter A. Clarke
Peter A. Clarke, age 86, a 36-year resident of Tiburon, passed away at home on May 1, 2020, with Mimi, his loving wife for 42 years, at...
By KEVIN HESSEL ·
Coronavirus roundup: Marin aims to start relaxing its retail rules next week
While California’s guidelines amid the coronavirus pandemic now say counties can allow retail book, music, clothing, flower, toy and...
By KEVIN HESSEL ·Carol Hamm Fluke
April 29, 1945-May 1, 2020 Born under a blue sky of white puffy clouds, Carol entered the Gates of Heaven on a bright sunny day, May 1st,...
By KEVIN HESSEL ·
Marie Nelson Feldman
Marie Nelson Feldman, beloved mother, grandmother, great-grandmother and aunt died in her home, surrounded by family on May 2, a few days...
By KEVIN HESSEL ·
Marin gets first free testing clinic; state shelter order could last 18 months;
MAY 4 — Marin has rolled out its first free coronavirus testing clinic in San Rafael’s Canal area, one of 80 state-funded sites aimed at increasing testing in underserved communities, while a New Jersey-based lab with offices in Strawberry is now offering antibody testing for about $130. Meanwhile, California Gov. Gavin Newsom said this week the state’s stay-at-home rules will begin to relax on May 8, but state health officials separately clarified the final stage of the order won’t be...
By KEVIN HESSEL ·Patricia Ann Bradley
Patricia Ann Bradley passed away at her home in Mill Valley on April 16, 2020, at the age of 90. She was born in Bronxville, New York, on...
By KEVIN HESSEL ·
Deaths pass grim milestones; senior facilities hit hard; pet cats test positive
APRIL 27 — Marin public-health officials say they will announce an extension and any changes to the Bay Area’s coronavirus shelter-in-place order this week, as the regional order is set to expire May 3 and Gov. Gavin Newsom told Californians last week “we are not prepared” to reopen large sectors of society. “Our biggest challenges are ahead of us as we try to balance the needs for opening our economy while preventing surges in disease, knowing that the virus is part of our environment, and...
By KEVIN HESSEL ·Mask directive is step toward loosening shelter order; COVID-19 a leading cause
APRIL 20 — Marin and California public-health officials signaled last week the coronavirus shelter-in-place order will extend beyond the Bay Area’s May 3 end date, but with modifications that will allow for looser restrictions. In preparation for such a shift, the county became the second in the Bay Area last week to order the mandatory use of face coverings in certain situations beginning noon today, April 22. “We need to make sure we can interact more safely in public before we consider...
By KEVIN HESSEL ·A. Robert Fisher
Long-time Belvedere resident A. Robert Fisher, known as Bob to his friends, passed away peacefully on March 1, 2020, at age 89. He was...
By KEVIN HESSEL ·
Carl Arthur Groesbeck
December 29,1918-March 31, 2020 Carl Groesbeck of Wheaton, Illinois, passed away on March 31, 2020, surrounded by family at his home at...
By KEVIN HESSEL ·
Daniel Charles Ross
On Friday, April 10th, 2020, Daniel Charles Ross passed away peacefully at the age of 80. His spirit is carried on by his three children,...
By KEVIN HESSEL ·
Coronavirus updates: Face coverings required beginning April 22
UPDATE, April 17, 1:13 p.m.: A directive issued by Marin public-health officials today will require the use of face coverings in certain...
By KEVIN HESSEL ·Southern Marin has most cases; schools close for academic year; county prepares
APRIL 13 — Southern Marin has the most coronavirus infections in the county, the county’s public-health officials are preparing for a “significant hospital surge” in the next two to six weeks and public schools will remain closed for the rest of the academic year as the number of Marin coronavirus cases topped 150 and deaths hit double digits. Meanwhile, the leading model tracking the pandemic’s trajectory last week revised down its projections for hospital usage and deaths, saying the...
By KEVIN HESSEL ·Experts say peak coming soon; general public should wear face coverings; Marin
APRIL 6 — The number of Marin residents infected with the coronavirus climbed past 100 last week, just days before the global count surpassed 1 million and as the U.S. saw more than 1,000 deaths in a single day — the most for any nation since the pandemic began and a daily figure that may triple by late next week. With new evidence suggesting as many as a quarter to half of all those infected with COVID-19, the disease caused by coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, have no symptoms of the illness, the...
By KEVIN HESSEL ·Coronavirus: Marin cases may already be in thousands; first deaths recorded; shelter order extended
ROUNDUP: Officials demand better lab data as those with mild, moderate symptoms aren’t being tested; Marin sees first COVID-19 death;...
By KEVIN HESSEL ·
Jan Andersen
A 23-year resident of Belvedere, Janet (Jan) Irene Andersen passed away at her home on March 18, 2020. Whether she was heli-skiing in...
By KEVIN HESSEL ·
Shelter in place extended statewide. Public health official diagnosed. $1 milli
MARCH 23 — Confirmed coronavirus cases in Marin have more than quadrupled in the past week, from nine to 39 — including Marin’s public health officer, Dr. Matt Willis — as the U.S. total surged by nearly 10 times to 33,000 cases and Gov. Gavin Newsom expanded the Bay Area’s enforceable shelter-in-place order to the entire state. Marin: 39 confirmed cases, 0 deaths, per the Marin Department of Health and Human Services as of March 22. Up from nine cases the previous week. California: 1,733...
By KEVIN HESSEL ·Thomas Everett Brown
Surrounded by his loving family, Thomas Everett Brown, 88, passed away in his home in Sonoma, Calif., on Feb. 27, 2020. He previously...
By KEVIN HESSEL ·
