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
Save the date, submit questions for Ark’s Sept. 29 Tiburon council candidates forum
The Ark is hosting a Tiburon Town Council candidates forum, moderated by the League of Women Voters of Marin County, from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Sept. 29 in the Town Hall council chambers.
By KEVIN HESSEL ·
Tiburon awards $349,000 storm-drain contract as flood fix awaits
Tiburon Town Council awarded a $349,000 contract Sept. 16 to reline corroded storm drains at nine spots. It won’t fix the flooding at Beach Road and Tiburon Boulevard.
By KEVIN HESSEL ·Ark audit finds federally linked license-plate searches continue after Tiburon’s Flock safeguards
A day after The Ark asked Tiburon who approved access to its license-plate cameras, the town revised the policy, dropping the written-request rule and its monthly audit method.
By KEVIN HESSEL ·
Angel Island burn resumes Sept. 23, putting smoke back over the bay
State Parks, Cal Fire and Marin County Fire plan to resume the Angel Island prescribed burn as early as Sept. 23, putting smoke back over the Tiburon Peninsula.
By KEVIN HESSEL ·
Mallard Pointe tenants move out, but demolition still awaits city permit
Tenants at Mallard Pointe in Belvedere had to be out by Sept. 14, but demolition of the 22 apartments is still waiting on a bulkhead permit under city review since February 2025.
By KEVIN HESSEL ·
Richardson Bay agency accepts $5 million in grants for debris, eelgrass work
The Richardson Bay Regional Agency has accepted nearly $5 million in grants to pull sunken debris off the bay floor and replant eelgrass beds that anchors tore up.
By KEVIN HESSEL ·Angel Island burn of up to 260 acres is underway; smoke visible this week
Smoke off Angel Island this week is a prescribed burn, not a wildfire. California State Parks asks Tiburon and Belvedere residents who see it not to call 911.
By KEVIN HESSEL ·
Tiburon Town Council candidate forum slated for Sept. 29
The Ark is hosting a Tiburon Town Council candidate forum moderated by the League of Women Voters of Marin County from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Sept. 29 at Town Hall.
By KEVIN HESSEL ·Peninsula residents lead the way in Run Tiburon 10K & 5K
Brad Geddes, 40, of Tiburon won the Run Tiburon 10K outright Aug. 30, covering the course in 39:46 to finish first among 319 entrants.
By KEVIN HESSEL ·
Federal prosecutors charge Tiburon man in $103M Pacific Private collapse
Mark Hanf of Tiburon, founder and former CEO of Novato-based Pacific Private Money, has been charged with charged in federal court with money laundering and conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
By KEVIN HESSEL ·
Report: Open creek sent skiers toward fatal avalanche path
Guides who led a Tiburon mother of three into a fatal Sierra avalanche were steering away from the slide path when an open creek turned them back, a commissioned report says.
By KEVIN HESSEL ·Tiburon Peninsula election field set for Nov. 3
Tiburon Planning Commissioner Kathleen Defever filed on the last afternoon of the extended nomination period, setting a five-way race for three Town Council seats Nov. 3.
By KEVIN HESSEL ·Tartine Bakery opens its doors at Strawberry Village
San Francisco's Tartine Bakery formally opens its first North Bay store today, Aug. 19, at Strawberry Village shopping center.
By KEVIN HESSEL ·
Filing deadline extends as Tiburon councilmember won’t seek third term; Belvedere draws late challenge
Nine of the 12 races on Tiburon Peninsula ballots are now set. Seven candidates are running for three Tam Union school board seats, the most crowded contest.
By KEVIN HESSEL ·DA declines to charge Tiburon man in alleged kidnapping of girlfriend
The Marin County District Attorney's Office has declined to file charges against an 18-year-old Tiburon man arrested in June on suspicion of kidnapping and robbing his girlfriend.
By KEVIN HESSEL ·Candidate filings accelerate ahead of Friday’s first deadline
Thirteen candidates filed for peninsula races between July 27 and Aug. 3. Filing closes Aug. 7 in most races, with extensions where an incumbent bows out.
By KEVIN HESSEL ·Potential challenge is taking shape in Tiburon council race
The Tiburon council race has its first potential challengers. Parks commissioner Chuck Hornbrook and wealth-management founder Faris Jafar have taken out nomination papers.
By KEVIN HESSEL ·Beach Road seawall work is now underway in Belvedere
Drivers should expect single-lane traffic and sidewalk closures on Beach Road, with the sidewalk near the seawall closed via marked detour.
By KEVIN HESSEL ·
Crowded field forms for Tam district board; no council challengers so far
Candidates for the Nov. 3 election have until 5 p.m. Aug. 7 to file, with an extended deadline through Aug. 12 in races where an incumbent doesn't file.
By KEVIN HESSEL ·Belvedere issues Mallard Pointe demolition permit, clearing way for evictions
Belvedere has issued the demolition permit for Mallard Pointe, letting the developer begin evicting tenants of the 22-unit lagoon complex.
By KEVIN HESSEL ·
