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
Crime in Tiburon falls from 2024 spike; Belvedere ties record low
The declines mirror trends across Marin and California, where both violent and property crime rates fell again in 2025.
By KEVIN HESSEL ·
Little League teams end their runs in third place during district brackets
The Tiburon Peninsula Little League All-Stars closed out their District 3 tournament runs last week, with both the 10-and-under and 12-and-under teams finishing third in their divisions. The 12U team, the club’s Little League division, ended at 5-3 overall. The 10U team finished 6-4. Little League All-Stars Tiburon carried a 5-1 record into the winners’ bracket semifinals but lost 3-1 to Mill Valley on July 8, dropping into the elimination bracket. Mill Valley scored both its runs in...
By KEVIN HESSEL ·Tiburon’s 12U Little League All-Stars are still rolling in district playoffs
Tiburon Peninsula's 12U All-Stars are unbeaten through two rounds of the District 3 tournament, while the 10U team is staying alive in the loser's bracket.
By KEVIN HESSEL ·Tiburon’s St. Hilary Catholic Church will help fund abuse settlement
St. Hilary appears once, listed as the location connected to a single claim. The data does not name the accused or give a date.
By KEVIN HESSEL ·
Candidate filing opens July 13 for Tiburon Peninsula races
Candidate filing opens July 13 for about 30 seats on 10 Tiburon Peninsula boards and councils, including three Tiburon Town Council seats.
By KEVIN HESSEL ·Tiburon 12U All-Stars earn No. 2 seed, first-round bye in District 3 tournament
Tiburon's 12U Little League All-Stars open District 3 tournament play July 2 as the No. 2 seed, earning a first-round bye after a 3-1 finish in pool play.
By KEVIN HESSEL ·Registered sex offender charged after alleged Tiburon bike-path attack
A registered sex offender allegedly grabbed a woman on the Tiburon bike path and tried to drag her into bushes. She fought him off. Officers arrested him nearby shortly after.
By KEVIN HESSEL ·Pacific Private Money’s mortgage fund seeks bankruptcy protection
The bankruptcy follows a revoked lending license, a state desist order and a federal lawsuit alleging $75.8 million in investor funds were funneled to Hanf-controlled entities.
By KEVIN HESSEL ·Tiburon teen booked on kidnap, robbery after fight with girlfriend
An 18-year-old Tiburon man was arrested last week on suspicion of kidnapping, robbery, child cruelty and false imprisonment after an argument with his 17-year-old girlfriend.
By KEVIN HESSEL ·Measure B: SMART tax extension wins broad support
Voters in Marin and Sonoma counties are approving SMART's Measure B by a wide margin, with 70.33% in favor in preliminary returns from Tuesday's primary.
By KEVIN HESSEL ·State orders Tiburon man, Pacific Private to cease investor fundraising
California regulators ordered Tiburon's Mark Hanf and Pacific Private to stop raising investor funds after finding they misled more than 400 people who put in at least $139 million.
By KEVIN HESSEL ·Measure B: Extension of sales tax would keep SMART funded through 2059
Marin and Sonoma voters decide June 2 whether to extend SMART's quarter-cent sales tax for 30 years. Measure B would keep the train and pathway funded past its 2029 expiration.
By KEVIN HESSEL ·Federal lawsuit accuses Tiburon man of $75 million investor scheme
A federal lawsuit accuses a Tiburon man and his nine companies of diverting more than $75 million from investors instead of placing it into promised real-estate loans.
By KEVIN HESSEL ·Investigation faults guides in Tahoe avalanche that killed Tiburon skier
Report: The guides chose a route through a known danger zone and allowed the group to travel in numbers that multiplied their collective risk.
By KEVIN HESSEL ·Huffman calls for FBI, SEC probe of Pacific Private, Tiburon founder
U.S. Rep. Jared Huffman called on the FBI and SEC to investigate Pacific Private Money and its CEO, Tiburon's Mark Hanf, over allegations of mismanaged funds and potential fraud.
By KEVIN HESSEL ·
PG&E power outage affects over 5,000 Tiburon Peninsula customers
A Pacific Gas and Electric Co. power outage has left 5,154 customers without electricity across the Tiburon Peninsula and parts of Mill Valley, with the cause listed as unknown.
By KEVIN HESSEL ·
Follow-up audit finds far broader access to Tiburon license-plate data
As 41 agencies made 16,029 questionable searches — largely missed by town — Flock makes changes that conceal records, and Tiburon expands surveillance with two more cameras
By KEVIN HESSEL ·
Candidates have through March 6 to enter federal, state, local races
The filing period for the June 2 primary is open, and candidates can run for seats ranging from Congress to governor and local offices.
By KEVIN HESSEL ·Tiburon resident among nine killed in avalanche near Lake Tahoe
Families are “devastated beyond words” after nine people, including Tiburon's Kate Morse, died in the Feb. 17 avalanche outside Truckee.
By KEVIN HESSEL ·
Ark investigation uncovers federal searches of Tiburon license-plate data
In response, police chief admits 23 agencies potentially violated privacy and immigration laws when accessing system.
By KEVIN HESSEL ·
