Tyler Callister
What I cover
Tyler covers Belvedere, Strawberry and public safety for The Ark, including the Belvedere City Council, Strawberry's county-governed neighborhoods, and police and fire news across the peninsula.
Background
Tyler joined The Ark in May 2025. He was previously a staff writer at the Palo Alto Weekly, covering education, police and crime in Palo Alto and Menlo Park, and a news reporter at the Piedmont Post, where he covered the City Council, planning commission and the police and fire departments. He has also worked as an editor and communications specialist for Edelman Financial Engines and the Academy of Art University, and for years he wrote about music and the arts for SF Weekly. He holds a bachelor's degree in creative writing from Sonoma State University. He lives in Hercules, and outside the newsroom, he's a musician.
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 Tyler
Five rescued after fishing boat floods off Belvedere
The boat was listing heavily in Richardson Bay off Sausalito when a 911 caller reported five people aboard, all in life jackets, taking on water.
By TYLER CALLISTER ·
Belvedere environmental leader tapped for California water board
As California's environmental secretary in 2019, Jared Blumenfeld pushed a $130 million-a-year program to help rural Central Valley communities get clean water.
By TYLER CALLISTER ·
Battle of the berries: Strawberry Rec nears decisions on playground designs
The district set aside $1.8 million for the project, with a fundraising committee aiming to cover about half the cost and the general fund covering the rest.
By TYLER CALLISTER ·
Belvedere to test rat birth control in new pilot program
The nonlethal bait, made from cottonseed oil, reduces fertility in rats rather than killing them, and is meant to lower the population over time.
By TYLER CALLISTER ·Southern Marin fire chief retires after 47-year career
During his tenure, Tubbs oversaw the 2023 annexation of the Mill Valley Fire Department and the passage of Measure U, which generates $3.1 million a year.
By TYLER CALLISTER ·
A Belvedere couple makes new friends with daily walks at Shoreline Park
The couple, married since 2009, met years earlier when Iwasaki was Steele's hairdresser in San Francisco. They now share a love of Shoreline Park.
By TYLER CALLISTER ·
Family-owned Thep Lela at Strawberry Village closes after 33 years
The Kamloons have cooked Thai food in Marin since 1990, surviving a building demolition, forced relocation and COVID before lease talks ended their 33-year Strawberry Village run.
By TYLER CALLISTER ·
Tiburon fire district board rejects Belvedere annexation plan
Belvedere's fire tax once covered the full cost of service. Now it covers only 47%. The contract with the Tiburon fire district runs about $2.67 million this year.
By TYLER CALLISTER ·A landscape architect looks to balance ecology and human impact
Landscape architect Kossen Miller, a senior associate at RHAA, is designing two Tiburon park projects: the former sanitation ponds near McKegney Green and Belveron Mini Park.
By TYLER CALLISTER ·
Belvedere budget funds police hiring, lifts staff pay
The budget includes three years of funding to restore a seventh police position, while the raises follow a study that found Belvedere paying below its Marin neighbors.
By TYLER CALLISTER ·Belvedere grants limited extension for Mallard Pointe redevelopment
The Belvedere City Council granted the Mallard Pointe developer a shorter extension than it sought, giving it until March 2027 to advance the 40-unit project.
By TYLER CALLISTER ·
Clothes dryer sparks Strawberry house fire; resident and pet forced out
A clothes dryer started a house fire on Ricardo Road in Strawberry, displacing a resident and their pet, fire officials said.
By TYLER CALLISTER ·
Supervisors greenlight Strawberry seminary redevelopment after years of conflict
The project calls for 336 homes on the hilltop campus, including 70 below-market-rate units, plus a 150-unit senior care facility and a graduate school.
By TYLER CALLISTER ·
Peninsula kicks off summer with street fest — then car show, boat show, Juneteenth and free concert
Friday Nights on Main is June 12, the annual Tiburon Classic Car Show is June 20, then June 21 is the wooden boat show, Juneteenth and Belvedere Concert in the Park.
By TYLER CALLISTER ·A Tiburon resident is happy to be back after five decades
Portner grew up partly in Venezuela, speaking Spanish, before her family moved to Tiburon when she was 13. She says Venezuelan culture remains a core part of her identity.
By TYLER CALLISTER ·
Measure E: Mill Valley schools funding measure cruising to victory
Mill Valley School District's Measure E parcel tax is passing with 70.37% in preliminary returns, just above the two-thirds threshold it needs.
By TYLER CALLISTER ·Debate grows in Belvedere over private improvements on the Strip
The Strip was deeded to Belvedere in 1897 for public waterfront use. A retaining wall collapse reignited debate over who is responsible for upkeep.
By TYLER CALLISTER ·
A youth ambassador walks to support clean-water initiatives
Leila Al-Moosa and classmates carried water jugs four miles to highlight the burden on girls in developing countries.
By TYLER CALLISTER ·
Tiburon police seek to fill two vacancies amid high living costs, competition
The department offers $138,148 in top-step pay but competes with agencies in San Jose and San Francisco that pay significantly more — in some cases over $200,000.
By TYLER CALLISTER ·Reed district recognizes staff for classroom impact, support work
Del Mar librarian Ryan Sonneville was named Reed Union's Teacher of the Year. His principal says he turns the library into a space where every student feels seen and supported.
By TYLER CALLISTER ·
