In Your Town for May 17, 2025

SAN RAFAEL

Waste service gets
fuel tank approval

The city planning office has approved a proposal to install a 12,000-gallon fuel storage tank at Marin Sanitary Service at 1050 Andersen Drive.

The aboveground tank would be 8 feet, 6 inches tall and used to fuel trucks and equipment, according to a staff report by Kavitha Kumar, a city planner. The company also plans to demolish three underground fuel storage tanks.

The project required an environmental and design review. A zoning administrator approved the application during a hearing on Wednesday. The appeal period is for five days from the approval date.

MILL VALLEY

Lewdness suspect
pleads not guilty

A suspect who allegedly performed lewd acts in front of students at Mill Valley Middle School pleaded not guilty Thursday.

Derrell Bland, 33, of Mill Valley is accused of trespassing on the campus in October and committing the offenses around two 11-year-old students in a restroom. Bland was charged with annoying or molesting minors under age 18, false imprisonment and indecent exposure.

A judge suspended criminal proceedings after the court received a mental health evaluation that deemed Bland mentally unfit to stand trial. The defense did not file a request for a mental health diversion, and proceedings resumed.

Bland remains in jail without a bail amount. Bland’s defense attorney, Kevin Heaney, declined to comment after the plea hearing.

Judge Geoffrey Howard set the preliminary examination of the evidence for July 3.

NOVATO

Police accuse man
of threat with gun

Police arrested a suspect on allegations he brandished a gun during an argument at the Vintage Oaks Shopping Center.

The incident was reported at about 10 a.m. Wednesday. The suspect and the victim met on social media and arranged to meet at the mall to sell property, police Sgt. Alan Bates said.

The argument ensued, the suspect pulled out the gun and the victim fled, Bates said. The suspect fired no shots.

Investigators arrested the suspect at his home in Vallejo. Michael Christian Shkidt, 33, was booked into the Marin County Jail on suspicion of assault with a firearm. He remained in custody Thursday in lieu of $200,000 bail.

LARKSPUR

Wine bar granted
changes in service

The Planning Commission has approved modifications at a business along northwest Magnolia Avenue.

The application was filed by Internos Wine Bar at 1110 Magnolia Ave. in the Merret Shopping Plaza. The business sought a permit to “change the allowed use from a primarily retail establishment to a wine and beer service establishment with retail and limited food service,” city planner Jackie Oneal wrote in a staff report.

“The applicant is also proposing to convert three existing parking spaces into an outdoor seating area and is requesting approval for limited live music,” Oneal wrote.

The proposal required a conditional use permit, a parking variance amendment and design review. The commission approved the plan during a hearing on Tuesday, said Elise Semonian, the city’s community development director.