A READER WRITES: SHORT TERM RENTALS (STRs): 823 Homes Removed From Mendocino Housing Market
I pulled current Airbnb listings for 15 Mendocino County communities using AirRoi to scrape market data (January 2026):
Fort Bragg: 226; Mendocino: 131; Little River: 69; Caspar: 42; Albion: 100; Elk: 27; Point Arena: 40; Gualala: 109; Ukiah: 69; Willits: 25; Hopland: 25; Westport: 9; Laytonville: 16; Philo: 38; Boonville: 31.
Total: 957 active listings
Entire homes: 823 (86%)
Private rooms: 134 (14%)
The data: 86% are entire homes removed from residential use.
This isn’t about “Grandpa” renting a room to pay the bills (14%).
This is profit driven extraction making 823 homes unavailable for teachers, firefighters, nurses, service workers, and washed up hippies.
A good percentage operate with no permits and pay $0 in TOT (bed tax) for many years, with a county too lax to enforce.
Add to that, when fire departments face increased demand from STR activity, they raise parcel taxes. YOU pay that increase.
You’re subsidizing emergency response for your neighbor’s licensed/unlicensed commercial operation.
Do the math: 957 listings at conservative 50% weekend occupancy = ~1,400 unfamiliar visitors every weekend. That’s 1,400 people driving roads they don’t know, in properties they’re unfamiliar with, calling emergency services for situations local residents handle themselves. Fire departments and paramedics get hit with surge demand every Friday and Saturday night… Then YOU pay the parcel tax increase to cover it.
The grow era conditioned this region into extraction cycles: find a resource, fly under the radar, pocket untaxed cash, don’t invest in productive capacity. The county got comfortable being a passive tax collector while looking away.
Now it’s STRs instead of cannabis due to the failure of leadership in developing anything economically beneficial other than low hanging fruit (tourism). Supervisors campaign on “affordable housing” and “economic development” to collect their paychecks, then approve policy yanking 823 homes from residential use. Operators claim they “care about the community” while lining their pockets and expecting someone else to house the teachers, nurses, and workers who make their “community” function.
It’s not community, it’s greed.
I sourced this data over a pint, a keyboard, and skepticism as my motivator – all within 30 minutes.
I’m not even a compensated county employee.
It’s not governance. It’s managed decline. If Mendocino County’s STR policy were a stock representing long-term regional prosperity, I’d short it to scrap value and sleep well doing it.
Time for a haircut.
ELISE COX: Last week we published stories about two men accused of sex crimes. One had his due process rights respected and was found guilty as charged. The other had his personal information leaked to a influencer who made it clear he believed the accused had no rights. The first defendant was convicted by a jury of his peers. The second case is stalled. No charges have been filed. The court docket was hidden from view for weeks. Mendo Local intervened to get the file opened, and we learned that the so-called agreement between the prosecution and defense we previously reported on has not yet led to an order for the judge to sign. At least, nothing is filed in the court docket.
THE JOURNALIST AS PERV
"Two Fired Cops," Trent James and Chris Awad, commenting on the arrest of Matt LaFever back on November 3, 2025: https://youtu.be/MjWqaVivC1U?si=eDS6PCCDlNjK7MKn
BOB ABELES (Boonville):
Betcha the “additional administrative, enforcement and infrastructure costs” far exceed the paltry $75,000 in transient occupancy taxes the supervisors hallucinate raking in. On the other hand, this is going to be a gigantic headache for residents unfortunate enough to have these 900 new campgrounds as neighbors. Great work, supervisors!
TIM MCCLURE:
Every time I see an article about lack of housing and the property tax debacle, I think of all those vacant luxury properties that are sitting empty most of the time and wonder when a vacancy tax will come about. Meanwhile, I live in my house 365 days of the year, the property taxes go up every year, the homeowners exemption remains a paltry $7000, which is next to nothing. Prop. 13 turned out to be a bust for most homeowners but a bonanza for commercial giants like Safeway in keeping their properties at a lower tax rate for decades.
JOHN JOHNS:
Why do you think we have a homeless issue in Ukiah, and what do you think we can do about it?
Ukiah faces an acute housing shortage and a tight rental market, with vacancy rates as low as 2.8% and a high demand for available units. While categorized as a balanced market in some 2025 reports, there is still intense demand, with a median home price of $560,000 as of December 2025 and a long history of housing shortages.
Key details regarding the housing situation in Ukiah include:
- Rental Shortage: Rental vacancy rates are extremely low, creating a crisis for renters.
- Housing Stock: A large majority of housing (over 90%) was built before 1989, and about 75% of units are single-family homes, indicating a lack of diverse, newer options.
- Rising Costs: High demand and limited supply have caused home prices and rents to increase.
- Production Efforts: The city has implemented programs to increase housing production, resulting in the creation of new units between 2014 and 2018, but the shortage persists.
- Homelessness: The shortage is directly linked to an "atrocious" situation with homelessness, with community leaders acknowledging the need for more affordable housing.
JACKSON’S NON-VISIT TO MENDO
Skyhawk:
Does anyone else remember when Jesse Jackson spoke at the Mendocino Headlands (1988? It think)? It’s sad that he didn’t win the nom. But he sure made a statement!
1988 Campaign: He ran a much stronger, more organized campaign, winning 11 contests (including primaries and caucuses) and over 1,000 delegates before losing the nomination to Michael Dukakis.
Impact: His campaigns registered millions of new voters, pushed the Democratic Party to the left, and paved the way for future minority candidates, including Barack Obama.
David Jones:
He didn’t speak. I waited with a number of people but it turned out he was unable to make it because of other commitments. At least that’s what I remember.
Anon:
No Jesse Jackson did not make it. I was on the plane with him from LA and we could not land in Little River, not sure if it was weather or b/c runway was not adequate. All this was organized by Rachel Binah - our local “stop offshore oil drilling” champion and democratic party leader, along with Linda Freedman who worked with State Parks to secure security and the site. Maxine Waters was also on the plane and ready to speak to our local community.
Jackson was a tireless fighter, and may his legacy live on to inspire others.
ED NOTE:
Odd that so many locals are claiming they heard Jesse Jackson speak on the Mendo Headlands, circa '84 (?). I was there in the crowd of about a thousand people waiting and waiting for the oracle to appear. It occurred to me that we were like some kind of liberal cargo cult, gazes massed upward at an impenetrable fog bank, the unyielding skies preventing Jackson from landing. Myself, I have always believed he never was Mendo-bound, finding the crowds much larger and far more lucrative in the Bay Area. I remember Richard Johnson, aka The One True Green, posted at the north end of the Headlands where the crowd had to pass. OTG was passing out his occasional newspaper, four pages of thunderously obvious opinion as he suggested donations "to keep up this important work." A few years later he was arrested for drunk-riding his bicycle, and then he was gone, one more comic figure lost to Mendocino County's ongoing comedy special.
JEFFREY ST. CLAIR:
Jesse's two runs, 84/88, were the last Democratic presidential campaigns I had any interest in joining. Those campaign, which, among other things, warned about the coming neoliberal takeover of the Democratic Party, spawned dozens of great activists, including my late buddy Kevin Alexander Gray. The Democratic Party, in league with the Israel lobby, deployed every trick in the book, and some found only the apocrypha, not only to destroy his campaign, but to try to destroy Jesse both as a force in the Party and personally. Yet, even with the entire party apparatus working viciously against him, Jesse still crushed Biden, Al Gore and Dick Gephardt. That spirit would only resurface again in 2016 with Bernie's campaign, but Jesse had built a multi-racial/ethnic campaign aimed at poor and working class people that Bernie, for whatever reason, couldn't replicate, but the Democrats' strategy for rigging the primaries and personal demonization remained much the same.
MEASLES CASES ON THE RISE
Following a California Department of Public Health alert regarding 17 confirmed cases of measles statewide, local public health officials are urging residents to verify their immunization status.
In a press release, Mendocino County Public Health officials reported that while “no cases have been reported locally to date, the highly contagious nature of the virus and its presence in neighboring Northern California counties, including an outbreak in Shasta County, requires immediate community action.”
“Measles is one of the most contagious diseases we face, spreading easily through the air, Mendocino County Public Health Officer Dr. Charles Evans is quoted as saying in the release. “With residents traveling for school, work, and recreation, the risk of introduction to our county is real. The MMR vaccine remains our most effective tool to prevent local transmission and protect those most vulnerable, including infants and the immunocompromised.”
The release described measles symptoms as typically including “a high fever, cough, runny nose, and watery eyes followed by a rash that spreads from the head to the rest of the body, (and that) individuals are contagious four days before the rash appears, and until four days after. If you or a family member has developed these symptoms, contact your healthcare provider immediately by phone before visiting a clinic to prevent spread to others.”
The release also recommends that “to ensure you and your child are up to date on the Measles, Mumps, and Rubella (MMR) vaccine, check your records by using the California Department of Public Health’s Digital Vaccine Record portal. This online system allows you to instantly access your complete immunization record directly from the California Immunization Registry.”
Those who have not yet been vaccinated “are encouraged to get vaccinated. Most health insurance plans cover the MMR vaccine. Those without a provider may contact Mendocino County Public Health at (707) 472-2713 to check eligibility for free vaccinations through the California Vaccines for Children program and schedule an appointment.”
ON LINE MUSIC NOTES
Steve Derwinski:
In 1979 an old friend–Brenda Belanda–that I had not seen for a couple years walked into Bob’s boatyard In Sausalito where I was working at the time. She asked me if I could look at a leaky roof in the house she was living in with Van Morrison. Van wasn’t home–he was away In Ireland.
I followed her up the hill to look at the roof. A long hallway in the house displayed all of Van’s gold records. In the center was a framed picture of Van on stage wIth the members of the Band taken during the Last Waltz concert. Brenda told me that the picture meant more to him than any or all of his gold records.
Bob Abeles:
I’ve watched Last Waltz several times in several different venues, from the big screen at San Francisco’s Castro Theater, to the small screen on my laptop. I think it is the single best concert film ever made. Although I wasn’t in the theater for the concert, the film succeeds at making me feel like I was.
Thanks, Chuck, for the heartful review. Music is the finest tonic we are blessed with.
P.S.: Kerouac was delighted to find rolls of teletype paper that fit his typewriter, allowing him to write without the constant interruption of loading sheets of paper.
Steve Heilig:
When The Last Waltz was announced I was a new student down at UC Santa Barbara and a huge Band fan since Junior High school.. There were some secret tickets at the local hip record store, but at $25 plus tax – almost $150 now – tickets were a month’s rent and with an added $20 for gas there and back in my VW camper van, it was far too much even if I didn’t take my girlfriend. The only pals I knew who went were pot dealers with lots of cash. When they returned they raved about the whole musical extravaganza and that Bill Graham had provided a grand Thanksgiving feast too. Ferlinghetti and other poets read in between the musical acts too.
The film came out a couple years later and that girlfriend and I went to see the premiere. It made me sadder that I hadn’t found a way to go, seeing all those legends, even though some of the performances seemed a bit ragged. Van Morrison, Muddy Waters, and the Staples were indeed highlights. But my girlfriend raved about how handsome and brilliant bandleader Robbie Robertson was and that made me feel a bit insecure. Later in the dueling books about the Band and the show were tales of how much internal strife was going on, with heavy drug use and dissent about who deserved credit and cash for all their songs (Robertson basically claimed all the credit, and the royalties, and as a pal and roommate of Scorcese, was the focus of the film version). Most of them were surprised and appalled that Robertson pulled the plug on the group but in his own autobiography he makes a strong case that it was time. Still, when I was slated to interview him aub the 1990s, I was was told/warned “no questions about the Band.”
The rest of the Band’s story has too much tragedy, including suicide and lawsuits etc., but nothing erases what magic they made for a few years. Many say they were the greatest American band ever, even though four of them were Canadian. Their live album Rock of Ages, from their 1971 prime and with horn parts added by New Orleans maestro Allen Toussaint and played by hotshot jazz masters, is my favorite live album of all. But I still wish I’d gone to see them say farewell in person.
Chuck Dunbar:
Music is surely a blessing. I went to the theater feeling kind of glum and grumpy, knowing I’d come out in a better place, and that was so.
Oh man, be nice to get a second chance on going to that concert. For sure, Steve. I’ve read several of the books on The Band, including Robertson’s, and yes, sad, tough things came along. And yet they came together though fate somehow, did a fine thing–as you say, “what magic they me for a few years.”
Steve Derwinski:
More about Van…Van Morrison’s parents lived down the hill from me in Fairfax. They had a record store in town for a couple years and I’d see Van around town a couple of times but never met him. Anyway–a month or two after I visited his house in Sausalito with my old friend Brenda B. I was waiting in line with my girlfriend at the Mill Valley theater when Brenda and Van walked up behind us. Introductions were a little weird–you don’t just say “This is Van” Duh. Anyway we made some small talk and then realized that Van had disappeared !?? The theater hadn’t opened yet so we walked down the ally to the Baskin Robbins for some ice cream. Van was already there–finishing a double scoop of chocolate.
Norm Thurston:
I vowed that I would attend that concert the moment I heard about it, but the best laid plans . . .
I own a copy the film, and watch pieces of it from time to time. My favorite? Levon Helm’s impassioned lead vocal and drumming on The Night They Drove Ol Dixie Down (Levon’s song, not Robertsons).
Steve Heilig:
Caledonia Records. First time I saw it they had all Van records in the window, so I went in and asked the older woman there “You must really like Van Morrison, eh?” She just smiled and replied “Well, he IS our boy you know.” And turned out she meant it literally!
Ps, my AVA tribute: https://theava.com/archives/7088
ATTEMPTED MURDER ON BRANSCOM ROAD
On Friday, February 13, 2026, at about 12:00 P.M., Mendocino County Sheriff's Deputies were dispatched to the 11700 block of Branscomb Road in Laytonville for a report of shots fired. The reporting person notified MCSO Dispatch that Brandon Lee Langenderfer, 32, of Willits, had shot at a 68-year-old adult male victim. The victim's head had been grazed by a bullet and Langenderfer fled the scene.
Upon arrival, first aid was rendered by medical personnel who confirmed the victim had sustained a superficial wound. The victim was examined and treated at the scene by medical personnel and Sheriff's Deputies initiated an attempted-murder investigation.
During the investigation, Sheriff’s Deputies learned that Langenderfer had walked up to the victim's property while he was outside his residence. Langenderfer produced a firearm, pointed it at the victim and discharged the firearm. The victim ran for safety and Langenderfer fled on foot into a wooded area.
During the investigation, Deputies learned of a vehicle that was associated with Langenderfer. Deputies along with the assistance of other law enforcement agencies vigorously searched the area for Langenderfer.
At about 4:00 P.M., a CalFire Prevention Law Enforcement Officer observed the vehicle that had been associated with Langenderfer in the 6900 block of Branscomb Road. Deputies responded to the location and contained the area. Multiple verbal commands to prompt Langenderfer to surrender were given with no response. Deputies formulated a plan to safely clear the area. With the use of a UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle, aka drone) and Deputies searching on foot, Langenderfer was located hiding in some brush along with Miranda Marie Mullin, 31, of Willits. Langenderfer and Mullins were safely detained.
Langenderfer was placed under arrest for Attempted Murder, Prohibited Person in Possession of Ammunition, Possession of Controlled Substance With Prior Convictions, Violation of Parole, Resisting, Delaying, or Obstructing Law Enforcement, and a Felony Warrant for violating State Parole. Langenderfer was booked and lodged at the Mendocino County Jail and is being held on a no-bail status due to his parole violations.
Mullins was placed under arrest for Resisting, Delaying, or Obstructing Law Enforcement, Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, and an out-of-state arrest warrant. Mullins was booked and lodged at the Mendocino County jail and is being held on a no-bail status due to her outstanding charges and the out-of-state warrant.
This investigation is ongoing and anyone with information regarding this case is requested to call the Mendocino County Sheriff's Office Dispatch Center at 707-463-4086 (option 1), or the Sheriff's Office non-emergency tip-line at 707-234-2100.
The Mendocino County Sheriff's Office would like to thank the following agencies for their assistance with this investigation: CalFire Prevention, California Highway Patrol (CHP), California State Parks, and California Department of Fish and Wildlife.
ED NOTE: Our arrest archive shows that Mr. Langenderfer has been arrested more than a dozen times going back to 2020 for a variety of drug-related crimes including burglary, brandishing, criminal threats, theft of an ATV, assault with a deadly weapon (gun) with great bodily injury, battery, illegal firearm possession, saps or similar weapons, possession of a dirk/dagger, and multiple parole/probation violations and failures to appear. He is obviously a free-floating menace to the Laytonville/Willits area and should not be released from custody to continue his drug-fueled crimes. Apparently local courts are unable to restrict his escalating criminal activities in any significant way. He needs to be stopped before he kills somebody.
Likewise, Ms. Mullins has been arrested multiple times going back to 2017 for robbery, burglary, possession of tear gas, stolen property, saps or similar weapons, conspiracy, and various drug and probation violations.
ON-LINE COMMENTS OF THE WEEK
[1] Those degenerate Russians may have the Bolshoi but, hey - we've got Bad Bunny.
The cheapest seat in the house for this Super Bowl, from which those in attendance may as well have been observing an anthill, cost three thousand one hundred and five dollars, but nobody ever said that culture was cheap.
[2] The government does so much that is wrong, not to mention unconstitutional, and yet the MSM, their democrat co-conspirators, celebrities ((including Dumb Bunny, or whoever it is), Olympic athletes, and these dim-witted protesters are obsessed with ICE enforcing laws passed by Congress, and with the support of most Americans. Please keep shining a light on these government abuses. No one else will, what with a lady missing in Arizona, and the Epstein saga now entering its third decade.
[3] J.K. Rowling has been a staunch defender of girls’ sports, locker rooms, and other private spaces, and for doing so, has been vilified as a bigot. Of course, she is not, but that is what the trans activists do to anyone who does not support their delusion.
[4] My understanding of the Senate is in essence it's a debate society. This feature functions to slow everything down. Slowing whatever legislation is making its way through the process should help prevent spur of the moment enactments largely based on the emotions of the moment.
With media able to control narratives to their liking more than ever (at least this is the appearance) in the history of the country, having a mechanism to slow down the process should be a good idea.
One fly in the ointment is the occupants make a career out of the position. My understanding is the Founders did not intend for election to Congress to become a full-time job for life with massive benefits and perks.
[5] Have you heard about the Princeton Study that found that even if 80% of Americans want something, like national healthcare, better schools, better working and environmental conditions, congress will not act unless it aligns with their corporate donors wishes? I am pretty far left regarding unions, healthcare, education, social services, etc, but all I see is the uni-party completely agreeing to give ever-increasing amounts of money to the military-industrial complex via the defense budget, while infrastructure falls apart, life expectancy falls, education fails, and homelessness increases.
[6] I may be an outlier, but I look forward to the day when this whole Epstein Files imbroglio goes away. IMHO, it is the greatest "shiny object" known to mankind. It is hardly a revelation that many of the uber wealthy and political elites are largely corrupt, degenerate and venal. Can we move on to more pressing and relevant issues?
[7] The function of the legislature is to represent us. They are a mirror of the population of the country. So logically, if they are effed up, it means the people are. The people of the USA are a majority that do not know anything about or understand what being an American is all about. THAT is the main problem.
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