Useful Links
See the Blue (Phone) Book, available in area shops, for phone numbers of community organizations (churches, libraries, post offices, schools) and services (health, self-help, service organizations, sheriff, humane society, and more). The information below was gathered in October 2008 and will require periodic updating. We would appreciate your help in maintaining its accuracy; please contact the Association Webmaster to provide updates.
Community Services and Entertainment
| Service |
Description |
| Action Network |
In 1997, a group of individuals living on the Redwood Coast (Irish Beach to Stewarts Point) established Action Network to build a stronger coastal community. |
| Elementary school |
Horicon is a one-school district in Annapolis with approximately 100 students, kindergarten through 8th grade, from diverse socio-economic backgrounds. There are five regular teachers, a Resource Specialist, a Library / Technology Aide, and one Administrator. Horicon has an excellent reputation for a motivated and committed staff. A number of websites offer data on the Horicon School.
|
| Fire protection |
The Sea Ranch Volunteer Fire Department and the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire) |
| High School |
Point Arena Joint Union High School District extends from Fort Ross, at its southern end, to five miles north of the town of Elk. The High School itself is located in Point Arena; students from other areas commute by bus. It has a staff of 17 certified teachers and 25 classified consultants. Approximately 190 students are enrolled in the high school. Over 80 percent of Point Arena High School graduates move on to a college education, half of them going directly to universities. Point Arena High School was recently declared a California Distinguished School. Read the 2007 School Accountability Report Card with data from 2006.
|
| Hospice care |
Shamli Hospice/Respite is an organization of trained volunteers offering in-home support and counseling to terminally ill patients and their families. Phone: (707) 884-9474 |
| Law Enforcement |
Law enforcement on The Sea Ranch is provided by the Sonoma County Sheriff's Department, and on Highway 1 by the California Highway Patrol. |
| Medical care |
Redwood Coast Medical Services. Located in Gualala, the Redwood Coast Medical Services (RCMS) clinic provides a wide range of health care services: emergency treatment, general physicals, specialist consultations, and preventive medicine. Staff includes an administrator, full-time board-certified family practice physicians, a nurse practitioner, and a midwife. They are assisted by a skilled and caring support staff. Specialists come from Fort Bragg, Healdsburg, and Santa Rosa on a regular basis. Also sponsored by RCMS are outreach programs on health education and Shamli Hospice/Respite. RCMS is funded by fees for services, contributions, and memberships.
Though the nearest hospital is two hours away, the Coast Life Support District (CLSD) provides paramedic ambulance response and transport. The CLSD ambulance district was founded by special state legislation, approved by a large majority of district voters, and is supported by fees for services and a per-parcel benefit assessment.
Air (helicopter) ambulance service is available on the coast from REACH and from CalStar, and occasionally from Sonoma County Sheriff's Henry 1 helicopter. If helicopter evacuation is required it is not possible to choose which service will be used; whichever service is available at the time will be dispatched. Memberships can be purchased for a small annual fee from both REACH and Calstar to cover the cost of transport. |
| Senior Services |
The South Coast Seniors and Community Resources Connection. See Soundings, Winter 2002, page 10, for a report on these and other local senior services. |
| Septic systems |
The Sea Ranch Association OnSite Wastewater Disposal Zone (Zone). Please call them to review your septic plans and previous septic inspection records.The Zone Inspector may be reached by telephone at (707) 785-2756, Monday through Friday, 7 am to 3:30 pm. See also Septic Systems on this website. |
| Arts |
Gualala Arts and Arena Theater |
| The Sea Ranch Foundation |
The Foundation works to advance the arts for the cultural and aesthetic enjoyment of the community; to facilitate the collection of artifacts relating to the history of The Sea Ranch locale; to facilitate support systems for maintaining the welfare of members of The Sea Ranch community temporarily in need; and to support education and the preservation of the natural environment in the north coast area. |
|
Transportation
|
Mendocino Transit Authority (MTA) operates a bus service from Point Arena to Santa Rosa. This MTA bus makes one round-trip a day except on holidays and stops in Gualala and at The Sea Ranch Lodge. Other routes include the towns of Ukiah and Fort Bragg. The bus schedules are published in The Independent Coast Observer and are available at www.4mta.org. Phone: (707) 884-3723 for up-to-date information and location of Santa Rosa stops and pick-up locations. This bus service is funded by fares and support from Mendocino and Sonoma Counties.
Community Resources Connection (CRC) offers transportation to seniors, disabled adults, youths, and other residents of the coastal area. Phone: (707) 884-4562. Website: www.crconnection.org. |
Vendor Services
Service
|
Description
|
|
Mail
|
Home mail delivery is not available on The Sea Ranch. Post office boxes can be rented at the Sea Ranch Lodge, Stewarts Point, and in Gualala. United Parcel Service (UPS) and Federal Express deliver to The Sea Ranch (requiring the street address, not a box number). Federal Express has outgoing boxes at the Verdant View Center at 1000 Annapolis Road, in the lobby of the Sundstrom Center in Gualala, and in Anchor Bay Village. Outgoing UPS packages can be left at The Sea Trader in Gualala.
The March 2008 Bulletin published a conversation with the postmasters at the Lodge and in Gualala covering many concerns regarding mail delivery.
Zip codes:
- The Sea Ranch 95497
- Gualala 95445
- Stewarts Point 95480
- Point Arena 95468
- Annapolis 95412
|
Refuse Collection
|
Handled by a private firm, Redwood Empire Disposal (800-243-0291). Sea Ranchers also have access to the Sonoma County Annapolis Transfer Station (707 886-5204) that is located in Annapolis (approximately 9 miles east of Highway 1 on Annapolis Road) at 33549 Annapolis Road. Check the Sonoma County Waste Management Agency website to obtain information and operating hours for the transfer station. Fees are related to volume of refuse deposited at the site. There are bins for recyclable material. Large appliances, oil, and oil filters are accepted.
Hazardous waste collection is scheduled regularly at the North Fire Station. See the calendar on this website for dates.
This Sonoma County website describes legal ways to dispose of a variety of materials. |
| Telephone |
Land-line telephone service on The Sea Ranch is available through Verizon. Local cell phone service is supported by a tower run by Verizon Wireless. A privately published telephone directory (The Blue Book) covering the area between Manchester and Timber Cove and extending east to Annapolis can be purchased at most grocery and variety stores in the area. |
| Broadband Internet Services |
This chart will get you started investigating the options available. |
| Newspapers |
The Independent Coast Observer, a weekly paper published in Gualala, was founded in 1969 by Sea Rancher Joanna R. McLaughlin. Currently it is published and edited by her son, Steve McLaughlin.
Daily newspapers are available at the Lodge and at TwoFish Bakery as well as in locations in Gualala, though you may need to seek your paper early in the day. |
| Radio |
The Tide, KTDE—FM 100.5 serves the Redwood Coast to Bodega Bay. It features ABC and local news, weather and tide reports, and musical programming and local features. |
Miscellaneous Links
Service
|
Description
|
Shellfish
Hotline |
1-800-553-4133 This toll-free line maintained by the California Department of Public Health advises the public of quarantines that prohibit the harvesting of shell fish. The quarantines are issued to prevent human illness and death caused by paralytic and amnesic shellfish poisoning. |
| Redwood Coast Chamber of Commerce |
The Redwood Coast Chamber of Commerce is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization promoting the general welfare and prosperity of the northern Sonoma and southern Mendocino County coastal area. |
| Sonoma County |
The official website of Sonoma County, which includes information on county departmental services, contacts, and emergency bulletins. |
| Local Travel Conditions |
Best source of up-to-the-minute highway status: http://cad.chp.ca.gov/. Set Areas to Bay Area; set Searches to Hot Spots; and scan down the right-hand column for Santa Rosa (which is our CHP district).
CHP Phone [Business] - (707) 588-1400
For travel during the winter storm season, see Highway 1 - Flood Bypass Information for bypass instructions and a map of commonly affected areas. Emergency travel bulletins are also posted on the Sonoma County website referenced above.
For information about road construction, see http://www.dot.ca.gov/hq/roadinfo/. Key in 1 for Highway 1.
CalTrans Phone [Fort Ross] - (707) 847-3239
|
| Weather |
Up-to-date forecasts can be obtained from accuweather.com, a commercial weather site, or from the National Weather Service.
There are two personal weather stations on The Sea Ranch providing conditions; one near the airport (300ft elevation) and one in the west meadow near the white barn (65ft elevation). These are automated weather stations at private homes; the owners are here part time. There are rare times when the data is not available due to power interruptions. In addition to the standard weather parameters, the meadow station also measures solar data. Keep in mind that weather can vary greatly from location to location as well as at different elevations. There are two ways to view the data:
The "WeatherLink" weather server gives a snapshot of the weather conditions and is updated every 60 seconds. There are two pages; "My Weather" and "Summary" that display the conditions right now and the daily stats. If the data is not current the timestamp at the bottom of the first page will be red.
Airport
Meadow
The "Weather Underground" provides a historical view with charts, etc, updated every hour. It is a fine presentation showing the change of temperature with time through the day as well as data for the week, the month, and the year. If the data is not current there will be "flatlines" on the graphs.
Airport
Meadow |
|