A Marin County court commissioner issued a permanent injunction yesterday (May 12) against former Point Reyes Light publisher Dave Mitchell (left), barring him from visiting the newspaper where he once won a Pulitzer Prize. The injunction stems from a Feb. 16 incident in which Mitchell grabbed current publisher Robert Plotkin (right) by the neck and tried to run him down with a car. The fight stemed from an argument the two had over the paper’s coverage of a land dispute. Plotkin, a former Monterey County deputy district attorney who purchased the paper last year from Mitchell, said he felt he needed to obtain the injunction. “I have to protect myself, my wife and family,” Plotkin told the Marin Independent Journal. Mitchell signed off on the injunction, saying, “Who would want to be around the guy? … Why would I want to see Plotkin?” The Point Reyes Light won the Pulitzer in 1979 for its stories exposing the Synanon cult. (Plotkin photo by Chris Stewart, SF Chron; Mitchell by Paul Girard, SPJ NorCal.) [Chron from April 28: Newspaper’s new owner upsets and fascinates locals]
Injunction issued against former publisher
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