David Mitchell (left), former owner of the Point Reyes Light, was barred Friday (Oct. 6) for writing for a competing online publication, according to a report in the Marin Independent Journal. Marin County Superior Court Judge John Sutro said that Mitchell agreed he wouldn’t compete against the Light when he sold the paper last year to former prosecutor Robert Plotkin (right) for $500,000. “Mr. Mitchell didn’t have to sell the paper,” Sutro said. “He made the decision to sell the paper.” Mitchell used to write a column for the Light called “Sparsely Sage and Timely” that he brought to the West Marin Navigator. The Navigator used to be a weekly newspaper but became a Web site due to financial problems. Mitchell’s attorney, Ladd Bedford, argued that the Navigator Web site did not compete with the Point Reyes Light for advertising and said that Web sites are not periodicals. After the hearing, Bedford told the IJ he would discuss an appeal with his client. “Plotkin is making it impossible for David to continue working as a journalist,” Bedford said. “I certainly don’t agree with the court’s decision.”