Grateful Dead fans from across the country are in Mill Valley this weekend to attend a series of live rehearsal sessions by two surviving band members but not everyone is dancing in the streets over the deluge of Deadheads.
Locals Bob Weir and Phil Lesh formed a new group called Further. They performed all this week at the Masonic Hall and the Throckmorton Theater to get ready for a nationwide tour that sold out for local venues long ago.
Deadheads couldn't be happier and business owners love the extra people around town. They're even increasing hours and making a better profit thanks to the infulx of fans. But some residents complain Deadheads are smoking pot, getting into fights, using private property as restrooms and stealing from stores.
Police have ramped up, patrols in the area as a result of the complaints and fear of disturbances.
"We've had mostly sanitary-type issues, people urinating and defecating in some of the neighborhoods, and we've had an arrest of someone being drunk in public," Interim Police Chief Angel Bernal told the Marin IJ. "We want to have a strong presence without being overbearing. We want people to have a good time, but within the law."
