Coastside News: How to Read Local Coverage and Subscribe

Coastside News is the local newspaper for the San Mateo County coast, covering the area from Pacifica to Pescadero. You can read current stories and browse sections at coastsidenews.com, and you can subscribe through the site's subscription pages, including a standard subscription and a gift subscription option. If you want local coverage of the coast, start on the homepage; if you want full access or to give access to someone else, use the subscribe links.

What Coastside News covers

The paper describes itself as local journalism since 1898, serving the coast from Pacifica to Pescadero. That stretch includes communities such as Pacifica, Montara, Moss Beach, El Granada, Half Moon Bay, San Gregorio, and Pescadero. Coverage is local in focus: town and county decisions, schools, local events, public safety, environment and coastline issues, and community news that larger regional outlets often skip.

If your interest is specifically in one of those towns, the value of Coastside News is that it reports on the same geographic area rather than treating the coast as a footnote to San Francisco or the Peninsula.

How to find current local news on the site

1. Go to coastsidenews.com. The homepage is the starting point for current stories.
2. Scan the top stories. The most recent or most prominent local items are typically surfaced first.
3. Use section navigation. Local papers usually organize by news, sports, opinion, and community or lifestyle sections; pick the section matching what you want.
4. Open an article. Click a headline to read the full story.
5. Check for a subscription prompt. If the article is limited, you will see a subscribe or sign-in prompt instead of the full text.

Expected result: you can read current coverage and move between sections without needing an account, unless a specific article is restricted.

Telling free from subscriber-only articles

Local news sites commonly mix free and subscriber-only content. Practical signals to watch for:

• A subscribe banner, paywall overlay, or "subscriber only" label on the article.
• The full text loading normally with no prompt — usually free.
• Being asked to sign in or subscribe after a few paragraphs — that article is gated.

If you hit a gate on a story you need, the subscribe page is the next step rather than repeated reloading.

Subscription options

Coastside News offers subscription paths through its site:

Both links are listed on the site's subscription pages. Pricing, term lengths, and any promotional rates are shown on those pages at the time you visit — check there rather than assuming a rate, since current terms are set by the publisher.

Subscribing step by step

1. Open the subscribe page.
2. Choose the subscription offer you want.
3. Enter the required account and payment details.
4. Confirm the purchase.
5. Sign in with the account you created so gated articles unlock.

For a gift subscription, use the gift purchase page and provide the recipient's details as requested, so the subscription is delivered to them rather than to your own account.

Getting help with delivery, account, or subscription problems

If a delivery issue, login problem, or billing question comes up, the site's own contact or customer service channel is the right place to start — that is where the publisher handles account and delivery matters. Have your account email and, for delivery issues, your address ready so the problem can be located quickly. For anything about what is covered or how the newsroom operates, use the paper's editorial contact rather than the subscription desk.

Quick answers

• What area does it serve? Pacifica to Pescadero, on the San Mateo County coast.
• Where do I read it? coastsidenews.com.
• How do I subscribe? Through the site's subscribe page; gift subscriptions have a separate page.
• Is everything free? No — some articles are gated, and the site provides subscription options.
• How old is the paper? It describes itself as local journalism since 1898.