Rainfall and fire fuel moisture levels are significantly below historical averages this year. So how concerned should Santa Cruz County residents be?
Mallory Pickett
Follow Mallory Pickett on: Twitter. Mallory brings deep expertise in environmental issues to Lookout, as well as national reporting experience that she will now apply in her hometown of Santa Cruz. She began her career as a chemist, studying ocean acidification at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, before being drawn to journalism.As a freelance journalist she’s written about science, the environment, and politics for a variety of publications including The New York Times Magazine, The Guardian, Wired, and Slate. Her work has been included in several anthologies, including “What Future,” in 2017, and “The Craft of Science Writing,” in 2020. Her investigation into gender discrimination at a research institute in San Diego was included as a notable work in the “Best Science and Nature Writing of 2019.”“I care passionately about the well-being of the people and the environment of Santa Cruz County,” she says. “I can think of no better way to contribute to my hometown than to provide rigorous coverage of the parks, ocean, and farmlands that make this place so special.”
Posted inEnvironment
Bald eagles in Santa Cruz? A trip to Loch Lomond can provide magic views of the birds of prey
Bald eagles first made an appearance at the reservoir in 2014, when the two adults showed up. They have been observed year-round ever since. The first juvenile was spotted in 2015, and a second this year.
Posted inCOVID Today
Why are the New York Times and others showing COVID case spikes in Santa Cruz? It comes down to fax machines
EXPLAINER: Some online COVID-19 trackers appear to show that Santa Cruz County is experiencing an April surge in cases. Can this possibly be true?
Posted inCOVID Today
Santa Cruz barely misses out on yellow tier, to remain in orange — here’s why
Santa Cruz just missed the requirement for moving into the state’s least restrictive tier of COVID-19 regulations. A small increase in cases has set the county back at least two weeks from a move from the current orange tier to the yellow tier, state health officials said Tuesday.
Posted inEnvironment
Who is feeding the farmworkers? Esperanza Farms teaches Pajaro Valley families about healthy eating & living
Esperanza’s two acres of farmland have become a means to not only address food insecurity, but also nourish the souls of families in need — and help them through a pandemic that has hit them disproportionately hard.
Posted inEnvironment
Digging 1,000 feet and purifying sewage: How Soquel Creek district is replenishing water supply amid drought
“Pure Water Soquel” is the Soquel Creek Water District’s ambitious plan to stave off future water restrictions by taking wastewater from the Santa Cruz wastewater treatment plant, piping it to an advanced treatment plant, purifying it to drinking water standards, and sending it through deep wells into aquifers to refill the groundwater basin.
Posted inCOVID Today
With COVID-19 cases low in Santa Cruz, is it OK to start mixing households again?
As COVID-19 cases in Santa Cruz and California remain low, and vaccination increases, can you start having dinner parties again?
Posted inBusiness & Technology
Santa Cruz County on track to be among first to enter yellow tier: Here’s what will change
Currently only three of California’s 58 counties are in the yellow tier, and Santa Cruz is one of just five counties in the orange tier that have met yellow tier requirements and could make the move to yellow next week.
Posted inLatest News
Vans on demand: Santa Cruz Metro bus service launches UberPool-like ride share service
As of Monday, Santa Cruz Metro will offer an on-demand van service similar to UberPool. It’s called Cruz On-Demand, and will offer rides for no more than $3 within a three-mile radius.
Posted inEnvironment
Have you seen the glut of large ships off our coastline? We did too — here’s what we’ve learned about them
Backed up shipping traffic at the Port of Oakland is forcing large tankers and cargo ships to wait offshore in the Monterey Bay, but many are stationed too close to sensitive coastal habitat.