Santa Cruz has approved a $150,000 contract with the Davey Tree Expert Company for a new lidar-based inventory of its public trees, part of a broader push to grow the city’s urban forest to 3,000 more trees by 2030.
Environment
Posted inPolitics & Policy
Where did the birds go? Once-abundant wetlands are drying up after federal staff cutbacks
A long decline in the number of people managing wildlife refuges in California accelerated after the Trump administration’s DOGE staffing cuts.
Posted inLatest News
Ask a Santa Cruz coyote: Why are sightings spiking around town this summer – or are they?
Social media is buzzing with neighborhood coyote sightings, but local wildlife experts say it’s just business as usual. Here’s a quick, expert-backed guide on how to coexist with our four-legged neighbors this summer and beyond.
Posted inPolitics & Policy
California lawmakers kill grizzly bear reintroduction bill
For now, the only place you’ll find grizzlies in California is in zoos or on the state flag after the Assembly Appropriations Committee spiked a measure that would have tasked the California Department of Fish and Wildlife with creating a “roadmap that evaluates whether, and under what conditions, reintroduction of the grizzly bear is feasible and advisable.”
Posted inBusiness & Technology
How does California’s new $3,500 EV rebate work?
First-time electric vehicle buyers in California could soon get thousands of dollars off the sticker price. Here’s how to apply.
Posted inPolitics & Policy
Controversial swan hunt appears to work: California’s mute swan population drops
Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a law last year allowing Californians to kill non native mute swans. It appeared to have worked.
Posted inPolitics & Policy
California can’t replant its forests fast enough to keep up with wildfires
California’s wildfires are destroying forests faster than the state can replant them, and federal cuts are making the gap worse.
Posted inPolitics & Policy
They’re on our flag, but do long-gone grizzly bears belong in modern California?
Democrats are advancing a bill over objections from rural residents, ranchers and Republicans that would study whether California should bring back grizzly bears.
Posted inPolitics & Policy
Moss Landing battery plant cleanup enters tougher next phase, with demolition expected into 2027
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is gearing up to begin the next phase of its Moss Landing cleanup efforts, following a massive January 2025 fire that damaged a large portion of a battery storage facility.
Posted inPolitics & Policy
California intends to sue Trump administration over deal to end offshore wind project
California intends to sue the Trump administration over its deal to end an offshore wind project proposed off Morro Bay on the Central Coast.
