On Tuesday, California Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas (D-Hollister) introduced legislation designed to expedite construction and upgrades along the Pajaro River levee — a 74-year-old earthen flood control berm that breached in March, inundating the mostly migrant farmworker town of Pajaro. As an El Niño weather pattern takes hold in the Pacific, residents and lawmakers worry another breach is likely if construction doesn’t start soon.
Los Angeles Times
Posted inPolitics & Policy
Tech billionaires’ secretive plan to build a California city from scratch
The billionaires behind Flannery Associates have bought up more than 140 parcels in Solano County with dreams of “a new city with tens of thousands of new homes.”
Posted inHealth & Wellness
Study: Dementia risk grows with increased exposure to air pollution — including wildfires, ag dust
Long-term exposure to fine particulate pollution could increase the risk of developing dementia, new research says, with exposure to pollution from wildfires and agricultural dust havingthe strongest ties to the prevalence of dementia.
Posted inEnvironment
A marine heat wave off California helped fuel Hurricane Hilary. What’ll it do next?
Off the California coast sits a marine heat wave that has persisted since 2014. Scientists aren’t sure whether it’s now permanent, or a decadeslong blip on the map.
Posted inLatest News
As California fires worsen, can AI come to the rescue?
Cal Fire is the first fire agency to use artificial intelligence to look for signs of wildfires and directly alert dispatch centers.
Posted inEnvironment
In the face of sea level rise, can we reimagine California’s vanishing coastline?
The human-built world keeps getting in the way of the rising sea. But this current story of our coast does not have to end in disaster.
Posted inLatest News
Hilary’s jagged path: How the storm wound up over Compton and Dodger Stadium
New Leaf Community Markets brand manager Lindsay Gizdich said the store is moving from Pacific Avenue in order to have…
Posted inLatest News
Hurricane Hilary brings high risk of flooding for SoCal coast, deserts, mountains
Hurricane Hilary, gaining ferocity on its march toward Southern California, had strengthened to a Category 4 storm as of Friday morning and is expected to make landfall in Baja California on Friday night. The storm is forecast to track inland and, as of early Friday, have little impact on Santa Cruz County.
Posted inLatest News
In the ruins of Lahaina, a surfing legend leads a volunteer army to get supplies to survivors
Legendary big-wave surfer Archie Kalepa has turned his home in Lahaina into a well-orchestrated supply depot for survivors of the devastating Maui fire.
Posted inLatest News
Surprisingly deadly summer for Lake Tahoe bears: 20 killed, 18 hurt in vehicle collisions
Through late July through mid-August, the Bear League has seen more bears hit “than we’ve ever had at that time.”