I’ll be out, and so will this blog, until April 21. In the meantime, there’s plenty of stuff to do around here. Events associated with Earth Day are highlighted in green. Saturday, April 12: BugFest at Oak Grove Regional Park. 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Live insect displays, bug safaris, creepy-crawly cuisine, crafts, games and more. Free, [...]
Frustrated that public comments on the governor’s twin tunnels plan are not being made immediately available, an environmental group filed a public records request and is now publishing the comments on its website. “We are doing what the government of a free country should be doing, insuring that all points of view get heard on [...]
A letter writer says my Sunday story examining per-capita water usage in San Joaquin County was “all wet.” Specifically, he didn’t like my “claim” that Lincoln Villagers guzzle at least 50 percent more water than their neighbors. It’s true that calculating water usage can be tricky, especially in the case of Lincoln Village. Larger water [...]
Recreational Boaters of California says it is “greatly concerned” about the state’s plan to install drought barriers in the Delta this summer. The barriers would block key waterways during prime boating season, the group says, adding there has not been “direct and serious engagement” with boaters about the impacts. Read the boaters’ letter here.
New electric vehicle charging stations were announced last week in two locations — in the city of Tracy, and at New Melones Lake. Not that those places have anything to do with each other. But the separate announcements show how progress is being made, albeit slowly, forming a network of charging stations across the region. The [...]
Earth Day comes early this year! Stockton hosts its annual Earth Day Festival on Sunday, and various other events are scheduled throughout the month of April. I’ve highlighted those in green. Sunday, April 6: Stockton Earth Day Festival. Theme: “Living Water Wise.” 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Victory Park. More details here. Saturday, April 5-Sunday, April 6: Woodbridge [...]
At today’s State of Our Rivers Symposium in Stockton, fish biologist Stacy Sherman brought up the long-delayed habitat conservation plan that is supposed to improve conditions for fish migrating up the Calaveras River. “This started in 2000, I believe, and here it is 2014 and we do not have a habitat conservation plan,” Sherman told [...]
You hear a lot these days about environmental regulations curtailing water exports from the Delta. But the primary reason for the widely reported shortages? Drought. Mercury News reporter Paul Rogers asked the Department of Water Resources’ Mark Cowin on a conference call today to place in context what percent of the pumping restrictions this year [...]
Gene Beley attends too many water meetings. I know this, because I also attend too many water meetings. But Beley tells me that Saturday’s drought forum, hosted by the Catholic Charities Diocese of Stockton’s Environmental Justice Project, was “refreshing” and “different.” The meeting was “complete with prayers about water that seemed to produce some results [...]
During a drought, the lack of rain is obvious. But have you also noticed the lack of fog? The National Weather Service station at the Stockton Metropolitan Airport reported just 12 days of dense fog from October through March. The previous four years had 31, 30, 34 and 39 days respectively. Fog won’t form without [...]