Environment

California State Parks and the Sempervirens Fund announced permanent additions to expand Castle Rock State Park in Los Gatos on Aug. 15.  The $4.21 million in acquisitions for six properties by State Parks are the first for the agency in the Santa Cruz Park District...

Heather Kelley counted 15 days the power was out last August, up at her place that’s perched atop the Santa Cruz Mountains along Skyline Boulevard. “It makes our life just a living hell up here,” she said. “It’s absolutely terrifying.” Kelley says it’s not just the...

A San Jose recycling company has been ordered by a Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge to pay $25,000 in civil penalties for causing dangerous fires to start in the back of garbage trucks in Campbell.   The company, iDiskk, LLC, its principal Yue Zou,...

The drought might not be completely done with California, but the state’s residents are now free of the strictest water conservation measures put in place by Gov. Gavin Newsom nearly two years ago.  Standing at a podium in front of a storm-soaked agricultural field in...

While meeting in the scorching heat at Trinity Bible Church in Felton on a recent Friday afternoon, a group was awaiting a tour of Fall Creek where they’d receive a history lesson about the complex interplay between tan oaks, Douglas fir and coast redwoods...

Another atmospheric river moved into San Jose and the Greater Bay Area from the coast this morning, and forecasters say things will get worse through Friday night. Heavy rain, strong wind, and thunderstorms are all expected. A spokesperson for the The National Weather Service said the...

As part of the Sanborn and Upper Stevens Creek Forest Health Plan, adopted in August 2023 by the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors, Santa Clara County Parks is closing a few hiking trails. The closures are necessary, officials say, in order to put vital...

The Los Gatos Creek Watershed Collaborative was awarded a $6,336,790 Cal Fire Forest Health Grant to continue work in the watershed, incorporating new treatment areas with Aldercroft Heights Firewise and Lupin Lodge, the Santa Clara County FireSafe Council announced May 2.  This forest health project...

It was on Aug. 11 that 69-year-old Lexington Hills resident Sidney French reached out to Farmers Insurance to gain more information about the “Additional Living Expense” coverage on her home insurance policy. That’s the section that’s meant to help customers get reimbursed for costs incurred...

A new state law allowed Santa Clara County businesses to donate almost 5 million pounds of food during the first half of 2022, according to a press release from the county.  SB 1383 took effect this year. It requires grocery stores and other businesses to...