Santa Cruz County Resilience Digest

The California Public Utilities Commission will consider on May 9 a new proposal that would change how Californians pay for electricity.

California State Parks and partner Friends of California State Parks are working together on a project to rehabilitate a number of dunes at Rio Del Mar State Beach to reduce erosion, increase resilience and restore wildlife habitat.

A California Republican’s bill would exempt low and middle income wildfire victims from solar panels requirements on rebuilt homes that didn’t have them when they burned down.

Marimo Berk and Brad Lewis joined the Board of Directors of Sempervirens Fund, the oldest land trust in California.

It quickly became clear that Elon Musk’s SpaceX was responsible for the show. The lights were a Falcon 9 rocket carrying 22 new Starlink satellites into orbit. The rocket blasted off from Vandenberg Space Force Base at 7:30 p.m., and it’s trail was visible from Los Angeles to Joshua Tree National Park.

Legislation would fast-track approval for temporary or relocatable housing on vacant land when local shelter emergencies arise.

Work on repairing and rebuilding the Capitola Wharf has been complicated after inspections reveal structures at the end of the structure will require demolition.

Reprepresentatives Zoe Lofgren and Jimmy Panetta, and Senators Laphonza Butler and Alex Padilla sent a letter to the Biden administration are requesting full funding for the Pajaro River Levee project.

A tornado stuck Kings county briefly, and another touched down in Madera county, as favorable conditions came together during a powerful winter storm which swept the region.

The agency announced it has secured two Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act loans through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency which will push the construction of the Watsonville Slough System closer to fruition.

State officials determined that Rancho Palos Verdes can utilize an already-established state of emergency to expedite landslide stabilization efforts as the crisis escalates.

The California Public Utilities Commission is reviewing an application from AT&T California to be relieved of its decades-old obligation to provide landline service in many regions, including parts of Santa Cruz County.

California’s utility regulators are exploring energy bill reforms that would structure charges based on household income. If done correctly, the change shift the cost for maintaining the grid to higher earners who can afford it.

Los Angeles County flood control network withstands punishing rains—for now.

The storm fed off of unusually warm waters as it grew. It also reached “bomb cyclone” status as it neared California.

Mark Strudley, executive director of the Pajaro Regional Flood Management Agency, estimates that work will begin in late summer or early fall, starting at the Corralitos Creek Bridge.

After the historic Alba Schoolhouse in Ben Lomond burned down in the 2020 CZU Lightning Complex fire, there was hope for rebuilding. But insurance payments complicated those plans.

An updated earthquake hazard map from USGS shows a high shaking risk in California.

Hundreds of San Diego homes and businesses were damaged or ruined in devastating floods after punishing rainfall fell on Jan. 22.

As the FAIR Plan writes more fire-insurance policies, homeowners complain about poor service, rising costs and threats of getting kicked off.

Our understanding and preparedness have come a long way since Southern California’s magnitude 6.7 earthquake in 1994. We’re still learning from that destructive temblor.

Like the redwoods that survived the devastating CZU fire of 2020, the McHenry family is resilient. That fateful August conflagration ruined a promising crop at Beauregard Vineyards.

Two-thirds of community college students in California admit to struggling to meet basic needs. The California Community Colleges’ Student Ambassador Program has empowered more than 50 students to act as resource guides to help them.

After absorbing a heavy one-two punch by way of mammoth waves and a high tide, local crews and community members cleaned up the mess that was left behind while preparing for an imminent round of storm activity.

On Dec. 28, coastal storm surges damaged waterfront restaurants in Capitola and Aptos. Less than a year ago, the same businesses required lengthy repairs after similar storms caused major destruction.

Prescribed burns, used to limit destructive wildfires, are growing in frequency at California State Parks. But as the smoke drifts into residential areas, it’s easy to see why many Californians are concerned about the health impacts.

In downtown Oakland, a new 19-story apartment tower with 236 units could be left sitting vacant because of a shortage of components required to connect the building to the electrical grid.

The Bureau of Reclamation, which manages federal water such as the Central Valley Project, has a new regional director for the California-Great Basin Region.

An effort spearheaded by the Newsom administration and congressional leaders resulted in Congress authorizing and accelerating the transfer of seven C-130 aircraft from the U.S. Coast Guard to CalFire, expanding California’s firefighting fleet.

Santa Cruz County is the 15th most vulnerable county nationwide, according to data recently compiled by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
More than 93% of the county's total geography is made up of unincorporated regions where more than half of its population resides.

2023 has broken climate records, accompanied by extreme weather which has left a trail of devastation, according to the World Meteorological Organization.

I’m part of a band of humans who call themselves nomads, except I’m a part-time digital nomad. The “part-time” is because I still have a house — a sticks-and-bricks, as the nomads call it.