The Douglas iris is a wildflower native to central and northern California and parts of southern Oregon.
(Blogpost extra: In a last-minute addition to this edition of The Newsletter, I share some thoughts on today's eclipse. See below.)
The first time I recall encountering a field of Douglas irises, which may have been at Wilder Ranch State Park just north of Santa Cruz, I looked around for the ruins of a homestead. It didn't occur to me that these could be wildflowers—I figured they had to be remnants of some long-ago-planted garden.
I grew up ten miles from Manhattan in New Jersey, which is known as the Garden State, and deserves that nickname outside the brutalized swath that is the Turnpike. But the woods that flanked the Hackensack River and surrounded the Oradell Reservoir, my childhood nature refuges, had nothing to compare with the Douglas iris. Or the California poppy. Or, to my knowledge, the Calochortus lily (see below). All of California is special in my eyes, and Santa Cruz maybe especially so.
I write as always from my beloved home in the urban forest that is Midtown Sacramento, and take you today to another of my hometowns.
A Spring Guide, a Garden, and a Bunch of Pretty Murals
Even if you aren't planning to visit Santa Cruz this spring, you might enjoy this virtual visit.
Santa Cruz Murals
Santa Cruz County is home to amazing murals. One amazing person is working to document them in one place.
• LTCC to Host Earth Day Event
An Earth Day celebration is taking place at Lake Tahoe Community College on Saturday, April 27 10AM - to 3PM.
(04/08/2024) → South Tahoe Now
• Coloma-Lotus Cerified Firewise
The Firewise USA Community designation recognizes the results of the Coloma-Lotus Fire Safe Council fire resistance and defensible space programs.
(04/08/2024) → Mountain Democrat
• LTCC and LTUSD Hold Joint Board Meeting
The Lake Tahoe Community College (LTCC) and Lake Tahoe Unified School District (LTUSD) boards held a joint meeting at the end of March reporting on collaborative initiatives and programs.
(04/06/2024) → South Tahoe Now
• Tahoe Prosperity Researching Economic Drivers
The Tahoe Prosperity Center is calling for submissions to its Project Inventory Form of projects driving innovation in sectors such as Environmental Innovation, Health and Wellness, Outdoor/Sustainable Recreation and others.
(04/06/2024) → South Tahoe Now
• Meeks Bay Restoration Project EIR Finalized
A plan to restore Meeks Creek while continuing to support sustainable recreation opportunities has been released by the Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management and is available for public review and comment.
(04/05/2024) → South Tahoe Now
• Nominations Open for Outstanding Senior of the Year
Nominations are open for the annual El Dorado County Senior of the Year award to be presented on May 21 by the El Dorado County Board of Supervisors.
(04/03/2024) → Village Life
• Local Fishing and Boat Charters Seek More Public Piers
Rising costs to access public docks and piers for passenger boarding of local fishing and boat charters are lead to requests for options before the South Lake Tahoe City Council at a recent meeting.
(04/02/2024) → South Tahoe Now
• California Fails to Adequately Help Blind and Deaf Prisoners, US Judge Rules
Thirty years after prisoners with disabilities sued the state of California and 25 years after a federal court first ordered accommodations, a judge found that state prison and parole officials still are not doing enough to help deaf and blind prisoners.
(04/08/2024) → California Healthline
• Business Groups and Lawmakers Battle Over Ballot Measure to Limit California Tax Increases
Anti-tax groups in California have qualified a measure for the November ballot that would make raising state and local taxes much more difficult. It’s a showdown that’s been building for nearly five decades.
(04/08/2024) → CalMatters
• Opinion: I've Covered California's Homeless Since Before the Word Was Used. This Is What I Learned
I thought my journalism and others’ could change policy, perhaps even inspire a New Deal-style response equal to the challenge. Such was my naiveté.
(04/06/2024) → Los Angeles Times
• These Californians Just Got Protection From Big Rent Hikes
Tenants in many new privately owned, low-income units will be protected from double-digit increases. So will some in existing units, after a state committee on affordable housing imposed a rent cap.
(04/05/2024) → CalMatters
• CA Budget Deal Gets Early Start on Deficit
Not filling open positions in state government, cutting a school facilities program and several climate initiatives, delaying funding for public transit — these are some of the first steps that California officials plan to take to deal with a looming multibillion-dollar budget deficit.
(04/05/2024) → CalMatters
• Bill to Mandate ‘Science of Reading’ in California Schools Faces Teachers Union Opposition
The move puts the fate of AB 2222 in question, but supporters insist that there is room to negotiate changes that can help tackle the state's literacy crisis.
(04/04/2024) → EdSource
• Photographers Capture Spectacular Streaking Lights of Southern 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.
(04/02/2024) → SF Gate
The Douglas iris is a wildflower native to central and northern California and parts of southern Oregon.
