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.
• Knights Landing Community Park Breaks Ground
The construction of the Knights Landing Community Park is set to commence with a groundbreaking ceremony on Tuesday, April 9.
(04/07/2024) → Daily Democrat
• Applications Open for Community Services Action Board
The Yolo County Community Services Action Board is seeking applicants to join in its mission to combat poverty by promoting the health, safety, stability and self-sufficiency of low-income residents of the county.
(04/06/2024) → Daily Democrat
• Sutter Health Helps Fund Mosaic Center
Sutter Health invested $569K in West Sacramento's Mosaic Village for for people impacted by substance-use, homelessness and mental health illness.
(04/06/2024) → Daily Democrat
• First 5 Yolo Celebrates New Welcome Baby Program
After its first year in operation, First 5 Yolo reports on the progress of its Welcome Baby program.
(04/06/2024) → Daily Democrat
• Celebration of Woodland Pedestrian Overcrossing Set for April 24
A ribbon-cutting celebration will be held on April 24 celebrating the new Sports Park Drive Bike and Pedestrian Overcrossing.
(04/06/2024) → Daily Democrat
• UC Davis to Open New Lab at Aggie Square
UC Davis will be opening a new veterinary genetics research laboratory in Sacramento's Aggies Square.
(04/05/2024) → Davis Enterprise
• Esparto Road Resurfacing to Begin
After 40 years without significant resurfacing, the Esparto Road Rehabilitation project has commenced.
(04/05/2024) → Daily Democrat
• Woodland Begins Pickleball Court Construction
Woodland is incorporating pickleball courts as part of the William Crawford Senior Park Court Reconstruction Project.
(04/05/2024) → Daily Democrat
• Oakland A’s Temporary Move to West Sacramento
The A's will play at Sutter Health Park for three years, with an option for an additional year, while a new stadium is built for move to Las Vegas.
(04/04/2024) → Daily Democrat
• California Snowpack Above Average for a Second Year
The California Department of Water Resources announced the water content of the Sierra Nevada snowpack at 110% of the April 1 average.
(04/02/2024) → CapPublicRadio
• 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
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(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.
