California drought: Woodside, Fremont on opposite ends of water-saving spectrum // Mercury News
"Faced with tough new state water restrictions, lush towns like Woodside are going to have to start behaving a lot more like golden-hued Fremont.
"Fifteen months after Gov. Jerry Brown declared a drought emergency, water remains a way of life in Woodside, where horses sip from troughs, vineyards grace hillsides and estates such as Larry Ellison's Japanese compound feature waterfalls, ducks and hand-chiseled stone bridges arching over ponds."
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SF looks to reduce thefts while boosting transit alternative // SF Examiner
"Ample secure parking for bicycles is considered a key component to increasing trips made by bike and decreasing thefts, although the existing inventory does not meet San Francisco’s transit goals.
"But the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency is improving its inventory with the help of a $70,000 grant from the Bay Area Air Quality Management District. For a total of $117,870, the agency plans to install 28 BikeLink electronic lockers in four SFMTA-owned parking garages. They will replace old lockers that appear to be in dire straits. "
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Fowl play: California’s drought fingered in bird deaths// High Country News
"On January 14, Monte Kawahara found his first dead bird of 2015.
"The casualty was a band-tailed pigeon, Patagioenas fasciata: pale gray shoulders, black primary feathers, a glint of iridescent green at the neck. The bird, a member of California’s only native pigeon species, lay prone beneath a live oak on Kawahara’s family’s farm west of San Jose. Kawahara, a shaggy-haired wildland firefighter, took a few pictures and uploaded them to Facebook. Some ecologists he knew suggested he preserve the animal for science, so Kawahara stuffed it in a Tupperware, slid it into his freezer, and went hiking. By the time he got back, his father and grandmother had collected four more pigeons for examination."
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Six lessons for job seekers with autism, and those without // SF Chronicle
"On the first Saturday of each month, the Bay Area Autism Job Club gathers at the ARC building, located at 11th and Howard streets in San Francisco’s South of Market area. Fifteen or so adults with autism usually show up, ranging in age from the early 20s to 50s, and even one member, James Ullrey, in his 70s.
"The club is open to all; if someone considers himself a part of the autism community, then he (or she) is welcome. People come mainly through referrals, or by word of mouth. It is a free, volunteer, extra-governmental effort, sponsored by the Autism, Asperger Syndrome Coalition for Education, Networking and Development (AASCEND), the umbrella group of adults with autism in the Bay Area."
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Tenants engage in partial rent strike at two Richmond apartment buildings // Richmond Confidential
"On Wednesday evening, a group of tenants at two apartment buildings in Richmond participated in a partial rent strike over rent increases. After working with organizers from the Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment (ACCE), the tenants decided to only pay their landlords the value of their rent before the increases, handing over checks for the old amounts to the buildings’ on-site manager.
"The apartment buildings are located on 1200 and 1300 Bissell Avenue. Each building has 20 units. The rent increase affects all 40 units in these two buildings. Tenants living in the buildings are mainly low-income families with children. Many of them only speak Spanish. The buildings are owned by Guadalupe Campos and his son Eddy Campos, who declined to comment for this story. "
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Anchor rod on Bay Bridge may have snapped // SF Chronicle
"Caltrans has uncovered evidence that one of the 25-foot-long rods that anchor the new Bay Bridge eastern span’s tower may have snapped after being installed, a finding that could cast doubt on hundreds of other rods exposed to corrosion-causing water for two years before a construction defect was discovered.
Agency officials cautioned that tests are needed to determine whether the rod, which is encased in a grout-filled sleeve at the base of the tower, is indeed broken."
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Dublin Residents Question Timing Of Building New $35 Million Water Park // KPIX 5
"DUBLIN (KPIX 5) – Amid California’s record drought, the City of Dublin is breaking ground on a massive new water park. Residents are wondering about the timing of the project.
"At Dublin’s Emerald Glen Park the grass gets recycled water, the kid’s spray jets have been shut off and the large fountain is dry as a bone, all to save water. So it’s a little surprising to learn they’re about to build a $35 million water park. “You can never predict a drought,” Dublin parks director Paul McCreary told KPIX 5."