How to Protect Yourself From Ticks — and Lyme Disease — in the Bay Area
Can New Cameras Save the Gray Whales in the San Francisco Bay?
East Bay Residents Push Back as Caltrans Studies Lifting I-580 Truck Ban
Going for a Hike in a California Park? Don’t Forget Your Sewing Supplies
An American Werewolf in Altadena? How a Local Monster Sparked Community Tensions
West Sacramento’s Indigenous Urban Farms Grow Fresh Food and Community
More Than 17,000 Under Evacuation Orders as Southern California Wildfire Threatens Homes
An Incoming ‘Super El Niño’ May Bring California a Wet, Hot Winter
California’s New Plastic Recycling Rules Spark Fights From All Sides
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"title": "How to Protect Yourself From Ticks — and Lyme Disease — in the Bay Area",
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"content": "\u003cp>If you’ve been out on a hike near the Bay Area recently, especially somewhere that’s shady or dense with vegetation, you or your pets might have accidentally carried home an unwanted traveler: \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11880475/ticks-suck-heres-a-guide-to-identifying-them-and-avoiding-bites\">a tick\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>These tiny bugs — some as minuscule as a poppy seed in their young 1-year-old “nymph” stage — are out in full force during springtime, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1982376/after-bountiful-rains-ticks-are-out-in-force-heres-how-to-protect-yourself-bay-area\">when the weather is wet\u003c/a>. And unfortunately, they’re looking for a warm host for a “blood meal,” which is key to their survival.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the diseases they can also carry, including \u003ca href=\"https://www.cdc.gov/lyme/index.html\">Lyme disease\u003c/a>, mean you \u003cem>really\u003c/em> don’t want to get bitten by a tick.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even after a relatively mild and somewhat dry winter, \u003ca href=\"https://www.reddit.com/r/bayarea/comments/1snva21/out_on_the_trails_yesterday/\">Bay Area hikers have reported ticks\u003c/a> all over local trails this spring. And \u003ca href=\"https://www.ebparks.org/about-us/whats-new/news/tick-season-advisory\">local parks districts are advising\u003c/a> hikers to cover up their skin and be extra vigilant.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Bay Area Lyme Foundation has seen a recent increase among people reaching out “about the explosion in ticks that they’re seeing this season,” according to David Walsey, the executive director of the organization, which funds research around diagnosing and treating Lyme disease nationwide.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Measuring the tick population of a place like the Bay Area can be complicated. Despite all the attention on ticks right now, the San Mateo County Mosquito and Vector Control District is currently reporting “normal-ish levels” of the creatures locally, communications director Rachel Curtis-Robles said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12085362\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12085362\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/2-Portola-Valley-Tick-Sweep-2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1290\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/2-Portola-Valley-Tick-Sweep-2.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/2-Portola-Valley-Tick-Sweep-2-160x103.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/2-Portola-Valley-Tick-Sweep-2-1536x991.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A number of ticks caught during the Bay Area Lyme Foundation 2025 tick sweep in Portola Valley. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of the Bay Area Lyme Foundation)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>But while neither her office nor the Bay Area Lyme Foundation collects actual population information about ticks here in the Bay Area, “ticks are around all year in our area,” warned Walsey. “There is really not a ‘tick season.'”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that Lyme disease \u003ca href=\"https://www.cdc.gov/lyme/data-research/facts-stats/index.html\">affects 500,000\u003c/a> people across the country each year. In the Western United States, the CDC is \u003ca href=\"https://www.cdc.gov/ticks/data-research/facts-stats/tick-bite-data-tracker.html\">reporting the highest number of emergency department visits for tick bites\u003c/a> this year in almost a decade. And while Lyme is generally regarded as \u003ca href=\"https://www.ucihealth.org/blog/2023/06/tick-safety\">a bigger threat on the East Coast\u003c/a> than it is to Californians, the disease \u003ca href=\"https://www.bayarealyme.org/about-lyme/lyme-disease-facts-statistics/\">is still present in nearly every county in our state\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>All of this means it’s important to protect yourself from ticks and tick bites, wherever you live. Read on to find out more about avoiding ticks, removing ticks from your body and how to keep your pets safe — plus suggestions on the Bay Area hikes where your chances of ticks might be lower.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jump straight to:\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"#HowcanIavoidticksandtickbites\"> How can I avoid ticks and tick bites?\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"#WhatshouldIdoifIgetatickbite\"> What should I do if I get a tick bite?\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"#WherecanIhikeintheBayAreatoavoidticks\"> Where can I hike in the Bay Area to avoid ticks?\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003ch2>What to know about Bay Area ticks\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Several types of ticks call the Bay Area home.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The American dog tick and the Pacific Coast tick are larger and don’t typically infect humans with Lyme disease (although they\u003ca href=\"http://cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CID/DCDC/CDPH%20Document%20Library/SpottedFeverRickettsiaFactSheet.pdf\"> can carry other pathogens that lead to illnesses,\u003c/a> like fevers and rashes. But the Western blacklegged tick \u003cem>does \u003c/em>pose a Lyme risk — and right now, during springtime, is when they’re the smallest and most easily missed, Curtis-Robles said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12085368\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12085368\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/3-Portola-Valley-Tick-sweep.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1505\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/3-Portola-Valley-Tick-sweep.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/3-Portola-Valley-Tick-sweep-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/3-Portola-Valley-Tick-sweep-1536x1156.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Bay Area Lyme Foundation’s 2025 tick sweep in Portola Valley. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of the Bay Area Lyme Foundation)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“The danger is … they’re only the size of a poppy seed,” she said. “So those can be really hard for a person to notice if it’s on them.” (Western blacklegged ticks are different to Eastern blacklegged ticks, which are also known as deer ticks and are found outside of the western U.S.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Western blacklegged ticks tend to live in tall grasses and wooded areas, where scrubs and bushes are plentiful. And when they’re young, in the nymph stage and harder to find on your body, \u003ca href=\"https://www.smcmvcd.org/lizards-ticks-and-lyme-disease\">is when they’re most likely to transmit Lyme disease.\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The vector control district in San Mateo County takes samples along public trails to get a better picture of when and where ticks live in the Bay Area, Curtis-Robles said. They also test the ticks they collect for pathogens, including the bacteria that can cause Lyme disease.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some reassuring news: Less than 5% of the ticks tested in San Mateo County are carrying the bacteria that can cause Lyme disease, she said.[aside postID=news_12084907 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/LEDE-2014-02-24_PD_NU_ScenerySkiers_0001.jpg']That’s in contrast to the East Coast and Midwest, \u003ca href=\"https://www.binghamton.edu/news/story/6267/ticks-are-spreading-like-wildfire-and-more-of-them-are-carrying-lyme\">where 50%-60% of ticks have been found to carry the bacteria that cause Lyme disease\u003c/a> — and some studies even suggest that number is up to 80%, according to Curtis-Robles.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s in part due to a secret weapon we have here in California: \u003ca href=\"https://yubariver.org/posts/ticks-lizards-and-lyme-disease/\">the Western fence lizard.\u003c/a> These iridescent lizards are common hosts for ticks in their adolescent stage — and are even preferred by teenage ticks over other hosts like rodents, deer or dogs — but the \u003ca href=\"https://www.smcmvcd.org/lizards-ticks-and-lyme-disease\">lizard’s blood contains a protein\u003c/a> that kills the Lyme-causing bacteria.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The science, however, is complex, \u003ca href=\"https://www.smcmvcd.org/lizards-ticks-and-lyme-disease\">asserts a page from the vector control district\u003c/a>: \u003ca href=\"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/mec.16413\">One study\u003c/a> concluded that ticks that feed on these lizards, when feeding again, are \u003cem>more \u003c/em>likely to transmit the bacteria. \u003ca href=\"https://royalsocietypublishing.org/rspb/article-abstract/278/1720/2970/73732/Impact-of-the-experimental-removal-of-lizards-on?redirectedFrom=fulltext\">Another suggests \u003c/a>that the prevalence of lizards in California is what’s driving up mature tick populations to begin with.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In any case, it means that “the risk in California is much lower, but it’s not zero,” Curtis-Robles said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In fact, Bay Area Lyme Foundation was founded in 2012 because few people believed Lyme disease even exists in the Bay Area and California, Walsey said, where “it was historically perceived as a Northeast and somewhat of a Midwest problem.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“But in fact, we now know that ticks that carry Lyme has been found in all 50 states, including almost every county in California,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The group began by funding studies to detect the bacteria that cause Lyme in ticks, and now has expanded to support research to advance diagnostics and therapeutics for patients with Lyme.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca id=\"HowcanIavoidticksandtickbites\">\u003c/a>How to avoid ticks and tick bites in the Bay Area\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Watch where you walk\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Stay on trail — in the middle is best — and out of tall grasses. Ticks don’t tend to be in manicured lawn areas like soccer fields, but they can be found on trails near beaches at similar rates to woodland areas, Walsey said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Cover up your skin (the right way)\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wear light-colored long pants and sleeves. Also, tuck \u003cem>in \u003c/em>your clothes: This helps keep ticks off of your skin so you can catch them before they bite.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Consider using chemical tick repellent\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">If you’re really worried about tick bites, you can use a repellent on the skin you’re not able to cover up, Curtis-Robles said.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There are several \u003ca href=\"https://www.epa.gov/insect-repellents/find-repellent-right-you\">insect or tick repellent\u003c/a>s that are registered with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, including DEET or \u003ca href=\"https://www.insectshield.com/blogs/blog/how-to-use-permethrin-on-clothing-safely\">Permethrin\u003c/a>. Be aware that DEET can erode plastic, so be careful not to use it on polyester clothing or opt for \u003ca href=\"https://www.llbean.com/llb/shop/516182?page=insect-repellent-clothing-and-gear&qs=3126198&GOOGLE&Matchtype=e&gclsrc=aw.ds&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=665202954&gbraid=0AAAAADoqq1IMzalsVeGarMPNz3Xd1h5Tk&gclid=CjwKCAjwrNrQBhBjEiwAoR4VOzF9SZS-x6coHLH0mIxxiYx6A2YCXX6uLc3leF2k2xR025-5lFN2jRoCM9wQAvD_BwE\">Permethrin-treated clothing\u003c/a> instead.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That will help deter the ticks,” she said. “If they get on you, they’re going to very quickly want to get off of you, even sort of just letting go and falling off, because it’s very uncomfortable for them to even touch the repellents.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Protect your pet\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Talk to your vet, Curtis-Robles said, and ask for a medication that repels fleas and ticks, to give them an even better chance of avoiding tick bites.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Watch your head \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ticks are commonly found on peoples’ and pets’ heads, Curtis-Robles said, and some people assume that’s because they drop from trees above.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But that’s not necessarily the case, she said — rather, they are doing something called “questing.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12085369\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12085369\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/tick_size_Western_Eastern_color-REV-FINAL.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1227\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/tick_size_Western_Eastern_color-REV-FINAL.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/tick_size_Western_Eastern_color-REV-FINAL-160x98.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/tick_size_Western_Eastern_color-REV-FINAL-1536x942.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A guide to spotting the Western blacklegged tick, which can pose a threat of Lyme disease in California. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of the Bay Area Lyme Foundation)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“They crawl to the top of the tall grass and they stick out their legs and they just hope that somebody wanders by that they can grab onto,” she said. “It just happens that when they’re questing and looking, they’re going to crawl up a person until they find a cozy spot where they feel like they’re not going to get groomed off easily.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“But by the time they get to the top of the person, they run out of options,” she said. “And so quite frequently, people will find them on their heads and their hair.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>How to do a proper tick check\u003c/h2>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>When you get home, remove the clothes you wore outside as soon as you can. If you’re not immediately planning to wash them, at least put them in the dryer, which should kill the ticks.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Run your hands on your entire body and through your hair, checking for any ticks. They don’t bite instantly, so double check the “cozy spots,” as Curtis-Robles calls them, like your groin area, between your toes, belly button, behind your ears and in your armpits — anywhere a tick might seek warmth.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Remember that ticks can be as small as a sesame or poppy seed\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>For children: Check during bathtime when you can see their whole body\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>For dogs: Run your fingers through their fur to detect little bumps — this is easier than parting their hair. Don’t forget to check their face, in and around their ears, and under their back legs, “really running your hands over their entire body — especially with dogs that have that thicker undercoat,” Curtis-Robles said.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>You can even request \u003ca href=\"https://www.smcmvcd.org/tick-bite-prevention-kit\">a free tick bite prevention kit\u003c/a> from your local vector control district, which includes information about repelling ticks and tools to remove them.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca id=\"WhatshouldIdoifIgetatickbite\">\u003c/a>What to do if you get a tick bite\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Don’t panic – not every tick has Lyme, and even those that do may not transmit it to your body immediately.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Safely remove the tick as soon as you can. Use tweezers to get as close to the skin as possible to remove the entire tic — but do it slowly and steadily. Do not jerk, squeeze, twist or pull off the tick. And don’t believe the various at-home remedies you may have learned from relatives: \u003ca href=\"https://osf-blog.live.imagescape.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/ticks3.png\">Do \u003cem>not \u003c/em>try to smother it with Vaseline or nail polish or burn it off.\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Immediately after you’ve removed the tick:\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Dispose of the tick by flushing it down the toilet or putting it in alcohol. Do not crush the tick with your fingers. Wash your hands and the bite area with soap and water. You can apply antiseptic gel and a Band-Aid to the bite.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>For longer-term care:\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Keep track of when and where you may have been bitten to report to your doctor if needed. For the next 30 days, monitor for any symptoms of what could be a tick-borne disease like Lyme. Symptoms include:\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>Fever, headache and other flu symptoms\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Rash (which sometimes, but not always, resembles a bullseye)\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Fatigue, aches and pains\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>Your doctor may want you to take antibiotics.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s important to remember that ticks don’t just carry Lyme, so be sure to keep an eye out for any symptoms of illness, Walsey said. Other diseases \u003ca href=\"https://www.ccjm.org/content/84/7/555\">could include Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever,\u003c/a> plus other infections and rashes whose symptoms may present similarly to Lyme.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Getting ticks tested for Lyme disease:\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If you want to, you can even \u003ca href=\"https://publichealth.santaclaracounty.gov/programs-and-services/public-health-laboratory/test-ticks-lyme-disease\">save the tick and send it in for testing\u003c/a> to your local vector control district.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Just be aware: \u003ca href=\"https://www.cdc.gov/ticks/after-a-tick-bite/index.html\">The CDC does not recommend testing ticks\u003c/a> that have bitten humans. This is because results can be unreliable, positive results don’t guarantee the tick passed the disease to you and negative results from one tick can lead to false assurance if another may have bitten you. Delayed results can also delay treatment if you do have symptoms.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12085370\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2026px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12085370\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/GettyImages-1316528023.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2026\" height=\"1335\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/GettyImages-1316528023.jpg 2026w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/GettyImages-1316528023-2000x1318.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/GettyImages-1316528023-160x105.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/GettyImages-1316528023-1536x1012.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2026px) 100vw, 2026px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The black-legged or deer tick, which carries Lyme disease, appears to be expanding its territory. \u003ccite>(Bill Davis/Newsday via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>If you do contract Lyme disease, catching it early is key, Walsey said. If you don’t catch it early, it can get more serious and harder to treat.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“People that treat it early and treat it with the proper antibiotics, generally 80 to 90% of people will clear Lyme disease,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some areas, like San Mateo County, offer free services like rodent, mosquito and tick inspections to help residents reduce the number of pests in their yards.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca id=\"WherecanIhikeintheBayAreatoavoidticks\">\u003c/a>Where to hike in the Bay Area to reduce your chances of meeting a tick\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>While ticks sure feel like they’re everywhere in the Bay Area right now, there are some areas where it’s easier to avoid them in the spring:\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>Redwood forests like \u003ca href=\"https://www.ebparks.org/parks/reinhardt-redwood\">Reinhardt Redwood Regional Park\u003c/a> in Oakland can be a good bet: The hiking trails here tend to be wide and cleared of brush underfoot.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Wetland and tidal flat areas like \u003ca href=\"https://parks.marincounty.gov/parkspreserves/parks/rush-creek-preserve\">Rush Creek Preserve\u003c/a> in Marin County often have elevated gravel trails.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Trails to mountaintops like \u003ca href=\"https://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=471\">Mt. Tamalpais\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=517\">Mt. Diablo\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.redwoodhikes.com/Skyline/Montara.html\">Montara Mountain\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.ebparks.org/parks/mission-peak\">Mission Peak\u003c/a> are often wide enough for fire access, so sticking to the middle of the trail may help avoid ticks.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>Remember: A place being less \u003cem>likely \u003c/em>to harbor ticks doesn’t mean you won’t still find one, but the trails above will at least be wider, making it easier to avoid coming in contact with ticks. Wherever you hike in spring, you should still do a tick check.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">This article was corrected to reflect the location of most Lyme-carrying ticks and how to properly use repellant.\u003c/span>\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "In California we’re at less risk from tick-borne Lyme disease — but we’re not immune. Here’s what to know about keeping yourself and your pets safe.",
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"title": "How to Protect Yourself From Ticks — and Lyme Disease — in the Bay Area | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>If you’ve been out on a hike near the Bay Area recently, especially somewhere that’s shady or dense with vegetation, you or your pets might have accidentally carried home an unwanted traveler: \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11880475/ticks-suck-heres-a-guide-to-identifying-them-and-avoiding-bites\">a tick\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>These tiny bugs — some as minuscule as a poppy seed in their young 1-year-old “nymph” stage — are out in full force during springtime, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1982376/after-bountiful-rains-ticks-are-out-in-force-heres-how-to-protect-yourself-bay-area\">when the weather is wet\u003c/a>. And unfortunately, they’re looking for a warm host for a “blood meal,” which is key to their survival.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the diseases they can also carry, including \u003ca href=\"https://www.cdc.gov/lyme/index.html\">Lyme disease\u003c/a>, mean you \u003cem>really\u003c/em> don’t want to get bitten by a tick.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even after a relatively mild and somewhat dry winter, \u003ca href=\"https://www.reddit.com/r/bayarea/comments/1snva21/out_on_the_trails_yesterday/\">Bay Area hikers have reported ticks\u003c/a> all over local trails this spring. And \u003ca href=\"https://www.ebparks.org/about-us/whats-new/news/tick-season-advisory\">local parks districts are advising\u003c/a> hikers to cover up their skin and be extra vigilant.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Bay Area Lyme Foundation has seen a recent increase among people reaching out “about the explosion in ticks that they’re seeing this season,” according to David Walsey, the executive director of the organization, which funds research around diagnosing and treating Lyme disease nationwide.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Measuring the tick population of a place like the Bay Area can be complicated. Despite all the attention on ticks right now, the San Mateo County Mosquito and Vector Control District is currently reporting “normal-ish levels” of the creatures locally, communications director Rachel Curtis-Robles said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12085362\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12085362\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/2-Portola-Valley-Tick-Sweep-2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1290\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/2-Portola-Valley-Tick-Sweep-2.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/2-Portola-Valley-Tick-Sweep-2-160x103.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/2-Portola-Valley-Tick-Sweep-2-1536x991.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A number of ticks caught during the Bay Area Lyme Foundation 2025 tick sweep in Portola Valley. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of the Bay Area Lyme Foundation)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>But while neither her office nor the Bay Area Lyme Foundation collects actual population information about ticks here in the Bay Area, “ticks are around all year in our area,” warned Walsey. “There is really not a ‘tick season.'”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that Lyme disease \u003ca href=\"https://www.cdc.gov/lyme/data-research/facts-stats/index.html\">affects 500,000\u003c/a> people across the country each year. In the Western United States, the CDC is \u003ca href=\"https://www.cdc.gov/ticks/data-research/facts-stats/tick-bite-data-tracker.html\">reporting the highest number of emergency department visits for tick bites\u003c/a> this year in almost a decade. And while Lyme is generally regarded as \u003ca href=\"https://www.ucihealth.org/blog/2023/06/tick-safety\">a bigger threat on the East Coast\u003c/a> than it is to Californians, the disease \u003ca href=\"https://www.bayarealyme.org/about-lyme/lyme-disease-facts-statistics/\">is still present in nearly every county in our state\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>All of this means it’s important to protect yourself from ticks and tick bites, wherever you live. Read on to find out more about avoiding ticks, removing ticks from your body and how to keep your pets safe — plus suggestions on the Bay Area hikes where your chances of ticks might be lower.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jump straight to:\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"#HowcanIavoidticksandtickbites\"> How can I avoid ticks and tick bites?\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"#WhatshouldIdoifIgetatickbite\"> What should I do if I get a tick bite?\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"#WherecanIhikeintheBayAreatoavoidticks\"> Where can I hike in the Bay Area to avoid ticks?\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003ch2>What to know about Bay Area ticks\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Several types of ticks call the Bay Area home.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The American dog tick and the Pacific Coast tick are larger and don’t typically infect humans with Lyme disease (although they\u003ca href=\"http://cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CID/DCDC/CDPH%20Document%20Library/SpottedFeverRickettsiaFactSheet.pdf\"> can carry other pathogens that lead to illnesses,\u003c/a> like fevers and rashes. But the Western blacklegged tick \u003cem>does \u003c/em>pose a Lyme risk — and right now, during springtime, is when they’re the smallest and most easily missed, Curtis-Robles said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12085368\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12085368\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/3-Portola-Valley-Tick-sweep.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1505\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/3-Portola-Valley-Tick-sweep.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/3-Portola-Valley-Tick-sweep-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/3-Portola-Valley-Tick-sweep-1536x1156.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Bay Area Lyme Foundation’s 2025 tick sweep in Portola Valley. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of the Bay Area Lyme Foundation)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“The danger is … they’re only the size of a poppy seed,” she said. “So those can be really hard for a person to notice if it’s on them.” (Western blacklegged ticks are different to Eastern blacklegged ticks, which are also known as deer ticks and are found outside of the western U.S.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Western blacklegged ticks tend to live in tall grasses and wooded areas, where scrubs and bushes are plentiful. And when they’re young, in the nymph stage and harder to find on your body, \u003ca href=\"https://www.smcmvcd.org/lizards-ticks-and-lyme-disease\">is when they’re most likely to transmit Lyme disease.\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The vector control district in San Mateo County takes samples along public trails to get a better picture of when and where ticks live in the Bay Area, Curtis-Robles said. They also test the ticks they collect for pathogens, including the bacteria that can cause Lyme disease.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some reassuring news: Less than 5% of the ticks tested in San Mateo County are carrying the bacteria that can cause Lyme disease, she said.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>That’s in contrast to the East Coast and Midwest, \u003ca href=\"https://www.binghamton.edu/news/story/6267/ticks-are-spreading-like-wildfire-and-more-of-them-are-carrying-lyme\">where 50%-60% of ticks have been found to carry the bacteria that cause Lyme disease\u003c/a> — and some studies even suggest that number is up to 80%, according to Curtis-Robles.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s in part due to a secret weapon we have here in California: \u003ca href=\"https://yubariver.org/posts/ticks-lizards-and-lyme-disease/\">the Western fence lizard.\u003c/a> These iridescent lizards are common hosts for ticks in their adolescent stage — and are even preferred by teenage ticks over other hosts like rodents, deer or dogs — but the \u003ca href=\"https://www.smcmvcd.org/lizards-ticks-and-lyme-disease\">lizard’s blood contains a protein\u003c/a> that kills the Lyme-causing bacteria.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The science, however, is complex, \u003ca href=\"https://www.smcmvcd.org/lizards-ticks-and-lyme-disease\">asserts a page from the vector control district\u003c/a>: \u003ca href=\"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/mec.16413\">One study\u003c/a> concluded that ticks that feed on these lizards, when feeding again, are \u003cem>more \u003c/em>likely to transmit the bacteria. \u003ca href=\"https://royalsocietypublishing.org/rspb/article-abstract/278/1720/2970/73732/Impact-of-the-experimental-removal-of-lizards-on?redirectedFrom=fulltext\">Another suggests \u003c/a>that the prevalence of lizards in California is what’s driving up mature tick populations to begin with.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In any case, it means that “the risk in California is much lower, but it’s not zero,” Curtis-Robles said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In fact, Bay Area Lyme Foundation was founded in 2012 because few people believed Lyme disease even exists in the Bay Area and California, Walsey said, where “it was historically perceived as a Northeast and somewhat of a Midwest problem.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“But in fact, we now know that ticks that carry Lyme has been found in all 50 states, including almost every county in California,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The group began by funding studies to detect the bacteria that cause Lyme in ticks, and now has expanded to support research to advance diagnostics and therapeutics for patients with Lyme.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca id=\"HowcanIavoidticksandtickbites\">\u003c/a>How to avoid ticks and tick bites in the Bay Area\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Watch where you walk\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Stay on trail — in the middle is best — and out of tall grasses. Ticks don’t tend to be in manicured lawn areas like soccer fields, but they can be found on trails near beaches at similar rates to woodland areas, Walsey said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Cover up your skin (the right way)\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wear light-colored long pants and sleeves. Also, tuck \u003cem>in \u003c/em>your clothes: This helps keep ticks off of your skin so you can catch them before they bite.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Consider using chemical tick repellent\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">If you’re really worried about tick bites, you can use a repellent on the skin you’re not able to cover up, Curtis-Robles said.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There are several \u003ca href=\"https://www.epa.gov/insect-repellents/find-repellent-right-you\">insect or tick repellent\u003c/a>s that are registered with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, including DEET or \u003ca href=\"https://www.insectshield.com/blogs/blog/how-to-use-permethrin-on-clothing-safely\">Permethrin\u003c/a>. Be aware that DEET can erode plastic, so be careful not to use it on polyester clothing or opt for \u003ca href=\"https://www.llbean.com/llb/shop/516182?page=insect-repellent-clothing-and-gear&qs=3126198&GOOGLE&Matchtype=e&gclsrc=aw.ds&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=665202954&gbraid=0AAAAADoqq1IMzalsVeGarMPNz3Xd1h5Tk&gclid=CjwKCAjwrNrQBhBjEiwAoR4VOzF9SZS-x6coHLH0mIxxiYx6A2YCXX6uLc3leF2k2xR025-5lFN2jRoCM9wQAvD_BwE\">Permethrin-treated clothing\u003c/a> instead.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That will help deter the ticks,” she said. “If they get on you, they’re going to very quickly want to get off of you, even sort of just letting go and falling off, because it’s very uncomfortable for them to even touch the repellents.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Protect your pet\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Talk to your vet, Curtis-Robles said, and ask for a medication that repels fleas and ticks, to give them an even better chance of avoiding tick bites.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Watch your head \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ticks are commonly found on peoples’ and pets’ heads, Curtis-Robles said, and some people assume that’s because they drop from trees above.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But that’s not necessarily the case, she said — rather, they are doing something called “questing.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12085369\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12085369\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/tick_size_Western_Eastern_color-REV-FINAL.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1227\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/tick_size_Western_Eastern_color-REV-FINAL.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/tick_size_Western_Eastern_color-REV-FINAL-160x98.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/tick_size_Western_Eastern_color-REV-FINAL-1536x942.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A guide to spotting the Western blacklegged tick, which can pose a threat of Lyme disease in California. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of the Bay Area Lyme Foundation)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“They crawl to the top of the tall grass and they stick out their legs and they just hope that somebody wanders by that they can grab onto,” she said. “It just happens that when they’re questing and looking, they’re going to crawl up a person until they find a cozy spot where they feel like they’re not going to get groomed off easily.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“But by the time they get to the top of the person, they run out of options,” she said. “And so quite frequently, people will find them on their heads and their hair.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>How to do a proper tick check\u003c/h2>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>When you get home, remove the clothes you wore outside as soon as you can. If you’re not immediately planning to wash them, at least put them in the dryer, which should kill the ticks.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Run your hands on your entire body and through your hair, checking for any ticks. They don’t bite instantly, so double check the “cozy spots,” as Curtis-Robles calls them, like your groin area, between your toes, belly button, behind your ears and in your armpits — anywhere a tick might seek warmth.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Remember that ticks can be as small as a sesame or poppy seed\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>For children: Check during bathtime when you can see their whole body\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>For dogs: Run your fingers through their fur to detect little bumps — this is easier than parting their hair. Don’t forget to check their face, in and around their ears, and under their back legs, “really running your hands over their entire body — especially with dogs that have that thicker undercoat,” Curtis-Robles said.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>You can even request \u003ca href=\"https://www.smcmvcd.org/tick-bite-prevention-kit\">a free tick bite prevention kit\u003c/a> from your local vector control district, which includes information about repelling ticks and tools to remove them.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca id=\"WhatshouldIdoifIgetatickbite\">\u003c/a>What to do if you get a tick bite\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Don’t panic – not every tick has Lyme, and even those that do may not transmit it to your body immediately.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Safely remove the tick as soon as you can. Use tweezers to get as close to the skin as possible to remove the entire tic — but do it slowly and steadily. Do not jerk, squeeze, twist or pull off the tick. And don’t believe the various at-home remedies you may have learned from relatives: \u003ca href=\"https://osf-blog.live.imagescape.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/ticks3.png\">Do \u003cem>not \u003c/em>try to smother it with Vaseline or nail polish or burn it off.\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Immediately after you’ve removed the tick:\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Dispose of the tick by flushing it down the toilet or putting it in alcohol. Do not crush the tick with your fingers. Wash your hands and the bite area with soap and water. You can apply antiseptic gel and a Band-Aid to the bite.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>For longer-term care:\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Keep track of when and where you may have been bitten to report to your doctor if needed. For the next 30 days, monitor for any symptoms of what could be a tick-borne disease like Lyme. Symptoms include:\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>Fever, headache and other flu symptoms\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Rash (which sometimes, but not always, resembles a bullseye)\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Fatigue, aches and pains\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>Your doctor may want you to take antibiotics.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s important to remember that ticks don’t just carry Lyme, so be sure to keep an eye out for any symptoms of illness, Walsey said. Other diseases \u003ca href=\"https://www.ccjm.org/content/84/7/555\">could include Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever,\u003c/a> plus other infections and rashes whose symptoms may present similarly to Lyme.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Getting ticks tested for Lyme disease:\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If you want to, you can even \u003ca href=\"https://publichealth.santaclaracounty.gov/programs-and-services/public-health-laboratory/test-ticks-lyme-disease\">save the tick and send it in for testing\u003c/a> to your local vector control district.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Just be aware: \u003ca href=\"https://www.cdc.gov/ticks/after-a-tick-bite/index.html\">The CDC does not recommend testing ticks\u003c/a> that have bitten humans. This is because results can be unreliable, positive results don’t guarantee the tick passed the disease to you and negative results from one tick can lead to false assurance if another may have bitten you. Delayed results can also delay treatment if you do have symptoms.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12085370\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2026px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12085370\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/GettyImages-1316528023.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2026\" height=\"1335\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/GettyImages-1316528023.jpg 2026w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/GettyImages-1316528023-2000x1318.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/GettyImages-1316528023-160x105.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/GettyImages-1316528023-1536x1012.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2026px) 100vw, 2026px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The black-legged or deer tick, which carries Lyme disease, appears to be expanding its territory. \u003ccite>(Bill Davis/Newsday via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>If you do contract Lyme disease, catching it early is key, Walsey said. If you don’t catch it early, it can get more serious and harder to treat.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“People that treat it early and treat it with the proper antibiotics, generally 80 to 90% of people will clear Lyme disease,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some areas, like San Mateo County, offer free services like rodent, mosquito and tick inspections to help residents reduce the number of pests in their yards.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca id=\"WherecanIhikeintheBayAreatoavoidticks\">\u003c/a>Where to hike in the Bay Area to reduce your chances of meeting a tick\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>While ticks sure feel like they’re everywhere in the Bay Area right now, there are some areas where it’s easier to avoid them in the spring:\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>Redwood forests like \u003ca href=\"https://www.ebparks.org/parks/reinhardt-redwood\">Reinhardt Redwood Regional Park\u003c/a> in Oakland can be a good bet: The hiking trails here tend to be wide and cleared of brush underfoot.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Wetland and tidal flat areas like \u003ca href=\"https://parks.marincounty.gov/parkspreserves/parks/rush-creek-preserve\">Rush Creek Preserve\u003c/a> in Marin County often have elevated gravel trails.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Trails to mountaintops like \u003ca href=\"https://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=471\">Mt. Tamalpais\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=517\">Mt. Diablo\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.redwoodhikes.com/Skyline/Montara.html\">Montara Mountain\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.ebparks.org/parks/mission-peak\">Mission Peak\u003c/a> are often wide enough for fire access, so sticking to the middle of the trail may help avoid ticks.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>Remember: A place being less \u003cem>likely \u003c/em>to harbor ticks doesn’t mean you won’t still find one, but the trails above will at least be wider, making it easier to avoid coming in contact with ticks. Wherever you hike in spring, you should still do a tick check.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">This article was corrected to reflect the location of most Lyme-carrying ticks and how to properly use repellant.\u003c/span>\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"slug": "can-new-cameras-save-the-gray-whales-in-the-san-francisco-bay",
"title": "Can New Cameras Save the Gray Whales in the San Francisco Bay?",
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"headTitle": "Can New Cameras Save the Gray Whales in the San Francisco Bay? | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>On a sunny, clear Tuesday, marine scientist Douglas McCauley surveyed the cobalt-blue waters of the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/san-francisco-bay\">San Francisco Bay\u003c/a> from a public ferry headed to Angel Island.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He kept watch for \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12044187/another-dead-gray-whale-found-in-bay-area-marking-the-most-in-25-years\">gray whales\u003c/a> breaking the surface of the water to breathe, traveling and hungry, near the boat’s path.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“ Five or 10 years ago, it would be unfathomable,” to be concerned about whales being struck by ships in the San Francisco Bay, said McCauley, the director of the Benioff Ocean Science Laboratory at the University of California, Santa Barbara.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But recently, the ferry’s path has become a feeding “hotspot,” the scientist said — putting the 90,000 lb., migratory mammals directly in harm’s way.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is a new thing, to be sharing this [busy] space with whales,“ McCauley continued.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A new AI-powered camera, however, installed on the island’s Point Blunt, seeks to shine a light on the increased whale activity in the Bay, “with so much greater resolution and accuracy” than before.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The camera, produced by Whalespotter, a Massachusetts-based company, searches for heat signatures of warm-blooded mammals — “a whale that’s breathing out in a cold bay,” McCauley said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To the thermal camera’s artificial intelligence, “that red hot heat from a warm whale is what stands out, kind of like a hot needle in a cold haystack.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12084535\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12084535\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/051926SFWHALES_GH_035-KQED-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/051926SFWHALES_GH_035-KQED-1.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/051926SFWHALES_GH_035-KQED-1-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/051926SFWHALES_GH_035-KQED-1-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The WhaleSpotter long-range marine mammal detection system stands at Point Blunt on Angel Island on May 19, 2026. \u003ccite>(Gustavo Hernandez/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Gray whales make one of the longest migrations of any animal on Earth, from their feeding grounds in the Arctic to lagoons in Baja California, where they have their offspring. Typically, they don’t consume any additional food along the journey, which spans over 12,000 miles.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But changes to Arctic sea ice and weather patterns have reduced the whales’ usual food supply, McCauley said. Starvation, habitat loss from climate change, and boat strikes have contributed to reducing the population of the whales to their lowest totals in decades.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While this species of gray whale is not considered endangered, their numbers dropped by half in the last ten years alone, from 26,000 to 13,000.[aside postID=science_2000810 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/08/P7A0782-scaled-e1754085326224.jpg']Nearly one in five gray whales entering the Bay dies there, often due to vessel collisions, according to a new \u003ca href=\"https://oceanographicmagazine.com/news/one-in-five-gray-whales-entering-san-francisco-bay-die-there/\">study\u003c/a> published by Marin County’s Marine Mammal Center and California Academy of Sciences. McCauley said 21 dead whales surfaced in the Bay last year, and that 40% of them showed signs of being struck by a boat or shipping freighter.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“ The process really began last year in the heart of this crisis where everyone said, ‘Okay, we, we need a solution, and we need one fast.’”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Within two hours from the moment the camera switched on two weeks ago, it had already identified 180 “blows,” or instances of whales coming to the surface of the water to breathe, according to Benioff scientist Rachel Rhodes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Though this was likely a small pod lingering in front of the sensor, the researchers took it as a sign they were in the right spot.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think I’m a not-half-bad whale watcher,” said McCauley, but “that does a much better job than I do of actually seeing whales.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In order to bring the camera to the Bay Area and share its data with ships that need it, the Benioff lab partnered with over a dozen groups across industry, research and government.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12084534\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12084534\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/051926SFWHALES_GH_040-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/051926SFWHALES_GH_040-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/051926SFWHALES_GH_040-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/051926SFWHALES_GH_040-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">From left, Kathi George, director of cetacean conservation biology at The Marine Mammal Center; Shawn Henry, CEO of WhaleSpotter; Gary Reed, director of VTS San Francisco; Rachel Rhodes, project scientist with the Benioff Ocean Science Laboratory; Tyrone Jue, director of the San Francisco Environment Department; Douglas McCauley, director of the Benioff Ocean Science Laboratory; Tom Hall, director of operations and customer experience at San Francisco Bay Ferry; and Rachel Bacal, administrative and outreach coordinator, cut a ribbon at Point Blunt on Angel Island on May 19, 2026, for the newly installed WhaleSpotter marine mammal detection system. \u003ccite>(Gustavo Hernandez/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The Marine Mammal Center, which assists Benioff researchers analyze the condition of the whales that die in the Bay was a key partner, as was the Coast Guard, which offered a spot on one of their communications towers for the camera and reports whale sightings from Vessel Traffic Control.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This week, the San Francisco Bay Ferry also switched on its own WhaleSpotter camera, which will operate on the Vallejo line and contribute to WhaleSafe, a free public database run by Benioff.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>WhaleSafe updates in real time using both reports from human spotters and WhaleSpotter sensors to give boats advance notice of whale traffic.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Shawn Henry, WhaleSpotter’s CEO, said the Angel Island camera is the company’s first stationary sensor of its kind in California — the company set up similar cameras on the East Coast to monitor the endangered North Atlantic right whale.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Time is a major consideration in keeping whales safe from larger ships, Henry said. Freighter ships can’t quickly slow down or change direction, and can strike whales without operators even noticing them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“ We can provide very reliable detection of whales at long range, long enough in order for the largest vessels to take evasive action to avoid whales,” Henry said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Once the AI’s sightings are confirmed, the information is immediately shared with WhaleSafe users.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12084528\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12084528\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/051926SFWHALES_GH_021-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/051926SFWHALES_GH_021-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/051926SFWHALES_GH_021-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/051926SFWHALES_GH_021-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A tanker ship approaches the Golden Gate Bridge on May 19, 2026, as a new whale detection system is launched in San Francisco Bay to help prevent ship strikes on gray whales. \u003ccite>(Gustavo Hernandez/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Henry said the cost of these cameras is comparable to that of a traditional ship radar.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Speaking at the camera’s ribbon-cutting on Tuesday, McCauley said he hopes to see a “network of sensors” across the Bay to account for “blind spots” in their search to save the whales.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In California, he said, residents are well-versed in climate disruption and crisis, and in helping one another through it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We have a whale that is adapting,” he told the crowd. “We’ve extended our definition of neighbor to include this backyard and those whales, and we’re here, in many ways, to help.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>On a sunny, clear Tuesday, marine scientist Douglas McCauley surveyed the cobalt-blue waters of the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/san-francisco-bay\">San Francisco Bay\u003c/a> from a public ferry headed to Angel Island.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He kept watch for \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12044187/another-dead-gray-whale-found-in-bay-area-marking-the-most-in-25-years\">gray whales\u003c/a> breaking the surface of the water to breathe, traveling and hungry, near the boat’s path.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“ Five or 10 years ago, it would be unfathomable,” to be concerned about whales being struck by ships in the San Francisco Bay, said McCauley, the director of the Benioff Ocean Science Laboratory at the University of California, Santa Barbara.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But recently, the ferry’s path has become a feeding “hotspot,” the scientist said — putting the 90,000 lb., migratory mammals directly in harm’s way.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is a new thing, to be sharing this [busy] space with whales,“ McCauley continued.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A new AI-powered camera, however, installed on the island’s Point Blunt, seeks to shine a light on the increased whale activity in the Bay, “with so much greater resolution and accuracy” than before.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The camera, produced by Whalespotter, a Massachusetts-based company, searches for heat signatures of warm-blooded mammals — “a whale that’s breathing out in a cold bay,” McCauley said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To the thermal camera’s artificial intelligence, “that red hot heat from a warm whale is what stands out, kind of like a hot needle in a cold haystack.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12084535\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12084535\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/051926SFWHALES_GH_035-KQED-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/051926SFWHALES_GH_035-KQED-1.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/051926SFWHALES_GH_035-KQED-1-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/051926SFWHALES_GH_035-KQED-1-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The WhaleSpotter long-range marine mammal detection system stands at Point Blunt on Angel Island on May 19, 2026. \u003ccite>(Gustavo Hernandez/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Gray whales make one of the longest migrations of any animal on Earth, from their feeding grounds in the Arctic to lagoons in Baja California, where they have their offspring. Typically, they don’t consume any additional food along the journey, which spans over 12,000 miles.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But changes to Arctic sea ice and weather patterns have reduced the whales’ usual food supply, McCauley said. Starvation, habitat loss from climate change, and boat strikes have contributed to reducing the population of the whales to their lowest totals in decades.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While this species of gray whale is not considered endangered, their numbers dropped by half in the last ten years alone, from 26,000 to 13,000.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Nearly one in five gray whales entering the Bay dies there, often due to vessel collisions, according to a new \u003ca href=\"https://oceanographicmagazine.com/news/one-in-five-gray-whales-entering-san-francisco-bay-die-there/\">study\u003c/a> published by Marin County’s Marine Mammal Center and California Academy of Sciences. McCauley said 21 dead whales surfaced in the Bay last year, and that 40% of them showed signs of being struck by a boat or shipping freighter.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“ The process really began last year in the heart of this crisis where everyone said, ‘Okay, we, we need a solution, and we need one fast.’”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Within two hours from the moment the camera switched on two weeks ago, it had already identified 180 “blows,” or instances of whales coming to the surface of the water to breathe, according to Benioff scientist Rachel Rhodes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Though this was likely a small pod lingering in front of the sensor, the researchers took it as a sign they were in the right spot.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think I’m a not-half-bad whale watcher,” said McCauley, but “that does a much better job than I do of actually seeing whales.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In order to bring the camera to the Bay Area and share its data with ships that need it, the Benioff lab partnered with over a dozen groups across industry, research and government.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12084534\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12084534\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/051926SFWHALES_GH_040-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/051926SFWHALES_GH_040-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/051926SFWHALES_GH_040-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/051926SFWHALES_GH_040-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">From left, Kathi George, director of cetacean conservation biology at The Marine Mammal Center; Shawn Henry, CEO of WhaleSpotter; Gary Reed, director of VTS San Francisco; Rachel Rhodes, project scientist with the Benioff Ocean Science Laboratory; Tyrone Jue, director of the San Francisco Environment Department; Douglas McCauley, director of the Benioff Ocean Science Laboratory; Tom Hall, director of operations and customer experience at San Francisco Bay Ferry; and Rachel Bacal, administrative and outreach coordinator, cut a ribbon at Point Blunt on Angel Island on May 19, 2026, for the newly installed WhaleSpotter marine mammal detection system. \u003ccite>(Gustavo Hernandez/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The Marine Mammal Center, which assists Benioff researchers analyze the condition of the whales that die in the Bay was a key partner, as was the Coast Guard, which offered a spot on one of their communications towers for the camera and reports whale sightings from Vessel Traffic Control.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This week, the San Francisco Bay Ferry also switched on its own WhaleSpotter camera, which will operate on the Vallejo line and contribute to WhaleSafe, a free public database run by Benioff.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>WhaleSafe updates in real time using both reports from human spotters and WhaleSpotter sensors to give boats advance notice of whale traffic.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Shawn Henry, WhaleSpotter’s CEO, said the Angel Island camera is the company’s first stationary sensor of its kind in California — the company set up similar cameras on the East Coast to monitor the endangered North Atlantic right whale.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Time is a major consideration in keeping whales safe from larger ships, Henry said. Freighter ships can’t quickly slow down or change direction, and can strike whales without operators even noticing them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“ We can provide very reliable detection of whales at long range, long enough in order for the largest vessels to take evasive action to avoid whales,” Henry said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Once the AI’s sightings are confirmed, the information is immediately shared with WhaleSafe users.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12084528\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12084528\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/051926SFWHALES_GH_021-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/051926SFWHALES_GH_021-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/051926SFWHALES_GH_021-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/051926SFWHALES_GH_021-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A tanker ship approaches the Golden Gate Bridge on May 19, 2026, as a new whale detection system is launched in San Francisco Bay to help prevent ship strikes on gray whales. \u003ccite>(Gustavo Hernandez/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Henry said the cost of these cameras is comparable to that of a traditional ship radar.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Speaking at the camera’s ribbon-cutting on Tuesday, McCauley said he hopes to see a “network of sensors” across the Bay to account for “blind spots” in their search to save the whales.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In California, he said, residents are well-versed in climate disruption and crisis, and in helping one another through it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We have a whale that is adapting,” he told the crowd. “We’ve extended our definition of neighbor to include this backyard and those whales, and we’re here, in many ways, to help.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"slug": "east-bay-residents-push-back-as-caltrans-studies-lifting-i-580-truck-ban",
"title": "East Bay Residents Push Back as Caltrans Studies Lifting I-580 Truck Ban",
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"headTitle": "East Bay Residents Push Back as Caltrans Studies Lifting I-580 Truck Ban | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>Dozens of residents expressed frustration for almost three hours at a Saturday listening session in \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/oakland\">Oakland\u003c/a>, overwhelmingly telling representatives from Caltrans, the Bay Area Air District and others to halt a study into a decades-old truck ban on Interstate 580.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Caltrans study, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12032217/caltrans-launches-long-awaited-study-on-i-580-truck-ban-and-pollution-impact\">launched last year\u003c/a> following community concerns over health equity, investigates how lifting a ban on trucks that weigh over 9,000 pounds would affect safety and public health for communities along the I-580 corridor. The study takes into account traffic, air quality, noise and racial equity.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Right now, large trucks instead use Interstate 880, which runs through the flatlands of San Leandro and Oakland. Those areas experience disproportionate rates of asthma hospitalizations and overall have lower life expectancy rates, according to the \u003ca href=\"https://acphd-web-media.s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/media/data-reports/city-county-regional/docs/maps2016.pdf\">Alameda County Public Health Department\u003c/a> and the \u003ca href=\"https://www.baaqmd.gov/~/media/files/ab617-community-health/west-oakland/2019-meetings/100219-files/final-plan-vol-1-100219-pdf.pdf?rev=77062b14b6e64f1196ec7c9aa870d82d&sc_lang=en\">Bay Area Air District\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Repealing the ban would allow large trucks to use I-580, a corridor that runs through the East Bay hills. Paratransit and buses carrying passengers are already exempt from the ban.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re very sympathetic to the fact that 880 has the trucks and elevated levels of asthma, but our message to Caltrans is to solve the problem where it exists. Don’t spread it to new communities. Don’t bait one community in Oakland against another community,” Terry Lee, a volunteer with No Big Rigs on I-580, said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The findings of the study wouldn’t automatically mean that the ban would be repealed, according to Caltrans. Any change would require a state law be passed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12060982\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12060982\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251021-I-580-MD-01-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1313\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251021-I-580-MD-01-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251021-I-580-MD-01-KQED-160x105.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251021-I-580-MD-01-KQED-1536x1008.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The I-580 freeway in Oakland on Oct. 21, 2025. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>But attendees opposed to the study said they also took issue with what they called a lack of engagement by Caltrans. Throughout the tense meeting, several attendees interrupted officials’ presentation and demanded that questions submitted online not be heard in favor of hearing community concerns in the room.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At one point, a man interrupted officials, saying “You’re gonna listen, and we’re gonna talk.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some commenters said they hadn’t heard of the listening session or study through Caltrans, and instead found out about it through other residents.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cameron Oakes, deputy district director of transportation and local assistance at Caltrans, said that the in-person listening session — which was one of four in the last month — was only part of the engagement process.[aside postID=science_1998844 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/10/250808-Casual-Carpool-MD-03_qed.jpg']“We’re actually conducting additional outreach beyond our original scope. We’re continuing to reach out to various stakeholders in the region and will continue to do so,” Oakes said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Oakes said that there are other listening sessions planned for this summer to present the initial study’s findings.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One of the only residents who spoke in support of the study and the lifting of the ban mentioned historic environmental racism.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We have a long history in this country of deciding that environmental impacts should only affect people of color and poor people,” said Susanna, who lives along the I-580 corridor and did not give her last name.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Donald Duggan, who authored a recent study looking into the demographics of both corridors, said that allowing trucks on I-580 would actually impact more people of color.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There are twice as many Black people who live along 580 than live along 880,” Duggan said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The draft study findings are expected this summer and a final report could be ready as soon as the end of 2026, according to Oakes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "In a heated listening session on Saturday, opponents of a Caltrans study to lift the ban on trucks on Interstate 580 argued the move would spread health and environmental impacts into more communities.",
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"title": "East Bay Residents Push Back as Caltrans Studies Lifting I-580 Truck Ban | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Dozens of residents expressed frustration for almost three hours at a Saturday listening session in \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/oakland\">Oakland\u003c/a>, overwhelmingly telling representatives from Caltrans, the Bay Area Air District and others to halt a study into a decades-old truck ban on Interstate 580.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Caltrans study, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12032217/caltrans-launches-long-awaited-study-on-i-580-truck-ban-and-pollution-impact\">launched last year\u003c/a> following community concerns over health equity, investigates how lifting a ban on trucks that weigh over 9,000 pounds would affect safety and public health for communities along the I-580 corridor. The study takes into account traffic, air quality, noise and racial equity.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Right now, large trucks instead use Interstate 880, which runs through the flatlands of San Leandro and Oakland. Those areas experience disproportionate rates of asthma hospitalizations and overall have lower life expectancy rates, according to the \u003ca href=\"https://acphd-web-media.s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/media/data-reports/city-county-regional/docs/maps2016.pdf\">Alameda County Public Health Department\u003c/a> and the \u003ca href=\"https://www.baaqmd.gov/~/media/files/ab617-community-health/west-oakland/2019-meetings/100219-files/final-plan-vol-1-100219-pdf.pdf?rev=77062b14b6e64f1196ec7c9aa870d82d&sc_lang=en\">Bay Area Air District\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Repealing the ban would allow large trucks to use I-580, a corridor that runs through the East Bay hills. Paratransit and buses carrying passengers are already exempt from the ban.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re very sympathetic to the fact that 880 has the trucks and elevated levels of asthma, but our message to Caltrans is to solve the problem where it exists. Don’t spread it to new communities. Don’t bait one community in Oakland against another community,” Terry Lee, a volunteer with No Big Rigs on I-580, said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The findings of the study wouldn’t automatically mean that the ban would be repealed, according to Caltrans. Any change would require a state law be passed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12060982\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12060982\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251021-I-580-MD-01-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1313\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251021-I-580-MD-01-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251021-I-580-MD-01-KQED-160x105.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251021-I-580-MD-01-KQED-1536x1008.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The I-580 freeway in Oakland on Oct. 21, 2025. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>But attendees opposed to the study said they also took issue with what they called a lack of engagement by Caltrans. Throughout the tense meeting, several attendees interrupted officials’ presentation and demanded that questions submitted online not be heard in favor of hearing community concerns in the room.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At one point, a man interrupted officials, saying “You’re gonna listen, and we’re gonna talk.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some commenters said they hadn’t heard of the listening session or study through Caltrans, and instead found out about it through other residents.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cameron Oakes, deputy district director of transportation and local assistance at Caltrans, said that the in-person listening session — which was one of four in the last month — was only part of the engagement process.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“We’re actually conducting additional outreach beyond our original scope. We’re continuing to reach out to various stakeholders in the region and will continue to do so,” Oakes said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Oakes said that there are other listening sessions planned for this summer to present the initial study’s findings.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One of the only residents who spoke in support of the study and the lifting of the ban mentioned historic environmental racism.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We have a long history in this country of deciding that environmental impacts should only affect people of color and poor people,” said Susanna, who lives along the I-580 corridor and did not give her last name.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Donald Duggan, who authored a recent study looking into the demographics of both corridors, said that allowing trucks on I-580 would actually impact more people of color.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There are twice as many Black people who live along 580 than live along 880,” Duggan said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The draft study findings are expected this summer and a final report could be ready as soon as the end of 2026, according to Oakes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "Going for a Hike in a California Park? Don’t Forget Your Sewing Supplies",
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"content": "\u003cp>When Angel Gentle lived on the road in his van, he would often take a sewing machine and a small generator into \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/national-parks\">national parks\u003c/a> so he could work on a craft project under the open sky.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Sewing in nature reminds you that you’re human,” he said. “Because in everyday life, you’re constantly going, going, going. You don’t realize that you’re in a machine until you come into nature and [it’s] so peaceful.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After settling down in Los Angeles, Gentle still wanted to find a way to combine his two unlikely interests. He posted an invitation on his \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/angelgentle/\">Instagram\u003c/a>, asking folks to join him for a hike … and to sew.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“No one showed up,” said Gentle, who has a clothing brand designing jackets from repurposed quilts and fabrics. “And I was like, ‘You know what? Instead of turning around and going home, I’m just gonna do it.’”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So Gentle filmed his solo hike —and the video went viral. “People were like, ‘Hey, I want to come and be a part of this. I didn’t even know something like this existed.’”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The second event got a big turnout.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I realized very quickly: this is something people need and want.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12080973\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12080973\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260422-HIKENSEW-06-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260422-HIKENSEW-06-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260422-HIKENSEW-06-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260422-HIKENSEW-06-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Materials at a Hike and Sew event in Los Angeles. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Kim Silverstein)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>On a recent \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/hikeandsew/\">hike and sew\u003c/a>, around 20 people climbed a steep trail in Kenneth Hahn State Recreation Area in Los Angeles County, past sagebrush and fields of yellow wildflowers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a small clearing next to a grove of eucalyptus trees, the hikers laid down tarps and blankets on the damp ground.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The group, which ranged in age from mid-20s to 60s, then got out their fabric, thread, needles and scissors, and began sewing — everything from mending jeans to crocheting and stitching quilts. Audra Roop upcycled a pair of old Ugg boots with tobacco packaging.[aside postID=news_12082396 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/040526CheapCamping_GH_017_qed.jpg']“I moved here four years ago, and it’s been really hard finding friends,” she said. “So this is really special to have a place where I can come, and it feels safe. You can express yourself —like I’m making something so weird, but nobody’s being judgmental about it. Everybody’s been really accepting and kind.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Meeting folks was part of the appeal for Rhonda Surles, too.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m glad I found this group, because last year I lost my dog and we used to hike all the time,” Surles said. “So now, I have my opportunity to hike again.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Surles was working on a little crochet turkey for her Thanksgiving centerpiece.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Everybody’s doing their own thing, while working and talking,” Surles said. “It’s like we’re already friends, but we didn’t know each other. It’s beautiful.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some folks were veteran sewers: Miho Hiramatsu was a seamstress for 10 years in Kyoto, Japan, before moving to Los Angeles to work as a body painter.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Because I used to do it professionally for a long time, it’s just in me,” she said. “Like the sewing machine is part of my body. Having this needle and thread is calming.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12080978\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12080978\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260422-HIKENSEW-11-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260422-HIKENSEW-11-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260422-HIKENSEW-11-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260422-HIKENSEW-11-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A community-driven, mobile crafting group combines hiking and outdoor sewing in Los Angeles. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Kim Silverstein)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Hiramatsu stitched a blue coaster in the shape of a cat with a lightning bolt on its face —an ode to her two loves, David Bowie and her cat Ziggy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kacie Hanke, meanwhile, was working on her first-ever sewing project: embroidering lion footprints to cover up some stains on a pair of jeans. Hanke is a biologist who studies deer and mountain lions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Being outdoors is really masculine, and the field of wildlife biology is a male-dominated field, while sewing and crafting is very much considered feminine,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“So the act of bringing them together really interested me —because I live in that dichotomy in my job a lot.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since launching the club in January, Gentle has hosted ‘hike and sews’ at Elysian Park, Griffith Park, Barnsdall Art Park, and elsewhere.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Something like this is beyond needed at a time when the county is divided,” he said. “We have all this chaos happening. People are stressed, people are struggling.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12080977\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12080977\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260422-HIKENSEW-10-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260422-HIKENSEW-10-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260422-HIKENSEW-10-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260422-HIKENSEW-10-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Quilting and embroidery crafted during a Hike and Sew event in Los Angeles. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Kim Silverstein)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“I realized this is healing for a lot of people.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For James Owens, the club was very literally part of his healing. This time last year, he didn’t know if he’d be able to walk again —let alone join a hiking group.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I had a motorcycle accident. It was fairly catastrophic,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After spending months inside recovering, Owens was “desperate to be outside and also desperate for community”.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s super cool to come out here and talk to people that I ordinarily would have never met,” said Owens, who comes from a family of quilters and is working on repairing a flannel quilt his mom made for him when he was 13.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There are a lot of things that you experience every day that you don’t realize how much gratitude you have.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12080968\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12080968\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260422-HIKENSEW-01-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260422-HIKENSEW-01-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260422-HIKENSEW-01-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260422-HIKENSEW-01-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Hike and Sew attendees carry sewing materials as part of an excursion in Los Angeles. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Kim Silverstein)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Julie Wong worked on a huge quilt, a beautiful patchwork of patterned fabric —each section depicting a woman from history who Wong thinks deserves more recognition.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The hike and sew club gives Wong a break from looking after her dad, who’s in his 90s.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Caregiving is hard, especially if it’s a family member, and you need to have a space where you’re not on call every moment,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is a good space for that. We’re out here in the middle of beautiful green space. We’re sharing stories with each other. When we’re done, we have something that we’ve created with our hands that we find meaningful. That’s what makes it amazing.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Clare Wiley is a reporter and producer based in Los Angeles.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>When Angel Gentle lived on the road in his van, he would often take a sewing machine and a small generator into \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/national-parks\">national parks\u003c/a> so he could work on a craft project under the open sky.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Sewing in nature reminds you that you’re human,” he said. “Because in everyday life, you’re constantly going, going, going. You don’t realize that you’re in a machine until you come into nature and [it’s] so peaceful.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After settling down in Los Angeles, Gentle still wanted to find a way to combine his two unlikely interests. He posted an invitation on his \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/angelgentle/\">Instagram\u003c/a>, asking folks to join him for a hike … and to sew.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“No one showed up,” said Gentle, who has a clothing brand designing jackets from repurposed quilts and fabrics. “And I was like, ‘You know what? Instead of turning around and going home, I’m just gonna do it.’”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So Gentle filmed his solo hike —and the video went viral. “People were like, ‘Hey, I want to come and be a part of this. I didn’t even know something like this existed.’”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The second event got a big turnout.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I realized very quickly: this is something people need and want.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12080973\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12080973\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260422-HIKENSEW-06-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260422-HIKENSEW-06-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260422-HIKENSEW-06-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260422-HIKENSEW-06-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Materials at a Hike and Sew event in Los Angeles. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Kim Silverstein)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>On a recent \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/hikeandsew/\">hike and sew\u003c/a>, around 20 people climbed a steep trail in Kenneth Hahn State Recreation Area in Los Angeles County, past sagebrush and fields of yellow wildflowers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a small clearing next to a grove of eucalyptus trees, the hikers laid down tarps and blankets on the damp ground.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The group, which ranged in age from mid-20s to 60s, then got out their fabric, thread, needles and scissors, and began sewing — everything from mending jeans to crocheting and stitching quilts. Audra Roop upcycled a pair of old Ugg boots with tobacco packaging.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“I moved here four years ago, and it’s been really hard finding friends,” she said. “So this is really special to have a place where I can come, and it feels safe. You can express yourself —like I’m making something so weird, but nobody’s being judgmental about it. Everybody’s been really accepting and kind.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Meeting folks was part of the appeal for Rhonda Surles, too.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m glad I found this group, because last year I lost my dog and we used to hike all the time,” Surles said. “So now, I have my opportunity to hike again.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Surles was working on a little crochet turkey for her Thanksgiving centerpiece.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Everybody’s doing their own thing, while working and talking,” Surles said. “It’s like we’re already friends, but we didn’t know each other. It’s beautiful.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some folks were veteran sewers: Miho Hiramatsu was a seamstress for 10 years in Kyoto, Japan, before moving to Los Angeles to work as a body painter.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Because I used to do it professionally for a long time, it’s just in me,” she said. “Like the sewing machine is part of my body. Having this needle and thread is calming.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12080978\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12080978\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260422-HIKENSEW-11-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260422-HIKENSEW-11-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260422-HIKENSEW-11-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260422-HIKENSEW-11-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A community-driven, mobile crafting group combines hiking and outdoor sewing in Los Angeles. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Kim Silverstein)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Hiramatsu stitched a blue coaster in the shape of a cat with a lightning bolt on its face —an ode to her two loves, David Bowie and her cat Ziggy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kacie Hanke, meanwhile, was working on her first-ever sewing project: embroidering lion footprints to cover up some stains on a pair of jeans. Hanke is a biologist who studies deer and mountain lions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Being outdoors is really masculine, and the field of wildlife biology is a male-dominated field, while sewing and crafting is very much considered feminine,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“So the act of bringing them together really interested me —because I live in that dichotomy in my job a lot.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since launching the club in January, Gentle has hosted ‘hike and sews’ at Elysian Park, Griffith Park, Barnsdall Art Park, and elsewhere.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Something like this is beyond needed at a time when the county is divided,” he said. “We have all this chaos happening. People are stressed, people are struggling.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12080977\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12080977\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260422-HIKENSEW-10-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260422-HIKENSEW-10-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260422-HIKENSEW-10-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260422-HIKENSEW-10-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Quilting and embroidery crafted during a Hike and Sew event in Los Angeles. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Kim Silverstein)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“I realized this is healing for a lot of people.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For James Owens, the club was very literally part of his healing. This time last year, he didn’t know if he’d be able to walk again —let alone join a hiking group.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I had a motorcycle accident. It was fairly catastrophic,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After spending months inside recovering, Owens was “desperate to be outside and also desperate for community”.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s super cool to come out here and talk to people that I ordinarily would have never met,” said Owens, who comes from a family of quilters and is working on repairing a flannel quilt his mom made for him when he was 13.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There are a lot of things that you experience every day that you don’t realize how much gratitude you have.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12080968\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12080968\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260422-HIKENSEW-01-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260422-HIKENSEW-01-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260422-HIKENSEW-01-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260422-HIKENSEW-01-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Hike and Sew attendees carry sewing materials as part of an excursion in Los Angeles. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Kim Silverstein)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Julie Wong worked on a huge quilt, a beautiful patchwork of patterned fabric —each section depicting a woman from history who Wong thinks deserves more recognition.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The hike and sew club gives Wong a break from looking after her dad, who’s in his 90s.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Caregiving is hard, especially if it’s a family member, and you need to have a space where you’re not on call every moment,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is a good space for that. We’re out here in the middle of beautiful green space. We’re sharing stories with each other. When we’re done, we have something that we’ve created with our hands that we find meaningful. That’s what makes it amazing.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Clare Wiley is a reporter and producer based in Los Angeles.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"slug": "an-american-werewolf-in-altadena-how-a-local-monster-sparked-community-tensions",
"title": "An American Werewolf in Altadena? How a Local Monster Sparked Community Tensions",
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"headTitle": "An American Werewolf in Altadena? How a Local Monster Sparked Community Tensions | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>After the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/eaton-fire\">Eaton Fire\u003c/a> burned across Altadena a year and half ago, an unusual sight reappeared up amid the ashes and debris: a giant werewolf wearing a large T-shirt, with a big rainbow-colored heart that said, “I love Altadena.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Where he sits on that hill, the sun behind him when we were there in the evening, the sun was setting and the clouds were perfect. It was just such a weirdly hopeful thing,” said Taylor Jennings, who was visiting from Fresno last summer when he saw Norman standing over the fire-torn intersection of Lincoln Avenue and Mariposa Street.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“All around there’s devastation, and there’s an 8-foot [tall] werewolf. At that point, I realized how Altadena is feral, and he just seemed like the perfect mascot,” Jennings said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Norman Jr., as the werewolf is affectionately known, appeared on this burned-out corner lot in West Altadena just days after the fire, replacing a previous werewolf that popped up on the property a few years earlier.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Both belong to Jubilee House, a large sober living home for men operated by the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles. One of the residents bought the original werewolf just in time for Halloween a few years ago and named him Norman — a nod to the home’s eerie resemblance to Norman Bates’ house in the 1960 classic slasher film \u003cem>Psycho\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12082021\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12082021\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260430-WEREWOLF-OF-ALTADENA-SC-04-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1500\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260430-WEREWOLF-OF-ALTADENA-SC-04-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260430-WEREWOLF-OF-ALTADENA-SC-04-KQED-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260430-WEREWOLF-OF-ALTADENA-SC-04-KQED-1536x1152.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Courage Escamilla hams it up with Norman Jr. on a recent weekday afternoon. \u003ccite>(Steven Cuevas for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>House manager Brian Woodruff said trick-or-treaters would never stop by the house.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Every year I bought candy, every year,” Woodruff said, laughing, as he stood on the cleared lot near Norman Jr. “And I always ended up being the one eating all the candy!”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That changed after Norman appeared on the front lawn. The trick-or-treaters came in droves, lured by the werewolf’s grinning fangs and gnarled outstretched arms. They’d stop and take pictures with Norman and leave gifts and thank you notes. So, the guys at the house decided to keep him up year-round and started creating new outfits for Norman to mark the changing of the seasons.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Summer was coming up, we can get the Big-and-Tall catalog, we can order him a tank top,” Woodruff recalled. “And then I went online, and I found some oversized sunglasses,” he said, chuckling at the memory.[aside postID=news_12071233 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/260107-Altadena-Anniversary-003-JB.jpg']Then came the fire. All ten residents of Jubilee House got out safely, but the place burned to the ground. Among the debris lay the mangled pieces of Norman’s metal limbs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The first time I came up, I didn’t expect to be so disoriented, you probably experienced this, too,” said Pastor Tim Hartley, the director of the Jubilee House program. “I didn’t know where I was.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A few weeks later, hoping to boost morale, Hartley started shopping for and found a replacement: Norman Jr.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Once we put up that werewolf, it became this landmark [after the fire] that people could use for where they were in Altadena, as well as this source of hope for people,” Hartley said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s what Norman Jr. came to symbolize for longtime Altadena resident Courage Escamilla.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“He’s kind of a symbol for people in town who for their whole life have struggled to ever feel like they fit in because they’re eccentric or different or stand out,” Escamilla said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12082025\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12082025\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260430-WEREWOLF-OF-ALTADENA-SC-07-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1500\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260430-WEREWOLF-OF-ALTADENA-SC-07-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260430-WEREWOLF-OF-ALTADENA-SC-07-KQED-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260430-WEREWOLF-OF-ALTADENA-SC-07-KQED-1536x1152.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Rigoberto Gonzales runs through the extensive menu of his Mexican food truck. \u003ccite>(Steven Cuevas for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>After the fire, he became an advocate and community booster, helping to organize rallies and fundraisers. Escamilla’s hard to miss, usually pulling up to community events on his motorcycle, sporting a red durag, with a raccoon tail dangling from the back of his waistband.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You feel like you’re now in a community that embraces the weird, the unusual, and so for me, Norman represents the message that we embrace and appreciate the strange and unusual in this town,” Escamilla said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After all, he said, fictional “monsters” are often just misunderstood.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They’re often unfairly targeted, and I always felt like I related to that on some subconscious level and have always loved monsters for the fact that they can be loved,” Escamilla said.[aside postID=news_12038756 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/METTE.LAMPCOV.CHURCH.BELL-22-KQED-1020x680.jpg']“Symbols of things that were previously seen as repugnant are now seen as something that represents love and acceptance, and I find that rather special.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Norman Jr.’s main character was another Altadena resident who lost her home. She stepped up to the task, creating new seasonal outfits and making sure he stayed upright when it was stormy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On a spring day, she draped the werewolf’s plastic and metal body and articulated limbs in a form-fitting fake fur suit with a big red heart on its chest, hand-stitched for his frame.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With everyone from the sober living home scattered to new locations, Hartley welcomed her help.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“She honored this space in a way that I just appreciated,” Hartley said. “And then she’d say, he’s a little rickety, so I’m going to put out the word to have people come help me secure him, and these strangers would all gather to help, which I just loved.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Norman Jr.’s caretaker declined to be interviewed and asked that we not use her name. But she did explain how Norman’s corner became a refuge for her after losing her home in the fire.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12082022\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12082022\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260430-WEREWOLF-OF-ALTADENA-SC-05-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1500\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260430-WEREWOLF-OF-ALTADENA-SC-05-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260430-WEREWOLF-OF-ALTADENA-SC-05-KQED-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260430-WEREWOLF-OF-ALTADENA-SC-05-KQED-1536x1152.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Pastor Tim Hartley shows off a Norman Jr. T-shirt, hand-screened by a local artist, to commemorate the Eaton Fire. \u003ccite>(Steven Cuevas for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Photos of the wolfman wearing the outfits she created started blowing up on social media, and life started returning to the neighborhood, with the pace of rebuilding picking up speed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s when the little green taco truck from the San Fernando Valley appeared.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Behind the wheel was Rigoberto Gonzales. Also, a plumber who moonlights doing work on home rebuilds around town, Gonzales saw a need for food options that could appeal to the growing army of construction workers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Knowing nothing about Norman’s story, he parked his lime green truck beneath the giant oak tree that shares the same corner. Norman’s caretaker was not happy. She asked Gonzales to move, even though his vehicle didn’t disturb or block access to the werewolf.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Every time I see her, she was so mad, for no reason,” Gonzales said, as he took a break from the truck on a recent afternoon.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Then she later tells me what’s the reason. She just doesn’t want me to be here.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The conflict simmered for weeks. Gonzales said he felt unfairly targeted. He said he asked her why he needed to move.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I mean, give me the reason [why] I have to move? And she only walked away,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12082027\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 1500px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12082027\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260430-WEREWOLF-OF-ALTADENA-SC-09-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1500\" height=\"2000\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260430-WEREWOLF-OF-ALTADENA-SC-09-KQED.jpg 1500w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260430-WEREWOLF-OF-ALTADENA-SC-09-KQED-160x213.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260430-WEREWOLF-OF-ALTADENA-SC-09-KQED-1152x1536.jpg 1152w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Melissa Lopez found so much comfort and inspiration in Norman Jr. after the fire that she decided to have him tattooed on her leg. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Melissa Lopez)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The caretaker quit caring for Norman, claiming she felt unsafe. Gonzales insisted that not he, nor any of his staff or customers, ever harassed the caretaker in any way.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Then, a group of fire survivors, who never bothered talking to Gonzales or the property managers, rallied behind the caretaker. They accused Gonzales of exploiting a vulnerable, traumatized community and ruining the sacredness of Norman Jr.’s corner.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Then, it escalated. A disgruntled resident posted Gonzales’ license plate on social media.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Others threatened to call the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department or LA County Public Health. In a community forum on Facebook, one person “joked” about putting nails under his tires. Another person suggested setting off “stink bombs.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Local therapist and activist Melissa Lopez said a few people tied to that same Facebook group later showed up to hassle Gonzales in person. After that confrontation, they appeared to have backed off.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That hurts, to see some of these violent reactions, to say they were going to bring a truck and wall off the area to him,” Lopez said. “People are gathering up pitchforks, and [it’s] scary.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Things eventually cooled down, but not without some sore feelings. Norman’s caretaker still hasn’t returned.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Norman Jr. continues to be looked after by his community of admirers — including Lopez, who just got a colorful Norman Jr. tattoo on her calf.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lopez said she found some similarity between the friction over Norman Jr. and a recent monster movie, director Guillermo del Toro’s 2025 \u003cem>Frankenstein\u003c/em> film. In the adaptation, she said, the scientist gives Frankenstein’s creature a voice, and the creature tells his story.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s so beautiful because of that, because you get to see that he’s been dehumanized, that we created a monster,” Lopez said.” And I think that’s so true of society. We create the monsters, and how quickly we go to ostracize, to condemn people.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>After the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/eaton-fire\">Eaton Fire\u003c/a> burned across Altadena a year and half ago, an unusual sight reappeared up amid the ashes and debris: a giant werewolf wearing a large T-shirt, with a big rainbow-colored heart that said, “I love Altadena.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Where he sits on that hill, the sun behind him when we were there in the evening, the sun was setting and the clouds were perfect. It was just such a weirdly hopeful thing,” said Taylor Jennings, who was visiting from Fresno last summer when he saw Norman standing over the fire-torn intersection of Lincoln Avenue and Mariposa Street.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“All around there’s devastation, and there’s an 8-foot [tall] werewolf. At that point, I realized how Altadena is feral, and he just seemed like the perfect mascot,” Jennings said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Norman Jr., as the werewolf is affectionately known, appeared on this burned-out corner lot in West Altadena just days after the fire, replacing a previous werewolf that popped up on the property a few years earlier.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Both belong to Jubilee House, a large sober living home for men operated by the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles. One of the residents bought the original werewolf just in time for Halloween a few years ago and named him Norman — a nod to the home’s eerie resemblance to Norman Bates’ house in the 1960 classic slasher film \u003cem>Psycho\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12082021\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12082021\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260430-WEREWOLF-OF-ALTADENA-SC-04-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1500\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260430-WEREWOLF-OF-ALTADENA-SC-04-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260430-WEREWOLF-OF-ALTADENA-SC-04-KQED-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260430-WEREWOLF-OF-ALTADENA-SC-04-KQED-1536x1152.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Courage Escamilla hams it up with Norman Jr. on a recent weekday afternoon. \u003ccite>(Steven Cuevas for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>House manager Brian Woodruff said trick-or-treaters would never stop by the house.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Every year I bought candy, every year,” Woodruff said, laughing, as he stood on the cleared lot near Norman Jr. “And I always ended up being the one eating all the candy!”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That changed after Norman appeared on the front lawn. The trick-or-treaters came in droves, lured by the werewolf’s grinning fangs and gnarled outstretched arms. They’d stop and take pictures with Norman and leave gifts and thank you notes. So, the guys at the house decided to keep him up year-round and started creating new outfits for Norman to mark the changing of the seasons.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Summer was coming up, we can get the Big-and-Tall catalog, we can order him a tank top,” Woodruff recalled. “And then I went online, and I found some oversized sunglasses,” he said, chuckling at the memory.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Then came the fire. All ten residents of Jubilee House got out safely, but the place burned to the ground. Among the debris lay the mangled pieces of Norman’s metal limbs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The first time I came up, I didn’t expect to be so disoriented, you probably experienced this, too,” said Pastor Tim Hartley, the director of the Jubilee House program. “I didn’t know where I was.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A few weeks later, hoping to boost morale, Hartley started shopping for and found a replacement: Norman Jr.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Once we put up that werewolf, it became this landmark [after the fire] that people could use for where they were in Altadena, as well as this source of hope for people,” Hartley said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s what Norman Jr. came to symbolize for longtime Altadena resident Courage Escamilla.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“He’s kind of a symbol for people in town who for their whole life have struggled to ever feel like they fit in because they’re eccentric or different or stand out,” Escamilla said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12082025\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12082025\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260430-WEREWOLF-OF-ALTADENA-SC-07-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1500\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260430-WEREWOLF-OF-ALTADENA-SC-07-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260430-WEREWOLF-OF-ALTADENA-SC-07-KQED-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260430-WEREWOLF-OF-ALTADENA-SC-07-KQED-1536x1152.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Rigoberto Gonzales runs through the extensive menu of his Mexican food truck. \u003ccite>(Steven Cuevas for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>After the fire, he became an advocate and community booster, helping to organize rallies and fundraisers. Escamilla’s hard to miss, usually pulling up to community events on his motorcycle, sporting a red durag, with a raccoon tail dangling from the back of his waistband.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You feel like you’re now in a community that embraces the weird, the unusual, and so for me, Norman represents the message that we embrace and appreciate the strange and unusual in this town,” Escamilla said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After all, he said, fictional “monsters” are often just misunderstood.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They’re often unfairly targeted, and I always felt like I related to that on some subconscious level and have always loved monsters for the fact that they can be loved,” Escamilla said.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“Symbols of things that were previously seen as repugnant are now seen as something that represents love and acceptance, and I find that rather special.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Norman Jr.’s main character was another Altadena resident who lost her home. She stepped up to the task, creating new seasonal outfits and making sure he stayed upright when it was stormy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On a spring day, she draped the werewolf’s plastic and metal body and articulated limbs in a form-fitting fake fur suit with a big red heart on its chest, hand-stitched for his frame.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With everyone from the sober living home scattered to new locations, Hartley welcomed her help.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“She honored this space in a way that I just appreciated,” Hartley said. “And then she’d say, he’s a little rickety, so I’m going to put out the word to have people come help me secure him, and these strangers would all gather to help, which I just loved.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Norman Jr.’s caretaker declined to be interviewed and asked that we not use her name. But she did explain how Norman’s corner became a refuge for her after losing her home in the fire.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12082022\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12082022\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260430-WEREWOLF-OF-ALTADENA-SC-05-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1500\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260430-WEREWOLF-OF-ALTADENA-SC-05-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260430-WEREWOLF-OF-ALTADENA-SC-05-KQED-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260430-WEREWOLF-OF-ALTADENA-SC-05-KQED-1536x1152.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Pastor Tim Hartley shows off a Norman Jr. T-shirt, hand-screened by a local artist, to commemorate the Eaton Fire. \u003ccite>(Steven Cuevas for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Photos of the wolfman wearing the outfits she created started blowing up on social media, and life started returning to the neighborhood, with the pace of rebuilding picking up speed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s when the little green taco truck from the San Fernando Valley appeared.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Behind the wheel was Rigoberto Gonzales. Also, a plumber who moonlights doing work on home rebuilds around town, Gonzales saw a need for food options that could appeal to the growing army of construction workers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Knowing nothing about Norman’s story, he parked his lime green truck beneath the giant oak tree that shares the same corner. Norman’s caretaker was not happy. She asked Gonzales to move, even though his vehicle didn’t disturb or block access to the werewolf.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Every time I see her, she was so mad, for no reason,” Gonzales said, as he took a break from the truck on a recent afternoon.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Then she later tells me what’s the reason. She just doesn’t want me to be here.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The conflict simmered for weeks. Gonzales said he felt unfairly targeted. He said he asked her why he needed to move.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I mean, give me the reason [why] I have to move? And she only walked away,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12082027\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 1500px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12082027\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260430-WEREWOLF-OF-ALTADENA-SC-09-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1500\" height=\"2000\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260430-WEREWOLF-OF-ALTADENA-SC-09-KQED.jpg 1500w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260430-WEREWOLF-OF-ALTADENA-SC-09-KQED-160x213.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/260430-WEREWOLF-OF-ALTADENA-SC-09-KQED-1152x1536.jpg 1152w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Melissa Lopez found so much comfort and inspiration in Norman Jr. after the fire that she decided to have him tattooed on her leg. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Melissa Lopez)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The caretaker quit caring for Norman, claiming she felt unsafe. Gonzales insisted that not he, nor any of his staff or customers, ever harassed the caretaker in any way.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Then, a group of fire survivors, who never bothered talking to Gonzales or the property managers, rallied behind the caretaker. They accused Gonzales of exploiting a vulnerable, traumatized community and ruining the sacredness of Norman Jr.’s corner.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Then, it escalated. A disgruntled resident posted Gonzales’ license plate on social media.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Others threatened to call the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department or LA County Public Health. In a community forum on Facebook, one person “joked” about putting nails under his tires. Another person suggested setting off “stink bombs.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Local therapist and activist Melissa Lopez said a few people tied to that same Facebook group later showed up to hassle Gonzales in person. After that confrontation, they appeared to have backed off.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That hurts, to see some of these violent reactions, to say they were going to bring a truck and wall off the area to him,” Lopez said. “People are gathering up pitchforks, and [it’s] scary.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Things eventually cooled down, but not without some sore feelings. Norman’s caretaker still hasn’t returned.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Norman Jr. continues to be looked after by his community of admirers — including Lopez, who just got a colorful Norman Jr. tattoo on her calf.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lopez said she found some similarity between the friction over Norman Jr. and a recent monster movie, director Guillermo del Toro’s 2025 \u003cem>Frankenstein\u003c/em> film. In the adaptation, she said, the scientist gives Frankenstein’s creature a voice, and the creature tells his story.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s so beautiful because of that, because you get to see that he’s been dehumanized, that we created a monster,” Lopez said.” And I think that’s so true of society. We create the monsters, and how quickly we go to ostracize, to condemn people.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">This story is part of \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/affordability\">\u003cb>\u003ci>How We Get By\u003c/i>\u003c/b>\u003c/a>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, a KQED series exploring how people are coping with rising costs in the Bay Area and California. Find the \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/affordability\">\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">full series here\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">.\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cb> \u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Just across the river from California’s state Capitol, a vacant corner lot in \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/yolo-county\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">West Sacramento\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> has been turned into something else.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Cars pass by rows of lettuce, chard and broccoli and nearby, a group of young people moves between beds of soil, snipping stems, stacking crates and checking the day’s harvest. By the end of the day, all of it will be packed into bags and given away for free.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The space is part of \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.3sistersgardens.com/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Three Sisters Gardens\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, a network of urban farms started by Alfred Melbourne. What began as guerrilla gardening — planting flowers and vegetables in neglected lots — has grown into a nonprofit with four sites across West Sacramento. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">At its core, the work is about turning unused land into something productive: teaching young people to grow food and getting it into the hands of people who need it.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And in this part of Yolo County, that need is significant — nearly \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.sacregcf.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Yolo-Food-Access-Survey-Report.pdf\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">one in three households \u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">experiences food insecurity.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12073468\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12073468\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/02122026_LBR3_3SISGDN-192-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/02122026_LBR3_3SISGDN-192-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/02122026_LBR3_3SISGDN-192-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/02122026_LBR3_3SISGDN-192-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Alfred Melbourne, founder and director of Three Sisters Garden, at the garden in West Sacramento on Sept. 12, 2026. \u003ccite>(Louis Bryant III for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“How do we still live in a food desert?” Melbourne said. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">A West Sacramento native, this is a question Melbourne has grappled with his entire life. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">In an attempt to mitigate this, he gives away most of the produce grown on the land, with a goal to distribute 50, 000 pounds of free food this year, and having distributed 42,000 pounds of free food the year before. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">He draws on his Indigenous roots to shape the gardens. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“The hawk, they always seem to fly right above us,” Melbourne said, gesturing toward the sky. He takes it as a good sign.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">He is a member of the Fort Peck Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes and named the farms after the native “Three Sisters” method of planting corn, beans and squash together — each crop supporting the others.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">That approach, he said, reflects a broader way of thinking about community — the heart of the farms he runs.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>From incarceration to intervention\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Melbourne grew up one street away from the 5th and C Street garden where he stood.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“For the youth growing up here, there wasn’t a lot of opportunity,” he said. “There was a gang \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://yoloda.org/appellate-court-upholds-gang-injunction/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">injunction \u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">in place for almost 10 years, over-criminalizing our youth.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12073467\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12073467\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/02122026_LBR3_3SISGDN-150-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/02122026_LBR3_3SISGDN-150-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/02122026_LBR3_3SISGDN-150-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/02122026_LBR3_3SISGDN-150-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Dominitt Henderson waters newly planted lettuce at Three Sisters Garden in West Sacramento on Sept. 12, 2026. \u003ccite>(Louis Bryant III for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">At 19, he was arrested for the first time and eventually spent 18 years in prison for assault with a firearm and assault with a deadly weapon.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“As a youngster, I kind of just fell in with the bad crowd and made some poor choices, and I ended up incarcerated,” said Melbourne. “Incarceration is not something that I would wish upon my worst enemy.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">For much of that time, he said, he resisted the system and his circumstances. But eventually, something shifted.[aside postID=news_12082596 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/KQED_RURALMATERNALHEALTH_HIRES_02-KQED.jpg']\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“I just sat there, and I closed my eyes, and I listened,” he said. “I saw what it was they were doing as a system to try to break us down, to kidnap us off the streets and profit off of us.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Melbourne spent time getting educated in prison and learned that it costs California nearly \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.lao.ca.gov/policyareas/cj/6_cj_inmatecost\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">$128,000 annually\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> to incarcerate a person. That realization stayed with him. \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“I couldn’t allow that to happen,” he said. “Not to me any longer, or to anybody I knew or anybody in my community.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">When Melbourne was released, he returned to West Sacramento with a different sense of purpose — thinking about how to intervene with young people, before they ended up where he had.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“We know that if you feed a kid better, they’ll perform better,” he said. “Test scores go up, behavior problems go down.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Since 2018, he has built the nonprofit Three Sisters Gardens, spanning four farms across West Sacramento. But, not without some challenges.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The model remains susceptible to fluctuations in federal funding priorities.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12073463\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12073463\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/02122026_LBR3_3SISGDN-74-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/02122026_LBR3_3SISGDN-74-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/02122026_LBR3_3SISGDN-74-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/02122026_LBR3_3SISGDN-74-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Kenny McDowell plants microgreen onions at Three Sisters Garden in West Sacramento on Feb. 12, 2026. \u003ccite>(Louis Bryant III for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Melbourne had set his sights on a \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://iratracker.org/actions/epa-pushes-climate-groups-to-close-community-change-grant-program-grants/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">$21 million grant\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> from the US Environmental Protection Agency, a program that was discontinued by the Trump administration. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Currently, the organization depends on a mix of local and state funding, with land leased from the city at a subsidized rate of $1 per month.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“It took a lot of learning to know that I can transform what used to be an illegal business into a legal business,” said Melbourne. “And use our hustle mentality to support our youth and ourselves into a future that’s brighter for everyone.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Melbourne sees access to food as one entry point. But the work extends beyond nutrition — into job training, workforce development and life skills.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“I want to use the lived experience that I have for all the pain and suffering that I went through to be able to change these youngsters, to divert them,” he said about being a mentor, educator and a resource for the young people in West Sacramento.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Cultivating community\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Nancy Long, 18, found the Three Sisters Gardens nearly two years ago, at a time when she felt unmoored. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Now, between packing produce for distribution and tending the soil, she said she has found a sense of purpose — in both the work itself and in giving food away.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12073461\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12073461\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/02122026_LBR3_3SISGDN-36-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/02122026_LBR3_3SISGDN-36-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/02122026_LBR3_3SISGDN-36-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/02122026_LBR3_3SISGDN-36-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Three Sisters Garden in West Sacramento on Feb. 12, 2026. \u003ccite>(Louis Bryant III for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“I grew up very poor, and I feel like this is actually helping a lot of people because not a lot of people get food,” she said.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Long, who is Cambodian American, now brings produce home for her family, who use it in soups. Before joining the garden, she said she struggled in school and often kept to herself.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“I was really in a bad place in my life,” she said. “When I got this job, I changed a lot, and it also helped me with my mental health issues.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Working at the garden, she said, has changed how she sees herself and how she interacts with others.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“I feel like this garden has made me a better person,” she said. “I really am glad, and I appreciate that I have Alfred in this.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Many of the young people who come through the gardens are looking for stability — a steady job, guidance, a place where they feel seen.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Melbourne’s role often extends beyond supervision. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">He checks in on the young people working with him and, at times, helps them navigate challenges outside of work.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12073465\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12073465\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/02122026_LBR3_3SISGDN-113-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/02122026_LBR3_3SISGDN-113-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/02122026_LBR3_3SISGDN-113-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/02122026_LBR3_3SISGDN-113-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Kenny McDowell plants onion microgreens at Three Sisters Garden in West Sacramento on Feb. 12, 2026. \u003ccite>(Louis Bryant III for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">For 21-year-old Dominitt Henderson, that meant straightforward advice.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“He will tell you the truth straight up to your face,” Henderson said. “He won’t hide nothing from you — that’s what I like.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Other youth described more tangible forms of support.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“He helps me a lot,” Amari Sullivan said. “He gives me jackets — whatever I need.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Kenny McDowell said that support has made a difference during difficult moments.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“There’ll be times where I miss a couple of car payments,” McDowell said. “He’ll help me out. Little things like that, it counts.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Over time, the work begins to take root in other ways. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">McDowell said being part of the garden gave him a sense of direction and something to build toward.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12073462\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12073462\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/02122026_LBR3_3SISGDN-57-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/02122026_LBR3_3SISGDN-57-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/02122026_LBR3_3SISGDN-57-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/02122026_LBR3_3SISGDN-57-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Interns Damia Zhang and Leilania Tian inspect seed containers at Three Sisters Garden in West Sacramento on Feb. 12, 2026. \u003ccite>(Louis Bryant III for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“This was a purpose,” he said. “I want to see a brighter future.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Melbourne described the work as reciprocal — something built alongside the young people, not just for them.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“It’s them coming to me and us just feeding off of each other,” he said. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“What I really, truthfully, in the end want to build is community.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">This story is part of \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/affordability\">\u003cb>\u003ci>How We Get By\u003c/i>\u003c/b>\u003c/a>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, a KQED series exploring how people are coping with rising costs in the Bay Area and California. Find the \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/affordability\">\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">full series here\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">.\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cb> \u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Just across the river from California’s state Capitol, a vacant corner lot in \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/yolo-county\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">West Sacramento\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> has been turned into something else.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Cars pass by rows of lettuce, chard and broccoli and nearby, a group of young people moves between beds of soil, snipping stems, stacking crates and checking the day’s harvest. By the end of the day, all of it will be packed into bags and given away for free.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The space is part of \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.3sistersgardens.com/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Three Sisters Gardens\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, a network of urban farms started by Alfred Melbourne. What began as guerrilla gardening — planting flowers and vegetables in neglected lots — has grown into a nonprofit with four sites across West Sacramento. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">At its core, the work is about turning unused land into something productive: teaching young people to grow food and getting it into the hands of people who need it.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And in this part of Yolo County, that need is significant — nearly \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.sacregcf.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Yolo-Food-Access-Survey-Report.pdf\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">one in three households \u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">experiences food insecurity.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12073468\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12073468\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/02122026_LBR3_3SISGDN-192-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/02122026_LBR3_3SISGDN-192-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/02122026_LBR3_3SISGDN-192-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/02122026_LBR3_3SISGDN-192-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Alfred Melbourne, founder and director of Three Sisters Garden, at the garden in West Sacramento on Sept. 12, 2026. \u003ccite>(Louis Bryant III for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“How do we still live in a food desert?” Melbourne said. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">A West Sacramento native, this is a question Melbourne has grappled with his entire life. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">In an attempt to mitigate this, he gives away most of the produce grown on the land, with a goal to distribute 50, 000 pounds of free food this year, and having distributed 42,000 pounds of free food the year before. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">He draws on his Indigenous roots to shape the gardens. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“The hawk, they always seem to fly right above us,” Melbourne said, gesturing toward the sky. He takes it as a good sign.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">He is a member of the Fort Peck Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes and named the farms after the native “Three Sisters” method of planting corn, beans and squash together — each crop supporting the others.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">That approach, he said, reflects a broader way of thinking about community — the heart of the farms he runs.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>From incarceration to intervention\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Melbourne grew up one street away from the 5th and C Street garden where he stood.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“For the youth growing up here, there wasn’t a lot of opportunity,” he said. “There was a gang \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://yoloda.org/appellate-court-upholds-gang-injunction/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">injunction \u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">in place for almost 10 years, over-criminalizing our youth.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12073467\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12073467\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/02122026_LBR3_3SISGDN-150-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/02122026_LBR3_3SISGDN-150-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/02122026_LBR3_3SISGDN-150-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/02122026_LBR3_3SISGDN-150-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Dominitt Henderson waters newly planted lettuce at Three Sisters Garden in West Sacramento on Sept. 12, 2026. \u003ccite>(Louis Bryant III for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">At 19, he was arrested for the first time and eventually spent 18 years in prison for assault with a firearm and assault with a deadly weapon.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“As a youngster, I kind of just fell in with the bad crowd and made some poor choices, and I ended up incarcerated,” said Melbourne. “Incarceration is not something that I would wish upon my worst enemy.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">For much of that time, he said, he resisted the system and his circumstances. But eventually, something shifted.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“I just sat there, and I closed my eyes, and I listened,” he said. “I saw what it was they were doing as a system to try to break us down, to kidnap us off the streets and profit off of us.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Melbourne spent time getting educated in prison and learned that it costs California nearly \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.lao.ca.gov/policyareas/cj/6_cj_inmatecost\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">$128,000 annually\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> to incarcerate a person. That realization stayed with him. \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“I couldn’t allow that to happen,” he said. “Not to me any longer, or to anybody I knew or anybody in my community.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">When Melbourne was released, he returned to West Sacramento with a different sense of purpose — thinking about how to intervene with young people, before they ended up where he had.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“We know that if you feed a kid better, they’ll perform better,” he said. “Test scores go up, behavior problems go down.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Since 2018, he has built the nonprofit Three Sisters Gardens, spanning four farms across West Sacramento. But, not without some challenges.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The model remains susceptible to fluctuations in federal funding priorities.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12073463\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12073463\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/02122026_LBR3_3SISGDN-74-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/02122026_LBR3_3SISGDN-74-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/02122026_LBR3_3SISGDN-74-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/02122026_LBR3_3SISGDN-74-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Kenny McDowell plants microgreen onions at Three Sisters Garden in West Sacramento on Feb. 12, 2026. \u003ccite>(Louis Bryant III for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Melbourne had set his sights on a \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://iratracker.org/actions/epa-pushes-climate-groups-to-close-community-change-grant-program-grants/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">$21 million grant\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> from the US Environmental Protection Agency, a program that was discontinued by the Trump administration. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Currently, the organization depends on a mix of local and state funding, with land leased from the city at a subsidized rate of $1 per month.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“It took a lot of learning to know that I can transform what used to be an illegal business into a legal business,” said Melbourne. “And use our hustle mentality to support our youth and ourselves into a future that’s brighter for everyone.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Melbourne sees access to food as one entry point. But the work extends beyond nutrition — into job training, workforce development and life skills.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“I want to use the lived experience that I have for all the pain and suffering that I went through to be able to change these youngsters, to divert them,” he said about being a mentor, educator and a resource for the young people in West Sacramento.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Cultivating community\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Nancy Long, 18, found the Three Sisters Gardens nearly two years ago, at a time when she felt unmoored. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Now, between packing produce for distribution and tending the soil, she said she has found a sense of purpose — in both the work itself and in giving food away.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12073461\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12073461\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/02122026_LBR3_3SISGDN-36-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/02122026_LBR3_3SISGDN-36-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/02122026_LBR3_3SISGDN-36-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/02122026_LBR3_3SISGDN-36-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Three Sisters Garden in West Sacramento on Feb. 12, 2026. \u003ccite>(Louis Bryant III for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“I grew up very poor, and I feel like this is actually helping a lot of people because not a lot of people get food,” she said.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Long, who is Cambodian American, now brings produce home for her family, who use it in soups. Before joining the garden, she said she struggled in school and often kept to herself.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“I was really in a bad place in my life,” she said. “When I got this job, I changed a lot, and it also helped me with my mental health issues.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Working at the garden, she said, has changed how she sees herself and how she interacts with others.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“I feel like this garden has made me a better person,” she said. “I really am glad, and I appreciate that I have Alfred in this.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Many of the young people who come through the gardens are looking for stability — a steady job, guidance, a place where they feel seen.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Melbourne’s role often extends beyond supervision. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">He checks in on the young people working with him and, at times, helps them navigate challenges outside of work.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12073465\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12073465\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/02122026_LBR3_3SISGDN-113-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/02122026_LBR3_3SISGDN-113-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/02122026_LBR3_3SISGDN-113-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/02122026_LBR3_3SISGDN-113-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Kenny McDowell plants onion microgreens at Three Sisters Garden in West Sacramento on Feb. 12, 2026. \u003ccite>(Louis Bryant III for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">For 21-year-old Dominitt Henderson, that meant straightforward advice.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“He will tell you the truth straight up to your face,” Henderson said. “He won’t hide nothing from you — that’s what I like.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Other youth described more tangible forms of support.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“He helps me a lot,” Amari Sullivan said. “He gives me jackets — whatever I need.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Kenny McDowell said that support has made a difference during difficult moments.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“There’ll be times where I miss a couple of car payments,” McDowell said. “He’ll help me out. Little things like that, it counts.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Over time, the work begins to take root in other ways. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">McDowell said being part of the garden gave him a sense of direction and something to build toward.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12073462\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12073462\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/02122026_LBR3_3SISGDN-57-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/02122026_LBR3_3SISGDN-57-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/02122026_LBR3_3SISGDN-57-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/02122026_LBR3_3SISGDN-57-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Interns Damia Zhang and Leilania Tian inspect seed containers at Three Sisters Garden in West Sacramento on Feb. 12, 2026. \u003ccite>(Louis Bryant III for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“This was a purpose,” he said. “I want to see a brighter future.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Melbourne described the work as reciprocal — something built alongside the young people, not just for them.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“It’s them coming to me and us just feeding off of each other,” he said. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“What I really, truthfully, in the end want to build is community.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"title": "More Than 17,000 Under Evacuation Orders as Southern California Wildfire Threatens Homes",
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"content": "\u003cp>More than 17,000 people were under evacuation orders in Southern California on Tuesday as a wildfire threatened suburban homes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/los-angeles-brush-sandy-fire-simi-valley-d1d27c590b9026194f6e487d89883884\">wind-driven Sandy Fire\u003c/a> was reported Monday in the hills above Simi Valley, about 30 miles (48 kilometers) northwest of Los Angeles.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>By Tuesday morning, it had consumed more than two square miles (five square kilometers) of dry brush and \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/photo-gallery/photos-show-firefighters-battling-southern-california-blaze-27bf8cf601514f069c645b0d7cf2558f\">destroyed at least one home\u003c/a>, according to the Ventura County Fire Department.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The flames were initially pushed by gusts that topped 30 mph (48 kph), but firefighters were aided by calmer winds overnight, said department spokesperson Andrew Dowd.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’ve made a lot of progress against this fire with those improved weather conditions,” Dowd said. Crews hoped to make further progress before winds increased again, he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There was zero containment. The cause is under investigation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Evacuation orders and warnings were still in place for several neighborhoods in Simi Valley, a city of more than 125,000 people.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, firefighters were battling a 23-square-mile (59-square-kilometer) blaze on Santa Rosa Island, off the Southern California coast. The fire destroyed a cabin and an equipment shed and forced the evacuation of 11 National Park Service employees.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Santa Rosa, a popular destination for camping and hiking, is home to island foxes, spotted skunks and elephant seals.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "Evacuation orders and warnings are still in place for several neighborhoods in Simi Valley, a city of more than 125,000 people. Meanwhile, firefighters are battling a 23-square-mile blaze on Santa Rosa Island, off the Southern California coast.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>More than 17,000 people were under evacuation orders in Southern California on Tuesday as a wildfire threatened suburban homes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/los-angeles-brush-sandy-fire-simi-valley-d1d27c590b9026194f6e487d89883884\">wind-driven Sandy Fire\u003c/a> was reported Monday in the hills above Simi Valley, about 30 miles (48 kilometers) northwest of Los Angeles.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>By Tuesday morning, it had consumed more than two square miles (five square kilometers) of dry brush and \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/photo-gallery/photos-show-firefighters-battling-southern-california-blaze-27bf8cf601514f069c645b0d7cf2558f\">destroyed at least one home\u003c/a>, according to the Ventura County Fire Department.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The flames were initially pushed by gusts that topped 30 mph (48 kph), but firefighters were aided by calmer winds overnight, said department spokesperson Andrew Dowd.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’ve made a lot of progress against this fire with those improved weather conditions,” Dowd said. Crews hoped to make further progress before winds increased again, he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There was zero containment. The cause is under investigation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Evacuation orders and warnings were still in place for several neighborhoods in Simi Valley, a city of more than 125,000 people.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, firefighters were battling a 23-square-mile (59-square-kilometer) blaze on Santa Rosa Island, off the Southern California coast. The fire destroyed a cabin and an equipment shed and forced the evacuation of 11 National Park Service employees.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Santa Rosa, a popular destination for camping and hiking, is home to island foxes, spotted skunks and elephant seals.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "An Incoming ‘Super El Niño’ May Bring California a Wet, Hot Winter",
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"content": "\u003cp>Scientists predict that an upcoming \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/forum/2010101913837/a-monster-el-nino-is-brewing-in-the-pacific\">“Super El Niño”\u003c/a> will make 2026 to 2027 the hottest years on record and bring significant sea level rise to the Bay.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>An update on Thursday from the National Weather Service’s Climate Prediction Center said that El Niño is likely to emerge as soon as May and persist through the end of winter.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While El Niño, a warming of the ocean, and La Niña, a cooling of the ocean, are natural patterns that come and go every 2 to 7 years, this year’s El Niño could be one of the strongest on record — and may give Bay Area residents a preview of what life on the coast will be like in just a decade or two if global warming continues at its current pace.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Daniel Swain, a climate scientist with UC Agriculture and Natural Resources, said the term “Super El Niño” is just a colloquial way to describe a “more extreme than merely strong” climate pattern.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Super El Niño is not something magical, it’s not something new, that’s never happened before,” Swain said this week during his live-streamed “office-hours” series.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Swain said El Niños in 1982, 1997, and 2015 each resulted in “very different global effects” — ranging from record rainfall, which caused some \u003ca href=\"https://www.whoi.edu/science/b/people/kamaral/1982-1983ElNino.html\">Peruvian\u003c/a> rivers to carry 1,000 times their normal flow in 1983, to severe drought in \u003ca href=\"https://www.climate.gov/news-features/understanding-climate/2015-state-climate-el-ni%C3%B1o-came-saw-and-conquered\">Ethiopia\u003c/a> in 2015.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_10898113\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-10898113 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2016/03/ElNino.jpg\" alt=\"A downed tree in Oakland after last weekend's El Niño-fueled storms.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1224\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2016/03/ElNino.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2016/03/ElNino-400x255.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2016/03/ElNino-800x510.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2016/03/ElNino-1180x752.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2016/03/ElNino-960x612.jpg 960w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A downed tree in Oakland after El Niño-fueled storms in 2016. Scientists warned the climate pattern could be the strongest on record, and result in a temporary sea level rise of around 6 inches in California. \u003ccite>(Andrea Kissack/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>This year’s “Super El Niño,” Swain said, will result in a temporary sea level rise of around 6 inches in California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You have to add that number to climate change-caused sea level rise, which — depending on where you are in California — ranges from about 6 inches to a foot over the past century,” Swain said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Beyond sustained sea level rise, scientists expect major storms and flooding starting this winter. They predict that these storms will be particularly strong as the effects of El Niño compound with the effects of climate change.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bay Area residents should expect “significant implications for coastal flooding [and] for wind and surf damage along the coast,” Swain said, pointing to the large \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12019798/repair-work-left-santa-cruz-wharf-vulnerable-to-collapse-a-rebuild-is-uncertain\">wave events in Santa Cruz \u003c/a>and the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1999871/after-king-tides-swamp-marin-san-rafael-weighs-billion-dollar-defenses-against-the-bay\">king tide flooding in Marin\u003c/a> last year as examples of what may be in store.[aside postID=news_12069118 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/MarinCountyFloodingAP3.jpg']On KQED’s Forum on Thursday, science writer David Wallace-Wells and climate activist Bill McKibben compared this El Niño to a particularly deadly event in 1877. The main difference between then and now?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“People in the 1870s had no idea what was happening to them, whereas in this case, scientists from across the planet have given us timely warning that we should be using to prepare for what’s ahead,” McKibben said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This preparedness, however, will likely be impacted by federal cuts to science and weather programs, he warned: “We’re not doing a great job of heeding the wonderful warning that science has been able to provide us.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>San Francisco’s Department of Emergency Management said that the possibility of a strong El Niño is part of the city’s preparedness planning. In the coastal city, El Niño can mean a higher potential for heavy rain, localized flooding, and storm-related disruptions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Our focus is on coordinating closely with partner agencies, preparing our response systems, and encouraging the public to take preparedness steps before severe weather arrives,” a spokesperson said in a statement on Thursday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>McKibben reminded listeners that winter is coming: “Don’t let your insurance lapse this year,” he said. “We’re headed into a very, very interesting season, I’m afraid.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Scientists predict that an upcoming \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/forum/2010101913837/a-monster-el-nino-is-brewing-in-the-pacific\">“Super El Niño”\u003c/a> will make 2026 to 2027 the hottest years on record and bring significant sea level rise to the Bay.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>An update on Thursday from the National Weather Service’s Climate Prediction Center said that El Niño is likely to emerge as soon as May and persist through the end of winter.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While El Niño, a warming of the ocean, and La Niña, a cooling of the ocean, are natural patterns that come and go every 2 to 7 years, this year’s El Niño could be one of the strongest on record — and may give Bay Area residents a preview of what life on the coast will be like in just a decade or two if global warming continues at its current pace.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Daniel Swain, a climate scientist with UC Agriculture and Natural Resources, said the term “Super El Niño” is just a colloquial way to describe a “more extreme than merely strong” climate pattern.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Super El Niño is not something magical, it’s not something new, that’s never happened before,” Swain said this week during his live-streamed “office-hours” series.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Swain said El Niños in 1982, 1997, and 2015 each resulted in “very different global effects” — ranging from record rainfall, which caused some \u003ca href=\"https://www.whoi.edu/science/b/people/kamaral/1982-1983ElNino.html\">Peruvian\u003c/a> rivers to carry 1,000 times their normal flow in 1983, to severe drought in \u003ca href=\"https://www.climate.gov/news-features/understanding-climate/2015-state-climate-el-ni%C3%B1o-came-saw-and-conquered\">Ethiopia\u003c/a> in 2015.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_10898113\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-10898113 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2016/03/ElNino.jpg\" alt=\"A downed tree in Oakland after last weekend's El Niño-fueled storms.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1224\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2016/03/ElNino.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2016/03/ElNino-400x255.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2016/03/ElNino-800x510.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2016/03/ElNino-1180x752.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2016/03/ElNino-960x612.jpg 960w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A downed tree in Oakland after El Niño-fueled storms in 2016. Scientists warned the climate pattern could be the strongest on record, and result in a temporary sea level rise of around 6 inches in California. \u003ccite>(Andrea Kissack/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>This year’s “Super El Niño,” Swain said, will result in a temporary sea level rise of around 6 inches in California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You have to add that number to climate change-caused sea level rise, which — depending on where you are in California — ranges from about 6 inches to a foot over the past century,” Swain said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Beyond sustained sea level rise, scientists expect major storms and flooding starting this winter. They predict that these storms will be particularly strong as the effects of El Niño compound with the effects of climate change.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bay Area residents should expect “significant implications for coastal flooding [and] for wind and surf damage along the coast,” Swain said, pointing to the large \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12019798/repair-work-left-santa-cruz-wharf-vulnerable-to-collapse-a-rebuild-is-uncertain\">wave events in Santa Cruz \u003c/a>and the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1999871/after-king-tides-swamp-marin-san-rafael-weighs-billion-dollar-defenses-against-the-bay\">king tide flooding in Marin\u003c/a> last year as examples of what may be in store.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>On KQED’s Forum on Thursday, science writer David Wallace-Wells and climate activist Bill McKibben compared this El Niño to a particularly deadly event in 1877. The main difference between then and now?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“People in the 1870s had no idea what was happening to them, whereas in this case, scientists from across the planet have given us timely warning that we should be using to prepare for what’s ahead,” McKibben said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This preparedness, however, will likely be impacted by federal cuts to science and weather programs, he warned: “We’re not doing a great job of heeding the wonderful warning that science has been able to provide us.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>San Francisco’s Department of Emergency Management said that the possibility of a strong El Niño is part of the city’s preparedness planning. In the coastal city, El Niño can mean a higher potential for heavy rain, localized flooding, and storm-related disruptions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Our focus is on coordinating closely with partner agencies, preparing our response systems, and encouraging the public to take preparedness steps before severe weather arrives,” a spokesperson said in a statement on Thursday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>McKibben reminded listeners that winter is coming: “Don’t let your insurance lapse this year,” he said. “We’re headed into a very, very interesting season, I’m afraid.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "californias-new-plastic-recycling-rules-spark-fights-from-all-sides",
"title": "California’s New Plastic Recycling Rules Spark Fights From All Sides",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003c!-- Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ -->\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This story was originally published by \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/\">CalMatters\u003c/a>. \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/subscribe-to-calmatters/\">Sign up\u003c/a> for their newsletters.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/california\">California\u003c/a> just gave plastic producers until 2032 to make all their packaging recyclable or compostable — the most ambitious deadline in the country. Advocates say it doesn’t go far enough. Producers say it goes too far. At least one of them is threatening to sue.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The sweeping regulations, finalized at the start of the month, put producers in a bind that has no obvious solution. Plastic clamshell containers, for instance, protect berries from being crushed and keep them fresher, longer until they reach a refrigerator. Plastic producers say there’s simply no substitute — yet under the new rules, they’ll have to find one.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Last week, two environmental groups — the Natural Resources Defense Council and Californians Against Waste — said they plan to take California to court. Their argument: the state’s rules actually break the law by allowing recycling methods that create a lot of toxic waste, and by letting some plastics slip through the rules entirely. On the other side, plastic manufacturers say the rules go too far and will make products more expensive for shoppers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sen. Ben Allen, a Democrat from coastal Los Angeles County who authored the plastic waste law, said the program still “massively moves the needle on this really major problem” — even if the process was messy. “This was the product of a compromise, and it was not perfect, and everybody walked away from the table, you know, unhappy about various aspects,” Allen said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“California is the United States, but 30 years in the future,” said Joe Árvai, director of the University of Southern California’s Wrigley Institute for Environmental Studies. “What’s happening now is emblematic of trends that we are seeing worldwide … and the U.S. needs to adapt in the way that those countries are adapting in order to remain globally competitive.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cstrong>Less plastic, more recycling \u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>For decades, the burden of reducing, reusing and recycling plastic waste has fallen on consumers. Once a consumer buys a product, they decide what happens to it — whether it ends up in the garbage can or the recycling blue bin — and their tax dollars fund recycling systems we have today.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2022, California’s landmark \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/environment/2022/06/california-recycling-plastic-trash/\">Senate Bill 54,\u003c/a> the Plastic Pollution Prevention and Packaging Producer Responsibility Act, shifted that responsibility to businesses. The regulations outline what materials are covered by the law and who counts as a “producer” of plastic waste.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11745391\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11745391\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2019/05/Recolgy-1-e1778783682683.jpg\" alt=\"An employee sorts plastics at the Recology recycling plant on Pier 96 in San Francisco.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1500\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">An employee sorts plastics at the Recology recycling plant on Pier 96 in San Francisco. \u003ccite>(Chloe Veltman/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The new regulations are a huge milestone, said Anja Brandon, director of U.S. plastics policy for the Ocean Conservancy. “There’s plenty more steps on this journey, but I’m just really excited that we are going to start making real progress,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The law applies to plastic food service ware and almost all single-use packaging — from the plastic wrap around large pallets of products shipped to retailers to a tube of toothpaste and the cardboard box around it.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cstrong>Our broken recycling system\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Most of the plastic packaging Californians throw away isn’t recycled — and that’s not your fault as a consumer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For decades, the revolving green arrows symbol has urged consumers to do a better job of reducing, reusing and recycling. But the system itself started out broken, and got worse.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When people toss items into recycling bins, workers at recycling centers sort through them. Contaminated items — like a peanut butter tub with residue still inside — go straight to the landfill. Manufacturers buy clean, valuable materials like water bottles and detergent tubs and turn them into new products.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But a slew of other trash isn’t valuable enough to sell. It ends up in landfills, too.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2021, the plastic recycling rate was only \u003ca href=\"https://www.beyondplastics.org/publications/us-plastics-recycling-rate\">6% nationwide,\u003c/a> according to a report by the advocacy group Beyond Plastics. That’s down from 8% in 2018, partly because \u003ca href=\"https://e360.yale.edu/features/piling-up-how-chinas-ban-on-importing-waste-has-stalled-global-recycling\">China\u003c/a> and other countries that used to buy our trash have stopped doing so. In California, most plastic packaging types are recycled at strikingly low rates, according to a 2025 CalRecycle report: Even milk jugs and detergent bottles, among the most commonly recycled plastics, reached only 19%, while most others came in at single digits or below.[aside postID=news_12027788 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/20250131_RIDWELL_DB_00363-KQED-1020x680.jpg']To carry out the law, the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery appointed the Circular Action Alliance, a nonprofit that helps states carry out extended producer responsibility mandates, as the organizing body for producers. The alliance is responsible for coming up with a plan to meet the law’s goals.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Producers — defined as companies that make more than $1 million in sales and produce products packaged in plastic or own brands under which those products are sold — must join the organization and pay fees to fund waste management. They can meet the law’s requirements by using less plastic, finding alternative materials, or investing in recycling infrastructure.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The biggest challenge is the scale and coordination required to modernize a complex recycling system across a state as large and diverse as California,” said Sheila Estaniel, a spokesperson for the Circular Action Alliance, in an email.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California’s requirement that businesses reduce single-use plastic altogether makes it one of the strongest plastic waste laws in the country. It also goes further than other similar laws because it requires plastic producers to pay $5 billion over a decade to address the environmental damage their products have caused to communities — though the state doesn’t expect to start distributing those funds until 2027 at the earliest.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cstrong>Watered down rules\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The plastic waste rules have had a rocky road to implementation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2024, CalRecycle developed a first draft of regulations detailing what plastic the law covers and what producers must do. The draft expired before CalRecycle finalized it. In 2025, Gov. Gavin Newsom directed regulators to rewrite the rules — a move that some advocates say say food and agriculture lobbyists pushed for.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The result was a second draft that carved out a broad exclusion for plastics used for food and agriculture purposes, covering products under the jurisdiction of the FDA and USDA, such as packaging for fresh produce and supplements. Advocates said the exclusion gutted the law.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Governor Newsom was clear when he asked CalRecycle to restart these regulations that they should work to minimize costs for small businesses and families — while ensuring California’s bold recycling law can achieve the critical goal of cutting plastic pollution,” said Anthony Martinez, a spokesperson for the governor. “That’s exactly what these draft regulations do.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>CalRecycle submitted that draft to the Office of Administrative Law in August 2025, but withdrew it to make changes that narrowed that exclusion. Regulators ultimately excluded only plastic that federal law requires for food safety — walking back a broader carve-out that advocates said would have gutted the law.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cstrong>Advocates gear up to sue \u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Not all plastics follow the same rules — and advocates object to the state’s two-track system.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some materials with unique technical challenges can apply for exemptions, but must meet specific criteria to qualify.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Others, like plastic that federal law requires for food safety, escape the rules entirely once producers complete an application to CalRecycle — no timeline, no obligations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12083638\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1536px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12083638\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/CalMatters_CA-Plastics-2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1536\" height=\"1024\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/CalMatters_CA-Plastics-2.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/CalMatters_CA-Plastics-2-160x107.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1536px) 100vw, 1536px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mirna Hernandez shops at Superior Groceries in Victorville on Aug. 16, 2024. \u003ccite>(Ted Soqui/CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“In practice, this allows exclusions to remain in effect … even for notices that ultimately fail — creating strong incentives to submit weak or legally unsupported claims simply to delay (and effectively filibuster) compliance,” wrote Tony Hackett, a policy associate for Californians Against Waste in a public comment letter to the department.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Advocates raise a second concern: the regulations allow certain waste polluting technologies — ones the law specifically excluded because they generate significant quantities of hazardous waste — to count as recycling, as long as they have a hazardous waste permit.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>These technologies include chemical recycling processes that the oil industry has long promoted as a solution to plastic pollution — a claim California’s attorney general says is deliberately misleading. Rob Bonta has \u003ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/01/climate/exxon-california-plastics-defamation-lawsuit.html\">sued ExxonMobil\u003c/a> alleging the company misled the public about recycling’s potential to address the plastic crisis.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“These regulations ignore explicit limits on recycling technologies and create permanent escape hatches the law never authorized,” said Nick Lapis, director of advocacy for Californians Against Waste, in a statement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rhonalyn Cabello, a CalRecycle spokesperson, said the agency does not comment on pending or potential litigation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sen. Allen agreed the regulations fall short.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We feel that the regulations as presented don’t maintain some of the core agreements that were made in the passage of the bill,” he said. When there’s too many exclusions, he said, companies are “basically forcing everybody else to pay and getting away scot free.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cstrong>Set up to fail?\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Businesses claim they want to reduce plastic waste but feel trapped by conflicting state regulations and a lack of viable packaging alternatives.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The tension starts with labeling. The state’s accurate recycling labels law, Senate Bill 343, prohibits businesses from using the chasing arrows symbol to indicate recyclability unless certain criteria are met. Advocates say the restriction is necessary to avoid confusion. But businesses say it means consumers are less likely to recycle products that could be recyclable.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If we lose the right to use (recycling labels on) dairy cartons, our members are going to have to expand their plastic use, because that is the only other packaging type that can take a shelf stable product,” said Katie Davey, executive director of the Dairy Institute of California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As investments from producers flow to cities and counties under the law, Cabello said, more materials may eventually meet the labeling criteria.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Beyond labeling, businesses say workable alternatives to plastic simply don’t exist yet — and that getting there will be costly. Investments needed to meet the law’s first goal alone — a 25% reduction in single-use plastic by 2032 — could cost up to $15.4 billion, according to CalRecycle estimates.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kevin Kelly, the chief executive of Emerald Packaging, sells film plastic packaging to farmers, who use the plastic to bag items like salads and baby carrots. Paper packaging that could replicate plastic’s ability to regulate oxygen and carbon dioxide levels — keeping produce fresh — is still in early development, he said, and mass production is decades away.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You have to build tens to hundreds of billions of dollars in infrastructure to actually produce something at the level that would be needed to replace plastics,” Kelly said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Dairy illustrates the same problem. Alternatives to plastic milk packaging include refrigerated gable-top cartons, shelf-stable cartons, and glass. Each comes with tradeoffs. Glass is heavier — meaning fewer units per shipment — and clear glass exposes fresh milk to light that can degrade it. Switching packaging lines entirely would cost producers about $40 million for a single mid-size line, according to the Dairy Institute — a cost they would pass on to consumers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re deeply concerned because we know that food costs are going to increase and products are going to come off the market because there literally is not a packaging solution within the required timeframe,” Davey said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But USC’s Joe Árvai said producer complaints are really about the pace of change, not whether compliant packaging is possible at all.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Whether they like it or not, these changes are coming,” he said. “In the end, there are going to be players in the industry that are going to be better able to respond, and they will be better indemnified against the shocks than their partners and competitors.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cstrong>What happens next\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The next major test comes in June, when the Circular Action Alliance must submit its plan to CalRecycle outlining how producers will meet the law’s goals.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Oregon, which passed a similar law and is also facing an industry legal challenge, offers a possible model. There, grant funding is already flowing to expand reuse and refill infrastructure — helping businesses and schools replace single-use plastic products and improve recycling access.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11901452\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11901452 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/01/RS52997_DSC_1513_edit-qut.jpeg\" alt=\"scientists sample bay water\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1080\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/01/RS52997_DSC_1513_edit-qut.jpeg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/01/RS52997_DSC_1513_edit-qut-800x450.jpeg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/01/RS52997_DSC_1513_edit-qut-1020x574.jpeg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/01/RS52997_DSC_1513_edit-qut-160x90.jpeg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/01/RS52997_DSC_1513_edit-qut-1536x864.jpeg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Two environmental scientists strain water collected from the San Francisco Bay through two sieves to sample for microplastics. \u003ccite>(Monica Lam/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“Despite the fact that there’s a lawsuit in Oregon, money is moving out the door,” said the Ocean Conservancy’s Anja Brandon. She said groups like hers will closely watch the June plan.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’ll all be waiting with bated breath” to see how producers are interpreting this and what pathways they’re laying out, she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, advocates will be watching closely as CalRecycle begins to make decisions about who qualifies for exclusions and exemptions. The Natural Resources Defense Council is waiting for CalRecycle to post additional documents before filing its lawsuit.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If we let this thing get derailed and turned into a Swiss cheese of exemptions and non‑compliance, it will really harm our global progress on this issue,” Allen said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This article was \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/environment/2026/05/plastic-recycling-california-sb54-waste/\">originally published on CalMatters\u003c/a> and was republished under the \u003ca href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/\">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives\u003c/a> license.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "Under new rules, plastic producers have to cut single use plastic, increase recycling rates and pay $5 billion to remedy harms from plastic pollution.",
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"title": "California’s New Plastic Recycling Rules Spark Fights From All Sides | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003c!-- Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ -->\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This story was originally published by \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/\">CalMatters\u003c/a>. \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/subscribe-to-calmatters/\">Sign up\u003c/a> for their newsletters.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/california\">California\u003c/a> just gave plastic producers until 2032 to make all their packaging recyclable or compostable — the most ambitious deadline in the country. Advocates say it doesn’t go far enough. Producers say it goes too far. At least one of them is threatening to sue.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The sweeping regulations, finalized at the start of the month, put producers in a bind that has no obvious solution. Plastic clamshell containers, for instance, protect berries from being crushed and keep them fresher, longer until they reach a refrigerator. Plastic producers say there’s simply no substitute — yet under the new rules, they’ll have to find one.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Last week, two environmental groups — the Natural Resources Defense Council and Californians Against Waste — said they plan to take California to court. Their argument: the state’s rules actually break the law by allowing recycling methods that create a lot of toxic waste, and by letting some plastics slip through the rules entirely. On the other side, plastic manufacturers say the rules go too far and will make products more expensive for shoppers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sen. Ben Allen, a Democrat from coastal Los Angeles County who authored the plastic waste law, said the program still “massively moves the needle on this really major problem” — even if the process was messy. “This was the product of a compromise, and it was not perfect, and everybody walked away from the table, you know, unhappy about various aspects,” Allen said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“California is the United States, but 30 years in the future,” said Joe Árvai, director of the University of Southern California’s Wrigley Institute for Environmental Studies. “What’s happening now is emblematic of trends that we are seeing worldwide … and the U.S. needs to adapt in the way that those countries are adapting in order to remain globally competitive.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cstrong>Less plastic, more recycling \u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>For decades, the burden of reducing, reusing and recycling plastic waste has fallen on consumers. Once a consumer buys a product, they decide what happens to it — whether it ends up in the garbage can or the recycling blue bin — and their tax dollars fund recycling systems we have today.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2022, California’s landmark \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/environment/2022/06/california-recycling-plastic-trash/\">Senate Bill 54,\u003c/a> the Plastic Pollution Prevention and Packaging Producer Responsibility Act, shifted that responsibility to businesses. The regulations outline what materials are covered by the law and who counts as a “producer” of plastic waste.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11745391\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11745391\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2019/05/Recolgy-1-e1778783682683.jpg\" alt=\"An employee sorts plastics at the Recology recycling plant on Pier 96 in San Francisco.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1500\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">An employee sorts plastics at the Recology recycling plant on Pier 96 in San Francisco. \u003ccite>(Chloe Veltman/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The new regulations are a huge milestone, said Anja Brandon, director of U.S. plastics policy for the Ocean Conservancy. “There’s plenty more steps on this journey, but I’m just really excited that we are going to start making real progress,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The law applies to plastic food service ware and almost all single-use packaging — from the plastic wrap around large pallets of products shipped to retailers to a tube of toothpaste and the cardboard box around it.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cstrong>Our broken recycling system\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Most of the plastic packaging Californians throw away isn’t recycled — and that’s not your fault as a consumer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For decades, the revolving green arrows symbol has urged consumers to do a better job of reducing, reusing and recycling. But the system itself started out broken, and got worse.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When people toss items into recycling bins, workers at recycling centers sort through them. Contaminated items — like a peanut butter tub with residue still inside — go straight to the landfill. Manufacturers buy clean, valuable materials like water bottles and detergent tubs and turn them into new products.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But a slew of other trash isn’t valuable enough to sell. It ends up in landfills, too.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2021, the plastic recycling rate was only \u003ca href=\"https://www.beyondplastics.org/publications/us-plastics-recycling-rate\">6% nationwide,\u003c/a> according to a report by the advocacy group Beyond Plastics. That’s down from 8% in 2018, partly because \u003ca href=\"https://e360.yale.edu/features/piling-up-how-chinas-ban-on-importing-waste-has-stalled-global-recycling\">China\u003c/a> and other countries that used to buy our trash have stopped doing so. In California, most plastic packaging types are recycled at strikingly low rates, according to a 2025 CalRecycle report: Even milk jugs and detergent bottles, among the most commonly recycled plastics, reached only 19%, while most others came in at single digits or below.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>To carry out the law, the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery appointed the Circular Action Alliance, a nonprofit that helps states carry out extended producer responsibility mandates, as the organizing body for producers. The alliance is responsible for coming up with a plan to meet the law’s goals.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Producers — defined as companies that make more than $1 million in sales and produce products packaged in plastic or own brands under which those products are sold — must join the organization and pay fees to fund waste management. They can meet the law’s requirements by using less plastic, finding alternative materials, or investing in recycling infrastructure.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The biggest challenge is the scale and coordination required to modernize a complex recycling system across a state as large and diverse as California,” said Sheila Estaniel, a spokesperson for the Circular Action Alliance, in an email.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California’s requirement that businesses reduce single-use plastic altogether makes it one of the strongest plastic waste laws in the country. It also goes further than other similar laws because it requires plastic producers to pay $5 billion over a decade to address the environmental damage their products have caused to communities — though the state doesn’t expect to start distributing those funds until 2027 at the earliest.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cstrong>Watered down rules\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The plastic waste rules have had a rocky road to implementation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2024, CalRecycle developed a first draft of regulations detailing what plastic the law covers and what producers must do. The draft expired before CalRecycle finalized it. In 2025, Gov. Gavin Newsom directed regulators to rewrite the rules — a move that some advocates say say food and agriculture lobbyists pushed for.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The result was a second draft that carved out a broad exclusion for plastics used for food and agriculture purposes, covering products under the jurisdiction of the FDA and USDA, such as packaging for fresh produce and supplements. Advocates said the exclusion gutted the law.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Governor Newsom was clear when he asked CalRecycle to restart these regulations that they should work to minimize costs for small businesses and families — while ensuring California’s bold recycling law can achieve the critical goal of cutting plastic pollution,” said Anthony Martinez, a spokesperson for the governor. “That’s exactly what these draft regulations do.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>CalRecycle submitted that draft to the Office of Administrative Law in August 2025, but withdrew it to make changes that narrowed that exclusion. Regulators ultimately excluded only plastic that federal law requires for food safety — walking back a broader carve-out that advocates said would have gutted the law.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cstrong>Advocates gear up to sue \u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Not all plastics follow the same rules — and advocates object to the state’s two-track system.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some materials with unique technical challenges can apply for exemptions, but must meet specific criteria to qualify.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Others, like plastic that federal law requires for food safety, escape the rules entirely once producers complete an application to CalRecycle — no timeline, no obligations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12083638\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1536px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12083638\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/CalMatters_CA-Plastics-2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1536\" height=\"1024\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/CalMatters_CA-Plastics-2.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/CalMatters_CA-Plastics-2-160x107.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1536px) 100vw, 1536px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mirna Hernandez shops at Superior Groceries in Victorville on Aug. 16, 2024. \u003ccite>(Ted Soqui/CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“In practice, this allows exclusions to remain in effect … even for notices that ultimately fail — creating strong incentives to submit weak or legally unsupported claims simply to delay (and effectively filibuster) compliance,” wrote Tony Hackett, a policy associate for Californians Against Waste in a public comment letter to the department.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Advocates raise a second concern: the regulations allow certain waste polluting technologies — ones the law specifically excluded because they generate significant quantities of hazardous waste — to count as recycling, as long as they have a hazardous waste permit.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>These technologies include chemical recycling processes that the oil industry has long promoted as a solution to plastic pollution — a claim California’s attorney general says is deliberately misleading. Rob Bonta has \u003ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/01/climate/exxon-california-plastics-defamation-lawsuit.html\">sued ExxonMobil\u003c/a> alleging the company misled the public about recycling’s potential to address the plastic crisis.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“These regulations ignore explicit limits on recycling technologies and create permanent escape hatches the law never authorized,” said Nick Lapis, director of advocacy for Californians Against Waste, in a statement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rhonalyn Cabello, a CalRecycle spokesperson, said the agency does not comment on pending or potential litigation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sen. Allen agreed the regulations fall short.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We feel that the regulations as presented don’t maintain some of the core agreements that were made in the passage of the bill,” he said. When there’s too many exclusions, he said, companies are “basically forcing everybody else to pay and getting away scot free.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cstrong>Set up to fail?\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Businesses claim they want to reduce plastic waste but feel trapped by conflicting state regulations and a lack of viable packaging alternatives.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The tension starts with labeling. The state’s accurate recycling labels law, Senate Bill 343, prohibits businesses from using the chasing arrows symbol to indicate recyclability unless certain criteria are met. Advocates say the restriction is necessary to avoid confusion. But businesses say it means consumers are less likely to recycle products that could be recyclable.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If we lose the right to use (recycling labels on) dairy cartons, our members are going to have to expand their plastic use, because that is the only other packaging type that can take a shelf stable product,” said Katie Davey, executive director of the Dairy Institute of California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As investments from producers flow to cities and counties under the law, Cabello said, more materials may eventually meet the labeling criteria.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Beyond labeling, businesses say workable alternatives to plastic simply don’t exist yet — and that getting there will be costly. Investments needed to meet the law’s first goal alone — a 25% reduction in single-use plastic by 2032 — could cost up to $15.4 billion, according to CalRecycle estimates.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kevin Kelly, the chief executive of Emerald Packaging, sells film plastic packaging to farmers, who use the plastic to bag items like salads and baby carrots. Paper packaging that could replicate plastic’s ability to regulate oxygen and carbon dioxide levels — keeping produce fresh — is still in early development, he said, and mass production is decades away.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You have to build tens to hundreds of billions of dollars in infrastructure to actually produce something at the level that would be needed to replace plastics,” Kelly said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Dairy illustrates the same problem. Alternatives to plastic milk packaging include refrigerated gable-top cartons, shelf-stable cartons, and glass. Each comes with tradeoffs. Glass is heavier — meaning fewer units per shipment — and clear glass exposes fresh milk to light that can degrade it. Switching packaging lines entirely would cost producers about $40 million for a single mid-size line, according to the Dairy Institute — a cost they would pass on to consumers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re deeply concerned because we know that food costs are going to increase and products are going to come off the market because there literally is not a packaging solution within the required timeframe,” Davey said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But USC’s Joe Árvai said producer complaints are really about the pace of change, not whether compliant packaging is possible at all.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Whether they like it or not, these changes are coming,” he said. “In the end, there are going to be players in the industry that are going to be better able to respond, and they will be better indemnified against the shocks than their partners and competitors.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cstrong>What happens next\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The next major test comes in June, when the Circular Action Alliance must submit its plan to CalRecycle outlining how producers will meet the law’s goals.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Oregon, which passed a similar law and is also facing an industry legal challenge, offers a possible model. There, grant funding is already flowing to expand reuse and refill infrastructure — helping businesses and schools replace single-use plastic products and improve recycling access.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11901452\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11901452 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/01/RS52997_DSC_1513_edit-qut.jpeg\" alt=\"scientists sample bay water\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1080\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/01/RS52997_DSC_1513_edit-qut.jpeg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/01/RS52997_DSC_1513_edit-qut-800x450.jpeg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/01/RS52997_DSC_1513_edit-qut-1020x574.jpeg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/01/RS52997_DSC_1513_edit-qut-160x90.jpeg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/01/RS52997_DSC_1513_edit-qut-1536x864.jpeg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Two environmental scientists strain water collected from the San Francisco Bay through two sieves to sample for microplastics. \u003ccite>(Monica Lam/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“Despite the fact that there’s a lawsuit in Oregon, money is moving out the door,” said the Ocean Conservancy’s Anja Brandon. She said groups like hers will closely watch the June plan.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’ll all be waiting with bated breath” to see how producers are interpreting this and what pathways they’re laying out, she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, advocates will be watching closely as CalRecycle begins to make decisions about who qualifies for exclusions and exemptions. The Natural Resources Defense Council is waiting for CalRecycle to post additional documents before filing its lawsuit.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If we let this thing get derailed and turned into a Swiss cheese of exemptions and non‑compliance, it will really harm our global progress on this issue,” Allen said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This article was \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/environment/2026/05/plastic-recycling-california-sb54-waste/\">originally published on CalMatters\u003c/a> and was republished under the \u003ca href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/\">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives\u003c/a> license.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"info": "What kind of no sabo word is Hyphenación? For us, it’s about living within a hyphenation. Like being a third-gen Mexican-American from the Texas border now living that Bay Area Chicano life. Like Xorje! Each week we bring together a couple of hyphenated Latinos to talk all about personal life choices: family, careers, relationships, belonging … everything is on the table. ",
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"info": "Our flagship program, helmed by Kai Ryssdal, examines what the day in money delivered, through stories, conversations, newsworthy numbers and more. Updated Monday through Friday at about 3:30 p.m. PT.",
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"info": "The MindShift podcast explores the innovations in education that are shaping how kids learn. Hosts Ki Sung and Katrina Schwartz introduce listeners to educators, researchers, parents and students who are developing effective ways to improve how kids learn. We cover topics like how fed-up administrators are developing surprising tactics to deal with classroom disruptions; how listening to podcasts are helping kids develop reading skills; the consequences of overparenting; and why interdisciplinary learning can engage students on all ends of the traditional achievement spectrum. This podcast is part of the MindShift education site, a division of KQED News. KQED is an NPR/PBS member station based in San Francisco. You can also visit the MindShift website for episodes and supplemental blog posts or tweet us \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/MindShiftKQED\">@MindShiftKQED\u003c/a> or visit us at \u003ca href=\"/mindshift\">MindShift.KQED.org\u003c/a>",
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"info": "For decades, the process for how police police themselves has been inconsistent – if not opaque. In some states, like California, these proceedings were completely hidden. After a new police transparency law unsealed scores of internal affairs files, our reporters set out to examine these cases and the shadow world of police discipline. On Our Watch brings listeners into the rooms where officers are questioned and witnesses are interrogated to find out who this system is really protecting. Is it the officers, or the public they've sworn to serve?",
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"info": "Political Breakdown is a new series that explores the political intersection of California and the nation. Each week hosts Scott Shafer and Marisa Lagos are joined with a new special guest to unpack politics -- with personality — and offer an insider’s glimpse at how politics happens.",
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"possible": {
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"info": "Possible is hosted by entrepreneur Reid Hoffman and writer Aria Finger. Together in Possible, Hoffman and Finger lead enlightening discussions about building a brighter collective future. The show features interviews with visionary guests like Trevor Noah, Sam Altman and Janette Sadik-Khan. Possible paints an optimistic portrait of the world we can create through science, policy, business, art and our shared humanity. It asks: What if everything goes right for once? How can we get there? Each episode also includes a short fiction story generated by advanced AI GPT-4, serving as a thought-provoking springboard to speculate how humanity could leverage technology for good.",
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"radiolab": {
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},
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"title": "Rightnowish",
"tagline": "Art is where you find it",
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"tagline": "Real stories with killer beats",
"info": "The Snap Judgment radio show and podcast mixes real stories with killer beats to produce cinematic, dramatic radio. Snap's musical brand of storytelling dares listeners to see the world through the eyes of another. This is storytelling... with a BEAT!! Snap first aired on public radio stations nationwide in July 2010. Today, Snap Judgment airs on over 450 public radio stations and is brought to the airwaves by KQED & PRX.",
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"soldout": {
"id": "soldout",
"title": "SOLD OUT: Rethinking Housing in America",
"tagline": "A new future for housing",
"info": "Sold Out: Rethinking Housing in America",
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