KneeDeep Times Magazine

After The Fire: Scenes from Chinese Camp – KneeDeep Times The small community on the road to Yosemite, which was once a gateway to California's gold country, is determined to rebuild after September's fire.

From emergency housing in RVs to neighbors clearing debris together, recovery is slow but determined.

Read all about it at KneeDeep Times: buff.ly/xEJe0t6

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At a recent community meeting, #TuolumneCounty District 4 Supervisor Steve Griefer described the situation as “a fork in the road” for residents, as county crews hurry to address the risk of erosion before winter rains arrive.

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This September, lightning sparked a #wildfire in #ChineseCamp. Photographer Tristan Moore documented the aftermath in this historic #GoldRush town, where residents lost nearly everything but are finding ways forward. #PhotoEssay

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Youth Group Tackles Heat Islands in Santa Rosa A new youth advisory team convened by the Greenbelt Alliance and Latino Service Providers is exploring heat disparities in southwest Santa Rosa.

Through the program, the youth advisors will help inform the development of an #extremeheat action plan for #SantaRosa.

Read all about it at KneeDeep Times: buff.ly/XZwNY0g

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Jimena Santos, one of the youth advisors, wants to persuade lawmakers and local officials to “create a safer environment for kids growing up in these neighborhoods.” #ClimateJustice #NextGen #ClimateYouth

🗺️: California Healthy Places Index, Public Health Alliance of Southern California.
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In southwest #SantaRosa, Latinx youth are measuring #extremeheat disparities in their own neighborhoods. Organized by Greenbelt Alliance and Latino Service Providers, this new youth advisory team is documenting how the area’s sparse tree canopy creates #urbanheatislands.

📷: Amy Moore
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Q&A: Writer Sam Bloch on his new book ‘Shade’ – KneeDeep Times Bloch speaks to KneeDeep about how LA has weaponized the sun against unhoused people, and his thoughts on building a cooler urban future.

KneeDeep’s Los Angeles correspondent Maylin Tu spoke with Bloch about how cities weaponize the sun against "undesirable" people, and his thoughts on building a cooler urban future. #UrbanPlanning

Read the full interview at KneeDeep Times: buff.ly/Rc5sjgc

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Some LA residents have built makeshift shelters, only to have the city deem them illegal. “Why is this thing so basic and elemental actually really hard to find in LA and actively punished?” asks Bloch. #Shade #ClimateJustice

📷: Maylin Tu
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In #LosAngeles, shade is a rare luxury. Three-quarters of bus stops have no shelter, leaving vulnerable residents exposed to #extremeheat. Journalist Sam Bloch’s new book Shade: The Promise of a Forgotten Natural Resource digs deeper into shade inequity. @samkbloch.bsky.social

📷: Sam Bloch
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This Saturday, join Everyday Climate Champions & Trellis for an afternoon of hope, connection, and climate action in #SanFrancisco. Enjoy live music & happy hour. Free childcare & activities for kids. Tickets: $5-$25 sliding scale.

November 8, 1 - 4 pm, 981 Mission St.

Register: buff.ly/aE7CAZL

Oakland Artist Challenges Perceptions by Repurposing Trash – KneeDeep Times Courtney Griffith scours beaches and parks for everything from plastic to charcoal, mangled ropes and burnt wood to use in her work.

Oakland artist Courtney Griffith scours beaches and parks for everything from plastic to charcoal, mangled ropes and burnt wood to use in her work. buff.ly/dDJVJUU

#EnvironmentalArt #TrashToTreasure #RecycledArt

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After The Fire: Scenes from Chinese Camp – KneeDeep Times The small community on the road to Yosemite, which was once a gateway to California's gold country, is determined to rebuild after September's fire.

When lightning struck near #ChineseCamp in September, it ignited a #wildfire. In this photo essay, Community Reporting Fellow Tristan Moore captures the ruins of the historic #GoldRush landmark and writes about the resilience of those left behind. buff.ly/VY5atYv

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Youth Group Tackles Heat Islands in Santa Rosa A new youth advisory team convened by the Greenbelt Alliance and Latino Service Providers is exploring heat disparities in southwest Santa Rosa.

A new youth advisory team convened by the Greenbelt Alliance and Latino Service Providers is exploring heat disparities in southwest #SantaRosa. buff.ly/Mr6IjXZ

#ExtremeHeat #HeatEquity #ClimateYouth

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Climate resilience is happening in our own neighborhoods every day—but these stories rarely get told. KneeDeep Times is building a #communityreporting network to amplify these stories. Read the first dispatches from our new Community Reporting Fellows: buff.ly/GFnelDo

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Repurposing Urban Lots & Waterfronts – KneeDeep Times In this edition of our column, we look at how groups are reimagining a lot in Ashland Grove and shorelines in San Francisco and Palo Alto.

From drought-tolerant plants to a shoreline prepared for #sealevelrise, the small details of these projects might not make headlines, but they are quietly building #climateresilience. #EnvironmentalDesign #LandscapeDesign #UrbanDesign

Read all about it at KneeDeep Times: buff.ly/I2XBkSf

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“Innovation is worth it on the shoreline. It takes partnership, it takes creativity, it takes dedication — but the eventual benefits are so much more lasting,” says Heidi Nutters, senior program manager with the San Francisco Estuary Partnership. @sfestuary.bsky.social

📷: Zoon Engineering
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The second installment of KneeDeep’s quarterly column “The Practice” spotlights innovative #environmentaldesign projects in progress from #PaloAlto to Ashland, including a #levee that filters wastewater and a commercial lot transformed into a #communitypark. #IndiaBasin

📷: Aaron Ackerman
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CEQA Reforms Spark Both Excitement and Environmental Concern – KneeDeep Times California Environmental Quality Act updates may open up more housing, but some are sounding alarms about bypassed environmental regulations.

Supporters argue that these reforms will reduce #urbansprawl, encourage #transitorienteddevelopment, and ultimately benefit climate resilience. #HousingCrisis #AffordableHousing

Read all about it at KneeDeep Times: buff.ly/LgALpE4

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“In the Bay Area, for example, we’re seeing a lot of new housing developments getting proposed in low-lying areas that are vulnerable to flood risk, because that’s where the space is,” says UC Davis’ Mark Lubell. @envpolicycenter.bsky.social

📷: Greenbelt Alliance
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New California legislation exempts many housing projects from #CEQA review to fast-track development. Environmental advocates warn the rushed process could enable unsafe housing in #flood and #fire zones and allow industrial facilities to be built near neighborhoods.

Map: MTC/ABAG
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Bay Area Transit Faces Collapse without 2026 Ballot Measure BART, Caltrain, Muni, and AC Transit could face devastating cuts, pushing thousands more cars onto Bay Area roads, unless voters intervene.

The ballot measure needs two-thirds voter approval unless a “citizen’s initiative” can gather 200,000 signatures to lower the threshold to just 50%. Nonprofits are planning a signature drive in January. @spur-urbanist.bsky.social

Read all about it at KneeDeep Times: buff.ly/ihLlYjz

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"There's a scenario where it's really a question of whether it would make any sense to operate anymore, and this would be completely devastating to the region's climate goals," warns Rebecca Long, director of legislation and public affairs for the Metropolitan Transportation Commission.

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Thousands more cars on the road. Entire rail lines shut down. No free #transit for youth, low-income families, and seniors. That's the reality heading to the #BayArea in 2027 unless voters pass a ballot measure in November 2026 to fund #publictransit. #SB63 @bart.gov

📷: Joey Kotfica, MTC
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How One Community Program is Saving Organic Waste A Cupertino Rotary Club program led by Vidula Aiyer harvests fallen backyard fruit to reduce greenhouse gases.

From #SanFrancisco to #ContraCosta, similar programs are bringing neighbors together to reduce #foodwaste and prevent #methane, a powerful #greenhousegas, from entering the atmosphere. @forestrorg.bsky.social

Read all about it at KneeDeep Times: buff.ly/8c7CjCp

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“We’re not just driven by how much we can harvest. The goal is to eliminate wastage,” says Vidula Aiyer, leader of the backyard #fruitharvesting program in #Cupertino. “We want people to become a little bit more aware of what is happening in their yards.”

📷: Ariel Okamoto
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In #SantaClara backyards, fruit is rotting—releasing #methane and adding to the county's 677,167 tons of annual organic waste. Now, #Cupertino's backyard harvesting program is rescuing that bounty and donating it to families experiencing #foodinsecurity. #FoodWaste

📷: Stephanie Lam
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Checking in on the Mammoth $545 Million South Bay Levee – KneeDeep Times Two miles of levee are now in place as part of the project to protect Alviso and parts of San Jose, but construction will last much longer.

Next steps include completing the remaining two miles of #levee and constructing an #ecotone along its edge to provide #wildlifehabitat.

Read all about it at KneeDeep Times: buff.ly/jBZNIBZ

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“It wasn’t just the water, but the damage and fear they brought. This project is more than infrastructure; it’s an important step toward peace of mind, safety, and confidence for our community,” says Valley Water board director Richard Santos, an Alviso native.

📷: KSwinicki/Getty Images
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This September, the #SouthBay shoreline #levee project reached a major milestone, completing Phase 1 after 20 years of planning and construction. Two miles of 15-foot-tall barrier now protect #Alviso and parts of #SanJose.

📷: Paola Reyes/Valley Water
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On October 25, as part of the @litquake.org festival’s #LitCrawl event, four KneeDeep writers will present literary pieces on the theme of journeys back to our own terrain at Grand Coffee Too in #SanFrancisco. Register for free: buff.ly/lRWElN1

#LiteraryFestival #MissionDistrict #NatureWriting