Skip links

Monitor Notes: Wildflower Blooms, School Air, Senior Transit, Ellen Bruno

Welcome to Monitor Notes, a weekly roundup of news items, event announcements, and updates on past Bay Area Monitor articles.

 

Spread Like Wildflowers

Recent reports about Southern California’s vibrant wildflower displays — and the ensuing mass of spectators out for a glimpse — are a good reminder about forthcoming Bay Area blooms and visiting sites with care. The California State Parks website offers tips on respecting the landscape and understanding the area so your outing is anything but garden variety. Ready to sprout? Check out a guided East Bay Regional Park District hike this Sunday, March 24 at Black Diamond Mines in Antioch from 10 a.m. to noon.

 

Schools’ Breath of Fresh Air

The Bay Area Air Quality Management District has approved a plan for the agency to enter into contract with IQAir to install and monitor air filtration systems in Bay Area schools. An estimated 10 to 15 schools will receive air filtration systems made possible by $2 million in funding from the California Air Resources Board, as outlined in a February staff presentation. IQAir previously worked with the Air District to install systems at five schools in Bayview-Hunters Point between 2010 and 2011. Those schools will be revisited for maintenance and upgrades, as needed.  

 

Riding the Silver Tsunami

The San Mateo County Transit District recently began a new program to match transportation services with older adults and those with accessibility needs. Its resource center provides mobility assessment services by phone (1-800-660-4287) or online using the “Find Your Ride” tool. The new center comes at a time of growing demand. The number of San Mateo County residents aged 65 and older sits at about 114,770, or roughly 15 percent of the county’s overall population.

 

Explanations that Hold Water

California has been declared drought-free for the first time in nearly eight years. But there remain many pressing policy issues to navigate, including groundwater trading, water allocation, and the impacts of climate change on supply. Ellen Bruno, an assistant cooperative extension specialist in quantitative policy analysis at UC Berkeley, discusses these priorities in a Q&A with The Confluence, a California Institute for Water Resources blog. Read about Bruno’s research and what she believes are the most under-appreciated water issues on the horizon.

 

Monitor Notes is produced by Cecily O’Connor. To receive it by email, scroll to the bottom of this page, enter your email address in the box under “RECEIVE EMAIL UPDATES,” and click the red “SIGN UP” button.

 

0

Start typing and press Enter to search