This is a view of Pacifica’s Rockaway Beach from the Coastal Trail. Pacifica is that rare place where a visitor can see the Pacific coast, wildlife and wildflowers. (Ginny Prior/For Bay Area News Group)

Mercurynews.com: April 11, 2017

Wild coast, wildlife, wildflowers. One of the prettiest places to see all three is Pacifica. From the moment you round that first tight curve on southbound Highway 1, you are thrust into a dramatic coastal vista that engages all your senses. The blooming ice plants and wildflowers are in the foreground this spring; but since Pacifica is the fourth richest marine habitat in the world, you could see porpoises or even whales in the distance. Continue reading →

Northstar California Resort holds its pond skimming event April 1 with a 1980s throwback theme and prizes for the top three pond crossings, best crash and best costume. (Northstar California Resort)

Mercurynews.com: March 28, 2017

Spring fever is breaking out at ski resorts across the country. In Northern California, record snowfall means epic snowmelt and a wacky tradition called pond skimming. Continue reading →

East bay times.com: March 9, 2017

Mud and muck and who knows what. All this rain has tongues wagging about the condition of the many trails lacing our Oakland hills. Some trails are mud pits, some even closed, like part of the stream trail in Redwood Regional Park — Skyline Gate. Clearly, it’s more than our park employees can handle. Continue reading →

Sierra Club volunteers Jeremy Besmer and Robin Kutner plant a tree on Montclair’s Merced Avenue. (Ginny Prior/For Bay Area News Group)

Robin Kutner and Jeremy Besmer have been busy greening Montclair, one block at a time. I ran into the Sierra Club volunteers on Merced Avenue alongside Safeway recently. They were busting up some rock-hard soil to put in a tree that will “spruce up” the streetscape. It seemed like hard work, but Kutner said they were driven to do something meaningful. Continue reading →

MONTCLARION: Jan 3, 2017

Montclair can seem like a small town wrapped in a big city. Here’s a little story to illustrate: It was just before Christmas, when shoppers were scurrying to get through their checklists. Reader Conrad Bassett was scurrying too. He’d just been to his bank and was checking a transaction online — when what to his wondering eyes should appear but nine unauthorized charges. Continue reading →