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☆ Sierra Space lays off hundreds in push toward first Dream Chaser spaceplane launch
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-16 | by ( Michael Sheetz | In Michaeljsheetz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Former Sierra Space employees told CNBC that the layoffs included a significant number of contractors, with the cuts including hundreds of personnel in total. Sierra Space this week shipped the first Dream Chaser, named Tenacity, for pre-launch testing at NASA's Armstrong facility in Ohio. The first Dream Chaser launch was previously scheduled for late last year, but delays in the development of United Launch Alliance's Vulcan rocket pushed back that timeline. Dream Chaser is planned to launch on ULA's second Vulcan mission, with the first Vulcan launch targeting December. Dream Chaser has won NASA contracts to fly seven cargo missions to and from the International Space Station.

Persons: Eren, Sierra, Jeff Babione, Gupta Organizations: CNBC, Sierra Space, NASA's Armstrong, Sierra, Sierra Nevada Corp, Fatih, Sierra Space's, Space, NASA Space Shuttle, United, Vulcan, NASA, International Space Locations: The Colorado, Sierra, Ohio

But consumer advocacy groups complained, arguing PG&E could save ratepayers money and still reduce wildfire risk by putting a protective covering over the power lines instead of burying them. Commissioners decided to let PG&E bury 1,230 miles (1,979 kilometers) of power lines, which would be $1.7 billion cheaper than PG&E's proposal. For low-income customers who qualify for discounted rates, PG&E said typical monthly bills will increase by $21.50 next year, followed by a $3 per month increase in 2025 before decreasing by $5.50 per month in 2026. The turning point for PG&E came in 2018 when a windstorm knocked down one of its power lines in the Sierra Nevada foothills that started a wildfire. The company has pledged to bury 10,000 miles (16,093 kilometers) of power lines over the next decade.

Persons: ”, John Reynolds, Patti Poppe, undergrounding powerlines, Gavin Newsom, ratepayers, Darcie Houck, Cheryl Maynard Organizations: Pacific Gas & Electric, California Public Utilities Commission, Reform Network, E, Democratic Gov, & $ Locations: SACRAMENTO, Calif, California, Sierra Nevada

☆ National Climate Assessment: 5 takeaways on the US climate report
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-14 | by ( Ella Nilsen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

“Climate change is affecting every aspect of our lives,” Hayhoe told CNN. Here are five significant takeaways from the federal government’s sweeping climate report. Climate change doesn’t cause things like hurricanes or wildfires, but it can make them more intense or more frequent. And hotter and drier conditions from climate change can help vegetation and trees become tinderboxes, turning wildfires into megafires that spin out of control. But it’s not happening nearly fast enough to stabilize the planet’s warming or meet the United States’ international climate commitments, the report explains.

Persons: Katharine Hayhoe, ” Hayhoe, we’re, Rick Curtis, Hilary Swift, Joe Biden, ”, John Podesta, Ethan Swope, Biden, West Virginia –, Scott Brauer, Dave White, White, ” White Organizations: CNN, UN, Texas Tech University, New York Times, ” White, United States, Bloomberg, Getty, Arizona State University, Rockies Locations: Barre , Vermont, Maricopa County, Vermont, Maui, Gulf, Aguanga , California, California, Florida , Louisiana, Texas, Kentucky, West Virginia, rainstorms, China, India, Barnstable , Massachusetts, Southwest, California’s Sierra Nevada, West

☆ Beach Escape and Birding Bonanza: Find Both on Colombia’s Caribbean Coast
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-03 | by ( Adam H. Graham | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

WHOEVER SAID a bird in the hand is better than two in the bush hasn’t been to the cloud forests of Colombia’s Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta mountains. As the 7 a.m. light breaks through the canopy near the town of Minca, I spy a keel-billed toucan croaking from a mossy pine tree. A flowerpecker darts around a giant fern, and a pair of military macaws fly in formation overhead. About a dozen species of amethyst, emerald and sapphire hummingbirds hover like bejeweled drones over a marmalade bush. In just 30 minutes, we’ve already seen more than 20 species, most of them “lifers” to me—i.e., birds spotted for the first time.

Persons: Cristian, we’ve Locations: Colombia’s Sierra Nevada, Santa Marta, Minca

That has allowed forests to become four to seven times more densely wooded than they once were, Safford said. Fire scientists advocate more deliberate burning at low-to-moderate severity to clear vegetation that makes forests susceptible to big fires. Susan Britting, executive director of one of the groups, Sierra Forest Legacy, acknowledged any cutting triggers skepticism because loggers historically took the largest, most marketable trees. But she said thinning trees up to a certain diameter is acceptable, though she prefers prescribed burning. Homeowners are anxious prescribed fires will jump perimeters and destroy houses.

Persons: ” Hugh Safford, Davis, John Muir, What’s, Safford, “ We're, ”, Brandon Collins, Chad Hanson, there's, Hanson, Christy Brigham, ” John Muir, Jeffrey, “ John Muir, ” Safford, gesturing, “, it's, Weeks, Susan Britting, ” Britting, John Muir Project's Hanson, Safford —, that's, what’s Organizations: University of California, Eldorado National, Sierra, U.S ., American Geophysical Union, John Muir Project, Earth Island Institute, Sequoia, National Parks, National Park Service, U.S . Forest Service, Service, Forest Service, Infrastructure Law, Sierra Forest Locations: Calif, Lake, Eldorado, Sierra Nevada, U.S, California, . California, Yosemite, Sequoia, Canyon, —, Berkeley, Lake Tahoe, Safford, New, Sierra

☆ How 1880s technology made it possible for 2 women to travel around the world in under 80 days
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-07 | by ( Jenny Mcgrath | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +19 min

In 1889, journalist Nellie Bly set off on a trip around the world, trying to make it under 80 days. "You see a huge emphasis being placed on building ships that were ever faster than the previous generation of ships," Goodman said. Once aboard the train, Bly began to receive telegrams from her editors and well-wishers. "Sometimes it literally literally just says, 'Nelly Bly's train,'" Behn said. For Behn, what Bly and Bisland did remains incredible and deserve to be remembered as much as Verne's story.

Persons: Nellie Bly, Elizabeth Bisland, —, Jules Verne's, Bly, Bisland, Adrien Behn, Matthew Goodman, Elizabeth Bisland's, Victoria, Augusta Victoria, Henry Guttmann, seasickness, Behn, San Francisco —, Bettmann, Goodman, John Mix Stanley, Said, Getty Images Bly, they'd, Alfred Touchemolin's, voyaged, She'd, James Buchanan, Joseph Pulitzer's, Nelly Bly's, Jules Verne, Thomas Cook, Fogg, Nelly, she'd Organizations: Service, Cosmopolitan, Atlantic, Hulton, Western, Central Pacific, Union Pacific, Union Pacific's Overland, Rockies, Railroad, US, Ships, Suez, Getty Images, Workers, SSPL, Headquarters, Thomas Cook &, Companies Locations: London, New Jersey, New York, California, Blackwell's, of, New York Harbor, Chicago, Omaha, Utah, San, Salt, Union, Iowa, San Francisco, Midwest, Between Nebraska, Sacramento , California, Sierra Nevada, Lake Jessie , North Dakota, Washington ,, Philadelphia, Suez, Europe, Asia, Africa, Britain, India, Port Said, Egypt, Yemen, commonwealths, British, Aden, Colombo, Penang, Hong Kong, Singapore, Ceylon, Yokohama, France, Germany, America, South China, Nevada, Russian Empire, East, North America, London's, Italy, Ireland, United States, Japan, China

☆ Exclusive: Bezos' Blue Origin expects split on space station partnership -sources
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-02 | by ( Joey Roulette | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

A Blue Origin spokesperson said Sierra will remain a partner on Orbital Reef but declined to say in what capacity. Last week, Bezos told Blue Origin employees that longtime Amazon executive Dave Limp would replace Blue Origin's current CEO by year's end. In 2021, Blue Origin announced its partnership to build what it envisions as a "business park in space" with Sierra Space, a spinoff from defense contractor Sierra Nevada Corp. Blue Origin secured $3.4 billion from NASA this year for that lander as part of the agency's Artemis program. Blue Origin said at the time it planned to privately invest "well north" of that amount.

Persons: Shepard, Jeff Bezos's, Ivan Pierre Aguirre, Jeff Bezos, Sierra, Brent Sherwood, Sherwood, Bezos, Dave Limp, Glenn, Joey Roulette, Ben Klayman, David Gregorio, Rosalba O'Brien Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Sierra Space, NASA, Space, CNBC, Blue Origin, Amazon, year's, Sierra Nevada Corp, Origin, Industry, Sierra, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Van Horn , Texas, U.S

☆ Japan's MUFG Bank, two others lead $290 mln Sierra Space fundraising -Nikkei
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

TOKYO, Sept 26 (Reuters) - MUFG Bank is among three Japanese firms leading a $290-million fundraising round for U.S. spaceship company Sierra Space, spearheading a commercial "spaceport" project in the southwestern region of Oita, the Nikkei daily said on Tuesday. A spokesperson of Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire, a unit of Tokio Marine Holdings (8766.T), confirmed that the three companies formed a strategic partnership with Sierra, but declined to elaborate on their investments. Sierra Space, spun off in 20221 from billionaire-owned Sierra Nevada Corp, is among a handful of space industry players attempting to build a private space station that NASA hopes will replace the two decade-old International Space Station by 2030. The Oita project took a hit this year from the bankruptcy of another U.S. space company Virgin Orbit , which had partnered with airline ANA Holdings (9202.T). MUFG Bank, one of Japan's three biggest, has invested in domestic space startups such as orbital debris-removal firm Astroscale.

Persons: Sierra, inc's, Kantaro Komiya, Clarence Fernandez Organizations: MUFG, Space, Nikkei, SpaceX, MUFG Bank, Tokio Marine, Tokio Marine Holdings, Sierra, Mitsubishi UFJ, Kanematsu Corp, CNBC, Sierra Nevada Corp, NASA, Japan Airlines, Orbit, ANA Holdings, Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance, Japan Aerospace Exploration, SLIM, Thomson Locations: TOKYO, Oita, Sierra, Kanematsu, Asia's, Japan

☆ Sierra Space raising nearly $300 million from Japanese consortium at $5 billion valuation
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-25 | by ( Michael Sheetz | In Michaeljsheetz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Sierra Space, the subsidiary of private aerospace contractor Sierra Nevada Corporation, is finalizing a raise of nearly $300 million, CNBC has learned. Sierra Space expects to announce the raise as soon as this week, those people said. Two years ago, Sierra Space raised $1.4 billion at a $4.5 billion valuation from investors including General Atlantic, BlackRock, AE Industrial Partners, Coatue and Moore Strategic Ventures. The fresh funds come as Sierra Space focuses on getting its Dream Chaser spaceplane flying. Sierra Space is also one of several companies working on a private space station.

Persons: MUFG Organizations: Space, Sierra Nevada Corporation, CNBC, Sierra, Tokio Marine, Citigroup, General Atlantic, Partners, Coatue, Moore Strategic Ventures, NASA Space Shuttle, United, Vulcan Locations: Tokio, BlackRock

FORESTHILL, Calif. (AP) — A 19-year-old was rescued after a stunt went wrong and left him dangling by a rope from California's tallest bridge, authorities said. Deputies responding Monday evening to the Foresthill Bridge northeast of Sacramento determined the teen and his 17-year-old friend had been shooting video of him swinging from the steel span, the Placer County Sheriff’s Office said. “The 19 year-old became stuck, hanging approximately 30 feet from the underside of the catwalk when his equipment failed. His friend called 911 after they determined he was stuck and needed assistance,” the sheriff's office said in a statement. Rising 730 feet (223 meters) above the North Fork American River in Sierra Nevada foothills, it’s the tallest bridge in the state and third tallest in the United States.

Persons: “, sheriff's Organizations: Placer County Sheriff’s, Cal Locations: Calif, Sacramento, Placer County, Sierra Nevada, United States

☆ What Courtney Dauwalter Learned in the Pain Cave
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-31 | by ( Rebecca Byerly | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

After running for 60 miles through snow, up steep, root-filled switchbacks with thousands of feet of elevation gain, Courtney Dauwalter entered what she calls her pain cave. Scott Jurek won Western States seven times (most recently in 2005) but never once ran as fast as Dauwalter did this year. She beat a 1994 Western States record set by Ann Trason, who won the race 14 times, by more than two hours. Now she is trying to do something even the most accomplished ultrarunners would consider extraordinary: win three highly competitive 100-mile races in a single summer. She has won the race twice and currently holds the women’s record.

Persons: Courtney Dauwalter, —, Scott Jurek, Ann Trason, Mickey Mouse, billy Organizations: Western Locations: Sierra Nevada, ultrarunning, Moab , Utah, Western, Silverton, Colo, Blanc, Chamonix, France

☆ For Migrating Birds, It’s the Flight of Their Lives
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-29 | by ( Emily Anthes | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +17 min

Simone NoronhaFor Migrating Birds, It’s the Flight of Their Lives Leer en españolAmerica’s birds are in trouble. If migrating birds lose their winter refuges, the consequences will ripple across the hemisphere. MissouriMissouri provides breeding habitats for many grassland bird species, which have been faring especially poorly in recent decades. “This is a classic Pacific Northwest to west Mexico species,” Mr. Jiang said. The birds breed at marshes and wetlands across the Western United States and Canada.

Persons: Simone Noronha, “, ”, Viviana Ruiz, Gutierrez, Jeremy Radachowsky, Ken Rosenberg, Deb Hahn, Hahn, Anna Lello, Smith, Sarah Kendrick, Nick Bayly, That’s, Andrew Stillman, Archie Jiang, Mr, Jiang, Dr, Stillman, Camila Gómez, ” Dr, Ruiz Organizations: Center, Avian, Cornell, of Ornithology, Wildlife Conservation Society, Partners, New, New York Metro Area, UNITED STATES, BERMUDA BAHAMAS MEXICO Maya, PERU Moderate, Forest, Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies, Southern Wings, The, Central, Mesoamerican Alliance for People, Forests Initiative, Forests Initiative . Missouri, CANADA UNITED STATES, BERMUDA CUBA MEXICO VENEZUELA COSTA RICA BRAZIL, U.S . Fish, Wildlife Service, Missouri Department of Conservation, Colorado Colorado, CANADA, ARGENTINA CANADA Colo, U.S, Bird Conservancy, Rockies, , Cornell Atkinson Center for Sustainability, UNITED STATES Calif, Western Locations: North America, United States, Canada, Costa Rican, Caribbean, U.S, eBird, New York, BERMUDA BAHAMAS MEXICO, BRAZIL, PERU, CHILE, ARGENTINA, PERU Moderate CHILE, Forest BRAZIL, CHILE ARGENTINA, Forest BRAZIL PERU, New York City, Bahamas, The New York, Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, Central America, Central American, Forests Initiative ., Forests Initiative . Missouri Missouri, South America, BERMUDA MEXICO VENEZUELA COSTA RICA, Missouri, BERMUDA MEXICO VENEZUELA COSTA RICA BRAZIL, BERMUDA CUBA MEXICO VENEZUELA COSTA RICA, BERMUDA CUBA MEXICO VENEZUELA COSTA RICA BRAZIL PERU, Venezuela, Argentina, Cuba, Central, South, SELVA, Colombia, Costa Rica, Plains, UNITED STATES MEXICO ECUADOR, Colorado, UNITED STATES Colo, MEXICO ECUADOR BRAZIL, Northern Mexico, Texas, California, West Coast, Alaska, Pacific, MEXICO, URUGUAY ARGENTINA Alaska, Salt, CHILE URUGUAY ARGENTINA Alaska, BRAZIL PERU BOLIVIA, URUGUAY ARGENTINA, Sierra Nevada, Chile, Western United States

☆ California Is Free of Extreme Drought Conditions for the First Time in 3 Years
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-21 | by ( Nikita Richardson | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

In recent years, the prospect of heavy rains might have sounded good to many people living in California, where drought and wildfires have been the main worries. That was not the case on this weekend, as Hurricane Hilary moved north from the coast of Baja California in Mexico and threatened to dump six to 10 inches of rain on the region. After three of the driest years in California history, much of the state is currently free of drought conditions, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. Storms fueled by “atmospheric rivers” this winter led to flooding and destruction across the state, but they also relieved severe drought conditions across wide swaths of the state, including Los Angeles and San Diego Counties, both of which were in Hilary’s path. Heavy winter rain, as well as record amounts of snow in the Sierra Nevada mountains, also has filled many of the state’s reservoirs well above historical averages, according to California Water Watch, a daily tracker maintained by the California Department of Water Resources.

Persons: Hilary Organizations: U.S . Drought, Los, San, San Diego Counties, California Water Watch, California Department of Water Resources Locations: California, Baja California, Mexico, Los Angeles, San Diego, Sierra Nevada

☆ A Tropical Storm in August? California’s Year of Extremes Grinds On
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-19 | by ( Raymond Zhong | More About Raymond Zhong | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

For California, where punishing droughts over the past two decades have shriveled crops and caused wells to run dry, it has been another year of extremes. It started with winter storms that drenched cities and towns, buried the Sierra Nevada in snow and caused an enormous long-vanished lake to reappear in the Central Valley. All of this is quite a turnaround from the past three years, the state’s driest on record, when officials were imposing strict controls to save water. Hilary, which forecasters say could weaken to a tropical storm by the time it makes landfall in California, has no direct meteorological connection with the storms from early this year. But, taken together, they reinforce a key maxim about the weather in California: There’s no such thing as an average year — only very wet, or very dry.

Persons: Hilary Locations: California, Sierra Nevada, Central, Southern California

☆ First, a Ferocious Fire. Now a Slow, Grim Search for the Dead.
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-16 | by ( Tim Arango | More About Tim Arango | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

DNA specialists who have been working with Ukrainian investigators to document suspected Russian war crimes. Veterans of the post-Sept. 11 search at ground zero. Anthropologists who were enlisted to examine human remains after the California wildfire that until last week was America’s deadliest in more than a century. They are among the experts who have been arriving in Maui this week to join the painstaking process of recovering and identifying at least 101 people who perished last week in the historic Hawaii town of Lahaina. “Over the course of the next 10 days, this number could double,” Gov.

Persons: Josh Green, “ Organizations: ”, CNN Locations: California, Maui, Hawaii, Lahaina, “, Northern California, Paradise, Sierra Nevada

☆ Opinion | It’s August. Californians Are Still Skiing. Don’t Ask.
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-06 | by ( Daniel Duane | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Some ski resorts had to close because they had too much snow. Two of the biggest ski resorts on Lake Tahoe were still hopping on the Fourth of July, a time of year when the mountains are usually full of wildflowers. And don’t bother trying to get used to them in their new form, because they’re going to keep changing, at an ever-faster pace. On an emotional level, there’s something undeniably frightening about that — where’s it all going? — but it can also, in a rare instance like the chance to ski in the dog days of summer, bring a disorienting joy.

Persons: San Francisco — Organizations: Nevada snowpack Locations: San Francisco, Phoenix, California, Nevada

☆ Why are frozen vegetable prices so high? Blame war, fewer immigrants and California weather, say economists
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-20 | by ( Greg Iacurci | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

"Some areas were just inundated," which had the effect of decreasing vegetable supply, Tronstad said. Overall, the state accounts for nearly half of U.S. vegetable production, according to California Polytechnic State University. George Rose/Getty ImagesBut weather — and its negative impact on crop supply — isn't the only contributor to higher prices for frozen vegetables. The higher prices give farmers a "strong incentive" to plant these commodity products over others (like vegetables), a dynamic that could decrease vegetable supply, Bodor said. Labor supply pressured by reduced Mexican migrationLong-term immigration trends are also serving to put upward pressure on labor costs for farmers, economists said.

Persons: Tayfun, Tronstad, Pam Knox, George Rose, Alison Bodor, Bodor, Trey Malone, Zach Rutledge, Rutledge, Russell Tronstad Organizations: Anadolu Agency, Getty, State, Central Valley . Citizen, Getty Images, California Department of Food, Agriculture, California Polytechnic State University, University of Georgia, Food, Growers, University of Arkansas, Labor, Michigan State University, University of Arizona U.S, Agricultural Workers Survey, University of California Locations: Lompoc , California, Sierra Nevada, Central Valley ., Getty Images California, brussels, U.S, Ukraine, Sacramento, San Joaquin Rivers, Rio Vista , California, Mexico, Davis

☆ Facing a Future of Drought, Spain Turns to Medieval Solutions and ‘Ancient Wisdom’
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-19 | by ( Constant Méheut | More About Constant Méheut | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

He explained that before the acequias, it was hard to grow food in the unstable climate of the Mediterranean, with periodic droughts. The “genius of the system,” he said, is that it slows down the water flow from the mountains to the plains in order to better retain and distribute it. Without acequias, snowmelt from mountain peaks would flow directly into rivers and lakes that dry up during the summer. With them, the melt is diverted to multiple acequias winding through the hills. It spurts from fountains in the region’s typical whitewashed villages.

Persons: Civantos, ” Locations: acequias, Granada, Almeria, Al, Sierra Nevada

☆ As Climate Shocks Multiply, Designers Seek Holy Grail: Disaster-Proof Homes
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-16 | by ( Christopher Flavelle | More About Christopher Flavelle | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

John duSaint, a retired software engineer, recently bought property near Bishop, Calif., in a rugged valley east of the Sierra Nevada. The area is at risk for wildfires, severe daytime heat and high winds — and also heavy winter snowfall. But Mr. duSaint isn’t worried. And it can withstand high winds and heavy snowpack. “The dome shell itself is basically impervious,” Mr. duSaint said.

Persons: John duSaint, duSaint isn’t, Mr, duSaint Organizations: Calif Locations: Bishop, Sierra Nevada

☆ Space photos show over 1 trillion gallons of water flooding crop fields in California, and it could mean higher food prices
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-16 | by ( Rebecca Strong | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Tulare Lake used to be the largest lake west of the Mississippi River. This year's rain and snowmelt have replenished the lake, flooding many of the region's farms. And here's what it looked like on April 30:This is how the area looked on April 30, after Tulare Lake flooded. As of June, the flooded parts of Tulare Lake spanned about 178 square miles, or 113,920 acres — almost the size of Lake Tahoe. Tulare Lake began to reappear this March, before the Sierra Nevada snowpack started meltin.

Persons: Lauren Dauphin, NASA EOSDIS LANCE, Brad Rippey, Rippey, Dennis Hutson, Hutson, Nicholas Pinter, University of California Davis, — Organizations: Farmers, Service, NASA, U.S . Geological Survey, United States Department of Agriculture, Atmospheric Administration, TAC Farm, for Watershed Sciences, University of California, Agriculture Assembly, Southern Sierra, Southern Sierra Nevada snowpack, San, Sierra, Sierra Nevada snowpack Locations: Tulare, Mississippi, Wall, Silicon, California, U.S, San Joaquin, Tulare Lake, Lake Tahoe, Tulare County, San Joaquin Valley, Tulare Lake ., Southern Sierra Nevada, Joaquin Valley, Sierra Nevada, Central

☆ 5 Scenic E.V. Road Trips
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-30 | by ( Lauren Sloss | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +4 min

travel:California: up the coast, down through wine countryCalifornia is lousy with scenic drives, from its extensive, 840-mile coastline to routes through the magnificent Sierra Nevada. The route is also the focus of a new electric vehicle-centric initiative, with eight new E.V. New Mexico: The High Road to the Enchanted CircleA road trip between Santa Fe and Taos — two standout New Mexico destinations — is a decided win. The route has beautiful scenery, a dose of history and is easily doable in an E.V. planning tool and then hit the 56-mile High Road to Taos, which passes through villages with epic views of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains.

Persons: “, ”, Cowing, Martin Ray, Mount, it’s, Worthy, that’s, Butch Cassidy Organizations: Point, Gifford, Forests, Elk Loop, Rockies, New, Sundance Locations: United States, California, Sierra Nevada, San Francisco, Point Reyes, Bodega Bay, Jenner, Mendocino ., Philo, Boonville, Sonoma, Healdsburg, Sebastopol, Petaluma, Washington, Chahalis, Naches, Okanogan, Wenatchee, Mount Rainier, Colorado, Elk, Elk Loop Colorado, Carbondale, Crested, Gunnison, New Mexico, Santa Fe, Taos, —, Cristo, El, Red, Taos Ski Valley

☆ After a Winter Deluge, California Rivers Are Too Dangerous to Enjoy
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-18 | by ( Jill Cowan | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Gwyny Pett has been visiting the Kern River for decades, camping there as a girl and then taking her own children, now grown, to splash in shallows so calm they felt like a private pool. She has also seen the destructive power of the river during high-water years. “I mean, this is dangerous,” she said, gesturing at the water speeding past. After a parade of epic winter storms, the Kern River and other major waterways fed by melting Sierra Nevada snow have become wild torrents — a transformation so dangerous that several counties in Central California have prohibited people from entering the water. On Wednesday, a kayaker died on the Kern River, about 20 miles upstream from the campground from where Ms. Pett was sitting.

Persons: Gwyny Pett, Pett, gesturing, kayaker Organizations: The Mercury Locations: Kern, “, Central California, Fresno County

One source for such items is Outlandish, the Crown Heights, Brooklyn, outfitter that opened in January. It was co-founded by Benje Williams and Ken Bernard, who are Black, expressly to encourage people of color to reconnect with the outdoors. The shop sells the necessary gear but also organizes hikes outside of the city and hosts a book club focused on works about nature by writers of color. He and his father, who hadn’t gone backpacking in 40 years, have been on three more trips since. For the adventurous dad, Williams recommends an ultralightweight stuff sack from Allmansright, whose backpacks and bags are handmade in the Bronx, or socks from the Brooklyn-based label William Ellery, which offers wool-blend pairs in nature-inspired colors with names like Chanterelle and Lichen.

Persons: Benje Williams, Ken Bernard, Williams, Benjamin, William Ellery, Daniella Manini, Jade, Jamaica Organizations: Father’s, New Locations: , Brooklyn, outfitter, Sierra Nevada, Allmansright, Bronx, Brooklyn, Peruvian, California, Ita, British Nigerian, New Yorker, Antigua, outlandish.nyc

☆ A rare wolverine sighting in California is only the second time this threatened animal has turned up in the last 100 years
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-06 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

It's only the second wolverine seen in California in the last 100 years. Wolverines are native to California but have essentially been extinct from the state since the 1920s. One wolverine was spotted in the state from 2008 to 2018, beginning in the Tahoe National Forest, officials said. The animal has been spotted twice in the Inyo National Forest and once in Yosemite National Park. The species — the largest terrestrial member of the weasel family — is listed as threatened under the California Endangered Species Act.

Persons: It's, —, they've, Daniel Gammons, Gammons Organizations: Wolverines, Service, wolverines, Forest, Inyo National Forest, California's Department of Fish, California's Department of Fish and Wildlife ., Alaska . Wildlife Locations: California, Sierra Nevada, Tahoe, Inyo, Yosemite, California's Department of Fish and, Canada, Alaska

☆ An Amateur Sleuth Heads to the Sierra in Search of the Zodiac Killer’s Tracks
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-05 | by ( Thomas Fuller | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Late last year, Fayçal Ziraoui, a French-Moroccan business consultant, was at his home in the Paris suburbs scrolling through satellite pictures of the Sierra Nevada when he came across an image that startled him. It looked to him like the symbol that the Zodiac killer used on his correspondence a half-century ago. In December, Ziraoui searched satellite images of the Sierra after believing that a postcard and a cipher sent by the Zodiac killer pointed to those coordinates. Ziraoui spent the winter counting down the days until the snow melted, and in mid-May, he flew to San Francisco. It’s a four-hour drive from the Bay Area, the last dozen miles on rough dirt roads blocked at times by the remnants of collapsed trees killed in the 2014 King fire.

Persons: Fayçal, Constant Méheut, Ziraoui Locations: French, Moroccan, Paris, Sierra Nevada, New York, San Francisco, Lake Tahoe, It’s, Bay

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