Dana Hull of the Mercury News talks to people who are trying to bring back the era of unstructured play and get kids interested in outdoor adventures. As summer approaches and Wii sales climb toward 10 million, a growing number…
In the news
Summit fire: latest news and links
by tom • May 25, 2008 • 8 Comments
Sunday: It’s time to hand the Summit fire coverage over to the professionals. If you want up-to-the-minute updates, check out the live blog at KRON4. If you’ve got time to read a bit, check out the stories at www.mercurynews.com. The…
Big Santa Cruz Mountains fire near Mount Madonna County Park
by tom • May 22, 2008 • 3 Comments
The latest: MercuryNews.com update reports 20 buildings destroyed but no injuries in the fire burning near Summit Road south of San Jose. I have to go off to my real job pretty soon (this’ll lead Page 1 tomorrow — note…
Boating ban on Santa Clara County reservoirs
by tom • May 14, 2008 • 0 Comments
That means all boats, including canoes and kayaks, on 10 reservoirs in Santa Clara County: From this morning’s Mercury News: Citing the need to protect the local water supply from invasive shellfish that have hitchhiked to California on the bottoms…
A day in court for South Bay open space
by tom • May 5, 2008 • 2 Comments
The Santa Clara County Open Space Authority is sitting on $56 million, paralyzed since 2001 by a lawsuit that prevents the authority from spending it on trails and other stuff we like. Tomorrow, the state Supreme Court will begin hearing…
Henry Coe’s recovery covered in the Mercury News
by tom • April 19, 2008 • 4 Comments
I edited this story at work last night. Spring is bursting at Henry W. Coe State Park. Fiddleneck flowers stretch their yellow mohawks toward the sun. Migratory birds skim the surface of the ponds, calling to each other. Star lilies,…
Local hiker moving up in the world
by tom • March 19, 2008 • 4 Comments
I just found out a guy I’ve hiked with several times — Vindu Goel, who also is a tech columnist for the Mercury News — has just been hired away by the New York Times. That’s him at Mount Diablo…
Deputy kills two bicyclists
by tom • March 10, 2008 • 2 Comments
EDIT: Here’s the latest from mercurynews.com. Most of you have probably heard about this by now, but if not: Yesterday a Santa Clara County sheriff’s deputy veered across Stevens Canyon Road in the hills west of Cupertino and rammed a…
User fees rising on federal lands
by tom • March 8, 2008 • 2 Comments
Fire-fighting costs are the culprit, the New York Times reports. “As fire costs increase, I’ve got less and less money for other programs,” said Dave Bull, superintendent of the Bitterroot National Forest here in Hamilton. The charge for access to…