Monthly Archives: June 2021

Earlier this year I was in the backyard finishing the spring cleanup. The backyard was active, birds flying between the feeders and baths, lizards sunny themselves on the fence and hummingbirds drawing nectar from the red salvias that start early … Continue reading →

Marguerite Reardon June 27, 2021 8:08 a.m. PT A big deadline in the fight to beat back those annoying robocalls is coming June 30. As of that date, every major voice provider in the US, including phone companies AT&T, Verizon … Continue reading →

District technician Heidi Budge says she’s noticed an increase in the number of bug zappers she’s seen in Contra Costa County since last year. Subsequently, she’s been spending a lot of time explaining to county residents that bug zappers really … Continue reading →

With the U.S. gaining 559,000 jobs in May, falling short of expert predictions, WalletHub today released updated rankings for the States Whose Unemployment Rates Are Bouncing Back Most, along with accompanying videos and audio files, to illustrate which areas of the country … Continue reading →

Pollinator Week was initiated and is managed by Pollinator Partnership, and fourteen years ago the U.S. Senate’s unanimous approval and designation of a week in June as “National Pollinator Week” marked a necessary step toward addressing the urgent issue of … Continue reading →

Our 24/7 society seems to be slowly robbing us of our slumber, but at what cost? Sleep expert, professor of neuroscience and author of Why we sleep Dr Matthew Walker explores all the ways sleep can benefit our brains and our health. … Continue reading →

From CalMatters You can now obtain a digital copy of your COVID-19 vaccination card using a tool state health officials launched Friday, a few months after they said California wasn’t planning to develop its own vaccine passport. Newsom last week hinted a vaccine verification … Continue reading →

With nearly 15 million people having moved last year, many of them influenced by COVID-19, the personal-finance website WalletHub today released its report on 2021’s Best States to Live in, as well as accompanying videos. To help Americans settle down in the … Continue reading →

Summer is right around the corner and with it comes the occasional extreme heat streak (like this week). While some of the warmer weather comes with the summer territory, high record temperatures can lead to emergency situations. By following a … Continue reading →

Flex Alerts are voluntary calls for consumers to conserve electricity. A Flex Alert is typically issued in the summer when extremely hot weather pushes up energy demand as it reaches available capacity. This usually happens in the evening hours when solar … Continue reading →

After three years of public discussion and technical work and an unprecedented outreach effort, the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) and the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) released the Draft Plan Bay Area 2050 Document and Implementation Plan for public comment … Continue reading →

Weather.com forecast Tuesday – forecast 90 record high 110 Wednesday – forecast 102 record high 114 Thursday – forecast 109 record high 117 Friday – forecast 105 record high 110 Saturday – forecast 99 record high 102 Creative Ways to … Continue reading →

California is one of 19 states that allow voters to remove state officials before the end of their term. No reason is necessary — the only requirement to put a recall on the ballot is enough voter signatures. That number must be … Continue reading →

Last Friday morning a video of a black bear wandering an Oakley neighborhood near Marsh Creek on the north side of E. Cypress Rd. was captured by a ring doorbell system. According to East Bay Regional Park District (EBRPD) wildlife … Continue reading →

After a record-setting year for credit card debt reduction in 2020, U.S. consumers maintained their strong performance during the first quarter of 2021, paying off $56.5 billion in credit card debt, according to the personal-finance website WalletHub’s latest Credit Card Debt … Continue reading →

Talk Saves Lives is American Foundation for Suicide Preventions’ standardized, 45-60 minute education program that provides participants with a clear understanding of this leading cause of death, including the most up-to-date research on suicide prevention, and what they can do … Continue reading →

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) has organized California Invasive Species Action Week (CISAW)! Its goals are to increase public awareness of invasive species issues and promote public participation in the fight against California’s invasive species and their … Continue reading →

By Lucas Ropek Users of Amazon Ring and Echo have only about a week to opt-out of the tech giant’s sketchy new IoT service, Sidewalk. The feature goes live on June 8th and promises to share an encrypted sliver of … Continue reading →