Recently Read: "Water Is Coming From All Sides"

"There’s a New Place to Store Greenhouse Gases: In Your Beer"

Reported by Rachel Nuwer in The New York Times

The beer drinkers having a pint outside this weekend as a heat wave hung over Alameda, Calif., might not have been thinking about climate change. But the people who brewed the I.P.A. and lagers definitely were.

That’s because the bubbles came from carbon dioxide captured in the brewery’s parking lot.

“We’re literally taking carbon out of the environment,” Damian Fagan, the head of the Almanac Beer Company, said. “It’s pretty surreal and amazing.”

"SB 79 Advisory Clarifications on Definitions for Metropolitan Planning Organizations"

Report issued by the California Department of Housing and Community Development on March 20, 2025

This recently released technical document appears to confirm The Morning Bun's reading of Senate Bill 79 and resolve all remaining inconsistencies. On July 1, new zoning rights will vest for property owners in portions of western Alameda. Should any choose to do so, they will now be allowed to build denser housing under state law.

"South Bay father arrested after repainting crosswalk, adding stop signs near children’s park"

Reported by Cierra Morgan in the Los Angeles Times

The city ultimately determined the intersection did not meet the required traffic volume for additional stop signs, Brandlin said.

But residents say that the city’s standard doesn’t reflect reality.

[...]

In the weeks leading up to his arrest, Brandlin said he witnessed several near-collisions, including incidents involving children.

He described a close call involving his son, who was nearly hit while on a bike due to limited visibility at the intersection.

“That was the last straw,” he said.

Brandlin spent approximately $1,000 of his own money on commercial-grade materials, including 30-inch reflective stop signs matching the other ones on the street. He began installing them himself to replace the yellow posted crosswalk signs on the intersection in the early morning of March 14, according to the El Segundo Police Department.

Police arrested him around 1:30 a.m. while he worked on the second direction of traffic. Brandlin said the arrest was excessive, saying he was cited with multiple charges, including felonies.

"San Pablo appoints Allen Tai as community development director"

Staff report in the Richmond Standard ("funded by Chevron")

Allen Tai was recently appointed as the City of San Pablo’s new community development director. Tai is scheduled to begin his role on May 1.

He joins San Pablo from the City of Alameda, where he has served as the Planning, Building, and Transportation Director since 2023.

"Solano County taps familiar face to be new director of Library Services"

Staff report in the Fairfield Daily Republic

Mike Eitner is the new director of Solano County Library Services.

[...]

He currently serves as library director for the Alameda Free Library.

"$175 million project to reroute traffic between Oakland and Alameda begins"

Reported by Chase Hunter in the San Jose Mercury News

"For This Bay Area Island City, Water Is Coming From All Sides"

Reported by Ezra David Romero for KQED News

Alameda can expect water from all directions: rising seas, torrential downpours, storm-driven surges that intensify high tides and groundwater pushed upwards as soils become saturated.

[...]

To protect this island from the nastiest effects of the altered climate, the community will need to decide what it values enough to save.

[...]

But the biggest hurdle ahead for the island city is securing funding to pay for fixes, especially since federal dollars for climate-related projects are scarce.