FEATURED STORY: In an era of escalating fire disasters, with insurers fleeing large parts of the state and with builders desperate to find ways to construct houses that would better resist the flames, what can we do to defend our neighborhoods?
The neighborhoods of tomorrow may look very different, though maybe not in our lifetime. California’s position at the forefront of building standards makes it, ironically, one of the most restrictive states in which to build alternative homes that challenge the status quo for sustainability and fire resistance.
That said, most homebuyers don’t have the means or desire to live in an earth-sheltered home, and most aren’t building or buying new, either. While a futuristic subterranean community is fun to imagine, more immediate change will come in boring (but essential) details like finer mesh roof vents, clean gutters and fewer wooden fences.
But is that enough? A recent study out of UC Santa Cruz found that the affordable housing and wildfire crises are inextricably linked, each fueling the other. Advancements like precast concrete walls, wider streets and fire-resistant materials inspire hope, but will new builds (most of which are in the fire-prone wildland-urban interface) incorporate these features if builders are not required to do so? And if they are, will that cost be passed on to the buyer?
It’s a matter of which fire to put out first.
- Dakota Morlan, Managing Editor
Other stories you may have missed: Winning the Fire Insurance Lottery Is Harder Than Ever
Keeping a decent insurance plan has only gotten tougher. The re-insurers that backstop companies like State Farm and Farmers are remapping the Capital Region after L.A., say area insurance agents.
Stockton Mom Breathes New Life Into Literary Landmark
Mr. Otto’s Bookstore is Stockton is one of the last independent children’s bookstores in San Joaquin County. Its new owner, Alex Long, wants the store to be a resource to children, parents and writers throughout the region.
A Quarter Century of Startups: Big Bang! Finalists Share $100K in Milestone Year
Today, the UC Davis Big Bang! awards ceremony honors 19 finalist teams with $100,000 in grants. For every founder that participates in the Big Bang, several of which have been spotlighted in Comstock’s Startup of the Month column and other stories, no path forward looks the same.
Google’s $125 Million Deal With California For Local News Is Already Shrinking
From CalMatters: A controversial $125 million deal California struck with Google last year to prop up the state’s struggling journalism industry is already on track to shrink — before any of the money has been delivered to news outlets.
Recommendations from our staff:
Jennifer: I just finished reading “Everything Is Tuberculosis” by John Green — yes, that John Green, of “The Fault in Our Stars,” “Looking for Alaska” and other slightly schlocky YA romance fame. Green is now apparently sitting on his laurels with a laptop on which he composes deeply researched and thoughtful nonfiction, including this surprisingly digestible tome about the ways tuberculosis (once called consumption) shaped the world we live in today. For example, did you know Pasadena, California, was founded in part to house tubercular patients? (One thing he doesn’t really touch on is how “The Fault in Our Stars” is really a continuation of the Victorian fad for beautiful consumptive novel heroines, but I’m sure he gets it.)
Judy: Comstock’s is celebrating a big win at the California News Publishers Association conference in Los Angeles last weekend, which I attended. For the third year in a row, we took home the General Excellence trophy which is a major recognition for our body of work. We also had five first-place wins and five second-place wins. It’s always humbling to be recognized by our peers statewide, and it only encourages us to keep producing good journalism that matters.
Odds and Ends
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