Despite being the largest estuary on the West Coast and supporting both a highly diverse ecosystem and a multi-billion dollar economy, the San Francisco Bay Estuary was not getting its fair share of federal funding for restoration, according to local lawmakers and environmental organizations.

That changed this year after Congress and President Joe Biden approved more than $50 million in funding to the US Environmental Protection Agency for projects to restore lost wetlands, improve water quality, address pollution and bolster sea-level rise defenses throughout San Francisco Bay.

Leaders of the multiagency organizations that oversee the various bay restoration projects, such as the San Francisco Bay Joint Venture and San Francisco Bay Estuary Partnership, said the significant funding boost comes at a time when the region must aggressively advance projects to prevent losing habitat forever and to prevent bayside communities from becoming inundated.

“It’s a really positive sign. There is so much that needs to be done to have a chance to be able to respond to sea-level rise and keep our shorelines resilient,” said Sandra Scoggin, coordinator of the San Francisco Bay Joint Venture. “We’re in a very critical few years now that if we don’t get a lot of this restoration on the ground rapidly, it’s going to be a lot harder moving forward to do so with the impacts that we have a chance to get ahead of right now.”

The grant funding has already worked to benefit North Bay restoration projects along San Pablo Bay and could help fund local projects in Marin, such as such as restoration work at Tiscornia Marsh and near McInnis Park in San Rafael.

“Almost any restoration projects along the bay will benefit water quality,” said Barbara Salzman, executive director of Marin Audubon.

The $52.5 million federal funding boost comes from both the $1.5 trillion government spending bill signed last month and the $1 trillion federal infrastructure package approved in November.

The spending bill increased funding for a competitive grant program for the nine-county Bay Area from its normal $5 million to $24 million this year, said Caitlin Sweeney, San Francisco Estuary Partnership director. An additional $24 million will be allocated to the grant program over the next five years from the infrastructure bill.

Another $4.5 million from the infrastructure bill was allocated to the National Estuary Program for San Francisco Bay Estuary projects over the next five years, which is about $1 million more than normal, Sweeney said.

“I think this is definitely the federal boost that we really needed,” Sweeney said. “We have not had the level of federal funding in this region that others have had for climate resilience and habitat restoration.”

The San Francisco Bay Estuary spans from the foot of the Sierras to the Golden Gate and encompasses an area larger than the state of New York. The estuary and surrounding mountains hold about half of California’s water supply and are home to more than 100 endangered and threatened species.

In the past two centuries, the estuary has lost about 90% of its historic wetland habitat because of urban development, agriculture and other land-use changes. While efforts are ongoing to restore wetland habitat throughout the bay, the latest report card put out by the federal- and state-led San Francisco Estuary Partnership shows habitat conditions have not improved, or have worsened in some cases.

Securing more funding for San Francisco Bay and the estuary has been an ongoing effort for years. US Rep. Jackie Speier, a Democrat in San Mateo County, has introduced several bills since 2010 to increase funding, including a bill in 2020 to provide $125 million over five years for the bay. While all the prior bills failed to pass through Congress, Speier was able to secure funding through the latest spending bill.

About 200,000 acres of wetlands on San Francisco Bay were lost by the start of the 20th century as they were diked and drained to make room for the state’s rapidly expanding agricultural and urban development. A regional goal to restore about half has been underway since the late 1990s, with more than half that amount completed.

The Environmental Protection Agency grant program has been used to support several projects through the years. One of them was the recent completion of a 400-acre tidal marshland near Novato and Highway 37 that provides the dual benefit of preventing swarms of mosquitoes from descending on local towns.

The project, led by Audubon California, was completed in late 2020 and sought to address a problem that has existed since the mid-20th century. The marshland, located near the mouth of the Sonoma Creek that runs under Highway 37, was formed rapidly compared to natural processes by hydraulic mining during the Gold Rush in addition to farmland created by levees.

As a result, the marsh didn’t form the natural channels that allow water to flow out from high tides. The sitting saltwater drowned vegetation required by birds and other wildlife and became a hotbed for mosquitoes, said Andrea Jones, Audubon California’s bird conservation director.

To fix this, crews dug a mile-long channel through the marsh into Sonoma Creek along with side channels that have allowed the marshland to drain during high tides. Dredged sediment was also used to build up the marsh into a gentle slope to allow endangered salt marsh harvest mice and Ridgway’s rails to escape high tides. Jones said this project set a new precedent for marsh restoration work that could be performed in the bay.

“It was sort of demonstrating a way to help a marsh along and be more adaptable because we’re going to get more and more water coming into these marshes,” Jones said.

The marsh has long been a problem for the Marin-Sonoma Mosquito Vector Control District. Some of the mosquito species that breed in the marsh are able to fly as far as 20 miles, reaching communities in Sonoma, Napa and as far as San Rafael, said Erik Hawk, the district’s assistant manager. By reducing the flooding, the district no longer has to use aerosol spray or treat the water to prevent swarms.

“The vegetation has come back strong and the marshes have looked the best in my 20 years with the district,” Hawk said.

Paige Fernandez, a biologist at the Richardson Bay Audubon Center and Sanctuary in Tiburon, studies birds’ responses to the restoration project at the Sonoma Creek marsh near Sonoma, Calif., in October 2020. (Haymar Lim/National Audubon Society)

The post San Francisco Bay restoration bolstered by $53 million federal inflow appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

Luz Pena: “How much do you pay for these things?”
Angel Sanchez: “$7 for that. I sell it for $9.”

Angel buys his merchandise at the flea market and slightly marks up the price. He’s making between .50 cents to $2 per item.

Angel says he would never steal. He buys everything he sells, though he doesn’t ask where the items come from. With his profits he pays the bills, and the rest he sends to his kids in Mexico. One is going to college and the other one is in high school. Lately he says business has been difficult.

Luz Pena: “Two years ago, how many vendors were out here?”
Angel Sanchez: “Eramos as 6.” (We used to be about 6)
Luz Pena: “Now?”
Angel Sanchez: “20”

VIDEO: I-TEAM EXCLUSIVE: Fencing operation video shows what happens after car break-ins

Susana Rojas Executive Director of Calle 24’s Cultural District says many of the new vendors are coming from the Tenderloin following the state of emergency declaration in that neighborhood.

“I think they are coming from the United Plaza in the Tenderloin because they are being very strict,” said Rojas and added, “It is getting worse. Unfortunately, as things have been happening in other parts of the city, then people get desperate and they start moving around trying to find a place to be able to either set-up a tent to sleep or a tent to sale some supplies.”

Watching everything from afar is Diana Medina. She’s opened Diju Jewelry 14 years ago. She used to be a street vendor and understands the struggle. Medina wants street vendors to have a permit.

VIDEO: San Francisco public officials react to I-Team stolen goods investigation

Many street vendors we spoke to say they want a permit.

Rojas and her team are signing up vendors like Angel to a program introduced by Supervisor Hillary Ronen that will require street vendors to have permits starting next month.

“After May 7, if someone cannot prove where their items come from, they are going to be confiscated and asked to move,” said Rojas.

Rojas says it will be complicated for many vendors to reproduce proof of purchase even though they are paying for items.

“The problem is that they do go to the flea market. They get them legally, but they don’t give them any receipts. When they come over here, they won’t be able to prove where they get their items from,” said Rojas.

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More than 20 vendors have signed up for the program so far.

Rojas says the plan is to continue registering vendors to the program and assign them specific areas from Cesar Chavez to 24th street. Rojas says the city still doesn’t know how much, if anything, they will charge these vendors to set-up shop.

If you’re on the ABC7 News app, click here to watch live

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The post San Francisco’s Mission district sees inflow of road distributors presumably from Tenderloin; allow required subsequent month appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

Despite being the largest estuary on the West Coast and supporting both a highly diverse ecosystem and a multi-billion dollar economy, the San Francisco Bay Estuary was not getting its fair share of federal funding for restoration, according to local lawmakers and environmental organizations.

That changed this year after Congress and President Joe Biden approved more than $50 million in funding to the US Environmental Protection Agency for projects to restore lost wetlands, improve water quality, address pollution and bolster sea-level rise defenses throughout San Francisco Bay.

Leaders of the multiagency organizations that oversee the various bay restoration projects, such as the San Francisco Bay Joint Venture and San Francisco Bay Estuary Partnership, said the significant funding boost comes at a time when the region must aggressively advance projects to prevent losing habitat forever and to prevent bayside communities from becoming inundated.

“It’s a really positive sign. There is so much that needs to be done to have a chance to be able to respond to sea-level rise and keep our shorelines resilient,” said Sandra Scoggin, coordinator of the San Francisco Bay Joint Venture. “We’re in a very critical few years now that if we don’t get a lot of this restoration on the ground rapidly, it’s going to be a lot harder moving forward to do so with the impacts that we have a chance to get ahead of right now.”

The grant funding has already worked to benefit North Bay restoration projects along San Pablo Bay and could help fund local projects in Marin, such as such as restoration work at Tiscornia Marsh and near McInnis Park in San Rafael.

“Almost any restoration projects along the bay will benefit water quality,” said Barbara Salzman, executive director of Marin Audubon.

The $52.5 million federal funding boost comes from both the $1.5 trillion government spending bill signed last month and the $1 trillion federal infrastructure package approved in November.

The spending bill increased funding for a competitive grant program for the nine-county Bay Area from its normal $5 million to $24 million this year, said Caitlin Sweeney, San Francisco Estuary Partnership director. An additional $24 million will be allocated to the grant program over the next five years from the infrastructure bill.

Another $4.5 million from the infrastructure bill was allocated to the National Estuary Program for San Francisco Bay Estuary projects over the next five years, which is about $1 million more than normal, Sweeney said.

“I think this is definitely the federal boost that we really needed,” Sweeney said. “We have not had the level of federal funding in this region that others have had for climate resilience and habitat restoration.”

The San Francisco Bay Estuary spans from the foot of the Sierras to the Golden Gate and encompasses an area larger than the state of New York. The estuary and surrounding mountains hold about half of California’s water supply and are home to more than 100 endangered and threatened species.

In the past two centuries, the estuary has lost about 90% of its historic wetland habitat because of urban development, agriculture and other land-use changes. While efforts are ongoing to restore wetland habitat throughout the bay, the latest report card put out by the federal- and state-led San Francisco Estuary Partnership shows habitat conditions have not improved, or have worsened in some cases.

Securing more funding for San Francisco Bay and the estuary has been an ongoing effort for years. US Rep. Jackie Speier, a Democrat in San Mateo County, has introduced several bills since 2010 to increase funding, including a bill in 2020 to provide $125 million over five years for the bay. While all the prior bills failed to pass through Congress, Speier was able to secure funding through the latest spending bill.

About 200,000 acres of wetlands on San Francisco Bay were lost by the start of the 20th century as they were diked and drained to make room for the state’s rapidly expanding agricultural and urban development. A regional goal to restore about half has been underway since the late 1990s, with more than half that amount completed.

The Environmental Protection Agency grant program has been used to support several projects through the years. One of them was the recent completion of a 400-acre tidal marshland near Novato and Highway 37 that provides the dual benefit of preventing swarms of mosquitoes from descending on local towns.

The project, led by Audubon California, was completed in late 2020 and sought to address a problem that has existed since the mid-20th century. The marshland, located near the mouth of the Sonoma Creek that runs under Highway 37, was formed rapidly compared to natural processes by hydraulic mining during the Gold Rush in addition to farmland created by levees.

As a result, the marsh didn’t form the natural channels that allow water to flow out from high tides. The sitting saltwater drowned vegetation required by birds and other wildlife and became a hotbed for mosquitoes, said Andrea Jones, Audubon California’s bird conservation director.

To fix this, crews dug a mile-long channel through the marsh into Sonoma Creek along with side channels that have allowed the marshland to drain during high tides. Dredged sediment was also used to build up the marsh into a gentle slope to allow endangered salt marsh harvest mice and Ridgway’s rails to escape high tides. Jones said this project set a new precedent for marsh restoration work that could be performed in the bay.

“It was sort of demonstrating a way to help a marsh along and be more adaptable because we’re going to get more and more water coming into these marshes,” Jones said.

The marsh has long been a problem for the Marin-Sonoma Mosquito Vector Control District. Some of the mosquito species that breed in the marsh are able to fly as far as 20 miles, reaching communities in Sonoma, Napa and as far as San Rafael, said Erik Hawk, the district’s assistant manager. By reducing the flooding, the district no longer has to use aerosol spray or treat the water to prevent swarms.

“The vegetation has come back strong and the marshes have looked the best in my 20 years with the district,” Hawk said.

Paige Fernandez, a biologist at the Richardson Bay Audubon Center and Sanctuary in Tiburon, studies birds’ responses to the restoration project at the Sonoma Creek marsh near Sonoma, Calif., in October 2020. (Haymar Lim/National Audubon Society)

The post San Francisco Bay restoration bolstered by $53M federal inflow appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

NASHVILLE, TN (WSMV) – It’s no secret that people flock to Nashville every day. However, it is not just people from all over the country, but also from all over the world.

As Nashville continues to grow and become more than just a city known for country music, tech and healthcare professionals are starting to dominate. International companies are paying attention.

“Nashville is on the map, not for the country, not for the Southeast, but for the whole world as a real estate investment market,” said Joel Sanders, Founder and CEO of Apartment Insiders. “It used to be one of those flyover markets where that kind of money only went to New York City or San Francisco, and now those investment dollars are going to Nashville.”

According to recent censuses, the number of companies and corporations with international connections in Nashville has almost doubled in the past 10 years. This in turn creates more jobs and more real estate needs.

The countries with the most immigrants are Great Britain, Australia and Japan.

“Nashville has always had this interesting connection with Japan,” said Sanders. “We have Nissan, we have Nissan, we have Bridgestone, even Mitsubishi just got a bunch of jobs here, and even the current Senator from Tennessee was the ambassador to Japan, so there was this unique bond.”

In December, non-stop flights from Nashville to London via British Airways were resumed at Nashville International Airport. Airport leaders said more international offerings will be added in the coming years.

WSMV.com is on the go with you now! Get the latest news and videos, 4WARN weather forecast, weather radar, special investigation reports, sports headlines and more from News4 Nashville.

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Copyright 2021 WSMV. All rights reserved.

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POINT REYES NATIONAL SEASHORE – An unexpected influx of elephant seals has restricted access to a beach at Point Reyes National Seashore, northwest of San Francisco.

The National Park Service closed access to the Drakes Beach area this week after storms and tides landed 200 elephant seals, making the path from the parking lot to the beach unsafe.

The only exception to the closure is between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. on weekends and bank holidays when park staff is present.

Giant elephant seals spend most of their time at sea.

Males are 4.3 to 4.9 meters long and weigh up to 5,000 pounds (2,268 kilograms). Women are on average 3 to 3.6 meters long and weigh up to 907 kilograms.

The post Inflow of elephant seals restricts Level Reyes seashore entry appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (KTXL) – As the exodus from the Bay Area to Sacramento continues, local realtors and appraisers scramble to keep up with fluctuating demand from home buyers.

As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Sacramento area is now a seller’s market, which means there are many homebuyers but limited inventory. This has created an unprecedented and challenging real estate market for both realtors and potential homeowners.

For El Dorado Hills real estate agent Melissa Quade, who experienced this 10 years ago in Seattle, seeing a big boom in the real estate market is not an unfamiliar job.

“I saw prices go up exponentially when I was in this market and now I see it here too,” Quade told FOX40.

But COVID-19 has created a unique situation for Quade and other realtors in the Sacramento and Bay areas.

San Francisco residents fled to Sacramento in large numbers during the pandemic: report

A recent CBRE research study showed that migration from densely populated and expensive areas has increased tremendously. Case in point: Moves from San Francisco to Sacramento County increased 70%.

“The buyers are in full force out there,” explained Quade. “Lots of movement from the Bay Area. You don’t have to live there anymore because you can work remotely so come here where you can get a lot more bang for your buck. “

The problem right now, however, is that sellers are in short supply.

“In El Dorado County, where I am, we have 75 percent fewer records than last year,” Quade said.

Quade added that this is frustrating for potential home buyers, “not just because they don’t have the money the Bay Area buyer has, but just because things are being done very, very differently now, and that Buyers have to take a much greater risk. ”

Quade said the median retail price in the Sacramento area, which includes counties of Sacramento, Placer, El Dorado, and Yolo, rose over 20% between March 2020 and March 2021. Since January of this year the market has risen 9% and is on the right track to keep rising.

“We haven’t seen a stock shortage like this in recent history, and we haven’t seen that many buyers out here, and that just creates insane,” Quade said.

There is also the gap between the estimated value and the real market value of homes, which is also difficult for appraiser and market analyst Ryan Lundquist.

“Our average price in January was $ 485,000 and just months later it was about $ 530,000,” Lundquist said. “And so we really saw very, very rapid growth.”

Out of the 30 largest subway areas in the US, Sacramento ranks number one in terms of net removals, most of which come from San Francisco.

And while it may seem daunting, the Sacramento real estate market offers plenty of opportunity.

“We actually had high sales volume for 10 months in a row,” Lundquist told FOX40. “Buyers are pulling the trigger for what’s out there. So we actually got numbers that are higher than 2019 and 2020.”

“It’s been a seller’s market here for a long time, but not like that,” Quade said.

Quade’s advice to first-time buyers in Sacramento is simple: be patient, competitive, negotiate terms, and focus on homes that have been in the market for at least a week.

According to Lundquist, there is good news for buyers: offers in the region are on the rise, and mortgage applications at the national level have been falling for three straight weeks. That means less competition.

Real estate boom: why people are paying thousands more than the asking price

It’s not all bad news for local real estate. In fact, Quade said this was the best time to sell. The only thing a seller is best at is finding a new home out of state.

Lundquist also gave advice to sellers: don’t be overzealous and put off potential buyers.

“Although buyers are hungry, they are not so desperate where they are literally paying for anything for any price and for any home,” he said.

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