Mishaps and mayhem from around the region.
California
Posted inAugust 2026: The Conversations Issue
‘I have some very heartfelt conversations’
#iamthewest: Giving voice to the people that make up communities in the region.
Posted inAugust 2026: The Conversations Issue
Convocation of crows, sea-lebrity sea lions and what is that nasty smell?
Mishaps and mayhem from around the region.
Posted inArticles
Can the last casino in Primm, Nevada, save a desert community?
A last-minute deal is another bet on the town’s unlikely survival.
Posted inArticles
I used to ignore prediction markets. Then I learned people were betting on wildfires
My story on prediction market wildfire wagers exposed the gamification of natural disasters.
Posted inJuly 2026: Lost in the Weeds
The Chinese immigrants trafficked on New Mexico’s weed farms
Migrant workers were trapped in the Southwest’s illicit cannabis boom and treated as criminals — until investigators began chasing their bosses.
Posted inArticles
On Mount Shasta, a photographic record outlasts living memory
The re-photo project maps what used to be.
Posted inJuly 2026: Lost in the Weeds
Bears vs. backpacks, busted-up boulders, a sheepish spectacle and the Yoda of Love
Mishaps and mayhem from around the region.
Posted inJuly 2026: Lost in the Weeds
Can restoration save the Delta smelt?
In the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, new wetlands await the threatened fish.
Posted inArticles
The Klamath Tribes couldn’t get federal dollars for salmon. Then the Yurok stepped in
For more than 100 years, salmon had been absent from the Klamath Tribes’ lands — a fact that cut them off from funding sources to fix that.
Posted inArticles
Will betting on wildfires lead to arson?
Fire survivors say using prediction markets to gamble on wildfire is “morally reprehensible.”
Posted inArticles
Heat waves increase the West’s wildfire risk
A new study found that 42% all the area burned by Western fires had occurred during or right after a heat wave.
Posted inArticles
The curious comeback of Putah Creek’s salmon
All the efforts to rewild a Northern California stream leads to salmon rewilding themselves.
Posted inJune 2026: River Revival
Bazillions of bunnies, Montecito’s ‘hog heaven,’ and pride will always prevail
Mishaps and mayhem from around the region.
Posted inMay 2026: Pinecone Cowboys
The Death Valley opera house that’s sinking back into the earth
The people trying to save a singular arts landmark face scarce funding, extreme flooding and aging adobe.
Posted inMay 2026: Pinecone Cowboys
Get to know the Pacific newt
From Vancouver Island newts to California’s high country newts, the toxic Taricha genus includes some unique and deadly Western species.
Posted inMay 2026: Pinecone Cowboys
The Southwest’s superbloom was a beautiful nightmare
A writer experienced everything in spring: supernatural plants, chronic illness and a multi-generational curse called climate change.
Posted inMay 2026: Pinecone Cowboys
The facade of the Red Wind commune
There’s ongoing harm from Indigenous identity fraud.
Posted inMay 2026: Pinecone Cowboys
Sam the Toucan, capybaras over coffee, Vellela vellela and a mechanical rhino
Mishaps and mayhem from around the region.
Posted inMay 2026: Pinecone Cowboys
The plight of the pinecone cowboy
The future of Western forests depends on professional pinecone collectors. They’re slowly being starved out of existence.