Joni Mitchell, who wrote the song with the lyrics “they paved paradise and put up a parking lot”, may not have realized her connection to obscure tax code provisions. Brian Leiter, a professor from the University of Texas, might see it. Leiter reports on a proposal to accelerate capital depreciation schedules to a single year,...
Category: News
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Creative diversion of waste
Today’s SF Examiner has an article about an operation that’s trucking food waste from restaurants in San Francisco not to the landfill, but to a giant composting plant in Vacaville. This is a creative way to keep landfills from filling as quickly (and could alleviate, or delay, problems such as that posed by Santa Cruz...
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Some good news for Stevens Creek
Next to Stevens Creek and Stevens Creek County Park lies an undeveloped 124-acre parcel that had been proposed for a 1,500-student private academy. Besides destroying the parcel’s environmental value, the proposal would have had significant traffic impacts and access issues. Canyon Heights Academy has now announced an alternative, permanent location for their school, on the...
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A casino just south of Gilroy?
The Gilroy Dispatch discusses a “nebulous” idea for a tribal casino right near the Santa Clara/San Benito County border, south of Gilroy. This proposal seems to be an extension of the “big box” retail concept favored by Gilroy developers – extremely large buildings and parking lots on undeveloped land, designed to pull in traffic from...
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Stanford gets massive donation for housing
Stanford recently received a $43.5 million donation that is expected to be used primarily to house law school students. The university had previously announced plans to build a 500,000 square-foot dormitory near the law school. Generally, building on-campus housing is a good thing that reduces Stanford’s environmental impact. However, CGF will also have to watch...
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Agricultural preservation versus agricultural mitigation
In Santa Clara County, one increasingly hears the argument that “farming is doomed.” Farmers have told CGF that it isn’t just a matter of them wanting to make windfall profits by selling to developers, but that they can’t make any profits at all being farmers in the County. While this is likely an exaggeration, there...
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Environmental cemeteries
CGF’s Executive Director Tom Cronin pointed out another interesting article in Bay Area news: an environmental cemetery in Marin County. The cemetery will come with a permanent conservation easement with guaranteed public access and trails, it will sell “internment rights” on 5% of the land, and it uses the funding to protect the environment through...
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Managing West Nile virus in Santa Clara County
Interesting article in today’s Mercury News, discussing mosquito control in Santa Clara County, done mostly to prevent the West Nile virus from spreading. My biggest fear, that pressure would be placed to drain wetlands, does not seem to be happening. The pesticides being used could be of some concern, although the bacterial control does seem...
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Mercury News Spotlight on Coyote Valley
The Mercury News published a CGF Op-Ed criticizing Coyote Valley development, focusing on the unneeded rush and the excess housing demand that will bring sprawl thoughout the region. We appreciate the Mercury News adding legitimate criticism like this to the news and opinion coverage of Coyote Valley. I can also attest that the San Jose...
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Unfortunate but unsurprising bias in San Jose
The scandal in San Jose over City staff bias in favor of Cisco products is unfortunate but unsurprising to environmentalists. Coyote Valley’s unwise momentum towards development came out of the same pro-Cisco bias. While there is nothing wrong with rooting for the home-team company, San Jose needs to remember that its first priority is its...