News

Environment, Politics

Oil Drilling on California’s Federal Lands Set to Resume After 8 Years, Sets up Early Test of Biden Administration

By

FELLOWS, Ca.— When the sun rose on the morning of Nov. 13, a procession of pumpjacks cast long shadows across golden hills. A lonely cow spent the night ten yards away but now stood backlit by the smog-filtered sun on the horizon. Exactly 11 months earlier, the Trump administration had gone ahead with plans to approve new oil drilling leases on public lands in California. The decision opened more than 1.5 million acres to drilling and ended an eight-year moratorium on federal land leasing in the state. The first seven parcels, 35 miles outside Bakersfield total 4,333.58 acres and are slated to go on sale Dec. 10. More than 90,000…

Read More
covid-19, Education

Forbidden Recreation

By

As a result of the guidelines set forth by Santa Clara Country in response to COVID-19, Stanford took drastic measures to limit the temptation to break social distancing rules. A salient example is outdoor recreation: beach volleyball nets removed, outdoor gyms fenced up, indoor gyms and hiking trails closed, and most interestingly, modified basketball courts. I took a walk around campus and found that Stanford either tied-up the net, boarded-over the rim, or removed completely the hoop altogether at nearly every basketball court across the university. Described as “very fun w/ a sprinkle of deep!” in an Instagram comment, this photo series serves as a visual collection of some of…

Read More
A mask is left on the ground outside of Arrillaga dining hall. (Noah Cortez, Peninsula Press)
covid-19, Culture, Education

Fall Quarter in Quarantine

By

I have been quarantining at Stanford since March. For the past 9 months, I’ve watched campus adjust to the strict COVID-19 measures set in place by Santa Clara County and settle into the new normal that will continue into the foreseeable future. As an MA Journalism student focusing on visual communication (photography, documentary film, VR/AR journalism), my approach to photography follows a structure that is well-reported and straightforward. I have been documenting life on campus since March through photos – this specific photo series documents Stanford life as of November 2020. Some photographs in this short photo collection depict changes Stanford enacted back in March, while others highlight recent developments….

Read More
Tents and belongings along the banks of the San Lorenzo River, a popular location for Santa Cruz’s homeless to find shelter. (Daniel Wu / Peninsula Press)
covid-19, Housing + Development, Social Services

Coronavirus and winter make it harder to solve Santa Cruz’s homelessness problems

By

One day in March, Jeffrey Jerozal got caught in a rainstorm. The sudden coronavirus lockdown put Santa Cruz’s businesses and residents on edge, and wherever Jerozal tried to take temporary shelter, he was met with hostility. A scuffle ensued, the police came, and the homeless man was taken to a hospital, wet and shivering. “It’s a damned state to get hypothermia in Santa Cruz,” he said. Experiences like Jerozal’s are common in a beach town that promotes its legacy of tolerance — “Keep Santa Cruz Weird” is the slogan on T-shirts — but hasn’t been able to solve a persistent problem with homelessness. As city officials, nonprofits and activists struggle…

Read More
covid-19, Culture, Education

Girls Leadership Nonprofit Works to Lessen COVID-strain for Girls of Color

By

Senator Kamala Harris embodies many firsts. She is the first Vice President-Elect who identifies as Black, South Asian, a woman, and an ardent fan of Mary J. Blige’s “Work That.” But for a statistically significant number of Black and Latinx girls in the United States, she is not their first leadership role model— and that’s a good thing. As Harris was blazing the campaign trail in August, a non-profit based in her hometown released a study that shows Black and Latinx girls are considerably more likely than their peers to identify as leaders. They are also more likely to have role models in their lives who identify as leaders. The…

Read More
Culture, Technology

Behind the Scenes of Spotify Wrapped

By

Music streaming service Spotify launched its annual “Wrapped” campaign yesterday, a data-driven feature that showcases the artists and genres that people listened to the most, individualized reports of user data highlighting users’ top songs and podcasts of the year, how many minutes users spent streaming music and podcasts, and cultural trends that shaped 2020. This year, Spotify Wrapped revolved around two themes: gratitude and resilience. New features of the release from 2020 include special statistics tailored about health and wellness, as well as music data about the trends that drove the racial justice movement in the United States. “Wrapped tells the story of a resilient world, made of resilient communities,…

Read More
Arts, Environment

Advice from a legendary wildlife photographer: Amos Nachoum

By

Amos Nachoum’s office space looks different than most: it’s underwater in the ocean, and occasionally the wilderness. For the past three decades, the 70-year-old Israeli has been pushing the boundaries of wildlife photography. There is no right way to become a world-renowned wildlife photographer – Nachoum took up stints as a war photographer in Israel and a cab driver in New York City in his early career. However, success in the field often hinges upon grit, creativity, and a willingness to learn. One of Nachoum’s most famous undertakings is photographing swimming polar bears. In fact, there was a documentary all about it, Picture of His Life. You can watch the…

Read More
Dede Boies runs Root Down Farm, an organic poultry and pig operation in Pescadero that sold out of Thanksgiving turkeys in just hours this year.
Agriculture, covid-19, Politics

Good Sales Give California Turkey Farmers Something to be Thankful for

By

Root Down Farm sold out of turkeys just two hours after posting their holiday order form online this November. That marked a record speed for the Pescadero, California organic farm. Given the unpredictability of the pandemic, they hadn’t known whether turkey sales would be better, worse, or the same as usual, said the farm’s owner, Dede Boies, who raised about 200 turkeys this year. Boies noted that a change in the ordering procedure might have affected the speed of sales—Root Down posted their order form later this year than in the past, perhaps giving customers a sense of urgency when it went up. But either way, Thanksgiving sales remained strong…

Read More
Health, Politics, World

U.S. Refusal to Join COVAX Puts World’s Poorest at Risk

By

The United States has refused to join COVAX, the global initiative to ensure widespread equitable access to a COVID-19 vaccine, a decision that has reduced funding and made it likely that millions of the world’s poorest won’t have access to a COVID-19 vaccine in 2021. Pfizer’s and Moderna’s announcements of promising results of their phase III clinical trials sparked hope in the United States and Europe that a COVID-19 vaccine may start to be available by the end of the year. But millions of healthcare workers, elderly adults, and other vulnerable people in lower and middle income (LMICs) countries will likely not have access to COVID-19 vaccine until 2022 or…

Read More
Agriculture, Politics

Newsom Wants Farmers to Help Fight Climate Change But Provides No New Funding for the Effort

By

Judith Redmond, a California farmer, wants people to know that agriculture is a tool, not an enemy, in the fight against climate change. “Not a lot of people understand how important agriculture is if we want to reach our climate, greenhouse gas reduction goals,” she said. Sacramento seems to understand. In October, Governor Gavin Newsom signed an executive order calling on the state’s agricultural players to join the fight against climate change by preserving California’s biodiversity and storing and removing carbon from the atmosphere – all with the goal of conserving 30% of the land by 2030. But the order gives farmers and ranchers little guidance on what that means,…

Read More
Crime, police, Social Services

Facing Budget Cuts, Kansas City Police Department May End Social Worker Program

By

KANSAS CITY, MO — The Kansas City Police Department’s Social Services Program, which stations a social worker at all six patrol divisions across the city, faces possible discontinuation as the department adjusts to a $26 million budget cut for fiscal year 2021-22. The decision to cut the program comes as social workers have been in the national spotlight recently, with calls to reform police departments and invest in community programs that focus on jobs, affordable housing, and mental health services for underserved populations. Sgt. Jake Becchina, a public information officer and member of the KCPD for 17 years, said the department faces decisions about where to pare down resources as…

Read More
nyc crowds biden win village
Election 2020

NYC celebrates Biden-Harris Ticket Election Win

By

NEW YORK- At around 11:30 a.m. on Nov. 8, residents erupted into celebration as the results of the 2020 presidential election were announced: Joseph R. Biden Jr. and Senator Kamala Harris had beat out the divisive incumbent, President Donald J. Trump and Vice President Michael Pence. Windows above the streets were lifted open as residents cheered, banged pots and pans, and expressed relief and happiness. Cars stretching down Broadway honked and drivers lifted raised fists out their windows. Dance parties convened at random in every borough and public park. After five days of post-election day tension and an omnipresent anxiety, New York City residents rollicked and flooded the streets as…

Read More