Profile of the former Las Vegas water czar Pat Mulroy, solutions to rampant dust in Owen’s River Valley, community solar comes of age in the West, and more.
Most native tongues of the West are all but lost
A map shows where just over 60 languages remain spoken around the region.
$300 fine for tracking mud on streets, dress codes for sheriffs, and more.
Mishaps and mayhem from around the region.
The downside of densification
As an Arizona resident for more than 30 years, I read “Transportation Transformation” with great interest (HCN, 11/24/15). I applaud the light rail, more bikes and walking. However, I believe there are unacknowledged consequences to the new, denser development. In reality, this push for infill in the center of communities is another building boom to accommodate…
Access and disparity
Marshall Swearingen’s article on the ongoing battle over access to public lands (“This Land Is Their Land,” HCN, 2/2/15) highlights two of the most crucial concepts in the formation of the culture of the West: private ownership rights and the large amount of land held in the public domain. These two elements and the balancing…
The water czar who reshaped Colorado River politics
Las Vegas’ Pat Mulroy initiated an era of deal-making that may buffer against catastrophic drought.
Balancing the pulls of domesticity and wilderness
How I take inspiration, and cautionary advice, from Ed Abbey’s family misadventures.
Bullets, Oil, Fire
“This Land Is Their Land” exposes the problems of blocked access, but frames it in terms of landowners vs. access seekers. I have been on both sides of the issue, and I understand that it is not that simple. Like many residents of Albuquerque’s wildland-urban interface, I live a 10-minute walk from public land that…
Chronicling the work of an early Native American artist
Review of ‘In Search of Nampeyo: The Early Years, 1875-1892’ by Steve Elmore.
Community solar comes of age in the West
A neighborhood solar experiment in Washington gains traction in other states.
Beauty and malevolence in Montana
Review of ‘The Ploughmen’ by Kim Zupan.
Facebook Feedback
… on Judith Lewis Mernit’s story, “Why are environmentalists mad at Jerry Brown?” Fred Rinne: “Brown takes big money from the Western States Petroleum Association and will not end fracking in our state. His water plan would, if enacted, wipe out river, estuary and bay ecosystems to benefit a few billionaire agribusiness crooks and developers.”…
Glass half full?
On Jan. 1, I joined 15 friends on a raft trip down the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon. That morning, our boats were covered in snow; the canyon’s red cliffs, capped with white, looked like giant slabs of frosted carrot cake. The ranger said locals had never seen the place so wintry. So we…
Grief’s possible outcomes
Review of ‘The Possibilities’ by Kaui Hart Hemmings.
January exodus
HCN’ers get into the backcountry, editor Betsy Marston sees Berlin and art director Cindy Wehling takes a trip to Hawaii.
Keeping the dust down in California’s Owens Valley
A civil engineer battles Los Angeles over its air pollution legacy.
Latest: California fracking companies inject protected aquifers with wastewater
EPA found that state regulators allowed 2,500 to be contaminated.
Latest: New pesticide regulations for Oregon timber companies
Companies must now give officials at least a week’s notice before spraying.
Big dig, big disgrace
A new mega-tunnel won’t save Seattle from the tyranny of traffic.