Erin Rode

California

Contributing Outdoors Writer at SFGate

freelance journalist in southern california & LA outdoors writer @SFGATE | past: environment reporter @mydesert 🌴housing reporter @vcstar 🌊

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Articles

California city can't shake its abandoned mall

4 days ago | sfgate.com | Erin Rode

In September 2010, when General Growth Properties LLC decided to shutter the near-empty Redlands Mall and hand it off to a subsidiary, the company’s then-vice president assured residents that the long-struggling Inland Empire mall wouldn’t be completely abandoned. One of the Redlands Mall store owners at the time painted a different picture.
California’s newest national monument targeted by Texas group in lawsuit

1 week ago | sacbee.com | Erin Rode

May 24-In January, when then-President Joe Biden established Chuckwalla National Monument in the desert just southeast of Joshua Tree National Park, the decision was cause for celebration among the wide array of organizations and governments that had spent years campaigning for the monument. The designation comes with additional protections from development for the hundreds of thousands of acres managed by the Bureau of Land Management.
Calif.'s newest national monument targeted by Texas group in lawsuit

1 week ago | sfgate.com | Erin Rode

In January, when then-President Joe Biden established Chuckwalla National Monument in the desert just southeast of Joshua Tree National Park, the decision was cause for celebration among the wide array of organizations and governments that had spent years campaigning for the monument. The designation comes with additional protections from development for the hundreds of thousands of acres managed by the Bureau of Land Management.
Judge accuses US agency of not using ‘best available science’

2 weeks ago | sacbee.com | Erin Rode

May 16-A decadelong saga to federally protect the Joshua tree took another turn this week, when a judge overturned the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's previous decision to keep the tree off its endangered list. Now, the decision on whether to list the iconic and gangly desert species will return to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, for the third time in a decade. It's just the latest move in years of back-and-forth between conservation groups and both state and federal agencies.
Calif.'s disappearing Joshua trees eke out a court win. It may not be enough.

3 weeks ago | sfgate.com | Erin Rode

Now, the decision on whether to list the iconic and gangly desert species will return to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, for the third time in a decade. It’s just the latest move in years of back-and-forth between conservation groups and both state and federal agencies.
Complaints pile up for Calif. hotel known for sectioning off public beach

3 weeks ago | sfgate.com | Erin Rode

An upscale hotel in the Orange County coastal community of Laguna Beach has run afoul of long-standing state regulations. The hotel, located on a popular stretch of public sand, built a berm and put up signage and lounge chairs to create the illusion of its own private beach for guests, leading to outcry on social media and a stern warning from the state. Apparently, maintaining that lush oasis and stress-free environment for guests takes a lot of work.
Climate change is making California's hardest hike even worse

1 month ago | sfgate.com | Erin Rode

As hikers begin the grueling climb from the trailhead, they look down on the 36,000-pound statue of Marilyn Monroe, the palm trees lining Palm Canyon Drive and the throngs of tourists crowding under misters on hot days. Elevation at the trailhead is just 487 feet above sea level, but after hours and hours of forging uphill, successful hikers will eventually reach Mount San Jacinto, elevation 10,831 feet.
L.A. Officials Test Residents for Lead After Fires

1 month ago | nytimes.com | Erin Rode

People in and around the burn zone may have been exposed to the toxic chemical through ash from the wildfires.. Jairo Perez walked out of the parking lot of God's Waiting Room Church in Altadena, Calif., on a recent Saturday with his 9-year-old son, each with matching bandages in the crook of their elbows. They had just gotten their blood drawn to test for lead exposure.
One of Southern California's most majestic waterfalls is finally open

1 month ago | sfgate.com | Erin Rode

The rare sight in often dry Southern California has attracted generations of hikers, but for the past several years the trek to the falls has been off-limits to the public. Now, the popular hiking area is finally reopened to visitors, and the waterfall is as majestic as ever. The trail to Sturtevant Falls starts at Chantry Flat, a popular recreation area tucked just a few miles north of the city of Arcadia.
Orange County city takes first steps to add aerial gondolas

1 month ago | sfgate.com | Erin Rode

Irvine’s Great Park is supposed to be the long-awaited crown jewel of the meticulously master-planned suburb in Orange County. Currently around 500 acres in size and still under construction, the park is expected to ultimately span 1,300 acres, making it larger than New York City’s Central Park (and larger than San Francisco’s 1,017-acre Golden Gate Park). Once completed, Great Park is expected to be one of the largest municipal parks in the country.