dlevey's blog

In the story I wrote last week about the American Lung Association’s "State of the Air" report, quite a few California cities -- including Merced -- measured high levels of ozone. Ozone or smog is a summertime air pollution problem, extending from May through September.

Spokespeople from the lung association said those numbers would have been portrayed even higher if the Environmental Protection Agency's new, more stringent ozone scoring system had been taken into account. Now, the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District has adopted that more "health-protective" scoring standard.

I started covering the Chinook salmon decline last year after it was mentioned to me in passing.

And although I knew it was bad when biologists called the situation a "crisis," it's now risen to "disaster" level -- which appears to be much worse.

Lower numbers of these fish have not just been discovered in the Merced River, but in bodies of water in or near California, Oregon and Washington. While Coho salmon stocks off Washington and northern Oregon have been reported in better shape, they are still far below normal.

Yosemite National Park is restoring one of its iconic views to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the National Park Service and the 20th anniversary of the Yosemite Fund.

The park service says that restoring its Tunnel View Overlook will provide better accessibility to viewing areas for all visitors and provide better circulation patterns for both touring pedestrians and vehicles. The project will also correct safety problems at the Inspiration Point trailhead and fix some drainage issues. All this will be done with the preservation of the surrounding nature in mind, spokespeople said.

I'm a fan of that "Top Chef" cooking competition show on Bravo no matter who’s on it. But everyone in my little Top Chef Wednesday evening get-togethers were pleased to have a local guy to root for.

We had fun cheering for Los Banos native Ryan Scott, 28, who also lived in Modesto before moving to San Francisco to work for Myth Cafe. But, alas, last night that fun came to an end. Our guy was kicked off the show during the tailgate party challenge. It appeared that he was doing OK at first, entertaining the people he fed at the Chicago Bears game.

The much-needed rain of March didn't come, leading to an earlier spring in terms of wildflower blooms. Hopefully, they'll still by out by the time Mariposa's Agri-Nature Trail's "Weekend in the Country" comes around on April 26-27. Some naturalists are concerned that many of the bright lupin, poppies and other flowers now out in force might not stick around to such an extent that far in the future.

Air quality is an ongoing issue in this area, I can't think of anyone who would argue with that. That's why it's good to stay informed.

The way the Valley is addressing particle and diesel pollution has been in state news a lot lately as the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District prepares its PM.5 plan. There will be a hearing in Fresno on April 30.

But in Merced, local residents can learn more about this type of pollution on Monday. A talk about protecting families from particle and diesel pollution will be held 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. in the Sam Pipes Room of the Merced Civic Center, on 18th Street between M and N streets. The list of guest speakers include Paul Cort from Earthjustice and Don Anair from the Union of Concerned Scientists.