Bay Area

In June and September of 2017, two heat waves killed at least 14 people in the Bay Area, and sent hundreds more to the hospital. San Francisco was caught off guard, says the city’s deputy director of public health, Naveena Bobba.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is moving forward with a flood control project along Corte Madera Creek in Ross and Kentfield. A draft environmental impact report on the project was released Friday. Comments are being accepted on the findings through Nov. 27.

A state of emergency was declared  for the bayfront community of Belvedere after investigation of a damaged seawall revealed the problem is larger than the city had realized. Consulting engineers told the city late last month it should act immediately to prevent the seawall along Beach Road — which protects the area from flooding — from shifting any further or collapsing into San Francisco Bay.

San Francisco water officials said Monday night they’re testing drinking water in the city’s Sunset District after receiving a report from a customer who said her water “tasted funny.” Officials with the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission said the tests are “out of an abundance of caution” and that they have no evidence of water quality issues.

Mike Taugher taught his children Anna and Zack how to ride their bikes in Benicia State Recreation Area, a short five-block walk from his house. He’d walk and jog with his wife Kim along the rolling hills and wetlands tucked beside Interstate 780. The award-winning Contra Costa Times environmental reporter would kayak along the Carquinez Strait, the same body of water he’d fiercely document, monitoring salmon runs, tiny Delta smelt and battles on the fragile ecosystem’s future.