Pocket Life May 2025

Pocket Life May 2025

Pocket Life By Corky Mau Photography by Aniko Kiezel May 2025 Civic Pride Young activist specializes in community service With senior prom over and graduation near, Bryce Merrill knows his high school days are ending. He’ll miss West Campus High School but looks...
Board Games

Board Games

Last summer, a Laguna Beach woman decided to kick people off the sand near her oceanfront home.

“I’m not joking around,” she screamed. “It’s not harassment on the beach, it’s harassment in my whole property. Get out of here! Now!”

She dragged a rope across the beach, marked an imaginary boundary and continued to shout. Beachgoers packed up and trudged away.

Spot Fix It

Spot Fix It

Walk the dirt trail along the lower American River. Underfoot is cobble, buried in soil and held in place by decades-old tree roots.

Added in the 1950s, the smooth stones have protected the riverbank from erosion for more than seven decades. Cobble is a far cry from riprap, large angular rock and rubble used to protect shorelines.

“Cobble is very effective and still holding in place,” says Bill Avery, a biologist and Sacramento State professor. “Roots plus cobble are almost invincible. You’ve got extremely powerful erosion protection.

“It does not need to be covered with angular riprap exploded out of a quarry.”

Scot Crocker 1958 – 2025

Scot Crocker 1958 – 2025

Scot Crocker, 1958-2025 Photography by Tia Gemmel Scot Crocker, who died in February at 66, called himself a communications strategist and branding expert. Those labels were true, but they don’t explain the passions that drove his strategic and branding success....