2024 Top 10 — The Journalism Of Karla Kane
If there's one defining characteristic of life in the late-middle internet age, it's that there's just too much. Too much news, too much free music, too much video, too many people vying for your attention, too many memes, and too many stupid trends. There doesn't seem to ever be time to look back or listen twice. Only at the end of the year do we allow ourselves to do this. One thing I know for sure is that if something says "Karla Kane" in the byline, it's going to be worth reading. Here are 10 of my favorite from 2024.
- A taste of the wild: A local naturalist teaches how to forage for edible plants responsibly — On a Saturday morning in mid-March, a small group of hungry explorers met at Hidden Villa, the nonprofit farm, education center and nature preserve nestled in Los Altos Hills. They weren't there to pick up a CSA box of produce. Instead, the mission was to get a taste of the abundant wild plants growing in our area, under the expert tutelage of senior naturalist Garth Harwood. Over the course of two hours, they got a hands-on (and mouths-on) introduction to some of the edible greens all around us, including tips on how to identify and prepare them safely, courtesy of Harwood's "Make a Wild Salad! Foraging Basics" class.
2. Meet the couples behind 3 vibrant Peninsula businesses — With Valentine’s Day around the corner, we’re catching up with couples running three local businesses: Timothy Adams Chocolates in Palo Alto, Nudie Records in Half Moon Bay and Groovy Goose Coffee in San Carlos. Read on for their insights into being successful partners at work and home — as well as a few of their sweetest eating, drinking and listening recommendations.
3. This Redwood City startup aims to make your HVAC system a lot, well, cooler — When Paul Lambert was on paternity leave following the birth of his second son, he found himself pondering his next move. An entrepreneur at heart, he'd founded companies before, worked at Twitter, and was a partner at Google's Area 120 when he had an epiphany. "I realized I had to work on whatever problem I genuinely believed was the most important problem to my kids' generation – really the whole next generation of humans. It sounds a little cheesy, but it's totally true," he said. "It's pretty clear climate change is that problem."
4. A clean sweep: Butano Broomcraft’s Lisa Sheffield Guy on taking inspiration from nature and going ‘full broom obsession’ — Lisa Sheffield Guy doesn’t consider herself a crafty person. “I don’t sew or quilt,” she said. “It just felt like something I wasn’t good at.” This may be surprising to those who discover Butano Broomcraft, the name under which Sheffield Guy creates a variety of handmade brooms from the Butano Canyon area of Pescadero. “A few years ago, I was determined to make Christmas gifts for my family and friends and not just go buy stuff,” she recalled. So she signed up for a class from a broom-maker in Santa Cruz and gave it a go.
5. Feline design: A ‘catio’ can give cats a taste of the outdoors in a safe way — Want to give your kitty's living quarters an upgrade? If you have the space (and it doesn't need to take much) adding a catio could prove to be the cat's meow. Chris MacIntosh, who laughingly described herself as "probably a certifiable cat lady," is caretaker to several beloved felines who rule the roost from the comfort of their catio in her Redwood City backyard.
6. Spotted a swarm? Meet the Mountain View beekeeper whose new platform gets honey bees rehomed
10. Meet The Baker Next Door: Neighbors bring handmade bread and pastries to downtown Redwood City