Los Coyotes, then and now

Vestiges of our pioneer days are still scattered around our berg, and some seem to be coming back, in full force.
In the 1870s, our hills were dubbed Coyote Hills due to the number of critters roaming around. On the east end, the hills have been developed, and there are few empty lots left in our downtown or elsewhere. The more ground we cover with concrete and asphalt, the more the natives move, adapt, and multiply.

Down below the hills, on any given day, we see possums, squirrels, skunks, raccoons, rabbits, and in the sky, hawks, ducks, and even Canadian geese. As recently pointed out here, Egyptian geese have also taken up residence in our parks, alongside egrets.

One would be hard-pressed to find anyone who spotted a coyote casually cruising downtown in the middle of the day 20 years ago, but now?

Day and night, warnings to keep our ‘fur babies’ inside, with sightings all over, all the time. Some hate them, some want to give them water or food—bad idea. With the growing popularity of raising chickens over the last five years, we have provided even more reasons for Coyotes to leave the hills.

This is a security camera image taken on the sprawling front lawn of a Fullerton home recently, two chickens down, likely more to go.

Here and there, large lots, some with multiple orange trees from the 20s like this one, plus vegetable gardens and a water supply, welcome the critters, who lived here first, finding greener pastures, and stayed, just like us.

Happy Trails For You

The Union Pacific Trail, which was made possible by a nearly $2 million state grant and additional city  funds totaling $480,000, ($330,000 of which were provided by the city’s park dwelling fund). That fund can only be used for parks and recreation projects or facilities, and it is collected through fees from new housing developments, not our tax dollars. The Phase II project broke ground on July 2, and now, with much of the grading completed, it is really taking shape.

For years, this stop-and-go project has been well-documented here in the Observer (see the July 4 issue), as Phase I actually began nearly 20 years ago, and the last five years have seen a non-stop effort to make the trail a reality.

Here are a few images of the recent trail progress, including photos from Highland Avenue to the east and Independence Park to the west, plus the grading taking place along the way.  Say goodbye to rubble, weeds, rocks, trash and hard-to-navigate surfaces. As you can see by the rendering, this will be suitable for bicycle and pedestrian connectivity, will promote outdoor recreation, and will be a safer route for all.

Union Pacific Park

This park will soon also be a welcome addition to South Fullerton, which really needs green spaces close by for kids, big and small, to gather and share some good times. The project has also been in the works for quite a while and is now at the point where the playground equipment is set to arrive.

Thursday, September 11, was Prep Build Day, getting the site ready for volunteers to help bring the vision to life on Build Day, September 13.  Once completed, we promise to reveal the final look here. It is said to be kid-designed, and will be a play space built by the community, for the community.

Photo Quiz

Send answer to Mike at AllMedia@sbcglobal.net

Last time: Diego and other Observer readers logically figured this would be a fast food restaurant with a drive-through, the way it looks. Perhaps some were recalling that for years, it was said the McDonald’s just west of the site would be moving to that location. But no, it’s going to be a new Chase Bank location. Here is an updated photo.

This time: Where is this, and what was Richard Nixon doing there?

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