The Shumway Oak Grove Regional Park in Stockton launched an autumn nature walk for the community to get an inside look at how important California’s historic oak trees are, especially during the fall.

Carolyn Dougherty is a volunteer naturalist at Oak Grove Nature Center and led a group of people on Sunday morning for a new nature walk, which kicked off this fall: “Autumn Among the Oaks”.

“During the autumn, we talk about what’s happening here in the autumn, like our oak galls and our acorns,” Dougherty said. “And what animals are doing and what our Yokuts tribes were doing at this time of year, which was gathering acorns to store for the winter.”

Dougherty is a retired educator and a big advocate for lifelong learning, not just for herself but to share knowledge with others — especially at this Oak Grove preserve.

“We are a preserve,” Dougherty said. “And I’d like people to understand why the importance of preserving the oak groves isn’t just because of the trees but all of the species that each tree supports.”

Dougherty said these oaks are keystone species, supporting up to 4,000 different species like California scrub-jays, acorn woodpeckers, California ground squirrels, and Western lizards.

“This is my second time taking this tour because I find it fascinating,” Dr. Julie Bates-Livesay, a Stockton resident, said. “And so I got to learn more about galls that grow on oak trees that we make ink out of them, that historic documents were written in the ink produced by them.”

Dougherty said the Yokuts Trail and Miwok Trail were named to pay homage to the ancestors of the area. And as these leaves fall this season, one of the goals of the tour is to have an appreciation for California’s rich history.

“To know where we came from and just to have a deeper appreciation of native California history…the importance of our landscape and what our native landscape contributed to our indigenous people, and how it transformed with our agriculture and industry,” Dougherty said.

Dougherty says 80% of these groves in California are unprotected and can be affected by development and agriculture.

“So, each time that we can protect a little pocket of it is important to us,” Dougherty said.

“Come out and be in nature,” Dr. Bates-Livesay said. “We’re very fortunate to live where we live, to have access to this kind of a nature environment. Whether it be here, at Oak Park, or in Lodi, at Lodi Lake, or a little further up the hill at one of our California or National Parks. We’re blessed here in California to have that kind of access.”

With each step the local community members took with the tour, they learned to appreciate the oaks, their history, and the steps it takes to preserve the land amidst this season.

“To see the park being utilized, from everything from frisbee golf to these kinds of educational tours is a big thing,”  Dr. Bates-Livesay said.

“I think it’s really important to understand where we came from, and that our part in this life is to be a good steward,” Dr. Bates-Livesay said. “And the only way you can be a good steward is if you even know that nature exists and that you’re a part of that.”

There will also be a Sandhill Crane Festival in Lodi next week. Dougherty told us these habitats were once threatened, but with the help of conservationists and local farmers working together, she says the cranes are coming back.

There are tours for different seasons with different topics related to the season, along with a nature center with different programs. Some of those include walks, school tours, an “Astronomy in the Park” monthly event to see stars, and hands-on learning for people of all ages.

For Dr. Bates-Livesay and her friends, they capped off the tour with a picnic among the oaks.

This autumn brought something that isn’t always common for much of California — a decent amount of rain in October. Rather than heat waves, there have been umbrellas.

After years in which some of the worst wildfires in state history happened in the fall, a lot of people are wondering: Is fire season over?

It depends on where you live, fire experts say. And simply put, there’s more risk in Southern California right now than Northern California.

“We have not yet seen enough rain in Southern California to end fire season,” said Daniel Swain, a climate scientist with the University of California division of Agriculture and Natural Resources. “But we probably have in Northern California.”

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On September 11, FBI agents searched Continuum’s Newport Beach, California, offices, law firm Paul Hastings wrote in a September 12 letter seen by Reuters.

Representatives for Continuum did not respond to emails and calls seeking comment. The FBI is an enforcement arm of the Justice Department. Spokespeople for the agencies did not respond to requests for comment. An attorney for Cantor Group said the firm upheld the terms of the Zions and Western Alliance loans and did not provide comment on the government scrutiny.

Allen Matkins, a law firm that represents other entities linked to Continuum, wrote in an October 2 letter that it learned on September 11 that certain of its clients were the subject of search warrants “in connection with a pending criminal investigation,” and that a grand jury had been convened in the case.

Prosecutors typically convene a grand jury when they intend to gather more evidence. The letters did not say which specific criminal authority was leading the case or what potential misconduct or individuals it was focused on.

Criminal investigations do not necessarily mean any wrongdoing has occurred and many do not result in charges.

Reuters is reporting the FBI search and probe for the first time. The government scrutiny could have ripple effects for what legal filings and public records show is a complex web of investors and lenders tied to Continuum’s real estate dealings, some of which are entangled in civil litigation.

Paul Hastings and Allen Matkins are representing parties embroiled in a complex real estate dispute. The letters relate to those proceedings. The Allen Matkins letter was disclosed in a California court.

When asked about the letter by Reuters, a lawyer for Paul Hastings said the firm was “working to unravel multiple levels of alleged fraud,” but did not provide more details.

Allen Matkins did not respond to calls and emails seeking comment.

PASSIVE INVESTORS

Zions on October 15 sued Cantor Group fund guarantors Andrew Stupin and Gerald Marcil, among others, to recover more than $60 million in soured commercial and industrial loans. The next day, Western Alliance flagged that it had sued the pair and a different Cantor fund in August to recover nearly $100 million.

Both suits allege key information was misrepresented or not disclosed, breaching the loan terms. Western Alliance also alleges fraud on the part of the Cantor fund.

Continuum acquires and manages distressed real estate assets for groups of investors, and its largest investors include Stupin and Marcil, according to a February arbitration ruling related to the real estate dispute. That ruling found Cantor “consists solely” of Continuum’s legal owner, Deba Shyam, and shares the Continuum offices. Shyam did not respond to calls and emails seeking comment.

Cantor upheld its contractual obligations and was transparent with its lenders, while the loans were audited and independently reviewed multiple times over the years, said the Cantor attorney Brandon Tran, who also represents Stupin and Marcil.

The pair are passive investors in Cantor and held no operational roles, he added. Cantor in legal filings has disputed that the Western Alliance loan is in default.

In a statement, Marcil said he had invested in several of Continuum’s properties. He denied wrongdoing and said that he was a victim.

Spokespeople for Zions and Western Alliance did not respond to requests for comment.

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