Although Santa Cruz is famous for its beaches, one of the County’s most important stretches of sand lies inland in the Santa Cruz Mountains, in an area known as the Zayante sandhills. Tucked between the communities of Bonny Doon and Scotts Valley, the sandhills are isolated pockets of ancient sand that support an ecologically distinct assortment of plants and animals. Once covering about 6,365 acres, the sandhills are now restricted to less than 1,500, making it one of the rarest habitats in the state of California.
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The recent submittal of significant proposed revisions to California's mining law, the Surface Mining and Reclamation Act ("SMARA"), signals potentially broad-reaching changes to the statute.  On February 21, 2014, Senator Fran Pavely (D) introduced SB 1270, a bill proposing to overhaul various sections of SMARA.  SB 1270 proposes fundamental changes to SMARA. Click here for a copy of SB 1270.
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More than 25 years ago, former Graniterock CEO Bruce Woolpert introduced the idea of “Recognition Day” to Graniterock People. He brought the core of the idea from his experience as a manager at Hewlett-Packard, where legendary leaders Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard visited each HP Division once-a-year for a day-long “Division Review” to evaluate business performance.  Bruce modified the concept at Graniterock, and it became a key part of our Company Culture.
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Doug Sanders literally grew up with Graniterock concrete. His dad Larry, now retired, was a loyal Graniterock customer during his career as one of the largest concrete contractors in Santa Cruz County. Doug learned his trade next to his father, playing in sand piles on construction sites as a youngster. “Dad was always 100% Graniterock, I grew up with Graniterock and I can’t imagine getting my concrete anywhere else,” says Doug. “I’ve known these people all my life and they are like my family.”
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Over the past fifty years, many state and county mining regulations and federal and state environmental laws have been created to protect and conserve local habitat and rare and endangered species.  The California red-legged frog was designated as a threatened species in 1996. Its range is mostly limited to the Central California coast, from Marin County south to Ventura County. Ponds are a part of mining operations, and with the capability to create an ideal pond habitat for the red-legged frog, Graniterock was challenged to find a way to combine responsible mining practices with long-term protection and stewardship of the land.
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by Amanda Bayhi
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How does your business manage customer feedback? Your feedback could arrive in a letter, a phone call, a face-to-face meeting, or a formal customer satisfaction survey. Most organizations focus nearly all their time and energy on what didn’t go well. If your goal is to be the best at earning a customer’s business every day, you’ll work to attack problem areas and correct them. You may think that by eliminating any negatives, your customers will want to continue to do business with you. Actually, this approach is far from complete.
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Continuous improvement and respect for people articulate the vision and goals of James Sommerville, Inc. (JSI). JSI performs grading, paving and underground construction projects throughout the Monterey, Santa Cruz, San Benito and Southern Santa Clara County areas, with a focus on quality and safety. Company founder Jimmy Sommerville has developed these core values over a lifetime in the construction business.
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With historic drought conditions and looming water shortages, many areas within California will be faced with water restrictions.  Homeowners would be wise to prepare for the worst-case scenario.
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The siren warning that a blast was imminent at Graniterock’s A.R. Wilson Quarry Tuesday came two minutes before 25,000 pounds of explosive would hammer loose a landslide of rocks and boulders. When the time came, electronic timers ignited 74 explosive charges, sending a massive cloud of stone and dirt into the air. This was followed by the roar and rumble as the rock tumbled into the quarry. 
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