California

SAN FRANCISCO, May 10, 2024 – After hearing from consumers across the state and reviewing the evidence in the record, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) today issued a proposal rejecting AT&T’s request to withdraw as a carrier of last resort (COLR) and indicating that the CPUC intends to initiate a new Rulemaking process to […]

SAN FRANCISCO, May 9, 2024 – The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) today approved a proposal to reduce the price of residential electricity through a new billing structure mandated by the state Legislature in Assembly Bill 205. This billing adjustment introduces a flat rate bill component and reduces the electricity usage rate. It lowers overall […]

May 6, 2024 – In the 1940s and 1950s, the ocean off the coast of Los Angeles was a dumping ground for the nation’s largest manufacturer of the pesticide DDT – a chemical now known to harm humans and wildlife. Due to the stubborn chemistry of DDT and its toxic breakdown products, this pollution continues to plague […]

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) Director Charlton H. Bonham has closed the recreational razor clam fishery in Humboldt County following a recommendation from state health agencies determining that consumption of razor clams in the area poses a significant threat for domoic acid exposure. Pseudo-nitzschia, a naturally occurring, single-celled marine alga, produces the […]

WASHINGTON – In one of the largest wage violation settlements ever reached for U.S. poultry workers, a federal court in Los Angeles has entered a consent judgment that orders Fu Qian Chen Lu, Bruce Shu Hua Lok and others as owners and operators of a network of California poultry processors and distributors to pay $4.8 […]

WASHINGTON — Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland applauded President Biden’s 13,696-acre expansion of the Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument in northern California’s Inner Coast Range today. The new designation protects a striking 11-mile-long north-south ridgeline that is sacred to the Patwin people and hosts a mosaic of rare natural features supported by the area’s […]

Oakland, CA – California Humanities is pleased to announce the recipients of the 2024 California Documentary Project (CDP) grants, awarding $400,000 to 13 new film, audio, and interactive media productions that document California in all its complexity.  From a docuseries highlighting the culture and diversity of Siskiyou County; to a portrait of a long-term Fresno-based Harriet Tubman Civil […]

Dignity Health and Aetna, a CVS Health Company, have reached agreement on a new, multi-year contract that allows Aetna members to maintain in-network access to Dignity Health services, facilities and providers in Arizona, California and Nevada. The effective date of the new agreement is April 1 and health care services received by Aetna members since […]

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – The Department of Water Resources (DWR) today announced a further increase in the State Water Project (SWP) water supply allocation forecast for 2024. The forecasted allocation has increased to 40 percent, up from 30 percent last month. The State Water Project provides critical water supplies to 27 million Californians and farmers served […]

OAKLAND, Calif. — The California Supreme Court ruled today that the state’s minimum wage law does not apply to people working for private companies while they are held in pretrial detention in California’s jails. The lawsuit, Ruelas v. County of Alameda, was brought by people incarcerated at the Santa Rita Jail in Alameda County who […]

SACRAMENTO, Calif. April 17, 2024 – Celebrate Earth Day this month with California State Parks at any of the 280 unique park units across the state. State Parks has numerous Earth Day-themed events planned. They include in-person activities such as guided walks and hikes, workdays, and a bioblitz, as well as virtual programming with a […]

DAVIS, Calif., April 15, 2024 – The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) in California is taking applications for both the NRCS Migratory Bird Resurgence Initiative (MBRI) and Tricolored Blackbird Initiative through May 24, 2024. California has $500,000 available for each initiative statewide for agricultural producers. “It is our mission to support producers in addressing […]

LOS ANGELES – A Japanese-language translator was charged today via federal criminal complaint with unlawfully transferring more than $16 million from a Major League Baseball (MLB) player’s bank account – without the player’s knowledge or permission – to pay off his own substantial gambling debts incurred with an illegal bookmaking operation.             Ippei Mizuhara, 39, […]

On Wednesday, April 10, 2024, the Pacific Fishery Management Council (PFMC) acted unanimously to recommend closure of California’s commercial and recreational ocean salmon fisheries through the end of the year, mirroring recommendations made last year to close the fisheries in 2023. Salmon stocks continue to be impacted in California from ongoing issues associated with drought […]

SACRAMENTO — Reinforcing efforts to protect Californians from hate-motivated violence, the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES) today announced awarding $39 million to 193 community groups across the state. This announcement follows Governor Gavin Newsom’s additional $20 million investment in the program last October to further the state’s efforts to bolster safety and […]

SACRAMENTO, Calif. April 8, 2024 — The California State Senate today passed a resolution to officially declare 2024 the “Year of the California Grizzly Bear” to mark the 100th anniversary of the extirpation of California’s official state animal. The last reliable sighting of a wild grizzly bear in California was in the spring of 1924 in Sequoia National […]

MCFARLAND, Calif. April 5, 2024 — A major biomass and carbon capture and storage project slated for California’s Central Valley abruptly ended this week after the company, under scrutiny from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, withdrew federal and local permits. Last week the EPA ordered San Joaquin Renewables to either withdraw its carbon dioxide injection permit […]

On April 6, 2023, the Pacific Fishery Management Council (PFMC) acted unanimously to recommend a full closure of California’s 2023 commercial and recreational ocean salmon seasons due to extremely low population estimates for Sacramento and Klamath river fall Chinook salmon. Within hours of the recommendation, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced his administration’s request for a federal […]

April 4, 2024 – California, a state known for its aggressive greenhouse gas reduction policies, is ironically the nation’s greatest emitter of one: sulfuryl fluoride.  As much as 17% of global emissions of this gas, a common pesticide for treating termites and other wood-infesting insects, stem from the United States. The majority of those emissions […]

Groundwater is a critical resource around the globe, especially in dry regions, but it’s importance in sustaining ecosystems remains largely unstudied. There are many challenges in managing this precious resource for multiple purposes, including water supply and healthy ecosystems. New research has used satellite imagery and groundwater monitoring data to investigate the links between groundwater […]