California

California water agencies that rely on the Colorado River today proposed a modeling framework for the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation to evaluate as it considers actions to help stabilize reservoir elevations and protect critical infrastructure to ensure the Colorado River system can continue to support 40 million people, nearly 6 million acres of agriculture, and […]

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – In support of expanding recreational opportunities to California’s communities, California State Parks has recommended $4.68 million in federal grant funding for seven local non-motorized trail projects. Cities such as Glendale, Napa and Riverside applied for the funding in hopes to improve the quality of life for their communities by enhancing access to […]

Los Angeles, CA, January 30, 2023 – Chevron’s profits report to investors Friday revealed it made 85 cents per gallon profit in California in 2022, more than doubling last year’s 37 per gallon profit and nearly doubling its historical average of 46 cents per gallon over the last twenty years. Chevron has only crossed the […]

SACRAMENTO Calif. January 27, 2023 — California State Parks’ Division of Boating and Waterways (DBW) announced today the availability of a boating safety course in Spanish. Like its English counterpart, the Curso de California para Navegación home study eBook is free and helps Californians be compliant with the mandatory boating education law that requires power boat operators to […]

January 26, 2023 – The State Bar of California’s Chief Trial Counsel George Cardona announced today the filing of a Notice of Disciplinary Charges (NDC) against attorney John Charles Eastman (State Bar No. 193726). The 11 charges arise from allegations that Eastman engaged in a course of conduct to plan, promote, and assist then-President Trump in […]

From late Dec. 2022 into Jan. 2023, a series of nine “atmospheric rivers” dumped a record amount of rain and mountain snow across the western U.S. and Canada, hitting California particularly hard. More than 32 trillion gallons of water rained down across the state alone, and the moisture also pushed into much of the Intermountain West.  The San Francisco Bay […]

SAN LUIS OBISPO, CALIF. January 25, 2023 – Today, technical staff at the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) refused a request by Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) to resume reviewing a 2009 license renewal application the company formally withdrew from NRC consideration in 2018. The staff’s decision affirmed recent arguments in the petition by San Luis Obispo Mothers for Peace […]

In a recent study, scientists found that a previously unmeasured source – water percolating through soil and fractured rock below California’s Sierra Nevada mountains – delivers an average of 4 million acre feet (5 cubic kilometers) of water to the state’s Central Valley each year. This underground source accounts for about 10% of all the water […]

Washington—Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) today released the following statement on the shooting at a Lunar New Year celebration in Monterey Park that left 10 dead and at least 10 injured:             “It was heartbreaking to wake up to another mass shooting, this time at a Lunar New Year celebration. What should have been a joyous […]

California’s infamous drought-to-deluge-to-drought climate has just swung hard toward the wet end of the spectrum. Three weeks of relentless storms brought San Francisco some of its heaviest rains in more than a century. Floodwaters inundated large areas, tens of thousands of Californians lost power, and countless trees were toppled across the state as gale-force winds […]

WASHINGTON, January 20, 2023 — The Center for Biological Diversity submitted a petition asking the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to reintroduce sea otters to a large stretch of the West Coast. Threatened southern sea otters occupy only 13% of their historic range, and a small population of the animals currently lives on California’s central coast. “Bringing the sea […]

SACRAMENTO – Business owners and taxpayers impacted by California’s winter storms are now eligible for emergency tax relief from late payment interest and penalties. “California is moving with the urgency this moment demands, rapidly bringing support to Californians recovering from the devastating impact of the recent storms,” said Governor Gavin Newsom. “Business owners across the […]

Spring is the sweet spot for breeding songbirds in California’s Central Valley – not too hot, not too wet. But climate change models indicate the region will experience more rainfall during the breeding season, and days of extreme heat are expected to increase. Both changes threaten the reproductive success of songbirds, according to a study […]

Today, President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. declared that a major disaster exists in the State of California and ordered Federal aid to supplement State, tribal, and local recovery efforts in the areas affected by severe winter storms, flooding, landslides, and mudslides beginning on December 27, 2022, and continuing. The President’s action makes Federal funding available to […]

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Yesterday, U.S. Senators Alex Padilla and Dianne Feinstein (both D-Calif.) along with Representative Jimmy Panetta (D-Calif-19), Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.-11), and Representatives Kevin Kiley (R-Calif.-03), Salud Carbajal (D-Calif.-24), Adam Schiff (D-Calif.-30), and Brad Sherman (D-Calif.-32) led a bipartisan letter with 42 other California Members of Congress urging President Joe Biden to grant […]

Heavy rainfall from an atmospheric river triggered mudslides in the Los Angeles area on Jan. 9, 2023. Sarah Reingewirtz, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG via Getty Images Amir AghaKouchak, University of California, Irvine Rivers of muddy water from heavy rainfall raced through city streets as thousands of people evacuated homes downhill from California’s wildfire burn scars […]

January 11, 2023 – Despite recent, torrential rains, most of Southern California remains in a drought. Accordingly, many residents plant trees prized for drought tolerance, but a new UC Riverside-led study shows these trees lose this tolerance once they’re watered. One goal of the study was to understand how artificial irrigation affects the trees’ carbon […]

Sacramento, January 10, 2023 — Following Gov. Gavin Newsom’s introduction of the 2023-24 State Budget, League of California Cities Executive Director and CEO Carolyn Coleman issued the statement below: “The Governor’s proposed 2023-24 State Budget honors funding commitments to local governments made in the 2022 Budget that bolster essential local programs and support our most […]

Sacramento – With significant winter weather impacting the majority of the state this week, the Department of Motor Vehicles is reminding Californians to stay off the roads if possible and take precautions if you must drive. “Driver safety is our number one concern,” said DMV Director Steve Gordon. “The safest thing to do is stay home. But […]

Late Sunday evening while in Mexico City, Mexico for the 10th North American Leaders’ Summit, President Joseph R. Biden, Jr., declared that an emergency exists in the State of California and ordered Federal assistance to supplement State, tribal, and local response efforts due to the emergency conditions resulting from successive and severe winter storms, flooding, […]