California

September 16, 2016 – Elections officials across California continue to receive complaints from voters that received letters from an organization called Voter Participation Center (VPC) which inaccurately claim the addressee is not registered to vote. VPC also included a pre-filled voter registration form that contained incorrect or outdated information or information for persons who don’t […]

September 16, 2016 – Caltrans and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) remind motorists to remain alert for wildlife on roadways during Watch Out for Wildlife Week, which runs September 18-24. “We urge motorists to remain alert and be cautious when traveling through wildlife areas, so our roadways will remain as safe as […]

Sept. 15, 2016 – Clues from prehistoric droughts and arid periods in California show that today’s increasing greenhouse gas levels could lock the state into drought for centuries, according to a study led by UCLA professor Glen MacDonald. The study, published today in the Nature.com journal Scientific Reports, looked at how natural climatic forces contributed […]

SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. Sept. 15, 2016 – Three conservation groups filed a request with the Santa Ana Regional Water Quality Control Board today to amend the permit of the Rapid Infiltration and Extraction (RIX) facility to require adequate water flows in the Santa Ana River for the federally protected Santa Ana sucker fish. Since 2014 […]

WASHINGTON, DC, Sept. 14, 2016 – The California Congressional Delegation released a letter today calling on the Obama Administration to approve a waiver that would allow undocumented immigrants to purchase unsubsidized health insurance through Covered California, the state’s health benefits exchange. If approved, California would become the first state in the nation to allow individuals […]

Note: On Tuesday, SoCal Gas reached a $4 million settlement with California state prosecutors over a 2015 leak that spewed thousands of tons of methane and other chemicals into the air and forced more than 6,000 residents to evacuate Los Angeles area neighborhoods. Statement of Tyson Slocum, Director, Public Citizen’s Energy Program. The $4 million […]

EUREKA, Calif. Sept. 13, 2016— In response to a petition from the Center for Biological Diversity and allies, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced today that the Lassics lupine, an imperiled pink alpine wildflower, may warrant protection under the Endangered Species Act. In January the Center, joined by two scientists and the California Native […]

SACRAMENTO, Calif. September 12, 2016 – Legislation by California State Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez (D-San Diego) to establish equitable overtime standards for farmworkers in line with other Californians was signed into law today by the Governor. “This is a truly historic day in California. Thanks to an incredible coalition of workers, lawmakers, labor, environmentalists and individually committed Californians, […]

Sept. 12, 2016 – In a big victory for fishing groups who were mobilizing for a huge turn out of anglers at the California Fish and Game Commission meeting in Folsom on August 25, Stewart Resnick’s Coalition for a Sustainable Delta Astroturf group and their water contractor allies withdrew their petition to increase bag limits […]

ORLEANS, California, September 12, 2016 – Today, the Western Klamath Restoration Partnership (WKRP) launched a precedent-setting phase of the Orleans Community Restoration Project (OCFR) within the pilot project area for the Somes Bar Integrated Fire Management Project, which is aimed at restoring forests while keeping local communities safe from uncontrolled wildfire. In recent years, wildfire […]

In response to the drought, Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) is patrolling by helicopter to check for drought-stricken trees near power lines. Flights will occur in remote areas of Shasta and Tehama Counties on Tuesday, September 13 and in Shasta and Lassen counties on Wednesday, September 14. Residents are advised that the helicopter will […]

SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 8, 2016 — The Center for Biological Diversity sued the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today for failing to set new water-quality standards to combat ocean acidification or respond to a three-year-old Center petition demanding the agency address this growing threat to marine life. Despite scientific consensus that federal water-quality standards are outdated […]

September 8, 2016 – The Little Hoover Commission, in a report sent Thursday to Governor Brown and the Legislature, again advised more vigorous accounting for $2 billion in annual revenues and outcomes for Proposition 63, the Mental Health Services Act (also known as the Millionaire’s Tax). Nineteen months ago the Commission cited weak financial reporting […]

SACRAMENTO —The State Water Resources Control Board today announced that urban Californians’ water conservation remained steady at 20 percent in July, just one percentage point below June’s savings of 21 percent. The July results come even after the state relaxed conservation requirements in recognition of improved water supply conditions. The cumulative average savings from June […]

SACRAMENTO September 7, 2016 – California Department of Public Health (CDPH) Director and State Health Officer Dr. Karen Smith today urged health care providers to adopt new recommendations recently announced by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force calling for adults 18 years of age or older who are at increased risk of tuberculosis (TB) to […]

KETTLEMAN CITY, CA, Sept. 7, 2016 – California Rural Legal Assistance, Inc. (CRLA) entered into a landmark environmental justice settlement agreement with the State of California on August 10, 2016, representing El Pueblo para el Aire y Agua Limpia de Kettleman City (El Pueblo), a community based environmental justice group. The settlement will provide immediate […]

LOS ANGELES September 6, 2016 – Citing potential threats to water supplies and endangered wildlife, a U.S. district judge today overturned a federal plan to open more than 1 million acres of public land and mineral estate in central California to drilling and fracking. Today’s ruling comes in response to a lawsuit brought by the […]

HOUSTON, Sept. 6, 2016 — Results from one of the longest-running and most extensive experiments to examine how climate change will affect agricultural productivity show that California grasslands will become less productive if the temperature or precipitation increases substantially above average conditions from the past 40 years. That’s one conclusion from a new study in […]

OAKLAND, Calif. August 29, 2016—The Legislature today passed and sent to the governor a bill (SB 1425, Pavley) that would create a voluntary registry to track the heat-trapping pollution of California water users—primarily water suppliers and wastewater treatment facilities. The bill, which is sponsored by the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS), is needed because the […]