California

OAKLAND, Calif. Sept. 2, 2016 – The Center for Biological Diversity today added $10,000 to the reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for shooting and killing several California sea otters. The bodies of three male sea otters were found between Aug. 12 and Aug. 19 near Santa Cruz. All […]

September 2, 2016 – The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has awarded $720,000 to Los Angeles County to establish, enhance, and maintain information-gathering systems to rapidly detect microcephaly–a serious birth defect of the brain–and other adverse outcomes linked to Zika virus infection. This funding is in addition to the $16.4 million recently awarded to […]

Washington, D.C. September 1, 2016 – U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) announced today that she will be donating more than two decades of her congressional papers to the Bancroft Library at the University of California, Berkeley. She also will be the first speaker at the new Barbara Boxer Lecture Series at UC Berkeley, an annual […]

LAKE TAHOE, CA, August 31, 2016 – A coalition of conservation groups– Defenders of Wildlife, Audubon California, the Pacific Institute and Sierra Club — today called on the State of California to use a new agreement with the Federal Government on the Salton Sea as a launching point for a renewed effort to get much-needed […]

SACRAMENTO, Aug. 30, 2016 – Attorney General Kamala D. Harris today released a statement on the California State Legislature’s unanimous passage of Assembly Bill 2524, the OpenJustice Data Act of 2016. Assembly Bill 2524, introduced by Attorney General Harris and Assemblymember Jacqui Irwin (D-Thousand Oaks), will convert Crime in California and other annual reports published […]

LOS ANGELES, Aug. 31, 2016 –  The CHIRLA Action Fund, the political arm of the largest immigrant rights organization in California, panned news reports that avowed anti-immigrant and GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump was planning a flash field trip to Mexico this Wednesday invited by none other than President Enrique Peña Nieto. Trump is scheduled […]

SACRAMENTO, CA, Aug. 30, 2016 – This evening, the California State Assembly approved the TRUTH Act (AB 2792) by Assemblymember Rob Bonta. The initial vote count was 45-23. The bill, recently revamped and approved by the State Senate last week, now heads to the desk of Governor Jerry Brown. The passage of the TRUTH Act […]

SANTA MONICA, CA, Aug. 30, 2016 – Consumer Watchdog today called on Attorney General Kamala Harris “to take immediate action on the hundreds of consumer complaints against Herbalife to obtain relief for the hundreds of Californians, regardless of their immigration status, who were victimized by Herbalife’s deceptive and predatory business practices.” The nonpartisan, nonprofit public […]

SACRAMENTO, Aug. 29, 2016 – Legislation that would provide Californians more options for when, where, and how they cast a ballot won final legislative approval today in the State Senate. SB 450, sponsored by California Secretary of State Alex Padilla, was jointly authored by Senators Ben Allen (D-Santa Monica) and Bob Hertzberg (D-Van Nuys). The legislation […]

Aug. 29, 2016 – University of California President Janet Napolitano today announced her intent to establish the University of California Firearm Violence Research Center at UC Davis’ Sacramento campus under the direction of Garen Wintemute, an emergency department physician and recognized authority on the epidemiology of firearm violence who has conducted leading-edge research for more […]

SACRAMENTO, Calif. August 29, 2016) – Legislation by California State Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez (D-San Diego) to establish equitable overtime standards for farmworkers in line with other Californians was approved on a bipartisan 44-32 vote by the Assembly today. Assembly Bill 1066 continues the effort begun earlier in 2016 by Gonzalez via AB 2757 and will now be submitted to the […]

SACRAMENTO, Aug. 26, 2016 – Less than 48 hours after the California Senate passed Senate Bill 1279, Gov. Jerry Brown today signed into law Sen. Loni Hancock’s bill to halt future state funding for any new project that would allow coal to be shipped or exported through California. “When I introduced this measure, many people […]

BIG SUR, Calif. August 29, 2016 – The California Department of Parks and Recreation is lifting the closure of some of its Big Sur region state parks as firefighters begin to gain control of the Soberanes Fire. The fire, which started July 22 in Garrapata State Park due to an illegal campfire, forced the closure […]

August 29, 2016 – The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) are looking for information that will lead to the arrest and conviction of the person(s) responsible for the shooting deaths of three southern sea otters in late July or early August. A reward of at least […]

Aug. 26, 2016 – Compassion & Choices praised a Riverside Superior Court decision today to reject a preliminary injunction motion that was filed to suspend the state’s new medical aid-in-dying law. However, the Riverside County Superior Court Judge Daniel A. Ottolia allowed the suit by the Life Legal Defense Foundation, American Academy of Medical Ethics […]

WASHINGTON, DC, Aug. 26, 2016 – The California legislature today sent historic legislation to Governor Jerry Brown that would prohibit the breeding and theatrical performance of captive orcas in California, as well as their export, consistent with federal law, out of North America. The Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) was the co-sponsor of this legislation, along […]

Aug. 26, 2016 – Following more than a year of legislative toing and froing, California’s leaders agreed this week on how ambitious the state will be in the fight against climate change after 2020. Short answer: very. A progressive culture and Silicon Valley-style innovation a decade ago thrust California toward the head of the worldwide […]

BERKELEY, CA, Aug. 25, 2016 – Nearly two in three California voters support the establishment of a state-regulated retail market for the sale of marijuana to adults, according to polling data compiled by the Institute of Government Studies at the University of California, Berkeley. Sixty-four percent of respondents agree, “Marijuana should be legal for adults […]

OAKLAND, Calif. August 25, 2016—The California Legislature today passed Assembly Bill 2800 (Quirk, D-Hayward), a bill requiring the creation of a climate-safe infrastructure working group. If signed into law by Gov. Brown, it would help address a dangerous disconnect between engineering and climate science that threatens the safety and benefits of costly public infrastructure projects. […]

SACRAMENTO August 24, 2016 – California Department of Public Health (CDPH) Director and State Public Health Officer Dr. Karen Smith urges recreational water users to avoid close contact with water bodies containing blue-green algae. Since June of this year, blue-green algae blooms have been identified in more than two dozen freshwater reservoirs, lakes and streams […]