When ranchers violated an emergency order to stop pumping water from the drought-plagued Shasta River last year, state officials fined them $4,000, or roughly $50 each. Now California legislators are weighing a bill that would triple fines for such infractions — and could allow the penalty to climb higher than a million dollars. Authored by […]
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New Blood, Big Oil: California Legislature Starts Special Session
California regulators would cap the profit margin for oil refiners and could fine companies that exceed that limit under a proposal announced Monday by Gov. Gavin Newsom, the latest escalation in his battle with the oil industry over a summer of record gas prices. Newsom unveiled the measure, which does not yet include key details […]
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No, California’s Drought Isn’t Over. Here’s Why.
In a clear sign that the drought persists, California this week adopted new emergency regulations aimed at stopping residents from wasting the state’s precious water. The rules ban practices such as hosing down sidewalks and driveways with drinking water, washing cars without a shutoff nozzle on the hose and irrigating lawns and gardens too soon […]
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From Maggots to Sex Abuse, Nursing Homes Sue California to Overturn Citations, Fines
Already paralyzed from a stroke and suffering from COVID-19 pneumonia, the 65-year-old man contracted a serious infection and landed in the hospital. The California Department of Public Health, which regulates nursing homes, investigated and in September 2020 fined the nursing home $60,000, concluding that the patient’s care at Longwood Manor Convalescent Hospital was so deficient […]
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Fortuna to Fine Commercial Cannabis Growers, T-S reports
Fortuna will begin fining commercial cannabis growers in the city $1,000 a day after a unanimous vote Monday by the city council, according to the Times-Standard. Read the full story here.
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City to Shutter Squires’ Blue Heron
Following a standoff with defiant property owners Floyd and Betty Squires, the city of Eureka is condemning the couple’s Blue Heron Lodge, a 15-room motel on the south side of town. Eureka Chief Building Official Brian Gerving said the couple — who for years have faced allegations of providing substandard housing in their more than […]