North Coast Congressmember Jared Huffman joined other officials today in pledging to work for the expedited release of federal dollars to help those impacted by the all-but-certain closure of the 2023 salmon season due to what’s forecasted to be near record-low returns of Chinook to the Klamath and Sacramento rivers. “We can’t afford to wait […]
Gavin Newsom
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Newsom’s Climate Budget Would Slash Funds that Protect Coast
Gov. Gavin Newsom’s proposed budget would cut funding for coastal resilience projects almost in half, eliminating more than half a billion dollars of state funds this year that would help protect the coast against rising seas and climate change. The cuts are part of Newsom’s proposed $6 billion in reductions to California’s climate change programs […]
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Public Meetings When the COVID State of Emergency Ends
California’s Brown Act requires that when decisions are being made, public agencies’ meetings must be open to the public. The traditional method of meeting this requirement was to have boards or councils meet in one physical location, which was posted in advance on agendas made available to the public. Members of the public had to […]
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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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By the Numbers: California’s Mild 2022 Wildfire Season
As California emerges from its “peak” wildfire season, the state has managed to avoid its recent plague of catastrophic wildfires. So far in 2022, the fewest acres have burned since 2019. State Emergency Services Director Mark Ghilarducci said California had “a bit of luck” with weather this summer. Although enduring yet another drought year, much […]
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California Commission Overhauls Rooftop Solar Proposal
The California Public Utilities Commission Thursday released a long-awaited overhaul of its proposal to regulate rooftop solar installations, removing an unpopular new fee but reducing how much utilities would pay homeowners for supplying power to the grid. The revised proposal comes after the CPUC earlier this year abandoned a controversial plan that solar advocates warned […]
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Universities Can’t Yank Financial Aid from Students Who Get Private Scholarships, New Law Says
As Dixie Samaniego prepared for her first semester at California State University Fullerton, she had one focus: finding a way to pay. “I knew that my family wasn’t going to be able to pay, or help in any way financially,” said Samaniego, now a senior, “so I started applying to scholarships everywhere.” As a low-income […]
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What You Need to Know About the California Governor Debate
After months of an extraordinarily quiet race, in which Gov. Gavin Newsom has barely even acknowledged his own campaign for re-election, the Democrat came out blazing Sunday in the only gubernatorial debate, relentlessly attacking his Republican challenger as a stooge of oil companies who has obstructed his every effort to solve the biggest problems facing […]
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California to End COVID State of Emergency
California’s COVID-19 state of emergency will end on Feb. 28, 2023, nearly three years after it began, officials in Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office announced today. The announcement came as the new variants raise concerns of another deadly winter spike across the country and as test positivity rates stabilize in California after a nearly three-month decline. […]
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Rap Lyrics on Trial: Bill Would Limit Prosecutors’ Use of Words, Music as Evidence
Gary Bryant Jr. exchanged gunfire with a man in an Antioch apartment parking lot on a July afternoon in 2014. Both were struck by bullets. Bryant survived and the other man died. Police said it was part of a string of gang shootings in the East Bay. At trial, prosecutors alleged — and a jury […]
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‘Forcing the Hand’: Gavin Newsom Leans into Legislative Agenda as First Terms Nears End
As California’s legislative session comes to an end tonight, the priorities and focus of the closing days have been heavily shaped by Gov. Gavin Newsom, who in the final year of his first term has taken significant steps to execute his agenda through legislation like never before. His first three years in office saw Newsom […]
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What’s Behind Newsom’s Safe Injection Sites Veto?
Read between the lines of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s Monday veto of a controversial bill that would have allowed San Francisco, Oakland and Los Angeles to launch trial supervised drug injection sites in a bid to curb California’s epidemic of fatal overdoses, and you might catch a glimpse of the political tightrope he’s walking. Although the […]