Bills that would raise California’s minimum wage and allow out-of-state veterans to pay in-state college tuition are among the hundreds that passed a key legislative hurdle Friday.

Dead birds and mosquito samples are now starting to test positive for West Nile Virus in California. Mosquitoes carrying the virus have been found in San Joaquin County...the first in the county this year.

California Governor Jerry Brown continues to make climate change a focus of his administration. He is joining more than 500 scientists in calling for action on the issue.

The Forest Service in Lake Tahoe is reaching out to Hispanic families for the first time with owl surveys in the Sierra.

Reducing overcrowding at California prisons is not easy. Generally, inmates must either be released or given more space, which is expensive. But there is a third option. Inmates can be sent to fire camps.