EnvironmentFour in a row: California drought likely to continueSeptember 28, 2022After its driest three-year stretch on record, California braces for another year with below-average snow and rain. Conditions are shaping up to be a “recipe for drought.”
State GovernmentNewsom signs a bill expanding union rights for farmworkers, shocking advocatesSeptember 28, 2022 | Manola SecairaAdvocates of the bill waited a month for the decision, setting up a vigil outside the capitol after a 335-mile march in August.
State GovernmentNewsom signs bills aimed to turn empty commercial properties into housingSeptember 28, 2022 | Kris HooksThe new laws could provide “up to 2.4 million new homes, including up to 400,000 homes affordable to low and moderate income households,” according to expert analysis.
State GovernmentNewsom signs abortion protections into lawSeptember 28, 2022As other states restrict or ban abortions, the California laws aim to improve access and protect patients and clinicians. They will also expand services to accommodate an expected influx from other states.
State GovernmentSacramento County Board of Supervisors delays adopting climate action planSeptember 28, 2022 | Manola SecairaThe plan has been years in the making and outlines measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
California reverses course, will release Smarter Balanced test scores next month, official saysSeptember 28, 2022State initially refused EdSource's public records request for the test score data.
EnvironmentRoseville given $13-million federal grant for electric busesSeptember 27, 2022 | Claire MorganThe grant, funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and awarded by the Federal Transit Administration, will help the transit agency purchase 15 new electric buses and chargers.
EnvironmentU.S. Forest Service launches criminal investigation into start of Mosquito Fire, PG&E report saysSeptember 26, 2022 | Claire MorganIn a report filed to the Securities and Exchange Commission on Saturday, PG&E officials said that federal investigators seized utility-owned infrastructure located near where the fire started
Health CareAs state sets higher Medi-Cal contract standards, some providers predict major disruptionsSeptember 26, 2022The state’s new Medi-Cal contracts are part of an overhaul to improve patient care. But some say the new providers aren’t fully prepared to handle more Medi-Cal patients.
Race and EquityReparations task force: State could owe Black Californians hundreds of thousands of dollarsSeptember 26, 2022Black Californians could be due hundreds of thousands of dollars for housing discrimination, incarceration, and health disparities alone, consultants said at reparations task force hearings.
