A stretch of the Klamath River in far northern California near the Oregon line. (Photo: Victoria Ditkovsky, via Shutterstock)The governors of California and Oregon, leaders of the Yurok and Karuk Tribes, PacificCorps and billionaire investor Warren Buffet announced a landmark, $450 million agreement Tuesday to remove four dams on the Klamath river to restore dwindling salmon populations.
Residential water sprinklers in action. (Photo: Fahroni, via Shutterstock)OPINION: For over a decade, Californians have been dealing with unpredictable and confusing water surcharges. That could change if the state’s Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) votes to adopt a program recommended by the Public Advocates Office (Cal Advocates) as soon as Aug. 27.
The hulks of destroyed automobiles burned in the 2018 Thomas Fire in Ventura County. ((Photo: Joseph Sohm, via Shutterstock)On the final day of the legislative session, Gov. Newsom signed a complex, $21 billion bill that will dramatically change how California pays for future wildfire damages, with the customers and shareholders of California’s largest utilities covering the tab. The unprecedented measure seeks to stabilize the utility market and limit rate hikes, while establishing a blanket of financial security and compensation to victims of the devastating 2017-2018 fires.
Solar panels arrayed in the Mojave Desert. (Photo: Andrei Orlov, via Shutterstock)OPINION: As firefighters from across the West come together to battle wildfires, and legislators meet for their last week of this year’s legislative session, our state’s leadership has before them a real opportunity to take decisive action to help mitigate the climate trends that are weighing on our state today.
A hazy day in the Los Angeles Basin, New Year's Day, 2015. (Photo:Trekandshoot, via Shutterstock)OPINION: Gov. Jerry Brown has called Donald Trump’s election the proverbial “heart attack” to get California off of the equivalent of cigarettes — climate-destroying fossil fuels. But for Brown to be the foil to Trump’s anti-environmental policies, it’s going to take a lot more than launching California’s own climate-tracking satellite.
Voluminous data displayed on a computer monitor. (Photo: Dimitri Nikolaev)OPINION: California once again is defining a new era of public benefits from corporate consolidations in advanced communications and high-speed Internet access. Consumers and residents will be measurably better off as a result and California will move closer to closing the Digital Divide.