State fish and game officials declared mountain lions on the Central Coast and in Southern California threatened under the state’s endangered species act.
Rachel Becker / CalMatters
Posted inLatest News
‘Little death bombs’: Illegal cannabis farms poison California’s forests. Who’s cleaning them up?
Even after legalization, illicit cannabis grows continue to pollute California’s public lands. And the contamination, new research shows, lingers.
Posted inRecreation & Sports
A new invader threatens California water supplies. Can the state stop its spread?
Officials are shoring up water systems infiltrated by the golden mussel. Dogs and human inspectors are checking boats at some California lakes, but a patchwork of oversight leaves many lakes unprotected. “There’s just too many boats and too many people out there,” one warden said.
Posted inHousing & Development
In a boon to developers, California budget includes sweeping rollback to CEQA environmental laws
Major changes to the California Environmental Quality Act include an exemption for high-tech industrial plants and other projects. The move, fast-tracked under pressure from Gov. Gavin Newsom, sparked fierce pushback from environmental, community and labor groups.
Posted inPolitics & Policy
These 4 million acres of California forests could lose protection. Here’s what Trump’s ‘roadless rule’ repeal could do
The land at stake ranges from dense, remote coastal forests in the far north, to alpine conifer forests in the Sierra Nevada, to Southern California’s great expanses of brush. Experts dispute whether revoking the two-decade-old rule would help prevent wildfires.
Posted inHealth & Wellness
EPA bans DCPA, dangerous herbicide used on California crops
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Tuesday banned a weed killer known as DCPA or Dacthal, a chemical used for decades. It can harm babies’ developing brains, and farmworkers and people living near fields are most at risk.
Posted inLatest News
Hot, inland California cities face the steepest water cuts with new conservation mandate
Urban water agencies serving a third of Californians, including in Santa Cruz County, won’t need to cut use, while Central Valley and desert cities face the most cuts.
Posted inLatest News
Drinking water of a million Californians fails to meet state requirements
Almost 400 suppliers, two-thirds in communities of color, don’t meet California’s water safety and reliability standards. The report lists four water systems serving Santa Cruz County residents in the “failing” category, including the financially troubled Big Basin Water Company.
Posted inHealth & Wellness
California sets nation’s first water standard for cancer-causing contaminant
Water suppliers say the costs of the State Water Resources Control Board approving a standard for hexavalent chromium will be massive, with rates increasing for many consumers. Known as the “Erin Brockovich” chemical, hexavalent chromium is found statewide.
Posted inPolitics & Policy
California acts to halt Kings County’s groundwater overpumping
State officials, for the first time, put a local groundwater basin on probation to stop overuse. The order triggers hefty fees for Kings County growers and mandatory reporting of well use.