The Sites Reservoir — a $4.4 billion project to add dams and store more water that’ll be sent south — is still years away from completion. The final environmental report is expected this year, before construction of two large dams and other structures can begin.
CalMatters
Posted inLatest News
Floods, fires, droughts show California needs bigger safety net for farmworkers, advocates say
January’s rains flooded farm fields and orchards. Many California farmworkers lost weeks of pay. Advocates say the state should help them weather such crises. A leading proposal would pay $300 a week to undocumented workers.
Posted inPolitics & Policy
California homelessness: Where are the state’s billions going? Here’s the new, best answer
For the first time, a new state report offers a bird-eye view of how much the state has spent to halt homelessness — nearly $10 billion over three years. Of the half-million Californians who made use of those services, more than 40% ended up housed. Which also means the majority did not, or the state lost track of their whereabouts.
Posted inPolitics & Policy
Family business: Meet the Legacy Caucus in the California Legislature
One in 10 state lawmakers is related by blood or marriage to other legislators past and present. How do spouses, siblings and children get into politics, and what does it mean for lawmaking?
Posted inEducation
‘It’s a big removal of a barrier’: What housing at California’s community colleges looks like
Two California community colleges built housing in the past couple of years, with very different approaches. The projects give a peek at the future of student housing as the state rolls out $500 million in grants to build or expand dorms and apartments on a dozen community college campuses.
Posted inEducation
UC intends to dock pay of workers who went on strike
The University of California said it would claw back wages paid to workers who went on strike in late 2022. The move affects 48,000 workers.
Posted inEducation
College enrollment decline leads to funding changes for underperforming Cal State schools
Cal State leaders revealed a new plan that will take money from campuses missing enrollment targets and give it to schools exceeding their targets.
Posted inPolitics & Policy
Would a wealth tax actually drive the rich out of California?
Research on California taxpayers has shown that some top earners do leave the state in response to large tax increases, but studies vary in their estimation of how many people leave.
Posted inEnvironment
Can California’s power grid handle a 15-fold increase in electric cars?
Despite expecting 12.5 million electric cars by 2035, California officials insist that the grid can provide enough electricity. But that’s based on multiple assumptions — including building solar and wind at almost five times the pace of the past decade — that might not be realistic.
Posted inPolitics & Policy
Reversal of fortune: Newsom outlines plan to deal with budget deficit
After years of record California budget surpluses, Gov. Gavin Newsom has a plan to deal with a deficit he projects at $22.5 billion. He says he can keep his big promises despite the “modest shortfall.”