As El Niño nears, California found 57 dams in poor or unsatisfactory condition, and regulators have never yet penalized an owner.
Environment
Posted inPolitics & Policy
How would Xavier Becerra and Steve Hilton manage California’s most precious resource, water?
CalMatters asked California gubernatorial candidates Xavier Becerra and Steve Hilton how they’d manage conflicts over water. The Republican endorsed more spending on dams.
Posted inPolitics & Policy
Prop 45 explained: CEQA overhaul could shift who holds power over building
Aiming to streamline reviews under the landmark California Environmental Quality Act, Proposition 45 would shift who’s in charge of building in the Golden State. Supporters say it would also speed it up.
Posted inLatest News
Santa Cruz County coast faces possible coastal flooding, 16-foot waves and dangerous surf
The National Weather Service will issue a coastal flood advisory beginning on Friday and a beach hazards statement on Saturday.
Posted inOpinion from Community Voices
Santa Cruz County has healthy kelp; we shouldn’t close our coast to fishing
After nearly three years, the fight over proposed no-take marine protected areas along the Santa Cruz County coast is headed for a final decision. County Supervisors Justin Cummings and Manu Koenig argue that the proposals are too broad, lack scientific justification and would unnecessarily restrict local fishing access. State wildlife and Ocean Protection Council staff have recommended denying both petitions, finding insufficient scientific justification for the proposed closures. Now the decision rests with the California Fish and Game Commission — and local residents have one final chance Wednesday to make their voices heard via comments.
Posted inPolitics & Policy
Newsom vetoes Delta levees bill as El Niño winter looms
California Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed SB 872, saying money in the budget made the bill’s $170 million for levee repairs redundant. The state puts those repair costs at $3.3 billion.
Posted inLatest News
A century of sand debt comes due in Malibu
A new study finds the world’s great surf breaks are vulnerable to climate change. In Malibu, the problem is more specific: a coast with few defenses, with a record El Niño winter closing in.
Posted inLatest News
Santa Cruz County’s heat wave, one job at a time
As a heat wave gripped the region, Lookout journalists spoke with workers from Santa Cruz to Capitola to Watsonville about how they were getting through it, shift by shift.
Posted inBusiness & Technology
How California is kicking its natural gas habit
Solar and batteries matter, but they’re not the only reasons for the steep decline in gas-fired electricity in California.
Posted inPolitics & Policy
Industry interests spent big money to stop California from banning PFAS pesticides
After an aggressive lobbying campaign against a bill to ban “forever pesticides” in California, what passed instead “is a shell of what we set out to do,” its author said.
