The Iran War has exposed California’s growing reliance on imports of both crude oil and gasoline. The state needs to import more supply as in-state refineries shut down.
Environment
Posted inHealth & Wellness
UCSC researcher aims to fill gaps in Pajaro Valley air monitoring data, help farmworkers deal with pollution health impacts
Javier González-Rocha, an assistant professor of mathematics at UC Santa Cruz, has been working to identify air monitoring data gaps in the Pajaro Valley to better inform farmworkers and the local community.
Posted inHealth & Wellness
Profesor de UCSC busca llenar vacíos en los datos de monitoreo del aire en el Valle de Pájaro para ayudar a trabajadores agrícolas a enfrentar posibles impactos de salud por la contaminación
Javier González-Rocha, profesor asistente de matemáticas en UC Santa Cruz, ha estado trabajando para identificar vacíos en los datos de monitoreo del aire en el Valle de Pájaro con el fin de informar mejor a los trabajadores agrícolas.
Posted inPolitics & Policy
Battery storage developer will seek state, not county, approval for new Watsonville plant
New Leaf Energy, the Massachusetts-based developer behind the proposed battery storage facility in Watsonville, will withdraw its application from Santa Cruz County to instead seek approval through the state.
Posted inPolitics & Policy
California investigates Trump administration’s deal to end an offshore wind project
California is investigating one of the Trump administration’s deals to end an offshore wind project off Morro Bay, with the California Energy Commission saying it has issued an administrative subpoena to Golden State Wind.
Posted inPolitics & Policy
Will California ever build the Delta tunnel? Major battles ahead as Newsom era nears end
California’s Delta tunnel largely cleared a key hurdle last month — but far bigger obstacles still stand in the way.
Posted inPolitics & Policy
The Trump administration tried to stop the national EV charging program. It has kept rolling along anyway.
President Donald Trump froze funding for the Biden-era initiative to boost electric vehicle adoption, but after court battles, some states continue to use the money.
Posted inBusiness & Technology
California will soon have more than 300 data centers. Where will they get their water?
A 330-megawatt data center proposed in the Imperial Valley would need 750,000 gallons of water a day. Satisfying the thirst of 24 more facilities expected to open in the state by 2030 will be challenging, experts and officials say.
Posted inBusiness & Technology
This week in Santa Cruz County business: Graniterock facing lawsuit over Pajaro River; housing development at former Outdoor World site moves forward
In her weekly look at local business, Jessica M. Pasko reports on a lawsuit filed by environmental groups against Watsonville’s Graniterock, development continuing in downtown Santa Cruz and plenty more names, numbers and dates to know.
Posted inOpinion from Community Voices
Drowning in plastic: How modern farming is reshaping the Pajaro Valley
Former farmworker, teacher and local activist Woody Rehanek is stunned when he looks out at the Pajaro Valley and considers the miles of plastic blanketing lush local farmland. He dubs our age “the Plasticene,” for the millions of pounds of farm plastics in use. Recycling, he writes, lags far behind the scale of the problem. Here, he traces how modern agriculture fuels a growing tide of local pollution and then points to a different future, one rooted in soil health, organic practices, and change underway at a few forward-looking companies.
