Should oil refineries in California be allowed to emit extra greenhouse gases if they “offset” their effects by paying hog farmers in Iowa to reduce methane from animal waste? Or by paying landowners to promise to take better care of their trees? In other words, should offset trading based on...
Who Has the Power to Reopen California Classrooms? Here’s What to Know.
Increasingly exasperated that most public schools remain closed even as coronavirus cases plummet nearly a year into the pandemic, California parents are taking to the streets. They’re protesting in Los Angeles and Silicon Valley. They’re trying to recall school board members in San Francisco and San Ramon. They’re mounting billboards along freeways in Sonoma County and Sacramento demanding that the...
Audit Criticizes State Air Board for ‘Overstating’ Greenhouse Gas Cuts
An audit of California’s climate change program released Wednesday criticizes state officials for overestimating the benefits of its efforts to encourage Californians to drive cleaner vehicles. The state auditor warned that California may not meet its goal to cut greenhouse gases by 40% by 2030 if it doesn’t pick up...
Opinion: Tax Hike on Employers Isn’t Necessary as State Enjoys Revenue Windfall
California’s state government has so much money it could be constitutionally required to give taxpayers a rebate, so it’s somewhat surprising that a group of lawmakers continues to push for a multibillion-dollar tax hike on employers. Assembly Bill 71 would impose a $2.4 billion-a-year tax increase on businesses, including a corporate income...
Effort to Censure Valadao Over Trump Vote Turned Back by California GOP
There were no boozy late-night cocktail parties at this weekend’s California Republican Party convention. Missing too were the bullhorn and placard-toting protest marches, the cameo appearance of rightwing Internet celebrities, the raucus parliamentary brawls between college Republicans. There were no rooms to work, parties to crash, or crowds to whip up. There...
Kaiser Fined $499K by State for COVID Worker Safety Violations
California officials gave a nod to Kaiser Permanente’s reputation for efficiency when they recently selected it to help speed vaccine rollout. But a review of worker safety citations shows Kaiser has had its own pandemic troubles, failing to adequately protect its employees early on. Kaiser Permanente has on multiple occasions failed to...
What Biden’s Presidency Means for California’s Environment
Like a defeated and retreating army, Trump administration officials left Washington, D.C., burning and shredding environmental laws and policies even as they walked out the door. The scorched earth policy of unraveling Obama-era initiatives in favor of widespread deregulation began four years ago, and entailed many dozens of rules and...
Victims Behind Bars: Trafficking Survivors Still Struggle Despite State Laws
Sara Kruzan was in her cell when she received a fax that changed her life. After spending some of her teenage years, all of her 20s and much of her 30s in prison for killing her trafficker, Kruzan learned that California’s attorney general had acknowledged that she was a victim of domestic...
California Lifts Suspensions of Half a Million Driver’s Licenses
More than 400,000 Californians had their driver’s licenses reinstated last month after an appeals court ruled that the state was illegally penalizing people who failed to appear in court on costly traffic tickets. The lawsuit was part of a broader, ongoing effort by legal advocacy organizations to roll back California’s...
Recalling a California Governor, Explained
“Recall Gavin Newsom” signs are popping up around California. At shopping centers and street protests, people fed up with the Democratic governor are asking voters to sign petitions. What began as a far-fetched effort by Republican activists has turned into a credible campaign attempting to throw Newsom out of office....