SACRAMENTO — The author of California's sweeping new labor law said Thursday that she intends to ease its restrictions on freelance journalists and others after months of protests that it is already costing people their jobs. Democratic Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez said in a series of tweets that she already has...
Victims: PG&E Still Has Rickety Power Line Near Paradise
SAN FRANCISCO — Pacific Gas & Electric is still operating a rickety power line near the one that ignited a 2018 wildfire that wiped out the Northern California city of Paradise and killed 85 people, according to an expert inspection conducted as part of a legal claim. In an inspection...
Videos Show Fatal Stabbing on California Subway Platform
OAKLAND — More than a year after a young woman was stabbed to death by a stranger on a California subway platform, jurors deciding the fate of the accused killer saw on Wednesday video of the horrific attack. The surveillance video showed a man pull a kitchen knife from his...
What Is SGMA? Here Are the Basics.
By Lois Henry SJV.org The Sustainable Groundwater Management Act was passed in 2014 and enacted in 2015. It aims to stop groundwater overpumping in critically overdrafted basins by 2040 and bring them into “sustainability.” Sustainability is defined as avoiding undesirable results: 1. Chronic lowering of groundwater. 2. Reduction of groundwater storage....
Warrants Served in 1996 Disappearance of California Student
SAN LUIS OBISPO — Search warrants were served Wednesday at locations in California and Washington state in the investigation of the disappearance of college student Kristin Smart in 1996, authorities said. Smart, who attended California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, vanished while returning from a party. The San Luis...
Gov. Newsom Proposes New Plan for Managing Water
SACRAMENTO — Gov. Gavin Newsom revealed a plan on Tuesday that would keep more water in the fragile San Joaquin River Delta while restoring 60,000 acres of habitat for endangered species and generating more than $5 billion in new funding for environmental improvements. The framework announced Tuesday by Gov. Newsom...
California Firefighters Return From Battling Australia Fires
LOS ANGELES — Twenty firefighters from California returned to the United States on Wednesday after spending nearly a month battling wildfires in Australia. The firefighters based at Angeles National Forest arrived at Los Angeles International Airport and were scheduled to reunite with their families at a city fire station. The...
California Pardons Gay Civil Rights Leader in New Initiative
SACRAMENTO — California’s governor announced Wednesday that he is posthumously pardoning a gay civil rights leader while creating a new pardon process for others convicted under outdated laws punishing homosexual activity. Bayard Rustin was a confidant of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and a key organizer of the March on...
California May Pause Student Fitness Tests Due to Bullying
SACRAMENTO — The governor of California wants to pause physical education tests for students over concerns with bullying and discrimination. During a three-year suspension, the state would study whether the current test for children in fifth, seventh, and ninth grades can be modified or a new assessment should be drawn...
Can Dog 'Sleuths' Sniff out California Citrus Disease?
WASHINGTON — Dog detectives might be able to help save ailing citrus groves, research published Monday suggests. Scientists trained dogs to sniff out a crop disease called citrus greening that has hit orange, lemon and grapefruit orchards in Florida, California and Texas. The dogs can detect it weeks to years...