PORTLAND, Ore. — Hemp growers and entrepreneurs who were joyous a year ago after U.S. lawmakers reclassified the plant as a legal agricultural crop now are worried their businesses could be crippled if federal policymakers move ahead with draft regulations. Licenses for hemp cultivation topped a half-million acres last year,...
Mayor Brand Vetoes Cannabis Business Regulations
Mayor Lee Brand vetoed the Fresno City Council's plan for recreational cannabis business regulations on Monday. The council long debated the plan, which included several social equity components, for stores to conduct business in Fresno. The final vote took place on Dec. 12, passing 4-3. A veto needs five council...
California Must Stop Relying on the Endangered Species Act to Manage the Environment
In California, state and federal endangered species acts play an important and often outsized role in regulating water and land management. These powerful laws are also often at the center of conflicts between environmental and economic uses of water. The state and federal acts have helped prevent the extinction of...
Digital Wallets Like Apple Cash Can't Help if You're Scammed
NEW YORK — My desperation to see Ariana Grande in concert created the perfect trap. Instead of seeing her sing about love and loss, I got sucked into an online ticket scheme that cost me $75 and a big chunk of my pride. Con artists often get away with scams...
Fresno Cannabis: Social Equity and When Stores Might Open
Proposed new guidelines and maps in advance of a Fresno City Council discussion show where cannabis businesses may locate, who may work there, and what the social equity component could look like. The council will discuss a new round of regulations at 11 a.m. Thursday at City Hall. Listen to...
Snoozing Crew Raises Specter of Criminal Charge in Boat Fire
LOS ANGELES — Federal investigators identified a violation of Coast Guard regulations that could trigger criminal charges in the California dive boat disaster that killed 34 people. The National Transportation Safety Board said Thursday that all crew members on the boat Conception were asleep when the pre-dawn fire broke out...
Where Trump’s California Funders Are, and What They’re Giving
This may come as surprise to the president, the national media and more than a few Californians, but there are plenty of Trump supporters in the “Resistance State.” And since the beginning of the year, they’ve been spending a lot of money to keep the president in the White House....
Fresno Liquor License Reform Plan Delayed a Week
A proposal to cap liquor licenses in Fresno will be delayed a week. The city is well above the number recommended by state Alcohol Beverage Control, and some parts of Fresno are saturated with stores selling booze. Councilman Miguel Arias had intended to introduce a resolution Thursday restricting new alcohol...
California May Boost Rules for Homes at High Wildfire Risk
SACRAMENTO — Years of increasingly deadly California wildfires spurred lawmakers to consider regulations Tuesday that would toughen local governments' requirements for approving housing developments in high-risk areas. A state Senate committee voted 8-3 Monday to advance a measure requiring developers to increase fire protections, plan for evacuations, or prepare for...
Jerry Brown: Cal Democrats Likely Will Overspend
SACRAMENTO — Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown helped make his party even more powerful in California during the last eight years and now, less than a month before leaving office, he predicts that dominance will make it difficult for his successor to control Democrats' hunger for spending and regulations. The leader...