"They didn't even try to fly away. They just feebly made noise," a woman told the Santa Barbara Independent on Saturday after spotting over two dozen dead or dying cormorants near Goleta Beach. "A few were on their stomachs, wings spread [and] gasping for breath.... Heartbreaking."
"To address housing affordability in our community, we need all types of affordable housing options, including affordable ownership opportunities that allow individuals and families an opportunity to build equity alongside housing stability," said Santa Clara County Supervisor Betty Duong.
"There are people who have come here after escaping violence and persecution and torture. These are communities that we have historically said, 'You are welcome here. We have the support for you.' And now, the federal government is abandoning them."
"She wants to regain stable health so she can thoughtfully and responsibly consider her options," her office told ABC7 Eyewitness News in a statement announcing her leave of absence and addressing the condition of her mental health.
As a result of these changes, engine and vehicle manufacturers no longer have any future obligations for the measurement, control, and reporting of GHG emissions for any highway engine and vehicle, including model years manufactured prior to this final rule.
SB 343 forces dairy product manufacturers to remove vital recycling guidance from the very cartons Californians rely on every day. This law ignores the reality of our recycling infrastructure and unconstitutionally restricts our right to provide transparent recycling instructions to consumers. We are seeking to stop this policy before it leads to more waste and disrupts our ability to deliver milk to California families and schools.
The Sonoma County Sheriff's Office must comply with subpoenas issued by the county's civilian oversight board as part of a whistleblower investigation into alleged misconduct, a state appeals court ruled Thursday.
California's "Real Food, Healthy Kids Act" represents the first law in the U.S. to define and ban ultraprocessed foods (UPFs) from public school lunches. As reported by CNN, the bill requires scientists and public health experts to determine which ingredients and additives are most damaging to children's health. These "foods of concern" will then be systematically phased out of school meal programs that serve over 1 billion lunches annually.
Standing in front of a gas pump in a video posted to social media, San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan said the costs are "becoming an emergency for working families, and I think we ought to act like it." The moderate Democrat called on state lawmakers to suspend California's gas tax, which at 61 cents per gallon is the highest in the nation.
The patchwork efforts to identify and safely remove contamination left by the 2025 Eaton and Palisades fires has been akin to the Wild West. Experts have given conflicting guidance on best practices. Shortly after the fires, the federal government suddenly refused to adhere to California's decades-old post-fire soil-testing policy; California later considered following suit. Meanwhile, insurance companies have resisted remediation practices widely recommended by scientists for still-standing homes.
The updated Building Emissions Saving Ordinance (BESO) requires sellers of single family homes or duplexes to complete at least six credits worth of upgrades before final sale or pay $2,500 to the city, which is then funneled to the buyer upon completion of the upgrades. For many sellers, installing a heat pump is the easiest and most efficient way to earn all six credits in one fell swoop, while also significantly increasing the appeal of the property, notes Grimsich, CEO of 1-888-Heat-Pumps.
California lawmakers are advancing a bill that could reframe how housing, transportation, and infrastructure projects are approved in urbanized coastal communities, seeking to balance environmental protections with the state's urgent housing and climate goals. Assembly Bill 1740 (AB 1740) - introduced by Assemblymember Rick Chavez Zbur (D-West Hollywood/Santa Monica) - would allow qualifying cities to bypass individual California Coastal Commission approvals for certain housing and transportation projects if they meet specific urban, multimodal criteria.