Julie Cart
CalMatters-
After a unanimous vote Thursday by the CPUC, homeowners get smaller payments from utilities, which solar companies say will slow construction of new rooftop solar projects. But new state incentives will be available. -
Moderate weather and well-timed rainstorms in much of California combined to curb the acreage and structures burned. -
The California Public Utilities Commission’s scaled-back plan eliminates consumer fees. The original was abandoned after criticism from the governor and solar advocates that it could hurt the transition to renewable energy. -
Of all the ballot measures put before California voters this fall, Proposition 30 — which would raise taxes on the rich to support electric car deployment and combat wildfires — is perhaps the most confounding. -
Newsom’s priorities — for the last three weeks of the session — include ramping up targets for greenhouse gas reductions and clean electricity, and creating safety zones around new oil wells. -
About 10% of Cal Fire’s workforce quit the agency last year. “We are at critical mass, guaranteed,” one Cal Fire captain said. Workers’ comp cases for PTSD are routinely denied, and many crews are fatigued from working weeks at a time with no time off. -
From housing and health to transportation and education, the Legislative Analyst’s Office provides a litany of sobering climate change impacts for California legislators to address as they enact policies and set budgets. -
Regulators approved “seriously deficient” fire prevention plans, including from PG&E, which sparked California’s deadliest wildfire, state auditor says. -
In a repeat of last year’s criticism, legislators were told there’s “a very real risk” the cap-and-trade program won’t meet California’s greenhouse gas goals. The state air board is revising the program. -
UN nations have pledged to reduce climate-changing methane and forest destruction within 10 years. California has been trying to handle both problems, with limited success. -
As drought grips most of California, water thefts have increased to record levels. Thieves tap into hydrants, pump water from rivers and break into remote water stations and tanks. -
Stop us if you’ve heard this before: California is in the grip of a severe drought. Again.Now the federal government is stepping in to help.
