Environment

Urban water agencies serving a third of Californians won’t need to cut use, while Central Valley and desert cities face the most cuts.

A Kings County judge granted a temporary restraining order against the state's unprecedented mandate. Growers there will not have to meter their groundwater use for now.

Public chargers must be built at an unprecedented pace to meet the target in less than 7 years, and then doubled to 2 million in 2035. The high cost — $120,000 or more for one fast charger— is just one obstacle.

Harnessing clean energy is a venture of unprecedented scope in California, bringing big changes to Humboldt and the Central Coast, and requiring 26 ports along the coast.

In three rulings the U.S. Supreme Court dealt a body blow to the federal bureaucracy. From healthcare to climate to workers’ rights, California’s rules often go farther.

Heat waves have killed hundreds of Californians and cost billions of dollars in the past decade, according to a new report from the state insurance department.

The measures are substantially weaker than a previous proposal after an onslaught of criticism. But they will still save enough water through 2050 to supply the state’s entire population for a year, at a cost of $4.7 billion.

Nearly every major environmental group in California opposed the bill, which would have modified the state’s signature environmental law to speed up upgrades to power lines. Supporters said it would have helped free the state from fossil fuels and make the grid more reliable, but opponents feared it would damage state parks.

The oil industry's decision will mean that state rules protecting homes and schools near oil and gas wells will go into effect. The companies instead will fight them in court.

Even when suicidal, California firefighters struggle to find medical help and navigate the workers’ comp morass to pay for it. A 2021 analysis showed their claims were more likely to involve PTSD — and were denied more often.