State legislators are clashing with Gov. Gavin Newsom and his call to speed up a $20 billion state water project.
During the unveiling of his updated state budget plan last week, Newsom called for legislation that would accelerate the Delta Conveyance Project, which aims to reroute more water from Northern California southward. That water would bypass the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta and reach about 30 million people living mostly in Southern California, as well as farmland.
Because the immense project faces several legal, environmental and permitting hurdles, the governor wants the Legislature to pass a bill that would, among other things, simplify the permitting process and expedite judicial reviews of lawsuits challenging the project.
But legislators whose districts would be affected by the proposed tunnel object because they say it is too costly and would have devastating effects on the environment and nearby communities without providing more water storage.
On Tuesday a handful of lawmakers from the 15-member bipartisan Legislative Delta Caucus, as well as environmental advocates and tribal leaders from the Delta, gathered at the state Capitol to denounce Newsom’s directive.
- Assemblymember Lori Wilson, a Suisun City Democrat and co-chairperson of the Delta Caucus: “Shifting water from one farming region to benefit another farming region doesn’t solve our water crisis. It only makes it worse.”
The caucus also sent a letter last week to the governor and other legislative leaders pushing back against the bill proposal.
But some do support the governor’s call to action, writes CalMatters’ Rachel Becker. Though they were outnumbered at an Assembly budget hearing Tuesday by those who opposed the project, proponents include water agencies in the Bay Area and Southern California, which argue that the Delta Tunnel would make their water supplies more reliable.
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Other Stories You Should Know
Study finds ‘forever chemicals’ in SF Bay fish
The next time you eat fish caught in the San Francisco Bay, you could also be consuming a mouthful of harmful contaminants.
Striped bass, white sturgeon and other fish collected throughout the San Francisco Bay between 2009 and 2019 contained potentially harmful levels of “forever chemicals,” according to a report published Tuesday by the scientific journal ES&T Water.
As Rachel explains, these chemicals — which seep into the soil from landfills, airports, sewage treatment plants and other industrial sites, and then wash into waterways — are linked to various health risks such as cancer and heart disease.
Many people fish in the bay, including Asian immigrants, other people of color and low-income people. Though they do not sell the fish commercially, some rely on the fish for subsistence.
State officials have established health advisories for other contaminants in fish, such as mercury, but not for forever chemicals.
- LaDonna Williams, program director with the environmental justice nonprofit All Positives Possible: “Do you just close your eyes and pray over your food? … That’s a heck of a decision to have to make.”
Religious exceptions show limits of state abortion protections
Though California officials often tout the state as a “safe haven” for reproductive rights — especially after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned federal abortion protections in 2022 — a legal battle involving a Catholic hospital underscores the limits of California’s abortion rights, writes CalMatter’ Kristen Hwang.
Providence St. Joseph Hospital refused to provide an abortion last year after Anna Nusslock arrived at the Eureka hospital bleeding and in pain, according to lawsuits filed by Nusslock and California Attorney General Rob Bonta. Doctors said Nusslock needed immediate treatment for her miscarriage, but Providence refused to intervene because her twins still had “fetal heart tones.”
Providence argues that it provided appropriate care and that its actions are protected by the U.S. Constitution. Catholic hospitals operate 1 in 5 maternity wards in California. While they aren’t required to provide abortions if they morally object to them, they must provide emergency services, under state law, to patients who request help whose life may be in danger.
And lastly: Reparations renewal; surviving the salmon fishing ban
After losing steam in 2024, California’s Legislative Black Caucus is renewing its push for racial equity with 16 bills. CalMatters’ Wendy Fry and video strategy director Robert Meeks have a video segment on the “Road to Repair 2025” bill package as part of our partnership with PBS SoCal. Watch it here.
And check out another video from CalMatters’ Alastair Bland and Robert about California fishing towns that are trying to adapt as salmon fishing is banned for a third year in a row. Watch it here.
SoCalMatters airs at 5:58 p.m. weekdays on PBS SoCal.
California Voices
CalMatters columnist Dan Walters: The federal government’s waivers for California’s clean-air rules, and the debate over deducting state taxes on federal tax returns are two issues Congress is considering that would have major implications for Californians.
CalMatters contributor Jim Newton: The city of Los Angeles rightly deserves most of the blame for its $800 million budget deficit, but tariffs and a projected decline in tourism under President Donald Trump will worsen the shortfall.
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CA could lose up to 217,000 jobs if Congress cuts Medicaid, analysis says // The Fresno Bee
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Meta promised $1B for affordable housing in CA. Then it quietly walked away // The Mercury News
LA County is paying off millions in medical debt — no strings attached. Do you qualify? // Los Angeles Times
Exclusive footage: Deadly Palisades Fire may have grown from this Jan. 1 blaze // San Francisco Chronicle
Palm Springs bombing investigation turns to the explosives: How were they sourced and built? // Los Angeles Times
Temecula Valley Unified School District must halt ban on critical race theory, court rules // The Guardian