Water

It’s been a mixed bag for California residents seeking health reform. Covered California, the state’s health insurance marketplace for middle-income residents, announced on Tuesday that it would increase its premiums by nearly 10% in 2024 — the highest hike since 2018, writes CalMatters’ health reporter Kristen Hwang. Though federal pandemic aid had helped shield most […]

The environmental costs of ending water diversions from Mono Lake to Los Angeles would be mixed: It might help a shore bird habitat but would require changes that increase carbon emissions.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom had to concede defeat on trying to get the Legislature to give a very contentious water tunnel project streamlined regulatory treatment.

The construction of Sites Reservoir would benefit millions of migratory birds that stop in the Central Valley on their journey along the Pacific Flyway.

Legislators threatened to reject Newsom’s infrastructure package if he won’t remove the Delta water tunnel. The issue could be ammunition as the budget deadline looms.

The conflict over water rights has been brewing in California for decades. The Legislature is now involved as lawmakers weigh three bills to curb those rights, some dating back to the 19th century.

The legislation would expand California’s authority to fine water scofflaws who keep pumping. Even if fines had reached $10,000 a day, “I'm not so sure we wouldn't have done it again,” one rancher says.

Gov. Gavin Newsom declared Thursday he will crusade for a 28th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution on gun control — and if he wanted more national attention, he certainly got it as  supporters praised and critics slammed his bold ambition. As CalMatters colleagues Ben Christopher and Alexei Koseff explain, the amendment is pretty straightforward: It […]

For the first time in this drought-stricken century, a new price for water has been set under the new Colorado River pact. This agreement is the start of the end of agriculture as we know it in the West.

President Biden signed on Saturday a last-ditch bill to raise the national debt limit that includes Republican-forced provisions for stricter work requirements on welfare recipients. But California is headed in the opposite direction. And that could lead to the state losing a big chunk of the federal grants that fund its CalWORKS program. As Jeanne […]