By Dan Bacher | While Governor Gavin Newsom has very skillfully trolled Trump on social media, drawing praise from people all over the country, he and the California Legislature have at the same time incurred the wrath of environmental justice advocates for pushing an array of controversial bills that they consider
Photo by Dan Bacher. | By Dan Bacher | Sacramento - As the California Legislature returned to session after the summer recess on Monday, a group of climate and environmental activists unfurled four blue and yellow banners proclaiming “Newson Stand Up To Big Oil” in the Capitol rotunda. While they held the
The oil and gas industry spent a total of $9,139,655 in lobbying during the first quarter of 2025
By Dan Bacher |Sacramento — In all of my years of journalism and activism, I can’t remember a single public works project that is as strongly opposed by such a diverse coalition, ranging from Tribes to family farmers, from environmentalists to Southern California ratepayers, as the Delta Conveyance Project. In
The Sacramento River as it winds its way through the Delta. Photo by Dan Bacher. | By Dan Bacher | Sacramento — The State Water Resources Control Board has just released its controversial proposed updates to the Sacramento Delta portions of the Bay-Delta Plan: mavensnotebook.com/… The proposal includes both the Big Ag-backed
By Dan Bacher | SACRAMENTO — As Californian salmon and Delta fish populations collapse because of massive water diversions and other factors, the California Water Impact Network has submitted written testimony and a detailed report to a hearing of the State Water Resources Control Board blasting Governor Newsom’s proposed Delta Conveyance
By Dan Bacher | BAKERSFIELD, CA–In a setback for climate justice advocates, the Kern County Board of Supervisors on June 26 voted to approve changes to a controversial zoning ordinance that fast-tracks the approval process for tens of thousands of new oil and gas drilling permit applications throughout the county.
By Dan Bacher | The Joint Legislative Audit Committee (JLAC) didn’t have enough members present yesterday to approve a full audit of the Department of Water Resources spending on Delta Tunnel, but they did approve the reconsideration of the audit at the July/August JLAC hearing. After the hearing, Assemblymember
Last week, the California State Assembly approved Assembly Bill 942, a controversial measure that would eliminate net energy metering benefits for homeowners who purchase properties with existing solar systems, marking a significant shift in the state's solar policy landscape. The bill, authored by Assemblymember Lisa Calderon (D-Whittier), passed
Three environmental organizations filed a lawsuit yesterday against the Sacramento Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO), challenging the city of Sacramento's approved expansion boundaries that would allow massive warehouse development on farmland in North Natomas. Sierra Club, the Environmental Council of Sacramento, and Friends of the Swainson's
By Dan Bacher | You know when a MAGA Republican Senator calls a piece of controversial energy legislation a “Big, Beautiful Bill” that it isn’t going to serve the residents of the state of California. But that’s what Republican Senator Tony Strickland called SB 540 (Becker). And despite Democratic
Young runners in the 22nd annual Salmon Run on the Klamath River from the mouth of the river in California to the river's headwaters in Oregon. This year’s run honored the first return of salmon following the largest dam removal project in U.S. history. Photo by
California Environmental Justice Alliance Action (CEJA Action) advocates at the State Capitol on May 6. Photo courtesy of CEJA Action. | By Dan Bacher | Sacramento, CA. — The unprecedented lobbying spending spree by Big Oil that took place in 2023 and 2024 has continued into 2025 as the oil industry spends millions
By Dan Bacher | Oil and gas corporations pumped record amounts of money into fighting California’s environmental justice and climate policies in 2024, according to an analysis by the Last Chance Alliance (LCA). “Lobbying and influence spending disclosures show that Big Oil spent $6.6 million in the fourth quarter
By Dan Bacher | acramento, CA — In the latest legal battle in the fight to stop the Delta Tunnel, a Sacramento judge has rejected another attempt by the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) to lift an injunction that blocks DWR from conducting geotechnical investigations that DWR claims are essential to
by Dan Bacher | For the third year in a row, the commercial salmon fishing season on the ocean will be shut down in California, due to the collapse of the once robust Sacramento and Klamath River fall-run Chinook salmon populations. The Pacific Fishery Management Council (PFMC), the body that oversees