Two Words Explain California’s Wildfire Woes: Spotted Owl

October 13, 2022 10:41 amOctober 13, 2022 12:50 pm

Some things in life are hard to understand and explain. The theory of relativity, for example, or the origins of black holes. Other things are easy to grasp, however. Such as: California’s wildfire woes. In the past five years summer...

California’s Wildfire Prevention Act

July 5, 2022 4:49 pmJuly 5, 2022 5:05 pm

California has a number of formal acts in statute. Water Code Division 28 provides for the Wildfire Prevention and Recovery Act of 2019, which is contained in Section 80500 to 80550. Division 28 was added in 2019 by Chapter 79....

California’s ‘New Normal:’ PG&E Power Shut Offs on Windy Days

October 12, 2021 8:32 amApril 3, 2022 7:58 am

Thousands of Californians were without power Monday due to high winds, according to a PG&E alert. PG&E’s alert says: “A Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS) occurs in response to severe weather to help prevent a wildfire. A severe weather system...

An Agenda to Fix California

August 30, 2021 2:45 amSeptember 1, 2021 11:41 am

As a recall election looms and embattled Governor Newsom fights for his political life, the political ads, as usual, are expensive pablum. That’s what we’ve come to expect, of course, but this election is nonetheless more than a referendum on...

Newsom’s True Opponents? Water and Fire

August 8, 2021 2:18 amAugust 7, 2021 3:54 pm

Not quite one year ago, Gavin Newsom did something that took political courage. It was also the right thing to do. He removed from one of the state’s local water boards one of the most outspoken critics of a desalination plant proposed...

How to Squander the Grassroots

June 21, 2021 2:18 amJune 24, 2021 6:38 am

From the beginning, political insiders questioned the wisdom of supporting a Governor Newsom recall campaign. But when Orrin Heatlie was picking up the pieces after the first recall effort, he recognized something that eluded most experts: From scratch, with absolutely...

Governor Newsom Outlines $2 Billion Wildfire, Emergency Budget Proposal

May 24, 2021 3:02 pm

Governor Gavin Newsom outlined his $2 billion proposal on greater wildfire fighting and preparedness on Monday, splitting the amount by giving roughly $1.2 billion to wildfire management and $800 million to emergency preparedness. A small part of his controversial $100...