Tag "drought"
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El Nino provides little relief outside of Northern California
Once-high hopes that a winter 2015-16 El Nino would lift California out of its 5-year-old drought have given way to a complex picture. Heavy winter snow and rains in the northern Sierras and the Sacramento Valley are providing widespread relief in
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New poll shows support for legalizing marijuana in CA
A majority of likely California voters support legalizing marijuana, a new pollster announced. Just shy of 60 percent of respondents to a survey conducted by Probolsky Research threw their weight behind the Golden State’s upcoming referendum on pot, which would
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Another year of CA water restrictions likely
After a sunny February, the hopes that El Nino storms would go a long way toward restoring California’s water supplies and relieving the damage done by years of drought are now fading. Instead, the new assumption is that in April,
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Good news on several CA drought fronts
State officials measured the Sierra Nevada snowpack for the second time in 2016 on Tuesday, and once again the news was good. Capital Public Radio has the details: The latest measurement … showed that the “snowpack is growing quite nicely.”
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U.S. tax policy undercuts CA water conservation push
Even before the current marathon drought, turf replacement subsidies have long been touted by the state government as a powerful way to get California homeowners to stop having water-guzzling lawns. But the federal government sees these subsidies as taxable income.
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CA drought: Officials ease rules again
Nearly a year ago, when Gov. Jerry Brown announced a mandatory 25 percent reduction in state water use, it looked like Californians were in for a long era of constant conservation demands, even with anticipation of winter El Nino storms. Brown’s
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Brown debuts 2016-17 budget
More permanent state spending would be devastating to California, Gov. Jerry Brown announced — at least in the midst of another recession. Unveiling his budget for the new fiscal year, Brown flourished a chart bearing that warning, although the proposal
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Sacramento mired in budget bickering
Having failed to deliver during a special legislative session Gov. Jerry Brown called last year, Sacramento Democrats and Republicans squared off on Medi-Cal and infrastructure spending this week. A large health care hole has developed in the current state budget, driven
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17 years later, O.C. desalination plant inches toward finish line
The massive $1 billion Carlsbad desalination plant — the largest in North America — begins normal operations this month after a long legal and regulatory odyssey. The plant is expected to provide 54 million gallons of water a day, or
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Officials: Get used to paying more for less water
Californians may need to get used to paying more for water, despite and because of their successful efforts at conservation, according to state water officials at a recent Assembly committee hearing. Californians exceeded the state’s 25 percent water conservation mandate
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