Despite Lead Ammo Ban, CA Condors Keep Dying
Condors are the largest land bird in North America. When their population shrunk to just 23, a substantial conservation campaign in California followed, spanning several decades. Now there are more than 600 alive, but they aren’t doing as well as scientists expected. That’s even after the state banned hunters from using lead bullets, fragments of which the birds swallow when they eat animal carcasses left behind. Scientists believe the reason these birds may be struggling are due to condors changing their behavior to act like more wild birds. The birds are foraging further away from sites where conservationists leave food and finding animals to eat that are sometimes shot with lead.
Republican Gov Candidate says CA Attorney General is Interfering with Prop 50 Investigation
Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco (who’s also a Republican candidate for governor), says the state’s attorney general is interfering in his department’s investigation of alleged irregularities in the 2025 special election to redraw California’s congressional districts. Bianco says the investigation stems from a local election watchdog group that alleges there were around 45,000 more votes tallied than ballots received and logged. Attorney General Rob Bonta says Bianco has not cooperated with his office. And California’s Secretary of State Shirley Weber says Bianco’s investigation is based on allegations that, “lack credible evidence.”
State Leaders and Farmworker Advocates Disagree on Ag Tech Investments
Farmworkers say they are worried that recent investments into agriculture technology will lead to displacement and job losses. This comes after the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development held a private event at UC Merced to discuss agriculture technology. The event was protested by both farmworkers and UC Merced students, who also say they are worried about the environmental impacts of new technology.
