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"content": "\u003cp>\u003cem>Updated 2 p.m. Thursday\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[dropcap]U[/dropcap]p in the higher reaches of the southern Sierra Nevada foothills, a cool piece of modern technology is giving a close-up look at an ancient marvel of California’s skies.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On Tuesday, \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/ALERTCalifornia/status/1681422597693771776\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">a wildfire camera\u003c/a> on a mountaintop 30 miles northeast of downtown Bakersfield captured a group of as many as 10 California condors roosting at a communications tower there. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One bird in particular, a 7-year-old female designated alternately as Condor 811 or “Lulutti,” put on a bit of a show. She stared straight into the camera at one point to show off her naked, wrinkled, pinkish-red head. Later, she displayed her impressive wingspan and jet-black plumage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Another member of the flock, a 14-year-old male prosaically named Condor 509, eyeballed the camera as the sun rose over the Sierra Wednesday morning.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11955988\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/07/230719-PGE-CONDORS-KQED.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-11955988\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/07/230719-PGE-CONDORS-KQED-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"A large metal framed tower with several birds sitting on it.\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/07/230719-PGE-CONDORS-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/07/230719-PGE-CONDORS-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/07/230719-PGE-CONDORS-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/07/230719-PGE-CONDORS-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/07/230719-PGE-CONDORS-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/07/230719-PGE-CONDORS-KQED.jpg 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A wildfire camera captured several California condors on Blue Mountain in Kern County on July 19, 2023. \u003ccite>(ALERTCalifornia/UC San Diego)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Then he and others perching on steel towers festooned with cell transponders and other electronics glided off, presumably to look for a meal. Which, if you’re not familiar with condors’ gastronomic programming, consisted of dead meat. Later Wednesday, at least 14 of the birds had returned to the towers. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>(How do we know anything about these wild birds’ biographies? Each of them has a color-coded, numbered tag that allows the casual web condor watcher — or anyone lucky enough to spot Gymnogyps californianus on the wing — to confirm a bird’s identity, life history and family ties on \u003ca href=\"https://www.condorspotter.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">an online database\u003c/a>.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://twitter.com/ALERTCalifornia/status/1681430243960299520\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the agency managing the long-running \u003ca href=\"https://www.fws.gov/program/california-condor-recovery\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">California Condor Recovery Program\u003c/a>, said the site is a known roosting spot for the birds. According to agency spokesperson Joanna Gilkeson, a condor hangout like the one on Blue Mountain “is not unusual. California condors are highly social birds and are known to congregate in this way.” \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he camera atop Kern County’s Blue Mountain, elevation 4,813 feet, is part of a network managed and put online by a UC San Diego project called \u003ca href=\"https://alertcalifornia.org/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">ALERTCalifornia\u003c/a>. The instrument shows the birds with startling clarity. But it barely hints at what a wonder those winged creatures represent: an iconic raptor, one of the biggest birds anywhere on Earth, brought back from the edge of extinction.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The bird was once found from northwestern Mexico to British Columbia and across the country as far east as Florida. Like many other species, it did not mix well with the civilization that colonized and remade the continent. Hunting, lead poisoning and habitat destruction took a seemingly irreversible toll.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Then, as the bird’s range shrank to a patch of wilderness in southern Central California, federal wildlife officials in 1967 declared it an endangered species. But the population continued to shrink, and by the early 1980s just over a dozen wild California condors remained. The Fish and Wildlife Service moved to take the few remaining wild birds into captivity — with the last captured in April 1987.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Working with the San Diego and Los Angeles zoos, the agency launched an effort to breed condors with the aim of restoring them to the wild. In 1992, the program released a pair of condors back into their native range in Ventura County.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So where are we today?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the end of 2022, the Fish and Wildlife Service put \u003ca href=\"https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/caco-world-2022.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">the total population of California condors\u003c/a> — both free-flying and in captivity — at 561. The condors roosting on Kern County’s Blue Mountain this week — perhaps as many as 10 at a time — are among the 347 free-flying birds in the wild today.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Those include both captive-bred condors, like 811/Lulutti, and birds bred and reared entirely in the wild, like Condor 509. Free-flying flocks have been established in Southern and Central California, Arizona, Utah and northwestern Mexico. The newest wild releases are in Northern California, \u003ca target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">a restoration effort involving the Yurok Tribe\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Despite the overall success of the program to date, it’s far too early to assume the California condor has been saved. In late 2020, the Fish and Wildlife Service reported that \u003ca href=\"https://www.fws.gov/sites/default/files/documents/2020-California-Condor-Population-Status.pdf\">309 free-flying condors had died since releases began in 1992 (PDF)\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The cause of death is listed for 213 of those birds, and it’s a catalog of all the many ways our world remains hostile to fragile life: 11 condors were shot, 19 more ran afoul of power lines, 9 died in a Monterey County wildfire. More than half, 107, died of lead poisoning, generally assumed to be the result of eating dead game contaminated by lead bullets.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Climate change will also inevitably present challenging odds for condors’ long-term survival. And that’s not all: Federal officials are currently racing to test a vaccine against \u003ca href=\"https://www.aphis.usda.gov/aphis/newsroom/stakeholder-info/sa_by_date/sa-2023/ca-condor-hpai\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">an unusually deadly strain of avian influenza\u003c/a> that has spread through both wild and domestic flocks of many species of birds in California over the past year or so. The virus has already killed more than a dozen California condors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So the condor’s future? Yes, uncertain.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Its present? We’re still checking on the view from Blue Mountain, and we’re still amazed at the enormous feathered apparitions that’ve shown up on camera.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp>The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the agency managing the long-running \u003ca href=\"https://www.fws.gov/program/california-condor-recovery\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">California Condor Recovery Program\u003c/a>, said the site is a known roosting spot for the birds. According to agency spokesperson Joanna Gilkeson, a condor hangout like the one on Blue Mountain “is not unusual. California condors are highly social birds and are known to congregate in this way.” \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class=\"utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__dropcapShortcode__dropcap\">T\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>he camera atop Kern County’s Blue Mountain, elevation 4,813 feet, is part of a network managed and put online by a UC San Diego project called \u003ca href=\"https://alertcalifornia.org/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">ALERTCalifornia\u003c/a>. The instrument shows the birds with startling clarity. But it barely hints at what a wonder those winged creatures represent: an iconic raptor, one of the biggest birds anywhere on Earth, brought back from the edge of extinction.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The bird was once found from northwestern Mexico to British Columbia and across the country as far east as Florida. Like many other species, it did not mix well with the civilization that colonized and remade the continent. Hunting, lead poisoning and habitat destruction took a seemingly irreversible toll.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Then, as the bird’s range shrank to a patch of wilderness in southern Central California, federal wildlife officials in 1967 declared it an endangered species. But the population continued to shrink, and by the early 1980s just over a dozen wild California condors remained. The Fish and Wildlife Service moved to take the few remaining wild birds into captivity — with the last captured in April 1987.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Working with the San Diego and Los Angeles zoos, the agency launched an effort to breed condors with the aim of restoring them to the wild. In 1992, the program released a pair of condors back into their native range in Ventura County.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So where are we today?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the end of 2022, the Fish and Wildlife Service put \u003ca href=\"https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/caco-world-2022.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">the total population of California condors\u003c/a> — both free-flying and in captivity — at 561. The condors roosting on Kern County’s Blue Mountain this week — perhaps as many as 10 at a time — are among the 347 free-flying birds in the wild today.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Those include both captive-bred condors, like 811/Lulutti, and birds bred and reared entirely in the wild, like Condor 509. Free-flying flocks have been established in Southern and Central California, Arizona, Utah and northwestern Mexico. The newest wild releases are in Northern California, \u003ca target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">a restoration effort involving the Yurok Tribe\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Despite the overall success of the program to date, it’s far too early to assume the California condor has been saved. In late 2020, the Fish and Wildlife Service reported that \u003ca href=\"https://www.fws.gov/sites/default/files/documents/2020-California-Condor-Population-Status.pdf\">309 free-flying condors had died since releases began in 1992 (PDF)\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The cause of death is listed for 213 of those birds, and it’s a catalog of all the many ways our world remains hostile to fragile life: 11 condors were shot, 19 more ran afoul of power lines, 9 died in a Monterey County wildfire. More than half, 107, died of lead poisoning, generally assumed to be the result of eating dead game contaminated by lead bullets.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Climate change will also inevitably present challenging odds for condors’ long-term survival. And that’s not all: Federal officials are currently racing to test a vaccine against \u003ca href=\"https://www.aphis.usda.gov/aphis/newsroom/stakeholder-info/sa_by_date/sa-2023/ca-condor-hpai\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">an unusually deadly strain of avian influenza\u003c/a> that has spread through both wild and domestic flocks of many species of birds in California over the past year or so. The virus has already killed more than a dozen California condors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So the condor’s future? Yes, uncertain.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Its present? We’re still checking on the view from Blue Mountain, and we’re still amazed at the enormous feathered apparitions that’ve shown up on camera.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>An aggressive sea otter in California is hassling locals by riding boards she stole from surfers in the lineup.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Steamer Lane is a legendary point break nestled along the rocky shores of Santa Cruz, home to swaths of experienced surfers, as well as a 5-year-old female sea otter with a growing reputation for repeatedly confronting surfers and kayakers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/CuiOma5rRWT/?hl=en\">Videos across social media\u003c/a> show the otter hoisting itself out of the ocean and onto boards while surfers sit back in awe. At times she’s chewed on the boards or forced surfers to surrender their boards altogether.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.instagram.com/p/CuiOma5rRWT\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Onlookers in the videos can be heard laughing in jest at surfers’ misfortune, but officials with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service say the otter poses a public safety risk.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“While there have been no confirmed reports of injury, due to the highly unusual behavior of this otter, kayakers, surfers, and others recreating in the area should not approach the otter or encourage the otter’s interactions,” the USFWS said in a statement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sixty-year-old Santa Cruz native and photographer Mark Woodward said he has photographed hundreds of otters over the years, but has never seen something like this. He’s witnessed the otter bully surfers three times in less than a week.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I saw the first incident on June 18 and I didn’t know what was happening,” Woodward told NPR. “… It was quite astounding.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11955606\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1464px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11955606\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/07/dsc_8874-b39a539e52ced1b99245c7d9733c10d36381b32c.jpg\" alt=\"a large sea otter sits at one end of a blue surfboard while a surfer lays under the board with their feet up on either side\" width=\"1464\" height=\"1098\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/07/dsc_8874-b39a539e52ced1b99245c7d9733c10d36381b32c.jpg 1464w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/07/dsc_8874-b39a539e52ced1b99245c7d9733c10d36381b32c-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/07/dsc_8874-b39a539e52ced1b99245c7d9733c10d36381b32c-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/07/dsc_8874-b39a539e52ced1b99245c7d9733c10d36381b32c-160x120.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1464px) 100vw, 1464px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">An otter at a popular surf break in Santa Cruz has been confronting surfers, going as far as stealing their boards and riding waves. \u003ccite>(Mark Woodward/@NativeSantaCruz)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The USFWS said the otter’s behavior is “concerning and unusual,” and though the exact cause is unknown, officials said it could be associated with hormonal surges or being fed by humans.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Southern sea otters are listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act and are protected under the Marine Mammal Act as well as California law, the USFWS said. After being hunted to near extinction for their fur in the 1700s and 1800s, the population has rebounded since becoming a protected species and is a key predator in California’s coastal ecosystems.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A team from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) and the Monterey Bay Aquarium is looking for the otter to catch and rehome her. Unfortunately once the otter is caught, Monterey Bay Aquarium spokesperson Kevin Connor told NPR, she won’t be able to return to the wild.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The animal, officially known as otter 841, was born in captivity — because it’s mother had also been too friendly with humans — and then successfully released into the wild in June 2020, Connor told NPR. It wasn’t until September 2022 that she started exhibiting her bizarre behavior at Steamer Lane.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the time, CDFW and aquarium staff were able to drive the animal out of the area, a process called \u003ca href=\"https://icwdm.org/hazing/\">hazing\u003c/a>, in hopes of deterring her from interacting with people. But her most recent interactions show she’s no longer afraid of humans, Connor said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11955607\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1223px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11955607\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/07/dsc_9001-763dc99e7f319773a2605a89e6015a89cddc3dd4.jpg\" alt=\"A surfer with a concerned look on their face holds their upside down surfboard in the water while a large otter swims towards them\" width=\"1223\" height=\"917\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/07/dsc_9001-763dc99e7f319773a2605a89e6015a89cddc3dd4.jpg 1223w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/07/dsc_9001-763dc99e7f319773a2605a89e6015a89cddc3dd4-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/07/dsc_9001-763dc99e7f319773a2605a89e6015a89cddc3dd4-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/07/dsc_9001-763dc99e7f319773a2605a89e6015a89cddc3dd4-160x120.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1223px) 100vw, 1223px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The otter at Steamer Lane will live out the rest of its life in captivity once caught by the USFWS and aquarium staff. She’s no longer afraid of humans, and if the otter were to bite or harm a person, she would have to be euthanized. \u003ccite>(Mark Woodward/@NativeSantaCruz)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“Trying to recapture the otter is an effort to avoid anything more drastic. If the otter were to harm or bite a person, the USFW, which is responsible for managing the population of these animals, would have to begin discussions of euthanizing the animal,” Connor said. “That’s the reality, and nobody wants to see that.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Once caught, she will be taken to the aquarium for an exam before being moved into her forever home at an USFWS-approved location. Like her mother before her, otter 841 has been deemed un-releasable, Connor said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The southern sea otter was believed to be gone forever, until a family of 50 were found in Big Sur in 1938, Connor said. Today, they number approximately 3,000, a mere 30% of what scientists believe the original population was before their near brush with extinction.\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"fullattribution\">Copyright 2023 NPR.\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=An+otter+in+Santa+Cruz+is+hassling+surfers+%E2%80%94+and+stealing+their+boards&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004)\">\u003c/div>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Onlookers in the videos can be heard laughing in jest at surfers’ misfortune, but officials with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service say the otter poses a public safety risk.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“While there have been no confirmed reports of injury, due to the highly unusual behavior of this otter, kayakers, surfers, and others recreating in the area should not approach the otter or encourage the otter’s interactions,” the USFWS said in a statement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sixty-year-old Santa Cruz native and photographer Mark Woodward said he has photographed hundreds of otters over the years, but has never seen something like this. He’s witnessed the otter bully surfers three times in less than a week.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I saw the first incident on June 18 and I didn’t know what was happening,” Woodward told NPR. “… It was quite astounding.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11955606\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1464px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11955606\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/07/dsc_8874-b39a539e52ced1b99245c7d9733c10d36381b32c.jpg\" alt=\"a large sea otter sits at one end of a blue surfboard while a surfer lays under the board with their feet up on either side\" width=\"1464\" height=\"1098\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/07/dsc_8874-b39a539e52ced1b99245c7d9733c10d36381b32c.jpg 1464w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/07/dsc_8874-b39a539e52ced1b99245c7d9733c10d36381b32c-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/07/dsc_8874-b39a539e52ced1b99245c7d9733c10d36381b32c-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/07/dsc_8874-b39a539e52ced1b99245c7d9733c10d36381b32c-160x120.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1464px) 100vw, 1464px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">An otter at a popular surf break in Santa Cruz has been confronting surfers, going as far as stealing their boards and riding waves. \u003ccite>(Mark Woodward/@NativeSantaCruz)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The USFWS said the otter’s behavior is “concerning and unusual,” and though the exact cause is unknown, officials said it could be associated with hormonal surges or being fed by humans.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Southern sea otters are listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act and are protected under the Marine Mammal Act as well as California law, the USFWS said. After being hunted to near extinction for their fur in the 1700s and 1800s, the population has rebounded since becoming a protected species and is a key predator in California’s coastal ecosystems.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A team from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) and the Monterey Bay Aquarium is looking for the otter to catch and rehome her. Unfortunately once the otter is caught, Monterey Bay Aquarium spokesperson Kevin Connor told NPR, she won’t be able to return to the wild.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The animal, officially known as otter 841, was born in captivity — because it’s mother had also been too friendly with humans — and then successfully released into the wild in June 2020, Connor told NPR. It wasn’t until September 2022 that she started exhibiting her bizarre behavior at Steamer Lane.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the time, CDFW and aquarium staff were able to drive the animal out of the area, a process called \u003ca href=\"https://icwdm.org/hazing/\">hazing\u003c/a>, in hopes of deterring her from interacting with people. But her most recent interactions show she’s no longer afraid of humans, Connor said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11955607\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1223px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11955607\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/07/dsc_9001-763dc99e7f319773a2605a89e6015a89cddc3dd4.jpg\" alt=\"A surfer with a concerned look on their face holds their upside down surfboard in the water while a large otter swims towards them\" width=\"1223\" height=\"917\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/07/dsc_9001-763dc99e7f319773a2605a89e6015a89cddc3dd4.jpg 1223w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/07/dsc_9001-763dc99e7f319773a2605a89e6015a89cddc3dd4-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/07/dsc_9001-763dc99e7f319773a2605a89e6015a89cddc3dd4-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/07/dsc_9001-763dc99e7f319773a2605a89e6015a89cddc3dd4-160x120.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1223px) 100vw, 1223px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The otter at Steamer Lane will live out the rest of its life in captivity once caught by the USFWS and aquarium staff. She’s no longer afraid of humans, and if the otter were to bite or harm a person, she would have to be euthanized. \u003ccite>(Mark Woodward/@NativeSantaCruz)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“Trying to recapture the otter is an effort to avoid anything more drastic. If the otter were to harm or bite a person, the USFW, which is responsible for managing the population of these animals, would have to begin discussions of euthanizing the animal,” Connor said. “That’s the reality, and nobody wants to see that.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Once caught, she will be taken to the aquarium for an exam before being moved into her forever home at an USFWS-approved location. Like her mother before her, otter 841 has been deemed un-releasable, Connor said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The southern sea otter was believed to be gone forever, until a family of 50 were found in Big Sur in 1938, Connor said. Today, they number approximately 3,000, a mere 30% of what scientists believe the original population was before their near brush with extinction.\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"fullattribution\">Copyright 2023 NPR.\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=An+otter+in+Santa+Cruz+is+hassling+surfers+%E2%80%94+and+stealing+their+boards&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004)\">\u003c/div>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">José Federico Sierra remembers the summer when ash rained down like snow and clouds of wildfire smoke reddened the sky and choked his lungs. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That was three years ago, as the SCU Lightning Complex Fire raged across hundreds of thousands of acres just a few miles west of Gustine, the San Joaquin Valley town where Sierra works at a large dairy farm.[pullquote size=\"medium\" align=\"right\" citation=\"Antonia Sierra Martínez, community health worker, Valley Onward\"]‘How is it possible that we’re living through such a drastic increase in heat?’[/pullquote]Fires were bad the next year, too. And no matter what, Sierra said, his job keeps him outdoors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You can’t change your work if you’re caring for livestock every day,” he said. “You just have to put on a mask and take care of yourself the best you can.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On a recent sunny day, Sierra was wrangling pregnant cows onto a livestock trailer to transport them to another part of the dairy, where they would give birth. But he hopped down from his pickup truck and greeted his sister Antonia Sierra Martínez, 45, a community health worker with a local nonprofit, Valley Onward.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11953850\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS66521_230621-CentralValleyClimateChange-43-BL-KQED.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-11953850\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS66521_230621-CentralValleyClimateChange-43-BL-KQED-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"Cows stand in rows of outdoor pens, some shaded and others in the sun.\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS66521_230621-CentralValleyClimateChange-43-BL-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS66521_230621-CentralValleyClimateChange-43-BL-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS66521_230621-CentralValleyClimateChange-43-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS66521_230621-CentralValleyClimateChange-43-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS66521_230621-CentralValleyClimateChange-43-BL-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS66521_230621-CentralValleyClimateChange-43-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Cows stand in a barn in Gustine on June 21, 2023. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Though California has been spared major fires so far this year, Sierra Martínez and another community advocate were out surveying farmworkers for a state public health study about the effects of wildfire smoke. Her brother agreed to be interviewed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In California’s Central Valley, climate change is making conditions increasingly dangerous for the state’s farmworkers, whose jobs keep them outdoors all day. Even as summer temperatures hit triple digits and the threat of wildfires is ever present, some rural communities are still recovering from last winter’s catastrophic floods.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11953848\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS66507_230621-CentralValleyClimateChange-20-BL-KQED.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11953848 size-medium\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS66507_230621-CentralValleyClimateChange-20-BL-KQED-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"Two women in black polo shirts smile together with a man and a teenager in front of a large white pick-up truck with a hitch attached to it.\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS66507_230621-CentralValleyClimateChange-20-BL-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS66507_230621-CentralValleyClimateChange-20-BL-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS66507_230621-CentralValleyClimateChange-20-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS66507_230621-CentralValleyClimateChange-20-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS66507_230621-CentralValleyClimateChange-20-BL-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS66507_230621-CentralValleyClimateChange-20-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Valley Onward employees Antonia Sierra Martínez (center) and Maria Alapizco (right) speak with José Federico Sierra (far right) at the farm where he works in Gustine while his son, Axel, 12, listens. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“Yes, my asthma — my breathing — was most affected,” said Sierra, recalling the fire in 2020. “It felt like I was gasping for air inside a plastic bag.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“How did you track whether the air quality was getting better or worse?” Sierra Martínez asked. “For example, did you listen to the radio or use an app?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“My symptoms told me,” said her brother. “I felt better when the air was cleaner — and when it was harder to breathe, I knew the air was more polluted.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Rising temperatures, rising risks\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>[aside postID=\"news_11940316,news_11952059,news_11944295\" label=\"Related Posts\"]Sierra Martínez told me that she’d developed asthma, too, after moving to Gustine from Mexico to be with her farmworker husband.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even without wildfires, the San Joaquin Valley has \u003ca href=\"https://www.csustan.edu/sites/default/files/groups/Geography/Images/airpe.pdf\">some of the worst pollution in the nation (PDF)\u003c/a>. And as the weather heats up, the air quality gets worse.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Climate change from carbon emissions is \u003ca href=\"https://www.energy.ca.gov/sites/default/files/2022-01/CA4_CCA_SJ_Region_Eng_ada.pdf\">making the valley hotter (PDF)\u003c/a>. In 2021, Fresno had a \u003ca href=\"https://www.fresnobee.com/fresnoland/article264860474.html\">record-breaking\u003c/a> 69 days where temperatures exceeded 100 degrees.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“How is it possible that we’re living through such a drastic increase in heat?” asked Sierra Martínez. “It’s sad, because here in the valley, most of our people work outside in the fields. They’re exposed to these temperatures from sunup to sundown.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11953844\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS66492_230621-CentralValleyClimateChange-01-BL-KQED.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11953844 size-medium\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS66492_230621-CentralValleyClimateChange-01-BL-KQED-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"Two women walk down a sidewalk wearing black polo shirts and baseball caps in a residential neighborhood under bright sun.\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS66492_230621-CentralValleyClimateChange-01-BL-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS66492_230621-CentralValleyClimateChange-01-BL-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS66492_230621-CentralValleyClimateChange-01-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS66492_230621-CentralValleyClimateChange-01-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS66492_230621-CentralValleyClimateChange-01-BL-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS66492_230621-CentralValleyClimateChange-01-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Valley Onward employees Maria Alapizco (left) and Antonia Sierra Martínez walk to a home in Gustine to speak with a resident. They interview residents about working conditions and their health as it relates to pollution and toxins they are exposed to in their community and at work. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>California — unlike the federal government — does require employers to provide outdoor workers with \u003ca href=\"https://www.dir.ca.gov/dosh/heatillnessinfo.html\">shade, water and rest breaks\u003c/a>. The state also has \u003ca href=\"https://www.dir.ca.gov/dosh/wildfire/Worker-Protection-from-Wildfire-Smoke.html\">standards to protect workers from wildfire smoke\u003c/a>. But Sierra Martínez says some bosses are better than others.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If your supervisor tells you to keep working when you know you need a break, don’t obey him. Just go! Get in the shade!” she tells field-workers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In California, \u003ca href=\"https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/ETA/naws/pdfs/NAWS%20Research%20Report%2015.pdf\">90% of farmworkers are immigrants (PDF)\u003c/a>, most from Mexico. More than half are undocumented. Though most have worked in agriculture here for decades, their tenuous immigration status leaves many afraid to challenge their bosses, for fear they could be fired or deported, said Sierra Martínez.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Michael Méndez, a UC Irvine professor of environmental policy, has studied disaster response efforts and the marginalization of unauthorized immigrants, most of whom have no pathway to legal immigration status in the U.S.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“No other population has experienced this great California climate displacement more than undocumented immigrants, farmworkers and migrant communities,” he said. “From drought that spiraled into extreme wildfire events, to heat waves … to this hydroclimatic whiplash, where we’ve gone from too much dryness to too much wetness, and individuals are being inundated from these extreme storms and failure in our infrastructure and our levees.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And, \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Méndez \u003c/span> says, that power imbalance is no accident. Political decisions have left many immigrants, especially unauthorized workers, out of the social safety net, even when they are growing the food that supports the state’s population. Undocumented immigrants don’t qualify for disaster assistance or most other forms of federal aid.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“These disparate, disproportionate impacts have been baked into our infrastructure, into our disaster policies that essentially have been withholding vital resources from these communities for decades, if not centuries,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Shut out from flood relief\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>On the east side of Merced County, those impacts played out dramatically last January when a levee on an irrigation canal ruptured in a storm, and \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11940221/undocumented-residents-in-planada-struggle-to-get-help-they-need-after-storms\">flooded hundreds of farmworker families\u003c/a> in the town of Planada. Residents say the canal was choked with trash and the levee had been neglected.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One recent day, Miriam Herrera Ceja, 28, showed me the flood damage in her rented house, where the floors are buckling and the doors are stuck.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A mother of three and wife of a dairy worker, Herrera Ceja said the flood left her family with a mountain of unexpected expenses. Sewage-laced water ruined the car, as well as the fridge, the oven, the washer and dryer, the furniture and the children’s clothes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11954665\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS66656_20230621-PlanadaFlooding-012-TH-KQED.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11954665 size-medium\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS66656_20230621-PlanadaFlooding-012-TH-KQED-800x572.jpg\" alt=\"A woman wearing a dark t-shirt holds a baby wearing a camouflage shirt while a small child wearing a grey shirt with blue jeans sits on a swing to the left holding food in their hand.\" width=\"800\" height=\"572\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS66656_20230621-PlanadaFlooding-012-TH-KQED-800x572.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS66656_20230621-PlanadaFlooding-012-TH-KQED-1020x729.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS66656_20230621-PlanadaFlooding-012-TH-KQED-160x114.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS66656_20230621-PlanadaFlooding-012-TH-KQED-1536x1097.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS66656_20230621-PlanadaFlooding-012-TH-KQED-1920x1372.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS66656_20230621-PlanadaFlooding-012-TH-KQED.jpg 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Miriam Herrera Ceja, 28, holds her toddler, Adriel, while her son Axel, 8, plays on a swing at her home in Planada, on June 20, 2023. She and her farmworker husband have faced severe financial struggles since the January floods in Planada. \u003ccite>(Tyche Hendricks/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>[pullquote size=\"medium\" align=\"right\" citation=\"Miriam Herrera Ceja, Planada resident\"]‘I think everyone in the Planada community was set back. But we won’t let it break us.’[/pullquote]With her 1-year-old son, Adriel, on her hip, Herrera Ceja leafed through a stack of medical bills on the kitchen table, amounting to nearly $4,000 she owes for a hospital visit in January, when the baby got sick at the evacuation center.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We all got sick from the dampness, but the little one had it the worst,” she said. “He couldn’t breathe, and the people at the shelter sent us straight to the hospital.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Herrera Ceja and her family had settled in Planada a year and a half before the storm hit. They were admitted to the U.S. to seek asylum after her husband was shot, and nearly killed, by members of a criminal organization in their home state of Michoacán, Mexico, she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I was so scared. And the government couldn’t protect us. We had to get out of there,” she said. “Here we were building a new life, starting over from zero. Now we’re left with nothing again.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In Planada, Herrera Ceja says they feel safe from violence. And she and her husband had saved up a little money to hire an immigration attorney for their asylum case. But now, that money has been spent on a replacement car so he can get to work. And since they don’t have asylum yet, the family was turned down for \u003ca href=\"https://www.fema.gov/assistance/individual/program/citizenship-immigration-status\">aid from the Federal Emergency Management Agency\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sitting on her front stoop as her oldest child, 8-year-old Axel, played on a swing in the front yard, Herrera Ceja said she knows her family is not the only one suffering.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think everyone in the Planada community was set back,” she said. Then with a wry smile, she added, “But we won’t let it break us. We’ve got to keep moving forward.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11954661\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS66646_20230621-PlanadaFlooding-005-TH-KQED.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11954661 size-medium\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS66646_20230621-PlanadaFlooding-005-TH-KQED-800x572.jpg\" alt=\"An older Latino man wearing a white t-shirt and black shorts stands in front of a house with a garden, pipe materials and a vehicle on the right.\" width=\"800\" height=\"572\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS66646_20230621-PlanadaFlooding-005-TH-KQED-800x572.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS66646_20230621-PlanadaFlooding-005-TH-KQED-1020x729.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS66646_20230621-PlanadaFlooding-005-TH-KQED-160x114.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS66646_20230621-PlanadaFlooding-005-TH-KQED-1536x1097.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS66646_20230621-PlanadaFlooding-005-TH-KQED-1920x1372.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS66646_20230621-PlanadaFlooding-005-TH-KQED.jpg 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Anastacio Rosales, 70, stands outside his home in Planada, which flooded with 3 feet of water after a levee on an irrigation canal ruptured six months earlier on Jan. 9, 2023. \u003ccite>(Tyche Hendricks/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Even Planada residents with more resources have struggled. Anastacio Rosales, 70, is a U.S. citizen and did get some help from FEMA. But though he’s a homeowner, he wasn’t carrying flood insurance. After water pooled 3 feet deep inside his house, he depended on volunteers to help tear out the sodden Sheetrock so he could rebuild the walls from the studs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Six months after the floodwaters receded, Rosales is still slowly salvaging and disinfecting his belongings, which are stacked shoulder-high under tarps on his back patio. And, Rosales said, the crop cycle has been thrown off. A semi-retired farmworker, he said he hasn’t been able to get work in the sweet potato fields this year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There was so much water in the fields,” he said. “The planting happened really late. So now there’s very little work.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And many of Rosales’ neighbors who are undocumented immigrants — and also lost jobs due to the storms — are not eligible for federal unemployment insurance. The state \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11946661/ive-been-contributing-undocumented-workers-are-key-to-californias-economy-a-new-bill-would-give-them-unemployment-benefits\">Legislature is considering a bill\u003c/a> to create a state safety net program for these workers, but Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed a similar measure last year, citing fiscal concerns.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>A glimmer of hope\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Advocates say the flooding in Planada and elsewhere — including the Salinas Valley town of Pajaro, which was swamped after a levee break in March — was preventable, if infrastructure had been properly maintained.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11954994\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/07/070523-PLANADA-FLOODING-GettyImages-JS-KQED.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-11954994\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/07/070523-PLANADA-FLOODING-GettyImages-JS-KQED-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"Cars sit in floodwaters in a residential neighborhood.\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/07/070523-PLANADA-FLOODING-GettyImages-JS-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/07/070523-PLANADA-FLOODING-GettyImages-JS-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/07/070523-PLANADA-FLOODING-GettyImages-JS-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/07/070523-PLANADA-FLOODING-GettyImages-JS-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/07/070523-PLANADA-FLOODING-GettyImages-JS-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/07/070523-PLANADA-FLOODING-GettyImages-JS-KQED.jpg 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Cars sit in floodwaters in Planada on Jan. 11, 2023. \u003ccite>(Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“It was just a nightmare this winter, watching this play out first in Planada and then in other communities,” said Madeline Harris of the Leadership Counsel for Justice and Accountability, a Central Valley group that advocates for the rights of rural, lower-income communities. “It was a similar story every time, of a predominantly Latino, farmworker, disadvantaged community that flooded. If their communities had not been neglected for years, this never would have happened.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But now there is a glimmer of hope for Planada residents like Rosales and Herrera Ceja.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This spring, researchers from the UC Merced Community and Labor Center, partnering with community members and advocates from the Leadership Counsel and other nonprofits, \u003ca href=\"https://clc.ucmerced.edu/sites/clc.ucmerced.edu/files/page/documents/disaster_response_0.pdf\">conducted a survey (PDF)\u003c/a> to capture the scope of the losses in Planada. The figure they reached to restore the town: $20 million.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And some lawmakers were listening, including Planada’s state Senator Anna Caballero and Assemblymember Esmeralda Soria.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11953847\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS66505_230621-CentralValleyClimateChange-18-BL-KQED.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11953847 size-medium\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS66505_230621-CentralValleyClimateChange-18-BL-KQED-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"Rows of trees in an orchard line the right hand side of a rural road as seen through the windshield of a car.\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS66505_230621-CentralValleyClimateChange-18-BL-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS66505_230621-CentralValleyClimateChange-18-BL-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS66505_230621-CentralValleyClimateChange-18-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS66505_230621-CentralValleyClimateChange-18-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS66505_230621-CentralValleyClimateChange-18-BL-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS66505_230621-CentralValleyClimateChange-18-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Valley Onward employees Antonia Sierra Martínez and Maria Alapizco drive to speak with a resident in Gustine on June 21, 2023. Valley Onward is a nonprofit centered on health equity and empowering women and people of color in Merced County. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Working with lawmakers from the Pajaro area, they were able to ensure that this year’s state budget includes \u003ca href=\"https://sd14.senate.ca.gov/news/press-release/central-valley-secures-120-million-vital-funding-flood-recovery-and-restoration\">$20 million for Planada,\u003c/a> plus another $20 million for Pajaro, to help residents — regardless of immigration status — recover. The funds were approved as part of a larger package to improve flood resilience statewide — in spite of a $31 billion budget gap that lawmakers had to close.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Placing a line item on the state budget … for the exact amount that we had estimated was needed. This is incredible,” said Edward Flores, co-director of the UC Merced labor center, who conducted the survey.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Flores says the disaster in Planada — and the magnitude of climate-driven impacts hitting California farmworkers — raise a much bigger question.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“So many workers are excluded from policies that are designed to protect people during times of need,” he said. “And if we’re facing increasing disasters and there’s a gap in our policy that’s not supporting those low-wage workers, then how do we need to change our policies in order to close that gap, to support those workers that are the most vulnerable during these times?”\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"excerpt": "Farmworkers in the Central Valley face excessive heat and the threat of wildfires, in jobs that keep them outdoors all day. And many are still recovering from last winter's flooding, with little federal aid to support them.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">José Federico Sierra remembers the summer when ash rained down like snow and clouds of wildfire smoke reddened the sky and choked his lungs. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That was three years ago, as the SCU Lightning Complex Fire raged across hundreds of thousands of acres just a few miles west of Gustine, the San Joaquin Valley town where Sierra works at a large dairy farm.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "‘How is it possible that we’re living through such a drastic increase in heat?’",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Fires were bad the next year, too. And no matter what, Sierra said, his job keeps him outdoors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You can’t change your work if you’re caring for livestock every day,” he said. “You just have to put on a mask and take care of yourself the best you can.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On a recent sunny day, Sierra was wrangling pregnant cows onto a livestock trailer to transport them to another part of the dairy, where they would give birth. But he hopped down from his pickup truck and greeted his sister Antonia Sierra Martínez, 45, a community health worker with a local nonprofit, Valley Onward.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11953850\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS66521_230621-CentralValleyClimateChange-43-BL-KQED.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-11953850\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS66521_230621-CentralValleyClimateChange-43-BL-KQED-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"Cows stand in rows of outdoor pens, some shaded and others in the sun.\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS66521_230621-CentralValleyClimateChange-43-BL-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS66521_230621-CentralValleyClimateChange-43-BL-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS66521_230621-CentralValleyClimateChange-43-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS66521_230621-CentralValleyClimateChange-43-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS66521_230621-CentralValleyClimateChange-43-BL-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS66521_230621-CentralValleyClimateChange-43-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Cows stand in a barn in Gustine on June 21, 2023. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Though California has been spared major fires so far this year, Sierra Martínez and another community advocate were out surveying farmworkers for a state public health study about the effects of wildfire smoke. Her brother agreed to be interviewed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In California’s Central Valley, climate change is making conditions increasingly dangerous for the state’s farmworkers, whose jobs keep them outdoors all day. Even as summer temperatures hit triple digits and the threat of wildfires is ever present, some rural communities are still recovering from last winter’s catastrophic floods.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11953848\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS66507_230621-CentralValleyClimateChange-20-BL-KQED.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11953848 size-medium\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS66507_230621-CentralValleyClimateChange-20-BL-KQED-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"Two women in black polo shirts smile together with a man and a teenager in front of a large white pick-up truck with a hitch attached to it.\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS66507_230621-CentralValleyClimateChange-20-BL-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS66507_230621-CentralValleyClimateChange-20-BL-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS66507_230621-CentralValleyClimateChange-20-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS66507_230621-CentralValleyClimateChange-20-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS66507_230621-CentralValleyClimateChange-20-BL-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS66507_230621-CentralValleyClimateChange-20-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Valley Onward employees Antonia Sierra Martínez (center) and Maria Alapizco (right) speak with José Federico Sierra (far right) at the farm where he works in Gustine while his son, Axel, 12, listens. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“Yes, my asthma — my breathing — was most affected,” said Sierra, recalling the fire in 2020. “It felt like I was gasping for air inside a plastic bag.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“How did you track whether the air quality was getting better or worse?” Sierra Martínez asked. “For example, did you listen to the radio or use an app?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“My symptoms told me,” said her brother. “I felt better when the air was cleaner — and when it was harder to breathe, I knew the air was more polluted.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Rising temperatures, rising risks\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Sierra Martínez told me that she’d developed asthma, too, after moving to Gustine from Mexico to be with her farmworker husband.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even without wildfires, the San Joaquin Valley has \u003ca href=\"https://www.csustan.edu/sites/default/files/groups/Geography/Images/airpe.pdf\">some of the worst pollution in the nation (PDF)\u003c/a>. And as the weather heats up, the air quality gets worse.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Climate change from carbon emissions is \u003ca href=\"https://www.energy.ca.gov/sites/default/files/2022-01/CA4_CCA_SJ_Region_Eng_ada.pdf\">making the valley hotter (PDF)\u003c/a>. In 2021, Fresno had a \u003ca href=\"https://www.fresnobee.com/fresnoland/article264860474.html\">record-breaking\u003c/a> 69 days where temperatures exceeded 100 degrees.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“How is it possible that we’re living through such a drastic increase in heat?” asked Sierra Martínez. “It’s sad, because here in the valley, most of our people work outside in the fields. They’re exposed to these temperatures from sunup to sundown.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11953844\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS66492_230621-CentralValleyClimateChange-01-BL-KQED.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11953844 size-medium\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS66492_230621-CentralValleyClimateChange-01-BL-KQED-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"Two women walk down a sidewalk wearing black polo shirts and baseball caps in a residential neighborhood under bright sun.\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS66492_230621-CentralValleyClimateChange-01-BL-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS66492_230621-CentralValleyClimateChange-01-BL-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS66492_230621-CentralValleyClimateChange-01-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS66492_230621-CentralValleyClimateChange-01-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS66492_230621-CentralValleyClimateChange-01-BL-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS66492_230621-CentralValleyClimateChange-01-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Valley Onward employees Maria Alapizco (left) and Antonia Sierra Martínez walk to a home in Gustine to speak with a resident. They interview residents about working conditions and their health as it relates to pollution and toxins they are exposed to in their community and at work. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>California — unlike the federal government — does require employers to provide outdoor workers with \u003ca href=\"https://www.dir.ca.gov/dosh/heatillnessinfo.html\">shade, water and rest breaks\u003c/a>. The state also has \u003ca href=\"https://www.dir.ca.gov/dosh/wildfire/Worker-Protection-from-Wildfire-Smoke.html\">standards to protect workers from wildfire smoke\u003c/a>. But Sierra Martínez says some bosses are better than others.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If your supervisor tells you to keep working when you know you need a break, don’t obey him. Just go! Get in the shade!” she tells field-workers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In California, \u003ca href=\"https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/ETA/naws/pdfs/NAWS%20Research%20Report%2015.pdf\">90% of farmworkers are immigrants (PDF)\u003c/a>, most from Mexico. More than half are undocumented. Though most have worked in agriculture here for decades, their tenuous immigration status leaves many afraid to challenge their bosses, for fear they could be fired or deported, said Sierra Martínez.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Michael Méndez, a UC Irvine professor of environmental policy, has studied disaster response efforts and the marginalization of unauthorized immigrants, most of whom have no pathway to legal immigration status in the U.S.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“No other population has experienced this great California climate displacement more than undocumented immigrants, farmworkers and migrant communities,” he said. “From drought that spiraled into extreme wildfire events, to heat waves … to this hydroclimatic whiplash, where we’ve gone from too much dryness to too much wetness, and individuals are being inundated from these extreme storms and failure in our infrastructure and our levees.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And, \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Méndez \u003c/span> says, that power imbalance is no accident. Political decisions have left many immigrants, especially unauthorized workers, out of the social safety net, even when they are growing the food that supports the state’s population. Undocumented immigrants don’t qualify for disaster assistance or most other forms of federal aid.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“These disparate, disproportionate impacts have been baked into our infrastructure, into our disaster policies that essentially have been withholding vital resources from these communities for decades, if not centuries,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Shut out from flood relief\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>On the east side of Merced County, those impacts played out dramatically last January when a levee on an irrigation canal ruptured in a storm, and \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11940221/undocumented-residents-in-planada-struggle-to-get-help-they-need-after-storms\">flooded hundreds of farmworker families\u003c/a> in the town of Planada. Residents say the canal was choked with trash and the levee had been neglected.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One recent day, Miriam Herrera Ceja, 28, showed me the flood damage in her rented house, where the floors are buckling and the doors are stuck.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A mother of three and wife of a dairy worker, Herrera Ceja said the flood left her family with a mountain of unexpected expenses. Sewage-laced water ruined the car, as well as the fridge, the oven, the washer and dryer, the furniture and the children’s clothes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11954665\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS66656_20230621-PlanadaFlooding-012-TH-KQED.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11954665 size-medium\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS66656_20230621-PlanadaFlooding-012-TH-KQED-800x572.jpg\" alt=\"A woman wearing a dark t-shirt holds a baby wearing a camouflage shirt while a small child wearing a grey shirt with blue jeans sits on a swing to the left holding food in their hand.\" width=\"800\" height=\"572\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS66656_20230621-PlanadaFlooding-012-TH-KQED-800x572.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS66656_20230621-PlanadaFlooding-012-TH-KQED-1020x729.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS66656_20230621-PlanadaFlooding-012-TH-KQED-160x114.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS66656_20230621-PlanadaFlooding-012-TH-KQED-1536x1097.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS66656_20230621-PlanadaFlooding-012-TH-KQED-1920x1372.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS66656_20230621-PlanadaFlooding-012-TH-KQED.jpg 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Miriam Herrera Ceja, 28, holds her toddler, Adriel, while her son Axel, 8, plays on a swing at her home in Planada, on June 20, 2023. She and her farmworker husband have faced severe financial struggles since the January floods in Planada. \u003ccite>(Tyche Hendricks/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "‘I think everyone in the Planada community was set back. But we won’t let it break us.’",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>With her 1-year-old son, Adriel, on her hip, Herrera Ceja leafed through a stack of medical bills on the kitchen table, amounting to nearly $4,000 she owes for a hospital visit in January, when the baby got sick at the evacuation center.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We all got sick from the dampness, but the little one had it the worst,” she said. “He couldn’t breathe, and the people at the shelter sent us straight to the hospital.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Herrera Ceja and her family had settled in Planada a year and a half before the storm hit. They were admitted to the U.S. to seek asylum after her husband was shot, and nearly killed, by members of a criminal organization in their home state of Michoacán, Mexico, she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I was so scared. And the government couldn’t protect us. We had to get out of there,” she said. “Here we were building a new life, starting over from zero. Now we’re left with nothing again.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In Planada, Herrera Ceja says they feel safe from violence. And she and her husband had saved up a little money to hire an immigration attorney for their asylum case. But now, that money has been spent on a replacement car so he can get to work. And since they don’t have asylum yet, the family was turned down for \u003ca href=\"https://www.fema.gov/assistance/individual/program/citizenship-immigration-status\">aid from the Federal Emergency Management Agency\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sitting on her front stoop as her oldest child, 8-year-old Axel, played on a swing in the front yard, Herrera Ceja said she knows her family is not the only one suffering.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think everyone in the Planada community was set back,” she said. Then with a wry smile, she added, “But we won’t let it break us. We’ve got to keep moving forward.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11954661\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS66646_20230621-PlanadaFlooding-005-TH-KQED.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11954661 size-medium\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS66646_20230621-PlanadaFlooding-005-TH-KQED-800x572.jpg\" alt=\"An older Latino man wearing a white t-shirt and black shorts stands in front of a house with a garden, pipe materials and a vehicle on the right.\" width=\"800\" height=\"572\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS66646_20230621-PlanadaFlooding-005-TH-KQED-800x572.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS66646_20230621-PlanadaFlooding-005-TH-KQED-1020x729.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS66646_20230621-PlanadaFlooding-005-TH-KQED-160x114.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS66646_20230621-PlanadaFlooding-005-TH-KQED-1536x1097.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS66646_20230621-PlanadaFlooding-005-TH-KQED-1920x1372.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS66646_20230621-PlanadaFlooding-005-TH-KQED.jpg 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Anastacio Rosales, 70, stands outside his home in Planada, which flooded with 3 feet of water after a levee on an irrigation canal ruptured six months earlier on Jan. 9, 2023. \u003ccite>(Tyche Hendricks/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Even Planada residents with more resources have struggled. Anastacio Rosales, 70, is a U.S. citizen and did get some help from FEMA. But though he’s a homeowner, he wasn’t carrying flood insurance. After water pooled 3 feet deep inside his house, he depended on volunteers to help tear out the sodden Sheetrock so he could rebuild the walls from the studs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Six months after the floodwaters receded, Rosales is still slowly salvaging and disinfecting his belongings, which are stacked shoulder-high under tarps on his back patio. And, Rosales said, the crop cycle has been thrown off. A semi-retired farmworker, he said he hasn’t been able to get work in the sweet potato fields this year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There was so much water in the fields,” he said. “The planting happened really late. So now there’s very little work.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And many of Rosales’ neighbors who are undocumented immigrants — and also lost jobs due to the storms — are not eligible for federal unemployment insurance. The state \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11946661/ive-been-contributing-undocumented-workers-are-key-to-californias-economy-a-new-bill-would-give-them-unemployment-benefits\">Legislature is considering a bill\u003c/a> to create a state safety net program for these workers, but Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed a similar measure last year, citing fiscal concerns.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>A glimmer of hope\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Advocates say the flooding in Planada and elsewhere — including the Salinas Valley town of Pajaro, which was swamped after a levee break in March — was preventable, if infrastructure had been properly maintained.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11954994\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/07/070523-PLANADA-FLOODING-GettyImages-JS-KQED.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-11954994\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/07/070523-PLANADA-FLOODING-GettyImages-JS-KQED-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"Cars sit in floodwaters in a residential neighborhood.\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/07/070523-PLANADA-FLOODING-GettyImages-JS-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/07/070523-PLANADA-FLOODING-GettyImages-JS-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/07/070523-PLANADA-FLOODING-GettyImages-JS-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/07/070523-PLANADA-FLOODING-GettyImages-JS-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/07/070523-PLANADA-FLOODING-GettyImages-JS-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/07/070523-PLANADA-FLOODING-GettyImages-JS-KQED.jpg 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Cars sit in floodwaters in Planada on Jan. 11, 2023. \u003ccite>(Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“It was just a nightmare this winter, watching this play out first in Planada and then in other communities,” said Madeline Harris of the Leadership Counsel for Justice and Accountability, a Central Valley group that advocates for the rights of rural, lower-income communities. “It was a similar story every time, of a predominantly Latino, farmworker, disadvantaged community that flooded. If their communities had not been neglected for years, this never would have happened.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But now there is a glimmer of hope for Planada residents like Rosales and Herrera Ceja.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This spring, researchers from the UC Merced Community and Labor Center, partnering with community members and advocates from the Leadership Counsel and other nonprofits, \u003ca href=\"https://clc.ucmerced.edu/sites/clc.ucmerced.edu/files/page/documents/disaster_response_0.pdf\">conducted a survey (PDF)\u003c/a> to capture the scope of the losses in Planada. The figure they reached to restore the town: $20 million.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And some lawmakers were listening, including Planada’s state Senator Anna Caballero and Assemblymember Esmeralda Soria.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11953847\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS66505_230621-CentralValleyClimateChange-18-BL-KQED.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11953847 size-medium\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS66505_230621-CentralValleyClimateChange-18-BL-KQED-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"Rows of trees in an orchard line the right hand side of a rural road as seen through the windshield of a car.\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS66505_230621-CentralValleyClimateChange-18-BL-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS66505_230621-CentralValleyClimateChange-18-BL-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS66505_230621-CentralValleyClimateChange-18-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS66505_230621-CentralValleyClimateChange-18-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS66505_230621-CentralValleyClimateChange-18-BL-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS66505_230621-CentralValleyClimateChange-18-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Valley Onward employees Antonia Sierra Martínez and Maria Alapizco drive to speak with a resident in Gustine on June 21, 2023. Valley Onward is a nonprofit centered on health equity and empowering women and people of color in Merced County. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Working with lawmakers from the Pajaro area, they were able to ensure that this year’s state budget includes \u003ca href=\"https://sd14.senate.ca.gov/news/press-release/central-valley-secures-120-million-vital-funding-flood-recovery-and-restoration\">$20 million for Planada,\u003c/a> plus another $20 million for Pajaro, to help residents — regardless of immigration status — recover. The funds were approved as part of a larger package to improve flood resilience statewide — in spite of a $31 billion budget gap that lawmakers had to close.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Placing a line item on the state budget … for the exact amount that we had estimated was needed. This is incredible,” said Edward Flores, co-director of the UC Merced labor center, who conducted the survey.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Flores says the disaster in Planada — and the magnitude of climate-driven impacts hitting California farmworkers — raise a much bigger question.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“So many workers are excluded from policies that are designed to protect people during times of need,” he said. “And if we’re facing increasing disasters and there’s a gap in our policy that’s not supporting those low-wage workers, then how do we need to change our policies in order to close that gap, to support those workers that are the most vulnerable during these times?”\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "will-californias-infrastructure-deal-speed-up-water-clean-energy-projects",
"title": "Will California's Infrastructure Deal Speed Up Water, Clean Energy Projects?",
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"headTitle": "Will California’s Infrastructure Deal Speed Up Water, Clean Energy Projects? | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>California lawmakers and Gov. Gavin Newsom are poised to enact a package of bills that aim to speed up lawsuits that entangle large projects, such as solar farms and reservoirs, and relax protection of about three dozen wildlife species.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Newsom and Senate and Assembly leaders \u003ca href=\"https://www.senate.ca.gov/content/analyses\">unveiled the five bills\u003c/a> earlier this week as they negotiated the \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/2023/06/california-budget-deal-what-you-need-to-know/\">state’s $310 billion 2023-24 budget\u003c/a>. The deal ended a standoff over the governor’s infrastructure package, which \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/environment/2023/05/gavin-newsom-ceqa-reform/\">he unveiled last month\u003c/a> in an effort to streamline renewable energy facilities, water reservoirs, bridges, railways and similar projects.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The package of bills will make its way through the Legislature on an accelerated schedule. The bills include an urgency clause — meaning they would take effect immediately when Newsom signs but they also will require a two-thirds vote to pass.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hearings have been scheduled for committees in both houses today. Debate may largely end up being a formality as the package \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/environment/2023/06/california-water-lawmakers-newsom-delta/\">has already been negotiated\u003c/a> by Newsom and lawmakers behind closed doors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The debate and negotiations focused on how California can speed up major projects that benefit the public while ensuring the environment is protected. The wide-ranging collection of bills take aim at broad swaths of state environmental policies shaping how state agencies approve large projects. For instance, the plan to build the \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/environment/2023/02/california-sites-reservoir/\">Sites reservoir\u003c/a> to add dams and store more Sacramento River water has been stalled for years as it undergoes environmental reviews and engineering planning.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One of the bills \u003ca href=\"https://www.senate.ca.gov/sites/senate.ca.gov/files/senate_select_committee_on_infrastructure_streamlining_and_workforce_equity_-_sb_149_ceqa_judicial_streamlining_final.pdf\">sets a time limit (PDF)\u003c/a> for legal challenges for specified water, transportation and energy projects under the landmark California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), which can entangle projects in court for years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Another gives the state Department of Fish and Wildlife new authority to issue permits \u003ca href=\"https://www.senate.ca.gov/sites/senate.ca.gov/files/senate_select_committee_on_infrastructure_streamlining_and_workforce_equity_-_sb_147_fps_final.pdf\">allowing species that are designated “fully protected,” (PDF)\u003c/a> such as the greater sandhill crane and golden eagle, to be harmed by similar types of projects.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The compromise that Newsom and lawmakers reached seems to have accomplished what compromises rarely do: Environmentalists \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/environment/2023/05/gavin-newsom-ceqa-reform/\">who initially criticized Newsom’s package\u003c/a> say they are satisfied with the changes, and businesses and water agencies, which \u003ca href=\"https://antr.assembly.ca.gov/sites/antr.assembly.ca.gov/files/June%207%2C%202022%20Info%20Hearing%20Documents.pdf\">have backed the package from the beginning (PDF)\u003c/a>, support the changes, too.[pullquote size='medium' align='left' citation=\"Victoria Rome, director of California government affairs, Natural Resource Defense Council\"]‘It’s good that it’s resolved, and that it’s better than it was and that the budget was able to move forward. But I would say to accelerate clean energy infrastructure, we have a lot more to do as a state.’[/pullquote]The proposals “are really going to help move the needle on water infrastructure projects that are needed to address the impacts of climate change,” said Adam Quinonez, director of state legislative and regulatory relations at the Association of California Water Agencies.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"https://www.nrdc.org/press-releases/california-legislature-strengthens-infrastructure-trailer-bill-package-protect\">changes won over the Natural Resources Defense Council\u003c/a>, which had pages of concerns about the potential environmental harms caused by Newsom’s original proposals, such as \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/environment/2023/06/california-water-lawmakers-newsom-delta/\">provisions that might have expedited the deeply divisive Delta tunnel.\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s good that it’s resolved, and that it’s better than it was and that the budget was able to move forward,” said Victoria Rome, the Natural Resource Defense Council’s director of California government affairs. “But I would say to accelerate clean energy infrastructure, we have a lot more to do as a state.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Although the wildlife bill would ease some existing protections, \u003ca href=\"https://ca.audubon.org/contact/mike-lynes\">Mike Lynes\u003c/a>, Audubon California’s director of public policy, hopes that in practice it would actually increase enforcement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Ultimately, it really will fall on the Department of Fish and Wildlife to make sure that these are good permits, and that the law is enforced,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So what’s in these bills? And what impact will they have on infrastructure projects and the environment?\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>What’s happening with CEQA?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>One of the bills, \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240SB149\">SB 149,\u003c/a> takes aim at the often lengthy lawsuits brought under CEQA, which tasks public agencies with assessing possible harms of proposed development. Lawsuits by the public and advocacy groups can entangle projects like housing developments, highway interchanges, and solar farms for years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The bill would set a 270-day limit for wrapping up these environmental challenges for water, energy, transportation and semiconductor projects. The projects must be \u003ca href=\"https://www.senate.ca.gov/sites/senate.ca.gov/files/senate_select_committee_on_infrastructure_streamlining_and_workforce_equity_-_sb_149_ceqa_judicial_streamlining_final.pdf\">certified by the governor by 2033 (PDF)\u003c/a> and meet certain criteria. These could potentially include water recycling plants, aqueduct repair, bikeways and railways, wildlife crossings, solar and wind farms, zero-emission vehicle infrastructure, among others.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a nod to concerns that \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/environment/2023/06/california-water-lawmakers-newsom-delta/\">this would expedite the Delta tunnel\u003c/a>, there’s now an explicit carveout saying that particular water project no longer qualifies for the faster timeline. [aside label=\"More Coverage\" tag=\"california-energy\"]There’s a big caveat, though: The 270-day limit only applies “to the extent feasible” — a decision that judges would make.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So will the time limit actually speed up cases? That remains to be seen, said \u003ca href=\"https://www.nrdc.org/bio/david-pettit\">David Pettit\u003c/a>, senior attorney at the Natural Resources Defense Council. “I think it sends a signal to the judiciary that the Legislature wants these cases hustled up,” Pettit said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But in practice, he said, there are other major time sinks for the legal process beyond the length of litigation, such as preparing the paperwork behind an agency’s environmental assessment to create what’s called the administrative record. This is critical ammunition in legal challenges.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Newsom’s original version of the bill sparked a battle over which emails should be disclosed in the administrative record by excluding any internal communications that didn’t make it to the final decision makers. Assembly consultants warned this could allow state agencies to pick and choose which documents to disclose.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now, under the latest iteration, all emails related to the project must continue to be revealed in the administrative record, and only emails over minutia like scheduling can be excluded.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The bottom line is most emails that are actually pertinent to the project — not like, ‘How about those Dodgers?’ — they will go into the record,” Pettit said. “That is important, because sometimes people will talk candidly over email in a way that others might not.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>What are the effects on wildlife?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240SB147\">SB 147\u003c/a> would allow projects to \u003ca href=\"https://www.senate.ca.gov/infrastructure-streamlining-and-workforce-equity\">receive permits to kill certain wildlife species\u003c/a> \u003ca href=\"https://wildlife.ca.gov/Conservation/Fully-Protected\">that are classified as “fully protected.”\u003c/a> Thirty-seven species — including the golden eagle, greater sandhill crane, bighorn sheep, several coastal marsh birds, 10 fish and several reptiles and amphibians — are listed as fully protected.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Under the bill, only certain types of projects that are considered beneficial to the public could get the new permits, including repairing aqueducts and other water infrastructure, building wind and solar installations, and transportation projects, including wildlife crossings, that don’t increase traffic.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>State and federal Endangered Species Acts would still protect rare wildlife and be unaffected by the bill. But it would alter another, stronger protection under state law: “Fully protected” species \u003ca href=\"https://environs.law.ucdavis.edu/volumes/44/2/Biber.pdf\">began in the 1960s (PDF)\u003c/a> as part of an early effort to protect California’s animals, such as the \u003ca href=\"https://wildlife.ca.gov/Conservation/Fully-Protected\">California condor and southern sea otter.\u003c/a> Of those, all but 10 are also listed under the California Endangered Species Act.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11954599\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1568px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11954599\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/peregrine-falcon-ap-062923.jpg\" alt=\"A falcon flies in the sky with the Bay Bridge in the background.\" width=\"1568\" height=\"1046\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/peregrine-falcon-ap-062923.jpg 1568w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/peregrine-falcon-ap-062923-800x534.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/peregrine-falcon-ap-062923-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/peregrine-falcon-ap-062923-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/peregrine-falcon-ap-062923-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1568px) 100vw, 1568px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A peregrine falcon flies over the Bay Bridge in San Francisco. The falcons would no longer be classified as a ‘fully protected species’ under the infrastructure bills. \u003ccite>(Marcio Jose Sanchez/AP)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Unlike the endangered species acts, which allow wildlife agencies to grant permission to “take” or harm a species, so-called “fully protected” species cannot be killed except in rare cases, such as scientific research.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To obtain the new permits, developers and other applicants would need to show that their plans to compensate for the harm to these species actually improves conservation — a more stringent standard than required by the California Endangered Species Act.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This addresses an enforcement gap: Regulators have little authority to make developers work with them to ensure projects take steps to reduce their impacts on those species. “There’s no hook for the regulatory agencies to demand avoidance and mitigation measures, because they’re unwilling to enforce the laws as written,” Audubon’s Lynes said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Fish and Wildlife Director Chuck Bonham told a Senate committee that without a permit process to allow harm to fully protected species, project developers are left with little recourse if their projects could disrupt these animals. As a result, “every project proponent faces an unnecessary risk for project planning, financing and construction.” [pullquote size='medium' align='left' citation=\"Mike Lynes, director of public policy, Audubon California\"]‘We certainly don’t want to be reducing protections for pelicans and peregrine falcons, but it’s also understandable to be looking to transition them off the list.’[/pullquote]Three species would also lose their status as fully protected: the American peregrine falcon, brown pelican and a fish called the thicktail chub. The falcon and pelican had been listed as endangered species but are now considered recovered, largely due to the 1972 ban on the pesticide DDT; \u003ca href=\"http://www.nativefishlab.net/library/textpdf/18493.pdf\">the chub is considered extinct (PDF).\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We certainly don’t want to be reducing protections for pelicans and peregrine falcons, but it’s also understandable to be looking to transition them off the list,” Lynes said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The latest version overhauls Newsom’s original proposal to scrap the “fully protected” designation entirely, which environmentalists worried would significantly weaken protections for these species. Delta communities were especially concerned, seeing it as one of several moves to push the Delta tunnel project forward by targeting the greater sandhill crane, which winters in the region.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The new version of the bill explicitly says that a Delta tunnel project would not qualify for permits to take the crane or any other fully protected species.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Will this actually streamline projects?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The multibillion-dollar question is whether these regulations will \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/environment/2023/05/gavin-newsom-ceqa-reform/\">actually help California build big things faster\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Newsom administration said they are critical to bolster California’s chances when competing against other states for $28 billion in discretionary funds from the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the Inflation Reduction Act.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s going to be extremely difficult if not impossible to draw a straight line that if you pass judicial streamlining, we get the federal dollars here in California,” said Adam Regele, a vice president at the California Chamber of Commerce. “But what it does do is it makes us more competitive.”[pullquote size='medium' align='right' citation=\"David Pettit, senior attorney, Natural Resources Defense Council.\"]‘How do we know that this package will actually speed things up? Because I’m not seeing it.’[/pullquote]The Natural Resources Defense Council’s Pettit is skeptical that this will in fact streamline lengthy and litigious approvals under CEQA. He pointed to the loophole establishing a nine-month time limit for court challenges only “to the extent feasible.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“How do we know that this package will actually speed things up? Because I’m not seeing it,” Pettit said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Newsom’s deputy communications director, Alex Stack, said he couldn’t name any specific projects that would benefit or ones that had been specifically denied federal funding because of California’s existing laws.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But he said he expects the bills to cut the timeline for major builds in California by up to almost a third. That includes for transit projects, wind and solar installations, semiconductor plants and water storage projects like Sites reservoir.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s climate denial to preserve the status quo — to delay these projects is to delay climate action, clean energy, safe drinking water, and put millions more Californians at risk of devastating climate impacts,” Stack told CalMatters last week.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"title": "Will California's Infrastructure Deal Speed Up Water, Clean Energy Projects? | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>California lawmakers and Gov. Gavin Newsom are poised to enact a package of bills that aim to speed up lawsuits that entangle large projects, such as solar farms and reservoirs, and relax protection of about three dozen wildlife species.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Newsom and Senate and Assembly leaders \u003ca href=\"https://www.senate.ca.gov/content/analyses\">unveiled the five bills\u003c/a> earlier this week as they negotiated the \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/2023/06/california-budget-deal-what-you-need-to-know/\">state’s $310 billion 2023-24 budget\u003c/a>. The deal ended a standoff over the governor’s infrastructure package, which \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/environment/2023/05/gavin-newsom-ceqa-reform/\">he unveiled last month\u003c/a> in an effort to streamline renewable energy facilities, water reservoirs, bridges, railways and similar projects.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The package of bills will make its way through the Legislature on an accelerated schedule. The bills include an urgency clause — meaning they would take effect immediately when Newsom signs but they also will require a two-thirds vote to pass.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hearings have been scheduled for committees in both houses today. Debate may largely end up being a formality as the package \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/environment/2023/06/california-water-lawmakers-newsom-delta/\">has already been negotiated\u003c/a> by Newsom and lawmakers behind closed doors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The debate and negotiations focused on how California can speed up major projects that benefit the public while ensuring the environment is protected. The wide-ranging collection of bills take aim at broad swaths of state environmental policies shaping how state agencies approve large projects. For instance, the plan to build the \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/environment/2023/02/california-sites-reservoir/\">Sites reservoir\u003c/a> to add dams and store more Sacramento River water has been stalled for years as it undergoes environmental reviews and engineering planning.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One of the bills \u003ca href=\"https://www.senate.ca.gov/sites/senate.ca.gov/files/senate_select_committee_on_infrastructure_streamlining_and_workforce_equity_-_sb_149_ceqa_judicial_streamlining_final.pdf\">sets a time limit (PDF)\u003c/a> for legal challenges for specified water, transportation and energy projects under the landmark California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), which can entangle projects in court for years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Another gives the state Department of Fish and Wildlife new authority to issue permits \u003ca href=\"https://www.senate.ca.gov/sites/senate.ca.gov/files/senate_select_committee_on_infrastructure_streamlining_and_workforce_equity_-_sb_147_fps_final.pdf\">allowing species that are designated “fully protected,” (PDF)\u003c/a> such as the greater sandhill crane and golden eagle, to be harmed by similar types of projects.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The compromise that Newsom and lawmakers reached seems to have accomplished what compromises rarely do: Environmentalists \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/environment/2023/05/gavin-newsom-ceqa-reform/\">who initially criticized Newsom’s package\u003c/a> say they are satisfied with the changes, and businesses and water agencies, which \u003ca href=\"https://antr.assembly.ca.gov/sites/antr.assembly.ca.gov/files/June%207%2C%202022%20Info%20Hearing%20Documents.pdf\">have backed the package from the beginning (PDF)\u003c/a>, support the changes, too.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "‘It’s good that it’s resolved, and that it’s better than it was and that the budget was able to move forward. But I would say to accelerate clean energy infrastructure, we have a lot more to do as a state.’",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>The proposals “are really going to help move the needle on water infrastructure projects that are needed to address the impacts of climate change,” said Adam Quinonez, director of state legislative and regulatory relations at the Association of California Water Agencies.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"https://www.nrdc.org/press-releases/california-legislature-strengthens-infrastructure-trailer-bill-package-protect\">changes won over the Natural Resources Defense Council\u003c/a>, which had pages of concerns about the potential environmental harms caused by Newsom’s original proposals, such as \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/environment/2023/06/california-water-lawmakers-newsom-delta/\">provisions that might have expedited the deeply divisive Delta tunnel.\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s good that it’s resolved, and that it’s better than it was and that the budget was able to move forward,” said Victoria Rome, the Natural Resource Defense Council’s director of California government affairs. “But I would say to accelerate clean energy infrastructure, we have a lot more to do as a state.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Although the wildlife bill would ease some existing protections, \u003ca href=\"https://ca.audubon.org/contact/mike-lynes\">Mike Lynes\u003c/a>, Audubon California’s director of public policy, hopes that in practice it would actually increase enforcement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Ultimately, it really will fall on the Department of Fish and Wildlife to make sure that these are good permits, and that the law is enforced,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So what’s in these bills? And what impact will they have on infrastructure projects and the environment?\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>What’s happening with CEQA?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>One of the bills, \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240SB149\">SB 149,\u003c/a> takes aim at the often lengthy lawsuits brought under CEQA, which tasks public agencies with assessing possible harms of proposed development. Lawsuits by the public and advocacy groups can entangle projects like housing developments, highway interchanges, and solar farms for years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The bill would set a 270-day limit for wrapping up these environmental challenges for water, energy, transportation and semiconductor projects. The projects must be \u003ca href=\"https://www.senate.ca.gov/sites/senate.ca.gov/files/senate_select_committee_on_infrastructure_streamlining_and_workforce_equity_-_sb_149_ceqa_judicial_streamlining_final.pdf\">certified by the governor by 2033 (PDF)\u003c/a> and meet certain criteria. These could potentially include water recycling plants, aqueduct repair, bikeways and railways, wildlife crossings, solar and wind farms, zero-emission vehicle infrastructure, among others.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a nod to concerns that \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/environment/2023/06/california-water-lawmakers-newsom-delta/\">this would expedite the Delta tunnel\u003c/a>, there’s now an explicit carveout saying that particular water project no longer qualifies for the faster timeline. \u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>There’s a big caveat, though: The 270-day limit only applies “to the extent feasible” — a decision that judges would make.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So will the time limit actually speed up cases? That remains to be seen, said \u003ca href=\"https://www.nrdc.org/bio/david-pettit\">David Pettit\u003c/a>, senior attorney at the Natural Resources Defense Council. “I think it sends a signal to the judiciary that the Legislature wants these cases hustled up,” Pettit said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But in practice, he said, there are other major time sinks for the legal process beyond the length of litigation, such as preparing the paperwork behind an agency’s environmental assessment to create what’s called the administrative record. This is critical ammunition in legal challenges.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Newsom’s original version of the bill sparked a battle over which emails should be disclosed in the administrative record by excluding any internal communications that didn’t make it to the final decision makers. Assembly consultants warned this could allow state agencies to pick and choose which documents to disclose.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now, under the latest iteration, all emails related to the project must continue to be revealed in the administrative record, and only emails over minutia like scheduling can be excluded.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The bottom line is most emails that are actually pertinent to the project — not like, ‘How about those Dodgers?’ — they will go into the record,” Pettit said. “That is important, because sometimes people will talk candidly over email in a way that others might not.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>What are the effects on wildlife?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240SB147\">SB 147\u003c/a> would allow projects to \u003ca href=\"https://www.senate.ca.gov/infrastructure-streamlining-and-workforce-equity\">receive permits to kill certain wildlife species\u003c/a> \u003ca href=\"https://wildlife.ca.gov/Conservation/Fully-Protected\">that are classified as “fully protected.”\u003c/a> Thirty-seven species — including the golden eagle, greater sandhill crane, bighorn sheep, several coastal marsh birds, 10 fish and several reptiles and amphibians — are listed as fully protected.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Under the bill, only certain types of projects that are considered beneficial to the public could get the new permits, including repairing aqueducts and other water infrastructure, building wind and solar installations, and transportation projects, including wildlife crossings, that don’t increase traffic.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>State and federal Endangered Species Acts would still protect rare wildlife and be unaffected by the bill. But it would alter another, stronger protection under state law: “Fully protected” species \u003ca href=\"https://environs.law.ucdavis.edu/volumes/44/2/Biber.pdf\">began in the 1960s (PDF)\u003c/a> as part of an early effort to protect California’s animals, such as the \u003ca href=\"https://wildlife.ca.gov/Conservation/Fully-Protected\">California condor and southern sea otter.\u003c/a> Of those, all but 10 are also listed under the California Endangered Species Act.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11954599\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1568px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11954599\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/peregrine-falcon-ap-062923.jpg\" alt=\"A falcon flies in the sky with the Bay Bridge in the background.\" width=\"1568\" height=\"1046\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/peregrine-falcon-ap-062923.jpg 1568w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/peregrine-falcon-ap-062923-800x534.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/peregrine-falcon-ap-062923-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/peregrine-falcon-ap-062923-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/peregrine-falcon-ap-062923-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1568px) 100vw, 1568px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A peregrine falcon flies over the Bay Bridge in San Francisco. The falcons would no longer be classified as a ‘fully protected species’ under the infrastructure bills. \u003ccite>(Marcio Jose Sanchez/AP)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Unlike the endangered species acts, which allow wildlife agencies to grant permission to “take” or harm a species, so-called “fully protected” species cannot be killed except in rare cases, such as scientific research.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To obtain the new permits, developers and other applicants would need to show that their plans to compensate for the harm to these species actually improves conservation — a more stringent standard than required by the California Endangered Species Act.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This addresses an enforcement gap: Regulators have little authority to make developers work with them to ensure projects take steps to reduce their impacts on those species. “There’s no hook for the regulatory agencies to demand avoidance and mitigation measures, because they’re unwilling to enforce the laws as written,” Audubon’s Lynes said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Fish and Wildlife Director Chuck Bonham told a Senate committee that without a permit process to allow harm to fully protected species, project developers are left with little recourse if their projects could disrupt these animals. As a result, “every project proponent faces an unnecessary risk for project planning, financing and construction.” \u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Three species would also lose their status as fully protected: the American peregrine falcon, brown pelican and a fish called the thicktail chub. The falcon and pelican had been listed as endangered species but are now considered recovered, largely due to the 1972 ban on the pesticide DDT; \u003ca href=\"http://www.nativefishlab.net/library/textpdf/18493.pdf\">the chub is considered extinct (PDF).\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We certainly don’t want to be reducing protections for pelicans and peregrine falcons, but it’s also understandable to be looking to transition them off the list,” Lynes said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The latest version overhauls Newsom’s original proposal to scrap the “fully protected” designation entirely, which environmentalists worried would significantly weaken protections for these species. Delta communities were especially concerned, seeing it as one of several moves to push the Delta tunnel project forward by targeting the greater sandhill crane, which winters in the region.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The new version of the bill explicitly says that a Delta tunnel project would not qualify for permits to take the crane or any other fully protected species.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Will this actually streamline projects?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The multibillion-dollar question is whether these regulations will \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/environment/2023/05/gavin-newsom-ceqa-reform/\">actually help California build big things faster\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Newsom administration said they are critical to bolster California’s chances when competing against other states for $28 billion in discretionary funds from the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the Inflation Reduction Act.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s going to be extremely difficult if not impossible to draw a straight line that if you pass judicial streamlining, we get the federal dollars here in California,” said Adam Regele, a vice president at the California Chamber of Commerce. “But what it does do is it makes us more competitive.”\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>The Natural Resources Defense Council’s Pettit is skeptical that this will in fact streamline lengthy and litigious approvals under CEQA. He pointed to the loophole establishing a nine-month time limit for court challenges only “to the extent feasible.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“How do we know that this package will actually speed things up? Because I’m not seeing it,” Pettit said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Newsom’s deputy communications director, Alex Stack, said he couldn’t name any specific projects that would benefit or ones that had been specifically denied federal funding because of California’s existing laws.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But he said he expects the bills to cut the timeline for major builds in California by up to almost a third. That includes for transit projects, wind and solar installations, semiconductor plants and water storage projects like Sites reservoir.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s climate denial to preserve the status quo — to delay these projects is to delay climate action, clean energy, safe drinking water, and put millions more Californians at risk of devastating climate impacts,” Stack told CalMatters last week.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"title": "A Multibillion-Dollar Forest Sweep Could Help Stem Western Wildfires. Will It Be Enough?",
"headTitle": "A Multibillion-Dollar Forest Sweep Could Help Stem Western Wildfires. Will It Be Enough? | KQED",
"content": "\u003cp>Using chainsaws, heavy machinery and controlled burns, the Biden administration is trying to turn the tide on worsening wildfires in the West through a \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/wildfires-science-politics-health-oregon-fd0b4b56e97fca9a6e083096f2bc97f4\">multibillion-dollar cleanup\u003c/a> of forests choked with dead trees and undergrowth.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Yet one year into what’s envisioned as \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/wildfires-climate-science-health-business-8176e045e74d61736e4657073bcb1951\">a decade-long effort\u003c/a>, federal land managers are scrambling to catch up after falling behind on several of their priority forests for thinning even as they exceeded goals elsewhere. And they’ve skipped over some highly at-risk communities to work in less threatened areas, according to data obtained by The Associated Press, public records and congressional testimony.[aside label=\"more on wildfire prevention\" tag=\"wildfires\"]With climate change making the situation \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/fires-climate-environment-and-nature-forests-business-0cc8e3391c93a3ad8e77346f0610c4f0\">increasingly dire\u003c/a>, mixed early results from the administration’s initiative underscore the challenge of reversing \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/wildfires-science-politics-health-oregon-fd0b4b56e97fca9a6e083096f2bc97f4\">decades of lax forest management\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/fires-health-coronavirus-pandemic-2f9e12d65a8fdc558bf24bfccaef3647\">aggressive fire suppression\u003c/a> that allowed many woodlands to become tinderboxes. The ambitious effort comes amid \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/wildfire-crisis-climate-prescribed-burn-08891c5888c3835fc348f9f5b6d28100\">pushback from lawmakers\u003c/a> dissatisfied with progress to date and criticism from some environmentalists for cutting too many trees.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Administration officials in interviews and during testimony maintained that the thinning work is making a difference. Work announced to date, they said, will help lessen wildfire dangers faced by more than 500 communities in 10 states. But they also acknowledged finishing the task will require far more resources than what’s already dedicated.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“As much money as we’re receiving, it’s not enough to take care of the problems that we are seeing, particularly across the West,” said Forest Service Chief Randy Moore. “This is an emergency situation in many places, and we are acting with a sense of urgency.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Big money for a big problem\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Congress in the last two years approved more than $4 billion in additional funding to prevent repeats of destructive infernos that have torched communities including in \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/fires-environment-and-nature-california-13faa6976260a4a9e10906c70b4ed2d0\">California\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/marshall-fire-colorado-cause-91aad87da67fd883b9294df1ff386865\">Colorado\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/wildfires-business-fires-montana-great-falls-59e86452223ba1760f048de2a13e6331\">Montana\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>By logging and burning trees and low-lying vegetation, officials hope to lessen forest fuels and keep fires that originate on federal lands from exploding through nearby cities and towns.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The enormity of the task is evident in an aerial view of California’s Tahoe National Forest, where mountainsides are colored brown and gray with the vast number of trees killed by insects and drought. After work on the Tahoe was delayed last year, Forest Service crews and contractors recently started taking down trees across thousands of acres.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The forests as we know them in California and across the West, they’re dying. They’re being destroyed through fire. They’re dying from drought, disease and insects,” said forest Supervisor Eli Ilano. “They’re dying at a pace that we’re having trouble keeping up with.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The scale of spending is unprecedented, said Courtney Schultz with Colorado State University. The forest policy expert said millions of acres have been through environmental review and are ready for work.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If we really want to go big across the landscape — to reduce fuels enough to affect fire behavior and have some impact on communities — we need to be planning large projects,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Key to that strategy is addressing forest patches where computer simulations show wildfire could easily spread to inhabited areas. Some areas have yet to get the extra funding for thinning despite facing high risk, including portions of California’s Sierra Nevada range, Montana’s Bitterroot Valley and around Mescalero Apache lands in southern New Mexico.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1000\" height=\"450\" src=\"https://www.youtube.com/embed/--_a7EOc1p4\" title=\"YouTube video player\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" scrolling=\"yes\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Only about a third of the land the U.S. Forest Service treated last year was designated with high wildfire hazard potential, agency documents show. About half the forest was in the southeastern U.S., where wildfires are less severe but weather conditions make it easier to use intentional burns, the documents show.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The infrastructure bill passed two years ago with bipartisan support included a requirement for the administration to treat forests across 10 million acres — 15,625 square miles — by 2027. Less than 10% of that was addressed in the first year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The Forest Service is obligating hundreds of millions of dollars, but not in the areas required by law,” said Sen. Joe Manchin, a West Virginia Democrat who chairs the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Forest Service spokesman Wade Muehlhof said the agency was confident in the administration’s strategy, but declined to say if it would meet the acreage mandates.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Mixed first-year results\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>An AP analysis of federal data reveals the scale of the challenge: Hundreds of communities are threatened by the potential for fires to ignite on federal forests and spread to populated areas.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In California, thinning zones announced to date address the risk to only about one-in-five houses and other buildings potentially exposed to fires on federal lands, the analysis shows. In Nevada and Oregon, it’s about half of exposed structures, and in Montana it’s one-in 25.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Most areas identified as hot spots where forest fires have high potential to burn into populated areas won’t be addressed for at least the next several years, according to government planning documents. And computer models project up to 20% of areas that need thinning will be hit by fires before that work occurs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Architects of the Forest Service’s strategy based it on tens of millions of computer wildfire simulations being used to predict areas that pose the greatest risk. Those scenarios showed that fires on only 10% to 20% of the land would account for 80% of exposure to communities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is a mapped plan through time, where we can laser-focus on one highly important issue: the problem of communities being destroyed by wildfires started on public lands,” said Forest Service fire scientist Alan Ager.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Falling short in a risky area\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>In 2022, the Forest Service missed its treatment goals in four of 10 areas targeted as priorities. One was the Tahoe National Forest’s North Yuba region, where the agency addressed only 6% of the acreage planned.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Small towns tucked into the forest’s canyons escaped disaster two years ago when the Dixie fire raged just to the north, destroying several communities and burning about 1,500 square miles in the Sierra Nevada range. Those communities also escaped another fire to the south that burned more than 1,000 homes and structures. The previous year, yet another fire killed 15 people and torched more than 2,000 homes and structures in the region.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The same conditions that whipped those fires into infernos exist on the Tahoe forest — densely-packed trees and underbrush primed to burn following years of drought. And government computer modeling suggests it’s among the U.S. communities most exposed to wildfires on federal lands.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Five million trees died on the Tahoe last year alone, said Ilano, the forest supervisor.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“What we’re realizing is we’re not moving fast enough, that the fires are burning bigger and more intense, more quickly than we anticipated,” Ilano said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Earlier this month, tracked vehicles including one known as a “harvester” worked through dense stands on the North Yuba, clipping large trees at their base and stripping them bare of branches in just seconds, then piling the trunks to be burned later. Elsewhere, work crews walked slowly behind a wood chipper as it was pulled along a forest road, stuffing the machine with small trees and branches cut to clear the understory.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The increased logging needed to reach the government’s lofty goals has gained acceptance as the growing toll from wildfires softens longstanding opposition from some environmental groups and ecologists.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Gone are the days when things were black and white and either good or bad,” said Melinda Booth, former director of the South Yuba River Citizens League. “We need targeted treatment, targeted thinning, which does include logging.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Others think officials are going too far. Sue Britting with Sierra Forest Legacy says the North Yuba plan includes about nine square miles of older trees and stands along waterways that should be preserved. Yet for most of the work, Britting said it’s time to “move forward” on a thinning project years in the making.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Big obstacles\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Hindering the Forest Service nationwide is a shortage of workers to cut and remove trees on the scale demanded, government officials and forestry experts say. Litigation ties up many projects, with environmental reviews taking three years on average before work begins, according to the Property and Environment Research Center, a Bozeman, Montana think tank.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Another problem: Thinning operations aren’t allowed in federally designated wilderness areas. That puts off limits about a third of National Forest areas that expose communities to high wildfire risk and means some thinning work must be carried out in a patchwork fashion.[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Keeping track of progress presents its own challenges. Acres that get worked on are often counted twice or more — first when the trees are cut down, again when leftover piles of woody material on the same site are removed, and yet again when that landscape is later subjected to prescribed fire, said Schultz of Colorado State University.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even where thinning is allowed, officials face other potential constraints, such as protecting older groves important for wildlife habitat. A Biden inventory of public lands in April identified more than 175,000 square miles of old growth and mature forests on U.S. government land.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The inventory will be used to craft new rules to better protect those woodlands from fires, insects and other side effects of climate change. But there’s overlap between older forests and many areas slated for thinning. That includes more than half of the treatment area at North Yuba, according to an AP analysis of mature forest data compiled by the conservation group Wild Heritage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“What’s driving all of this is insect infestation, drought stress, and all of that is related to the climate,” said Wild Heritage chief scientist Dominick DellaSalla. “I don’t think you can get out of it by thinning.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "The Biden administration is trying to turn the tide on worsening wildfires in the West through a multibillion-dollar cleanup of forests choked with dead trees and undergrowth.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Using chainsaws, heavy machinery and controlled burns, the Biden administration is trying to turn the tide on worsening wildfires in the West through a \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/wildfires-science-politics-health-oregon-fd0b4b56e97fca9a6e083096f2bc97f4\">multibillion-dollar cleanup\u003c/a> of forests choked with dead trees and undergrowth.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Yet one year into what’s envisioned as \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/wildfires-climate-science-health-business-8176e045e74d61736e4657073bcb1951\">a decade-long effort\u003c/a>, federal land managers are scrambling to catch up after falling behind on several of their priority forests for thinning even as they exceeded goals elsewhere. And they’ve skipped over some highly at-risk communities to work in less threatened areas, according to data obtained by The Associated Press, public records and congressional testimony.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>With climate change making the situation \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/fires-climate-environment-and-nature-forests-business-0cc8e3391c93a3ad8e77346f0610c4f0\">increasingly dire\u003c/a>, mixed early results from the administration’s initiative underscore the challenge of reversing \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/wildfires-science-politics-health-oregon-fd0b4b56e97fca9a6e083096f2bc97f4\">decades of lax forest management\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/fires-health-coronavirus-pandemic-2f9e12d65a8fdc558bf24bfccaef3647\">aggressive fire suppression\u003c/a> that allowed many woodlands to become tinderboxes. The ambitious effort comes amid \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/wildfire-crisis-climate-prescribed-burn-08891c5888c3835fc348f9f5b6d28100\">pushback from lawmakers\u003c/a> dissatisfied with progress to date and criticism from some environmentalists for cutting too many trees.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Administration officials in interviews and during testimony maintained that the thinning work is making a difference. Work announced to date, they said, will help lessen wildfire dangers faced by more than 500 communities in 10 states. But they also acknowledged finishing the task will require far more resources than what’s already dedicated.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“As much money as we’re receiving, it’s not enough to take care of the problems that we are seeing, particularly across the West,” said Forest Service Chief Randy Moore. “This is an emergency situation in many places, and we are acting with a sense of urgency.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Big money for a big problem\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Congress in the last two years approved more than $4 billion in additional funding to prevent repeats of destructive infernos that have torched communities including in \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/fires-environment-and-nature-california-13faa6976260a4a9e10906c70b4ed2d0\">California\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/marshall-fire-colorado-cause-91aad87da67fd883b9294df1ff386865\">Colorado\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/wildfires-business-fires-montana-great-falls-59e86452223ba1760f048de2a13e6331\">Montana\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>By logging and burning trees and low-lying vegetation, officials hope to lessen forest fuels and keep fires that originate on federal lands from exploding through nearby cities and towns.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The enormity of the task is evident in an aerial view of California’s Tahoe National Forest, where mountainsides are colored brown and gray with the vast number of trees killed by insects and drought. After work on the Tahoe was delayed last year, Forest Service crews and contractors recently started taking down trees across thousands of acres.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The forests as we know them in California and across the West, they’re dying. They’re being destroyed through fire. They’re dying from drought, disease and insects,” said forest Supervisor Eli Ilano. “They’re dying at a pace that we’re having trouble keeping up with.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The scale of spending is unprecedented, said Courtney Schultz with Colorado State University. The forest policy expert said millions of acres have been through environmental review and are ready for work.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If we really want to go big across the landscape — to reduce fuels enough to affect fire behavior and have some impact on communities — we need to be planning large projects,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Key to that strategy is addressing forest patches where computer simulations show wildfire could easily spread to inhabited areas. Some areas have yet to get the extra funding for thinning despite facing high risk, including portions of California’s Sierra Nevada range, Montana’s Bitterroot Valley and around Mescalero Apache lands in southern New Mexico.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1000\" height=\"450\" src=\"https://www.youtube.com/embed/--_a7EOc1p4\" title=\"YouTube video player\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" scrolling=\"yes\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Only about a third of the land the U.S. Forest Service treated last year was designated with high wildfire hazard potential, agency documents show. About half the forest was in the southeastern U.S., where wildfires are less severe but weather conditions make it easier to use intentional burns, the documents show.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The infrastructure bill passed two years ago with bipartisan support included a requirement for the administration to treat forests across 10 million acres — 15,625 square miles — by 2027. Less than 10% of that was addressed in the first year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The Forest Service is obligating hundreds of millions of dollars, but not in the areas required by law,” said Sen. Joe Manchin, a West Virginia Democrat who chairs the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Forest Service spokesman Wade Muehlhof said the agency was confident in the administration’s strategy, but declined to say if it would meet the acreage mandates.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Mixed first-year results\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>An AP analysis of federal data reveals the scale of the challenge: Hundreds of communities are threatened by the potential for fires to ignite on federal forests and spread to populated areas.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In California, thinning zones announced to date address the risk to only about one-in-five houses and other buildings potentially exposed to fires on federal lands, the analysis shows. In Nevada and Oregon, it’s about half of exposed structures, and in Montana it’s one-in 25.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Most areas identified as hot spots where forest fires have high potential to burn into populated areas won’t be addressed for at least the next several years, according to government planning documents. And computer models project up to 20% of areas that need thinning will be hit by fires before that work occurs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Architects of the Forest Service’s strategy based it on tens of millions of computer wildfire simulations being used to predict areas that pose the greatest risk. Those scenarios showed that fires on only 10% to 20% of the land would account for 80% of exposure to communities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is a mapped plan through time, where we can laser-focus on one highly important issue: the problem of communities being destroyed by wildfires started on public lands,” said Forest Service fire scientist Alan Ager.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Falling short in a risky area\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>In 2022, the Forest Service missed its treatment goals in four of 10 areas targeted as priorities. One was the Tahoe National Forest’s North Yuba region, where the agency addressed only 6% of the acreage planned.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Small towns tucked into the forest’s canyons escaped disaster two years ago when the Dixie fire raged just to the north, destroying several communities and burning about 1,500 square miles in the Sierra Nevada range. Those communities also escaped another fire to the south that burned more than 1,000 homes and structures. The previous year, yet another fire killed 15 people and torched more than 2,000 homes and structures in the region.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The same conditions that whipped those fires into infernos exist on the Tahoe forest — densely-packed trees and underbrush primed to burn following years of drought. And government computer modeling suggests it’s among the U.S. communities most exposed to wildfires on federal lands.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Five million trees died on the Tahoe last year alone, said Ilano, the forest supervisor.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“What we’re realizing is we’re not moving fast enough, that the fires are burning bigger and more intense, more quickly than we anticipated,” Ilano said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Earlier this month, tracked vehicles including one known as a “harvester” worked through dense stands on the North Yuba, clipping large trees at their base and stripping them bare of branches in just seconds, then piling the trunks to be burned later. Elsewhere, work crews walked slowly behind a wood chipper as it was pulled along a forest road, stuffing the machine with small trees and branches cut to clear the understory.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The increased logging needed to reach the government’s lofty goals has gained acceptance as the growing toll from wildfires softens longstanding opposition from some environmental groups and ecologists.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Gone are the days when things were black and white and either good or bad,” said Melinda Booth, former director of the South Yuba River Citizens League. “We need targeted treatment, targeted thinning, which does include logging.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Others think officials are going too far. Sue Britting with Sierra Forest Legacy says the North Yuba plan includes about nine square miles of older trees and stands along waterways that should be preserved. Yet for most of the work, Britting said it’s time to “move forward” on a thinning project years in the making.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Big obstacles\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Hindering the Forest Service nationwide is a shortage of workers to cut and remove trees on the scale demanded, government officials and forestry experts say. Litigation ties up many projects, with environmental reviews taking three years on average before work begins, according to the Property and Environment Research Center, a Bozeman, Montana think tank.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Another problem: Thinning operations aren’t allowed in federally designated wilderness areas. That puts off limits about a third of National Forest areas that expose communities to high wildfire risk and means some thinning work must be carried out in a patchwork fashion.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cp>KQED Newsroom\u003cbr>\nFriday, June 23, 2023\u003cbr>\n7 p.m. on Channel 9\u003cbr>\nHost: Priya David Clemens\u003c/p>\n\u003cp> \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>KQED Newsroom Celebrates 55 Years\u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">For 55 years, KQED Newsroom has covered the Bay Area’s defining moments and hosted in-depth discussions with major newsmakers, including elected officials, politicians, artists, scientists and entrepreneurs.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">KQED Newsroom journalists have always strived to give our audience trustworthy news coverage and deliver the important news of our times from here in the Bay Area, across California and from the nation’s capital. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Looking Back (1990s\u003c/b>\u003cb>–\u003c/b>\u003cb>Now)\u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">In our final episode, we journey through news highlights from the past four decades with the stories that shaped the Bay Area we live in today. We start with the 1990s, a decade defined by the explosion of the internet and the radical transformation of every aspect of our lives.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>KQED Newsroom\u003cbr>\nFriday, June 23, 2023\u003cbr>\n7 p.m. on Channel 9\u003cbr>\nHost: Priya David Clemens\u003c/p>\n\u003cp> \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>KQED Newsroom Celebrates 55 Years\u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">For 55 years, KQED Newsroom has covered the Bay Area’s defining moments and hosted in-depth discussions with major newsmakers, including elected officials, politicians, artists, scientists and entrepreneurs.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">KQED Newsroom journalists have always strived to give our audience trustworthy news coverage and deliver the important news of our times from here in the Bay Area, across California and from the nation’s capital. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cp>Orcas aren’t just in the news lately for \u003ca href=\"https://www.latimes.com/environment/story/2023-06-19/why-are-killer-whales-going-moby-dick-on-yachts-suddenly\">attacking boats\u003c/a>. In May, a whale-watching tour by the Farallon Islands experienced something rare: a sighting of 20 orcas (or killer whales). Then, just last week, many of those same orcas, plus a few new ones, were spotted by Monterey in an \u003ca href=\"https://abc7news.com/orca-whales-killer-whale-sighting-monterey-bay-california-ocean/13382311/\">even bigger group of over 30\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>\u003cb>Jump to: \u003ca href=\"#jump\">Where to see whales around the Bay Area\u003c/a>\u003c/b>\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>“They were socializing, playing, very playful,” said Nancy Black, founder of the \u003ca href=\"https://www.californiakillerwhaleproject.org/\">California Killer Whale Project\u003c/a>. It was like a giant family gathering: Orcas typically travel in smaller family groups of two to seven whales, but multiple families will meet up for hunting or, in this case, fun. Black, who has been studying orcas near Monterey for 30 years, said that sightings that large are incredibly rare. But it’s been oddly frequent in recent weeks.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Why are we seeing so many orcas right now?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>It’s mostly luck, said Black.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We don’t get to see them all that often,” said Michael Pierson of the \u003ca href=\"https://www.oceanicsociety.org/\">Oceanic Society\u003c/a>, who was leading the boat tour that spotted the first group of orcas out near the Farallons. He’ll see orcas near San Francisco maybe two or three times per year, he said, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11916632/its-like-youre-on-a-different-planet-in-search-of-whales-and-other-creatures-at-the-mysterious-farallon-islands\">all out by the Farallons\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mIj1dQjBoiE\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Near Monterey, it happens more frequently, because of the topography of the ocean, and whale migration and hunting patterns.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Orcas tend to stay in deeper water. Different orca families range from Baja all the way up to Alaska, but Black said the 120 orcas around Monterey and the Bay Area tend to move constantly from Southern California to British Columbia. However, they’re all mostly swimming out at the edge of the continental shelf. A quick look at \u003ca href=\"https://usa.fishermap.org/depth-map/pacific-ocean/#map\">a coastal ocean depth map\u003c/a> will show that the shallow water around San Francisco extends about 26 miles, past the Farallon Islands.[aside postID=\"news_11916632\" label=\"Related Coverage\"]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But down by Monterey there’s something called \u003ca href=\"https://www.mbari.org/know-your-ocean/monterey-canyon/\">the Monterey Canyon\u003c/a>. It’s one of the deepest ocean canyons on the West Coast, starting near Moss Landing and extending out across Monterey Bay.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There are a few types of orcas. The transient orcas, which feed on mammals, tend to prey on seals, sea lions, sea otters, porpoises and also baby whales from other species. That means orcas hunt during sea lion and seal pupping season, which is happening right now at the Farallon Islands, said Pierson — and could explain some of the higher level of activity there.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They also hunt during humpback and gray whale migration season. The humpbacks and gray whales stay close to shore, in shallower water, to protect their babies. Where they need to cross the deep water channel, or get near the deep water in Monterey Bay, orcas can pick off their babies. That’s also happening right now. (Because of this, humpbacks really don’t like orcas; \u003ca href=\"https://www.science.org/content/article/why-did-humpback-whale-just-save-seals-life\">they have even been known to save other animals\u003c/a>, like seals, from orcas.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]So far, whale experts don’t think there’s a larger trend happening, although climate change has certainly affected gray whales’ ability to eat enough in Alaska — warmer waters are making the shrimp they dine on rare, and that’s caused a recent increase in gray whales dying during the trip. But the best explanation for all the orca activity near shore lately is it’s just been a great hunting period.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It looks like they just had a really good season while the gray whales head north,” said Beth Scrutton with the \u003ca href=\"https://www.montereybayaquarium.org/\">Monterey Bay Aquarium\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"#tellus\">Tell us: What else do you need information about right now?\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003ch2>When is whale-watching season?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>“Whale-watching season on the California Coast is practically all year round, just different whales and different times of year,” said Scrutton. Mostly, we get humpback and gray whales. Sometimes, there are orcas or blue whales. “Recently, we’ve been seeing [whales] daily in Monterey,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Here are the best times to see the following whales:\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.montereybayaquarium.org/animals/animals-a-to-z/gray-whale\">\u003cb>Gray whales\u003c/b>\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Gray whales make a 12,000-mile round trip every year, summering in Alaska and then traveling to Mexico to winter off the coast of Baja, where they give birth in protected lagoons before heading back. They’re typically found around Monterey and the Bay Area from December to February, and then from April to May, although they’re not all on the same schedule.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.montereybayaquarium.org/animals/animals-a-to-z/humpback-whale\">\u003cb>Humpback whales\u003c/b>\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The humpback whales that winter in Mexico tend to spend their summers around here or in Oregon. Often, whole pods feed throughout the summer in Monterey Bay, and can be seen from April or May through October or November. Activity can be especially high in August and September, said Scrutton. “They’re the most acrobatic of whales we see,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.montereybayaquarium.org/animals/animals-a-to-z/blue-whale\">\u003cb>Blue whales\u003c/b>\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The largest animal on earth, blue whales are also incredibly rare to spot. They tend to live in deeper waters, but feed off Monterey in the summer from June to October.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"https://www.montereybayaquarium.org/animals/animals-a-to-z/orca\">Orcas (aka killer whales)\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While orcas are constantly on the move, ranging all up and down the West Coast, there is typically more activity around the Bay Area during the spring when gray whales are migrating, because that’s a good time to catch a calf for eating. However, because orcas constantly go where the food is, they don’t tend to spend more than a few days in one place — though they will travel and come back.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2 id=\"jump\">Where can I see whales in the Bay Area?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Unfortunately, it’s very rare to see orcas near San Francisco, even at this time of year, because of our shallow water. While humpback whales might occasionally come into the bay to feed, Black said she had never heard of orcas coming into the San Francisco Bay.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s also a math problem. There are, by Black’s estimate, about 120 killer whales that regularly frequent the waters off Monterey and the Bay Area. (One unique thing that likely contributed to recent sightings was a group of orcas that typically live in Canada traveling to become part of the large groups spotted here.) By comparison, there are about 5,000 humpback whales that make the migration. So your odds of seeing humpbacks are better.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Whale watching from shore\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Your best bets from shore, said Pierson, are places with high vantage points, like near the lighthouses at Point Reyes or Point Bonita. Lands End, in the city, can be good, if you look out in the distance. Or go where deep water comes close to shore down at Point Lobos or near the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Still, it’s really just luck.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Whale watching from a boat\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>You’re much more likely to see whales if you head out to where they are.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Both Pierson and Black run whale-watching tours, with the \u003ca href=\"https://www.oceanicsociety.org/\">Oceanic Society\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://montereybaywhalewatch.com/trips.htm\">Monterey Bay Whale Watch\u003c/a>, respectively. In the Bay Area, the \u003ca href=\"https://www.oceanicsociety.org/expedition/farallon-islands-wildlife-expedition/\">Oceanic Society goes out to the Farallons\u003c/a> every Saturday and Sunday; right now, you can also see 300,000 to 500,000 birds during their nesting season. (\u003ca href=\"https://sanfranciscowhaletours.com/whale-watching/golden-gate-whale-watch/\">San Francisco Whale Tours\u003c/a> also takes boats out to the Farallons.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>How do the tours find whales? By looking for spouts or spray far off in the distance. Using smell on foggy days is another way to find them, said Pierson. It “smells like rotten broccoli and fish,” he said. “Once you smell it, you never forget the smell.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca id=\"tellus\">\u003c/a>Tell us: What else do you need information about?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>At KQED News, we know that it can sometimes be hard to track down the answers to navigate life in the Bay Area in 2023. We’ve published \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/coronavirus-resources-and-explainers\">clear, practical explainers and guides about COVID\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11936674/how-to-prepare-for-this-weeks-atmospheric-river-storm-sandbags-emergency-kits-and-more\">how to cope with intense winter weather\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11821950/how-to-safely-attend-a-protest-in-the-bay-area\">how to exercise your right to protest safely\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So tell us: What do you need to know more about? Tell us, and you could see your question answered online or on social media. What you submit will make our reporting stronger, and help us decide what to cover here on our site, and on KQED Public Radio, too.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[hearken id=\"10483\" src=\"https://modules.wearehearken.com/kqed/embed/10483.js\"]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "While orca attacks on boats may be in the news right now, whales have been making headlines locally for a different reason — their presence around the San Francisco Bay. Here's how to spot them.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Orcas aren’t just in the news lately for \u003ca href=\"https://www.latimes.com/environment/story/2023-06-19/why-are-killer-whales-going-moby-dick-on-yachts-suddenly\">attacking boats\u003c/a>. In May, a whale-watching tour by the Farallon Islands experienced something rare: a sighting of 20 orcas (or killer whales). Then, just last week, many of those same orcas, plus a few new ones, were spotted by Monterey in an \u003ca href=\"https://abc7news.com/orca-whales-killer-whale-sighting-monterey-bay-california-ocean/13382311/\">even bigger group of over 30\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>\u003cb>Jump to: \u003ca href=\"#jump\">Where to see whales around the Bay Area\u003c/a>\u003c/b>\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>“They were socializing, playing, very playful,” said Nancy Black, founder of the \u003ca href=\"https://www.californiakillerwhaleproject.org/\">California Killer Whale Project\u003c/a>. It was like a giant family gathering: Orcas typically travel in smaller family groups of two to seven whales, but multiple families will meet up for hunting or, in this case, fun. Black, who has been studying orcas near Monterey for 30 years, said that sightings that large are incredibly rare. But it’s been oddly frequent in recent weeks.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Why are we seeing so many orcas right now?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>It’s mostly luck, said Black.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We don’t get to see them all that often,” said Michael Pierson of the \u003ca href=\"https://www.oceanicsociety.org/\">Oceanic Society\u003c/a>, who was leading the boat tour that spotted the first group of orcas out near the Farallons. He’ll see orcas near San Francisco maybe two or three times per year, he said, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11916632/its-like-youre-on-a-different-planet-in-search-of-whales-and-other-creatures-at-the-mysterious-farallon-islands\">all out by the Farallons\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/mIj1dQjBoiE'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/mIj1dQjBoiE'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>Near Monterey, it happens more frequently, because of the topography of the ocean, and whale migration and hunting patterns.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Orcas tend to stay in deeper water. Different orca families range from Baja all the way up to Alaska, but Black said the 120 orcas around Monterey and the Bay Area tend to move constantly from Southern California to British Columbia. However, they’re all mostly swimming out at the edge of the continental shelf. A quick look at \u003ca href=\"https://usa.fishermap.org/depth-map/pacific-ocean/#map\">a coastal ocean depth map\u003c/a> will show that the shallow water around San Francisco extends about 26 miles, past the Farallon Islands.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But down by Monterey there’s something called \u003ca href=\"https://www.mbari.org/know-your-ocean/monterey-canyon/\">the Monterey Canyon\u003c/a>. It’s one of the deepest ocean canyons on the West Coast, starting near Moss Landing and extending out across Monterey Bay.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There are a few types of orcas. The transient orcas, which feed on mammals, tend to prey on seals, sea lions, sea otters, porpoises and also baby whales from other species. That means orcas hunt during sea lion and seal pupping season, which is happening right now at the Farallon Islands, said Pierson — and could explain some of the higher level of activity there.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They also hunt during humpback and gray whale migration season. The humpbacks and gray whales stay close to shore, in shallower water, to protect their babies. Where they need to cross the deep water channel, or get near the deep water in Monterey Bay, orcas can pick off their babies. That’s also happening right now. (Because of this, humpbacks really don’t like orcas; \u003ca href=\"https://www.science.org/content/article/why-did-humpback-whale-just-save-seals-life\">they have even been known to save other animals\u003c/a>, like seals, from orcas.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>So far, whale experts don’t think there’s a larger trend happening, although climate change has certainly affected gray whales’ ability to eat enough in Alaska — warmer waters are making the shrimp they dine on rare, and that’s caused a recent increase in gray whales dying during the trip. But the best explanation for all the orca activity near shore lately is it’s just been a great hunting period.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It looks like they just had a really good season while the gray whales head north,” said Beth Scrutton with the \u003ca href=\"https://www.montereybayaquarium.org/\">Monterey Bay Aquarium\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"#tellus\">Tell us: What else do you need information about right now?\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003ch2>When is whale-watching season?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>“Whale-watching season on the California Coast is practically all year round, just different whales and different times of year,” said Scrutton. Mostly, we get humpback and gray whales. Sometimes, there are orcas or blue whales. “Recently, we’ve been seeing [whales] daily in Monterey,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Here are the best times to see the following whales:\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.montereybayaquarium.org/animals/animals-a-to-z/gray-whale\">\u003cb>Gray whales\u003c/b>\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Gray whales make a 12,000-mile round trip every year, summering in Alaska and then traveling to Mexico to winter off the coast of Baja, where they give birth in protected lagoons before heading back. They’re typically found around Monterey and the Bay Area from December to February, and then from April to May, although they’re not all on the same schedule.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.montereybayaquarium.org/animals/animals-a-to-z/humpback-whale\">\u003cb>Humpback whales\u003c/b>\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The humpback whales that winter in Mexico tend to spend their summers around here or in Oregon. Often, whole pods feed throughout the summer in Monterey Bay, and can be seen from April or May through October or November. Activity can be especially high in August and September, said Scrutton. “They’re the most acrobatic of whales we see,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.montereybayaquarium.org/animals/animals-a-to-z/blue-whale\">\u003cb>Blue whales\u003c/b>\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The largest animal on earth, blue whales are also incredibly rare to spot. They tend to live in deeper waters, but feed off Monterey in the summer from June to October.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"https://www.montereybayaquarium.org/animals/animals-a-to-z/orca\">Orcas (aka killer whales)\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While orcas are constantly on the move, ranging all up and down the West Coast, there is typically more activity around the Bay Area during the spring when gray whales are migrating, because that’s a good time to catch a calf for eating. However, because orcas constantly go where the food is, they don’t tend to spend more than a few days in one place — though they will travel and come back.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2 id=\"jump\">Where can I see whales in the Bay Area?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Unfortunately, it’s very rare to see orcas near San Francisco, even at this time of year, because of our shallow water. While humpback whales might occasionally come into the bay to feed, Black said she had never heard of orcas coming into the San Francisco Bay.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s also a math problem. There are, by Black’s estimate, about 120 killer whales that regularly frequent the waters off Monterey and the Bay Area. (One unique thing that likely contributed to recent sightings was a group of orcas that typically live in Canada traveling to become part of the large groups spotted here.) By comparison, there are about 5,000 humpback whales that make the migration. So your odds of seeing humpbacks are better.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Whale watching from shore\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Your best bets from shore, said Pierson, are places with high vantage points, like near the lighthouses at Point Reyes or Point Bonita. Lands End, in the city, can be good, if you look out in the distance. Or go where deep water comes close to shore down at Point Lobos or near the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Still, it’s really just luck.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Whale watching from a boat\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>You’re much more likely to see whales if you head out to where they are.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Both Pierson and Black run whale-watching tours, with the \u003ca href=\"https://www.oceanicsociety.org/\">Oceanic Society\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://montereybaywhalewatch.com/trips.htm\">Monterey Bay Whale Watch\u003c/a>, respectively. In the Bay Area, the \u003ca href=\"https://www.oceanicsociety.org/expedition/farallon-islands-wildlife-expedition/\">Oceanic Society goes out to the Farallons\u003c/a> every Saturday and Sunday; right now, you can also see 300,000 to 500,000 birds during their nesting season. (\u003ca href=\"https://sanfranciscowhaletours.com/whale-watching/golden-gate-whale-watch/\">San Francisco Whale Tours\u003c/a> also takes boats out to the Farallons.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>How do the tours find whales? By looking for spouts or spray far off in the distance. Using smell on foggy days is another way to find them, said Pierson. It “smells like rotten broccoli and fish,” he said. “Once you smell it, you never forget the smell.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca id=\"tellus\">\u003c/a>Tell us: What else do you need information about?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>At KQED News, we know that it can sometimes be hard to track down the answers to navigate life in the Bay Area in 2023. We’ve published \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/coronavirus-resources-and-explainers\">clear, practical explainers and guides about COVID\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11936674/how-to-prepare-for-this-weeks-atmospheric-river-storm-sandbags-emergency-kits-and-more\">how to cope with intense winter weather\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11821950/how-to-safely-attend-a-protest-in-the-bay-area\">how to exercise your right to protest safely\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So tell us: What do you need to know more about? Tell us, and you could see your question answered online or on social media. What you submit will make our reporting stronger, and help us decide what to cover here on our site, and on KQED Public Radio, too.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cp>More than 500,000 gallons of sewage spilled from a maintenance hole in \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/el-sobrante\">El Sobrante\u003c/a>, according to a local wastewater treatment agency. The waste leaked into nearby San Pablo Creek.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>West County Wastewater (WCW) was alerted to the spill by a nearby resident, who called it in over the weekend. The agency said it has stopped the leak, which they estimate may have lasted up to two weeks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s really disappointing to have a sewage spill of this magnitude,” said Sejal Choksi-Chugh, director of the pollution watchdog nonprofit \u003ca href=\"https://baykeeper.org/\">San Francisco Baykeeper\u003c/a>. “It’s a lot to go unnoticed for almost two weeks.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[ad fullwidth] \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>According to a WCW press release, the spill was caused by a “blockage of grease and disposable wipes, which should not be flushed down toilets.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>WCW said there’s been no impact to the public, though Choksi-Chugh points out sewage spills from maintenance holes can contain chemicals and pharmaceuticals and can also be dangerous for humans, pets and wildlife.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[pullquote size=\"medium\" align=\"right\" citation=\"Sejal Choksi-Chugh, director, San Francisco Baykeeper\"]‘It’s really disappointing to have a sewage spill of this magnitude. It’s a lot to go unnoticed for almost two weeks.’[/pullquote]\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“A lot of people could come into contact with this sewage water while it’s in the street, and that can cause illness in people, it can cause illness in pets,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The sewage can also make its way into the San Francisco Bay and affect wildlife there, including fish and birds, she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Right now, there are no reports of any deceased wildlife associated with the incident,” said Eileen White, executive officer of the \u003ca href=\"https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/sanfranciscobay/\">San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board\u003c/a>, which is investigating the incident. “That’s what we look for: Are there dead birds? Are there dead fish in the area?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>White said the \u003ca href=\"https://wildlife.ca.gov/\">California Department of Fish and Wildlife\u003c/a> is doing a more thorough assessment of the impact on nearby waterways and habitat areas.\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[aside label='More Stories on Wildlife' tag='wildlife']\u003c/span>“Unfortunately, where the sewage was coming out was not obvious to people for some time,” White said. “It wasn’t like it was coming out in front of someone’s house.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She added that once WCW was alerted to the incident, the agency acted immediately to stop the spill.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The spill has been stopped, but is not yet contained, according to WCW. In the meantime, the agency is collecting samples and running tests in the affected areas.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Contra Costa County Health Department is also investigating potential health impacts from the sewage that leaked into nearby San Pablo Creek.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“While that creek is not a source of drinking water, it is a habitat area and also goes through a residential community, and if anyone would happen to be in contact with the creek, there could potentially be some health issues,” said county Supervisor John Gioia.[pullquote size=\"medium\" align=\"right\" citation=\"Sejal Choksi-Chugh, director, San Francisco Baykeeper\"]‘[WCW] really should have put this pipe on a maintenance schedule before this spill happened. This was a preventable spill.’[/pullquote]Baykeeper’s Choksi-Chugh said sewage spills of this magnitude are more common during heavy rainstorms when there’s a lot of water running through the system. A dry spill of this magnitude, she said, is very rare.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s also a reminder of the Bay Area’s aging sewage system, which Choksi-Chugh said dates back more than 60 years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“[WCW] really should have put this pipe on a maintenance schedule before this spill happened,” she said. “This was a preventable spill.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>More than 500,000 gallons of sewage spilled from a maintenance hole in \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/el-sobrante\">El Sobrante\u003c/a>, according to a local wastewater treatment agency. The waste leaked into nearby San Pablo Creek.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>West County Wastewater (WCW) was alerted to the spill by a nearby resident, who called it in over the weekend. The agency said it has stopped the leak, which they estimate may have lasted up to two weeks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s really disappointing to have a sewage spill of this magnitude,” said Sejal Choksi-Chugh, director of the pollution watchdog nonprofit \u003ca href=\"https://baykeeper.org/\">San Francisco Baykeeper\u003c/a>. “It’s a lot to go unnoticed for almost two weeks.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp> \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>According to a WCW press release, the spill was caused by a “blockage of grease and disposable wipes, which should not be flushed down toilets.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>WCW said there’s been no impact to the public, though Choksi-Chugh points out sewage spills from maintenance holes can contain chemicals and pharmaceuticals and can also be dangerous for humans, pets and wildlife.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/span>“Unfortunately, where the sewage was coming out was not obvious to people for some time,” White said. “It wasn’t like it was coming out in front of someone’s house.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She added that once WCW was alerted to the incident, the agency acted immediately to stop the spill.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The spill has been stopped, but is not yet contained, according to WCW. In the meantime, the agency is collecting samples and running tests in the affected areas.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Contra Costa County Health Department is also investigating potential health impacts from the sewage that leaked into nearby San Pablo Creek.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“While that creek is not a source of drinking water, it is a habitat area and also goes through a residential community, and if anyone would happen to be in contact with the creek, there could potentially be some health issues,” said county Supervisor John Gioia.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Baykeeper’s Choksi-Chugh said sewage spills of this magnitude are more common during heavy rainstorms when there’s a lot of water running through the system. A dry spill of this magnitude, she said, is very rare.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s also a reminder of the Bay Area’s aging sewage system, which Choksi-Chugh said dates back more than 60 years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“[WCW] really should have put this pipe on a maintenance schedule before this spill happened,” she said. “This was a preventable spill.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003cem>Updated 4 p.m. Monday\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/hub/joe-biden\">President Joe Biden\u003c/a> ramps up his reelection effort this week with four fundraisers in the San Francisco area, as his campaign builds up its coffers and lays strategic foundations for 2024.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the back half of June, Biden’s campaign will have more than 20 fundraisers involving him, Vice President Kamala Harris, first lady Jill Biden and second gentleman Douglas Emhoff, according to a person involved in Biden’s travel plans who insisted on anonymity to discuss the schedule.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>More than half of the fundraisers are with the Democratic president, who arrived in California on Monday and was greeted by Gov. Gavin Newsom. Biden also will be traveling to New York, Maryland and Illinois. The president hit the themes of his campaign at a Friday fundraising event in \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/gun-control-biden-uvalde-mass-shooting-5da6f11b177e01d9e4883b5c2db700e4\">Connecticut\u003c/a>, saying his goal is to do more to tell voters about his legislative accomplishments with \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-congress-infrastructure-bill-signing-b5b8cca843133de060778f049861b144\">infrastructure\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/biden-science-technology-united-states-economy-2fa651c540c9869890dfe670bcdcb7ea\">computer chip production\u003c/a> and programs for responding to climate change, among other policies.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the first of two Monday fundraisers, Biden said democracy itself was at stake in the 2024 election and that his administration had reinstilled “a sense of confidence in the Constitution.” The fundraiser at the home of Microsoft Chief Technology Officer Kevin Scott was co-hosted by Reid Hoffman, the billionaire co-founder of LinkedIn.[pullquote align=\"right\" size=\"medium\" citation=\"Julie C. Rodriguez, campaign manager\"]‘While MAGA Republicans burn cash in their primary, competing for whose agenda is the most extreme, the president’s campaign will be capitalizing on the opportunity to raise significant resources.’[/pullquote]Biden took aim at Alabama Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville for holding up military promotions because of a policy that ensures members of the military still have access to abortions, which were restricted in many states after a Supreme Court ruling last year. “It’s bizarre. I don’t remember it happening before, and I’ve been around,” said Biden, 80, who added a joke about his age: “I know I don’t look like I’ve been around a long time.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The fundraising blitz follows \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/president-joe-biden-unions-democrats-presidential-campaign-8242bafc4e61ed88f7f211c621132102\">Biden’s first campaign rally\u003c/a> on Saturday in Philadelphia, where he was endorsed by key unions — the event highlighting a pivotal constituency in the largest population center of a critical battleground state. It was meant as an early display of enthusiasm for Biden’s campaign, and a venue for him to interact directly with voters before he spends much of the rest of the month meeting with deep-pocketed benefactors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The flurry of engagements comes before the end of the fundraising quarter at the end of the month — and Biden’s campaign finance report in July will provide the first test of Democratic donor enthusiasm for his reelection effort.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Biden, unlike former President Donald Trump and other 2024 GOP contenders, has not revealed any clues about his fundraising haul since \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-election-2024-president-democrats-trump-9c72115656855da89a41cac3f79aa65b\">declaring his candidacy\u003c/a> in April. And his campaign launch was timed to avoid having to file a campaign finance report for the first quarter, a historically rough fundraising period.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For the first time in U.S. elections, Biden has joint fundraising agreements with all 50 state Democratic parties and the branch in Washington, D.C., an arrangement that can help maximize donations while minimizing expenses in the early months of the campaign. It’s part of a broader effort to unite a \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/biden-president-election-2024-reelection-coalition-4d241b710defbece8ce7bcc3f5ab6233\">diverse Democratic coalition\u003c/a> behind Biden as the Republicans undergo what could be \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/2024-presidential-candidates-who-is-running-e89fbfee94e7e7980594a9ce3994fec7\">a large and divisive primary\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“While MAGA Republicans burn cash in their primary, competing for whose agenda is the most extreme, the president’s campaign will be capitalizing on the opportunity to raise significant resources,” said Biden’s campaign manager, Julie C. Rodriguez, referring to Trump’s “Make America Great Again” slogan.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Separately, Rodriguez is traveling across the U.S. to meet with donors, local officials and community leaders to help align the coalition. Along with other campaign officials, the tour begins in Atlanta and will include Boston, Minneapolis, Philadelphia, Los Angeles and St. Louis.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11953367\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1024px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11953367\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/GettyImages-1258832263.jpg\" alt='An older white man with a hat on delivers a speech from behind a dais with a presidential emblem and two microphones, with a sign that reads \"Historic Climate Action\" behind him, outdoors with a beach and sea behind him.' width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/GettyImages-1258832263.jpg 1024w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/GettyImages-1258832263-800x534.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/GettyImages-1258832263-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/GettyImages-1258832263-160x107.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">President Biden delivers remarks on his administration’s environmental efforts at the Lucy Evans Baylands Nature Interpretive Center and Preserve in Palo Alto on June 19, 2023. \u003ccite>(Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Not all of Biden’s time Monday and Tuesday in San Francisco is being devoted to the campaign. On Monday, he went with Newsom and other officials to the Lucy Evans Baylands Nature Interpretive Center and Preserve in Palo Alto. He toured the coastal wetland area and announced $600 million for projects to address climate change.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“These wetlands act as a critical buffer between the rising tides and the communities at risk,” said Biden, calling the preserve a “success story” in ongoing efforts to contain the damage from climate change.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "On the first day of this week's visit for four fundraisers, President Biden toured a coastal wetland area and announced $600 million for projects to address climate change.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cem>Updated 4 p.m. Monday\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/hub/joe-biden\">President Joe Biden\u003c/a> ramps up his reelection effort this week with four fundraisers in the San Francisco area, as his campaign builds up its coffers and lays strategic foundations for 2024.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the back half of June, Biden’s campaign will have more than 20 fundraisers involving him, Vice President Kamala Harris, first lady Jill Biden and second gentleman Douglas Emhoff, according to a person involved in Biden’s travel plans who insisted on anonymity to discuss the schedule.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>More than half of the fundraisers are with the Democratic president, who arrived in California on Monday and was greeted by Gov. Gavin Newsom. Biden also will be traveling to New York, Maryland and Illinois. The president hit the themes of his campaign at a Friday fundraising event in \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/gun-control-biden-uvalde-mass-shooting-5da6f11b177e01d9e4883b5c2db700e4\">Connecticut\u003c/a>, saying his goal is to do more to tell voters about his legislative accomplishments with \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-congress-infrastructure-bill-signing-b5b8cca843133de060778f049861b144\">infrastructure\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/biden-science-technology-united-states-economy-2fa651c540c9869890dfe670bcdcb7ea\">computer chip production\u003c/a> and programs for responding to climate change, among other policies.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the first of two Monday fundraisers, Biden said democracy itself was at stake in the 2024 election and that his administration had reinstilled “a sense of confidence in the Constitution.” The fundraiser at the home of Microsoft Chief Technology Officer Kevin Scott was co-hosted by Reid Hoffman, the billionaire co-founder of LinkedIn.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "‘While MAGA Republicans burn cash in their primary, competing for whose agenda is the most extreme, the president’s campaign will be capitalizing on the opportunity to raise significant resources.’",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Biden took aim at Alabama Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville for holding up military promotions because of a policy that ensures members of the military still have access to abortions, which were restricted in many states after a Supreme Court ruling last year. “It’s bizarre. I don’t remember it happening before, and I’ve been around,” said Biden, 80, who added a joke about his age: “I know I don’t look like I’ve been around a long time.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The fundraising blitz follows \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/president-joe-biden-unions-democrats-presidential-campaign-8242bafc4e61ed88f7f211c621132102\">Biden’s first campaign rally\u003c/a> on Saturday in Philadelphia, where he was endorsed by key unions — the event highlighting a pivotal constituency in the largest population center of a critical battleground state. It was meant as an early display of enthusiasm for Biden’s campaign, and a venue for him to interact directly with voters before he spends much of the rest of the month meeting with deep-pocketed benefactors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The flurry of engagements comes before the end of the fundraising quarter at the end of the month — and Biden’s campaign finance report in July will provide the first test of Democratic donor enthusiasm for his reelection effort.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Biden, unlike former President Donald Trump and other 2024 GOP contenders, has not revealed any clues about his fundraising haul since \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-election-2024-president-democrats-trump-9c72115656855da89a41cac3f79aa65b\">declaring his candidacy\u003c/a> in April. And his campaign launch was timed to avoid having to file a campaign finance report for the first quarter, a historically rough fundraising period.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For the first time in U.S. elections, Biden has joint fundraising agreements with all 50 state Democratic parties and the branch in Washington, D.C., an arrangement that can help maximize donations while minimizing expenses in the early months of the campaign. It’s part of a broader effort to unite a \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/biden-president-election-2024-reelection-coalition-4d241b710defbece8ce7bcc3f5ab6233\">diverse Democratic coalition\u003c/a> behind Biden as the Republicans undergo what could be \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/2024-presidential-candidates-who-is-running-e89fbfee94e7e7980594a9ce3994fec7\">a large and divisive primary\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“While MAGA Republicans burn cash in their primary, competing for whose agenda is the most extreme, the president’s campaign will be capitalizing on the opportunity to raise significant resources,” said Biden’s campaign manager, Julie C. Rodriguez, referring to Trump’s “Make America Great Again” slogan.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Separately, Rodriguez is traveling across the U.S. to meet with donors, local officials and community leaders to help align the coalition. Along with other campaign officials, the tour begins in Atlanta and will include Boston, Minneapolis, Philadelphia, Los Angeles and St. Louis.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11953367\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1024px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11953367\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/GettyImages-1258832263.jpg\" alt='An older white man with a hat on delivers a speech from behind a dais with a presidential emblem and two microphones, with a sign that reads \"Historic Climate Action\" behind him, outdoors with a beach and sea behind him.' width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/GettyImages-1258832263.jpg 1024w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/GettyImages-1258832263-800x534.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/GettyImages-1258832263-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/GettyImages-1258832263-160x107.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">President Biden delivers remarks on his administration’s environmental efforts at the Lucy Evans Baylands Nature Interpretive Center and Preserve in Palo Alto on June 19, 2023. \u003ccite>(Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Not all of Biden’s time Monday and Tuesday in San Francisco is being devoted to the campaign. On Monday, he went with Newsom and other officials to the Lucy Evans Baylands Nature Interpretive Center and Preserve in Palo Alto. He toured the coastal wetland area and announced $600 million for projects to address climate change.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“These wetlands act as a critical buffer between the rising tides and the communities at risk,” said Biden, calling the preserve a “success story” in ongoing efforts to contain the damage from climate change.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "what-california-can-do-as-home-insurance-companies-retreat-in-face-of-mounting-climate-change-risks",
"title": "What California Can Do as Home Insurance Companies Retreat in Face of Mounting Climate Change Risks",
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"content": "\u003cp>After State Farm \u003ca href=\"https://newsroom.statefarm.com/state-farm-general-insurance-company-california-new-business-update//\">declared\u003c/a> in late May that \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/housing/2023/05/state-farm-california-insurance/\">it wouldn’t sell any new home insurance policies in California\u003c/a>, people shopping around for new insurance had one fewer option. When days later \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfchronicle.com/california/article/insurance-allstate-fires-18130622.php\">it was revealed\u003c/a> that Allstate had quietly made the same decision last year, Californians are now left wondering: How bad is this? And how should the state respond?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The “crisis” in California’s insurance market was caused by “a laser focus only on affordability,” said Nancy Watkins, a principal at Milliman, an actuarial firm, at a legislative hearing on Wednesday. The companies are operating with “very crude tools” at the expense of availability and reliability, she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She said the current regulatory system is too rigid. “It’s like you’ve got your steering wheel locked straight ahead, you’ve got your speed set on cruise control, and now you find yourself on the Pacific Coast Highway,” she said. “What insurance company would agree to that?”[pullquote align=\"right\" size=\"medium\" citation=\"Nancy Watkins, principal, Milliman\"]‘It’s like you’ve got your steering wheel locked straight ahead, you’ve got your speed set on cruise control, and now you find yourself on the Pacific Coast Highway. What insurance company would agree to that?’[/pullquote]Home insurance premiums in California are a little cheaper than the national average — and much lower than premiums in other disaster-prone states like Florida and Louisiana. That’s without accounting for the fact that California has some of the most expensive housing in the country.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California still has about 115 companies offering home insurance, said Michael Soller, a deputy commissioner for the state’s insurance department. As for whether more companies are likely to follow State Farm and Allstate, “we don’t think that will happen,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Consumer and insurance industry groups and other experts have ideas for what they’d like to see California do in the wake of the news — few of which they agree upon. Here’s the debate over four of those ideas.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>1. Require State Farm to keep issuing new policies\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>There’s disagreement whether this idea, backed by the group Consumer Watchdog, is legal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The idea hinges on how insurance prices are regulated in California. Under current laws, insurance companies can’t just charge whatever they want: They have to submit their proposed rates to the insurance department, which they back up by explaining their projected costs, losses, revenue and more. State regulators can approve a company’s proposed rates, or deny them, if they think, for example, the rates are unjustifiably high, or so low that they could put the company’s finances at risk.[aside label=\"Related Stories\" postID=\"forum_2010101893331,news_11951923,news_11937459\"]Harvey Rosenfield, founder of Consumer Watchdog, said if a company suddenly says that it’s not going to take the same number of customers that it had projected when it got the department’s approval, then it has changed the assumptions on which the approval was based.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They granted themselves a de facto rate increase by reducing the risk” in a state where that’s illegal, said Rosenfield. The department could issue a notice to State Farm, he said, and tell the company it needs to keep selling new home insurance policies until it submits new rates and those rates are approved.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The insurance department disputes that it has the power to do this. “Their claims are not supported by law,” said Soller, the deputy commissioner. “There’s a reason why it hasn’t been done by any insurance commissioner before.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>2. Let insurance companies use forward-looking catastrophe models\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The kinds of data and statistical models insurance companies can use to set prices may sound like a nighttime sleep aid, but it’s a matter of lively discussion in insurance circles.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When a company tries to justify rate changes, it is required to rely on past losses to project future losses. It can’t use factors like the locations of new homes it is covering — whether they’re in downtown San Francisco or rural wine country — or the increased risk of wildfires due to climate change.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We do it in a very old-fashioned way, and it needs to be updated,” said Rex Frazier, president of the Personal Insurance Federation of California, an insurance industry group that counts State Farm as a member. He supports the use of forward-looking models, which are generally provided by other private companies. California already permits insurers to use models for earthquake insurance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If a company is trying to figure out how much it should charge for earthquake coverage, it would look at proximity to fault lines, Frazier said, but for wildfire insurance, California doesn’t do that.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“For wildfire it just says ‘Well, looking backward, what have you paid over the last 20 years for wildfire clients?’” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Consumer groups generally oppose letting insurance companies use models, fearing that companies will use them to justify extreme price hikes, and that complex math will make scrutiny a challenge.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They’re just very sophisticated crystal balls,” said Amy Bach, executive director for United Policyholders, a consumer group. Modeling companies generally see their models as intellectual property, which can pose a challenge for transparency. “Our fear is that they overstate risk,” said Bach.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>About a week and a half after State Farm’s announcement, the insurance department said it would host a public workshop on use of models in insurance pricing, ahead of considering regulations. The \u003ca href=\"https://www.insurance.ca.gov/0250-insurers/0500-legal-info/0300-workshop-insurers/upload/California-Department-of-Insurance-Invitation-to-Workshop-Examining-Catastrophe-Modeling-and-Insurance.pdf\">workshop will take place on July 13 (PDF)\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On Wednesday, the Assembly’s insurance committee held a hearing on models. When asked by a legislator whether the department was moving toward incorporating catastrophe models, a department representative confirmed that it was.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Historic losses do not fully account for growing wildfire risks, or risk mitigation measures taken by communities,” said Michael Peterson, a deputy commissioner at the insurance department, during the hearing.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>3. Address the increasing cost of insurance — for insurance companies\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Insurance companies are just like us: They buy insurance! When insurance companies buy it, it’s called “reinsurance.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"https://www.ft.com/content/f5f9d450-c539-47a7-bc5c-44a8db57e74e\">cost of reinsurance has risen dramatically\u003c/a>, and State Farm cited “a challenging reinsurance market” as one of the reasons it decided to stop selling new home insurance policies in California.[pullquote align=\"right\" size=\"medium\" citation=\"Rex Frazier, president, Personal Insurance Federation of California\"]‘What are insurers supposed to do when, on the one hand, the Department of Insurance is telling them ‘maintain your solvency,’ and then, on the other hand, when their costs go up, you can’t charge for it?’[/pullquote]When insurance companies explain their costs to the insurance department as part of the process for justifying their prices, they aren’t allowed to include the cost of reinsurance. The department hasn’t historically permitted it, Soller said, because it doesn’t regulate reinsurance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“What are insurers supposed to do when, on the one hand, the Department of Insurance is telling them ‘maintain your solvency,’ and then, on the other hand, when their costs go up, you can’t charge for it?” said Frazier.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Insurance industry groups say it would help if they could incorporate the cost of reinsurance into their prices. But consumer groups say that the move would cause premiums to spike.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Californians would see immediate massive rate hikes — both as soon as that went into effect and ongoing,” said Carmen Balber executive director of Consumer Watchdog. A reinsurance provider regulated by California would address problems she sees with the reinsurance market, Balber said, but that doesn’t exist currently.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>4. Reduce the risk of disasters\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The underlying problem is that disasters happen in California — at an increasing rate thanks to climate change — and that homes are at risk. They’re in the middle of the woods, or surrounded by flammable grasslands, or on the edge of bluffs that are expected to erode. Making homes less likely to burn, flood or collapse would be good for homeowners and would also make California feel less risky to insurers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There’s no shortage of ideas for how to reduce risk, and there’s been action on this front in recent years. The insurance department, for example, has \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/economy/2022/05/fire-insurance-rules/\">required insurance companies to consider whether homeowners take certain steps to protect their homes\u003c/a> — like installing fire-resistant vents and clearing out vegetation under decks — in their prices.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California has set aside $2.7 billion for wildfire resilience over the past three years, according to the insurance department. When the department convened a group of environmental advocates, researchers, and public policy and insurance experts to make recommendations on how to reduce the risks of climate change, \u003ca href=\"https://www.insurance.ca.gov/CCI/docs/climate-insurance-report.pdf\">they came up with a long list (PDF)\u003c/a>. Among the recommendations:\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>Create statewide hazard maps so that future risks are more clear to the public.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Increase funding to retrofit homes.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Apply fire-resistant building codes in areas with moderate to higher fire risk.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>Cutting greenhouse gas emissions would ultimately be the best way to reduce the risk, said Alice Hill, chair of the group convened by the department and a senior fellow for energy and the environment at the Council on Foreign Relations. But the world will get warmer even if we reduce emissions, she said, so focusing on where and how homes are built remains important.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That could mean not building in areas that are just becoming too risky,” Hill said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>After State Farm \u003ca href=\"https://newsroom.statefarm.com/state-farm-general-insurance-company-california-new-business-update//\">declared\u003c/a> in late May that \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/housing/2023/05/state-farm-california-insurance/\">it wouldn’t sell any new home insurance policies in California\u003c/a>, people shopping around for new insurance had one fewer option. When days later \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfchronicle.com/california/article/insurance-allstate-fires-18130622.php\">it was revealed\u003c/a> that Allstate had quietly made the same decision last year, Californians are now left wondering: How bad is this? And how should the state respond?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The “crisis” in California’s insurance market was caused by “a laser focus only on affordability,” said Nancy Watkins, a principal at Milliman, an actuarial firm, at a legislative hearing on Wednesday. The companies are operating with “very crude tools” at the expense of availability and reliability, she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She said the current regulatory system is too rigid. “It’s like you’ve got your steering wheel locked straight ahead, you’ve got your speed set on cruise control, and now you find yourself on the Pacific Coast Highway,” she said. “What insurance company would agree to that?”\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "‘It’s like you’ve got your steering wheel locked straight ahead, you’ve got your speed set on cruise control, and now you find yourself on the Pacific Coast Highway. What insurance company would agree to that?’",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Home insurance premiums in California are a little cheaper than the national average — and much lower than premiums in other disaster-prone states like Florida and Louisiana. That’s without accounting for the fact that California has some of the most expensive housing in the country.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California still has about 115 companies offering home insurance, said Michael Soller, a deputy commissioner for the state’s insurance department. As for whether more companies are likely to follow State Farm and Allstate, “we don’t think that will happen,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Consumer and insurance industry groups and other experts have ideas for what they’d like to see California do in the wake of the news — few of which they agree upon. Here’s the debate over four of those ideas.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>1. Require State Farm to keep issuing new policies\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>There’s disagreement whether this idea, backed by the group Consumer Watchdog, is legal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The idea hinges on how insurance prices are regulated in California. Under current laws, insurance companies can’t just charge whatever they want: They have to submit their proposed rates to the insurance department, which they back up by explaining their projected costs, losses, revenue and more. State regulators can approve a company’s proposed rates, or deny them, if they think, for example, the rates are unjustifiably high, or so low that they could put the company’s finances at risk.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Harvey Rosenfield, founder of Consumer Watchdog, said if a company suddenly says that it’s not going to take the same number of customers that it had projected when it got the department’s approval, then it has changed the assumptions on which the approval was based.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They granted themselves a de facto rate increase by reducing the risk” in a state where that’s illegal, said Rosenfield. The department could issue a notice to State Farm, he said, and tell the company it needs to keep selling new home insurance policies until it submits new rates and those rates are approved.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The insurance department disputes that it has the power to do this. “Their claims are not supported by law,” said Soller, the deputy commissioner. “There’s a reason why it hasn’t been done by any insurance commissioner before.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>2. Let insurance companies use forward-looking catastrophe models\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The kinds of data and statistical models insurance companies can use to set prices may sound like a nighttime sleep aid, but it’s a matter of lively discussion in insurance circles.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When a company tries to justify rate changes, it is required to rely on past losses to project future losses. It can’t use factors like the locations of new homes it is covering — whether they’re in downtown San Francisco or rural wine country — or the increased risk of wildfires due to climate change.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We do it in a very old-fashioned way, and it needs to be updated,” said Rex Frazier, president of the Personal Insurance Federation of California, an insurance industry group that counts State Farm as a member. He supports the use of forward-looking models, which are generally provided by other private companies. California already permits insurers to use models for earthquake insurance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If a company is trying to figure out how much it should charge for earthquake coverage, it would look at proximity to fault lines, Frazier said, but for wildfire insurance, California doesn’t do that.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“For wildfire it just says ‘Well, looking backward, what have you paid over the last 20 years for wildfire clients?’” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Consumer groups generally oppose letting insurance companies use models, fearing that companies will use them to justify extreme price hikes, and that complex math will make scrutiny a challenge.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They’re just very sophisticated crystal balls,” said Amy Bach, executive director for United Policyholders, a consumer group. Modeling companies generally see their models as intellectual property, which can pose a challenge for transparency. “Our fear is that they overstate risk,” said Bach.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>About a week and a half after State Farm’s announcement, the insurance department said it would host a public workshop on use of models in insurance pricing, ahead of considering regulations. The \u003ca href=\"https://www.insurance.ca.gov/0250-insurers/0500-legal-info/0300-workshop-insurers/upload/California-Department-of-Insurance-Invitation-to-Workshop-Examining-Catastrophe-Modeling-and-Insurance.pdf\">workshop will take place on July 13 (PDF)\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On Wednesday, the Assembly’s insurance committee held a hearing on models. When asked by a legislator whether the department was moving toward incorporating catastrophe models, a department representative confirmed that it was.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Historic losses do not fully account for growing wildfire risks, or risk mitigation measures taken by communities,” said Michael Peterson, a deputy commissioner at the insurance department, during the hearing.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>3. Address the increasing cost of insurance — for insurance companies\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Insurance companies are just like us: They buy insurance! When insurance companies buy it, it’s called “reinsurance.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"https://www.ft.com/content/f5f9d450-c539-47a7-bc5c-44a8db57e74e\">cost of reinsurance has risen dramatically\u003c/a>, and State Farm cited “a challenging reinsurance market” as one of the reasons it decided to stop selling new home insurance policies in California.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "‘What are insurers supposed to do when, on the one hand, the Department of Insurance is telling them ‘maintain your solvency,’ and then, on the other hand, when their costs go up, you can’t charge for it?’",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>When insurance companies explain their costs to the insurance department as part of the process for justifying their prices, they aren’t allowed to include the cost of reinsurance. The department hasn’t historically permitted it, Soller said, because it doesn’t regulate reinsurance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“What are insurers supposed to do when, on the one hand, the Department of Insurance is telling them ‘maintain your solvency,’ and then, on the other hand, when their costs go up, you can’t charge for it?” said Frazier.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Insurance industry groups say it would help if they could incorporate the cost of reinsurance into their prices. But consumer groups say that the move would cause premiums to spike.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Californians would see immediate massive rate hikes — both as soon as that went into effect and ongoing,” said Carmen Balber executive director of Consumer Watchdog. A reinsurance provider regulated by California would address problems she sees with the reinsurance market, Balber said, but that doesn’t exist currently.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>4. Reduce the risk of disasters\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The underlying problem is that disasters happen in California — at an increasing rate thanks to climate change — and that homes are at risk. They’re in the middle of the woods, or surrounded by flammable grasslands, or on the edge of bluffs that are expected to erode. Making homes less likely to burn, flood or collapse would be good for homeowners and would also make California feel less risky to insurers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There’s no shortage of ideas for how to reduce risk, and there’s been action on this front in recent years. The insurance department, for example, has \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/economy/2022/05/fire-insurance-rules/\">required insurance companies to consider whether homeowners take certain steps to protect their homes\u003c/a> — like installing fire-resistant vents and clearing out vegetation under decks — in their prices.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California has set aside $2.7 billion for wildfire resilience over the past three years, according to the insurance department. When the department convened a group of environmental advocates, researchers, and public policy and insurance experts to make recommendations on how to reduce the risks of climate change, \u003ca href=\"https://www.insurance.ca.gov/CCI/docs/climate-insurance-report.pdf\">they came up with a long list (PDF)\u003c/a>. Among the recommendations:\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>Create statewide hazard maps so that future risks are more clear to the public.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Increase funding to retrofit homes.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Apply fire-resistant building codes in areas with moderate to higher fire risk.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>Cutting greenhouse gas emissions would ultimately be the best way to reduce the risk, said Alice Hill, chair of the group convened by the department and a senior fellow for energy and the environment at the Council on Foreign Relations. But the world will get warmer even if we reduce emissions, she said, so focusing on where and how homes are built remains important.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That could mean not building in areas that are just becoming too risky,” Hill said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003cem>Updated 6:10 p.m. Thursday\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Contra Costa County health officials announced Thursday that soil testing conducted in the months after a Martinez oil refinery released nearly 50,000 pounds of powdered industrial chemicals last November has found no long-term health risks to residents in the area.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Contra Costa Health Officer Dr. Ori Tzvieli said the county is immediately lifting \u003ca href=\"https://ccc.cchealth.org/press-releases/2023/0307-Safety-Advice-Near-Martinez-Refinery-Health-Advisory.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">a March 7 advisory (PDF)\u003c/a> that recommended residents refrain from consuming fruits and vegetables grown in soil that had received fallout from the Martinez Refining Company’s release. The refinery company is owned and operated by PBF Energy, based in Parsippany, New Jersey.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Tzvieli said the soil testing and an associated risk assessment “confirms that the primary health risk from the spent catalyst release occurred in the initial hours and days after the refinery release.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The soil-testing results were released to \u003ca href=\"https://ccc.cchealth.org/hazmat/mrc/\">a community oversight committee\u003c/a> formed after the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/forum/2010101892741/martinez-residents-seek-answers-on-toxic-refinery-release\">releases\u003c/a>, which occurred last Nov. 24–25, on Thanksgiving and the following day.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Tzvieli added during a media briefing that followed the committee meeting that because PBF failed to immediately notify officials about the release, questions remain about what health effects residents might experience because of their exposure to the toxic dust immediately after it settled on their neighborhoods.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We weren’t able to do measurement in real time because we didn’t know this was going on until several days later,” Tzvieli said. “So had we been able to do measurement in real time, we would have been able to look at concentrations — what was in the air.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some of the heavy metals in the dust, such as nickel, pose health concerns, he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Some of those can have effects on the immune system, some of these metals can be carcinogenic. So it is a concerning incident,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the same time, he added, the inability to measure the November release as it was occurring makes it hard to distinguish the hazard the incident posed from the impact of ongoing refinery emissions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“So that’s why it’s hard to give people specific information about the risks that stemmed from this particular release,” Tzvieli said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Consultants hired by the county analyzed soil samples from 14 sites stretching from El Sobrante to Benicia for more than a dozen metals that may have been associated with the release of 24 tons of refinery dust — material described as “spent catalyst” used in the refining process.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The results for most of the heavy metals the samples were analyzed for, including aluminum, copper, nickel, zinc and chromium, all came back both within an expected regional background range and below residential health limits set by the state Department of Toxic Substances Control.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Jenny Phillips, a toxicologist employed by consultant TRC, reported that samples of arsenic and lead were close to or exceeded state health limits at a handful of sites. But she added that the higher levels of those two toxic metals were probably unrelated to last November’s refinery release. TRC’s report will be made available to the public sometime in the next two weeks, and it will be open for comment for 45 days.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[pullquote size=\"medium\" align=\"right\" citation=\"Tony Semenza, Martinez resident and member of the oversight committee\"]‘One hundred ninety-four days after the release, we are now at the point where we’re telling people it’s OK to eat the fresh fruits and vegetables. The process is flawed.’[/pullquote]Matt Kaufmann, Contra Costa County’s deputy health director, emphasized that the investigation of the Martinez incident is far from over. The county has hired a consultant to perform an independent root cause analysis of the release, and county prosecutors are weighing potential charges against the refinery.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kaufmann criticized the refining company for failing to immediately notify local officials when the incident occurred.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The test results released Thursday “do not excuse the Martinez Refining Company for the lack of notification at the onset of this incident,” he said. “The lack of timely notification negated our ability as health officials to protect our community, including those most vulnerable, namely the medically compromised, the elderly and the children within our community.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a statement, PBF Energy spokesperson Brandon Matson said the company was “pleased” the county had released the soil-testing analysis and lifted its health advisory.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The results are in line with our initial statements about the material,” Matson said. He also offered the latest in a string of apologies the company has offered to Martinez residents, saying the company has investigated the release, has identified corrective actions and is committed to implementing them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Tony Semenza, a Martinez resident serving on the oversight committee, expressed frustration that it has taken so long to assess the hazard posed by the releases.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“One hundred ninety-four days after the release, we are now at the point where we’re telling people it’s OK to eat the fresh fruits and vegetables,” Semenza said. “The process is flawed. This should have been done much quicker, a while ago. … I’m upset with the way the process works.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside label='More Refinery Coverage' postID=news_11947977]The test results come less than two weeks after the FBI confirmed it has launched a joint investigation with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency into the Martinez plant’s spent catalyst release.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Members of the refinery accountability group \u003ca href=\"https://www.healthymartinez.org/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Healthy Martinez\u003c/a> welcomed the largely reassuring test results, but expressed continuing misgivings about PBF and the refinery. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m grateful that the Thanksgiving release no longer poses serious danger and that Contra Costa Health has demonstrated leadership in this process, but I still don’t trust the refinery that didn’t report it,” said Martinez resident group member Jillian Elliott. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Today’s results are only one piece of the larger issue,” said Heidi Taylor, a longtime Martinez resident and Healthy Martinez member. “It doesn’t change the fact that this oil refinery dumped toxic metals on our community (and) didn’t report it to county health.” \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Healthy Martinez has also called on PBF to install improved emissions control and air monitoring equipment at the refinery. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>FBI agents and EPA personnel have gone door to door asking residents about their experience during and after the incident. The probe also has included circulation of an online survey.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Martinez resident Wendy Ke said representatives from both federal agencies approached her late last month and asked a series of questions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It was primarily, ‘Do you have photos, do you have videos, do you have factual documentation? Did you touch the spent catalyst? Did you see it?’” Ke said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She said the morning after Thanksgiving, her neighborhood was coated with what looked like ash, as if there had been a major wildfire nearby.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“But it did look a little bit different,” she said. “It didn’t have a light-weight ash to it, like flaky ash. It seemed a little more sticky.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The same morning, resident Zachary Taylor found his neighborhood covered in dust.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Just a consistent coating across everything, almost like a snowfall, like a light dusting, but then we go out across the street and absolutely everything is covered with it,” Taylor said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11952523\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11952523\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/060723-MARTINEZ-DUST-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"A fine white powder collected on the edges and near the windshield wiper of a car shown in close detail.\" width=\"800\" height=\"1067\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/060723-MARTINEZ-DUST-KQED.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/060723-MARTINEZ-DUST-KQED-160x213.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Refinery dust known as ‘spent catalyst’ from the PBF Energy plant sits on a car windshield in Martinez in late November 2022. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Anna Encarnacion)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Refinery catalyst is a powdered chemical compound used in the process of breaking down crude petroleum into products like gasoline. Spent catalyst is the material left over after the high-temperature refining process and contains a mix of potentially hazardous components.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Before Thursday’s test results were released, county health officials told Martinez residents that \u003ca href=\"https://ccc.cchealth.org/hazmat/pdf/MRC-Catalyst-Release-FAQs.pdf\">the dust that coated homes, vehicles, lawns, gardens and a nearby schoolyard included heavy metals (PDF)\u003c/a>, including aluminum, chromium, nickel, vanadium and zinc. The county health department said there could have been short-term respiratory problems from breathing in the dust right after the incident, and that potential long-term health impacts would depend on each person’s exposure.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Contra Costa County hired TRC, a Connecticut-based consulting and engineering firm, to take \u003ca href=\"https://cchealth.org/hazmat/mrc/pdf/Proposed-Sample-Locations-2023-0427.pdf\">soil samples in 14 locations (PDF)\u003c/a> from El Sobrante to Martinez to Benicia. Those locations were chosen after local air regulators \u003ca href=\"https://legistarweb-production.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/attachment/pdf/1867499/Martinez-City-Meeting-MRC_Incident_Slides-v5.pdf\">mapped fallout from the release (PDF)\u003c/a>. Crews began collecting samples in May. Health officials say the samples were taken to a lab to see which health risks they might pose through touching, inhaling or consuming food.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In March, months after the refinery accident, \u003ca href=\"https://ccc.cchealth.org/press-releases/2023/0307-Safety-Advice-Near-Martinez-Refinery-Health-Advisory.pdf\">the health department urged residents to refrain from eating food grown in soil that might contain the refinery dust (PDF)\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The department also asked local prosecutors to file charges against PBF Energy. That request is under review, according to Ted Asregadoo, a Contra Costa County District Attorney spokesperson.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Asregadoo said the office is investigating whether PBF violated the law by failing to report an actual or threatened hazardous material release to county officials and whether the company made illegal discharges into the county stormwater system.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>County officials have emphasized that \u003ca href=\"https://ccc.cchealth.org/press-releases/2022/1130-Hazardous-Materials-Release-at-Martinez-Oil-Refinery.php\">they learned about the releases not from the refinery but instead from residents\u003c/a>. The refinery initially told residents that its testing suggested the release consisted of only nontoxic material. The company also offered free carwash vouchers to Martinez residents.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Bay Area Air Quality Management District has said \u003ca href=\"https://www.baaqmd.gov/~/media/files/compliance-and-enforcement/incident-reports/2022/updated-incident-report-pbf-mrc-120922-draft-eg-pdf.pdf?la=en&rev=26aa2da8823e4d11b06437a9be2e9717\">the release was caused by a malfunction (PDF)\u003c/a> within the refinery’s fluid catalytic cracking unit. The air district has issued 21 notices of violation against PBF in connection with the November release and continues to investigate the incident, according to district spokesperson Ralph Borrmann.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>PBF representatives have apologized for the releases, noting the company has cooperated with regulators and made changes to prevent a repeat of the Thanksgiving incident.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nevertheless, some refinery neighbors say their sense of safety has been shattered.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“At this point I feel very uncertain about what I’m breathing, knowing what the potential is for release on a daily basis,” said Ke, who has lived in Martinez for more than a decade.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cem>Updated 6:10 p.m. Thursday\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Contra Costa County health officials announced Thursday that soil testing conducted in the months after a Martinez oil refinery released nearly 50,000 pounds of powdered industrial chemicals last November has found no long-term health risks to residents in the area.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Contra Costa Health Officer Dr. Ori Tzvieli said the county is immediately lifting \u003ca href=\"https://ccc.cchealth.org/press-releases/2023/0307-Safety-Advice-Near-Martinez-Refinery-Health-Advisory.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">a March 7 advisory (PDF)\u003c/a> that recommended residents refrain from consuming fruits and vegetables grown in soil that had received fallout from the Martinez Refining Company’s release. The refinery company is owned and operated by PBF Energy, based in Parsippany, New Jersey.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Tzvieli said the soil testing and an associated risk assessment “confirms that the primary health risk from the spent catalyst release occurred in the initial hours and days after the refinery release.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The soil-testing results were released to \u003ca href=\"https://ccc.cchealth.org/hazmat/mrc/\">a community oversight committee\u003c/a> formed after the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/forum/2010101892741/martinez-residents-seek-answers-on-toxic-refinery-release\">releases\u003c/a>, which occurred last Nov. 24–25, on Thanksgiving and the following day.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Tzvieli added during a media briefing that followed the committee meeting that because PBF failed to immediately notify officials about the release, questions remain about what health effects residents might experience because of their exposure to the toxic dust immediately after it settled on their neighborhoods.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We weren’t able to do measurement in real time because we didn’t know this was going on until several days later,” Tzvieli said. “So had we been able to do measurement in real time, we would have been able to look at concentrations — what was in the air.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some of the heavy metals in the dust, such as nickel, pose health concerns, he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Some of those can have effects on the immune system, some of these metals can be carcinogenic. So it is a concerning incident,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the same time, he added, the inability to measure the November release as it was occurring makes it hard to distinguish the hazard the incident posed from the impact of ongoing refinery emissions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“So that’s why it’s hard to give people specific information about the risks that stemmed from this particular release,” Tzvieli said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Consultants hired by the county analyzed soil samples from 14 sites stretching from El Sobrante to Benicia for more than a dozen metals that may have been associated with the release of 24 tons of refinery dust — material described as “spent catalyst” used in the refining process.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The results for most of the heavy metals the samples were analyzed for, including aluminum, copper, nickel, zinc and chromium, all came back both within an expected regional background range and below residential health limits set by the state Department of Toxic Substances Control.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Jenny Phillips, a toxicologist employed by consultant TRC, reported that samples of arsenic and lead were close to or exceeded state health limits at a handful of sites. But she added that the higher levels of those two toxic metals were probably unrelated to last November’s refinery release. TRC’s report will be made available to the public sometime in the next two weeks, and it will be open for comment for 45 days.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "‘One hundred ninety-four days after the release, we are now at the point where we’re telling people it’s OK to eat the fresh fruits and vegetables. The process is flawed.’",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Matt Kaufmann, Contra Costa County’s deputy health director, emphasized that the investigation of the Martinez incident is far from over. The county has hired a consultant to perform an independent root cause analysis of the release, and county prosecutors are weighing potential charges against the refinery.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kaufmann criticized the refining company for failing to immediately notify local officials when the incident occurred.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The test results released Thursday “do not excuse the Martinez Refining Company for the lack of notification at the onset of this incident,” he said. “The lack of timely notification negated our ability as health officials to protect our community, including those most vulnerable, namely the medically compromised, the elderly and the children within our community.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a statement, PBF Energy spokesperson Brandon Matson said the company was “pleased” the county had released the soil-testing analysis and lifted its health advisory.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The results are in line with our initial statements about the material,” Matson said. He also offered the latest in a string of apologies the company has offered to Martinez residents, saying the company has investigated the release, has identified corrective actions and is committed to implementing them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Tony Semenza, a Martinez resident serving on the oversight committee, expressed frustration that it has taken so long to assess the hazard posed by the releases.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“One hundred ninety-four days after the release, we are now at the point where we’re telling people it’s OK to eat the fresh fruits and vegetables,” Semenza said. “The process is flawed. This should have been done much quicker, a while ago. … I’m upset with the way the process works.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>The test results come less than two weeks after the FBI confirmed it has launched a joint investigation with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency into the Martinez plant’s spent catalyst release.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Members of the refinery accountability group \u003ca href=\"https://www.healthymartinez.org/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Healthy Martinez\u003c/a> welcomed the largely reassuring test results, but expressed continuing misgivings about PBF and the refinery. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m grateful that the Thanksgiving release no longer poses serious danger and that Contra Costa Health has demonstrated leadership in this process, but I still don’t trust the refinery that didn’t report it,” said Martinez resident group member Jillian Elliott. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Today’s results are only one piece of the larger issue,” said Heidi Taylor, a longtime Martinez resident and Healthy Martinez member. “It doesn’t change the fact that this oil refinery dumped toxic metals on our community (and) didn’t report it to county health.” \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Healthy Martinez has also called on PBF to install improved emissions control and air monitoring equipment at the refinery. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>FBI agents and EPA personnel have gone door to door asking residents about their experience during and after the incident. The probe also has included circulation of an online survey.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Martinez resident Wendy Ke said representatives from both federal agencies approached her late last month and asked a series of questions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It was primarily, ‘Do you have photos, do you have videos, do you have factual documentation? Did you touch the spent catalyst? Did you see it?’” Ke said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She said the morning after Thanksgiving, her neighborhood was coated with what looked like ash, as if there had been a major wildfire nearby.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“But it did look a little bit different,” she said. “It didn’t have a light-weight ash to it, like flaky ash. It seemed a little more sticky.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The same morning, resident Zachary Taylor found his neighborhood covered in dust.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Just a consistent coating across everything, almost like a snowfall, like a light dusting, but then we go out across the street and absolutely everything is covered with it,” Taylor said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11952523\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11952523\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/060723-MARTINEZ-DUST-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"A fine white powder collected on the edges and near the windshield wiper of a car shown in close detail.\" width=\"800\" height=\"1067\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/060723-MARTINEZ-DUST-KQED.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/060723-MARTINEZ-DUST-KQED-160x213.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Refinery dust known as ‘spent catalyst’ from the PBF Energy plant sits on a car windshield in Martinez in late November 2022. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Anna Encarnacion)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Refinery catalyst is a powdered chemical compound used in the process of breaking down crude petroleum into products like gasoline. Spent catalyst is the material left over after the high-temperature refining process and contains a mix of potentially hazardous components.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Before Thursday’s test results were released, county health officials told Martinez residents that \u003ca href=\"https://ccc.cchealth.org/hazmat/pdf/MRC-Catalyst-Release-FAQs.pdf\">the dust that coated homes, vehicles, lawns, gardens and a nearby schoolyard included heavy metals (PDF)\u003c/a>, including aluminum, chromium, nickel, vanadium and zinc. The county health department said there could have been short-term respiratory problems from breathing in the dust right after the incident, and that potential long-term health impacts would depend on each person’s exposure.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Contra Costa County hired TRC, a Connecticut-based consulting and engineering firm, to take \u003ca href=\"https://cchealth.org/hazmat/mrc/pdf/Proposed-Sample-Locations-2023-0427.pdf\">soil samples in 14 locations (PDF)\u003c/a> from El Sobrante to Martinez to Benicia. Those locations were chosen after local air regulators \u003ca href=\"https://legistarweb-production.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/attachment/pdf/1867499/Martinez-City-Meeting-MRC_Incident_Slides-v5.pdf\">mapped fallout from the release (PDF)\u003c/a>. Crews began collecting samples in May. Health officials say the samples were taken to a lab to see which health risks they might pose through touching, inhaling or consuming food.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In March, months after the refinery accident, \u003ca href=\"https://ccc.cchealth.org/press-releases/2023/0307-Safety-Advice-Near-Martinez-Refinery-Health-Advisory.pdf\">the health department urged residents to refrain from eating food grown in soil that might contain the refinery dust (PDF)\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The department also asked local prosecutors to file charges against PBF Energy. That request is under review, according to Ted Asregadoo, a Contra Costa County District Attorney spokesperson.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Asregadoo said the office is investigating whether PBF violated the law by failing to report an actual or threatened hazardous material release to county officials and whether the company made illegal discharges into the county stormwater system.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>County officials have emphasized that \u003ca href=\"https://ccc.cchealth.org/press-releases/2022/1130-Hazardous-Materials-Release-at-Martinez-Oil-Refinery.php\">they learned about the releases not from the refinery but instead from residents\u003c/a>. The refinery initially told residents that its testing suggested the release consisted of only nontoxic material. The company also offered free carwash vouchers to Martinez residents.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Bay Area Air Quality Management District has said \u003ca href=\"https://www.baaqmd.gov/~/media/files/compliance-and-enforcement/incident-reports/2022/updated-incident-report-pbf-mrc-120922-draft-eg-pdf.pdf?la=en&rev=26aa2da8823e4d11b06437a9be2e9717\">the release was caused by a malfunction (PDF)\u003c/a> within the refinery’s fluid catalytic cracking unit. The air district has issued 21 notices of violation against PBF in connection with the November release and continues to investigate the incident, according to district spokesperson Ralph Borrmann.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>PBF representatives have apologized for the releases, noting the company has cooperated with regulators and made changes to prevent a repeat of the Thanksgiving incident.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nevertheless, some refinery neighbors say their sense of safety has been shattered.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“At this point I feel very uncertain about what I’m breathing, knowing what the potential is for release on a daily basis,” said Ke, who has lived in Martinez for more than a decade.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "California Becomes the First State to Phase Out Toxic Hexavalent Chromium",
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"headTitle": "California Becomes the First State to Phase Out Toxic Hexavalent Chromium | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>There’s a toxic history to the shiny decorative finishes so ubiquitous on the wheels and bumpers of classic cars.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Chrome plating is important to a variety of consumer products from vintage automobiles to aerospace components to plumbing fixtures.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But hexavalent chromium — a highly hazardous substance emitted by chrome-plating businesses — is 500 times more carcinogenic than diesel exhaust, putting it in the crosshairs of regulators for decades.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The California Air Resources Board on Friday approved a landmark ban on use of the substance by the chrome plating industry. The ban requires companies, who opposed the action, to use alternative materials.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The ban came after more than two hours of debate and public comment. Board members, while signaling their empathy for the potentially impacted vintage car platers, said public health was paramount.[pullquote align=\"right\" size=\"medium\" citation=\"Jane Williams, executive director, California Communities Against Toxics\"]‘The problem is what they’re doing there: They’re boiling vats of toxic metal-water solution.’[/pullquote]Air board member Hector De La Torre compared the ban to a 1976 rule phasing out lead in gasoline.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There is no mass produced leaded gasoline, not just in California, in the United States, so that changed as a result of an action that was taken here,” De La Torre said. “So there is precedent for taking a leap like that — for the health and safety of the public.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The new rule will make California the first state to ban the substance more commonly known as chromium 6. Decorative plating businesses will have until 2027 to discontinue their use. Larger chrome plating plants, which use the toxin for industrial durability purposes, will have until 2039.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The ban comes after years of activists’ efforts to limit use of the chemical, which the state identified as a toxic air pollutant in 1986. Jane Williams, executive director of California Communities Against Toxics, said the ruling is significant because Los Angeles County has a large concentration of chrome platers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The air board said 113 chrome plating facilities operate with hexavalent chromium in California, and over 70% of them are in overburdened and disadvantaged communities, many near homes and schools, though industry representatives said in public comments that the board’s numbers were inaccurate.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They can be tiny, they can be small, or they can be nestled inside larger industrial facilities, and so it’s not something that strikes you, like a generator or a refinery,” said Williams. “But the problem is what they’re doing there: They’re boiling vats of toxic metal-water solution.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Industrial components are plated by being submerged in baths containing chromium 6 though decorative and functional plating deploy different processes. Emissions occur in the form of bubbles that rise to the top of the tanks and can be released in mists, drops and spills that can settle on floors, equipment and other surfaces. Once dry, dust can be released by open doors and vents.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bryan Leiker, executive director of the Metal Finishing Association of California, said the air board’s rule amounts to an unfair ban on an industry that has proven it can use the toxic substance safely.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11951007\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1568px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11951007\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/052623-Chrome-Bumper-IS-CM-01-copy.jpg\" alt=\"A vintage car's chrome plated bumper.\" width=\"1568\" height=\"1045\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/052623-Chrome-Bumper-IS-CM-01-copy.jpg 1568w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/052623-Chrome-Bumper-IS-CM-01-copy-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/052623-Chrome-Bumper-IS-CM-01-copy-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/052623-Chrome-Bumper-IS-CM-01-copy-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/052623-Chrome-Bumper-IS-CM-01-copy-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1568px) 100vw, 1568px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Chrome plating on a vehicle. \u003ccite>(iStock)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>He pointed to state data indicating that the state’s larger chrome platers produce less than 1% of emissions, with the majority coming from burning fossil fuels, cement production and other industries.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The issue we have here is that our industry of course is in agreement with fair regulation, but what we have here is a ban,” Leiker said. “This is just a universal ban across the whole industry.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Less-toxic trivalent chromium is available as an alternative, and the air board hopes decorative chrome platers will widely adopt it following the ban. The problem, decorative chrome-platers say, is that trivalent chromium lacks the ornamental shine of chromium 6 — that glow ubiquitous among the lustrous lowriders synonymous with the likes of Art Leboe or the gleaming hot rods featured in \u003cem>American Graffiti\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Trivalent chromium is not “period correct,” wrote Art Holman, a managing partner of Sherm’s Plating in Sacramento, in recent public commentary to the air board. Holman wrote that he fears customers will ship their products to other states to be plated, “adding more chrome emissions due to transportation.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Meanwhile trivalent chromium does not meet U.S. Department of Defense requirements. Leiker said that the air board is hoping the military will adopt new materials. But the uncertainty is a big risk for an industry that often relies on long lead times and multiyear contracts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It is going to put our industry out of business, with a loss of jobs and a large exodus of manufacturing,” he said. “Our industry could be a ghost town in the state, long gone; there is a lot at stake here.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Legislature has set aside $10 million to assist the industry make the change but some board members said the money was likely not enough.[pullquote align=\"right\" size=\"medium\" citation=\"Bryan Leiker, executive director, Metal Finishing Association of California\"]‘Our industry could be a ghost town in the state, long gone; there is a lot at stake here.’[/pullquote]The air board in 1988 adopted its first emissions standards for chromium 6 use in the plating industry, requiring facilities to equip their tanks with fume suppressants, filters or other pollution control devices. Over the intervening decades, those rules have been revised to further restrict and regulate hexavalent chromium.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The toxin has some presence in popular culture. The court battle over the presence of the chemical in drinking water in the San Bernardino County town of Hinkley was dramatized in the movie \u003cem>Erin Brockovich\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But environmental advocates and residents of Los Angeles’ lower-income, industrial neighborhoods and cities have long raised concerns. Residents of the southeast industrial city of Bell Gardens sued a chrome plating company, Chrome Crankshaft, in 1999, accusing it of producing emissions that had resulted in diseases including cancer, according to \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1999-jan-20-me-65377-story.html\">The Los Angeles Times\u003c/a>\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>More recently, air monitoring in the southeast industrial city of Paramount was expanded after chromium 6 was discovered in much higher levels than other parts of Los Angeles County in 2016. The Paramount Unified School District detected chromium 6 in air samples inside two classrooms there. The South Coast Air Quality Management District said that air quality has improved significantly since then.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Christopher Callard, a spokesman for Paramount, said the city had not detected significant samples of chromium 6, including at the schools, since it took over monitoring of the substance in 2021.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "The state Air Resources Board voted Friday to ban the substance known as chromium 6, giving platers several years to switch to an alternative the platers say won't produce the same chrome shine.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Air board member Hector De La Torre compared the ban to a 1976 rule phasing out lead in gasoline.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There is no mass produced leaded gasoline, not just in California, in the United States, so that changed as a result of an action that was taken here,” De La Torre said. “So there is precedent for taking a leap like that — for the health and safety of the public.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The new rule will make California the first state to ban the substance more commonly known as chromium 6. Decorative plating businesses will have until 2027 to discontinue their use. Larger chrome plating plants, which use the toxin for industrial durability purposes, will have until 2039.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The ban comes after years of activists’ efforts to limit use of the chemical, which the state identified as a toxic air pollutant in 1986. Jane Williams, executive director of California Communities Against Toxics, said the ruling is significant because Los Angeles County has a large concentration of chrome platers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The air board said 113 chrome plating facilities operate with hexavalent chromium in California, and over 70% of them are in overburdened and disadvantaged communities, many near homes and schools, though industry representatives said in public comments that the board’s numbers were inaccurate.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They can be tiny, they can be small, or they can be nestled inside larger industrial facilities, and so it’s not something that strikes you, like a generator or a refinery,” said Williams. “But the problem is what they’re doing there: They’re boiling vats of toxic metal-water solution.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Industrial components are plated by being submerged in baths containing chromium 6 though decorative and functional plating deploy different processes. Emissions occur in the form of bubbles that rise to the top of the tanks and can be released in mists, drops and spills that can settle on floors, equipment and other surfaces. Once dry, dust can be released by open doors and vents.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bryan Leiker, executive director of the Metal Finishing Association of California, said the air board’s rule amounts to an unfair ban on an industry that has proven it can use the toxic substance safely.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11951007\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1568px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11951007\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/052623-Chrome-Bumper-IS-CM-01-copy.jpg\" alt=\"A vintage car's chrome plated bumper.\" width=\"1568\" height=\"1045\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/052623-Chrome-Bumper-IS-CM-01-copy.jpg 1568w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/052623-Chrome-Bumper-IS-CM-01-copy-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/052623-Chrome-Bumper-IS-CM-01-copy-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/052623-Chrome-Bumper-IS-CM-01-copy-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/052623-Chrome-Bumper-IS-CM-01-copy-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1568px) 100vw, 1568px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Chrome plating on a vehicle. \u003ccite>(iStock)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>He pointed to state data indicating that the state’s larger chrome platers produce less than 1% of emissions, with the majority coming from burning fossil fuels, cement production and other industries.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The issue we have here is that our industry of course is in agreement with fair regulation, but what we have here is a ban,” Leiker said. “This is just a universal ban across the whole industry.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Less-toxic trivalent chromium is available as an alternative, and the air board hopes decorative chrome platers will widely adopt it following the ban. The problem, decorative chrome-platers say, is that trivalent chromium lacks the ornamental shine of chromium 6 — that glow ubiquitous among the lustrous lowriders synonymous with the likes of Art Leboe or the gleaming hot rods featured in \u003cem>American Graffiti\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Trivalent chromium is not “period correct,” wrote Art Holman, a managing partner of Sherm’s Plating in Sacramento, in recent public commentary to the air board. Holman wrote that he fears customers will ship their products to other states to be plated, “adding more chrome emissions due to transportation.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Meanwhile trivalent chromium does not meet U.S. Department of Defense requirements. Leiker said that the air board is hoping the military will adopt new materials. But the uncertainty is a big risk for an industry that often relies on long lead times and multiyear contracts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It is going to put our industry out of business, with a loss of jobs and a large exodus of manufacturing,” he said. “Our industry could be a ghost town in the state, long gone; there is a lot at stake here.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Legislature has set aside $10 million to assist the industry make the change but some board members said the money was likely not enough.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>The air board in 1988 adopted its first emissions standards for chromium 6 use in the plating industry, requiring facilities to equip their tanks with fume suppressants, filters or other pollution control devices. Over the intervening decades, those rules have been revised to further restrict and regulate hexavalent chromium.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The toxin has some presence in popular culture. The court battle over the presence of the chemical in drinking water in the San Bernardino County town of Hinkley was dramatized in the movie \u003cem>Erin Brockovich\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But environmental advocates and residents of Los Angeles’ lower-income, industrial neighborhoods and cities have long raised concerns. Residents of the southeast industrial city of Bell Gardens sued a chrome plating company, Chrome Crankshaft, in 1999, accusing it of producing emissions that had resulted in diseases including cancer, according to \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1999-jan-20-me-65377-story.html\">The Los Angeles Times\u003c/a>\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>More recently, air monitoring in the southeast industrial city of Paramount was expanded after chromium 6 was discovered in much higher levels than other parts of Los Angeles County in 2016. The Paramount Unified School District detected chromium 6 in air samples inside two classrooms there. The South Coast Air Quality Management District said that air quality has improved significantly since then.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Christopher Callard, a spokesman for Paramount, said the city had not detected significant samples of chromium 6, including at the schools, since it took over monitoring of the substance in 2021.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"info": "Our flagship program, helmed by Kai Ryssdal, examines what the day in money delivered, through stories, conversations, newsworthy numbers and more. Updated Monday through Friday at about 3:30 p.m. PT.",
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"info": "The MindShift podcast explores the innovations in education that are shaping how kids learn. Hosts Ki Sung and Katrina Schwartz introduce listeners to educators, researchers, parents and students who are developing effective ways to improve how kids learn. We cover topics like how fed-up administrators are developing surprising tactics to deal with classroom disruptions; how listening to podcasts are helping kids develop reading skills; the consequences of overparenting; and why interdisciplinary learning can engage students on all ends of the traditional achievement spectrum. This podcast is part of the MindShift education site, a division of KQED News. KQED is an NPR/PBS member station based in San Francisco. You can also visit the MindShift website for episodes and supplemental blog posts or tweet us \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/MindShiftKQED\">@MindShiftKQED\u003c/a> or visit us at \u003ca href=\"/mindshift\">MindShift.KQED.org\u003c/a>",
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"info": "For decades, the process for how police police themselves has been inconsistent – if not opaque. In some states, like California, these proceedings were completely hidden. After a new police transparency law unsealed scores of internal affairs files, our reporters set out to examine these cases and the shadow world of police discipline. On Our Watch brings listeners into the rooms where officers are questioned and witnesses are interrogated to find out who this system is really protecting. Is it the officers, or the public they've sworn to serve?",
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"info": "Our weekly podcast explores how the media 'sausage' is made, casts an incisive eye on fluctuations in the marketplace of ideas, and examines threats to the freedom of information and expression in America and abroad. For one hour a week, the show tries to lift the veil from the process of \"making media,\" especially news media, because it's through that lens that we see the world and the world sees us",
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"tagline": "Politics from a personal perspective",
"info": "Political Breakdown is a new series that explores the political intersection of California and the nation. Each week hosts Scott Shafer and Marisa Lagos are joined with a new special guest to unpack politics -- with personality — and offer an insider’s glimpse at how politics happens.",
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"info": "Possible is hosted by entrepreneur Reid Hoffman and writer Aria Finger. Together in Possible, Hoffman and Finger lead enlightening discussions about building a brighter collective future. The show features interviews with visionary guests like Trevor Noah, Sam Altman and Janette Sadik-Khan. Possible paints an optimistic portrait of the world we can create through science, policy, business, art and our shared humanity. It asks: What if everything goes right for once? How can we get there? Each episode also includes a short fiction story generated by advanced AI GPT-4, serving as a thought-provoking springboard to speculate how humanity could leverage technology for good.",
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"radiolab": {
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"info": "A two-time Peabody Award-winner, Radiolab is an investigation told through sounds and stories, and centered around one big idea. In the Radiolab world, information sounds like music and science and culture collide. Hosted by Jad Abumrad and Robert Krulwich, the show is designed for listeners who demand skepticism, but appreciate wonder. WNYC Studios is the producer of other leading podcasts including Freakonomics Radio, Death, Sex & Money, On the Media and many more.",
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"reveal": {
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"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.revealnews.org/episodes/",
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},
"rightnowish": {
"id": "rightnowish",
"title": "Rightnowish",
"tagline": "Art is where you find it",
"info": "Rightnowish digs into life in the Bay Area right now… ish. Journalist Pendarvis Harshaw takes us to galleries painted on the sides of liquor stores in West Oakland. We'll dance in warehouses in the Bayview, make smoothies with kids in South Berkeley, and listen to classical music in a 1984 Cutlass Supreme in Richmond. Every week, Pen talks to movers and shakers about how the Bay Area shapes what they create, and how they shape the place we call home.",
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"science-friday": {
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