News

Second District Court of Appeal Upholds Application of Existing Facilities Exemption for Power Plant Lease Extension

The case World Business Academy v. California State Lands Commission (2018, Case No. B284300) involves PG&E’s Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant in San Luis Obispo County, and a dispute regarding the State Lands Commission’s decision to approve a lease extension via a CEQA categorical exemption. The Diablo Canyon nuclear plant as been operating since 1985 […]

Scott Pruitt to Resign From EPA

Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Scott Pruitt, is resigning after facing criticism for ethical allegations for several months. The news came out in a Tweet by President Trump who accepted Pruitt’s resignation. Pruitt faced scrutiny for potential ethical lapses tied to his spending, treatment of staff, relationships with energy leaders, housing, and travel […]

White House Begins NEPA Overhaul

The White House has taken the first official steps toward rewriting regulations for the National Environmental Policy Act. The Council on Environmental Quality submitted an advanced notice of proposed rulemaking on NEPA to the Federal Register last Friday. Link HERE.  A CEQ spokesman said the document would be published “in the next couple of days.” […]

Anthony Kennedy retiring from Supreme Court

Justice Anthony Kennedy, the swing vote between conservatives and liberals on the Supreme Court, announced Wednesday he’s retiring at the end of July, giving President Donald Trump another chance to shape the highest court in the land. In a statement, the Supreme Court said the 81-year-old Kennedy will step down effective July 31. The judge […]

California: San Francisco and Oakland Climate-Change Lawsuits Thrown Out

A federal judge on Monday threw out a lawsuit brought by the cities of San Francisco and Oakland against fossil fuel companies over the anticipated costs of dealing with future climate change. The decision should raise a warning for other local governments around the United States that have filed similar suits, including New York City. […]

The Median Home Price In California Now Exceeds $600,000

The median price for a home in California has topped the $600,000 mark for the first time ever, according to the latest report from the California Association of Realtors. You can blame the Bay Area and other red hot high-cost areas for the increase. There are now five counties out of the nine-county Bay Area […]

L.A. County Land-Use Plan Overcomes Enviro Objections

On June 19, a California appellate court upheld LA County’s approval of a new 1,800 acre land-use plan, rejecting the argument that additional environmental assessment was warranted. The County approved the new plan as a “modification” to the existing 2015 Antelope Valley Area Plan, and stated that the changes weren’t significant enough to require an […]

Opinion: Rent Control Would Do Major Harm to Sacramento’s Future

Excerpt (Full Article HERE) From Comstock’s Magazine: Rent control discourages owners from maintaining and improving their property and discourages builders from building more housing units — and drives them to make investments elsewhere. Renters, like me, would be stuck in our old apartments with virtually no choices to move within Midtown or downtown. Construction sites […]

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