"The project will affect more than 26,000 acres of sensitive habitat," according to the complaint. "The Panoche Valley is one of only three core areas left in California necessary for the survival and recovery of the highly endangered San Joaquin kit fox, the endangered blunt-nosed leopard lizard, and the endangered giant kangaroo rat." Solar Valley says the project will power 70,000 homes, create 1,500 jobs and bring nearly $40 million in revenue to San Benito County.   read more

The state argued that teacher tenure attracts and retains the best teachers in the state. At issue are state laws that students say unfairly grant teachers permanent employment, prevent removal of ineffective teachers from classrooms and during economic downturns lead to layoffs of teachers based on seniority rather than merit. Under those laws, poor and minority schools end up with a disproportionate amount of "lemon" teachers who secure tenure in as little as 16 months, the students claim.   read more

Interior Secretary Sally Jewell, who signed agreements with the governors of both states, said the plan would bring about one of the largest river restoration projects in the history of the U.S. The landmark deals also protect farmers and ranchers from rising power and water prices. The dams now block fish from migrating to their historic spawning grounds and also degrade water quality, spreading fish diseases and algae blooms.   read more

A California school district refused to include scholarship offers from two atheist groups in the lists they distribute to students, the groups claim in court. Both say the district and Palmdale High refused to make their scholarship offers available to students. The high school does, however, announce a scholarship named after L. Ron Hubbard, founder of Scientology. The refusal suppresses speech and denies equal access to the school's scholarship distribution system, according to the complaint.   read more

As tax day approaches, the California state auditor said Tuesday that the state doesn't monitor and hasn't updated its corporate tax program. Lax oversight over the state's six largest corporate income tax expenditures cost it more than $2.6 billion in forgone revenue in 2012-13 alone. The audit found that the state's popular research and development credit has essentially been ignored by regulators and that there isn't enough evidence to conclude if it's cost-effective.   read more

The court's opinion stemmed from lawsuits brought by cashiers at the CVS and tellers at Chase Bank who said they were wrongly denied a place to sit while working. Experts called the opinion a victory for the cashiers and tellers. "The burden of proof is going to be on employers in most situations to determine why a seat would not be reasonable," said labor lawyer Hirschfeld. Companies likely will err on the side of providing a seat after Monday's opinion, Hirschfeld said.   read more

Efforts to make snow and rain virtually out of thin air were once the realm of science fiction. Even today, they're dismissed by some as fanciful and hardly worth the time. But after four historically dry years in California, the practice has been on the uptick. Stormy skies that came with El Nino provided ideal conditions for cloud seeding, which requires enough water vapor in the air so that the introduction of silver iodide can coax the clouds to crystallize and send droplets to the ground.   read more

The Commission on Judicial Performance dismisses nearly 90% of the public complaints it receives and imposes discipline much less often than similar agencies, the report said. ``California has fallen behind its peers in judicial accountability'' and ``fails to protect the public from judicial misconduct,'' claimed Court Reform LLC. The report called for an end to private disciplinary actions and for a state audit of the commission.   read more

In impoverished neighborhoods, where few residents have broadband connections or computers, nearly a third of cardholders are barred from borrowing or using library computers. Half of the children and teenagers with library cards in the city owe fines. Around 187,000 accounts, or 39% of all cardholders, owe the library money. “The kids who are barred from the door of the library are the ones we most desperately want to reach,” said Mayor Liccardo.   read more

After the Assembly and Senate votes, dozens of supporters gathered on the lawn outside the Capitol for a labor-organized rally. Many waved signs saying "$15 California." Art Pulaski, executive secretary-treasurer of the California Labor Federation, hailed what he called a historic day for California and the country: "California takes a massive leap forward today in the fight to rebalance our nation's economy."   read more

A Nov. 2014 ballot measure that reduced punishment for drug possession and low-level crimes lowered county jail populations by 9% in its first year, an effect that could increase public safety by allowing more serious criminals to be kept behind bars longer. The report by the Public Policy Institute of California gives supporters of Proposition 47 a counterargument against police and prosecutors who blamed the ballot measure for a statewide increase in crime last year.   read more

Over the last few years, University of California's out-of-state student enrollment increased by 82% while resident enrollment sunk by 1%. The report claims UC lowered its nonresident admission standards and admitted nearly 16,000 students with academic scores below the average of admitted residents over the last three years. Qualified Californians were often turned away. Additionally, diversity has suffered on the UC's 10 campuses as a result of the boom in nonresident undergraduate students.   read more

The decision and rationale of the California EPA are angering some community and public-health groups. It's "ridiculous. It's paternalistic," said Martha Dina Arguello, executive director of Physicians for Social Responsibility-Los Angeles. "I just can't imagine that it's a better idea not to let us know what's in our food." Jose Bravo said that ""California is willingly ... excluding a whole sub-population of people from protection."   read more

California's political watchdog tightened state lobbying laws, voting to limit a "ride-along" loophole that allowed unregistered lobbyists to petition lawmakers during private meetings. For decades California lobbyists have taken advantage of loose lobbying laws by bringing subject-matter experts with them to help pitch lawmakers on specific issues. The changes allow lobbyists to bring ride-alongs if they are employed by the same company and add "substantive information" to the issue at hand.   read more

"Previously tranquil home life has been interrupted day and night by jet noise," said Rep. Sam Farr. "My office has heard from many people about noise that can shake windows, wake children, and drown out everyday conversation. I experienced this noise first hand and believe that this situation is unacceptable." Between March and August of 2015, residents along the new route had filed 147,442 noise complaints. During the same months in 2014, there were just 5,254.   read more

The changes come as critics have accused the rebate program of being a subsidy for the rich. Meanwhile, low- and moderate-income residents will be eligible for an additional $1,500 in rebates. California Air Resources Board Chairwoman Mary Nichols said the increase will help to ensure that more drivers in communities most impacted by air pollution can benefit from clean vehicles. "And more ultraclean and zero-emission vehicles on our roads mean cleaner air for all Californians," she said   read more