Tag Archive for: California Gov. Gavin Newsom

California Businesses Face Turf Watering Ban Amid Historic Drought Conditions

The State Water Resources Control Board voted Tuesday to ban watering of non-functional turf at commercial, industrial and institutional properties, the latest in a series of steps to conserve water amid a historic drought.

The ban — which does not include turf at residences or turf used for recreation or community purposes — will be effective once approved by the Office of Administrative Law, which typically takes about 10 days, according to the board. Violations of the ban would be punishable by a fine of up to $500.

Opinion: California’s Water Shortage Requires Updates in Technology, Law — and Mindset

Californians responded to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s request for voluntary water conservation earlier this year by using more, not less. On Monday, Newsom said mandatory cutbacks could be coming.

Already, residents face sharp new outdoor water restrictions June 1, and serious doubts over whether those limits will be enough to cope with a historic water shortage.

Newsom Pushes Water Commission to Accelerate Sites Reservoir

As the drought deepens and an election nears, Gov. Gavin Newsom is taking extra steps to increase pressure—and responsibility—on the Water Commission for the Sites Reservoir Project proposal. During a Senate budget subcommittee hearing on Tuesday, Natural Resources Secretary Wade Crowfoot said the governor has tasked him with ensuring the commission “isn’t slowing down the progress of getting those [Proposition 1] projects online.”

Gov. Newsom Pushes Need for Conservation During Visit to SoCal Water Recycling Facility

Gov. Gavin Newsom is urging Californians to find ways to reduce their water use in an effort to combat the historic drought and said upcoming conservation mandates are a priority.

The governor visited a water recycling facility Tuesday afternoon in Carson.

It was originally built as a demonstration project to recycle household wastewater and replenish groundwater supplies.

Newsom Pitches $75 Million in Drought Relief for Agriculture

Gov. Gavin Newsom’s revised budget proposal would set aside $75 million to aid small agricultural businesses as the drought deepens. The one-time assistance would provide grants ranging from $30,000 to $50,000, depending on the amount of lost revenue.

Governor Newsom’s Proposed Budget Includes Funding for Drought

Gov. Gavin Newsom today unveiled his revised state budget for the 2022-’23 Fiscal Year. The $300.7 billion budget includes several priorities of interest to ACWA members, including funding for drought, climate change, forest management and more.

Building upon last year’s three-year, $5.2 billion allocation to support drought response and long-term water sustainability, the governor’s revised budget includes an additional $2 billion for drought response and water resilience. This is part of the governor’s larger $47.1 billion climate package.

California Drought: Which Regions Are Saving the Most — and Least — Water

This year is shaking out to be another dry year as the winter months, when the state records much of its precipitation, did not deliver as much rain and snow as hoped.
The continuing drought means water providers across California — and their consumers — must conserve more water to avoid running out. Gov. Gavin Newsom called for a 15% decrease in water use, but only a small portion of the suppliers met that goal. Statewide, water use soared by about 19% in March 2022 compared with the same month in 2020.

State Lawmakers Target Trash in Tijuana River Valley

A handful of state lawmakers gathered last week on the side of the Tijuana River Estuary that’s not visibly clogged by plastics and tires spilling from Mexico down canyon gullies or down the river itself to ask the governor for money to, well, stop trash from spilling over the border.

Southern California lawmakers hope Gov. Gavin Newsom will put $100 million in next year’s budget to be split equally between the Tijuana River and the Mexicali-to-Salton-Sea-flowing New River, both sewage-plagued water bodies.

Opinion: California Crises Abound, but They Won’t Be Debated

California voters will receive their mail ballots for the June 7 primary election this week and most will be surprised to learn that there are 25 candidates seeking to unseat Gov. Gavin Newsom.

One of them will place second to Newsom in the primary ballot and, thanks to California’s top-two election system, appear on the November ballot as Newsom’s official challenger.

Most likely that dubious honor will go to Republican state Sen. Brian Dahle, since he’s the only one of the 25 to be known outside their small circles of friends and supporters. Unless he makes some monumental blunder, Democrat Newsom will coast to re-election in November.

Opinion: Newsom’s Pragmatism on Desalination, Diablo Canyon Nuclear Plant Makes Sense

A strong case can be made that modern environmentalism was born in California. In 1864, Yosemite Valley and a nearby grove of sequoias became the nation’s first publicly protected wilderness area. Exactly 100 years later, after many other environmental landmarks, the state issued the world’s first tailpipe-emission standards.