The Sacramento Bee Archives

Trump Administration Threatens Jail Time For California Officials Over River Project

September 17, 2019/in California and the U.S., Media Coverage /by Mike Lee /The Sacramento Beeby Dale Kasler and Ryan Sabalow

The Trump administration and California officials have sued each other, swapped insults on Twitter and clashed on everything from climate change to immigration.

But threatening someone with jail time? That might be a new one.

The threats came in a dispute over reintroducing winter-run Chinook salmon into the McCloud River, a pristine river above Shasta Dam, as part of a federal plan approved under the Obama administration to try to stave off extinction for the critically endangered fish.

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California’s Trump-Blocking Environmental Bill May Be Delayed In Fight Over Water

September 11, 2019/in California and the U.S., Media Coverage /by Mike Lee /The Sacramento Beeby Dale Kasler and Ryan Sabalow

It started out as a bold effort by the California Legislature to prevent the Trump administration from rolling back protections for the environment and labor.

The bill, proposed by one of the state’s most powerful Democrats, would attempt to negate every environmental regulation proposed by President Donald Trump’s administration for the duration of his term or terms. It has a clause that would expire the day he leaves office in 2025 if he wins a second term.

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Was That Snow? Northern Sierra Gets Showers While Sacramento Heats Back Up

September 11, 2019/in California and the U.S., Home Headline, Media Coverage /by Mike Lee /The Sacramento Beeby Michael McGough

With some weird weather already in the books this month, Mother Nature may have one last hurrah in store for Northern California before summer officially ends.

A wave of thunderstorms passed over northeast California and near Reno on Tuesday afternoon, with the National Weather Service’s Reno office sharing a photo of what appears to be light snow on the Mt. Rose Highway at an elevation of about 8,500 feet.

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Sacramento Had Its 3rd-Hottest Meteorological Summer In 140 Years. Will It Finally Cool Off?

September 3, 2019/in California and the U.S., Media Coverage /by Mike Lee /The Sacramento Beeby Michael McGough

The calendar has flipped to September, but Sacramento is still experiencing August heat.

Following a Labor Day high of 98 degrees, the latest National Weather Service forecasts show a slight cool-down on the way. Tuesday and Wednesday are expected to hit 96 and 95 degrees, respectively, before temperatures cool to the low 90s or high 80s by the end of the week.

The Delta breeze will help bring nighttime relief, with low temperatures expected in the low- to mid-60s through Friday.

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How Ground-Based GPS Stations Help Weather Forecasters Predict Heavy Rain And Flooding

August 18, 2019/in California and the U.S., Media Coverage /by Mike Lee /The Sacramento Beeby John Lindsey

Geodesy is the study of Earth’s shape, gravity field and rotation. An excellent method to study the Earth is by use of high-precision Continuous Global Positioning System (CGPS) stations that are firmly mounted on bedrock and can measure the slow, persistent ground motion of Earth’s crustal plates down to a few millimeters over time. In the western United States, there are more than 1,200 CGPS stations, including more than 25 on the Central Coast. A few of these stations are classified as Global Positioning System Meteorology (GPS-Met), such as the ones located in Cambria, Los Osos and Point Sal.

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SMUD Set To Buy PG&E’s Only Hydroelectric Powerhouse On The American River For $10.4 Million

August 16, 2019/in California and the U.S., Media Coverage /by Mike Lee /The Sacramento Beeby Vincent Moleski

The Sacramento Municipal Utility District is moving forward with plans to buy a hydroelectric powerhouse and reservoir from Pacific Gas and Electric Co. for $10.4 million. In a joint statement, the local utility providers announced that the Chili Bar Hydroelectric Project — a dam, reservoir, spillway and powerhouse that generates electricity north of Placerville on the South Fork of the American River — would be changing hands after SMUD’s board of directors voted Thursday evening to greenlight the purchase. The purchase is expected to be finalized in 2020.

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New Sprinklers Will Soon Be More Expensive In California. Here’s Why

August 14, 2019/in California and the U.S., Home Headline, Media Coverage /by Mike Lee /The Sacramento Beeby Andrew Sheeler

Californians, your yard sprinklers are about to get a little bit more expensive. The good news is, your water bill is about to get cheaper. California on Wednesday officially adopted new regulations which are estimated to save more than 400 million gallons of water per day within 10 years, enough to supply San Diego, the second largest city in the state, according to the Natural Resources Defense Council. Beginning in 2020, spray sprinklers will be required to be sold with a component that restricts the water flow to as close as possible to 30 pounds per square inch (PSI), the manufacturer-recommended level.

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Excessive Heat Warning Issued As Sacramento Valley Temperatures Trend Toward 110

August 14, 2019/in California and the U.S., Media Coverage /by Mike Lee /The Sacramento Beeby Michael McGough

The National Weather Service has issued an excessive heat warning throughout most of interior Northern California for the rest of the week, as the Central Valley is expected to swelter in the mid-to-high triple digits.

The heat warning is in place 11 a.m. Wednesday through 10 p.m. Friday. During that time, highs across Sacramento Valley cities including Redding, Chico, Yuba City, Oroville, Stockton, Modesto and Lakeport are expected to range from about 100 to 110 degrees.

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Toxic Algae Has Killed Dogs Across The U.S. This Summer. Now California Is On Alert

August 14, 2019/in California and the U.S., Home Headline, Media Coverage /by Mike Lee /The Sacramento Beeby Darrel Smith

Toxic, blue-green algae blooms that poisoned dogs across the country this summer with deadly results have California water officials on alert for the dangerous bacteria.

The bacteria are blamed for the deaths of three dogs after a swim in a Wilmington, N.C., pond that contained the algae beds, reported Raleigh-Durham television station WTVD-TV on Monday. The North Carolina dogs began having seizures at home and were dead within hours, according to the report. Another three dogs in Austin, Texas perished after swimming in a lake there earlier this month, city officials said.

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Water Systems Must Notify Californians About These Cancer-Linked Chemicals Under New Law

August 1, 2019/in California and the U.S., Home Headline, Media Coverage /by Mike Lee /The Sacramento Beeby Sophia Bollag

Starting next year, California water systems must notify residents if their water sources contain potentially toxic levels of cancer-linked chemicals called PFAS under a law Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Wednesday.

The new law, AB 756, will also expand state regulators’ ability to test for per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances, known as PFAS. The compounds can be found in everyday plastics and products like floss and are concentrated in firefighting foam that the military and commercial aviation industry has used for decades.

That foam has seeped into groundwater and wells surrounding military installations and commercial airports, and has been found in drinking water sources at more than 712 locations in 49 states, according to the Environmental Working Group, a nonprofit organization.

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