All California Local Articles


Image caption: Placer County’s water system was birthed in the throes of the Gold Rush.
Placer County’s Water History and Current System, Explained

Placer County’s water management and delivery system: where it came from and what it looks like today.

Image caption: RCDs look after the land, whether it’s used for grazing, growing, or getting out into nature.
California Dirt

What do resource conservation districts protect? Pretty much everything that’s worth saving.

Image caption: Local cities and counties struggle to regulate the exploding short-term rental industry.
Short-Term Losses

The short-term or ‘vacation’ rental industry spawns hundreds of horror stories and damages the housing market, but governments struggle with how to bring it under control.

Image caption: There are still 27 oil platforms off the California coastline.
Offshore Oil Drilling in California Waters, Explained

Why is California still experiencing offshore oil spills half-a-century after the catastrophic Santa Barbara disaster? The answer is found in the state’s longtime, close relationship with the oil business.

Image caption:
Mercury Rising

In a series of articles, the Los Angeles Times explores the most literal result of global warming: extreme heat.

Image caption: Renzo Piano’s “a soap bubble that will never break” is now open to the public, showcasing highlights of cinema history.
Movie Magic

At long last, the state has a world-class museum to commemorate one of its most essential industries.

Image caption: Cargo ship traffic has reached record levels at California’s ports in 2021.
Link Between Port Traffic Jams and Oil Spill, Explained

Here’s why cargo ship traffic has been dangerously heavy at California’s ports in 2021, and how the backup may have caused a disaster.

Image caption: The state's economic recovery from the pandemic has been slower than expected.
Why California Jobs Have Been Slow to Come Back, Explained

Extended unemployment benefits, the state's eviction moratorium and other COVID relief measures have ended. But people are still out of work and hurting in California as the recovery remains slow.

Image caption: Gov. Gavin News signed a broad new set of police reform laws Sept. 30.
California’s Sweeping New Police Reform Laws, Explained

Gov. Gavin Newsom and California’s Democratic legislators have enacted a sweeping new package of police reform legislation. Here’s what the new laws will accomplish, and why.

Image caption: A graph of a social network.
The Genius of Democracy

In which we ponder human self organization.

Image caption: Guglielmo Marconi, the inventor of wireless radio—an old-school form of signal boosting.
Deep Dive into California’s Big Blue

In a comprehensive six-part series, resident Tahoe Weekly historian Mark McLaughlin explores ‘Who Owns the Water in Lake Tahoe & Truckee River?’

Image caption: The schoolhouse was the biggest building in Allensworth, the town founded by Col. Allen Allensworth, which is now a state park.
Civil Rights, Historical Wrongs

Sacramento-based news outlet talks to Jonathan Burgess and L. Dee Slade, both testifying before the Reparations Task Force.

Image caption: A firefighter battles the Dixie Fighter, a massive blaze started by PG&E equipment.
PG&E’s Record of Causing Fires, and What the Company Is Doing About It

The state’s largest power utility faced new criminal charges Sept. 24, but PG&E has a long and disturbing history of causing wildfires. Why? And how can the company change?

Image caption: Auburn State Recreation Area may soon be home to 142 new campsites.
State to Move on New Campsites in Auburn Park

Despite a history of wildfires in the area, the state wants to build nearly 150 new campsites in Auburn State Recreation Area in El Dorado and Placer counties.

Image caption: Water is a human right under California law, but it doesn’t always work out that way.
Agriculture and Water Shortages in the State’s Breadbasket, Explained

Residential wells are drying up in the state’s main agricultural region at the same time that agricultural businesses consume almost 90 percent of the water there.

Image caption: California’s increasingly dangerous wildfire outbreak has led to another crisis, this one in fire insurance.
California’s Fire Insurance Crisis, Explained

Even as California’s wildfires grow more intense seemingly every year, insurers are cancelling policies for homeowners in the path of the fires.

Image caption: Tahoe Institute of Natural Sciences has taught thousands of people about the region’s natural ecosystems.
The Science of Beauty

Tahoe Weekly writes about the region’s go-to source for esoteric natural history information.

Image caption: The state’s largest news industry trade group is now open to freelancers.
CNPA Now Admits Freelance Members

Three years after changing its name to reflect the contemporary news business environment, CNPA makes another change with the times, admitting freelance writers and content creators as members.

Image caption: In addition to its museums, the city of Auburn has 34 listings on the National Register of Historic Places.
Living History

With its multiple museums, historical societies and significant landmarks, the past is very much present in Placer County.

Image caption: Northern pintails and many other species of waterfowl depend on marshland in the Klamath Basin during migration.
Dying for Fresh Water

This year, an estimated 60,000 birds have been poisoned by botulism in one of the oldest waterfowl conservation reserves in the state.

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