Placer County Explainer Articles

California will soon add a new emergency hotline service with the number 988. Here’s the story behind that new service, and the original 911 number.

Cumbersome state bureaucracy and competition from their illegal counterparts has made life perilous for California’s nascent legal cannabis businesses.

Since long before the COVID-19 pandemic, states have possessed broad authority to protect public health, even to suspend laws and commandeer private property. Here’s why, and how it works.

Noise is a form of pollution that threatens public health like any other type of environmental pollution. Here's what federal, state and local governments are doing to quiet things down.

What’s a LAFCO? That’s the odd-sounding acronym for the independent boards that get a grip on suburban sprawl and government inefficiency.

Under California law, local governments may work together in a "Joint Powers Authority." But these little-known agencies can wield broad powers—even to levy taxes—with little public accountability.

The state of California, as well as some local governments, will soon require all public employees to be vaccinated against COVID. Here’s why they’re taking that step.

The Placer County grand jury acts as the county's leading government watchdog body. Here's how the grand jury works, and how to become a grand juror.

AB 1185, authorizing civilian sheriff's oversight bodies, was one of the few law enforcement reform bills to pass in the wake of the George Floyd protests. What does the law accomplish, and will it make a difference?

Climate scientists say that global warming is making wildfire season much worse. Here's how climate change causes fires to be more destructive.

California‘s veterans are as varied as the nations in which they served—a tapestry of different educational levels, professions, and life experiences. And they all deserve our respect and support.

At hundreds of Stand Down events throughout California, veterans agencies and organizations come together to deliver life’s necessities.

How California's extensive public school system is organized and managed, explained.

Anyone charged with a crime in Placer County should get to know the district attorney and public defender. Here's how their offices work.

California has gone from one library to more than 1,100 in the last 171 years.

Pushed by activists, cities move from at-large elections to district races.

A USC study shows the economy recovered fully from the 2008 recession—except for housing.

The Placer County court system was founded in 1851. Here's how it works today.

A Superior Court Judge has placed at least some limits on the governor's power to impose health-related restrictions. Here's what that means.

In 2022, California trash haulers will begin turning millions of tons of methane-emitting organic waste into a new cash crop: compost.