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In Memory Of
Helen Stuart August 19, 1926 - February 19, 2024
Sierra Watershed Education Partnerships
Listed under: Environment
How the California mental health crisis emerged out of the state’s history of deinstitutionalization and laws designed to protect the mentally ill, as well as the communities around them.
Heat pumps, an energy-efficient way to both heat and cool homes, are a necessary element of California's climate goal of net zero carbon emissions. Here's what they are, how they work, and how to get one.
The Williamson Act, passed in 1965, now keeps more than 16 million acres of farmland out of the hands of developers. Here's how the law puts the brakes on the development of California agricultural properties.
The California Environmental Quality Act, CEQA, is both the state’s signature environmental legislation, and is also often named as the villain in the state’s housing shortage. But the story may not be that simple.
How California’s 10 state conservancies buy up open land and shield it from developers to preserve the natural environment for public use.
Long-duration energy storage is essential if renewables are to become the basis for a future, carbon-neutral power grid. Here's how California is leading the race to store energy from solar, wind, and other clean sources for use whenever it's needed.
Democracy is a 2,500-year-old system of government still looked on today as the best system, because under a democratic system, the people govern themselves. But is that all there is to it? What is democracy? And how does it work …
What is the California Coastal Commission? How one of the state’s most powerful agency protects public access to the state’s scenic coast from Mexico to Oregon.
This year, a series of extreme events in California and around the country have wreaked havoc, driven by climate change. How prepared are we for things to get worse?
Since the Gold Rush era, land reclamation projects have helped to build California, but they are also damaging the state’s environment for people, plants and animals by eliminating essential wetlands.
California has used reclamation districts to turn millions of acres of unusable swamps into fertile agricultural land, starting in the earliest days of the Gold Rush. Here’s how it happened.
Zoning laws determine what can be built and where. These laws have shaped California, but are they really just tools for social engineering? The history of zoning is closely tied to racial segregation, as well as the state's shortage of …
The California Supreme Court has kept the state at the forefront of legal issues surrounding abortion, the death penalty and same-sex marriage, starting in its earliest days in the Gold Rush era.
California has some of the worst economic inequality in the United States. Is the housing crisis a cause?
Solar power, and a network of giant battery storage facilities, are playing an essential role in moving California toward its goal of exclusive reliance on renewable energy sources.
The history of transportation in California has shaped the state, from the railroads to today’s highways, making the need for planning increasingly urgent. Here’s how it all happened, and where we stand today.
Thousands of miles of railroad track, including some in Santa Cruz County, now sit idle. The fate of those largely abandoned tracks has become a burning controversy.
California keeps on taking legislative steps that will keep it ranked in the top 10 of voter-friendly states.
Community service districts can do most anything a city government can do. Here’s how they work and how to start one.
The pesky mosquito can be deadly as well as annoying. Here’s how local governments in California have been waging war on mosquitoes for more than a century.
What do resource conservation districts protect? Pretty much everything that’s worth saving.
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.
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.
How California's extensive public school system is organized and managed, explained.
From California Local...
California voters narrowly passed Proposition 1, Gov. Gavin Newsom’s measure to fund mental health housing. He’s prodding counties to use the money quickly.
From Tahoe Daily Tribune...
The Tahoe Regional Planning Agency received a revised Master Plan from Homewood Mountain Resort, marking a significant step forward in the resort's redevelopment plans.
From Sierra Sun...
On Friday, May 10, many Truckee residents gathered to celebrate the 155th anniversary of the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad and the unveiling of Truckee's latest historical landmark, which recognizes the Chinese workers who built Truckee's railway.
City Council unanimously passed the first reading of an ordinance designating Very High Fire Severity Zones within city limits provided by CalFire. South Tahoe Fire Chief Jim Drennan explained, "This really is just a revision of the map for an ordinance that's already in place."
Plywood currently blocks off the entrance to the now nonexistent slide that used to carry kids down the Al Tahoe playground since it was built in the late 1990s.
The city of South Lake Tahoe's Mid-Town Area Plan process is now underway.
Four investment projects in eastern Placer County amounting to nearly 2.7 million were approved Tuesday by the Placer County Board of Supervisors to advance regional goals including improved transportation and recreation.
The Truckee Library would like to invite the community to three free upcoming events that celebrate our area's rich local history.
After more than three decades of service with a number of local government agencies spanning the West Coast, Jane Christenson announced her retirement from Placer County effective May 4, 2024.
At Truckee Donner Public Utility District's May board of directors meeting, the board approved an electric bill credit, approved a crucial water infrastructure maintenance project in Tahoe Donner, and held a workshop to review TDPUD's new Emergency Operations Plan.
Today, May 7, on National Fentanyl Awareness Day, the Placer County 1 Pill Can Kill Placer campaign released its annual update reaffirming the county's collective commitment to fighting the fentanyl crisis.
This year, Mother's Day (May 12) happens to also be the first day of National Prevention Week, which promotes substance misuse prevention and positive mental health.
Olympic Valley Public Service District board of directors formally introduced an ordinance to adopt water, sewer, and garbage rate hikes, and revised district codes.
The Truckee Police Department has undergone a transformation since integrating advanced automated license plate reading devices from Flock Safety.
The Olympic Valley Public Service District Board took a key step toward updating development impact fees charged for fire services by approving a contract for a legally required nexus study and fee analysis.
City Council approved a local developer's application to rezone a parcel near Montreal Road and Van Sickle Bi-State Park at their meeting on Tuesday, April 23. The decision changes the parcel's zoning from recreation to tourist center mixed-use zoning.
Nevada County Behavioral, Nevada County Public Health and community partners announced a new countywide mental health and suicide prevention campaign—Mental Health Matters Nevada County.
Placer County's North Tahoe Shared-Use Trail was one of two projects awarded a community sustainability and climate resilience grant earlier this month at the California Tahoe Conservancy Board meeting.
The South Tahoe Public Utility District will be building a solar power project at its Wastewater Treatment Plan following approval from the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency Governing Board during its April 24 meeting.
Lake Tahoe watercraft inspection stations are open for the season to help prevent the spread of aquatic invasive species and boaters can now book an appointment for this summer online, announced the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency and the Tahoe Resource Conservation District.
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