More than 1 out of every 5 vehicles registered in California last year was a fully battery-powered electric one, according to data from Experian, compared to just under 1 in 10 nationally. Only 1.3% of cars on the road in America right now are fully electric, but over a third of those are registered here in California."
Staring down harsh Trump funding cuts, UC and CSU get some relief in Newsom budget plan
LA Times' JAWEED KALEEM: "For months, California’s public higher education institutions have braced for deep state funding cuts, fearing they would lead to reductions in student services, course offerings and even enrollment.
In Gov. Gavin Newsom’s January budget proposal, the University of California and California State University systems were confronting $771 million in cuts. Faculty, students and staff rallied in Sacramento and asked lawmakers to spare the state’s higher education systems, saying the proposed cuts would be “catastrophic” and would have a “profound impact” on education — on top of hundreds of millions in cuts to federal research and other grants ordered by the Trump administration."
Rancho Palos Verdes is home to a Trump golf course. But his cuts are imperiling the city’s landslide response
LA Times' GRACE TOOHEY: "For the last 18 months, the city of Rancho Palos Verdes has been struggling to address a worsening local emergency — the dramatic expansion of an ancient landslide zone that has torn homes apart, buckled roadways and halted utility services.
Triggered by a succession of heavy winter rains in 2023 and 2024, the ongoing land movement has upended the lives of residents and cast the city into financial uncertainty. Without significant outside aid, officials say they expect to spend about $37 million this fiscal year on emergency landslide mitigation — a sum nearly equal to the city’s annual operating budget."
Yosemite’s famous backcountry camps won’t open this summer
Chronicle's GREGORY THOMAS: "In another blow to Yosemite National Park amid federal staffing cuts that have curtailed aspects of summertime operations, the park won’t open its vaunted High Sierra Camps this summer.
“Unfortunately, the utilities which support the High Sierra Camps — potable water and toilets — will not be available and the camps will not be operated this summer,” according to a statement from Yosemite concessionaire Aramark. “This decision was made in collaboration with the National Park Service (NPS), which manages the utilities necessary to run the camps. Impacted guests have been contacted and can book alternate accommodations within the park and will be offered priority booking for next year's lottery.”
