Well drillers are chasing after California’s profitable and dwindling water supply.
Sasha Khokha reports for NPR: “"It's officially getting crazy," Arthur says. "We go and we go but it just seems like we can't go fast enough."”
“Drilling in California isn't just for oil and gas — it's for water. And during this severe drought, farmers and ranchers are relying heavily on pumping groundwater. Counties in the farm-rich Central Valley are issuing record numbers of permits for new wells. But the drilling frenzy could threaten the state's shrinking underground aquifers.”
The state’s minimum wage earners will soon see a dollar boost to their paychecks.
Jack Katzanek reports for The Press Enterprise: “The increase, to $9 per hour from $8 per hour, officially becomes the state standard Tuesday. It will go to $10 per hour on Jan. 1, 2016.”
“The law adopting the increase was initiated late in 2012 by Assemblyman Luis Alejo, a Salinas-area Democrat. It went through the legislative process, passing through committee and full Assembly and Senate votes almost completely along party lines before being signed into law by Gov. Jerry Brown in September.”
Local residents don’t directly feel the value of California’s cap-and-trade emission reductions.
Evan Halper reports in the Los Angeles Times: “In California and across the country, the purchase of so-called carbon offsets by large corporations sits at the root of a bitter dispute over the extent to which companies dealing with a global problem have an obligation to help their local environments.”
“The dispute has taken on new importance as more states mull over whether to adopt California's model amid the Obama administration's push to place strict new limits on greenhouse gas emissions from power plants.”
President Obama bids to deport thousands of Central American children who illegally immigrated to the United States.
Lisa Mascaro and Brian Bennett report in the Los Angeles Times: “The administration is asking Congress to approve $2 billion in emergency funding for beefed-up border security and assistance, as the children — many traveling without their parents under the mistaken impression that they will be allowed to stay — slip across the Southwest border. Amid a growing humanitarian crisis, many of the children are being sent as far away as California and Oklahoma for processing and shelter.”
“The request, expected to be formally made Monday, seems intended to blunt criticism that White House immigration policies have inadvertently encouraged the crush of youngsters.”
A year to the day, the plaintiffs in the Proposition 8 case renew their vows.
Christin Mai-Duc reports in the Los Angeles Times: “Held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, the ceremony was officiated by David Boies and Ted Olson, the two attorneys who represented the couple in the historic Proposition 8 challenge.”
“Katami said he and his husband valued being able to celebrate away from the media spotlight, exchanging vows they had written for each other for the private ceremony.”
In the streets of San Francisco, a group of 17 goats ran wild. No apparent affiliation with the pride parade.
In SF Fist: “It turns out the goats are part of the City Grazing herd, which SFist readers have seen working on landscaping projects around the city for the last five or so years.”
“Apparently, the goats were hard at work at Key Avenue and Bayshore Boulevard when they decided to take off, according to BonGiovanni.””
