Newsom vetoed a data center water bill last year. Will he sign it this time?
An aerial view of the Digital Realty SFO12 Data Center in the Rincon Hill neighborhood of San Francisco, on Dec. 16, 2025.(Stephen Lam / San Francisco Chronicle via AP)As fights about data centers erupt nationwide, California lawmakers have approved a pair of bills to make data center developers disclose how much water they really use.The bills are a new test of whether California will set limits on an industry that’s becoming a flashpoint over water, electricity and the environmental consequences of artificial intelligence.Lawmakers on Monday cleared Assembly Bill 2469 by Assemblymember Diane Papan, a Democrat from San Mateo. The bill bars local governments from approving new or expanded data centers unless the developer discloses its water plans and covers the full cost of any new water pipes, treatment or storage for the facility. This bill will now join Papan’s Assembly Bill 2619 on Gov. Gavin Newsom’s desk.California senators last week, in a decisive 30 to 9 vote, approved the mea
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Do later school start times help California students? Here’s what a new study says
(Jane Meredith Adams / EdSource)California’s mandate requiring later start times for middle and high schools is already yielding results, with students sleeping more, reporting better mental health and scoring higher math and English scores, according to a new study.The new working paper from the National Bureau of Economic Research examines the effects of Senate Bill 328, California’s statewide mandate for later school start times. The law, which went into effect in 2022, requires most middle schools to start no earlier than 8 a.m. and high schools no earlier than 8:30 a.m.The study found that the new law increased the share of students sleeping at least eight hours per night by 13%, meeting the minimum recommended for adolescents by health experts. The largest jump was among boys.The study shows that “rest and sleep are incredibly important in the function of schools,” said Osea Giuntella, an author of the report. Although the short-term increase in sleep is moderate, it has led to s
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California politicians promised white gold in ‘Lithium Valley.’ But are those dreams fading?
The Salton Sea at Bombay Beach on Feb. 4, 2023. (Ariana Drehsler / CalMatters)Three years after Gov. Gavin Newsom proclaimed Imperial County's "Lithium Valley" to be a game-changer for California's economy and alternative energy transition, little has changed.The southern end of the Salton Sea contains rich sources of lithium, a mineral used for electric car batteries, cellphones and other electronics. A few years ago California politicians raved about prospects for extracting the critical mineral from desert aquifers.But lithium resources remain untapped, as plans to mine them falter amid legal challenges and funding problems.The Hell's Kitchen project by Controlled Thermal Resources has been delayed by lawsuits arguing that the company neglected to address its environmental impacts. Last month an appeals court sent the environmental review back to Imperial County to correct deficiencies regarding water and air quality effects.The appellate decision validates residents’ questions abou
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Homes evacuated on Long Beach Peninsula after damage from hurricane-driven waves
Waves stirred up by Hurricane Marie breached the seawall and damaged the boardwalk just outside the front doors of homes on the Long Beach Peninsula.(Courtesy of the Long Beach Fire Department)This story first appeared on Long Beach Post.Authorities evacuated approximately 20 homes on the Long Beach Peninsula Monday evening after punishing tides and pounding waves may have damaged their foundations, according to the Long Beach Fire Department.The seaside homes have endured days of high surf slamming into the boardwalk, which is just outside their doors. Waves were powerful enough to breach a protective seawall and send water and sand pouring into the neighborhood. The surf has been unusually strong because of the remnants of Hurricane Marie churning through the Pacific Ocean hundreds of miles away.Crews were clearing away sand and pumping out water throughout the day Monday, and some residents were cleaning out their garages and porches that had been inundated. Then, while surveying fo
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UC scientists map key protein interactions linked with profound autism
This image shows a section of an organoid. Organoids are lab-grown tissues that model the human brain. A new study used brain organoids to probe key protein interactions that may be linked to profound autism.(Courtesy of the UCSF Quantitative Biosciences Institute) Scientists have now gotten closer to understanding how gene mutations may lead some people to develop profound autism. The clues, they say, lie in the murky space between genes and disease — where key proteins come together and interact. A team of researchers from UC San Francisco mapped more than a thousand interactions between many proteins that come from certain autism risk genes. This molecular atlas, published in the journal Science, could point researchers toward new and promising treatments. "It's an unprecedented resource for the field," says Dr. Daniel Geschwind, a professor of human genetics, neurology, and psychiatry at UCLA who was not involved with the study. "A lot of people interested in understanding autism a
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How will LA’s next mayor take on the city's environmental challenges? 3 candidates’ forum takeaways
L.A. Mayor Karen Bass and Councilmember Nithya Raman separately explain their environmental positions at a mayoral forum held Thursday at L.A. Trade Tech in downtown Los Angeles.With a little more than two months to go until the general election, the two mayoral candidates running to lead the city of Los Angeles fielded questions about the environment at a Thursday night forum hosted by LAist.Incumbent Karen Bass and her challenger, L.A. City Councilmember Nithya Raman, each answered questions separately about how they would approach many environmental challenges facing the city, including emergency preparedness, water resiliency and transportation policy.These and other environmental and climate issues are top of mind for many Angelenos during a summer marked by extreme heat, humidity and the Lineage warehouse fire in Boyle Heights that affected surrounding neighborhoods for months. Communities are also still rebuilding from last year’s destructive Eaton and Palisades fires.The forum,
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Menendez brothers get new date for parole hearing a year earlier than expected
An Oct. 31, 2016, photo provided by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation shows Erik Menendez, left, and a Feb. 22, 2018, photo provided by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation shows Lyle Menendez.(AP / California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation)Erik and Lyle Menendez may get another chance at parole — and a bit sooner than expected.The brothers were convicted of murder for the August 1989 shotgun killings of their parents in their Beverly Hills home. They’ve been held in prison for more than three decades.On Monday, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation revealed the brothers had been granted a parole suitability hearing tentatively scheduled for March 2027. Previously, the state had determined they would not get another parole hearing until August 2028.The Menendez family issued a statement Monday, expressing appreciation to the Parole Board for recognizing the brothers’ efforts to change themselves and he
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Get ready for a hot and humid week after that weekend of rain
Long Beach , CA - September 06: People walk through a flooded street as a high tide from hurricane Marie off the Pacific Ocean pushes onto Ocean Blvd at Alamitos Peninsula on Sunday, Sept. 6, 2026 in Long Beach , CA. (Ronaldo Bolaños/Los Angeles Times via Getty Imag / Los Angeles Times)Tropical Storm Marie dumped around an inch of rain in the Southern California region over the Labor Day weekend. Forecasters say we might see minimal rain on Tuesday in the region, and temperatures are expected to rise for a hot and humid week ahead.Coastal flood and high surf advisories are in effect for Los Angeles, Ventura, Orange and San Diego counties until Tuesday 11 p.m.Officials with the National Weather Service warned beachgoers that there was an increased risk of drowning in the ocean.“Rip currents will be widespread and very strong, potentially pulling swimmers and surfers out to sea,” the advisory read.They also advised beachgoers to remain out of the water or, if they do go in, to stay near
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For Central Valley farmworkers, a court order brought calm. Now it's on hold — and LA is watching
Farmworkers in California's Central Valley in April 2025, the month an order from a federal judge put new restrictions on immigration officials arresting people without warrants. While that order is now on hold, a similar case is under consideration in L.A.(Frederic J. Brown / AFP via Getty Images)A federal judge in Los Angeles is weighing whether to place new restrictions on immigration agents arresting people without warrants — a decision that could shape enforcement across Southern California. That decision, expected any day, echoes a fight already playing out in the Central Valley, where farmworkers had won a court order that shielded them for more than a year.On Aug. 24, a 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel put that Central Valley injunction on hold.That order had blocked Border Patrol from the race-based stops and warrantless arrests that swept through Bakersfield in January 2025, when agents fanned out through farm towns as part of "Operation Return to Sender."For Rosa, a 3
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Best things to do in LA and SoCal: Sept. 2-9
The Armored League features real-life combat at the Ukrainian Cultural Center.(Courtesy @laurengalluzzi)How is it already Labor Day weekend? I’m not sure where the summer went, but looking at my camera roll, it was mostly spent at the Hollywood Bowl, at the beach and in the longest movies I could find (thank you, Christopher Nolan, for all the air conditioning).I hope your summer was filled with fun explorations, whether they were close to home or further afield. The fall is filling up fast — we have tons to look forward to here, with new museum openings, big movies coming out and some great theater coming our way, too. Plus, the Dodgers are looking strong as baseball season closes in on the playoffs, and you have a few more chances to catch the Sparks in action.Elsewhere on LAist, you can learn about the history of the Yamaava' casino, check out the new Melrose restaurant Pawn Shop and get your questions about the predicted upcoming El Niño season answered.MusicZia McCabe of The Dandy
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