Change to Federal Rule Could Expose More Farmworkers to Pesticides
Civil Eats
4/22/20
Farmworkers have been deemed "essential workers" during the pandemic. Now the EPA is seeking to loosen an Obama-era rule aimed at protecting them from exposure to toxic pesticides.

What does climate change mean for Vermont's Maple Sugarers?
Civil Eats
5/8/18
For an industry that measures time in generations, and works with centuries-old trees, the rapid warming of the planet makes for an uncertain future.

California Fish Farmers Say They Can Meet Strict Environmental Standards
The California Report
9/8/14
Most of the farmed fish Americans eat comes from overseas, where habitat destruction and water pollution are rampant. Fish farming is growing off the California coast and the companies involved say they can do it while meeting stringent environmental standards.

Relaxed Rules at Center of Debate Over Underground Fuel Leaks
The California Report
3/6/14
Twenty five years ago, California legislators established programs to clean up tens of thousands of spills at gas stations and fueling sites. Critics say the state has gone too far in relaxing cleanup standards.

How California's Greenhouse Gas Laws Can Better Serve Disadvantaged Communities
Ensia
5/10/17
California legislators recently passed the nation's strictest greenhouse gas legislation, aimed at dramatically reducing the state's emissions of gases that contribute to global climate change. But a growing number of dissenters is calling for greater attention to environmental justice, with climate policies that are more inclusive and affordable.

Activists Worry of Future Gas Leak 'Catastrophes' in Wake of Porter Ranch
The California Report
12/23/15
Activists say the months-long leak at a natural gas storage facility near Los Angeles was caused in part by sloppy regulation. They warn that the state Division of Oil, Gas, and Geothermal Resources could could be setting the stage for more such disasters.

California Prison Costs are Rising as Prisoners Age
Marketplace
7/23/03
California's prison system is the biggest and most expensive in the country. And it's getting more expensive as the incarcerated population ages.

Los Angeles County Struggles With Mentally Ill Inmates
The California Health Report
8/24/14
One of every five Los Angeles County Jail inmates has been diagnosed with a mental illness, a statistic that leads authorities to describe the jail system as the nation's largest mental institution. As county authorities prepare to modernize their jail, the Los Angeles County District Attorney is joining calls for a system to get the mentally ill out of the penal system and into more effective treatment.

For Town Made Famous by 'Erin Brockovich,' a Toxic Sequel?
The Christian Science Monitor
1/10/11
Hinkley, California battled pollution of its ground water by chromium-6 in the 1990s – a case that inspired "Erin Brockovich." Now the contamination is spreading at the rate of a foot a day.

L.A. Battery Recycling Plant Showers Communities in Lead Dust
The California Report
3/21/14
Angry neighbors of a battery recycling plant in Los Angeles County packed a community meeting earlier this week to confront state officials over elevated lead levels in the soil around their homes. Some locals are losing faith that regulators are serious about protecting them from harm.

In Hinkley, Toxic Legacy Sets the Stage for a Ghost Town
The California Report
4/2/13
With poison spreading through its water and Pacific Gas & Electric buying and demolishing houses, the town made famous by the movie "Erin Brockovich" has seen its David and Goliath triumph crumble. Hinkley is dying.

State Aims to Close Funding Gap for Lead Contamination Cleanup, Neighbors Skeptical
The California Report
8/24/17
California regulators have only enough state money to clean up a quarter of the homes contaminated by a battery recycling plant just east of downtown Los Angeles. The state's history of lax enforcement makes activists doubt Exide Technologies will finish the job.

Seismic Safety on Shaky Ground
The Press-Enterprise
3/1/08
Older buildings across Inland Southern California could crumble in a major earthquake, but money to fix them is scarce. Experts say unreinforced masonry buildings are most dangerous in seismically explosive San Bernardino, where the ground is susceptible to liquefaction in a major earthquake. Seismologists rank San Bernardino as one of the most dangerous cities in the state.

A Pattern of Holding Inmates Too Long
NPR: All Things Considered
6/3/97
The Los Angeles County Jail offers cash settlements after erroneously but repeatedly keeping inmates locked up when they have finished serving their sentences.

"Deaths of Despair" Drive High Mortality Rates in Semi-Rural California
The California Health Report
1/10/18
A pair of studies finds that young and middle-aged white Californians are much more likely to die prematurely than are other residents of the state. The trend is especially severe in semi-rural parts of the state such as California's Central Valley.

Groundwater Plan Raises Concerns Over Fragile Aquifer
The California Report
9/10/12
With the demand for water in the rapidly expanding West expected to overwhelm supply in the next half century, a private water company wants to pump billions of gallons of water from the Mojave Desert.

Training Police to Better Respond to Autism
The California Health Report
9/9/16
Amid increased public scrutiny of law enforcement tactics, some Southern California agencies have started specialized training to help officers read the signs of autism and respond appropriately.

Wells Run Dry in Paso Robles
The California Report
10/30/13
It’s picking time for wine vineyards in the central California community of Paso Robles, and the farmers are bringing in a rich harvest. As vineyards proliferate around this farm town halfway between Los Angeles and San Francisco, residential wells are starting to go dry. Some are calling the plight of Paso Robles a good example of what’s wrong with California’s unregulated groundwater supply.

As Dairies Poison Lake Champlain, Vermont Fails to Contain Manure and Fertilizers
Grist
7/16/14
Increasingly, waste from Vermont’s lightly regulated dairy farms is polluting the nation’s sixth-largest lake. It’s undermining Vermont’s tourist economy and jeopardizing drinking water supplies for a third of the state’s population. While the dairy industry is sacrosanct to many Vermonters, some are questioning whether it's a sacred cow they can afford.

Father and Son Bond as Shipmates
The California Report
10/26/12
Fathers and sons often bond over Little League ballgames or summer camping trips. For reporter Chris Richard and his son Sam, it's volunteering together as deckhands on two tall ships owned by the Los Angeles Maritime Institute. Chris filed an audio postcard from aboard the Irving Johnson during a recent tall ship festival in Orange County.