California Archives

The Lede, Issue #38: Fracking in California, an Investigation Into Nike, the Endless Complexity of r/relationships, and More

An exclusive newsletter that brings premium members Pacific Standard stories, staff, and contributors directly to their inbox on a regular basis.

Pacific Standard Staff

An inmate holds onto a fence at the Louisiana State Penitentiary in Angola, Louisiana.

California Will Offer Parole for 4,000 ‘Three-Strike’ Prisoners Facing Life Sentences

The latest ruling comes as a success for advocates of criminal justice reform.

Emily Moon

Firefighters try to control a back burn as they battle the Carr Fire near Redding, California, on July 31st, 2018.

Trump May Be Pushing to Clear-Cut California’s Forests to Manage Fires. Here’s Why That’s Dangerous.

Studies show that removing trees actually make fires more intense, wreaking further havoc on both human and wildlife habitat.

Emily Moon

Allyson Webb watches her mother, Angela Webb vote at the Gilpin County Community Center on November 2nd, 2010, outside of Central City, Colorado.

News in Brief

Is Gerrymandering Really a Problem in Colorado?

In Colorado, two ballot initiatives in the upcoming election would change the process by which the state draws up its districts. But would such reform really change anything?

Seth Masket

A pedestrian uses her umbrella in the rain in Alhambra, California, on April 8th, 2016.

Environment

Why This Winter’s El Niño Will Not Bring More Rain to California

A conversation with Jan Null, a weather forecaster who explains why expectations of a wet winter are misplaced.

Matt Weiser

As a summer intern on the Six Rivers Forest, Jonathan White, a student at Salish-Kootenai College in Montana, helped to monitor how plants return to this area, burned in 2016 as a Forest Service and Karuk Tribe research plot.

Environment

The California Indigenous Peoples Using Fire for Agroforestry

Prescribed burning is the main tool in the Karuk and Yoruk tribes' agroforestry systems, which encourages proliferation of traditional foods, herbs, and medicines.

Jane Braxton Little

Journalists visit the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on May 11th, 2017.

Economics

Meet the Grassroots Organizers Trying to Keep the Olympics Out of Los Angeles

NOlympics LA, an effort led by members of the Democratic Socialists of America, says the city's bid to host the Olympics in 2028 will ultimately damage and displace its most vulnerable populations.

Jack Denton

The Lede, Issue #37: The New ‘Halloween,’ the Value of Home Libraries, California’s Kevin De León, and More

An exclusive newsletter that brings premium members Pacific Standard stories, staff, and contributors directly to their inbox on a regular basis.

Pacific Standard Staff

The main recharge dyke for the Coachella Valley.

Environment

Should California Expand the Definition for the ‘Beneficial Use’ of Its Water?

A team of experts from a number University of California schools argue that recharging groundwater to manage pollution should be permitted by the state.

Matt Weiser

Kevin de León often frames himself as a leader of the resistance movement against President Donald Trump.

Social Justice

California Senatorial Candidate Kevin de León Talks Immigration, Health Care, and Standing Up to Trump

After authoring California's sanctuary state law and drafting its 100 percent renewable energy goals, the state senator talks with Pacific Standard about setting his sights on an even higher ambition: unseating Dianne Feinstein.

Jack Herrera