A fight over clean energy; a losing battle for clean air
A community's fight against 500-foot-high wind turbines, California's air pollution problem, and the Riverside County attorney crusading to keep children safe from neglect and abuse prepares for his biggest case yet.
It's news for Monday.
But first, chase away any case of the Mondays with this story of a Merced family who paid off an entire school's lunch debt.
I'm Arlene Martínez and I write In California, a daily roundup of stories from newsrooms across the Paste BN Network and beyond. Sign up here and tell a friend.
500-feet-high wind turbines rattle residents
The news came to Whitewater Canyon residents in the form of a letter: Hundreds of old, noisy wind turbines that had been shut down were being replaced with only 11. Except the sleek and modern turbines are five times higher than the current ones tucked out of sight behind the western ridge. They tower 500 feet into the sky. That has the community just outside Palm Springs vowing to block their installation.
"Imagine something 500 feet high lining that entire ridge behind me," says resident Wayne King. "Those huge blades will be extremely intrusive, and it will be a very very large noise, probably a lot louder than the sound of those smaller ones."
The Bureau of Land Management in 1980 declared the interior canyon an "area of critical environmental concern," but developers and others say climate change and clean energy mandates make it critical to tap into areas with such high wind output.
California isn't just golden, it's brown
Of the 30 places with the worst air pollution, 15 are in California, an analysis of federal records shows. Blame three factors for air that's steadily getting worse: a booming economy, more wildfires and lax enforcement of clean air regulations. From about 2009 to 2016, air quality had actually been improving. Now it's been three straight years getting worse, and the deteriorating air is costly from a health perspective. Problems range from asthma attacks (from short-term exposure) to heart disease and lung cancer (from long-term exposure).
To reach its analysis, 24/7 Tempo used data from the Environmental Protection Agency’s Air Quality Index, which takes into account the amount of carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, ozone, sulfur dioxide into the air, as well as other particulates.
See if you can guess which area ranks first. Hint: It's not LA. Answer's at the bottom.
What else we're talking about
San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo endorses Democratic presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg, Bloomberg's first major California backing. Until last week, Liccardo had been a Kamala Harris supporter.
Cities in Ventura County are poised to ban flavored juice as in, the type you vape. Selling flavored tobacco products is already banned in neighboring Los Angeles County, and in jurisdictions up and down the state and across the country.
After a woman entered a cage holding Bengal tigers, the tigers did what wild animals do and ... played with her? Fortunately, she escaped with minor injuries. The sanctuary where the tigers live was hosting an open house for donors and supporters.
For more than a decade, the F-117 Nighthawk stealth fighter jet was kept a secret. Now it's on display at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library & Museum in Simi Valley, available for all to see as part of the "Peace Through Strength" exhibit.
A $13.5 billion settlement for Nor Cal fire victims
Shares of Pacific Gas & Electric surged by over 16% Monday following news that the embattled utility had reached a $13.5 billion settlement late Friday with Northern California victims of the 2017 and 2018 wildfires. The settlement resolves all claims made against the beleaguered company, which has been under withering criticism since the blazes ripped across the California landscape.
Rams mentor youth, and a legacy of desert golf
You're probably not a Rams fan (amirite, Chargers fans?), but you may become a horned cheerleader after reading this story about players regularly visiting the Ventura Youth Correctional Facility. Some share stories of their own troubled early years with the teens and young men doing time there. The Rams' support also included a recent effort to bring a successful Dallas-based restaurant training program for at-risk youths to Los Angeles for a swanky pop-up dinner in September. About 10 residents from the Camarillo facility helped cook and serve during the event, which was featured in an episode of “NFL 360 with Melissa Stark.”
In other feel-good sports news, golfing giant Phil Mickelson was 17 when he won his first Coachella Valley golf tournament, and he's returned to the region dozens of times since. Check out his desert legacy.
Lawyer preps case against Riverside County on behalf of dead 8-year-old
Note: This story is for Desert Sun subscribers only. Consider supporting local journalism today.
After 8-year-old Noah McIntosh of Corona vanished this year, Riverside County officials acknowledged they had reports going back 18 months that the boy was being neglected and abused. Within weeks, his father had been arrested and charged with first-degree murder. Roger Booth is the attorney representing the dead boy, and he is preparing to sue the county for failing to protect him. Read more about the story of the attorney who followed his father's footsteps into law, but who forged his own path fighting to ensure systems meant to protect children from abuse, neglect and death do just that.
Finally, the answer from above: With 52 days where air level quality hits unhealthy levels, the winner is the Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario region.
In California is a roundup of news compiled from across Paste BN Network newsrooms. Also contributing: The Motley Fool, Politico, NPR, Merced Sun-Star and 24/7 Wall Street, a USA Today content partner.