Articles by Don Thompson

Judge Stalls Uber’s Challenge to Controversial California Job Law

A federal judge has refused to exempt rideshare company Uber and on-demand meal delivery service Postmates from a broad new California labor law while she considers their lawsuit. U.S. District Judge Dolly Gee in Los Angeles denied the companies’ request …

PG&E Says Blackouts Limited California Fires Despite One Likely Failure

The nation’s largest utility said Friday that its distribution lines haven’t sparked any major wildfires since it began shutting off power to Northern California customers during periods of high fire risk. However, Pacific Gas & Electric is not ruling out …

California Town Devastated by Wildfire Rebuilds, But Is It Any Safer a Year Later

There was “no way in hell” Victoria Sinclaire was rebuilding in Paradise, Calif. She’d thought she was going to die during the six hours it took her to escape the deadliest and most destructive wildfire in California history. The town …

22 New California Laws Take Aim at Wildfire Danger

California is adopting nearly two dozen laws aimed at preventing and fighting the devastating wildfires that have charred large swaths of the state in recent years and killed scores of people. Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom this week signed the 22 …

California Governor Defends State’s Wildfire Efforts

Gov. Gavin Newsom defended California’s wildfire prevention efforts this week while criticizing the federal government for not doing enough to help protect the state as it enters the height of fire season after two deadly, disastrous years. His jab at …

California Wants Faster Forestry Approvals in Wildfire Fight

California wildland managers said this week that they want to speed up logging and prescribed burns designed to slow wildfires that have devastated communities in recent years. After the deadliest and most destructive blazes in state history, officials are scrapping …

Downed Power Lines Sparked Deadly California Fires, Investigation Shows

A dozen wildfires that burned thousands of homes in California’s wine country and killed at least 15 people last October were started by Pacific Gas & Electric power lines and utility poles, state fire officials said. The California Department of …

California Company Has Marijuana License, But Its Workers Still Arrested

The confusing rollout of marijuana regulations in California has been underscored in Mendocino County, where local authorities licensed a company to deliver pot only to have state police arrest two employees who were trying to do just that with nearly …

California Company Has Marijuana License, But Its Workers Still Arrested

The confusing rollout of marijuana regulations in California has been underscored in Mendocino County, where local authorities licensed a company to deliver pot only to have state police arrest two employees who were trying to do just that with nearly …

California Wildfires Feeding on Grass Fed by Winter Rain

Wildfires driving people from their homes in California and throughout the West have had help from an unlikely source: the rain. Major winter downpours that pulled the state out of years of drought also brought a layer of grass that …