California

"The Vaux's Swift is a tiny bird – some people call it “a cigar with wings.” But every fall these little birds make a big trip, from summer breeding grounds in the Pacific Northwest down to their winter home in Central and South America. Along the way, many of them roost as a big flock in chimneys up and down the west coast. And their murmurations in the air – and simultaneously dive together into chimneys – are so spectacular that they draw crowds."

"Kameale Terry saw it coming before almost anyone else did. She realized the expanding network of electric vehicle charging stations across the U.S. would need a workforce to maintain it."

"Former President Trump threatened to withhold federal aid to battle California wildfires, should he be reelected, if Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) does not change a policy that protects an endangered species of fish."

"Drinking water contamination is a chronic, insidious threat in California’s rural communities. Some have been waiting for clean water for years."

"At least 19 people contracted valley fever, a fungal infection that in rare cases can be fatal, after attending an outdoor music festival in southern California in May, public health officials have reported."

"In the Mojave Desert, rising temperatures, less rainfall, and more intense wildfires are killing off Joshua trees. California officials are working on a plan to protect the distinctive yucca tree and its desert ecosystem by establishing refuges and controlling development."

"The Biden administration announced Wednesday the addition of a historic Northern California mine to the Superfund National Priorities List — a federal index that ranks hazardous waste site risk and helps in prioritizing cleanup operations."

"San Francisco-based startup Zum wants to turn electric school-bus fleets into grid batteries. This 74-bus depot in Oakland is testing the idea at large scale."

"The charging yard for electric trucks at the Port of Long Beach is bright and sunny and full of semitrailer tractors—the truncated front ends of big rigs without their big-box loads. It’s also quiet. Elsewhere at the port, wherever there are trucks, there’s the near-deafening rumble of diesel engines. But the trucks here aren’t combusting; they’re filling up with electrons to power their next trip to Southern California’s Inland Empire, the constellation of cities to the east with one of the heaviest concentrations of warehouses in the world."

"San Diego Congress members are calling on the U.S. State Department to press Mexico to address unprecedented levels of sewage pollution spilling over from Tijuana, causing unbearable rotten-egg odors for residents in the region."