"California's 3-year-old drought has thrust seawater desalination into the spotlight as San Diego County, Santa Barbara and other cities push ahead with treatment plants that will soon turn the Pacific Ocean into a source of drinking water."

The news media became part of the story when a mountain lion took refuge under a Los Angeles-area house.

"Cities and water districts serving 19 million people in Southern California face smaller water deliveries this summer under a plan approved by the region's water wholesaler in response to ongoing dry conditions."

"HINKLEY, Calif. -- Maneuvering his pickup through this Mojave Desert town, resident Daron Banks pointed at empty lot after empty lot."

"In drought-era California, does 'fire season' mean anything?"

"When Gov. Jerry Brown issued the first statewide water use reduction order in California history on Wednesday, he put his emphasis squarely on cities and towns."

"California’s astonishingly low snowpack, a pathetic 5 percent of normal, and the severity of the drought afflicting the state isn’t some fluke.  It’s a likely consequence of climate change, specifically the rising temperatures which are intensifying many of the processes causing the state to lose water at an alarming rate."

"The Sierra snowpack is a ghastly one-fifth the size of the smallest one ever recorded in the mountain range, state leaders said Wednesday as California’s storm season ended in disappointment for the fourth straight year."

"Yosemite National Park is bracing for its driest year on record, with visitor bureaus downplaying the allure of the park's most famous waterfall and instead touting the park as a destination for hiking, bicycling and photography."

"California Governor Jerry Brown signed emergency legislation on Friday that fast-tracks over $1 billion in funding for drought relief and water infrastructure within the parched state."