California and other states — and some cities — have learned a lesson: Bans on plastic bags don’t always go as planned. In fact, California’s original ban made things worse.
CAlifornia
Posted inNPR
How a California county got PFAS out of its drinking water
Water utilities across the country will have to comply with EPA limits on “forever chemicals” in drinking water by 2029. Orange County, Calif., got a head start.
Posted inNPR
California farmers turn to agave amid drought conditions and climate change
Farmers in California are trying to plant crops that don’t require a lot of water. Some are turning to growing agave as a response to a warming state.
Posted inNPR
California’s newest state park is like a time machine
California’s newest state park just opened this summer — and a visit is like stepping into a time machine as its creators reimagine what a state park can be.
Posted inNPR
California bans school rules requiring parents notification of child’s pronoun change
The law, which is the first in the nation, bans school rules requiring school staff to disclose a student’s gender identity or sexual orientation to any other person without the child’s permission.
Posted inNPR
Most evacuation orders are lifted, but a Northern California wildfire is still burning
The “vast majority” of the 17,000 people under orders or warnings because of the Thompson fire north of Sacramento were able to go home. But an intensely hot weekend could make things worse.
Posted inNPR
After 41 years, a missing woman has been identified. Police want to know how she died
The mom whose remains were discovered in 1983 in what’s now Lake Forest, Calif., was positively identified Friday by authorities as Maritza Glean Grimmett, says the Orange County Sheriff’s Department.
Posted inNPR
‘Bad breath rapist’ from Boston area caught after 16 years at large in California
Tuen Kit Lee was found guilty in 2007 of the kidnapping and rape of the young woman at knifepoint near Boston. He was located in California after images of him emerged on social media.
Posted inNPR
Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys is being placed under a legal conservatorship
A Los Angeles Superior Court judge approved the conservatorship Thursday, noting that Brian Wilson suffers from “a major cognitive disorder.” Wilson has agreed to the conservatorship.
Posted inNPR
From utility man to one of California’s foremost journalists
Louis Sahagún first arrived at the Los Angeles Times in his early twenties as a utility worker, sweeping lead dust around the printing machines.
But it was the buzzing newsroom that inspired Sahagún to soon spend his lifetime writing stories about the undiscovered characters and corners of California.
Now after 43 years, he’s retiring from the paper, and reflecting on what motivated him to cover a side of the Golden state that remained unknown to many.
For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.
Email us at considerthis@npr.org.
