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Opinion: How California could save water while generating clean energy

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:13 GMT

In 2021, our team at UC Merced found that covering California’s extensive network of irrigation canals with solar panels could make significant contributions to both clean energy and water conservation, serving two of the state’s most pressing needs at once.In addition to the added solar power, we found that shading all 4,000 miles of the state’s canals and aqueducts could save as much as 63 billion gallons of water annually by reducing evaporation — enough to irrigate 50,000 acres of farmland or provide water to the homes of more than 2 million people.Now we have a chance to put those projections to the test. Last year, we joined the California Department of Water Resources, the San Joaquin Valley’s Turlock Irrigation District and the firm Solar AquaGrid to build the nation’s first such project and assess the feasibility of covering canals across the state. The pilot, known as Project Nexus, is being funded by the state and is expected to be up and running over two canal sections s...

Walters: Newsom channels Jerry Brown with constitutional amendment proposal

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:13 GMT

When Proposition 13, California’s iconic property tax limit measure, went before voters in June 1978, the state’s governor, Jerry Brown, denounced it.“It’s a ripoff,” Brown declared. “It’s a long-term tax increase.”Two months later, after voters overwhelming endorsed the measure, Brown did a 180-degree pirouette, declaring himself a “born-again tax cutter.”“No new taxes,” Brown promised. “Voters have told us they want a tax cut. They don’t want a shell game.”Facing re-election to a second term later that year, Brown sponsored a state tax cut to obey, he said, the popular mandate.Two months after winning re-election, Brown delivered his inaugural address and proposed an amendment to the U.S. Constitution requiring the federal government’s budget to be balanced.“A constitutional convention to propose an amendment to balance the budget is unprecedented, but so is the political paralysis that prevents necessary action,” Brown said, blaming deficit spending for a sharp increase in inflat...

Did Dodger Stadium flood? Was a shark on the 405? Hurricane Hilary images debunked

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:13 GMT

On Sunday, Tropical Storm Hilary made its way through Southern California. Many took to social media to share updates as heavy rainfall hit parts of Los Angeles, Orange County and the Inland Empire.As the afternoon progressed, memes began to mix their way into social feeds, blending on-the-scene reporting with jokes about the aftermath of the hurriquake.Many Twitter users quickly began to share a video that left many debating if Dodger Stadium had flooded.Dodger stadium this morning #Dodgerstadium #dodgerblue #copterpilot #dodgerlife #dodgers #dodgertown #doyers #blueheaven #LA #LADodgers #playball #losangelesaerial #dodgeraerial pic.twitter.com/FFZ7OMZ8Ti— Los Angeles Dodgers Aerial Photography (@DodgerAerial) August 21, 2023Dodger Stadium is an island. pic.twitter.com/g2mQrKzgS3— Don Van Natta Jr. (@DVNJr) August 21, 2023Many were convinced that Dodger Stadium had become an island, but it was an optical illusion of the water and light hitting the concrete parking lot...

Map: How much rain fell in Southern California during Tropical Storm Hilary

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:13 GMT

This map shows some of the bigger rain totals from Tropical Storm Hilary in various Southern California cities during the 48 hours, starting Saturday, Aug. 19 at 8 a.m.The National Weather Service provides a weather and hazards data viewer that displays the amount of rain that has fallen during a specified time period. The map here shows places that experienced at least 2.5″ of precipitation.For a more detailed, live view of the data, and to explore the information yourself, visit this link to the the NWS map, which is set to show rainfall totals in Southern California over the last 48 hours.Share this article on InstagramHere’s an easy way to share this article on Instagram: Click the post below to open it in the app and press the paper airplane icon. You can either add it to your stories for all your followers or share it with someone specific. View this post on InstagramA post shared by OC Register (@ocregister)

Surfers chase down tropical swell from Hurricane Hilary

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:13 GMT

While most people were getting water and supplies sorted to be prepared for the hurricane storm, surfers were waxing their boards and buzzing with excitement about what the tropical swell would bring to the beach.Conquering such a fickle swell can be like solving a complex puzzle, requiring charts and forecasts as the changing storm approaches to know the best spots, reading winds and tides that could make or break a session and having a wave-riding skill experienced enough to tackle the powerful hurricane energy.And, it takes a bit of luck to score just the right window, at just the right time, to make it all worth it.Hurricane Hilary started showing its energy as early as Saturday night in the ocean, with a few solid set waves giving a taste of what was to come and a stunning sunset to add to the dramatic scene from the sea.Crowds gathered at a surf spot in Newport Beach south of the pier saw solid overhead sets as the hurricane swell approached Saturday, Aug. 19, 2023 with a colo...

Macy’s is opening more small stores in the West and Northeast in a bid to lure new customers

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:13 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Macy’s is expanding its small-store format into the West and Northeast, looking to offer more convenient shopping, increase customer visits and add new shoppers. The department store chain said Tuesday that this month it opened a location in Highland, Indiana, and plans to open small stores in Boston, Las Vegas and San Diego, bringing the total number of its small-format stores to 12. The new stores range in size from 30,000 to 50,000 square feet, roughly one fifth the size of its regular department stores Macy’s said the four new stores will bear the iconic brand’s nameplate, but the other eight stores will still be called Market by Macy’s. The department store opened its first small-format store in 2020 in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Macy’s operates operates a little more than 500 stores under the namesake brand. Nordstrom, Kohl’s, Macy’s upscale sister Bloomingdale’s, as well as big box stores like Target, have been ...

African Union says it is suspending Niger from all activities and institutions until constitutional order is restored

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:13 GMT

NIAMEY, Niger (AP) — African Union says it is suspending Niger from all activities and institutions until constitutional order is restored.Source

North Korea’s Kim lambasts premier over flooding, possible bid to shift blame for bad economy

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:13 GMT

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un severely rebuked his premier and other senior officials over their “irresponsible” response to recent flooding that inundated farmlands, state media reported Tuesday.Summer floods in North Korea often cause serious damage to its agricultural sector due to poor drainage and deforestation. Observers say Kim’s lambasting of top officials likely aims to shift blame for the country’s worsened economic hardships and food insecurity to them, to ease public complaints.Kim on Monday visited a western coastal tideland, where seawater recently destroyed the embankment, flooding more than 270 hectares of rice paddies. After inspecting the situation, Kim accused officials of “very irresponsible neglect of duties,” according to the official Korean Central News Agency.Kim criticized Premier Kim Tok Hun for showing “the attitude of an onlooker,” KCNA said. He berated the vice premier for failing to perform his duties faithfullyand play...

Thailand threatening to shut down Facebook, alleging it doesn’t screen ads well enough

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:13 GMT

BANGKOK (AP) — A Thai Cabinet minister is threatening to try to shut down Facebook in the country, saying the social media platform does not do enough to screen the advertisements it runs, leaving people vulnerable to costly scams. Chaiwut Thanakamanusorn, Thailand’s minister of Digital Economy and Society, said in a statement Monday that he is ready to go to criminal court by the end of the month arguing for Facebook to be shut down in Thailand. He said Thai authorities have already appealed to Facebook parent company Meta to take down fraudulent ads, leading to more than 5,000 being blocked, but that the problem persists.He said ads or fake profiles on Facebook frequently purport to represent reputable financial and investment advisers offering high profits, luring people into scams in which they lose their money. Reached by phone on Tuesday, Meta in Thailand asked for queries to be sent by email to its press department, which did not immediately respond to a request for com...

Body of an Austrian man believed to have died in 2001 found high in the Alps

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:13 GMT

BERLIN (AP) — A mountain guide has found the remains high in the Austrian Alps of a man believed to have died in an accident on a glacier 22 years ago, police said Tuesday.The body was found on Friday on the Schlatenkees glacier in the Hohe Tauern national park in eastern Tyrol province, near the Italian border and at an altitude of about 2,900 meters (9,515 feet), police said in a statement. The remains had clearly been there for some time, they added.The guide alerted police in Lienz, who recovered the body with the help of a helicopter.A few meters below the body, rescuers found a backpack containing cash, a bank card and a driving license. Police determined that the remains appear to be those of an Austrian man who was 37 at the time and is believed to have died in 2001. The man had cross-country skiing equipment.A DNA comparison is being carried out to confirm the man’s identity. The result is expected in a few weeks.As glaciers increasingly melt and recede, which many sc...