Affordable housing in California remains elusive

Although California lawmakers in 2017 passed several bills to ease housing construction across the state, affordable rental units remain out of reach for many low-income residents. In a new report by the California Housing Partnership, about two-thirds of the more than two million very low-income renters in the state spend more than half their income on rent.

Agricultural run-off taints water in historic California San Joaquin Valley town

Allensworth in California’s San Joaquin Valley, now Colonel Allensworth State Historic Park, was founded in 1908 by Colonel Allen Allensworth, a former slave and American Civil War Union officer. At the time, artesian wells produced clear water and crops flourished; Allensworth dreamed of creating a black utopia.

California’s agricultural San Joaquin Valley faces groundwater and economic challenges

California’s largest agricultural region, the San Joaquin Valley, is facing numerous challenges to its groundwater supply, including overdraft and contamination, according to a new study that explores threats to overall sustainability in the region.

RCAC Loan Fund lends nearly $8 million to rural communities

West Sacramento, Calif. — In the quarter ending Dec. 31, 2018, Rural Community Assistance Corporation (RCAC) closed 22 loans totaling nearly $8 million to support rural communities in Alaska, California, Idaho, New Mexico and Washington.

California’s long drought contributes to increased number of dying trees

California’s most recent drought started in 2010, and since then, an estimated 147 million trees have died from the dry conditions and bark beetle infestations, a federal count shows.