California’s rooftop solar credit system gets its day in court while lawmakers debate payments
The California Supreme Court began hearing arguments today on whether the state’s utilities commission broke the law when it cut subsidies to new rooftop solar customers in 2022. At the same time, lawmakers in the state assembly are set to consider cutting payments made to legacy rooftop solar customers who were unaffected by the commission’s original decision. The California Public Utilities Commission made the change due to what one commissioner said were “competing and challenging priorities.” Advocates of the program have said it incentivizes more solar panel adoption at a time when more green energy is needed. Opponents say that subsidizing rooftop solar systems, which are primarily installed on single-family residences, raises utility rates for those without solar panels. Today on AirTalk, we look into the state of, and the economics of California’s rooftop solar subsidies, and what their future may look like with Professor and faculty director of the Energy Institute at UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business, Severin Borenstein.
What shenanigans will brothers Phineas and Ferb get up to this summer?
With summer underway, our favorite ingenious and multi-talented step-brothers, Phineas Flynn and Ferb Fletcher, are back! The beloved animated series Phineas and Ferb returns for another season, picking up right where we left them, with 104 days of summer vacation and a million different possible ways to fill them. Joining us on AirTalk to talk about the series and its new season are creators and executive producers Dan Povenmire and Jeff "Swampy" Marsh. Dan and Swampy return in their original roles as executive producers for the series, along with many of the original voice cast.
The new season of Phineas and Ferb premieres June 5 on the Disney Channel, with the first ten episodes available to stream on Disney+ June 6.
Wolves are making a comeback in California. The apex predator is causing concern.
California has a growing number of gray wolves that have made their way into the state from neighboring Washington and Oregon packs. The recovery of the apex predator, protected under the California Endangered Species Act, is being celebrated and encouraged by wildlife conservationists. But cattle ranchers in north eastern parts of the state aren’t as pleased. Incidents of wolves attacking and killing their livestock have increased, and with strict protections around the wolves, ranchers feel their livelihoods are being threatened. Joining us today on AirTalk is Kirk Wilbur, Vice President of Government Affairs at the California Cattlemen’s Association, and Chuck Bonham, California Department of Fish and Wildlife director.
LA County's government is being overhauled. What can we expect?
Last November, Los Angeles County voters narrowly approved a ballot measure to reform and overhaul the county's government, and the process to implement these changes has begun. Measure G called for an expansion of the county's supervisor board from a current five to a total of nine by 2032, the creation of an ethics commission by next year, and the creation of a new chief executive role. This newly elected position will serve as essentially the mayor of the county, with the board of supervisors working underneath them. This is a drastic shift from our current governing structure, wherein each of the five county supervisors has broad executive and legislative powers. The exact powers of the new county executive, and the checks and balances they'll wield and be beholden to are being hammered out by a 13-member task force that began meeting last week. Joining Larry to discuss this major overhaul is Sara Sadhwani, a professor of politics at Pomona College who was appointed to the Governance Reform Task Force by Los Angeles County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath, co-author of Measure G.
How the Trump administration's vow to revoke Chinese student visas could impact California
Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced last week that the State Department and Department of Homeland Security will begin “aggressively” revoking the visas of foreign Chinese students across the country. The move could impact nearly 50,000 foreign students in California who attend University of California schools, California State Universities, and private colleges across the state. The state's schools have come to rely on foreign students, who pay more in tuition than in-state residents, to shore up their finances. At a time when the entire state's budget is under strain and both the UC and CSU systems are facing potential cuts to funding, the administration's actions come at a particularly bad time. Joining Larry to discuss what kind of impact this action could have on California's colleges, and the foreign students being affected is CalMatters reporter Adam Echelman.
