Julie Johnson

An extremely rare, endangered whale was seen off the California coast on Friday, generating excitement among scientists. The North Pacific right whale was snorkeling along the surface of the water in the Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary off the Sonoma-Marin coast when it was spotted by scientists aboard the Bell M. Shimada, a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration research vessel. Only a few hundred of the whales are believed to exist, after commercial whaling — which ended severa…

FBI agents have raided the home of embattled Sonoma County developer Kenneth Mattson, agency officials said, just weeks after his business partner alleged that Mattson had defrauded investors. Department officials confirmed they raided Mattson’s property Friday morning on the 3000 block of Castle Road, a gated residence in unincorporated Sonoma County. They did not provide additional details. Mattson’s attorney declined to comment Friday. The agency did not make any arrests during the raid, off…

Everyone loves the ‘Find & Replace’ feature when editing documents and spreadsheets. Now you can Find & Replace at the course level within the Canvas LMS using Atomic Search. With the new Find & Replace, you can: ✏ Effortlessly search and edit content throughout your entire course. 🔍 Take advantage of advanced search features, including

A little-known climate program could make gasoline more expensive in California next year — but exactly how much is unknown. One expert says the program, known as the Low Carbon Fuel Standard, could boost prices at the pump by 9 cents per gallon next year if air quality regulators approve updates to help the state meet its climate goals. The state initially reported that the changes could hike gas prices even further, projecting a 47 cent-per-gallon cost to drivers in 2025. The agency has since…

Bay Area air quality regulators accused Tesla’s Fremont factory of routinely releasing toxic air contaminants from its facility paint shops. Since 2019, the Bay Area Air Quality Management District has issued 112 violation notices to Tesla for a variety of problems that officials said sent harmful emissions, including harmful precursor organic compounds and toxic air contaminants, into the atmosphere. The district said Tesla hasn’t resolved the problem, and regulators this week moved to get an…

If you haven’t visited the Adobe Creative Cloud apps lately, you might not realize all the new Generative AI features now available. Generative AI is a type of artificial intelligence. It can create new images and text by learning from existing data. It can visualize and generate content to match what you describe. Adobe Firefly

A timber company is suing Pacific Gas and Electric Co. for $225 million in damages from the 2021 Dixie Fire, a nearly million-acre blaze ignited by utility power lines. Collins Pine Co. said that the wildfire burned across 55,000 acres of unique Sierra Nevada timberland managed like natural forests with protected habitat and trees of all ages, killing an estimated 65,000 old-growth trees and leaving behind inhospitable, sterilized soils. In a seven-count complaint filed Wednesday in San Franci…

Millions of Californians could see a new $24 fixed charge on their monthly utility bills in coming years if state regulators approve a plan that would reduce how much customers pay per kilowatt hour of electricity. The California Public Utilities Commission estimates the new flat fee would allow companies like Pacific Gas and Electric to reduce electricity prices by about 5 to 7 cents per kilowatt hour, easing the expense for customers already paying some of the highest electricity prices in th…

Firefighters are more likely to develop cancer and die from it than the general population, and it’s not just smoke from burning buildings that’s suspected of making them sick. Firefighting clothing is made with synthetic “forever chemicals” linked to cancers, organ damage and other illnesses, and though manufacturers have reduced the amount of these chemicals in the materials, they still remain in an inner layer close to the skin. San Francisco is poised to take the strongest step in the coun…

California wants residents to buy electric vehicles to fight climate change, to the point of ending the sale of new gasoline-fueled cars in 2035. But after a 20% rate hike this year by Pacific Gas and Electric Co., charging a car — one of the single biggest items on electric bills — just got more expensive. And the trend is unlikely to let up anytime soon: State regulators are considering further rate increases for PG&E this year. “It’s crazy,” said Austin Ball, a Walnut Creek engineer and Tesl…