Test Launch At Vandenberg Space Force Base Ends With Huge Explosion

A military rocket test launch on California’s Central Coast ends in failure Wednesday night, with the rocket blowing up seconds after launching from Vandenberg Space Force Base.

Reporter Lance Orozco, KCLU

Evacuation orders have been lifted in parts of Amador County as fire crews begin to get a handle on the Electra Fire, which is now 40-percent contained.

Wildfire smoke is likely one reason Lake Tahoe was a little murkier last year. The head of the UC Davis Tahoe Environmental Research Center says the lake has not fully recovered from a spike of fine particles that flowed into its waters after the extremely wet year of 2017.

Reporter Steve Milne, CapRadio

The Las Virgenes Municipal Water District serves many communities like Calabasas and Hidden Hills , home to celebrities. And, it’s also home to some of the state’s top water wasters.

Reporter Keith Mizuguchi, KQED

Damages that led to a power outage and the release of 5- thousand gallons of oil at an unmanned substation northwest of Bakersfield on Saturday has the California Public Utilities Commission investigating.

Reporter Ted Goldberg, KQED

A new report from the California Institute for Rural Studies says agriculture employees were four times more likely than any other industry, not to follow COVID-19 protocols, like enforcing face masks and physical distancing.

On Wednesday opponents submitted more than enough signatures to qualify for a recall election against District Attorney George Gascon, who some say is soft on crime.  A spokesperson with the recall campaign said they spent about $8 million-dollars to gather over 700-thousand signatures.  If certified, the election would be the latest in a string of recalls in California.

Two men tell KQED they have been held for about a week at a for-profit, private facility in Central California in retaliation for supporting a peaceful labor strike.

Reporter Farida Jhabvala Romero, KQED

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