In much the way that telehealth medicine has brought medical resources to people who won’t or can’t travel to a doctor’s office, veterinary telehealth brings care to pets whose people can’t make it to a veterinarian’s office.

But in California, veterinary telehealth is so highly restricted that it is mostly used for follow-up care after an in-person visit or for triage in an emergency.

Spearheaded by Assemblywoman Laura Friedman, Assembly Bill 1322 would restrict the use of another rodenticide, diphacinone, and push for better wildlife protections. Getting second-generation anticoagulant rodenticides off the market made things safer, but mountain lions, eagles and other wildlife continue to be poisoned.

A 2022 study by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife found that nearly half of wildlife tested had exposure to three or more anticoagulant rodenticides.

For years, proponents of speed cameras, which have proven to reduce vehicle speeding, have been trying to get a bill through the state legislature to allow their use in California. While these bills have met with strong support, there has also been opposition based on a range of objections including equity and privacy. Opposing organizations include police unions, the ACLU, and a few small organizations that support "motorist rights."

As we near the end of the legislative calendar, it’s crunch time for bills that aim to make biking and walking safer for all Californians. CalBike supports a slate of six bills currently in the Suspense File in the Senate Appropriations Committee. We only have until September 1, 2023, to move them forward, or these measures will fail.

California’s most-recent drought is over. Reservoirs are full. Ski season lasted until July.

But despite the wet winter, an effort is gaining momentum in the state capitol to add manicured green grass to the list of business trappings — like fax machines, pagers and typewriters — that have become obsolete in a changing world.

Even if California is out of its drought, brown might still be the new green. 

A proposed state bill, AB-1572, would try to conserve water by banning companies and industrial areas from watering decorative lawns around their properties with potable water.

(The Center Square) – A California bill that has passed the State Assembly and now faces the Senate Appropriations Committee would codify an executive order requiring California Department of Transportation projects to aim to reduce vehicle miles traveled, or at least not contribute significantly to VMT growth.

(CN) — Laura Friedman has spent a lot of time in pool halls. The Los Angeles County assemblywoman was semi-pro while in college, and later while working in the film industry. She’s familiar with professional pool and poker circles. Both games teach a person how to negotiate and be professional, she said.

It’s those skills, learned in a non-traditional setting, that Friedman said she’s taken into the political world. If she wins the Democratic primary for California’s 30th congressional district, she’ll likely take those skills to Washington, D.C.