Will be paneling tomorrow at the LA Times Festival of Books on the USC campus! First up at noon: Fire Escape: Wildfires and the Changing Geography of Southern California -- a conversation with Jordan Thomas and D. J. Waldie.

à la une! yesterday in the L.A. Times

my story about how community solar is taking off in other states while California can't get its program off the ground:

www.latimes.com/environment/...

Trump’s Renewables Permitting Thaw Is Also a Legal Strategy The administration has begun shuffling projects forward as court challenges against the freeze heat up.

"The Trump administration really wants you to think it’s thawing the freeze on renewable energy projects. Whether this is a genuine face turn or a play to curry favor with the courts and Congress, however, is less clear." - @jael.bsky.social
heatmap.news/plus/the-fig...

Calif. residents dubbed ‘uninformed mob’ win triple victory in data center fight The six-hour meeting was full of good news for data centers' ardent opponents.

Monterey Park City Council voted to extend a data center moratorium and put the topic before voters in June.
www.sfgate.com/tech/article...

Excited to say that I’ve started this week as a climate and energy reporter @latimes.com ! Please share tips / goings on to blanca.begert@latimes.com. or, signal: bbegert.73

Diablo Canyon clears last California permit hurdle to keep running On Thursday, the Diablo Canyon nuclear plant moved one step closer to full permission to keep running.

The Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant has cleared a final permit hurdle to keep running through 2030, @blancabegert.bsky.social reports: www.latimes.com/environment/...

Blame and Claim | Tyler Maroney A public adjuster is part private detective, part lawyer, part psychologist.

“In some cases, the cost of insurance has tripled. And a few years ago, people were underinsured because they didn’t know what they needed. But now people are purposely choosing to buy less insurance and taking that risk because it’s so expensive.”

Hello! I’m the reporter who has been tracking citizens detained by immigration agents. And last night, I noticed something: A lot of them were at the State of the Union, including a number of whom I’ve written about.

Their stories should be known:

A Debate Heats Up over California’s ‘Zone Zero’ Rules to Cut Home Losses to Flammable Vegetation - Inside Climate News Uncertainty in the science on plant combustibility is throwing a curveball at California’s effort to require an “ember-resistant” perimeter around homes.

And an October piece about how the fight over zone zero evolved into a debate over urban fire dynamics and the science of plant flammability: insideclimatenews.org/news/0510202...

Phillips 66 is Closing its LA Refinery this Month. Neighbors Still Don’t Know if the Company Will Pay for the Cleanup. - Inside Climate News A new report recommends that refineries write decommissioning plans like those required of other energy infrastructure, and set aside funds to carry out cleanups, before they shut down.

Another one from December about the lack of a plan for cleaning up the decommissioned Phillips 66 refinery in LA: insideclimatenews.org/news/0912202...

California Pays Farms to Make Biogas from Hog Waste in North Carolina, Where Locals Say It’s Fueling Pollution - Inside Climate News Last year, six hog farms in the state were the first to get funding from California’s program to offset its emissions from transportation fuels. The operations’ permits already have civil rights compl...

ICN lets reporters investigate and tell it like it is, without bending to influence from powerful figures, and it inspires me that this newsroom exists and is growing.

Here’s one of the last pieces I published with them last week: insideclimatenews.org/news/1502202...

I worked alongside brilliant reporters and editors who care deeply about holding companies and governments accountable and covering national and local environmental stories with nuance and humanity.

Last Friday was my last day @insideclimatenews.org. I’ll share what’s next for me soon, but first I want to say what a joy and a privilege it has been to work for this newsroom, a beacon of hope and integrity at a dark moment for journalism across the country.

Will Trump’s Push to Drill on California Public Lands be More Successful This Time Around? - Inside Climate News The BLM has revived its effort to open more of California’s public lands to oil extraction. But its strategy has changed little since the agency’s earlier attempt in 2019 and drillers may not be inter...

Just like the first time around, the Trump administration is pushing to open nearly 2 million acres of California public land to oil drilling and fracking: insideclimatenews.org/news/1601202... via @blancabegert.bsky.social

Always fun to collaborate on a story. Check out @wyattmyskow.bsky.social, @blancabegert.bsky.social, and my coverage of the state of Colorado River negotiations.

A neutral arbiter agrees: @politico.com violated our contract and its own journalistic standards when it deployed AI.

Our readers deserve news, not slop!

wbng.org/2025/12/01/p...

Australian Company BHP Found Liable for Damages in One of Brazil’s Worst Mining Disasters - Inside Climate News A High Court in the United Kingdom has ruled that BHP was responsible for the Mariana dam collapse, after the company was acquitted of criminal charges last year in a Brazilian court. Claimants are se...

Australian Company BHP Found Liable for Damages in One of Brazil’s Worst Mining Disasters

Story by @blancabegert.bsky.social with comment by @edsonkrenak.bsky.social

insideclimatenews.org/news/1411202...

Why Are Rates Rising Faster at Investor-Owned Utilities Than at Public Utilities? - Inside Climate News Case studies from California offer a look into the pros and cons of public and private utilities.

This headline asks a question that makes investor-owned utilities squirm. Nice work from my colleague @blancabegert.bsky.social:
insideclimatenews.org/news/0511202...

Oakland Ballers Win! / Sweeping New Climate Bills / "The Day the Sky Turned Orange" Oakland Ballers championships, Newsom signs sweeping climate bills, the new musical "The Day the Sky Turned Orange"

Then we'll talk about the big climate and energy bills that the California legislature just passed. @michaelwara.bsky.social & @blancabegert.bsky.social will help us unpack them.

Finally: a musical about SF's "orange sky day"

Join us @kalwradio.bsky.social 6-7pm PT!

www.kalw.org/show/state-b...

I’m thrilled to share that I’ve started a new job this week as a California environment reporter @insideclimatenews.org. If you have tips or just want to talk about water, fire, agriculture, energy, or air pollution, please reach out! I’d love to hear from you.

Honored to have won a Dateline Award from @spjdc.bsky.social for online business coverage with @chelseaeharvey.bsky.social and, in absentia, @blancabegert.bsky.social

Our entry was a series of stories on "how billionaires, executives and operatives seek to shape U.S. climate policy"