Watch CBS News
A political activist says companies that take water from California's ground should pay a fair amount for it - and he's collecting signatures for an initiative to go on the 2016 ballot that would tax bottled water.
The governor of California has signed a contentious bill to impose one of the strictest school vaccination laws in the country.
California's severe drought is taking a serious toll on San Francisco's aging sewer system.
The growing appetite for truffles is feeding demand for dogs trained to sniff out the pungent fungus prized by chefs and foodies.
A controversial bill that makes it harder for parents to opt out of childhood vaccinations faces one more vote in the state legislature Monday before California's Gov. Brown weighs in.
In what's seen as a big victory for campaign reformers, the Supreme Court has upheld Arizona congressional districts drawn by an independent commission, which in turn upholds California's.
The construction company that built the Berkeley apartment complex where a balcony collapse killed six people nearly two weeks ago has paid out millions to settle numerous lawsuits alleging shoddy work.
California Gov. Jerry Brown has signed legislation making public the logs that water well drillers file with the state.
The State Water Resources Control Board on Friday ordered cutbacks for San Francisco to stop taking some of its water from the Tuolumne River despite the city's decades-old water rights.
While most of the legal attention is focused in on the U.S. Supreme Court's decision to legalize same-sex marriage in all 50 states, the State Supreme Court has ruled that online "sweepstakes" gambling is illegal in California.
A California lawmaker who wants to allow terminally ill patients to take life-ending drugs is postponing a vote on the contentious legislation as support lags.
Many South Bay residents are getting the conservation message and are going above and beyond when it comes to cutting back on water use.
Brown grass, low reservoirs and worsening wildfires are undeniable signs of California's worsening drought. Now new rainfall comparisons highlight just how thirsty the Golden State is, but rising ocean temperatures are giving climate experts hope for a wet winter.
Researchers at UC Davis say the diversity of California's wildflowers may be permanently changed because of years of dry weather.
California lawmakers have passed a bill that prevents medical marijuana users from being denied organ transplants just because they use pot.
While the Common Core education standards provoked political backlash and testing boycotts around the country this year, the state that educates more public school children than any other -- California -- was conspicuously absent from the debate.
More than one-tenth of a threatened population of California Central Valley salmon has perished after a utility diverted some water from their creek.
The state's historic four-year dry spell has brought with it a flurry of finger-pointing. Now advocates, noting how California's water shortage ranks as the top public concern, are invoking the drought to bolster their own causes.
Australia and Antarctica may have once been next door neighbors with California and Arizona, according to new findings by USGS scientists.
Gov. Jerry Brown and legislative leaders on Tuesday announced a $115.4 billion budget that sends billions of dollars more to public schools and universities in the fiscal year that begins July 1 and boosts spending on social welfare programs that legislative leaders have made a priority.
A Republican lawmaker in Sacramento became the only lawmaker from his party to vote for this year's budget, saying he was distracted by checking Facebook.
Every single long-range computer forecast model used by meteorologists predicts a strong, or very strong El Nino for the entire globe this coming winter, the first time that's happened since 1997.
Grammy Award-winning DJ, musician and very vegan artist Moby is the face of a new campaign that let's folks 'have their steak and eat it, too,' even in these drought-shaming times.
The whale migration record has been broken this year by a female western gray whale. The previous record, held by a humpback whale at 10,000 miles, was broken by 9-year-old, Vavara who traveled 14,000 miles going from Russia to Mexico and back again.
The California Supreme Court has ruled that cities have broad authority to require builders to include a certain percentage of affordable housing in new projects.
