During 2017, the state Legislature passed and Gov. Jerry Brown signed 859 new laws. While some were effective immediately, some will not go into effect until 2019 or 2020. Most are effective Jan. 1, 2018. One of the most well-known was a proposition passed in November 2016. Marijuana Proposition 64 legalizes adult-use of marijuana, or…

The growing number of pest-afflicted trees throughout California has forced the Board of Forestry and Fire Protection to issue a draft emergency regulation to hasten the removal of dead and dying trees of any size. On May 7, Duane Shintaku, deputy director for Resource Management at Cal Fire, wrote to the Board and requested it…

Two passengers were killed in a two-car traffic collision Sunday afternoon just above Vista Point, 5 miles from Palm Desert. Jason Alexamder, 25, of Palm Springs, was a passenger in a white BMW driven by an unnamed male. Rosalinda Rossi, 58, of Palm Desert, was the passenger in a black Hyundai sedan also driven by…