California

SEJ Mourns Passing of Member/Volunteer Parimal Rohit

Members of the Society of Environmental Journalists were saddened to learn of the passing on Oct. 7, 2025, of veteran journalist and podcaster Parimal Rohit, a long-time member and volunteer. Parimal joined SEJ in 2017 and served on the Awards Committee, the Editorial Advisory Board, and as co-editor of SEJournal's Inside Story column.

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"Calif.'s Incarcerated Firefighters Just Got A Nearly 700% Raise"

"More than 1,100 incarcerated firefighters were sent to Southern California in January to fight four different wildfires. As the Palisades Fire ran up a hillside, one strike team saved the life of a resident who was still at his home."

Source: SFGate, 10/16/2025

US Oversight Disappearing As Refineries Explode. Who’s In Charge Now?

"An El Segundo refinery fire has renewed questions about who is investigating the state’s oil industry after serious accidents. With the U.S. Chemical Safety Board defunded, California has yet to fill the gap."

Source: CalMatters, 10/10/2025

California Residents, Once Wary, Embrace ‘Controlled Burns’

"For most of her life, Thea Maria Carlson did not like fire. Even though she had studied earth systems at Stanford University and knew, intellectually, that burning had an environmental purpose in her home of California, she still wanted nothing to do with it."

Source: Christian Science Monitor, 10/07/2025

"Calif. Sanctions Stark Disparities in Pesticide Exposure During Pregnancy"

"If you’re young, pregnant and Latina, chances are you live near agricultural fields sprayed with higher levels of brain-damaging organophosphate pesticides."

Source: Inside Climate News, 10/03/2025

Industry, Enviros Spar Over California Bill To Ban PFAS in Cookware

"As US states increasingly pass laws to limit PFAS chemicals in consumer products, a debate is heating up over a California bill that proposes banning the sale of cookware with intentionally added “forever chemicals” beginning in 2030."

Source: The New Lede, 10/01/2025

‘Hidden Costs’ Of Climate Emergency Worsening California’s Affordability

"The climate emergency is significantly increasing costs for California households in the form of rising utility bills, lost wages and growing healthcare expenses, worsening the state’s affordability crisis, according to a sweeping new report."

Source: Guardian, 09/26/2025

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