Sacramento, California - The Sand County Foundation, the California Farm Bureau Federation and Sustainable Conservation are accepting applications for the $10,000 California Leopold Conservation Award. The award honors California farmers, ranchers and other private landowners who demonstrate outstanding stewardship and management of natural resources.

Sacramento, California - Because of California’s historic drought, the state’s rice crop will be 30 percent below normal - at 375,000 acres. Experts say the smaller planting will hurt the economy and wildlife that depend on shallow flooded fields.

Sacramento, California - Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. today announced the following appointments.

Sacramento, California - As temperatures begin to warm up throughout the state, California Department of Public Health (CDPH) Director Dr. Karen Smith advises California residents to prepare themselves for what could be a very hot, dry summer.

San Francisco, California - Attorney General Kamala D. Harris announced today that Casey E. Meyering, the operator of a cyber exploitation website which posted intimate images of unsuspecting victims without their consent, was sentenced to three years in jail.

Sacramento, California - The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) has announced the selection of Warden Chris Stoots as its 2015 Wildlife Officer of the Year. Stoots’ dedication to his job and the tenacity with which he relentlessly pursues poachers are widely respected by officers with many more years of experience and by his supervisors within the Law Enforcement Division, as well as within the community where he works.