(Subscription required) As the assistant supervising judge in the Los Angeles County Superior Court's Southeast District, Judge Lee W. Tsao navigates a complex territory of law and civil motion calendars, a stark shift from his earlier years presiding over misdemeanor and felony cases.

The proposed bill seeks to block private investors, including hedge funds, from trading water rights, particularly in California where water futures trading is practiced. This legislative effort, named the Future of Water Act, follows reports of increasing corporate acquisitions of water rights in the western U.S., raising alarms about potential profiteering.

While mental health issues and substance abuse play a major role, ultimately it’s poverty that deepens the spiral for people living on the streets. The growing consensus from experts, advocates and government officials is that increasing affordable housing is the key to reducing homelessness.

While work crews continued dismantling dams on the Klamath River, leaders of four tribes gathered on a riverbank last week to watch and offer prayers as a valve on a tanker truck was opened. From a chute, a stream of water filled with wriggling fish poured into the river.