The proposed $4.5 billion reservoir would inundate nearly 14,000 acres of ranch lands in Glenn and Colusa counties to store water diverted from the Sacramento River through new a system of dams, pipelines and a bridge. With a maximum capacity of 1.5 million acre-feet of water, proponents say Sites will boost storage amid unpredictable climate swings. Critics warn it will threaten river habitat for fish and other wildlife and lead to minimal water storage benefits.

President Joe Biden has appointed former Supreme Court Justice Mariano-Florentino Cuéllar to be a member of the President’s Intelligence Advisory Board.

A unanimous court ruled in favor of a 15-year-old Native American girl — Alice Piper — and her parents who were challenging the Big Pine School District’s refusal to admit her and other Native children to its new school. The District unsuccessfully insisted that she was required to attend a separate “Indian school” instead. The commemorative event took place in Big Pine, located in Inyo County, east of the Sierra Nevada mountains.

(Subscription required) The case, which contemplates the bounds of a California law that limits the type of claims parties can bring over breach of contract, could prompt attorneys to consider writing business agreements that include more stringent and expansive guidance on recoveries for bad faith actions.