Yolo County officials have reached a settlement with the California Department of Water Resources over the water rights for a large farm near Knights Landing. The deal comes after Yolo County and the Yolo Subbasin Groundwater Agency sued to slow down the state department’s purchase of up to 16,000 acre-feet of Sacramento River surface water. Reclamation District 108 will now own and operate the property, adhering to stringent groundwater regulation.

(Subscription required) A three-judge panel said the researchers are likely to succeed on their claim that the government discriminated based on viewpoint in terminating the grants, in violation of the First Amendment right to free speech.

Yolo County supervisors extended the search for an attorney to finish the term vacated by former District Attorney Jeff Reisig to include candidates outside the district attorney’s office. Reisig retired with short notice in early May, not long after announcing indictments and arrests connected to the fireworks blasts in Esparto. Yolo County residents licensed to practice law in California are eligible to apply for the vacated term, which runs through 2028.

Newsom said the new law was just the first in a “mosaic” of legislation to address the “legitimate anxiety” that voters have about the safety and security of California’s elections.