•On Aug. 31, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill 1253, designed to expand recreational access at Santa Margarita Lake, “while maintaining strong water quality protections, according to a release from State Sen. John Laird’s (D-Santa Cruz) office. Drafted by Laird and sponsored by San Luis Obispo County, SB 1253 includes safeguards to protect the reservoir as a source of drinking water while lifting restrictions that prohibited swimming and other activities involving direct contact with the water. “Santa Margarita Lake is an incredible public resource, and advances in water treatment mean we can safely allow people to enjoy more of what the lake has to offer,” Laird said in the release. “I’m glad the governor signed this reasonable measure into law.” Modern advances in water treatment and monitoring make it possible to safely allow swimming, paddleboarding, windsurfing, sail or foil boarding, water access from the beach or shore, and body-contact fishing, according to Laird’s office. Similar recreational access is currently allowed at other California drinking water reservoirs, including Sly Park Reservoir and Lake Nacimiento. Under SB 1253, local officials will be required to continue monitoring and treating the water to meet state health standards. The city of San Luis Obispo will continue using microfiltration and disinfection to treat the water, with oversight from the State Water Resources Control Board, according to the release. The bill will take effect on Jan. 1, 2027. “SB 1253 is a win for our community,” San Luis Obispo County 5th District Supervisor Heather Moreno said in an Aug. 31 statement. “It expands recreational opportunities at Santa Margarita Lake while protecting the water supply we all depend on.”
•U.S. Sens. Adam Schiff (D-California) and Angus King (I-Maine) recently wrote a joint letter to urge the Department of Education to disburse funds abruptly canceled for School-Based Mental Health Services and Mental Health Service Professional Demonstration grant programs. Upon canceling more than 200 of these grants in April 2025, the Trump administration claimed that the programs promoted diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives that did not adhere to the administration’s policy priorities, according to Schiff’s office. “Notices failed to provide specific, individualized explanations for why the grants were abruptly discontinued,” the Aug. 27 letter states. “Consequently, grantees were forced to pause hiring and training and lay off school counselors, psychologists, and social workers.
•U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla (D-California) and U.S. Rep. Joe Morelle (D-Rochester, New York) sent a joint letter on Sept. 3 to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) to demand a restoration of funding for a program that assists state and local election officials in protecting federal elections from cybersecurity threats. “Over four months ago, in April, Congress provided clear, bipartisan instructions … to continue Election Security Program activities funded in fiscal year 2024,” the senators wrote. “However, under your leadership, CISA has still not provided any of the over $39.6 million in appropriated funds.” The letter was addressed to CISA Acting Director Nicholas Andersen and DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin. “The failure to restore this funding as directed by Congress is a disservice to the thousands of election jurisdictions across this country,” the letter states. The senators also highlighted national security threats “that underscore the importance of ensuring election cybersecurity safeguards” for the upcoming midterm elections. “Following the removal of hundreds of CISA personnel and attempts by the Trump administration to slash the agency’s budget, CISA is only just now beginning to take steps to reestablish working relationships with election officials,” the letter states, “and rehire critical staff ahead of the 2026 midterms.”
This article appears in September 10 – September 17, 2026.
