So, the smart growthers have their candidate for governor. No statewide public figure in California has been more closely identified with "smart growth" and "New Urbanism" than Phil Angelides. This affiliation didn't matter in the Democratic primary. And it probably won't matter in the general election, either. But it will matter if Angelides is elected. >>read more

Maybe it was while I was strolling amidst the mixed-use projects rising in the historic Pearl District. Or maybe it was while I was sipping coffee at a Powell's outlet in the funky Hawthorne District. Or maybe it was while walking down the full sidewalks of Beaumont Village to a brewpub on a Tuesday evening. >>read more

Voters appeared to be in both an anti-tax and an anti-growth mood in June. >>read more

A little more than a year after hurricane Katrina turned New Orleans into a real-life Atlantis and focused scrutiny on flood-imperiled cities nationwide, California voters will be asked this fall to spend billions to prevent a Katrina-size disaster in the heart of their own state. >>read more

Opponents of a school consolidation plan in a Santa Cruz County school district did not provide evidence showing that the consolidation was not exempt from California Environmental Quality Act review, the Sixth District Court of Appeal has ruled. >>read more

An extraordinarily complicated takings case stemming from the City of Capitola's mobile home rent control ordinance has received new life, even though the city has won numerous rounds in federal and state court. >>read more

The south Orange County city of Lake Forest is poised to approve a plan that would not only permit 5,400 housing units, but would help tie together what are now two distinct parts of town. >>read more

A final rundown of city- and county-level ballot measures from all over the state. >>read more

WASHINGTON _ The Supreme Court's splintered decision on wetlands protection is likely to result in more litigation for federal agencies and new attention to California water boards' expansive jurisdiction over the state's waters. >>read more

Endangered species issue complicates development in Coachella Valley, a judge declares the inclusionary housing ordinance unconstitutional in the City of San Diego, and activists halt development in both Pebble Beach and Santa Monica. >>read more