THE BUZZ — CEQA’s STAYING POWER, via Alexander Nieves: A University of California, Berkeley enrollment debacle has California’s political machine poised to take a piece out of a powerful environmental protection law.
Recent warnings from the state’s flagship public university that it could be forced to turn away thousands of students have sparked nationwide headlines and public anger over the California Environmental Quality Act, the ever-contested law that a judge used to cap the school’s student body. The ruling — that Cal should have studied the environmental impact of increasing its student population before admitting more of them — shocked parents already worried about their children getting into a selective school. Gov. Gavin Newsom and lawmakers across the political spectrum were quick to condemn the decision and argue that universities need a clear path to…
