Courthouse News
![Feds decline Endangered Species Act protections for Joshua trees](http://townsquare.media/site/1098/files/2023/03/attachment-Trees-California.jpg?w=980&q=75)
Feds decline Endangered Species Act protections for Joshua trees
Joshua trees will not be added to the endangered or threatened species list after the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service decided the iconic symbols of the Mojave Desert don't face any serious threats.
![Feds move to crack down on water pollution from coal plants](http://townsquare.media/site/1098/files/2021/11/colstrip.jpg?w=980&q=75)
Feds move to crack down on water pollution from coal plants
Wastewater discharge from coal-fired steam electric plants contains toxic pollutants that can stay around for years and contaminate drinking water sources.
![Phoenix City Council eyes rezoning to prevent mobile home evictions](http://townsquare.media/site/1098/files/2023/03/attachment-Arizona-Housing-1.jpg?w=980&q=75)
Phoenix City Council eyes rezoning to prevent mobile home evictions
A City Council subcommittee voted unanimously to recommend the rezoning of three at-risk mobile home parks to prevent land owners from displacing residents and using the land for other developments.
![Feds sued over foot-dragging on imperiled plant and animal protections](http://townsquare.media/site/1098/files/2023/03/attachment-Salt-Lake-Utah-Water.jpg?w=980&q=75)
Feds sued over foot-dragging on imperiled plant and animal protections
There are 1 million species threatened with extinction in the world; in the United States, 34% of plants and 40% of animals are threatened.
![Brown bears safe from baiting in Alaskan refuge](http://townsquare.media/site/1098/files/2023/03/attachment-brown-bears.jpg?w=980&q=75)
Brown bears safe from baiting in Alaskan refuge
laskan brown bears notched two wins Monday, with the U.S. Supreme Court declining to wade into the ban on bear baiting in the state and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife's withdrawal of a decision to allow bear baiting on Alaska’s Kenai National Wildlife Refuge.
![Great Salt Lake gets some help from Utah Legislature, but is it enough?](http://townsquare.media/site/1098/files/2023/03/attachment-Salt-Lake-Utah.jpg?w=980&q=75)
Great Salt Lake gets some help from Utah Legislature, but is it enough?
The Utah Legislature ended its annual session Friday by passing some laws aimed at putting more water into the Great Salt Lake, but some believe it's not enough to keep the lake from disappearing.
![Judge lifts block on road construction along California’s last undammed river](http://townsquare.media/site/1098/files/2023/03/attachment-California-River.jpg?w=980&q=75)
Judge lifts block on road construction along California’s last undammed river
A federal judge lifted an injunction which prevented Caltrans from completing road improvements on two highways that run directly alongside the wild Smith River.
![Arizona trailer park fights Christian university over forced eviction](http://townsquare.media/site/1098/files/2023/03/attachment-Arizona-Housing-1.jpg?w=980&q=75)
Arizona trailer park fights Christian university over forced eviction
The university bought the land for $3.4 million in 2016, intending to use it for future campus expansion. But residents of the 4.7-acre, 61-space mobile home park say they weren’t officially told they’d have to leave until last year.
![Court revives lawsuit over Cal surf gang Lunada Bay Boys](http://townsquare.media/site/1098/files/2023/03/attachment-Surf-California.jpg?w=980&q=75)
Court revives lawsuit over Cal surf gang Lunada Bay Boys
The court revived a lawsuit against the city of Palos Verdes Estates over the municipal beach Lunada Bay and their tangles with the Lunada Bay Boys.
![Court blocks UC Berkeley’s plan to transform historic park into student housing](http://townsquare.media/site/1098/files/2023/02/attachment-California-Housing.jpg?w=980&q=75)
Court blocks UC Berkeley’s plan to transform historic park into student housing
The court did not order the university to abandon the People’s Park student housing project altogether, but the ruling does require it to fix errors in the environmental impact report.