So far, 2020 has shown very little rain for the state of California. According to a map released by the United States Drought Monitor on February 13th, most of California is labeled as abnormally dry and some parts are already experiencing moderate drought.

The areas that fall under the abnormally dry category include the Bay Area, Sacramento, the Sierra Nevada, and the Central Valley. These areas account for 37% of the state being labeled as abnormally dry. The Drought Monitor estimates a population of over 1.3 million in drought areas in California right now.

Below-average precipitation increases the risk of wildfires in regional vegetation areas. Once summer starts, since the soil will be lacking in moisture, the forests will dry out, and seasonal grass will grow faster providing more terrain to potentially be burned.

On Tuesday evening, January 28, Rohnert Park’s city council held a town meeting to discuss making noise and party laws stricter. The city is considering changing the current 120-day party ban to 180 days.  This move would prohibit any properties that received violation notices from having any noise complaints for the remainder of the semester.

The State of California is debating whether to list acetaminophen, a common ingredient found in prescriptions and over-the-counter drugs like Vicodin and Tylenol, as a carcinogen on the Proposition 65 list.