Sometimes even journalists get it right.

The Yuba County Board of Supervisors approved the 5,100-unit Yuba Highlands project on Tuesday, July 10, after nearly seven years of planning and negotiation with developer Gary Gallelli. Now it appears the action will shift to the courtroom.

There's a downturn in the real estate development market. Does that mean we'll soon see cities in California cutting development impact fees as well?

The pressure is building. Development projects that made economic sense a year or two ago – even with high impact fees – don't "pencil" now because interest rates have gone up and prices have stagnated or even dropped. In many cases, the dreams of both developers and cities are now on hold.

There's a downturn in the real estate development market. Does that mean we'll soon see cities in California cutting development impact fees as well?

When I was interviewing for a summer fellowship with Solimar Research Group, I asked the last question that a young professional fresh out of graduate school hoping to relocate to Southern California would be expected to ask. "Can I live in Ventura without a car?"

I received a reassuring "yes" for an answer; however, I didn't realize that I would be up against one of the country's most car-reliant populations apart from my hometown of Atlanta.

For a bill that's mostly about symbolism, it was a symbolic defeat.

A local government-backed eminent domain bill cleared its first committee hearing on Tuesday, July 3, but the prospects for ultimate passage may have dimmed. The measure, ACA 8, survived the Assembly Local Government Committee 7-3 — but without a single Republican vote. Because it is a constitutional amendment, ACA 8 needs two-thirds support in both houses, which means it needs some GOP votes.

Walking to work at Solimar, I pass through downtown Ventura from my hillside apartment to the office on "The Avenue," a locally historic, blue-collar street on the west edge of downtown. Sure, I could drive, but it seems that just in the last few years downtown has been reinvigorated and is a pleasant place stroll.

Like a blast of hot air from the Santa Ana winds of fall, the push to address global warming in environmental impact reports has come on suddenly and with surprising intensity.

In only a year's time, global warming's context within CEQA has gone from the dullest blip on the radar screen to the hottest CEQA issue. Don't expect it to go away soon.

Shortly after delivering our July edition to the printer, I received a copy of a letter that business and development organizations sent to the governor and legislative leaders requesting "urgent legislative action" to prevent global warming from becoming a CEQA issue.

Corrections. A case involving enforcement of the Williamson Act in Tehama County and the payment of attorney fees to the state has in fact been published in full. A story in the June edition erroneously reported that only a portion of the case was certified for publication. The case is People ex rel. Brown v. Tehama County Board of Supervisors.

The Coastal Commission has rejected Pebble Beach Company's Del Monte Forest plan in Monterey County, Placer County Board of Supervisors remove thier panning commissioner after published controversy, a superior court judge rejects San Francisco referendum petitions, Napa County begins processing an application for the largest project in county history, and Oregonians will vote on a takings ballot measure.

The U.S. Supreme Court has changed course on liability for the cleanup of contaminated properties under the Superfund law. In a unanimous decision, the court ruled that a private party undertaking voluntary environmental cleanup can sue another "potentially responsible party" to recover cleanup costs.

The state Supreme Court has depublished a Sixth District Court of Appeal opinion in a case involving the water analysis for a 28-lot subdivision in northern Monterey County.