Constructing a golf course is a legitimate use of public parkland, the Fourth District Court of Appeal has ruled. The court ruled against an Orange County citizens group that alleged the county government was improperly using land dedicated for a park.

The state Supreme Court has agreed hear to an unusual case from the Sonoma County city of Cotati that involves both mobile home rent control and an alleged strategic lawsuit against public participation (SLAPP).

With its key location on the edge of the Bay Area and plenty of inexpensive land, Tracy would appear to be in position to attract some technology-based economic growth. And the city has inched into the tech arena, but it remains primarily a bedroom community.

An environmental assessment of a 5,000-acre federal land exchange in Las Vegas did not sufficiently address the question of the cumulative air-quality impacts of developing the property, a three-judge panel of the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled. The court held that federal officials may be required to prepare an environmental impact statement.

After years of design changes and project delays, a troubled North Hollywood redevelopment project finally appears to be headed toward construction. The Los Angeles Community Redevelopment Agency board in September approved $31.7 million in loans and subsidies to aid the $194-million NoHo Commons infill project.

A developer who I interviewed recently (not the one discussed in this story) described certain buildings as sending "hostile messages" to an urban neighborhood. At first, I thought the notion was quaint. Then I began to understand what he meant.

Just in time for the recession, California's voters are going to take a crack at another parks and open space bond in March.

In the clearest decision to date on antiquated subdivisions, the First District Court of Appeal has ruled that subdivision maps recorded prior to the first version of the Subdivision Map Act in 1893 do not create legal parcels.

It was surprising news when the Center for Biological Diversity announced it had signed an out-of-court agreement regarding endangered species with its longtime adversaries at the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. With a decade-long winning streak in court, the Tucson-based Center has become arguably the most important entity in the Endangered Species Act debate. Why wouldn't the organization want to continue kicking butt in court, especially since Gail Norton had replaced Bruce Babbitt as head of the Interior