Rachel Becker • CalMatters, Author at Stocktonia News

Small mussels arranged on a surface and inside a divided Petri dish with a ruler at the top.

California scales back golden mussel safeguards at vital Lake Oroville reservoir, alarming experts

by Rachel Becker • CalMatters June 17, 2026, 8:00 a.m.June 14, 2026, 2:50 p.m.

The voracious and rapidly spreading mussels can encrust surfaces so thoroughly that they choke off water supplies and damage dams and power plants.

A vast grassy field under a cloudy sky, dotted with delicate yellow wildflowers in the foreground, conveying a calm, natural landscape.

Will California ever build the Delta tunnel? Major battles ahead as Newsom era nears end

by Rachel Becker • CalMatters May 8, 2026, 6:00 a.m.May 4, 2026, 4:32 p.m.

People walk across the sand at the beach, with others in the water and a pier in the far background

Environment, State/Region

Record heat, melting snow and what it all means for California’s reservoirs

by Rachel Becker • CalMatters March 25, 2026, 6:00 a.m.May 4, 2026, 8:59 a.m.

A man claims up a flooded area in front of a house

Environment, Politics, State/Region

Trump move to break up atmospheric research center threatens wildfire, storm predictions

by Rachel Becker • CalMatters Dec. 21, 2025, 12:24 p.m.May 4, 2026, 9:00 a.m.

A sign stating “No Tunnel” tacked to a brown post in a green field

Newsom’s bid to fast-track Delta tunnel stalls again

by Rachel Becker • CalMatters Sept. 11, 2025, 12:14 p.m.May 6, 2026, 10:39 p.m.

Dog sniffing the propeller of an outboard motor on a boat.

Meet the mussel-sniffing dogs that could save California from a Delta invader

by Rachel Becker • CalMatters July 16, 2025, 6:00 a.m.April 23, 2026, 2:32 p.m.

A person points with his finger while talking

California lawmakers roll back environmental law. Why is high-tech manufacturing now exempt?

by Alejandro Lazo • CalMatters and Rachel Becker • CalMatters July 1, 2025, 3:42 p.m.July 1, 2025, 3:52 p.m.

Two people on a bridge, one assisting the other in holding up a freshly caught striped fish with their fishing gear, against a backdrop of clear sky and distant suspension bridge.

‘Dirty Delta’: California’s largest estuary is in crisis. Is the state discriminating against people who fish there?

by Rachel Becker • CalMatters Oct. 12, 2024, 8:00 a.m.May 6, 2026, 10:38 p.m.

A cracked concrete cylindrical structure with a black curved pipe on top and a white ladder leaning against it. Leafless trees are in the background.

‘Unlawful regulation’: California suffers big setback in water lawsuit filed by growers

by Rachel Becker • CalMatters Sept. 17, 2024, 1:14 p.m.April 23, 2026, 2:47 p.m.

Cracked dry ground with a small greenish water pond in the middle, dry grass fields, and distant hills under a blue sky.

Californians to face steep fines for violating water orders under new legislation

by Rachel Becker • CalMatters Sept. 3, 2024, 12:51 p.m.April 23, 2026, 2:47 p.m.