California’s Open Space Program at Risk

Test Ticker

MOTHER JONES NEEDS YOUR HELP

Our fiscal year ends today, and we still need upwards of $60,000 in online donations to finish our budget at break-even, or as close as we possibly can. We’ve already cut $1 million in costs. We can't afford to come up short. And there’s more about why this is so urgent here, or in this primer about our nonprofit journalism and finances. Straight up: We can get there, but it's going to take more people who care enough about our journalism to be reading this blurb to pitch in and support it than normal. Please help if you can.

Mother Jones needs your help. Our fiscal year ends today, and we still need $60,000 in online donations to get to break-even, or a lot closer. We’ve already cut $1 million in costs. We can't afford to come up short. Learn more about why this is so urgent in “News Never Pays,” or about our finances and nonprofit operation here, and please support the journalism you get from us if you can right now. We need more help than normal.

Fight disinformation: Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily newsletter and follow the news that matters.

The governor of California has done some very green things. But his latest budget proposal seems less green in that it might very well spur development on farmland. The Ethicurian alerts us to an editorial in the San Francisco Chronicle pointing out that the governor wants the state to save $40 million by cutting funding for the WIlliamson Act, which reimburses counties for giving property tax breaks on agricultural land. The only problem with the Williamson Act is it doesn’t do nearly enough. Read a good discussion here.