Majority white areas of California received more money from the federal Paycheck Protection Program for small businesses than majority Latino areas did, according to a study by UCLA researchers. The disparities arose primarily because the loans, which are awarded to businesses affected by the coronavirus pandemic, were distributed on a first-come, first-served basis by big banks, said Rodrigo Dominguez-Villegas, director of research for the UCLA Latino Policy and Politics Initiative.
In fact, the types of big storms that can batter California with heavy rain and snow are projected to increase in intensity in upcoming years because of climate change, UCLA climate scientist Daniel Swain said. “There’s a lot of evidence that atmospheric rivers will become more intense as the climate warms,” Swain said.