Rachel Becker, CalMatters
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Rachel Becker is a journalist reporting on California’s complex water challenges and water policy issues for CalMatters. Rachel has a background in biology, with master's degrees in both immunology and science journalism. Before joining CalMatters, Rachel was a staff science reporter at The Verge, and her byline has also appeared in outlets including National Geographic News, Smithsonian, Slate, and Nature. In 2021 she won first place for Outstanding Beat Reporting from the Society of Environmental Journalists, and in 2022 Rachel was the inaugural recipient of the Water Education Foundation’s Rita Schmidt Sudman Award for Excellence in Water Journalism.
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The State Water Resources Control Board is overseeing the phase-out of natural gas plants in Southern California — but it just extended operations at power plants in Oxnard, Huntington Beach, and Long Beach for another three years and the Scattergood Generating Station in Playa Del Rey for another five years.