Women in Leadership 2025: Ann Patterson

Our annual salute to the women who lead the Capital Region

Patterson returned to public policy in 2019 as the legal affairs secretary for Gov. Newsom, where she spent a good portion of her early work as counsel on the energy team, tackling the PG&E bankruptcy after the destructive North Bay and Camp fires. As cabinet secretary, Patterson advises the governor on policy and oversees all state agencies and departments within the administration.

Mar 12, 2025 Laurie Lauletta-Boshart

Artificial Intelligence Is Bringing Nuclear Power Back From the Dead — Maybe Even in California

CalMatters: Artificial intelligence uses so much energy that its rapid spread could endanger California’s goal of eliminating all carbon emissions by 2045 — even as AI companies may be flooding the state treasury with tax revenue. The conundrum has legislators considering what was once unthinkable: Bringing back nuclear power as a driver of innovation and economic growth, sort of like it was the 1960s all over again.

Jan 31, 2025 Alex Shultz, CalMatters

Why California Keeps Putting Homes Where Fires Burn

CalMatters: To many ecologists, economists and other experts on California wildfire risk, the vow to rebuild is part of a familiar California cycle as predictable as the Santa Anas: We keep putting homes in the path of the flames.

Jan 17, 2025 Ben Christopher, CalMatters