David R. Baker

Stay informed with David R. Baker’s coverage and analysis for Fortune.

Photo of Gavin Newsom

Tesla excluded from EV buyer credits in California proposal

By Eliyahu Kamisher, Keith Laing, and others

A burned car and home following the Smokehouse Creek Fire in Fritch, Texas, US, on Friday, March 1, 2024. Texas Governor Greg Abbott said as many as 500 structures such as houses and barns have been damaged or destroyed in the largest wildfire in state history. Photographer: Jordan Vonderhaar/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Texas wildfires follow Warren Buffett’s warning about the ‘specter of zero profitability’ looming over utilities—and not just in California

By Mark Chediak, Will Wade, and others

UNITED STATES – MAY 29: Optics connect to the exterior of the target chamber inside the National Ignition Facility (NIF) at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in Livermore, California, U.S., on Friday, May 29, 2009. The NIF will use 192 lasers aimed at a small hydrogen-filled target for the study of fusion reactions. Optics surrounding the target chamber convert the laser light into ultraviolet beams and focus them at the target. (Photo by Tony Avelar/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

‘We repeated ignition’: Lab behind nuclear fusion breakthrough duplicates success after months of near-misses

By David R. Baker and Bloomberg

LIVERMORE, CA – MARCH 22: Eastbound Interstate 580 near North Flynn Road in Livermore, Calif., Wednesday, March 22, 2023. A section of the highway cracked and a retaining wall tumbled down a rain-soaked hill. (Santiago Mejia/The San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images)

California fears even worse fire season as ‘superblooms’ from historic wet winter become kindling

By David R. Baker, Brian K. Sullivan, and others

A new natural gas furnace being tested.

A major metro area just declared war on gas appliances — but not stoves

By David R. Baker and Bloomberg

SARASOTA, FL – SEPTEMBER 28: Wind gusts blow across boats in the Sarasota Bay as Hurricane Ian churns to the south on September 28, 2022 in Sarasota, Florida. The storm made a U.S. landfall at Cayo Costa, Florida this afternoon as a Category 4 hurricane with wind speeds over 140 miles per hour in some areas.

6 big economic threats Hurricane Ian poses now that it has come ashore

By David R. Baker and Bloomberg

Diablo Canyon

California votes to keep last nuclear plant running through 2030

By David R. Baker, Mark Chediak, and others

The 55 Freeway heads south from the 5 Freeway in Santa Ana, CA, on Wednesday, July 27, 2022. Construction is set to beginning soon on the 55 Freeway improvement project, which aims to alleviate traffic by adding a regular lane and a carpool lane in each direction along the 4-mile stretch of freeway between I-5 and I-405, from the Santa Ana and Tustin areas to near Irvine and Costa Mesa.

California is close to banning sales of new gas-powered cars by 2035

By David R. Baker and Bloomberg

A teacher and three students wearing masks working on laptops in a classroom

School mask mandates are about to end in California, Oregon, and Washington state

By David R. Baker and Bloomberg

California Governor Gavin Newsome.

California shifts to new phase of managing COVID as an ongoing risk

By David R. Baker and Bloomberg

OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA – OCTOBER 08: California Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks during a news conference at Kingston 11 Cuisine on October 08, 2021 in Oakland, California. California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a COVID-19 recovery package, Senate Bill 314, that will allow restaurants and bars to keep parklets and give them a one-year grace period to apply for permanent expansion.

California governor defends state after Tesla moves headquarters to Texas

By David R. Baker and Bloomberg

Schoolchildren in masks

California will require COVID vaccines for all schoolchildren next year

By Romy Varghese, David R. Baker, and others

26 May 2021, Berlin: A woman has the Comirnaty vaccine from the manufacturer Biontech/Pfizer injected in a family doctor’s practice. In order to further reduce the spread of the coronavirus, doctors’ surgeries are increasingly offering vaccinations. Photo: Wolfgang Kumm/dpa

California to hand out $116.5 million in prizes for vaccinations

By David R. Baker and Bloomberg

WASHINGTON, DC – JANUARY 27: U.S. President Joe Biden prepares to sign executive orders after speaking about climate change issues in the State Dining Room of the White House on January 27, 2021 in Washington, DC. President Biden signed several executive orders related to the climate change crisis on Wednesday, including one directing a pause on new oil and natural gas leases on public lands. Also pictured, left to right, Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry and U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker-Pool/Getty Images)

Biden moves to rapidly adopt climate policies, stunning the oil and gas industry

By Bloomberg, David R. Baker, and others

Smoke rises into the sky behind Sterling Vineyards along Silverado Trail during the Glass Fire in Napa County, California, U.S., on Sunday, Sept. 28, 2020. Firefighters were battling multiple rapid growing wildfires sparked during a red flag warning Sunday that burned structures and prompted evacuations.

Wildfire ripping through California wine country expands as thousands flee

By Mark Chediak, Brian K. Sullivan, and others