Shute Mihaly & Weinberger LLP

06/11/2026

The California Public Utilities Commission is currently developing guidelines for Senate Bill (SB) 1221, a pilot program designed to transition entire neighborhoods from natural gas to zero-emission alternatives.

Unlike traditional appliance-by-appliance electrification, this initiative targets neighborhood-scale transitions, allowing utilities to retire aging gas pipelines and redirect maintenance savings toward clean energy infrastructure.

By Sooji Yang, Lauren Dunlap, Elias van Emmerick, and Gregory Pierce The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) is currently navigating a wide array of questions from stakeholders as it designs a first-of-its-kind program to transition entire blocks of buildings from natural gas to zero-emiss...

06/10/2026

After 45 years in Hayes Valley, Shute, Mihaly & Weinberger LLP has relocated its headquarters to 550 California Street in San Francisco’s Financial District.

Reflecting the firm’s core environmental values, the new office features reclaimed local wood, repurposed furniture, and extensive indoor greenery to minimize its ecological footprint.

Associates Shanthi Chackalackal and Aidan Freeman in our new office After more than four decades rooted in Hayes Valley, Shute, Mihaly & Weinberger LLP has a new address. In February 2026, our firm relocated to San Francisco’s Financial District, a transition that honors the legacy of where we’v...

06/09/2026

The Center for Law, Energy, and the Environment (CLEE) at Berkeley Law has launched a new webinar series exploring the long-term evolution of the oil and gas industry within a low-carbon economy.

Interested participants may register at

UC Berkeley's Center for Law, Energy and the Environment (CLEE) has launched an initiative to examine future pathways for the oil and gas industry in a low-carbon world. As part of this project, CLEE is kicking off a multi-part webinar series to focused on the long-term future of the oil and gas ind...

06/06/2026

Representing the Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC), Shute, Mihaly & Weinberger successfully advocated for landmark transparency reforms before the Colorado Public Utilities Commission (PUC) to streamline clean energy interconnection.

The firm challenged Xcel Energy’s restrictive mapping policies, which previously obscured grid capacity data behind commercially unreasonable non-disclosure agreements, effectively stalling solar and EV charging projects.

When entities such as solar developers or EV charging companies want to connect clean energy projects to the electric grid, they need to know where, and when, the grid has room for them. In Colorado, that basic information has been remarkably hard to come by. SMW partner Sky Stanfield, with SMW asso...

06/05/2026

The California Public Utilities Commission has approved a final plan to relocate a proposed LS Power energy facility from a sensitive orchard in Coyote Valley to the existing Metcalf substation.

This decision follows significant community advocacy aimed at protecting the Coyote Creek wildlife corridor, a vital migratory path for bobcats, badgers, and deer traveling between the Santa Cruz Mountains and the Diablo Range.

SMW represented the Santa Clara Open Space Authority, led by Ellison Folk.

Good news! The LS Power facility will not be placed in Coyote Valley!

06/04/2026

The California Public Utilities Commission has approved a final plan to relocate a proposed LS Power energy facility from a sensitive orchard in Coyote Valley to the existing Metcalf substation.

This decision follows significant community advocacy aimed at protecting the Coyote Creek wildlife corridor, a vital migratory path for bobcats, badgers, and deer traveling between the Santa Cruz Mountains and the Diablo Range.

SMW represented the Santa Clara Open Space Authority, led by Ellison Folk.

A team of five Shute, Mihaly & Weinberger attorneys have won “California Lawyer Attorney of the Year" (CLAY) Awards from The Daily Journal for their work on a decade-long CEQA (California Environmental Quality Act) case in Kern County. The CLAY Awards went to Rachel B. Hooper, Kevin P. Bundy, Susa...

06/03/2026

Approximately 10,274 acres north of Lake Tahoe have been transferred to the Washoe Tribe of Nevada and California.

Facilitated by a $5.5 million grant from the California Wildlife Conservation Board, the Wasi-siw Land Trust purchased the former Loyalton Ranch for long-term conservation and renamed it the WélmeltiɁ Preserve.

The tribe is currently seeking to establish a $750,000 endowment to manage the cleanup of the land and protect its critical water and wildlife resources.

This is the largest tribal land return ever completed in the Sierra Nevada

06/02/2026

The Trust for Public Land and the East Bay Regional Park District have secured an option agreement to acquire the former Golden Gate Fields site, a 161-acre waterfront property spanning Albany and Berkeley.

The project aims to transform the shuttered horse racing track into a world-class public park, filling a critical gap in the San Francisco Bay shoreline.

Trust for Public Land, in partnership with the East Bay Regional Park District, announced that it has secured an option agreement on the former Golden Gate Fields property in Albany/Berkeley, creating a once-in-a-generation opportunity to transform the site into a future public park.

05/30/2026

A recent statewide poll reveals that 64% of California voters are likely to withdraw support from lawmakers who approved environmental review exemptions for polluting industries near homes and schools.

72% of Californians expressed support for CEQA across party lines.

https://capitolweekly.net/voters-oppose-advanced-manufacturing-ceqa-exemptions/

05/29/2026

Pictured: SMW team members as cover models for Bay Nature’s 25th anniversary celebration at the Presidio’s Golden Gate Club.

The firm attended and sponsored the event alongside clients, including the Peninsula Open Space Trust (POST), Sonoma Land Trust, and the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District.

Fun facts: SMW’s very own Emma Lewis was awarded Bay Nature’s 2021 Young Leader Award, while Matt McKerley currently serves on the Board.