The Berkeley City Council will need to find another way to eliminate greenhouse gas emissions after a federal appellate court struck down a local law that blocked gas piping and connections in new buildings.

A panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit ruled Monday that federal law superseded a 2019 ordinance that barred gas connections in new construction. The ruling invalidates the Berkeley ordinance.

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Joe Dworetzky is a second career journalist. He practiced law in Philadelphia for more than 35 years, representing private and governmental clients in commercial litigation and insolvency proceedings. Joe served as City Solicitor for the City of Philadelphia under Mayor Ed Rendell and from 2009 to 2013 was one of five members of the Philadelphia School Reform Commission with responsibility for managing the city’s 250 public schools. He moved to San Francisco in 2011 and began writing fiction and pursuing a lifelong interest in editorial cartooning. Joe earned a Master’s in Journalism from Stanford University in 2020. He covers Legal Affairs and writes long form Investigative stories. His occasional cartooning can be seen in Bay Area Sketchbook. Joe encourages readers to email him story ideas and leads at joe.dworetzky@baycitynews.com.