California
Governor signs anti-sprawl bill
Dateline:
10/01/2008
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a landmark bill Tuesday to discourage sprawl in future decades, completing a deal among environmentalists, homebuilders and local governments on the final day of bill signing.
Senate Bill 375, by Democratic Sen. Darrell Steinberg of Sacramento, will push California communities to consider climate change impacts of development in regional planning, with an emphasis on reducing car travel.
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The Hidden Tenant Impacts of Proposition 6
Dateline:
12/31/1969
Proposition 6 on the November ballot—characterized by proponents as a “comprehensive anti-gang and crime reduction measure”—is an ill-conceived statewide measure with hidden provisions that hurt California tenants.
Buried in the complex language of Prop 6 are provisions that take aim at tenants with Section 8 vouchers, as well as other provisions that target tenants who live at properties where the government undertakes anti-gang enforcement efforts.
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Who Gets to Attend College?
Dateline:
09/06/2008
California is one of the top three states with the most segregated schools for Black and Latino students. Tram Nguyen is a freelance writer and former executive editor of Colorlines.
GROWING UP IN BOYLE HEIGHTS, a working class neighborhood of East Los Angeles, Nancy Meza figured out early on that the school system wasn’t working for many of her friends and family. Both her older brothers went from being honors students in middle school to dropping out in high school. One brother, who was put in woodshop two years in a row, eventually started ditching and never came back.
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Governor Schwarzenegger Will Have Opportunity to Protect Tenants in Foreclosed Properties
Dateline:
08/20/2008The Consumer Federation of California (CFC) strongly urges Governor Schwarzenegger to sign AB 1333 (Hancock) - a bill that will protect tenants in foreclosed properties and help keep families in their homes.
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Study finds congestion pricing doesn't hurt the poor
Dateline:
08/19/2008One of the long-held arguments against congestion pricing or toll lanes is that they're not fair to low-income users. The tolls are the same for everybody and low-income earners get hit the hardest, so goes that line of thinking.
In fact, pretty much every politician I spoke to in the San Gabriel Valley has raised that point when talking about the proposal to convert the carpool lane on the 10 and possibly the 210 freeways into toll lanes.
Two local academics have concluded otherwise: tolls are a pretty fair way of raising money to build road capacity. In fact, they say, it's fairer than most other funding schemes.
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State unemployment hits 7.3% in July
Dateline:
08/16/2008(08-15) 11:12 PDT SACRAMENTO -- California's economic slide gained momentum in July when the unemployment rate reached 7.3 percent, up from 7 percent in June and nearly two percentage points greater than it was one year ago, the state Employment Development Department reported Friday.
There were 1,352,000 unemployed people in California last month - 70,000 more than in June and up by 374,000 compared with July 2007.
Unemployment combined with the rate of inflation creates what economist Stephen Levy calls the Misery Index. That index topped 12 percent in July, the highest level in 15 years.
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Bill Approved to Ease Bay Area Traffic, Reduce Auto Pollution
Dateline:
08/15/2008SACRAMENTO – The California State Assembly today approved legislation authored by Senator Leland Yee (D-San Francisco/San Mateo) to reduce traffic congestion and auto pollution in the Bay Area. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger (R-Los Angeles) will have until September 30 to sign or veto the measure.
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