Posts Tagged: planning

Enter the programmer: Lobbying, money and data

California's state Capitol in Sacramento, home of the goverrnor's office and Legislature (Photo: Shutterstock)

by JESSICA HICE posted 11.26.2018

A huge piece of political spending involves the payments by well-heeled interest groups to lobbyists – there are about 1,800 lobbyists registered in California — who represent their clients before the Legislature and state government. In 2017, these groups spent about $339 million. Dave Middleton, a local programmer and former political operative has created what he says will be a useful, open-source tool to help researchers and journalists to follow the money.

Helping communities cope with climate change

Skyline of downtown Los Angeles on a smoggy day. (Photo0: EvijaF via Shutterstock)

by Sona Mohnot posted 06.15.2018

OPINION: Growing up in New Orleans, summertime brought mixed feelings. It meant the end of the school year and endless snow cones, but also the beginning of hurricane season. Here in California we experience extreme heat in the summer and floods and fires throughout the year, all made worse by climate change. Unless we take action now to prepare our communities, many will suffer, some more than others.

Transportation planning: People first, not cars

A rush-hour traffic jam on the approach to the Oakland-San Francisco Bay Bridge. (Photo: Aaron Kohr)

by Hana Creger and Alvaro Sanchez posted 03.28.2018

OPINION: If you’ve ever sat in traffic crawling at 5 miles per hour or been late to an appointment because of inadequate public transportation, I don’t need to tell you that transportation represents a constant challenge in California. Too many of those problems stem from a planning process that has consistently failed to put people first. California can do better. And let’s not kid ourselves about which people are most likely to get left out of transportation planning decisions: Low-income communities of color.

Be prepared: The key to handling disasters

Wind-whipped flames on San Miguel Mountain east of San Diego. (Photo: Kevin Key)

by CHERI HUMMEL posted 09.28.2017

OPINION: The destruction in Florida, the cataclysmic floods in Houston, the massive erosion of the Oroville Dam and the ravaging wildfires up and down the Golden State are all real-time reminders of how vulnerable each one of us is to disaster, no matter who we are or where we live. It’s too easy to embrace the fallacy that these terrible things only happen to others.  Instead of hoping for the best, we should plan and prepare for the worst.  The safety of our families depends on it.

Lawmaker backs executive director in Coastal Commission dispute

The coast at La Jolla. Photo: Dancestrokes)

by JOHN HOWARD posted 01.28.2016

A North Coast lawmaker has come to the defense of Charles Lester, the executive director of the California Coastal Commission who has come under fire from a number of commissioners seeking his ouster at the panel’s meeting next month in Moro Bay.

Kevin de León on policy, politics and the future

State Senate Leader Kevin de León on Feb. 1, 2014, at the Golden Dragon Parade in Los Angeles(Photo: Betto Rodrigues, via Shutterstock)

by ANTHONY YORK posted 03.02.2015

GRIZZLY BEAR PROJECT: After some hard feelings and bruised egos, De León accepted his defeat and ran for the Senate seat that he never really wanted. But in the Senate, de León has matured and grown as a legislator. Early on, he helped ease roadblocks between the Senate and the governor’s office. In the meantime, he reconstructed and expanded his personal relationships, and was elected by his colleagues last year as the new leader of the state Senate.

After long dry spell, new funding looms for adult education

Students at a Murrieta Valley Adult and Community education facility. (Photo: Murrieta Valley Adult School)

by SAMANTHA GALLEGOS posted 01.20.2015

Adult education in California may see its first funding increase in the state budget, following years of school closures and savage cuts stemming from the recession. The Department of Education estimates 100 school districts have closed their adult schools since districts were permitted to use “categorical” money in their budgets.

A glimpse into Brown’s 4th term

California Gov. Jerry Brown at a public event. His wife, Anne Gust Brown, is in the background. (Photo: Randy Miramontez)

by SAMANTHA GALLEGOS posted 10.31.2014

A little-known panel of Gov. Brown’s top administration officials is poised to play a critical role in his fourth and final term as governor. The newly funded Strategic Growth Council, or SGC, is a cabinet-level body with a portfolio that cuts across virtually all aspects of California government.

Drought: Tearing up lawns is short-sighted

A view of the California drought from Marine One during President Obama's visit earlier this year. (Photo: White House)

by WAYNE LUSVARDI posted 05.21.2014

OPINION: There is an Armenian proverb: “On a rainy day many offer to water the chickens.” And in a very dry year there are many who want to follow the call to tear out their lawns. The call is coming from the Department of Water Resources and others for urban homeowners to start tearing out their lawns, with financial incentives for doing so.

The total spending increase needed to get CalSTRS, brought low by mismanagement, back to full funding may be the biggest-dollar scenarios ever presented to a California legislative committee. Legislators were told last week an additional $181.7 billion would be needed for full funding in 20 years. If payments are spread out to ease the budget bite, the additional amount needed to reach full funding in 60 years is a staggering $618 billion.