Posts Tagged: transportation

Opinion

SB 88 would make transportation barriers for kids in foster care even worse

Active lifestyle, image by kentoh

OPINION – In California, the right to a normal and happy childhood is codified in law as part of the Welfare and Institutions Code 362.05. This means many things, but a critical part is that foster youth are entitled to participate in appropriate extracurricular, enrichment, cultural, and social activities for their age if they choose. A bill in the Legislature puts this all at risk.

Opinion

Don’t let clean air programs expire

Truck exhaust, image by Lesterman

OPINION – Nearly every Californian – 98 percent of us – lives in a community impacted by unhealthy air, and climate change is making the job of cleaning our air more difficult. The legislature and Governor Newsom must renew clean transportation funding, and do so immediately, as the legislative clock is counting down and nearly $2 billion in clean air funds are at risk of expiring.

News

Making the leap into California’s future — and the unknown

An illustration of the unknown road ahead. (Image: Pro-Studio, via Shutterstock)

California faces many challenges now. One is the climate emergency. Another is economic recovery. Add COVID-19 positivity. That is a partial list. You get the picture. Why imagine scenarios for the Golden State over the next decade or century? We turn to Marina Gorbis.

Opinion

Political leaders must lead fight against organized retail crime

A shoplifter puts a pair of jeans under his jacket. (Photo: Fotosenmeer, via Shutterstock)

OPINION: It’s no secret that California is facing an epidemic of retail theft and crime. Organized retail crime has a detrimental effect on our neighborhood stores and retailers. Oftentimes, stores find themselves the repeat victim of theft. Not only do the financial losses of stolen goods pile up, but they are often left with shattered windows and broken locks.

Opinion

Community-based organizations address health inequities  

A young girl in Oakland, a key member of a community targeted for health inequities. (Photo: Roots Community Health Center)

OPINION: Much attention has been focused on the barriers and challenges to accessing health care, highlighted by a pandemic that disproportionately harms Black, Latinx, Asian American Pacific Islander, and Indigenous communities. Barriers to technology or lack of broadband impeded access to MyTurn and other scheduling tools. Barriers to transportation made it impossible or difficult for folks to access mega-sites and wait in hours long lines for the vaccine.

News

Safety for pedestrians, cyclists targeted in legislation

A pedestrian crosses Hollywood Boulevard in L.A. (Photo: View Apart, via Shutterstock)

An effort backed by advocates for pedestrians and bicycle riders would set up experimental programs in several California cities to get drivers to obey traffic laws, in part through the use of red-light and speed cameras.

Opinion

Needed: Better development, transportation decisions

An aerial view of a traffic-clogged intersection in Los Angeles. (Photo: TierneyMJ, via Shutterstock)

OPINION: California government agencies have focused on reducing traffic congestion when looking at the pollution impacts caused by new development and transportation projects. The result has been a lot of bad decisions that, taken together, have led to longer commutes, urban sprawl, and a failure to invest sufficiently in public transit, bike lanes, and pedestrian pathways.

News

State just starting to grapple with climate change

An aerial view of the freeway system feeding downtown Los Angeles. (Photo: trekandshoot, via Shutterstock)

California’s vulnerability to climate change — from deadly fires to sea level rise — has been well documented. But the Legislature’s nonpartisan fiscal adviser says the state, with rare exceptions, has only just begun to assess the risk climate change poses to roads, dams, parks and schools.

News

Feds target California farm for deadly vehicle crash

Migrant laborers work a Salinas, Calif., strawberry farm during harvest season. (Photo: David Litman, via Shutterstock)

For the second time in recent months, the U.S. Department of Labor has extracted penalties from a California farm business blamed for the deadly crash of a vehicle transporting migrant field workers to their jobs. The Labor Department announced this month that Fisher Ranch LLC — a major produce farm near Calexico, close to the Mexican border — has agreed to pay $49,104 for violating the Migrant Seasonal Workers Protection Act. The case stemmed from a March 2017 van crash that killed one laborer and hurt six others.

Opinion

Pharmacy benefit managers ease seniors’ drug costs

A photo illustration of drug costs, with prescription medication atop a dollar bill. (Image: Video_Creative)

OPINION: The Golden Years for senior citizens across the Golden State are longer and more active than for the generations that preceded us. This is a real gift, but it does mean most of us are battling age-related medical conditions, often dealing with them for decades. Prescription drugs are a big part of our healthcare toolbox, and today, almost 40 percent of senior citizens use five or more medications.

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