Opinion
California’s EV transition is now local
OPINION – The answer to California’s much-anticipated electric vehicle (EV) transition is not in Washington. It’s not even in Sacramento–it is in the hands of local governments
OPINION – The answer to California’s much-anticipated electric vehicle (EV) transition is not in Washington. It’s not even in Sacramento–it is in the hands of local governments
OPINION – As Californians move towards EVs, their Legislative Analyst Office (LAO) has projected about a $5 billion dollar decline in gasoline tax revenue over the next decade. This is a significant oversight to a policy change that should have been identified before implementation.
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 – 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.
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: 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: 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.
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: 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.
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.