Web Version [link removed] | Update Preferences [link removed] CBRT in the News Joe Biden's Green Dreams Mean Greater Dependence On China

President-elect Joe Biden has finally unveiled a slate of nominations and selections for his administration’s climate team. And, as many expected, he assembled a team that signals the pursuit of the radical energy agenda that we feared.

Biden has long tried to build a reputation as a moderate Democrat. This is an image that he often struggled to maintain on the campaign trail in simultaneous pursuit of the “Bernie bro’s” vote. But, who one surrounds themselves with says a lot about a person. The cabinet and administrative selections speak for themselves: Biden is a proud member of the eco-left. As such, we can expect a lot of radical ideas and proposals to become mandates – that includes the manufacturing and use of electric vehicles (EVs).

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California businesses aren’t happy with the mandate, either. The state’s Business Roundtable President Rob Lapsley called it a “radical step” that “makes no sense.” He went on to call it a rushed decision that provides no guarantee of affordability for many who live in a state that’s already expensive. If Biden decides to implement such a mandate, these issues and concerns will only be amplified to the national level.

Right now, EVs account for less than 10 percent of new vehicle sales in California – and that’s the best in the nation. So, even if people are given significant incentives to buy electric, or, if Biden takes the Newsom route and forces people into the transition, there will still need to be a massive increase in manufacturing.

Read More [[link removed]] POLITICO California: January 4, 2021

COVID COMPLAINT: Six agricultural and business groups are challenging Newsom's Covid-19 emergency safety standards, arguing in a lawsuit that the rules will have a detrimental impact on food safety and vaccine distribution, Colliver writes.

In the lawsuit, filed last Thursday in Los Angeles County Superior Court, the plaintiffs contend the Emergency Temporary Standards issued by Cal/OSHA were "hastily-contrived" and burdensome on businesses and they are likely to shut down production and food processing and close pharmacies in grocery stores, which could have an impact on the distribution of Covid-19 vaccinations.

The complaint cites such rules as mandatory no-cost testing during working hours for employees with potential Covid-19 exposure and the requirement to remove, with 10 days paid leave and benefits, any worker claiming exposure regardless of test results as examples of burdensome standards, particularly to the agricultural industry.

The plaintiffs include the California Business Roundtable, the California Farm Bureau Federation, California Association of Winegrape Growers, Western Growers, the Grower-Shipper Association of Central California and the Ventura County Agricultural Association.

Read More [[link removed]] Ag Employers Target State's New COVID-19 Emergency Rules

A coalition of farm and business groups has sued state workplace safety officials over month-old emergency safety rules it calls unnecessary in light of steps already taken to slow the spread of COVID-19.

The suit filed late last month in Los Angeles Superior Court alleges the California Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board overstepped its authority by imposing rules that Dave Puglia, head of Western Growers Association — one of six plaintiffs — called "unrealistic, unfounded and economically harmful."

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Cal-OSHA board members and senior staff are listed as the suit's defendants.

Besides Western Growers, the plaintiffs are the California Association of Winegrape Growers, California Business Roundtable, the California Farm Bureau Federation, the Grower-Shipper Association of Central California and the Ventura County Agricultural Association.

Read More Flight Of The Icons

It’s hard to say the word “innovation” and not think of California. Technology has paced the state’s growth in everything from agriculture and oil to housing, entertainment, and aerospace. California has always been the harbinger of the American future, the promise of ever-greater economic and social progress.

Yet increasingly, many of today’s innovators are fleeing the state. This past week, one half of the company arguably most symbolic of tech development in the state—Hewlett Packard Enterprises—one part of the now broken-up old Hewlett Packard and focused on lucrative areas like cloud computing and IT infrastructure—decided to leave for Houston. Within a week Elon Musk, the latest in the line of truly transformative California tech entrepreneurs, also announced that he would move to Texas, along with Oracle, a Fortune 100 company and global leader in database management. Other recent departures also include more traditional firms as Charles Schwab, McKesson, Bechtel, Parsons Engineering, and CB Richard Ellis.

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Today, the state’s economy is totally dominated by a handful of enormously powerful companies—Apple, Google, Facebook, Salesforce—none of which make tangible products, at least not in California. These firms, notes Robert Lapsley of the California Business Roundtable, see themselves as global first and foremost, not primarily as part of a state economy. “We need these people to step up and they are not doing it,” he suggests “That was not a problem when David Packard was around. We have lost that voice.” Many of these firms’ employees are overseas. Even in the Valley, close to half of tech employees—nearly twice the rate for the tech industry nationally— are non-citizens, working under HI-B visas. The federal government recently sued Facebook for discriminating against American workers in favor of foreign ones.

Read More [[link removed]] Breaking The New Glass Ceiling: College Internship Access And Innovation In The Age Of COVID-19

When 2020 began, California college students were gearing up to complete their degrees and graduate into a booming job market. But instead, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic—and the workplace disruption that has followed—the state’s employment picture has changed dramatically as 2020 comes to a close.

For students, the myriad challenges ahead will include obtaining not only higher education credentials but also the practical experience necessary to secure a professional job after graduation—one with real opportunities for career development and economic mobility. In many industries, that experience comes in the form of a college internship—but that pathway, too, has been disrupted.

Even as many employers have taken their operations virtual, internships haven’t necessarily followed suit. Some companies have cut programs entirely, or reduced interns’ roles. In fact, Glassdoor estimates that half the internships in the United States were canceled in the spring alone.

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Dr. Su Jin Gatlin Jez is executive director of California Competes: Higher Education for a Strong Economy. Kirk Clark is Executive Vice President of the California Business Roundtable.

Read More [[link removed]] Business Climate and Job Creation Virus Surge Ends Seven Months Of U.S. Jobs Growth

The U.S. shed 140,000 jobs in December as a resurgence of the coronavirus ended seven months of job growth and weakened the recovery.

Restaurants and bars drove the decline by cutting 372,000 jobs last month, the Labor Department said Friday. The broader category of hospitality and leisure industries—which adds hotels, museums, tourist sites—also saw losses, while schools and governments cut jobs as the pandemic triggered new restrictions on activity.

Jobs gains in most other industries weren’t enough to offset the sharp decline in areas sensitive to the state of the pandemic.

The U.S. jobless rate held steady at 6.7%, far below its April peak of 14.8% but still almost twice its pre-pandemic level.

“The labor market ended the year on a sour note,” Greg Daco, chief U.S. economist at Oxford Economics, said in a note to clients.

Read More [[link removed]] Covid-19 Small-Business Loan Program PPP To Reopen Jan. 11

The Paycheck Protection Program of forgivable loans will reopen on Monday, the Trump administration said, as the federal government extends efforts to preserve jobs and help businesses weather the coronavirus pandemic and related lockdowns.

The program, administered by the Small Business Administration and Treasury Department, will initially reopen for first-time borrowers, with second-time borrowers eligible to apply on Wednesday.

Only community-based lenders, such as community-development financial institutions and minority depository institutions, will be allowed to process loan applications for at least two days after the program reopens. Trump administration officials said other lenders would follow soon after, but didn’t specify when.

Congress last month authorized $284 billion to provide forgivable loans to small businesses as part of its broader, $900 billion coronavirus relief bill. The new iteration of PPP will be far smaller than the original, which doled out $525 billion between April and August, and more narrowly focused on smaller businesses that can demonstrate need.

Read More [[link removed]] Biden Taps Boston Mayor Marty Walsh As Labor Secretary

Boston Mayor Marty Walsh is President-elect Joe Biden's pick for labor secretary, the presidential transition team announced late Thursday.

Mr. Walsh, who has served as Boston's mayor since 2014, has an extensive labor background, including leading the Boston Metropolitan District Building Trades Council from 2011-2013. He is also the current chairman of Climate Mayors, a bipartisan group of 470 mayors nationwide committed to fighting climate change.

In touting Mr. Walsh and other members of his economic and jobs team announced Thursday, Mr. Biden said in a statement that they "will help us emerge from the most inequitable economic and jobs crisis in modern history by building an economy where every American is in on the deal. They share my belief that the middle class built this country and that unions built the middle class."

The labor community welcomed Mr. Walsh's nomination.

Read More [[link removed]] U.S. Suspends Plan To Impose Tariffs On French Luxury Goods

The U.S. on Thursday suspended plans to impose tariffs of 25% on French luxury goods in response to France’s tax on big tech companies like Facebook Inc. and Amazon.com Inc., saying it wants to coordinate its response with its efforts in similar disputes with other countries.

The U.S. Trade Representative threatened to impose the tariffs last year, in retaliation for France’s 3% levy on certain revenue from big technology companies, which the U.S. said unfairly targeted American businesses. The tariffs had been scheduled to take effect Wednesday.

The suspension of the tariffs on French products was welcomed by U.S. importers and retailers that had criticized such punitive tariffs as a tool that aims to protect one industry at the expense of another, while hurting American consumers.

The decision puts the onus on President-elect Joe Biden and his administration to address increasing demands by other countries for global technology companies to pay more taxes where their customers are located.

Read More [[link removed]] Jobs in 2030: Health Care Booms, Employers Want More

Taking care of an aging population—and their pets—and working on the nation’s digital transformation are likely to offer the most well-paying job opportunities in the next decade.

Those filling jobs will increasingly be older adults, and the health-care and high-tech fields are among those poised for the most growth, according to the Labor Department’s projections for employment in 2029. The agency’s economists review scholarly articles, expert interviews, historical data and other sources to estimate demand for specific occupations, combined with macroeconomic modeling to anticipate changes in the economy’s structure.

For workers to thrive over the coming decade they can expect to need more education and be willing to refresh their skills.

Meanwhile, home aide and restaurant jobs are expected to grow by the millions, but that work tends to pay among the lowest wages. Individuals looking for work in office support and manufacturing fields will find fewer positions.

Read More [[link removed]] Some States Start Paying $300 Unemployment Boost While Others Lag

A handful of states have begun issuing a $300 weekly boost to unemployment benefits or signaled workers will get the payments starting this week. Others expect the aid to kick in later this month.

Workers in Arizona, California, New York, Rhode Island and Tennessee will receive the first batch of enhanced payments this week, according to state labor agencies. California and New York are the No. 1 and 2 states, respectively, relative to the number of workers receiving jobless benefits.

Connecticut and Washington state aim to disburse the supplement beginning in mid-January, officials said.

The $300-a-week increase in jobless benefits comes as part of a $900 billion Covid relief package signed Dec. 27 by President Donald Trump.

The stipend is available for up to 11 weeks, to workers unemployed at any time between Dec. 26 and March 14.

Read More [[link removed]] California Jobless Claims Dip But Remain At Brutal Levels

Jobless claims filed by California workers dropped by a tiny amount last week — but the statewide totals for unemployment claims still account for a jaw-dropping one out of every five filed in the United States — a report released Thursday shows.

An estimated 160,000 California workers filed initial claims for unemployment benefits during the week that ended on Jan. 2, which was down 8,700 from the 168,700 who filed first-time jobless claims during the week ending on Dec. 26, the U.S. Labor Department reported.

Jobless claims in the United States totaled 787,000 last week, a small decrease from the 790,000 initial unemployment claims that were filed the prior week, according to the Labor Department release on Thursday.

“Unemployment remains extremely high, although not nearly as bad as it was in the spring, and the pace of improvement in the job market has slowed dramatically from the summer,” said Gus Faucher, an economist at PNC Financial.

Read More [[link removed]] California Has So Much Money It Could Send Some Back To Taxpayers, Gavin Newsom Says

California has so much money it might have to give some back to taxpayers.

The state is on pace to hit a spending cap voters adopted in 1979 when state politics were dominated by a taxpayer revolt, Gov. Gavin Newsom said Friday as he unveiled his $227 billion 2021-22 spending plan.

The cap, known as the Gann limit in honor of taxpayer watchdog Paul Gann, aims to restrict per capita government spending to 1978-79 levels. Voters passed it just after they adopted Proposition 13, the landmark law that restricts California property tax increases.

If the state exceeds the Gann limit, the government must send rebates to taxpayers.

California has not sent money back to taxpayers because of the Gann limit since 1986, when taxpayers received $1.1 billion in rebates.

Read More [[link removed]] Newsom Wants Extra $600 Stimulus For Low-Wage Californians

Gov. Gavin Newsom wants to double stimulus aid by putting an additional $600 into the hands of low-wage Californians, and extend the state’s eviction moratorium, which is set to expire at the end of the month.

The Democratic governor announced the two proposals today as part of his upcoming budget for 2021. Newsom made a virtual appearance with Democratic lawmakers in a show of support to target aid to low-income families that have been most financially affected by the coronavirus pandemic. He said he would ask lawmakers to pass urgency legislation in order to get stimulus checks out much sooner than the mid-year budget deadline.

“We don’t want to wait until July,” Newsom said. “We want some immediate actions to distribute $2.4 billion in what we call the Golden State stimulus. This is our version of what the federal government just did. But we want, instead of $600 checks landing in people’s pockets based upon what the feds just did, we want to double that. We want to get $1,200 into people’s pockets.”

Newsom also proposed distributing a total of $2.6 billion in federal rental relief dollars to low-income renters and small landlords.

Read More [[link removed]] Hotel Workers Renew Push For Recall Rights, Job Protections

Jhonae Mazique doesn’t feel like the person she was before the pandemic. The coronavirus stripped the 25-year-old of her job as a reservationist at the Harbor Court Hotel in San Francisco and sent her couch surfing with friends. The stress of her situation has caused her to lose 30 pounds since she was laid off in March.

In Los Angeles, Raquel Lezama wakes up her three kids for distance learning, but not before they join her in her newfound routine: meditation. The single mother lost her job as a mini-bar attendant at the Mr. C Beverly Hills Hotel in March.

Hector Morales, 52, lines up at the North County Food Bank in Vista every other week. He poured three decades of his life into his job at La Costa Hotel and Resort in Carlsbad before the pandemic put him out of work. Now he is on the verge of losing his home.

Read More [[link removed]] Californians Shouldn't Travel More Than 120 Miles From Home, New State Guidance Says

Californians are being urged to stay close to home — and residents of other states to stay out — under a new travel advisory issued in hopes of curtailing the raging spread of the coronavirus.

Under the updated guidance from the California Department of Public Health, issued Wednesday, Californians are told to eschew traveling anywhere in the state that’s more than 120 miles from their residences, unless doing so is essential.

Travelers from other states or countries are also “strongly discouraged” from coming to California, except for essential purposes.

The state defines such essential trips as any “associated with the operation, maintenance, or usage of critical infrastructure or otherwise required or expressly authorized by law … including work and study, critical infrastructure support, economic services and supply chains, health, immediate medical care and safety and security.”

Read More [[link removed]] Health Care Workers Refuse COVID Vaccine

As California confronts its darkest moment yet of the pandemic, complications in the rollout of the coronavirus vaccine — which Gov. Gavin Newsom billed as the “light at the end of the tunnel” — suggest that the tunnel may be longer than previously thought.

Although the Golden State was slated to receive around 2.1 million vaccine doses by the end of December, it had received less than 1.5 million as of Saturday — and only 412,000 Californians had gotten their first shot, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That represents about 17% of the health care workers California prioritized for the vaccine — many of whom are refusing to take it. Between 20% and 40% of frontline workers in Los Angeles County and up to 50% in Riverside County have turned down the vaccine.

April Lu, a 31-year-old pregnant nurse at Providence Holy Cross Medical Center: Between “the risk of having COVID, or the risk of the unknown of the vaccine … I’m choosing the risk of COVID. I can control that and prevent it a little by wearing masks.”

Read More [[link removed]] What's Behind California's Slow Start To Vaccinations

California’s coronavirus vaccination efforts are off to a slow start, with less than a third of the 1.6 million available doses administered so far, according to state officials.

Gov. Gavin Newsom acknowledged the rollout of inoculations has been too slow, and public health experts are growing concerned that the emerging vaccination delays may mean it will take longer to reach herd immunity and end the pandemic.

Officials and experts attribute the slower-than-anticipated vaccinations to many factors, and urge the public to have patience as health officials and hospitals work out the kinks of a campaign that is unprecedented in scale and urgency.

“It’s clear that this is a major and complex initiative, and all of us are learning as we go,” said Dr. Joshua Adler, chief clinical officer for UCSF Health, during a press briefing with San Francisco officials Tuesday. “What’s also clear is we need to increase the rate at which we’re able to deliver the vaccine to people.”

Read More [[link removed]] Energy and Climate Change Green Euphoria May Cost Investors, But Planet Says Thank You

Whether investors one day regret paying so much for Tesla Inc. stock, they have done the planet a favor. Their enthusiasm enabled the company to raise enough money to stay afloat until it could profitably mass produce electric cars while accelerating other manufacturers’ rollouts.

Tesla, trading at more than 1,000 times trailing earnings, is only the most extreme example of a euphoria that has swept green energy. From the end of 2019 through Tuesday, a fund that tracks a Nasdaq clean energy index had risen 191% compared with the broad market’s 15%. It trades at 52 times trailing earnings, nearly double the overall market’s already-historically high multiple. More than a third of its 44 constituents are losing money. On Wednesday afternoon it was up 7% on expectations Democratic control of the Senate would lead to more support for renewable energy.

“The bubble in renewables is probably the stupidest that I have seen in my career,” Charles Gave, chairman of money manager and research firm Gavekal, wrote last month.

Read More [[link removed]] Sonoma County Town Backs Off Natural Gas Ban

The Windsor Town Council on Wednesday evening rescinded an ordinance banning natural gas in new residential construction rather than fight a lawsuit brought by two developers.

“I think the council was being proactive on an important issue like climate change. It was difficult to come to this. At some point we will be looking at an alternative ordinance,” Town Manager Ken McNab told the Business Journal

Backers won council approval for the ban in 2019, citing the need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Carbon dioxide — a factor identified as accelerating climate change — is released during natural gas combustion. California’s goal is by 2045 to not use fossil fuels.

The Sonoma County town found itself in a debate over whether natural gas is a significant contributor to climate change over other factors, such as internal combustion engines. Some in the building industry have argued banning gas in new construction will drive up home costs while backers say it will save the costs of installation natural gas hookups.

Read More [[link removed]] California Is Scrambling To Avoid Blackouts. Your Refrigerator Could Help

Sometime next summer, there's a decent chance a heat wave will bake the American West, and California's power grid will again be stretched to its limits.

As the sun sets, solar panels will start generating less electricity even as temperatures remain high. Power plants that burn natural gas will fire up as quickly as possible, in a race to keep air conditioners blowing and avert the need for rolling blackouts.

But the fossil fuel won't be alone in riding to the rescue.

As power supplies tighten, lithium-ion batteries—some connected to sprawling solar farms in the desert and others tucked away in household garages—will dispense electricity produced during the afternoon sunlight. A small but growing number of household batteries will be part of coordinated networks, discharging in unison as dictated by the needs of the grid.

Read More [[link removed]] California Governor's Stimulus Plan Includes $1.5 Billion To Boost Electric And Hydrogen Vehicles

Tesla and other electric vehicle makers stand to benefit handsomely if California passes Governor Newsom’s proposed $4.5 billion 2021 budget for economic stimulus in the state.

The 2021 proposal, which Newsom previewed on Tuesday, includes $1.5 billion earmarked to help people and businesses purchase electric or hydrogen vehicles and equipment, and to invest in construction and maintenance of charging and fueling infrastructure, which would be needed to support expanded use of these vehicles in the state.

Newsom’s proposal also dedicates $300 million to maintenance and “greening” of state infrastructure, and would allow installation of electric vehicle charging stations at all state-owned facilities. That could include charging stations from the likes of Tesla, ChargePoint, Electrify America (part of the Volkswagen Group) and Volta Charging.

After a year of extreme wildfires harming his constituents and the California economy, Newsom has said many times over that he views pollution and climate change as an emergency that requires immediate action.

Read More [[link removed]] 100% Clean Energy Electrification Could Save California Households $34 Billion And Create 792,592 Jobs

A new analysis by Rewiring America shows that transitioning to 100% clean energy through electrification would save California as much as $34 Billion in energy costs each year while dramatically reducing economy-wide greenhouse gas emissions. The Rewiring America Report, "No Place Like Home : California. Saving money and creating jobs by electrifying California's households." by Drs. Saul Griffith and Sam Calisch, finds that savings would mean up to $2,548 per year in savings to each California household's energy bills. Electrification would also generate more than 792,000 jobs in the state. The report builds on an earlier analysis by Rewiring America that shows that clean energy electrification could create 25 million new jobs and save Americans $321 Billion in total. Every zip code in the state would see employment gains.

Today the average California household spends approximately $4,310 per year on heating and cooling the home, generating hot water, and driving cars.

Transitioning away from fossil fuels and electrifying the California economy - replacing old fossil fuel-based machines with electric versions at every opportunity, and switching our electricity generation from dirty sources such as coal to clean ones such as rooftop solar - would provide significant savings to every Alabamian.

Read More [[link removed]] 2020 Ties 2016 As Hottest Yet, European Analysis Shows

Last year effectively tied 2016 as the hottest year on record, European climate researchers announced Friday, as global temperatures continued their relentless rise brought on by the emission of heat-trapping greenhouse gases.

The record warmth — which fueled deadly heat waves, droughts, intense wildfires and other environmental disasters around the world in 2020 — occurred despite the development in the second half of the year of La Niña, a global climate phenomenon marked by surface cooling across much of the equatorial Pacific Ocean.

And while 2020 may tie the record, all of the last six years are among the hottest ever, said Freja Vamborg, a senior scientist with the Copernicus Climate Change Service.

“It’s a reminder that temperatures are changing and will continue to change if we don’t cut greenhouse gas emissions,” Dr. Vamborg said.

Read More [[link removed]] Workforce Development California Schools Struggle To Pay For Ventilation Upgrades, Key To Safely Reopen Campuses

Upgrading ventilation systems is a key way schools can reduce the spread of the coronavirus when campuses reopen, but some districts in California are finding the cost of those upgrades to be insurmountable.

Some districts have recently been able to upgrade their HVAC systems using local bond money. Others hope a newly introduced California Assembly bill will pass and allot extra funding for school facilities. Others are hoping President-elect Joe Biden will push through infrastructure legislation that includes money for schools. But few funding streams are guaranteed, and they may not be sufficient to cover the regular inspections and filter replacements that HVAC systems require.

Because the coronavirus is primarily spread through air droplets, teachers unions and state authorities are urging schools to improve their indoor air quality by installing modern air filters or air purifiers, or replacing their outdated heating, cooling and air ventilation (HVAC) systems entirely. But the costs can exceed hundreds of thousands of dollars, depending on the region, the condition of the existing buildings and the size of the school.

Read More [[link removed]] Large Urban Districts Object To Gov. Newsom's School Reopening Plan

Superintendents of seven urban school districts, including the state’s four largest, are strongly criticizing Gov. Gavin funding plan to allow districts to reopen classrooms as soon as Feb. 15.

They are urging the governor to design a different funding plan that considers their unique needs and warn: “If nothing changes, many students in high-need communities are at risk of being left behind.”

Their criticisms, in a Jan. 6 letter, indicate they won’t pursue the funding incentives for school reopening that Newsom tied to a series of requirements as proposed. The unified districts are Los Angeles, San Diego, Long Beach, Fresno, Oakland, San Francisco and Sacramento City.

“A funding model which supports only schools in communities less impacted by the virus is at odds with California’s long-standing efforts to provide more support to students from low-income families,” they argue. “It also reverses a decade-long commitment to equity-based funding.”

Read More [[link removed]] What Obstacles Schools Must Overcome To Offer In-Person Instruction

Gov. Gavin Newsom’s “Safe Schools for All” plan presented during the waning days of 2020 has raised hopes that more schools could reopen for in-person instruction this school year, at least for the state’s youngest children.

The goal, Newsom explained, is “to support all communities to be on track for safe in-person instruction by early spring 2021.”

Yet the outlook for that happening appears daunting. What challenges do districts face in jump-starting in person instruction? Here are the principle ones:

Covid-19 spreading across the state

Even those most vigorously arguing that returning to school presents relatively few risks to children acknowledge that it should be done within the context of containing the spread of the virus in the larger community.

Read More [[link removed]] Infrastructure and Housing Amazon Commits $2B To Housing Equity

Tech giants like Amazon have made a number of affordable housing investments in recent years, a problem many experts have said such companies helped create.

Microsoft, for instance, has committed $750 million to support affordable housing, with the recent addition of a $250 million investment to help fund about 3,000 affordable housing units in the Seattle area. Apple recently made a $2.5 billion commitment to create more affordable housing in California; Google pledged to invest $1 billion to add 20,000 affordable homes in the Bay Area within the next decade; and Facebook has also pledged to invest $1 billion for a similar effort.

"I am heartened to see the companies that have experienced such rapid growth in high-cost areas taking important steps to also contribute to both the production and preservation of housing in their areas," said Urban Institute President Sarah Rosen Wartell of Amazon's announcement. "But equally important, [they are] lending their voice as major employers who can command the attention of elected leaders that investment in affordable housing is a critical, necessary step for a region's balanced, healthy economy."

Read More [[link removed]] 5 Things Learned Covering California's Housing Crisis

Lessons from three years covering the politics, policy and absurdity of trying to fix one of the state’s most vexing problems.

Back in 2017, I wrote a fairly unremarkable piece about a state lawmaker’s proposal to take away a tax break on California vacation homes to fund more low-income housing. More precisely — believe me, among housing nerds it’s essential to be precise — the bill would have eliminated the mortgage interest deduction on second homes, generating an estimated $300 million annually to build publicly subsidized apartments.

In antiquated journalism terms, the bill — which would take away a dubious tax benefit from richer Californians who don’t really need it to fund housing for poorer Californians who do — was a “talker.”

But my best “talkers” in the past didn’t get the attention this story did. There were three times as many readers for this relatively small-stakes housing piece as anything else I had published that year. There aren’t enough vacation homeowners in the state to justify that many eyeballs.

Read More [[link removed]] Marin Legislator's Bond Push Amon 2021 Housing Initiatives

State Sen. Mike McGuire, whose district includes Marin, said he will partner with Senate President Pro Tem Toni Atkins to get a statewide bond measure on the ballot to raise money for affordable housing.

“My major priority is getting an affordable housing bond passed in 2021,” said McGuire, D-Healdsburg. “The pandemic has made our affordable housing crisis even worse. Between 2015 and 2025, California will need 1.5 million affordable rental housing units just to keep up with demand.”

The effort is just one of the legislative initiatives on housing expected in the new year.

In December, Senate leaders submitted six bills that would make it easier to build homes and smaller apartments, and to subdivide large residential lots into two parcels. Many of the bills are reintroductions of measures that won support during the last session, but got stalled in a legislative calendar shortened by the pandemic and intraparty political disputes.

“The theme headed into 2021 is, ‘Let’s try this one more time,’” said David Garcia, policy director at the Terner Center for Housing Innovation at the University of California, Berkeley.

Not everyone is enthusiastic about the possible passage of the bills.

Read More [[link removed]] How Government Can Rebuild Digital Infrastructure And Support Diversity And Inclusion

As the pandemic has shown, it is clear the country’s digital infrastructure is unable to meet the needs of the American people. People are out of work in record numbers at the same time that the nation is coming to grips with the fact that much of its IT systems are outdated and must be rebuilt.

Just as Franklin D. Roosevelt set the country to work building roads and aqueducts following the Great Depression, there is an opportunity to put people back to work by repairing our crumbling digital infrastructure. By equipping unemployed individuals with on-the-job training, those living in poverty can emerge from this pandemic with the skills to participate in the digital economy.

Government IT managers can play a key role in facilitating this transition. They can create their own in-house apprenticeship programs. They can partner with organizations to develop specialized training programs or they can outsource an apprenticeship program to create the workforce they need.

If agency IT managers help direct their organizations toward a new way of thinking about apprenticeships and training, they can not only help their agencies with workforce development, they can also help reshape the economy in an equitable, diverse and inclusive way.

Read More [[link removed]] Editorial and Opinion Employment Development Department Another Name For Titanic Disaster

“Rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic” is an overworked cliché, but it certainly applies to California’s Employment Development Department.

The name itself is a farce. There’s no evidence that EDD ever developed any jobs, other than employing thousands of bureaucrats to pay out unemployment insurance benefits — and that’s been a titanic disaster.

This week, EDD suspended payments to many Californians in its latest effort to deal with massive fraud that erupted when Congress pumped many billions of dollars into the unemployment insurance system for workers who lost jobs due to COVID-19.

“As part of ongoing efforts to fight fraud, EDD has suspended payment on claims considered high risk and is informing those affected that their identity will need to be verified starting this week before payments can resume,” the agency tweeted on Sunday.

Read More [[link removed]] Legislature Needs To Hold Investigative Hearings Into California's Mass Unemployment Fraud

As residents of one of the highest taxed states in the nation, Californians‌ have a right to expect the government they pay handsomely to provide the basic services their taxes fund.

We‌ ‌‌expect‌ ‌that when‌ ‌we‌ ‌lose‌ ‌our‌ ‌job,‌ ‌the‌ ‌money‌ ‌we‌ ‌paid‌ ‌in‌ ‌unemployment‌ ‌insurance‌ ‌will‌ ‌be‌ ‌available‌ ‌to‌ ‌sustain‌ ‌our‌ ‌families‌ ‌in‌ ‌a‌ ‌time‌ ‌of‌ ‌personal‌ ‌crisis.‌ We‌ ‌expect‌ ‌that‌ ‌the‌ ‌state‌ ‌agency‌ ‌entrusted‌ ‌with‌ ‌this‌ ‌serious‌ ‌obligation‌ ‌will‌ ‌be‌ ‌able‌ ‌to‌ ‌handle‌ ‌our‌ ‌application‌ ‌for‌ ‌help.‌ ‌We‌‌ ‌expect‌ ‌that‌ ‌banks‌ ‌are‌ ‌a‌ ‌safe‌ ‌and‌ ‌secure‌ ‌place‌ ‌to‌ ‌keep‌ ‌our‌ ‌money, and that ‌when‌ ‌we‌ ‌have‌ ‌money‌ ‌in‌ ‌an‌ ‌account‌ ‌at‌ ‌Bank‌ ‌of‌ ‌America,‌ ‌the‌ ‌money‌ ‌which‌ ‌belongs‌ ‌to‌ ‌us‌ ‌will‌ ‌not‌ ‌mysteriously‌ ‌disappear‌ ‌one‌ ‌day.‌ ‌ ‌

Regrettably,‌ ‌in‌ ‌the‌ ‌middle‌ ‌of‌ ‌a‌ ‌worldwide‌ ‌pandemic,‌ ‌these expectations have been dashed for the most vulnerable Californians relying on Unemployment Insurance. ‌Our state’s ‌agencies‌ ‌and‌ ‌financial‌ ‌institutions‌ have failed them and‌ ‌have been‌ ‌unable‌ ‌to‌ ‌deliver‌ ‌the‌ ‌safety‌ ‌and‌ ‌security‌ ‌that‌ ‌they‌ ‌promised.‌

Since late March when California shut down businesses and schools to slow the spread of COVID-19, my staff has helped thousands of constituents who were unable to secure their unemployment insurance from an overwhelmed and backlogged Employment Development Department. EDD has blamed its computers, lack of staff and been given multiple opportunities for improvement, even halting claims processing for a two-week period for a system “reset.” All to no avail.

Read More [[link removed]] The Illogical California Lockdown Orders

Get ready to stay home indefinitely, my fellow Californians. Gov. Gavin Newsom has suggested that the stay-at-home order he issued Dec. 3 will likely be extended well into January.

So for a few more weeks — at least — most Californians won’t be able to engage in a wide range of activities, from indoor and outdoor dining and worship services to overnight camping in state parks. Many cities and counties have imposed their own restrictions on top of the state’s.

These restrictions aren’t merely crippling California’s economy and harming residents’ mental health. They’re also riddled with inconsistencies and often unjustified by public health data.

Take Los Angeles County, which until recently had closed all playgrounds and barred small outdoor meetings, even though the risk of contracting the coronavirus outdoors is quite low. According to a London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine database of more than 20,000 COVID-19 cases, only 461 — 2.3% — were linked to fully outdoor settings.

Read More [[link removed]] To Help Address Learning Disparities, Boost Internet Access For Low-Income Students

With coronavirus cases spiking across California, districts have paused or delayed plans to reopen schools. Most school districts will continue to rely on distance learning for the coming months.

Prior to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s recent proposal to provide $2 billion in incentives for California schools to reopen for in-person instruction for younger students, Los Angeles Unified last month reversed course on its school reopening, while a growing number of districts – including San Bernardino, the state’s seventh largest – announced plans to keep students in distance learning for the entire 2020–21 school year.

Without equitable access to broadband internet and digital devices, many students are at risk of falling behind or dropping out, exacerbating educational inequities.

The digital divide is a decades-old challenge for California, but the pandemic has lent it renewed urgency. The switch to distance learning last spring left a staggering number of K-12 students ill equipped to participate fully. U.S. Census Bureau data show that slightly more than one in four California students did not always have internet access available. The share was even larger among children in low-income (43%), African American (39%) and Latino (33%) families. Reliable access to digital devices was also a challenge. A third of all households did not always have a device available for learning, including half of low-income households.

Read More [[link removed]] Fed's Mandate Doesn't Include Climate Change

The Federal Reserve’s recent announcement that it will join the Network for Greening the Financial System, a consortium of central banks intent on using financial regulation to combat climate change, should raise concern for those observing a troubling trend in the politicization of financial supervision.

European regulators have begun injecting ill-defined climate metrics into their supervision of regulated firms and U.S. lawmakers on the far left are urging our financial regulators to join them.

Radical climate activists and their enablers on Capitol Hill are incapable of passing the Green New Deal through the legislative process because the American people know it would crush jobs, increase the cost of food and fuel, and have lasting negative impacts on American competitiveness and economic exceptionalism.

As a result, they want to use financial regulation as a backdoor to achieve their ill-conceived objectives. This effort is less about predicting financial stress from climate change and more about causing financial stress for industries that climate extremists hate.

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