October 21, 2016 New Feature: Based on member feedback, at the end of each news summary, we will be noting in red the cities in which the article covers. If an article covers an entire region or a majority of cities in a Division, we will denote by the appropriate League Division.   TRANSPORTATION / INFRASTRUCTURE State rail authority reduces size of future bullet train stations (Los Angeles Times) The California bullet train authority has told its design engineers that the future system would have shorter trains and smaller station platforms, reducing the capacity of individual trains by roughly 50% and potentially the capacity of the entire Los Angeles-to-San Francisco route. It is the second time that operating parameters have been reduced this year. Statewide   Placer County conservatives at odds on transportation sales tax plan (Sacramento Bee) Placer County roads and highways are increasingly congested and local leaders say they don’t have enough money to provide traffic relief. After years of debate, they are asking voters on Nov. 8 to approve a half-cent sales tax increase to fund an estimated $1.6 billion of transportation improvements over the next 30 years. Measure M, the Keep Placer Moving initiative, will need a two-thirds yes vote to pass. It’s a tough hurdle in a largely Republican county where voters are known to be fiscally conservative. But congestion problems have led some low-tax advocates to offer support for the measure. Cities in Placer County WATER / DROUGHT New legislation key to water management (Bakersfield.com) The legislature took an important, progressive first step in this past legislative session. In signing AB 2480 into law, Gov. Jerry Brown fundamentally shifted the way our state approaches storing and moving water, a shift that is vital in this era of climate change. AB 2480 recognized an essential truth: the natural water storage systems found throughout the Sierra Nevada are just as critical to our state’s water security as are dams, tunnels and aqueducts. It doesn’t matter how sophisticated our systems are for moving water to serve agriculture and urban users if there is no water available to move. This legislation put “green infrastructure” — healthy watersheds — on par with “hard infrastructure” like dams when it comes to financial investment and policy priorities around water. Under AB 2480, state agencies and regulators will now invest time and resources into restoring and preserving natural areas like Sierra Nevada forests and meadows, which are our first line of defense against drought. Modesto, Bakersfield   Ensuring access to safe drinking water ought to come before a push for soda taxes (Los Angeles Times) Tobacco executives must be thrilled that soda has become a prime target of public health activists. These days, it is seen as a slow-acting poison that contributes to type 2 diabetes, obesity and other health disorders. To some health officials, it is as threatening as cigarettes. One result has been a surging interest in taxing it and other sugary beverages — a move designed to reduce demand just as tobacco taxes have deterred smoking. The nation passed its first soda tax in Berkeley two years ago. Philadelphia adopted one earlier this year, and now three California cities — Oakland, Albany and San Francisco — have a penny-per-ounce soda tax on the November ballot. And there are efforts to launch a statewide soda tax as well. Other states and cities are looking at soda taxes too. Oakland, Albany, San Francisco HOUSING L.A. ballot measure would make housing affordability crisis worse, opponents' study finds (Los Angeles Times) A Los Angeles ballot measure pitched as a way to provide good jobs and less expensive housing would instead worsen the city’s affordability crisis, according to an economic analysis released Thursday by the measure’s critics. The study targets Measure JJJ, which is backed by labor and tenant advocates. If passed by voters on Nov. 8, it would impose new hiring and affordability requirements on developers if they want city approval to build apartment and condo projects larger than zoning currently allows. Los Angeles   HOMELESSNESS / POVERTY A fix for L.A.'s homeless crisis isn't cheap. Will voters go for $1.2 billion in borrowing? (Los Angeles Times) For years, many Los Angeles residents have watched with alarm as homeless encampments spread across the city, from the sidewalks of skid row to alleys in South Los Angeles, behind shopping centers in the Valley and even on the bluffs above the Pacific Ocean. Next month, voters will have to decide whether these concerns are strong enough to approve a new tax to fight homelessness. The ballot measure culminated more than a year of discussion and debate at City Hall and beyond aimed at getting past the rhetoric and putting significant money behind solutions to the homeless crisis. Los Angeles   MARIJUANA Pot measure not up to snuff on regulation (Ventura County Star) Recreational marijuana use by adults is, in all probability, going to be legal in California. The Star Editorial Board supports that goal but does not believe this year's legalization initiative, Proposition 64, sufficiently establishes regulatory controls over this explosive new industry. The lengthy ballot initiative does much right. It permits local governments to refuse to allow marijuana shops in their towns. It limits personal usage but allows limited personal cultivation. It prohibits consumption of marijuana in public. It heavily taxes the industry, opening a floodgate of new state revenue. Statewide Council Committee Grapples with Marijuana Legalization Issues (Pasadena Now) Less than two weeks before the elections, City officials in Pasadena find themselves grappling with a host of issues to be decided upon as the state faces the likely passage of Prop 64, the “Adult Use of Marijuana Act” (AUMA), which would legalize adult recreational use and cultivation of marijuana in California. The City Council Economic Development and Technology Committee struggled with the issue Monday afternoon before deciding to recommend to the full council a temporary ban on outdoor cultivation of marijuana, should the proposition pass. The committee recommendation hopes to present its recommendation to the full City Council at their next meeting; although it is possible the recommendation might not come before the council until after the elections. Pasadena

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