September 15, 2016   CAP & TRADE Jerry Brown signs funding bill amid push to extend cap and trade (Sacramento Bee) Gov. Jerry Brown, laboring to build support for California’s controversial cap-and-trade program, signed legislation Wednesday authorizing $900 million in spending on climate-related programs, including clean car rebates, parks and public transportation. The legislation, negotiated by Brown and legislative leaders last month, was significant to many moderate Democrats who viewed spending in their districts as critical to buttress a state climate program that has faced heavy resistance from industry. PROPOSITIONS Sunlight is the best disinfectant — and in California's Legislature, there's a lot to disinfect (Los Angeles Times) Proposition 54 is all about trying to make the state Legislature more transparent and thoughtful — less secretive and, too often, slimy. The 72-hour mandate could be waived if the governor declared a public emergency — in the event of an earthquake or flood, for example — and the relevant legislative house approved the move by a two-thirds vote.   TRANSPORTATION / INFRASTRUCTURE Frustrated transportation groups urge the Legislature to come back in a lame-duck session (Los Angeles Times) Saying that "it is time to stop ignoring the transportation needs of our state," a coalition of more than four dozen economic and local government groups urged state lawmakers on Wednesday to restart talks on a transportation funding agreement before the end of November.   Oakland council debates taxing Uber, Lyft drivers (East Bay Times) Oakland is moving ahead with plans to tax Uber and Lyft drivers, but it first needs to figure out how it will do so. At a city finance meeting Tuesday, council members expressed concerns about unfairly charging a flat rate to drivers who drive part time and rarely visit Oakland. Oakland is considering an annual flat tax of $72, similar to what taxicab drivers already pay.   WATER / DROUGHT Lake Tahoe protection and Sacramento flood control in Senate bill (Sacramento Bee) Showing some progress, senators have groomed a bill that includes a 10-year, $415 million Lake Tahoe restoration package. The broader water resources development bill also authorizes help for the endangered Salton Sea, the much-diminished Los Angeles River and Sacramento-area flood control, among other projects.   Unreleased Report: Delta tunnel project will need $4B in US funding (KCRA 3) Giant tunnels that Gov. Jerry Brown wants to build to haul water across California are economically feasible only if the federal government bears a fourth of the nearly $16 billion cost because local water districts may not benefit as expected, according to an analysis that the state commissioned last year but never released. The findings run counter to longstanding state pledges that the districts that would get water from the tunnels would pay the full cost. Restore the Delta, a group opposing the project, obtained the fall 2015 cost analysis and subsequent state emails on revising the findings through open record laws and released them.   HOUSING San Diego housing officials fail to collect millions in payments owed, auditor says (San Diego Union-Tribune) San Diego housing officials failed to collect millions of dollars from builders who borrowed public money to develop low-income apartments, a new audit concludes. According to a report released by City Auditor Eduardo Luna this week, the San Diego Housing Commission collects just over $1 for every $5 in accrued interest it is owed by developers, meaning the city does not receive millions of dollars it could otherwise invest in additional housing. City housing officials tend to accept whatever documentation developers submit rather than reconcile the paperwork independently, auditors said, so the commission maintained a 21 percent collection rate on nearly $15 million due to the city.   HOMELESSNESS / POVERTY Steve Jobs' widow is giving two L.A. teachers $10 million to start a school for homeless and foster youth (Los Angeles Times) That’s the prize-winning idea behind RISE High, a proposed Los Angeles charter high school designed to serve homeless and foster children whose educations are frequently disrupted. Los Angeles educators Kari Croft, 29, and Erin Whalen, 26, who came up with the idea, won $10 million in XQ: The Super School Project, a high school redesign competition funded by Laurene Powell Jobs, the widow of Steve Jobs.   Sacramento median income rises to highest level in years (Sacramento Bee) Sacramento household incomes grew almost 5 percent last year, the quickest year-to-year jump in at least a decade, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures released Wednesday. The region’s median household income – the middle income in a ranked list – was about $62,800 last year, the highest level since 2009, after adjusting for inflation. Incomes grew slightly faster in the Sacramento region than they did statewide last year. Poverty also fell sharply across the region, census figures show. Fifteen percent of the four-county region’s residents fell below the poverty line in 2015, down from 16.4 percent in 2014.   ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY Interior Department signs blueprint for renewable energy development in the California desert (Los Angeles Times) On Wednesday, U.S. Interior Department officials signed a blueprint that they touted as a finely tuned effort to balance conservation of California’s iconic desert landscapes with the state’s growing hunger for clean energy in the age of climate change. It puts 9.2 million acres of federal land in the California desert off limits to solar, wind and geothermal development, while steering renewable projects to less ecologically valuable areas on about 800,000 acres, with a particular emphasis on roughly half that land.   Gov Jerry Brown signs four climate change bills in downtown Fresno (KFSN TV Fresno) Governor Jerry Brown came to Fresno Wednesday to sign landmark legislation aimed at easing the effects of climate change. The law puts nearly $1-billion towards the statewide effort. The bill signing took place on top of a downtown parking garage, with a view of the Valley's air pollution problem. Something Governor Brown said the legislation will help ease.   CITY IN THE SPOTLIGHT American Canyon receives Silver Beacon Award (Napa Valley Register) his city has been recognized for its energy conservation efforts with the Silver Beacon Award from the Institute of Local Government and the League of California Cities. The Beacon Program recognizes California cities and counties that work to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, save energy, and adopt policies to promote sustainability.   Mounce appointed president of League of California Cities (Lodi News Sentinel) For the first time since 1952, a member of the Lodi City Council will serve as president of the League of California Cities, and Councilwoman JoAnne Mounce is thrilled and honored to make history after being appointed to the position.

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