In The Media

(T)here’s an even older discriminatory law still on the books in our state — in fact, it’s part of the California Constitution, placed there in 1950 by another ballot issue. That amendment created the nation’s only state law that lets voters veto public housing projects. There’s no denying that the provision was passed to keep Black families out of White neighborhoods. Now, two state senators, Ben Allen of Torrance and Scott Wiener of San Francisco, are properly backing a move to get the law off the state’s books.

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The Housing Department is preparing a new ballot measure for November. It’s a waste of time, energy and money for the city, and that’s why Mayor Eric Garcetti began working with state Sen. Ben Allen (D-Santa Monica) four years ago to repeal Article 34. It’s a remnant of an era that California should repudiate.

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Russia’s invasion into Ukraine has pushed California’s gas prices to record levels, but a local lawmaker wants to know why Golden State prices are routinely so much higher than the rest of the nation… Allen conceded that California’s environmental standards and voter-approved gas tax have boosted fuel costs. But prices spiked dramatically following a 2015 explosion at an ExxonMobil refinery in Torrance, he said, and they’ve never fully retreated.

“They went up $1.50 a gallon after that explosion, but they only came back down $1,” he said. “So there’s a 50-cent surcharge that oil companies

California State Senator Ben Allen and two of his colleagues have proposed a bill designed to support the state’s flagging local journalism industry. The measure, Senate Bill 911, would establish a state board that would distribute grants to individuals and organizations covering community news.

“Free and rigorous journalism is essential for a functioning democracy,” Allen told the Courier. “It inspires action and accountability where it might otherwise be lacking, and the less we invest in good journalism as a society the greater the risk to good government and transparency.”

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Visit the the Los Angeles Times COVID-19 Vaccination Distribution informational website

http://www.foxla.com/features/fox-11-in-depth-state-of-recycling-in-california-2019

A Marin-based environmental group is backing state legislation to rid the ocean of drift gill nets it says accidentally injure or kill marine mammals.

The drift net fishery for swordfish in California consists of roughly 20 fishing vessels that set out floating nets, some the length of the Golden Gate Bridge. Critics say they indiscriminately catch whatever floats in, including whales, turtles, dolphins and sharks.

Now Senate Bill 1017 — sponsored by Ben Allen, D-Redondo Beach — is getting the backing of Olema-based Turtle Island Restoration Network, which has worked with the senator on the

The new state budget — the last one signed by Governor Jerry Brown — has over $50 million more for funding arts and arts education.  We did a break down of the dollars to see where the money is going.  Starting with the California Arts Council.

What did they get?

Each year since the 2016-2017 fiscal year, the California Arts Council — which, among other things, awards grants to arts and arts education programs around the state — has been working with $15.1 million from the state's general fund. This year, the council got a $8.8 million boost from the general fund. (They also get other

The Sacramento Bee, Modesto Bee, Merced Sun-Star, Fresno Bee and San Luis Obispo Tribune are launching a discussion about important issues facing the state of California. For a second consecutive year, we've brought together 100 influential Californians from a variety of industries and perspectives who will offer their views through year's end. Our hope is this extended conversation leads to substantive change. 

For full story see Sacbee.com

California voters have consistently backed the building of affordable housing, and they have been generous in paying for it. Since 1988, the state has passed seven housing bonds worth more than $9 billion to fund the construction of homes for seniors, the homeless, farmworkers and low-income families. Yet despite voters’ steady support, there remains a terrible, crisis-level shortage of affordable housing for middle- and low-income Californians — and a provision in the state Constitution that makes it unnecessarily difficult to build that housing.

For full story see latimes.com