[Source: The Los Angeles Times] Donald Trump’s pick to head the Environmental Protection Agency cast doubt on whether California should continue to have power to impose its own emission rules for cars and trucks, an authority the state has enjoyed for decades that is also the cornerstone of its efforts to fight global warming. Oklahoma Atty. Gen. Scott Pruitt said Read More…
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California’s bullet train is hurtling toward a multibillion-dollar overrun, a confidential federal report warns
[Source: The Los Angeles Times] California’s bullet train could cost taxpayers 50% more than estimated — as much as $3.6 billion more. And that’s just for the first 118 miles through the Central Valley, which was supposed to be the easiest part of the route between Los Angeles and San Francisco. A confidential Federal Railroad Administration risk Read More…
Gov. Jerry Brown warns of major ripple effects in California if Obamacare is repealed
[Source: The Los Angeles Times] Gov. Jerry Brown issued a terse but pointed response Friday to House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy’s request for input on repealing the Affordable Care Act, warning of spiraling damage to healthcare coverage, premium costs and the state budget. Brown’s letter to McCarthy argued that repealing Obamacare without an alternative plan would lead Read More…
California lawmakers offer a plan to extend the state’s cap-and-trade program
[Source: The Los Angeles Times] A group of lawmakers, including some who have been skeptical of global warming regulations, introduced legislation on Thursday to ensure that California’s cap-and-trade emissions control program remains a permanent part of the state’s climate policy. The measure, AB 151, is only one paragraph long right now, but it represents an opening bid Read More…
Can the AQMD raise $1 billion a year to clean up the air?
[Source: 89.3KPCC] Just a month before the South Coast Air Quality Management District Board is set to vote on a controversial air quality plan, environmentalists remain fiercely skeptical of where the agency plans to get billions of dollars for pollution control incentives. A new smog-reduction plan revealed last year calls for $15 billion in financial Read More…
Sheila Kuehl wants SCAQMD to flex its regulatory muscle
[Source: The Press Enterprise] The South Coast Air Quality Management District’s newest incoming leader says she wants the air district to use the full extent of its regulatory might to protect neighborhoods and communities from harmful air pollution. The Los Angeles County Supervisor Sheila Kuehl will be sworn in today and will get the chance Read More…
Global economic forces conspire to stymie US manufacturing
[Source: The Hill] One factor contributing to the rise of populist sentiment in the U.S. has been the decline in manufacturing jobs, from 17 million in 2000 to 11 million in 2010, with a small bounce-back since then. President-elect Trump promises to bring manufacturing jobs back. In thinking about policies that might accomplish this, it Read More…
Who is Scott Pruitt?
[Source: Cosmopolitan] He’s a climate change skeptic who is currently suing the EPA. Earlier this month, President-elect Donald Trump announced his pick to head the Environmental Protection Agency, Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt. As has been the case with many of Trump’s nominees, the choice has raised concerns, especially from Democrats. Here’s what you need Read More…
Riverside County Supervisor John Benoit dies at 64
[Source: The Press Enterprise] Riverside County Supervisor John Benoit died Monday night, Dec. 26 at age 64, his office announced. Benoit, who had been battling pancreatic cancer, “passed away peacefully this evening at his home in Bermuda Dunes,” according to a county news release. His death came one day shy of his 65th birthday, said Read More…