Gov. Gavin Newsom recently said he doesn’t understand why sports stadiums could be built quickly but other major projects couldn’t. If he really didn’t know, then he probably just learned.

sports are popular. Not so with all public building projects. Some are hated.

The Democratic-dominated legislature taught the Democratic governor a lesson in real-world politics and policy-making: Don’t try to punch past your weight.

When the legislature is united, it is equal to the executive.

Newsom was trying to get lawmakers through his last-minute proposal to expedite construction of a highly controversial water tunnel in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta.

Environmental groups and Delta residents, including local farmers, are strongly opposed to the $16 billion, 45-mile project that would divert Sacramento River water to southern aqueducts for irrigation and to cities, including Los Angeles.

Lawmakers opposed Newsom and flatly refused to consider his tunnel acceleration plan, forcing him to relent and withdraw the proposal. It was a humiliating setback for the governor of California.

The Delta plan was part of an 11-bill bill that Newsom belatedly introduced and brought into budget deliberation on May 19. It had no real connection to the budget, but the governor’s move allowed his package to escape scrutiny by legislative policy committees. His goal was to cut bureaucracy and make it easier to build transportation, clean energy, and water projects.

Previous legislatures and governors – Jerry Brown and Arnold Schwarzenegger – created regulatory shortcuts to make it easier to build soccer stadiums and basketball arenas. The stadiums were not built for various reasons, but at least two swanky basketball arenas were built – for the Sacramento Kings and the Golden State Warriors in San Francisco.

“I love sports,” said Newsom, a former Santa Clara University Broncos college baseball pitcher. “But I also love roads. I love transit. i love bridges And I love clean energy projects like what we’re seeing here.”

Newsom unveiled its infrastructure acceleration package for a future solar farm near Modesto in May. He also thought about building wind, battery storage and semiconductor plants. Add regional trains, bridges and water storage facilities, and the Delta Tunnel to the list.

“It’s not just about stadiums,” Newsom continued. “And we proved that we can do that for stadiums too.

“Why the hell can’t we apply that to all these other projects?”

That’s a valid question. I’ve asked myself that in previous columns.

One answer is that stadiums and arenas are built by powerful billionaires who can wield a great deal of political clout. You can help politicians run for re-election. If nothing else happens, they may be asked for playoff tickets.

But the more important answer is that professional football and basketball are hugely popular with voters. It’s bipartisan. There is only marginal resistance to helping team owners build local playgrounds.

Contrast that with the proposed tunnel, a 39-foot-wide pipe that would channel fresh Sacramento River water from the North Delta into aqueducts in the more saline South Delta. The delta is California’s most important water hub, serving 27 million people and irrigating 3 million hectares.

The tunnel would run beneath the delta, robbing farmers and small communities of the freshwater that now flows through the West Coast’s largest estuary. And it would reduce freshwater needs for struggling baby salmon, which are already an endangered species.

Newsom and state water agencies counter that the tunnel would save the delta as California’s premier sanitation facility. This would ensure the reliability of water supplies to farms and coastal towns in the San Joaquin Valley. Otherwise, the prognosis for the delta is bleak as climate change will cause sea levels to rise and possible earthquakes could flatten the dikes.

Delta opponents, however, argue that sea-level rise is another reason to keep freshwater flowing to ward off saltwater from San Francisco Bay. And they point out that no earthquake has ever seriously damaged a levee in the delta. In fact, there is no major error below the delta.

Bottom Line: Delta residents do not trust state water authorities to operate the tunnel in a way that protects them and the estuary. They fear being drained the way the Los Angeles Aqueduct created the Owens Valley a century ago.

Governors have been trying to build this project in one form or another for six decades. They were defeated either by voters or by a coalition of Delta people and environmentalists.

This time Newsom tried to play hard. He threatened to veto the legislature’s pet budget projects unless they approved his proposal to speed up construction of the tunnel and other infrastructure projects.

Key to his plan is the questionable goal of reducing the time it takes to resolve claims under the California Environmental Quality Act. He’s asking for a 270-day grace period if a judge thinks it’s feasible. That seems impractical.

Legislative leaders told the governor last week that the Delta Legislature was a failure. He pushed her anyway, but finally gave up on Monday.

The remainder of the infrastructure acceleration package was left to further negotiations.

Newsom could still have some wins in the end. But at the delta the old left-hander was hit and should never have taken the hill.

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SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California Gov. Gavin Newsom and the Democrats who control the state legislature late Monday agreed on how $310.8 billion will be spent over the next year and approved a plan that covering a budget deficit of nearly $32 billion without raiding the federal savings account.

The country’s most populous state has run a total budget surplus of well over $100 billion in recent years and has used that money to significantly expand government.

But that year, earnings fell as inflation soared and the stock market struggled. California derives most of its income from taxes paid by the wealthy, making it more vulnerable to economic changes than other states. Last month, the Newsom administration estimated that government spending would exceed revenue by over $30 billion.

The budget, which lawmakers are scheduled to vote on this week, will cover that shortfall by cutting some spending — about $8 billion — while delaying other spending and shifting some spending to other funds. The plan would raise $6.1 billion and set aside $37.8 billion in reserves, an all-time high.

“In the face of ongoing global economic uncertainty, this budget increases our fiscal discipline by increasing our fiscal reserves to a record $38 billion while preserving historic investments in public education, healthcare, climate and public safety,” Newsom said.

Republicans have criticized the budget as unsustainable, noting that it would likely leave the state in billions of dollars in deficits over the next few years. They said the state’s gasoline tax is due to be increased on Saturday, an automatic adjustment linked to inflation. Republicans have repeatedly tried to halt these increases, but to no avail.

“What do the Capitol Democrats have in store for you this holiday weekend? Higher Gas Prices!” Republican Assembly Chairman James Gallagher posted on Twitter.

Budget negotiations stalled over the weekend as Newsom sought major changes to the state’s building and permitting process. Newsom said the changes are necessary to speed up key construction projects, including expanding the state’s energy capacity and modernizing the state’s aging water infrastructure.

However, a group of Central Valley lawmakers feared that Newsom would use the proposal to push through a long-delayed project to build a giant tunnel to bring water to Southern California. In the end, Newsom got most of the changes he wanted — but lawmakers made sure the changes didn’t benefit the tunnel project.

The budget provides a lifeline for public transport operators struggling to survive after the sharp drop in ridership during the coronavirus pandemic. It allows transit companies to use a portion of the $5.1 billion in grants to operate over the next three years.

Still, some San Francisco Bay Area lawmakers said spending wasn’t enough to avert painful benefit cuts for years to come. On Monday they proposed legislation that would increase tolls on seven state-owned bridges — including the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge — by $1.50 over the next five years. State Senator Scott Wiener, a San Francisco Democrat who supports the proposal, said it would generate $180 million in revenue.

Democratic Senator Steve Glazer said he would oppose any toll increase, saying in a statement, “Transport drivers and taxpayers have seen firsthand the trail of broken promises from advocates of a bridge toll increase.”

“The status quo is a failure and we shouldn’t invest another penny to support it,” he said.

The budget doesn’t add an income tax increase to cover the deficit, but it does impose a new tax on managed care organizations — private companies that contract with the state to administer Medicaid benefits. The tax would raise an estimated $32 billion over the next four years.

Some of that money would go towards increasing the revenue of doctors treating Medicaid patients. It would also offer $150 million in loans to hospitals at risk of failure. This is in addition to the $150 million approved by lawmakers earlier this year.

“In good years we have struggled so that we could meet our needs in this difficult year,” said Senate President Pro Tempore Toni Atkins. “This pragmatic approach works for household budgeting and it works for state budgeting.”

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Gov. Gavin Newsom and Democratic lawmakers on Monday agreed on a $310.8 billion budget spending plan that will reduce investment in fighting climate change and a compromise on the governor’s last-minute proposal to speed up infrastructure projects represents throughout California.

The 2023-24 budget deal, which lawmakers will vote on in a series of bills this week, ends weeks of power struggles among Democrats that began after the governor introduced a package of infrastructure legislation at the end of the budget process, including easing his highly controversial one Approve plan to build a $16 billion tunnel under the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta to carry water south.

Newsom last week threatened to veto lawmakers’ budget priorities unless they approve his infrastructure plan. The two sides eventually reached an agreement that removes the Delta Tunnel project from the package but retains measures to reduce delays in other major projects due to legal challenges under California environmental law.

“In the face of ongoing global economic uncertainty, this budget increases our fiscal discipline by increasing our fiscal reserves to a record $38 billion while preserving historic investments in public education, health care, climate and public safety,” Newsom said in a statement announcing the deal late Monday night.

California’s budget deficit has complicated negotiations in the Capitol, where financial analysts expect tax revenues to fall nearly $32 billion short of funding for state programs.

The governor and leaders of the Democratic-led Legislature agreed to defer nearly $8 billion in spending, including an allocation of $550 million to build facilities for transitional and full-time kindergarten programs. Lawmakers and the governor agreed on another $8 billion in cuts, such as a $750 million payment to the federal government for COVID-related unemployment insurance debt.

The deficit marks a new era of economic challenges for California that could prevent Newsom from delivering on his expensive policy promises in his second term. The current agreement aims to maintain funding for Newsom’s key programs, including extending Medi-Cal eligibility to all immigrants regardless of legal status, while maintaining $37.8 billion in reserves.

Here’s what you need to know about six key areas of the 2023-24 budget spending plan, which comes into effect on July 1:

An uproar over infrastructure

Newsom’s plan to streamline the process of building infrastructure in California was the most controversial policy proposal in the budget negotiations.

The agreement includes a transformation of the state’s groundbreaking California Environmental Quality Act by reducing the possibility of lengthy legal challenges to major infrastructure projects. Environmental law requires an assessment of potential environmental impacts before a project is approved, but is also used strategically by environmental organizations, project opponents, and others to thwart or alter construction projects.

Some environmentalists objected to the hasty nature of the governor’s plan, claiming that he was attempting to weaken California’s environmental laws and protections without adequate time for political scrutiny and public comment.

Opponents of the controversial underground tunnel used to transport water from the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta to Southern California emerged victorious from the budget compromise.

Former Sierra Club director Kathryn Philips last week called Newsom’s proposal an “environmental nightmare” and said it would “decimate one of North America’s largest estuaries”.

Though Newsom and environmental groups often disagree, it’s rare for Democrats in the Capitol to openly criticize the governor. Last week, a bipartisan group of 10 lawmakers sent a letter to Newsom outlining their reasons for rejecting the proposal, including that building the tunnel would have profound health and environmental impacts in three counties: Sacramento, San Joaquin and Contra Costa.

Several other Democratic lawmakers publicly criticized Newsom during the legislative hearings for trying to get such critical legislation through the budget process at the last minute.

Newsom eventually agreed to remove the tunnel from the list of optimized infrastructure projects, according to several sources involved in the negotiations. Lawmakers also successfully urged that the state must seek to reduce impacts on disadvantaged communities in the final agreement.

More money for healthcare providers

Physicians and other medical providers have long argued that low reimbursement rates for services limit access to health care for nearly 16 million Californians, or one-third of the state’s population, who are covered by federally subsidized health insurance.

With the support of a broad coalition of physicians, community health centers, hospitals and unions, Newsom and lawmakers agreed to renew a tax on managed healthcare organizations, known as the MCO tax, to fund Medi-Cal at a time when the state is expanding the pool of eligibility. The tax is expected to generate $19.4 billion in government revenue from 2023 to 2027.

The budget provides for the first increases in reimbursement rates in more than two decades in some cases, and provides a faster timeframe for disbursing the money than Newsom proposed in May.

Legislatures and the governor are allocating $2.7 billion annually for rate increases and other investments from 2025 through 2029, including $1.65 billion for primary and specialty rate increases. The deal also includes $555 million for emergency and inpatient services and $300 million for behavioral health beds.

Although the deal represents a victory for some providers, Sen. Carolyn Menjivar (D-Panorama City) questioned why clinics serving the poorest communities were not consulted in the final negotiations.

“It was a little frustrating how the MCO breakdown came about, or what the final outcome of that was, and who got involved in the talks about who gets a piece of the pie,” she said at a legislative hearing Monday night.

Slight reduction in future efforts to combat climate change

Newsom last year praised the state’s $54 billion in investments in climate programs, but in May proposed cutting it by $6 billion as the deficit became more apparent.

Ultimately, Democrats reached a compromise, agreeing to $51.4 billion for climate programs.

The agreement will provide more than $1 billion for coastal resilience and clean energy programs and will return nearly $300 million to the State Coastal Conservancy.

Public transport funding restored

The final agreement reverses the governor’s call for a $2 billion cut in public transit after extensive lobbying by city transit authorities and Democratic lawmakers in San Francisco and Los Angeles. The deal totals $5.1 billion for transit over four years.

In anticipation of possible future cuts, Democratic lawmakers on Monday unveiled a separate plan that would increase tolls on seven state-owned bridges in the Bay Area by $1.50, by about $180 million annually from 2024-2028. generate dollars.

Money for the reconstruction of a prison

The agreement Newsom has reached with lawmakers will kick-start his comprehensive plan to revitalize San Quentin State Prison into a rehabilitation-focused facility and officially begin the process of renaming it the San Quentin Rehabilitation Center.

Despite early opposition from lawmakers who opposed Newsom’s proposal and criticism from the independent Legislative Analyst’s Office that the plan lacked necessary details, the final budget includes what the governor had aimed for: about $380 million for the Reconstruction of certain parts of San Quentin. The plan calls for the prison to be completely transformed into a Norwegian-style facility focused on vocational training and other programs to better prepare individuals for rehabilitation, thereby reducing recidivism.

San Quentin’s transformation builds on Newsom’s multi-year initiative to overhaul the state’s criminal justice system, which he began in 2019 with an executive order that temporarily halted the death penalty and closed the prison’s execution chamber.

Lawmakers have also negotiated an agreement with the administration that will give the state Police Training and Standards Committee more time to comply with part of a law passed in 2021 that introduces a decertification process for officers who commit misconduct.

An increase in state funding for child care

The current agreement includes a big win for low-income families who receive government support to fund childcare.

Currently, families earning more than 40% of the state median income are required to pay a monthly childcare fee that ranges from $36 to almost $600 — up to 10% of their income. For example, a family of four earning $6,950 a month would pay $518 a month in family fees. These fees were waived during the pandemic but were scheduled to resume on October 1.

The current budget agreement would waive fees for all families earning less than 75% of the state median income and cap all fees for families earning more at 1% of monthly income.

However, the agreement does not authorize the legislature’s target of a $1 billion increase in home childcare rates over 2023-24. Instead, a total of $2.8 billion will be approved to fund payment increases across all childcare and preschool providers over a two-year period. The details are the subject of ongoing collective bargaining with the Child Care Providers Union, which represents California’s 40,000 child care providers at home.

Contributors to this report were employees Hannah Wiley and Jenny Gold, and Sacramento Bureau chief Laurel Rosenhall.

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SAN FRANCISCO — After Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis featured San Francisco in a new campaign ad, all eyes are on the city’s efforts to clean up some of its hardest-hit areas.

Every day, dozens of street cleaners from the Department of Public Works are on site cleaning up thousands of pounds of trash from across San Francisco that is often carelessly and illegally disposed of. Your team may see increased investment from Mayor London Breed’s recent budget proposal.

“It’s a clean city, but there’s a lot of trash,” street cleaner John Duport told CBS San Francisco. He has a unique take on city cleanliness that not everyone shares.

“If we stopped work for a few days, the city would grind to a halt, garbage would fill the streets,” Duport told CBS News Bay Area.

In addition to his role as a street cleaner, Duport sees himself as an ambassador for the city, having cleaned every neighborhood in his eight years with the Public Works Department.

There’s one unsurprising item he sees everywhere from the Tenderloin to the Sunset District.

“I find needles all over town,” Duport explained. “That’s the only constant thing; Needles are everywhere.”

It’s an affair of the heart for Duport, who was born and raised in the city by the bay. Every day he patrols the city streets and leaves them better than he found them.

He says he’s equipped with everything he needs, but more staff is the only thing that could significantly improve the San Francisco cleanup.

“No matter how much rubbish I collect, I will never collect it all in one day. And that goes for every person who does what I do,” Duport said. “There just aren’t enough workers and trucks to take out all the trash.”

The Budget Committee of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors on Wednesday approved a $16.7 million budget increase for the Department of Public Works’ street cleaning division. According to a DPW official, the increase is due to savings from capital projects, deferred truck purchases, salary savings from job vacancies and unused funds.

Duport collects about 2,000 pounds of trash per shift. On Wednesday, he couldn’t drive a block in Richmond County without seeing a new pile lying on a curb.

“Today it’s just a few items. Tomorrow there could be a stack that fills my whole truck,” Duport said. “It seems like people think it’s okay to just dump their rubbish in the bins on every corner and we’re just here to collect it for them.”

Relief might be on the horizon. The overall budget must be approved by the Board of Directors on August 1st.

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PRESS RELEASE

Published on June 19, 2023

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San Francisco, United States – June 19, 2023 / Remodeling of the mission home /

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COMTEX_435577265/2827/2023-06-19T00:07:59

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Biden declares “America will not default” and says he’s confident the budget deal will come through with Republican lawmakers

WASHINGTON (AP) – President Joe Biden has expressed confidence that the US will avoid an unprecedented and potentially catastrophic debt default and says talks with Republicans in Congress have been productive. Biden made his remarks as he headed to Japan for a world summit. He will return on Sunday hoping to agree to a final deal. “I am confident that we can reach an agreement on the budget and that America will not default,” Biden said in the Roosevelt Room of the White House. He said he and lawmakers would come together “because there is no alternative”. Spokesman Kevin McCarthy agreed, although he was more combative, saying Biden “finally backed down” and came to the negotiating table.

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The BP subsidiary agrees to a $40 million fine and measures to reduce pollution at the Lake Michigan refinery

TRAVERSE CITY, Michigan (AP) — Federal officials say a BP subsidiary will pay a $40 million penalty and install technology to control the release of benzene and other pollutants at its Whiting oil refinery in northern Indiana . The measures announced Wednesday settle a civil case against BP Products North America Inc. It was filed by the US Department of Justice and the Environmental Protection Agency. They describe the penalty as the highest ever imposed under the Clean Air Act for pollution from a structure. In addition, the company will invest approximately $197 million in improvements. Officials said the refinery on Lake Michigan near Chicago violated pollution limits.

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Twitter is deleting inactive accounts, including those of people who have died, angering those who are still grieving

WASHINGTON (AP) — Elon Musk announced last week that Twitter would “delete accounts that have had no activity at all for several years.” The move sparked outrage from people who feared they could lose tweets from now-inactive accounts, including those of deceased users. Some users reported that profiles of deceased loved ones disappeared – or the message “Account suspended” appeared in them. Musk said affected accounts would be archived, noting that releasing abandoned accounts was the reason the accounts were being deleted. However, most of the details remain unknown. In 2019, Twitter attempted to implement a similar policy and received the same backlash.

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Target is struggling with spending downturns and theft that could cost the retailer more than $1 billion this year

NEW YORK (AP) – Target reported another quarterly profit decline and issued a cautious sales and earnings outlook for the current period. The discounter is struggling with rising costs and more cautious consumers. Still, Target’s first-quarter financial results on Wednesday beat Wall Street expectations and the company reiterated its annual sales and earnings guidance. Target is among the first major U.S. retailers to report first-quarter earnings. Retail industry analysts will be watching how persistently high inflation and the credit crunch are affecting shoppers.

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Elizabeth Holmes will be sentenced to 11 years in prison on May 30 after refusing her attempt to remain free

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Disgraced Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes remains at large until Memorial Day weekend before turning himself in to authorities on May 30. That would be the start of her more than 11-year sentence for defrauding investors in a blood test scam. A federal judge set Holmes’ revised arrest date after her attorneys suggested it in a filing filed Wednesday. This comes after a federal appeals court late Tuesday denied her request to be released from prison while she seeks to overturn her conviction on four counts of fraud and conspiracy. The penalty also includes a $452 million refund. Holmes, 39, will leave her two young children behind when she reports to jail.

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The EPA rule would enforce the cleanup of toxic waste dumped near coal-fired power plants

WASHINGTON (AP) – The Environmental Protection Agency is tightening a regulation to control and clean up toxic waste from coal-fired power plants. A Wednesday proposal would require safe disposal of coal ash dumped in hundreds of older landfills, “old” ponds and other inactive sites currently unregulated at the federal level. EPA Administrator Michael Regan said the plan would hold polluters accountable for controlling and disposing of coal ash, a byproduct of burning coal that can contaminate groundwater, drinking water and air and has been linked to cancer and other health problems. The plan follows an EPA proposal last week to introduce new limits on greenhouse gas emissions from coal and gas-fired power plants.

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Minnesota lawmakers strengthen quota protections for warehouse workers

Minnesota lawmakers passed legislation that gives warehouse workers who are required to meet productivity quotas more protections, a move aimed at helping employees at companies like Amazon. The safeguards were part of a broader omnibus bill passed Tuesday night by the Minnesota Senate by a 34-33 vote. The House of Representatives passed the bill by a vote of 70 to 61. The bill would require employers to provide each warehouse worker with a written description of any quotas. Among other safeguards, it prohibits employers from firing workers or taking adverse action against them if they fail to meet a quota that has not been communicated to them.

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The abortion pill case goes to the Court of Appeals, on the way to the Supreme Court

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Appellate judges who have advocated abortion restrictions in the past are hearing disputes over access to a drug used in the most common method of abortion. The case will likely end up in the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court has already intervened to maintain the availability of the drug mifepristone while litigation continues in court. Three judges of the 5th US Circuit Court of Appeals listened to an argument that is expected to last at least two hours on Wednesday afternoon. It is about the initial approval of mifepristone by the Food and Drug Administration in 2000 and actions by the FDA to make the drug more accessible in later years. The judges will not decide immediately.

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The Biden administration is investing in carbon capture, increasing pressure on industry to report results

The Biden administration announces a $251 million investment in carbon capture and storage projects in seven states. The goal is to reduce the pollution that drives climate change. The announcement comes a week after the Environmental Protection Agency published new limits on greenhouse gas emissions from power plants, which could force them to use carbon capture and storage to cut emissions. Although the EPA has said carbon capture is “sufficiently proven” to control pollution, some still question the technology’s ability to work on a large scale, including US Climate Change Commissioner John Kerry.

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The S&P 500 rose 48.87 points, or 1.2%, to 4,158.77. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 408.63 points, or 1.2%, to 33,420.77. The Nasdaq Composite rose 157.51 points, or 1.3%, to 12,500.57. The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies rose 38.32 points, or 2.2%, to 1,774.50.

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South San Francisco is poised to have a balanced budget in coming years after operating with a deficit amid the pandemic, a report released this week by the city shows.

The city, like many others in the region, saw its revenue fall as economic activity slowed during the pandemic. But while the city expects to close out the current fiscal year ending next month with a $2.3 million general fund loss, the coming year is projected to produce a nearly balanced budget with the deficit down to $99,000.

“Barring an unforeseen event, South San Francisco’s books are balanced into the future without cutting services,” City Manager Mike Futrell said. “It’s been years in the making thanks to very sound financial decisions by the City Council and by staff … and this city is very well positioned today and in the future should there be a recession or a slowdown.”

Total general fund revenue for the coming year is slated to be $122.1 million — nearly double what it was a decade ago, and an increase from the current year projected to close out at $116.3 million. The figure for the year prior was $111.5 million, according to the report.

The city gains the largest share of its revenue from property taxes, with $41 million expected this year and $43.8 million next year accounting for 36% of the general fund’s intake. Sales tax next year is projected to account for $20.9 million, or 17.2%, licensing and permits $15.5 million, or 12.3% and the city’s hotel tax $11.2 million, or 9.2%.

The hotel tax, the most affected revenue stream by the pandemic, was hit the hardest in the 2020-21 fiscal year, dropping to $6.7 million from closer to $17 million where it sat pre-COVID-19.

To weather the deficit in the current year, the city will pull from its reserves, expected to remain at a healthy $51.2 million. The city was also awarded $12.2 million in federal pandemic relief funds, a portion of which went to city social programs like the guaranteed income pilot.

The city’s largest expenses from its general fund continue to be police and fire which consume 52% of expenditures. Park and recreation accounts for 16% with the rest divided among various other city departments.

The projected budget also accounts for various new city staff positions, including the hiring of three new human resources staff members for an additional annual cost of $500,000. It also accounts for the hiring of an equity and inclusion officer, something that’s been a council priority but was put on hold amid the pandemic.

Regarding the new hires, Councilmember Mark Addiego said the city was fortunate to be in a position to make those decisions, especially compared with some neighboring cities that have been more heavily affected by hotel tax loss.

“South San Francisco finds itself in an enviable position, and we can make that commitment to improving the HR experience both for the people that are employed there and for those that are dependent on their services,” he said.

Vice Mayor Flor Nicolas took a more cautionary tone, pointing to potential new COVID-19 variants.

“Hopefully knowing what we know now, we will be able to achieve all these assumptions that we have,” she said.

The council will meet June 8 to go over the budget proposal in more detail ahead of a June 22 deadline for adoption.

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Money / financial planning

eclipse_images / Getty Images

If you’re planning any major maintenance or renovation projects in 2022, be prepared to dig a little deeper into your bank account. The cost of maintaining the average single-family home in the US rose 9.3% last year, according to a new survey by Thumbtack, and there is every reason to believe that those costs will continue to rise over the next year.

According to a survey of more than 1,000 Americans in the 40 largest US cities, the higher maintenance costs for households were caused by labor and material shortages, as well as increasing demand for household services. About 30% of respondents said they would spend more than $ 10,000 on home projects in the next 12 months.

According to the Thumbtacks Home Care Price Index, released December 9, the average annual cost of maintaining a single family home is $ 4,886 – an increase of about $ 450 per household compared to 2020. The average cost of maintenance for a Townhouses soared 8.6% to $ 1,922 this year, while the average home maintenance cost increased 10% to $ 682.

See: 7 Easy Home Renovations To Get Started This Winter
Find: Who pays for home renovations on your favorite HGTV and other shows – and what do they cost?

Inflation to blame for rising prices?

Although these increases slowed significantly in the fourth quarter, overall inflation projections point to continued rising costs for almost everything in 2022.

Economists surveyed by the National Association for Business Economics estimate annual inflation will stay above 2% for the next three years amid rising wages and strong demand for goods and services, according to a recent Fox Business report. By the end of 2022, consumer price index inflation is expected to rise by almost 3%.

If this surge creeps into home maintenance, you can expect the average cost of servicing a single family home to climb to over $ 5,000 in 2022. Of course, a lot depends on the types of renovation or maintenance that are sought. In 2021, costs will rise for all but a few maintenance categories, according to Thumbtack. Here are some of the year-over-year cost increases for the current quarter:

• Sprinkler and irrigation repairs: 28.8%.
• Equipment maintenance: 19.7%.
• Sewer cleaning: 19.5%.
• Roof maintenance: 13.4%.
• Tree pruning: 13.4%.
• House cleaning: 13.3%.

Only three categories saw costs fall this quarter: chimney and chimney cleaning by 5.3%; central air conditioning maintenance (minus 1.8%); and lawn care (minus 0.4%).

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Which US regions will be hardest hit by rising home maintenance costs?

In terms of geographic regions, Thumbtack’s home care price index has seen double-digit maintenance increases in numerous Sunbelt cities this year. Those who see some of the tallest peaks are West Palm Beach, Florida (+ 18.4%); Charlotte, North Carolina (+ 18%); Orlando, Florida (+ 16.6%); Houston, Texas (+ 15.8%); Miami, Florida (+ 14.4%); San Antonio, Texas (+ 13.8%); and San Diego, California (+ 13.7%).

Steep gains were also reported in hot residential markets such as Portland, Oregon (+ 33.9%); Las Vegas, Nevada (+ 17.6%); Seattle, Washington (+ 16.3%); Salt Lake City, Utah (+ 12.8%); New York City, New York (+ 12.1%) and Denver, Colorado (+ 10.5%).

At the other end of the spectrum, some cities have seen either declines or minimal increases in maintenance costs this year. This includes Baltimore, which was the only city on the list to see a 1.9% decline. Boston, Philadelphia, San Francisco, and Washington, DC all reported increases of 3% or less.

See: Seasonal House Maintenance You Must Do To Maintain Your Home’s Value
Find: 12 Money Saving Home Maintenance Chores That You Don’t Need To Avoid anymore

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Regardless of where you live, experts recommend spending enough money on upkeep and renovations each year to keep your home in good condition.

“People in different cities will make different decisions, but what is clear is that while you can put off buying a new couch – if you have moved to a warmer climate, you can put the strain on servicing or repairing your air conditioning, sprinklers, and more Areas, “said David Steckel, home expert at Thumbtack, in a press release. “Proactive home care saves homeowners thousands of dollars in repairs and helps arrange replacement appointments.”

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About the author

Vance Cariaga is a London based writer, editor and journalist who previously worked for Investor’s Business Daily, The Charlotte Business Journal and The Charlotte Observer. His work has also appeared in Charlotte Magazine, Street & Smith’s Sports Business Journal, and Business North Carolina Magazine. He holds a BA in English from Appalachian State University and studied journalism from the University of South Carolina. His coverage has been recognized by the North Carolina Press Association, the Green Eyeshade Awards, and AlterNet. In addition to journalism, he has worked in banking, accounting and restaurant management. Vance’s short story “Saint Christopher” is from North Carolina and also writes fiction. She took second place in the 2019 Writer’s Digest Short Short Story Competition. Two of his short stories appear in With One Eye on the Cows, an anthology published in 2019 by Ad Hoc Fiction. His debut novel, Voodoo Hideaway, was published by Atmosphere Press in 2021.

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By Antonio Ray Harvey, California Black Media

To improve housing access, affordability and equity, California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced the creation of a Housing Strike Force earlier this month.

The team, based at the California Department of Justice (Cal DOJ), has been tasked with enforcing California housing laws that cities across the state have circumvented or ignored.

The strike forces will hold a series of round tables across the state to educate and engage tenants and homeowners as the state puts pressure on communities for non-compliance with housing regulations and state-set housing production targets.

“California is facing a housing and affordability crisis of epic proportions,” said Bonta. “Millions of Californians worry about having a roof over their heads every day, and there are too many in this state who are lacking housing.

“This is a top priority and a struggle we will not back down from. As attorney general, I am committed to using all the tools my office has to promote the fundamental right to housing for Californians. “

The Housing Strike Force will take “an innovative and intersectional approach” to addressing the housing crisis, focusing on tenant protection, housing availability and environmental sustainability, housing affordability, and equitable and equitable housing for tenants and owners.

Bonta also launched a housing portal on the Cal DOJ website with resources and information for California homeowners and renters.

The forces will use the expertise of lawyers from the Cal DOJ’s Land Use and Conservation Division, the Consumer Protection Division, the Civil Law Enforcement Division and the Department of Environment Justice in their enforcement efforts.

“California has a golden opportunity to navigate its housing crisis with its historic $ 22 billion investment in housing and homelessness in this year’s budget. But it will only work if local governments do their part to build and approve new homes, ”said Governor Gavin Newsom. “The Attorney General’s emphasis on holding cities and counties accountable for fair housing, equity and housing is an important part of the state’s efforts to address the affordability crisis and provide greater opportunities for all Californians to have an affordable place in which to live they can call home. “

According to the National Association of Real Estate Brokers (NAREB), the proportion of blacks nationally has fallen below levels seen in the decades when housing discrimination was legal.

The 2020 census reports that there was a 29.6% difference in home ownership rates between African Americans and whites. Homeowners made up 44.6% of the black population compared to 74.2% of whites.

“Blacks have made little, if any, progress in closing the home ownership gap. Systemic discriminatory regulations and guidelines continue to frustrate reasonable efforts to increase black home ownership, ”said Lydia Pope, President of NAREB.

In California, the DOJ reports that housing demand has overtaken housing production over the past four decades. It has created a crisis that ranges from homelessness to unaffordable homes.

Despite considerable efforts, the DOJ found that California continues to be home to a disproportionate proportion of the people who are homeless in the United States, with an estimated 150,000 Californians sleeping in shelters, in their cars, or on the streets.

Bonta said California’s 17 million renters spend a significant portion of their salaries on rent, with an estimated 700,000 Californians at risk of eviction. High home ownership costs – the average price of a single family home in California is more than $ 800,000 – have resulted in the lowest home ownership rates since the 1940s.

Due to decades of systemic racism, these challenges have continuously and disproportionately affected color communities. For example, Bonta said that nearly half of California’s black households spend more than 30% of their income on housing, compared with just a third of white families.

In addition, less than one in five black California households could afford the statewide average home for $ 659,380 in 2020, compared to two in five white California households who could afford the same average home house the California Association Realtors (CAR) said in a February 2021 statement.

The percentage of black homebuyers who could afford to buy an existing single-family home at a median price in California in 2020 was 19%, compared with 38% for white households, according to CAR.

“Just as the average home price in California hits a new record of more than $ 800,000, we’re in a real estate crisis everywhere,” Bonta said during the virtual press conference on November 3rd.

“One in four tenants of all households pays more than half of their income for rent.”

The Housing Strike Force will address the scarcity and affordability crisis by enforcing state housing and development laws independently of the Attorney General and on behalf of the DOJ’s client agencies.

Earlier this year, Newsom signed the Assembly Bill (AB) 215, which strengthens the attorney general’s role in enforcing state housing laws.

AB 215 was developed for reforms that will facilitate housing construction and combat the current housing crisis.

Newsom also signed Senate Acts (SB) 9 and SB 10 in September, laws designed to help increase the supply of affordable housing and accelerate the production of apartment buildings across the country.

Written by Senate President Pro Tem Sen. Toni Atkins (D-San Diego), SB 9 enables a homeowner to subdivide an existing single family home lot to create a duplex, triplex, or fourplex.

In response to SB 9, homeowner groups have formed across the state to fight back. The groups name challenges they expect the law to bring to their communities, from garbage collection to increased fire risk.

Livable California, a San Francisco-based nonprofit focused on housing construction, is one of the groups opposed to the new laws.

“Senate Bill 9 ends single-family home zoning to allow four houses where one is now. It was signed by Governor Newsom, supported by 73 out of 120 lawmakers, and widely recognized by the media. However, one respected pollster found that 71% of California voters are against SB 9, ”the Livable California website reads.

“It opens 1.12 million homes in severe fire areas for unmanaged density – one sixth of all single-family homes in California,” the statement said. “SB 9 could undesirably remodel hundreds of high-risk fire areas spanning urban and rural California areas.”

But Newsom says the laws are urgent and overdue.

“The housing affordability crisis is undermining the California dream for families across the state and threatening our long-term growth and prosperity,” Newsom said in a September 16 statement.

SB 10 is designed for jurisdictions that want to activate and zoning urbanized areas near transit zones, allowing up to 10 units per parcel without the supervision of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).

“Passing strong housing laws is only the first step. In order to combat our serious housing shortage, these laws must be enforced consistently and vigorously, ”said Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco), Senator of the Senate Housing Committee, Senator Scott Wiener. “I applaud Attorney General Bonta’s commitment to rigorous enforcement of California housing laws.”

The Housing Strike Force encourages Californians to send complaints or advice about housing to Housing@doj.ca.gov. For information on legal aid in your area, see https://lawhelpca.org.

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SACRAMENTO – With deadline looming, budget lawmakers said late Friday they had reached a budget framework with Governor Gavin Newsom negotiating deals on homelessness financing, health insurance for undocumented seniors and other ongoing political differences.

But officials, who refused to go on record, said some key details remained unresolved even as lawmakers prepare to revise the $ 262.2 billion spending plan on Monday, three days before the new fiscal year begins , to adopt.

Legislators already approved a wildcard budget last week to meet a constitutional requirement and get paid, and negotiations on sharing a surge in tax revenue continued. An unexpectedly strong economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic has left California with an estimated discretionary surplus of $ 38 billion along with $ 26 billion in federal stimulus money, leading to a number of competing proposals on liberal priorities such as access to health care, early childhood education and college scholarships.

The deal has been delayed in recent days as officials haggled over payments to government-subsidized childcare providers. Legislative leaders gathered outside the Capitol on Thursday, with hundreds of vendors urging the governor to raise their rates.

Legislative budget officials said discussions on how much to raise fees for childcare providers are ongoing. Follow-up calculations are also needed to complete several other spending packages, including $ 6 billion to expand broadband Internet access, $ 3.7 billion for climate resilience projects, $ 3 billion to cope with the rapidly worsening drought, and $ 1 billion US dollars for forest fire preparation, according to a summary document submitted by officials.

Newsom governor’s office and Treasury Department spokesmen did not respond immediately.

In a historic move, the budget would extend eligibility for Medi-Cal, the government’s health program for the poor, to undocumented immigrants aged 50 or older. Undocumented immigrants from low-income families are already eligible for insurance up to the age of 26. Newsom had proposed that the undocumented immigrant program from age 60 should be discontinued.

The agreement includes $ 1 billion annually for each of the next two years to help local governments pay for homelessness services and $ 2.75 billion to extend Homekey, a pandemic program Converting hotels, motels and other vacant buildings into supportive housing for homeless Californians. Newsom had aimed for a wider expansion of Homekey, which he has identified as one of its outstanding accomplishments in rapidly creating thousands of new homes.

It doesn’t include an increase in funding for public health officials, which lawmakers had been pushing for in the wake of the pandemic, despite legislative budget officials saying they would come back to the issue in the years to come.

The spending plan would bolster California’s financial footing a year after the pandemic-induced recession forced the state to close a projected deficit of $ 54 billion. Reserve accounts that officials dipped into last year would grow to more than $ 25 billion, and the state would repay $ 11 billion in deferred K-12 school funding.

California would also spend $ 8.1 billion on a second stimulus package to help ease the financial pain of the pandemic. The state already allocated $ 3.8 billion earlier this year to pay $ 600 to millions of low-income households and residents who participate in government welfare and social security programs.

As part of the budget, additional checks of $ 600 would go to middle-income households, up to $ 75,000 a year, who did not receive the first round of support. Families with children and undocumented immigrants would receive an additional $ 500, so some taxpayers could receive multiple payments from the state.

Other pandemic relief programs in the budget include an additional $ 2.6 billion to help the state meet all rent that lower-income tenants missed out on during the pandemic; $ 2 billion to clear overdue utility bills; and $ 1.5 billion in small business grants.

The budget summary also outlines agreements to gradually roll out universal pre-kindergarten for 4-year-olds over the next four years and roll out extensive post-school and summer school programs in low-income districts, spending $ 3 billion to create more community schools with social services on Expand Campus, a college scholarship program for middle-class families, by $ 515 million and spend $ 211 million to tackle increasing gun violence, among other things.

Alexei Koseff is a contributor to the San Francisco Chronicle. Email: alexei.koseff@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @akoseff

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