California Voices

San Diego County Supervisor Nathan Fletcher and David Leonhardi, San Diego County Deputy Sheriff’s Association: First responders run toward danger when others are running away. But while first responders are protecting us, who is protecting them? Nationally, more first responders lose their lives to suicide than in the line of duty. San Diego County is trying to help.

Jeffrey Kightlinger, Metropolitan Water District of Southern California: The Metropolitan Water District opposed Senate Bill 1 because it would have unleashed state-federal litigation, and would have likely brought 13 years of effort to a halt. This was not about the sitting president or any action his administration may or may not take. It was about keeping intact a historic window of opportunity to make generational changes in California water.

Katie Valenzuela and Leila Salazar-Lopez, California Environmental Justice Alliance: The California Air Resources Board is considering the Tropical Forest Standard. It is a risky investment. This carbon offset program would send money from polluters in California to subnational governments in other parts of the world in hopes that such investment will be sufficient to counteract the economic drivers of deforestation. The cost: continued pollution in our communities and irreparable harm to forest-dwelling communities around the world.

During his campaign for governor, Newsom set a goal of building 3.5 million new units of housing by 2025. Nothing that occurred in the Capitol this year would even begin to make that happen.

Once again, California poverty ranks number one in the nation due partly to high costs for essentials like housing, gas and electricity.

Amee Raval and Sona Mohnot, Asian Pacific Environmental Network and Greenlining Institute: Simply put: climate change acts as a threat multiplier that magnifies differences in income, race, health, zip codes, immigration status, housing, and other factors that determine whether a community can access the resources needed to cope and recover from climate disasters.

Jennifer Pierre, State Water Contractors: California needs to reshape how it manages the rivers of the Sierra Nevada and the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta by providing more water for the environment, more restoration, more funding and more collaborative science. That can happen through voluntary partnerships, not Senate Bill 1, which seeks to tap into public sentiment against President Trump without solving California’s water war.

John McManus, Golden Gate Salmon Association: Gov. Gavin Newsom has a choice: side with the California environment or with the Trump administration on the question of water diversions. Trump is finalizing plans to rip up restrictions on diverting Northern California water to farmers in the dry western San Joaquin Valley, at the expense of salmon runs that feed families, coastal economies, and ports throughout the state.

Joie Acosta and Regina Shih, RAND Corporation: California utility companies are increasingly triggering power outages by their own accord to try to prevent wildfires. But the practice may endanger elderly people and individuals with power-dependent medical devices.

Conflicting Superior Court decisions will force the state Supreme Court to clear up the uncertainty it created over the vote requirement for some local tax increases.