• State Sen. Bill Monning (D-Carmel) was appointed to the California Coastal Conservancy by Senate President Pro Tempore Toni Atkins. “It is an honor to be selected to serve on the California Coastal Conservancy,” Monning said in a press release. “We must continue to use creative approaches to ensure Californians have access to our coastal areas and that they are protected for future generations to enjoy.” The California Coastal Conservancy protects and improves coastal wetlands, streams, and watersheds, and helps people access the coast by building trails and stairways and by acquiring land easements. The conservancy also works to help create low-cost accommodations along the coast, revitalize urban waterfronts, protect agricultural land and coastal agriculture, and purchase and hold valuable coastal and bay land. The Legislature created the Coastal Conservancy as a nonregulatory entity with flexible powers to serve as an intermediary among government, citizens, and the private sector.
• On March 28, Assemblymember Jordan Cunningham (R-San Luis Obispo) sent a letter to the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) asking for details on how it was protecting ride-sharing passengers from fraudulent drivers who haven’t gone through the CPUC-mandated background checks. A press release from Cunningham’s office references a series of investigative reports about a statewide scheme involving an individual stealing the identity of an already-approved ride-sharing driver and drove under the victim’s credentials. “The scheme has the potential to destroy the trust between passengers and [transportation network companies] that is critical to the whole system,” Cunningham wrote. “Without immediate action … passengers will continue to be driven by seemingly approved drivers that have not, in fact, gone through the [CPUC]-mandated background check process.”
• On April 6, U.S. Rep. Salud Carbajal (D-Santa Barbara) is planning to lead a community hike in the Los Padres National Forest to discuss the introduction of his legislation to expand wilderness protection on the Central Coast. The Central Coast Heritage Act would designate 250,000 acres of public land in the national forest and Carrizo Plain National Monument as wilderness and establish a 400-mile-long Condor National Recreation trail from Los Angeles to Monterey County. “With this administration taking action to open up public lands and national monuments on the Central Coast to oil and gas drilling, it is more important than ever that we act to permanently protect our open spaces that provide invaluable local watersheds and recreational outdoor activities,” Carbajal said in a March 28 press release. “I hope to see members of the community on our hike next week to take advantage of the phenomenal beauty in our own backyard.” The hike is slated to start at 1:30 p.m. at the Fremont Ridge Trail on East Camino Cielo. To RSVP, look for the hike on eventbrite.com.
• In response President Donald Trump‘s announcement of cuts in federal aid to some Central American countries, California Gov. Gavin Newsom accused the administration of using xenophobia and nativism to fuel its immigration and foreign policies. “The United States should be organizing the world communities to help families feel safer and have economic opportunities,” Newsom said in a press release issued on March 30. “Instead, this president is demonizing legal asylum seekers fleeing violence while at the same time putting in place policies that will make the situation for these families worse in their home countries.” On March 28, the governor hosted a roundtable to discuss the root causes of migration and discuss the state’s efforts to provide relief and humanitarian aid to asylum seekers.
This article appears in Apr 4-11, 2019.