• The U.S. Department of Transportation reached a settlement with the state of California to fund the high-speed rail project and will receive nearly a billion dollars in restored federal grant funding after that money was taken away during the Trump administration. “Tonight’s action by the federal government is further proof that California and the Biden-Harris administration share a common vision—clean, electrified transportation that will serve generations to come,” Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a June 10 statement. “Restoring nearly $929 million in grant funding back to California’s high-speed rail project will continue to spur job creation, advance the project, and move the state one step closer to getting trains running in California as soon as possible.” The railway is projected to connect Los Angeles to San Francisco, and future extensions will connect San Diego and Sacramento. “The California high-speed rail project is under construction along 119 miles in the Central Valley with more than 35 active construction sites and an average of 1,100 workers a day on the various job sites,” according to the statement. “Restoration of the grant funding will aid the High-Speed Rail Authority in their effort to complete the initial operating segment of the nation’s first high-speed rail system.”
• On June 10, U.S. Rep. Salud Carbajal (D-Santa Barbara) announced that he secured $20 million in funding from the INVEST in America Act, a House transportation and infrastructure bill. If passed, the funding will help advance local priorities, according to a statement from Carbajal’s office. “I am proud to have secured vital resources to improve quality of life for every resident on the Central Coast, including funding for three key local infrastructure projects that were included in the bill. In addition to these direct funds, several pieces of legislation I authored to protect public safety, support local infrastructure projects, and preserve transit options have been included,” Carbajal said in the statement. “The transportation sector is America’s biggest contributor of greenhouse gas emissions. It is crucial that we look to the future and modernize this sector of our economy so it is part of the solution to the climate crisis, not part of the problem. I look forward to seeing this bipartisan bill through to the finish line and will continue to advocate for necessary investments in our infrastructure to revitalize our economy and prepare for the future.” Santa Barbara County Association of Governments Executive Director Marjie Kirn applauded Carbajal for his efforts to secure funding for the Central Coast. “Carbajal’s aggressive advocacy is just what we need to deliver Central Coast priorities like funding for the U.S. 101 Carpinteria to Santa Barbara project, protecting transit partners’ access to resources, and recognizing the seriousness of strong federal partnerships to build a climate resilient future,” Kirn said in the statement.
• In a June 14 Facebook post, Assemblymember Jordan Cunningham (R-San Luis Obispo) said he’s proud to be working “across the aisle” with Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel (D-San Fernando) on Assembly Bill 587, which would “require a social media company, as defined, to post their terms of service in a specified manner and with additional specified information,” the bill states. “A handful of companies exert an undeniable influence over all aspects of society, and operate with near total impunity in terms of the content they allow to be shared among users,” Cunningham wrote. If passed, his bill “would require social media companies to report what type of content they’re suppressing and what standard they’re using to suppress content,” he wrote.
