CaliforniaCityNews.org

Online Ad Campaign Calls Cities out on "Dirty Coal" Plant Ownership

We noticed the banner ad embeded at right on a few prominent California political sites this week.  The ad may have been there for longer, but it just happened to catch our eye.  The ad  (as you can see), asks if your city "owns" a "dirty coal" power plant.  The ad is linked back to a website for the Renewable Energy Accountability Project (REAP). 

The group "is focused on exposing the lies of the Dirty Coal industry to hold it accountable for the harmful consequences of burning this old fossil fuel," and names a number of cities for their complicity in such energy generation for their ownership stake in a Utah coal plant. 

The site also has an interactive Google map displaying the coal plants and the California cities they supply.  We blog about it here not to make any judgements for or against, but the ad campaign is a pretty direct assault on cities and not an approach we'd seen before.  Take a look at the interactive map here, or the full REAP site here.

LA Clamps Down on Pot Dispensaries

The LA City Council, after a lot of deliberation these past couple months, has OK'd a cap on medical marijuana dispensaries.  The ordinance dictates a total number of 70 throughout the city, with an allowance for the 140 or so operating now under legal city registration.  There may be as many 1,000 in LA operating 'unofficially.' 

Why set the cap at 70?  As the LA Times wrote "With no data on the number of medical marijuana patients in Los Angeles, council members took the same approach as other cities that have adopted caps: picking a number that sounded reasonable to them."

So the discussion went something like: "Does 70 sound cool guys?  Sure, that's cool."

Right on.  Read more from the LAT or from KPCC.

LA to Expand Electric Car Infrastructure

On the heels of news that Downey is looking to attract an electric car plant, the City of LA is looking to significantly expand its electric car supporting infrastructure.  From the LA Times: "Along with a network of partners, the city plans to update 400 existing charging stations around the region while adding 100... Electric vehicle owners also probably would receive tax rebates to construct home chargers and would have access to high-occupancy-vehicle lanes and preferential or free parking."

The Downey story, coupled with news that GM will launch its all new Volt in California next year, has revived quite a lot in interest in electric cars in the last couple weeks, an idea which had largely been pushed out of public consciousness in recent years.  It's not really a surprise that LA leads in charging stations, and there's even a map of charging stations linking it to San Francisco. 

Read more on LA's plan in the LA Times.

Palo Alto Tree Saga Comes Full Circle

Earlier this year, Palo Alto residents threw a fit after the city, at the behest of a local Business Improvement District, chopped down rows of mature oak trees along its California Avenue.  Now, the council is embarking on tree planting program in an effort to placate both the businesses and residents who would like to see the shopping district both beautiful and bustling. 

The San Jose Merc writes "Silver lindens will line the business district's sidewalk, with southern live oaks interspersed to offer shade. Shumard oaks will punctuate the crosswalks, and Freeman maples will be near the intersections. A valley oak will sprawl over the median at California and El Camino Real, with water gums marking the corners."

Sounds lovely, read more here.

DA in Standoff with LA City Council Over Pot Shops

LA County District Attorney Steve Cooley isn't very impressed with the LA Council's efforts to pass an ordinance regulating the over the counter sale of medical marijuana.  "Quite frankly we're ignoring them," Cooley was quoted in the LA Times this week, saying he's going to prosecute the distributors regardless on the grounds they are in violation of state law -- a position also held by City Attorney Trutanich.

Read more about the stand off in the LA Times.

Marijuana Regulation Success in WeHo

While LA -- and myriad other cities across the state -- struggle with how to regulate medical marijuana dispensaries, one city seems to have the whole thing pretty well figured out. 

The LA Times ran a story on West Hollywood this week, who one councilmember boasts has been on top of the situation "since Day 1."

The Times story paints a rosy picture: "Confronted with its own dispensary explosion in 2005, the city surrounded by L.A. imposed a moratorium on dispensaries, clamped interim rules on the ones that were open, passed a strict ordinance and capped the number allowed at four, all within two years. When the West Hollywood City Council updated its ordinance earlier this month, the vote was unanimous, no residents spoke in opposition and the city's dispensary operators lined up in support."

Read the full story here.

Can Local Governments Solve Global Warming?

This is the question posed by Scientific American this month as it reviews efforts of cities and counties to combat climate change against the backdrop of global economic upheaval. 

"With diplomatic efforts to seal a post-Kyoto accord approaching a decidedly uncertain fate this December in Copenhagen, state and local leaders pushing their own emissions reductions efforts see only one choice: Proceed."

The article quotes a legislative analyst from CSAC and highlights several California cities' efforts. 

Read more here.

CA Metros Perform Well on Toxic Cities List

Forbes has released a study of the most "toxic" US metropolitan areas.  California, home to AB 32 and avowed lover of the hybrid, performs pretty well.  Again, this is a comparative study of CityNews' least favorite parameters, the "metro" area, but given the transient, intermingling nature of water and air quality, in this instance it's maybe not so bad. 

Atlanta, Detroit and Chicago top the list of most toxic towns, and for all its reputation for smog and pollution, LA is only 7th.  Ultra green San Francisco clocks in a modest 24th, with San Jose, San Diego, Riverside and Sacramento all figuring in between 30th and 40th.  See the full list here.

Assembly Pulls All Nighter, Water Deal Done

Capitol Insiders' Twitter fees lit up at around 4:30 a.m. Wednesday morning, leading some of us to question who was up too late, and who was up too early.  Turns out the Assembly decided to burn the midnight oil and bang out the water deal once and for all.  Now at an $11 billion bond, and with the Coastal Commission-esque oversight panel for the Delta, the package is now on its way to the Governor, and the voters.

Some other key points: Democratic lawmakers dropped an enforcement measure that would have imposed stiffer fines on water thieves.  This was seen as a big win for Republican lawmakers, while they agreed to add another $1 billion to the bond measure. 

As for a canal?  Met Water District in SoCal says the package "paves the way" for such a project.  As any long time watcher of this issue will know, however, there's still a ways to go before that golden shovel breaks earth.  In the near term, look for mandatory conservation measures across the state, coupled with regional projects and new Delta levies. 

Read more in the Cap Weekly.

North Coast Cities Discuss Healthy Living Policies

The City of Arcata hosted a forum for San Gabriel Valley cities to explore and share best parcitices in the area of healthy living last week.  Arcata was honored by the Healthy Eating Active Living (HEAL) Cities Campaign for its efforts in this area, and participants in the day long forum discussed polices ranging from WIC programs to walking trails and biking paths.

Read more from the Times-Standard here.