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California in Focus — News
California in Focus

The podcast bringing you the most important stories out of California from TheCenterSquare.com. Join us as we dive into the top headlines and provide insightful commentary and analysis.

Copyright: © America's Talking Network

Latest Episodes:

Newsom Budget Promises ‘No New Taxes’ but $15.2b in Cuts Against $80B Deficit May 18, 2024

Show notes

California Gov. Gavin Newsom promised “no new taxes” in his 2024-2025 budget as he announced the state’s shortfall is $7 billion worse than was expected in January, and proposed $15.2 billion in budget cuts against an up to $80 billion deficit. Newsom’s cuts include reducing water storage and reducing the state’s prison population by 4,600 inmates. In January, Newsom announced he was expecting a $37.9 billion budget deficit, compared to up to $73 billion by the non-partisan, state-funded Legislative Analyst’s Office. Newsom claims new data says the state’s shortfall will be $7 billion worse than expected in January, suggesting the state’s deficit could be as high as $80 billion.

Full story:

https://www.thecentersquare.com/california/article_c5aad39a-0f03-11ef-9127-df7a55621b70.html

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Newsom Touts California as ‘National Model’ on Homelessness May 17, 2024

Show notes

California Governor Gavin Newsom announced California is a “national model” for homelessness while announcing the availability of new funding for mental health and substance abuse treatment. California’s homeless population was 181,399 in January of 2023, and is the largest in the nation. Using similar, recent state programs as cost-approximation, Prop. 1 could very well meet the governor’s claims. While ongoing treatment costs may prove to be cost effective, government-funded housing projects in California have a history of going well over initial expectations.

Full story:

https://www.thecentersquare.com/california/article_a4586f64-1321-11ef-954f-cb3919f7835d.html

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California State Commission Unveils Major CEQA Update Proposal to Expand Housing May 11, 2024

Show notes

Amid a 4.5 million home housing shortage, California’s Little Hoover Commission, a non-partisan, state-funded body, unveiled major changes to the state’s landmark California Environmental Quality Act designed to improve housing construction times and costs. LHC found CEQA is heavily used for “non-environmental goals” and recommended, among other acts, exempting infill housing from CEQA review and requiring greater standing to indefinitely challenge new construction, as currently nearly anyone in the country can.

Full story:

https://www.thecentersquare.com/california/article_6851b954-0d85-11ef-8d7d-0337497472f5.html

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Fact Check: Gavin Newsom Claims Record Tourism, but Actually It Is Down 14% May 10, 2024

Show notes

California Governor Gavin Newsom took to the top of Golden Gate Bridge to share the claim that California had hit an "unprecedented" tourism spending record. The facts? After inflation, tourism is down 14% from 2019. The false claim was shared by trusted news organizations such as CBS and the San Francisco Chronicle. In his press release with Visit California CEO Caroline Beteta, Newsom claimed tourism spending was up 5.6% in 2023 over 2022, a figure that is a 3.8% increase from peak 2019 levels. However, the Visit California report featured in the release and cited by Newsom says those figures are not adjusted for inflation, which has been approximately 19% since 2019.

Full story:

https://www.thecentersquare.com/california/article_bcf013de-0bf5-11ef-9086-43e9809054f4.html

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Police Dismantle UCLA Protestor Encampment Amid Mass Arrests May 04, 2024

Show notes

Police cleared the encampment of pro-Palestine protestors at UCLA before dawn on Thursday, arresting hundreds for failing to disperse after the school declared the encampment an unlawful assembly. Protestors held on to hastily erected barricades against the police, who tore away at their defenses item by item until officers could break through. California Highway Patrol and Los Angeles Police Department officers deployed riot shields, tear gas, flares, and rubber bullets against the determined crowd. As police broke through the outer barricades, protestors fell back to more defenses, where the cycle repeated yet again. By sunrise, the encampment was fully under police control.

Full story:

https://www.thecentersquare.com/california/article_f766874c-08ac-11ef-b672-1b6d562de85f.html

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Newsom Proclaims ‘Clean Energy Victory’ as CA Energy Costliest in Mainland U.S. May 03, 2024

Show notes

California Governor Gavin Newsom proclaimed a “major clean energy victory” with a tenfold increase in battery capacity as the state’s energy costs rose to the highest in the contiguous United States, or double the national average. Only Hawaii, the island state in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, has more expensive energy. Newsom announced the state has 10,379 megawatts of battery storage during Earth Week. Given that the state consumes 259.5 terawatts of energy per year — or approximately 711,000 megawatts of energy per day — that’s enough capacity to run the state for 21 minutes.

Full story:

https://www.thecentersquare.com/california/article_b84fc6ec-0652-11ef-95a0-43b7a139187c.html

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Amid $476M Deficit, Los Angeles Cuts Homeless-In-Hotels Program, Boosts Police Apr 27, 2024

Show notes

With the City of Los Angeles facing a $476 million deficit due to overspending and lower than anticipated tax revenues, Mayor Karen Bass has proposed increasing police spending while cutting millions from her signature “Inside Safe” homelessness programs. According to an earlier analysis of Inside Safe by The Center Square, the program costs approximately $17,000 per homeless individual each month. Los Angeles City Controller Kenneth Meija recently announced he is auditing Inside Safe to see if it functions and whether money is being spent as promised. Bass’s budget includes $65 million in cuts for Inside Safe, which received $250 million last year, and increasing police spending from $1.9 billion for 2023-2024 to $2 billion for 2024-2025.

Full story: https://www.thecentersquare.com/california/article_7ffe8e56-01aa-11ef-a265-f3e641d99cc1.html

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

California Border Fentanyl Seizures Double as Texas Strengthens Border Apr 26, 2024

Show notes

California seized over one million fentanyl pills just last week, more than was seized in all of February, highlighting how much smuggling of drugs and illegal immigrants has shifted to California since Texas strengthened its border. In September, California Governor Gavin Newsom increased the California National Guard’s San Diego border region presence from 40 to 60 soldiers for narcotics operations. “We are doing our job to keep illegal drugs off the streets of California,” Newsom said in a statement. "By working with our state, local and federal partners, we are continuing to crack down on drug trafficking in our communities.” A California bill to strip sanctuary state protections from fentanyl dealers failed in committee two weeks ago amid strong Democratic opposition.

Full story:

https://www.thecentersquare.com/california/article_0d5444d6-0317-11ef-a93f-23419c5691e6.html

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

California Assembly Votes to Allow Arrestees to Go Straight to Social Services Apr 20, 2024

Show notes

The California State Assembly voted unanimously to let individuals arrested by police be delivered or referred to a public health or social services organization instead of facing custody and arraignment. Under the arresting officer’s discretion, when “no further proceedings are desired,” AB 2215 would allow the “release an arrested person from custody without bringing the person before a magistrate if the person is, subsequent to being arrested, delivered or referred to a public health or social service organization that provides services including, but not limited to, housing, medical care, treatment for alcohol or substance use disorders, psychological counseling, or employment training and education.” Under existing law, individuals arrested and placed into custody without an existing warrant must be brought to a magistrate for arraignment “without unnecessary delay.” Should AB 2215, written by Assembly member Isaac Bryan, D-Los Angeles and co authored by Assembly members Juan Alanis, R-Modesto, and Tom Lackey, R-Palmdale, pass the Senate, it could significantly reduce the population of individuals waiting in jail to be charged.

Full story: https://www.thecentersquare.com/california/article_b6175b8a-fb51-11ee-904c-efaa7fd48729.html

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

California Court Considers Solar Subsidies as Excess Solar Drives Panel Shutoffs Apr 19, 2024

Show notes

The California Supreme Court is soon hearing a case that could determine the future of California solar energy. Under new solar metering rules, owners of solar panels on homes and buildings are paid for the value of the energy they produce, which is less than the earlier standard of the net difference in energy produced and consumed; abundant solar energy generated during the day is of lower grid value than fossil fuel and battery provided energy used at night. Solar subsidy proponents argue the new rules don’t factor in the social benefits of self-generated solar, while the California Public Utilities Commission and lower state courts have said the new rules meet the legislature’s order to improve equity between generating and non-generating customers; households with rooftop solar tend to have double the median income of non-solar households.

Full story: https://www.thecentersquare.com/california/article_65455fae-fd9f-11ee-8468-13e03e3e9f55.html

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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