Wednesday, November 5, 2025
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Governors Briefs: Bill Would Expand Local Gov. Duty to Address Homelessness, State Expands National Monuments and State Expands National Monuments

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Governors Briefs: Bill Would Expand Local Gov. Duty to Address Homelessness, State Expands National Monuments and State Expands National Monuments

Gov. Newsom Sponsors Legislation to Expand Local Governments’ Responsibility to Plan for the Housing Needs of People Experiencing Homelessness

SACRAMENTO — Building on new measures that will increase oversight of state homelessness funding to ensure accountability by local jurisdictions, Gov. Gavin Newsom May 7 announced his support for new legislation to ensure cities and counties do their part to tackle homelessness. The legislation – Assembly Bill 3093, introduced by Assemblymember Chris Ward (D-San Diego) – will require that local jurisdictions comprehensively consider the needs of homeless populations as part of the RHNA process and in their housing element planning efforts.

By creating new income categories to more accurately capture the needs of individuals experiencing and at risk of homelessness and requiring local jurisdictions to consider each of those categories in their housing elements, this bill would require communities to more comprehensively plan for the housing needs of individuals currently experiencing or at risk of homelessness. The legislation will also require each region to submit data on the needs of individuals and families experiencing homelessness to better ensure that they are accounted for in the RHNA process. This is part of a larger effort by the administration to boost access to housing and ensure accountability to address homelessness at the local level.

AB 3093 comes as part of recommendations by the California Department of Housing and Community Development or HCD in their recently released California’s Housing Future 2040: The Next Regional Housing Needs Allocation or RHNA.

The report includes recommended changes to the RHNA and housing element process to more effectively plan for the housing that will be needed across the state by 2040. Among these recommendations was that the RHNA determination process be revised to better account for the housing needs of Californians experiencing and at risk of homelessness.

Currently, RHNA categorizes those earning at or below 50% of Area Median Income or AMI as very low-income. This bill would distribute this category into very low-income (30-50% AMI), extremely low-income (15-30% AMI), and acutely low-income (0-15% AMI), better preparing jurisdictions to plan for housing that meets the needs of the lowest-income households and people experiencing homelessness. In turn, these updates will help HCD hold jurisdictions accountable to meeting their housing goals and addressing homelessness in their communities.

To learn more about this proposed legislation, click here.

 

National Monument Expansions Bring California Closer to Conservation Milestone

SACRAMENTO — Two national monument expansions announced by President Biden May 7 are supporting California’s work to conserve more lands and coastal waters.

The Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument near Napa and the San Gabriel Mountains National Monument in Los Angeles will both increase in size, protecting more of California’s unique biodiversity and culturally significant Native American tribal lands. The expansions also help provide greater access to the outdoors to underserved communities.

Gov. Gavin Newsom stopped by Berryessa Snow Mountain, to celebrate this significant step forward in preserving California’s natural habitats.

Watch the Governor’s video:

President Biden’s announcement expands protected lands in California by 130,000 acres. Notably, this federal expansion gets California closer to its 30×30 goal – conserving 30% of the state’s lands and coastal waters by 2030. The state now stands at 24.5% of lands conserved.

The national monument expansions – championed by Senator Padilla, California’s Congressional delegation, tribal partners and community organizations – build on California’s ongoing efforts to conserve the state’s biodiversity and natural resources:

California recently unveiled 81 targets for nature-based solutions to help the state achieve its climate goals, including reaching carbon neutrality by 2045.

The state is supporting the return of over 38,000 acres of ancestral land to tribal stewardship and advancing nature-based solutions projects on tribal lands.

California announced the opening of the first new state park in nearly a decade: the Dos Rios Park conserves approximately 1,600 acres of land and serves as the largest public-private floodplain restoration project in California.

 

The Press Freedom Clock is TikToking

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The Press Freedom Clock is TikToking
On World Press Freedom Day, we must recognize and support independent, public-interest journalism before it’s too late.

 

By Mickey Huff and Nolan Higdon

As we write for World Press Freedom Day, declared May 3, 1993, by the United Nations, Julian Assange of WikiLeaks languishes in Belmarsh prison awaiting possible extradition for trial in the US under the Espionage Act. His alleged crimes? Daring to publish evidence of American war crimes, information utilized by legacy press outlets to win prestigious awards while also calling for his punishment. If he is found “guilty of journalism,” it will have remarkably negative implications for press freedoms in the US and worldwide.

Also, as we write, Gaza lies under siege not only from US-made bombs but a barrage of establishment media propaganda denying genocide taking place against Palestinian civilians in Israel’s attacks on Hamas. Meanwhile, the US recently enacted a law that not only sends more money and weapons to Israel and Ukraine, ensuring more carnage, but simultaneously targets the social media platform TikTok for potential banning or divestment due to its ownership by the Chinese company ByteDance.

Many Americans are turning to social media platforms for news more and more, which is not something we normally promote as journalism or sound media literate practice on the surface. However, it is also increasingly becoming a place where people can see different perspectives about what is happening in places that the establishment press spins, slants, distorts, or ignores altogether.

Young people particularly get news from social media, and while Facebook is still the most popular overall, TikTok is the favorite and fastest-growing platform among Gen Z. Ironically, in some instances, Big Tech platforms that are not journalistic outlets demonstrate more “press freedom” principles than exhibited by the New York Times and other stalwarts of the establishment press. To adopt the words of the late, great muckraker and media critic George Seldes, TikTok users tell the public “what is really going on”— from Columbia University to Gaza and beyond.

So, then, it’s not a surprise that the US government is going after a “foreign-owned” platform that undermines official control and narratives and is more difficult to censor by proxy, which is how RT America was memory-holed by YouTube and telecom companies in March 2022. This is also why the US government has ruthlessly persecuted Assange, an award-winning journalist and publisher who dared to expose US war crimes in the so-called “war on terrorism,” and why they attack and frame today’s protesters as “anti-Semitic” and “supporters of Hamas” when they call for a ceasefire in the Middle East.

This isn’t about TikTok any more than it was about RT in 2022. The end goal is to silence alternative views (especially anti-war voices), suppress dissent (including by physical force), and censor independent sources.

Press Freedom Principles vs. Dangerous Reality for Journalists

According to the United Nations, World Press Freedom Day is “dedicated to the importance of journalism and freedom of expression.” It serves as an occasion to “celebrate the fundamental principles of press freedom; assess the state of press freedom throughout the world; defend the media from attacks on their independence; and pay tribute to journalists who have lost their lives in the line of duty.”

These values and principles often seem at odds with the practice of establishment journalism in the United States. Indeed, in response to growing public opposition to US support for Israel, authorities have sought to beat, arrest, expel (if students), fire, and intimidate those who exercise their First Amendment rights to speak freely, peaceably assemble, and petition grievances against government policy and action.

Journalists have not been spared. Indeed, reporters in the US and around the world have been arrested and charged, attacked, and further intimidated in the crackdown on anti-war and anti-genocide demonstrators. In Gaza, far more than 100 journalists have been killed to date (including at least two Israeli ones). The Committee to Protect Journalists called the current war in Gaza more dangerous for journalists than any previous war. When journalists are targeted, death is the ultimate form of censorship.

Meanwhile, social media platforms—where many independent journalists share their work to reach a larger audience—silence and censor by proxy, with some users being totally banned when publishing content that represents the views of these pro-peace protesters.

In the US, where journalists are allegedly protected under the First Amendment, the “freedom of the press” clause doesn’t really apply to social media or other privately controlled entities. In fact, according to the 2023 Press Freedom Index produced by Reporters Without Borders, the US ranked 45th worldwide, and Israel, which just moved to ban Al Jazeera as a security threat, was 97th.

Thus, it is no surprise that the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) currently labels the US a “flawed democracy” at 29th place in its Democracy Index 2023, just ahead of Israel in 30th place. Referring to global democracy in a worrying “backslide,” the EIU reported, “To reverse this worrying turn away from democracy, governments and political parties need to work hard to restore trust in representative democracy by delivering on the issues that matter to the electorate.” Having a free and vibrant independent press is one way to achieve that goal, but alas, there is work to do.

The Myth of a Free Press: Official Propaganda as Censorship and the “Paper of Record”

The challenges to press freedoms in the US are rooted in the political economy of mass media. As scholars Edward Herman and Noam Chomsky outlined in their seminal book Manufacturing Consent (1988), news media in the US operate for profit. They are thus not incentivized to cover stories that threaten their bottom lines, including the financial interests of their advertisers or shareholders.

These so-called “mainstream” outlets decide who or what is newsworthy, meaning which voices are platformed and which are not. Even though more people are increasingly getting news from digital sources, most news stories still originate from a handful of corporations that own roughly 90% of the news media in the US. These news outlets rely on a hyper-partisan narrative approach (Republican versus Democrat, Team Red versus Team Blue) where MSNBC, CNN, New York Times, and Washington Post confirm the Democratic biases of their liberal audiences, while Fox News, Wall Street Journal, and New York Post do the same for the Republican biases of their conservative, MAGA audiences.

This for-profit, hyper-partisan approach to managing news media has resulted in censorship of varied and diverse viewpoints. Case in point—in April, The Intercept reported on a leaked memo, circulated initially to staff at the New York Times, often referred to as “the paper of record,” that put restrictions on the use of terms such as “genocide,” “ethnic cleansing,” and “occupied territory” in the newspapers’s coverage of the Israeli assault in Gaza.

If the memo’s directives had the effect of sanitizing the Times’ coverage, this dovetailed neatly with the interests of the Biden Administration, which had been stalwart in its support for Israel. Indeed, the New York Times operates under economic and political pressures that align it with official US foreign policy. And, if they don’t, other “Team Blue” media are waiting to step up and take their place.

For example, earlier this year, when the New York Times noted that Biden’s speech on the economy was a combination of statements that were “false,” “misleading,” and in need of “context,” MSNBC’s Claire McCaskill, a former Democratic US Senator, called it “ridiculous” that the New York Times “fact-checked Joe Biden on something.” But isn’t that what journalists are supposed to do?

In another “paper of record” moment, the New York Times also published an early story about the horrific sexual assaults committed by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023, in Israel. However, the story, which was produced in part by a person who had never reported before, was soon contradicted by other reports that claimed there was insufficient evidence to verify that mass sexual assaults occurred. This may help explain why the New York Times canceled a podcast based on the first story, but it doesn’t explain why they did not offer a correction to the original report.

As a result, Team Blue–friendly press have taken to echoing Democratic Party talking points. For example, they have repeatedly mischaracterized the critics of US support for Israel as anti-Semitic or pro-Hamas, when in fact, they are actually pro-BDS (boycott, divestment, and sanctions), pro-peace, and anti-genocide.

The Team Blue press have also propounded false stories, including about how Hamas supposedly beheaded forty babies, reminiscent of earlier false US war propaganda themes about Germans ripping the arms off Belgian babies (in World War I) or the Iraqi Republican Guard throwing babies out of incubators (during the Gulf War). President Biden himself repeated some of the false stories about Hamas, as previous presidents repeated other noted false claims until they slowly faded into the background noise of the next atrocity propaganda campaign.

Meanwhile, not to be outdone, Team Red media outlets like Fox News amplify the voices of public officials such as GOP Senator Tom Cotton, who called for citizens to engage in vigilante justice by throwing protestors off bridges or having their skin ripped off if they glue themselves to property.

Many campus administrators have channeled that sentiment as they declared a fear for security, resulting in canceled commencements; censored speeches; arrested faculty, staff, and students; and police violently attacking protesters. Some, like GOP Speaker of the House Mike Johnson and Senator Josh Hawley, even called for the National Guard to be called out to quell unrest in Ohio, eerily echoing a potential past-as-prologue tragedy at Kent State University 54 years ago on May 4, 1970, when the Ohio National Guard killed four students and injured nine others during an anti-war protest.

A Tale of Two Platforms

The passage of the bipartisan ban on TikTok, expected to go into effect sometime in the next year, was enabled in part by legacy media critiques that such digital media spaces promote the spread of false information (aka fake news). Since Oct. 7 of last year, the Biden Administration’s frustration with TikTok has grown as online users accessed content that purported to show Israeli soldiers committing human rights abuses and killing unarmed hostages, the ongoing humanitarian crisis for Palestinians, Israeli influencers mocking Palestinian suffering, and the Islamophobia of those connected to US leaders.

Biden could rest assured that similar reports would not appear in legacy media outlets, evidenced by CNN filtering its reporting through its Jerusalem Bureau before it reached American audiences; MSNBC removing news personalities who were sympathetic to the plight of Palestinians; and, as previously mentioned, the New York Times publishing the disputed reports on sexual assaults and rape during the Oct. 7 attacks.

Numerous reports demonstrate a history of the federal government pressuring social media companies to remove content that threatens their power. Indeed, the US can threaten regulations, raise taxes, or cancel lucrative contracts to influence social media companies to do their bidding. In this way, TikTok offered a unique threat as it is a foreign-owned company. As a result, it could ignore certain US government pressures.

In the meantime, polls show that social media users in general, and on TikTok in particular, are responding to Biden’s unwavering support for Israel by abandoning his campaign and, instead, refusing to vote at all, threatening to vote for Trump, or considering voting for a third-party candidate. In a particularly striking example of opposition to Biden, during the 2024 Democratic primary, thousands of registered Democrats voted “uncommitted” instead of for their party’s incumbent candidate. The response from Biden and the Democratic Party is censorship, whether banning a social media platform or suppressing legitimate and lawful political protest.

A Vibrant Independent Press—Not Censorship—Is the Antidote

Those who cheer the banning of TikTok as the first step in the larger goal of regulating Big Tech’s ability to spread false content, erase privacy, or engender mental and physical health problems should remember the values and principles enshrined in the UN’s World Press Freedom Day.

Rather than set a precedent for regulating a toxic industry by singling out a foreign scapegoat (as is our wont in foreign policy and war propaganda), these acts would codify the principle that when a government cannot influence outlets by proxy, they can ban any alternative platform that dares to threaten its power. From TikTok to WikiLeaks, efforts to control freedom of information will undoubtedly create chilling effects, with platforms and publishers choosing to adhere to the demands of power, directly or by proxy, rather than risk their own extinction.

While the travails of TikTok as a company may not excite one’s concerns about the freedom of the press the way the case of Julian Assange should, they are nonetheless further indicators of these grimly censorious times. We, the people, would not have to learn factual information about what’s happening around the world from TikTok if the principles of World Press Freedom Day were practiced by journalists every day. The “paper of record” and their ilk must clean up their act or be exposed as a failed Fourth Estate.

If we are to be a free people, if we are to be self-governing, then we need a free and independent press, reporting factually and transparently in the public interest—owners, shareholders, elected and appointed officials be damned. The state of our free press must be improved, its protected status exalted, as a means to resetting the moral compass of our republic and embarking on a path toward truth and social justice for all.

 

Shining Light: The Inaugural Denims and Pearls Brunch Celebrates Community Women

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Shining Light: The Inaugural Denims and Pearls Brunch Celebrates Community Women

By Melani Edelstein

Anticipation and excitement filled the air as the Denims and Pearls brunch electrified the Toberman Neighborhood Center. This vibrant Saturday afternoon event drew women from San Pedro, Los Angeles, and beyond. The Denims and Pearl brunch, spearheaded by the tireless dedication of the San Pedro Committee Network, an organization fervently devoted to amplifying community spirit, took center stage on Saturday, May 4th, creating a day brimming with camaraderie and jubilation.

Organizers put the event together to celebrate and honor community women through guest speakers, vendors, gift bags and other activities and acknowledgments.

Cathy Davenport, Secretary of the San Pedro Committee Network, played a significant role alongside many others, in planning the event, which marked the first time such a brunch had been organized.

Inspired by the annual men’s breakfast tradition in the community, the San Pedro Committee Network felt it was time for women to have a similar gathering. Thus, the Denims and Pearls brunch was born as a way to recognize and pay tribute to the women who have made significant contributions to their communities, particularly those who have paved the way for others.

“We aim to reach one, teach one. That’s our motto,” explained Tiffany Bowen-Rollins, Historian and past president of the San Pedro Committee Network.

The Denims and Pearls brunch was held primarily to honor under-recognized women in the community. It also served other purposes including raising funds for scholarships to support students who grew up or were raised in the San Pedro area.

Davenport, a proud product of the Toberman community, underscored the significance of recognizing and paying tribute to those who have laid the foundation, especially as Mother’s Day approaches.

The event’s purpose was to bring together women from diverse backgrounds, spanning from Harbor City to San Pedro, along with their families, in a gesture of appreciation and celebration. By inviting individuals from various areas, the gathering sought to foster a sense of unity and solidarity among women who share common experiences and aspirations.

“So many women have come before me and countless others, and it’s high time we acknowledge their contributions. This brunch is dedicated to them,” says Davenport. The day was a celebration of resilience and achievement, symbolized by denim and pearls.

As Mother’s Day draws near, the goal is to honor the exceptional women who have journeyed similar paths. The San Pedro Committee Network extended invitations far and wide for the brunch, acknowledging the collective contributions of women. The successful event showcased guest speakers addressing various subjects such as real estate, religion, mental health, community activism, and the history of women in San Pedro and Toberman.

Vendor booths further facilitated networking and learning opportunities. Despite being primarily focused on women, the brunch welcomed men and children, emphasizing its inclusive nature. “We are honoring the women but we love men and children too,” laughs Bowen-Rollins as a young child walks past.

The Denims and Pearls brunch was a collaborative effort organized by The San Pedro Committee Network. The San Pedro Committee Network originated as a social club, initially convening primarily for funeral gatherings. Over time, however, there was a growing desire among members to expand their social interactions beyond solemn occasions. Consequently, the group began organizing various social activities. Fast forward more than four decades, and in the last two years, the San Pedro Committee Network has transitioned into a full-fledged nonprofit organization.

Davenport elaborates, stating, “We engage in activities such as providing gift baskets, hosting backpack giveaways, and coordinating angel trees for children whose parents are incarcerated. Our mission is to enrich community life by fostering unity through the provision of resources. Additionally, we offer scholarships, organize community events, and promote healthy relationships.” The Network achieves this through dedicated officers, active involvement from community members, and generous donations.

The group sponsors a Black college expo and comes together to celebrate community at their popular annual Juneteenth picnic. They support students with an August back-to-school drive, provide resources and activities for Black History Month and gather together in gratitude during Thanksgiving.

Fleet Week Kicks Off with a Bang: New Drag Brunch Takes Center Stage

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Fleet Week Kicks Off with a Bang: New Drag Brunch Takes Center Stage

A benefit for Veterans for Equality.

Fleet Week seems like a natural time to launch a Drag Show in San Pedro. Because where would we be without the armed forces?

It is said that in WWI and WWII, the military discharged service members found out to be gay, lesbian, bi and trans, and those folks stayed on where they were dropped, creating gay scenes San Francisco, San Diego and Long Beach. And surely, San Pedro.

Required watching on this topic is Scotty and The Secret History of Hollywood.

VFE is a volunteer group of veterans who provide overwatch services for events hosted by marginalized communities in order to stand in the gap against protestors.

Every year, San Pedro welcomes thousands of active duty military at Fleet Week. But it doesn’t have an event, or even a space, that specifically welcomes LGBTQIA+ folks in San Pedro. Once the sailors fulfill their obligations in town, they likely flock to gay bars in Long Beach or Los Angeles.

Entertainment includes Queen Angelina, DJ BBGURL and special guests. Right now tickets are only $15 until May 10 and include pancake breakfast and the show. This discounted price is only for early birds. Enjoy a full bar, Mimosas and Bloody Mary’s.

Time: 11 a.m. breakfast and 12 p.m. show, May 25

Cost: 10 (military) to $25

Details: https://tinyurl.com/Drag-Brunch-The-Sardine

Venue: The Sardine, 1101 S. Pacific Ave, San Pedro

California Briefs: Wildlife Crossing Opening On Track, Youth Mental Health Spotlight and Tech Partnership with South Korea

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California Briefs: Wildlife Crossing Opening On Track, Youth Mental Health Spotlight and Tech Partnership with South Korea

World’s Largest Wildlife Crossing on Track to Open by Early 2026

LOS ANGELES — The world’s largest wildlife crossing is getting closer to becoming a reality.

Gov. Gavin Newsom May 7 announced that the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing outside of Los Angeles is on track to open by early 2026. Ahead of National Infrastructure Week, the Governor also announced that construction crews are now more than halfway through installing the beams that form the crossing. The work is part of Gov. Newsom’s infrastructure agenda to build more, faster. See more projects in your community at build.ca.gov.

Just last month, the first of 82 large concrete beams went up over U.S. Highway 101 at Liberty Canyon Road in Agoura Hills. The project has been made possible by a public-private partnership. Philanthropy has raised more than $34 million in funding, while California has provided $58.1 million in funding.

Additionally:

U.S. Highway 101 is one of the biggest barriers to wildlife connectivity in Southern California. The Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing will reconnect habitats and improve the health of the environment for many species in Southern California, including people.

More than 30 years of conservation work has gone into strategic habitat linkages on both sides of U.S. Highway 101 so that this wildlife crossing will connect protected lands in the Santa Monica Mountains and the Sierra Madre Range.

The overpass will reduce wildlife-vehicle collisions on one of the most congested highways in North America, decreasing the significant danger posed to people and vehicles by crossing animals.

The crossing will provide a safe and sustainable passage for wildlife across U.S. Highway 101, creating increased access for animals to find food, shelter and mates, which is increasingly important in light of climate change and continued human development that is pressuring species survival.

This project will help educate millions of Californians driving under the crossing and advance California’s 30×30 goal to conserve 30% of the state’s lands and coastal waters by 2030, ensuring that wildlife can move across conserved habitats that provide shelter, food and water.

Details: https://tinyurl.com/Gov-Wildlife-crossing

 

First Partner Siebel Newsom Highlighted California’s Youth Mental Health Resources at a Los Angeles High School

LOS ANGELES — Yesterday, California First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom May 6 visited Hollywood High School to participate in a roundtable and town hall discussion with students, parents, and educators about youth mental health and the challenges families face while navigating the ongoing crisis. The event served as a reminder of the state’s accessible strategy to support Californians’ mental health across the state.

“Today’s youth and parents face a deluge of unique pressures – balancing the ubiquity of digital media and time on screens, economic and social pressures, rising environmental crises, and more. California recognizes these challenges and we’re investing in programs and services to support California families.”

Youth are facing a mental health crisis. Young people face rising rates of anxiety, depression and other mental health issues, with children and youth of color, LGBTQ+ youth, low-income youth, and youth from underserved communities being disproportionately impacted. That is why First Partner Siebel Newsom and Gov. Newsom have worked to make resources to support California kids and families more accessible and affordable.

California has invested billions in the Children and Youth Behavioral Health Initiative or CYBHI, a cornerstone of Gov. Newsom’s Master Plan for Kids’ Mental Health. The CYBHI includes investments in mental health and wraparound services for young people which includes extensive support for schools, educators and the children they serve.

 

California Partners with Gyeonggi Province — Center of South Korea’s Economy and High-Tech Industry

SACRAMENTO — California has a new international partnership with South Korea’s Gyeonggi Province, California’s kindred subnational partner in terms of population, innovation, and economy. Gyeonggi surrounds Seoul, the capital and largest city of South Korea.

The MOU signed on May 7 between California and Gyeonggi Province outlines three years of collaboration to foster trade relations, advance climate goals, and promote people-to-people exchanges among the two regions’ academics, entrepreneurs and innovators alike. The text of the MOU signed today is available here.

 

Governor Newsom Announces Appointments

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Governor Newsom Announces Appointments
Gov. Newsom Announces Judicial Appointments

SACRAMENTO – Governor Gavin Newsom today announced his appointment of 18 Superior Court Judges, which include two in Los Angeles County;

 

Los Angeles County Superior Court

Victor Avila, of Los Angeles County, has been appointed to serve in an interim appointment as a judge in the Los Angeles County Superior Court. Avila has been a senior deputy district attorney in the major crimes division of the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office since 2012 and has served the office in several other roles since 1999. He served as a deputy district attorney at the Ventura County district attorney’s office from 1997 to 1999. Avila earned a Juris Doctor degree from Boston College Law School. He fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Malcolm H. Mackey. The Governor’s appointment allows him to immediately assume the position he was otherwise elected to begin in January 2025. Avila is a Democrat.

Allison Westfahl Kong, of Los Angeles County, has been appointed to serve as a judge in the Los Angeles County Superior Court. Westfahl Kong has served as chief of ethics and post-conviction review at the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California since 2023 and has served in several roles as an assistant U.S. attorney there since 2012. She served as a trial attorney at the U.S. Department of Justice, fraud section from 2016 to 2017. Westfahl Kong served as a law clerk for the Honorable Robert A. Katzmann at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit from 2011 to 2012 and for the Honorable Jed S. Rakoff at the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York from 2010 to 2011. She earned a Juris Doctor degree from the New York University School of Law. She fills the vacancy created by the retirement of judge Zaven V. Sinanian. Westfahl Kong is a Democrat.

 

Gov. Newsom Announces Appointments

SACRAMENTO – Gov. Gavin Newsom May 3 announced the following appointment:

Patrick Allard, of Los Angeles, has been reappointed to the Developmental and Reproductive Toxicant Identification Committee, where he has served since 2017. Allard has been a professor at the University of California, Los Angeles since 2012. He was a Post-Doctoral fellow at Harvard Medical School from 2005 to 2012. Allard is a member of the Society of Toxicology. He earned a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Biology from McGill University, a Master of Science degree in Biology from Paris Descartes University and a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology from Universite Toulouse Paul Sabatier. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Allard is registered without party preference.

Long Beach Briefs: New Director of Gov. Relations at POLB and City Has Tuberculosis Outbreak

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Long Beach Briefs: New Director of Gov. Relations at POLB and City Has Tuberculosis Outbreak

Granda to Lead Port’s Government Relations Division

The Long Beach Board of Harbor Commissioners May 6 approved the appointment of Adrian Granda, the director of government affairs for the City of San Diego, to fill the same role at POLB.

As director of government relations, Granda will be Port of Long Beach’s representative to federal, state and local governments and oversee workforce development. In this capacity, he will also supervise the activities of the port’s legislative advocates in Sacramento and Washington, D.C.

Granda comes to the port after four years leading San Diego’s strategic intergovernmental initiatives.

Prior to that, Granda held several positions, among them policy adviser to a San Diego County supervisor, and director of communications, council representative and interim director of legislative affairs for a San Diego City councilmember.

The appointment is a return to Long Beach for Granda, who earned a bachelor’s and master’s degree in political science from California State University, Long Beach. He grew up in Downey and attended St. John Bosco High School.

Recently, the port’s government relations division was moved along with the communications and community relations division to form the strategic advocacy bureau. The organizational change brought together the functions and activities of government advocacy, communications with the public and workforce development.

Tuberculosis Outbreak

LONG BEACH — May 2, City of Long Beach health officer Dr. Anissa Davis declared a local public health emergency to strengthen the city’s preparedness and ability to respond to a localized tuberculosis or TB outbreak. This declaration will be considered for ratification by the Long Beach City Council May 7.

Read the full official statement from the city.

Official City of Long Beach Statement Regarding Public Health Emergency in Response to Local Tuberculosis Outbreak; Risk to Population at Large Remains Low

LASD is Asking for the Public’s Help Locating Missing Person Nynesha Demaria Vickers, Carson

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LASD is Asking for the Public’s Help Locating Missing Person Nynesha Demaria Vickers, Carson

 

CARSON — Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department missing persons unit investigators are asking for the public’s help locating at risk missing person Nynesha Demaria Vickers. She is a 47 year-old Black female, last seen on the 16900 block of Billings Drive in the city of Carson, on May 2, after midnight.

Vickers is 5’02” tall, 125 lbs, with black braided hair and brown eyes. She was last seen wearing a white t-shirt and multicolored yoga pants.

Ms. Vickers suffers from neurological disorder and is legally blind and deaf. Her loved ones are concerned for her well-being and asking for your help.

Anyone with information about this incident is encouraged to contact the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department’s missing persons unit at 323-890-5500, or anonymously, at 800-222–8477; http://lacrimestoppers.org

 

Ports News: Policy Update on Ports Networks, Systems and Toyota Port Powered with Hydrogen

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Ports News: Policy Update on Ports Networks, Systems and Toyota Port Powered with Hydrogen

McOsker Policy Update

LOS ANGELES — In February, President Biden signed an Executive Order to bolster the Department of Homeland Security’s authority to directly address maritime cyber threats to ensure that American ports’ networks and systems are secure.

On April 30 the Los Angeles City Council approved councilmember McOsker’s motion calling for the Port of LA to report to the Trade, Travel, and Tourism Committee and Public Safety Committee on how they will ensure that terminal operators/tenants comply with the Executive Order; how they will coordinate with the U.S. Coast Guard to ensure security; and how the port, and the city, can actively promote the goal of development of U.S. manufacturing of cranes.

 

Renewable Energy Project Powers Port with Hydrogen

LONG BEACH — State, city and Port of Long Beach officials May 2 joined Toyota Motor North America and FuelCell Energy to celebrate the grand opening of the “Tri-gen” system to generate renewable hydrogen, electricity and water to support operations at Toyota’s largest port facility in North America.

The Tri-gen system uses biogas to produce renewable electricity, renewable hydrogen, and usable water, and was built to support the vehicle processing and distribution center for Toyota Logistics Services at Long Beach, which receives approximately 200,000 new Toyota and Lexus vehicles annually.

FuelCell Energy’s Tri-gen system opened last fall, producing green hydrogen, renewable electricity and usable water converted from biogas at California landfills.

The system is capable of generating up to 1,200 kg/day of hydrogen for fuel cell electric vehicles – the Toyota Mirai – imported to the terminal, and to supply an adjacent hydrogen refueling station to support Toyota Logistics Services and heavy-duty drayage trucks operating in the port complex.

The water byproduct of hydrogen generation can produce up to 1,400 gallons of usable water, which is being repurposed for Toyota’s car wash operations for vehicles that come into port before customer delivery, helping to reduce the demand on local water supplies by approximately half a million gallons per year.

The combustion-free process is a first of its kind nationally, reducing more than 9,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions and avoiding six tons of nitrogen oxide emissions.

 

Rep. Barragan Secures $500k Grant for LB Housing Project

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Rep. Barragan Secures $500k Grant for LB Housing Project

By Daniel Rivera, Reporter

On May 3, Habitat for Humanity Los Angeles announced a new eight-townhouse project in Long Beach and celebrated a $500,000 grant from Rep. Nanette Barragan’s office. The new Habitat for Humanity project will be sited on Orange Avenue in North Long Beach.

Barragan requested funding from the House Committee on Appropriations in March 2023.

In the letter, she called the project an appropriate use of taxpayer funds due to its support for constructing new homes with affordable mortgages for low-income families.

“I have had the opportunity to go on their build sites, to help build homes for communities in need, for families in need of housing, so when we saw this opportunity to bring more housing to Long Beach, we said, ‘Let’s do it.’”

Barragan and Habitats have been working together for years, with the representative volunteering with them before her time as a congresswoman. She and the rest of the Habitats Team see it as a crucial part of providing homes to Long Beach while also building generation wealth so that those families can stay in their homes.

“We currently have 36 homes in construction like this in Downtown Long Beach. We have built over 100 homes in the city of Long Beach,” Darrell Simien, Habitat for Humanity’s Senior Vice President of Community Development told Random Lengths News.

“It’s very lucky it passed because we didn’t know if this was going to be a budget to pass in the congress,” Congresswomen Barragan said, referring to the budgetary impasse that caused by the debt ceiling crisis in 2023. The complete federal budget was passed on April 23 and signed into law by President Joe Biden the next day.

She explained that it’s difficult to get budget items earmarked in Congress due to a change in the rules for earmarking proposals that prohibit non-profits from receiving community development grants from the federal government. And that the request for the housing grant was made before this change happened back in April, any future grants from the federal government will be more difficult to get if not impossible depending on the classification of the organization.

Barragan explained that ownership interest was prioritized in order to help low income families be able to attain the goal of generational wealth with an affordable mortgage that go toward financing the building of homes.”

Habitat for Humanity uses traditional contractors, volunteer labor, and the labor of prospective homeowners to build the homes.

The townhouses will be modular and fabricated off-site in a factory. The modules will then get transported to and assembled on-site with the help of contractors and volunteers.

The president and CEO of Habitats for Humanity Los Angeles Erin Rank told Random Lengths News that this approach will speed up the building process and make it possible to build the homes even faster while keeping costs down.

Each townhouse has a 1,300 square-foot floor plan, including two bedrooms, two baths, and a two-car garage along the alleyway in the back.The site used to be the North Long Beach Library, which closed in 2016 when the Michelle Obama Library on Atlantic Avenue, between Lime and East 59th Street, opened.

An acquisition loan provided the land for Long Beach Community Investment Company amounting to $717,000. LBCIC works on behalf of the city and facilitates new homes being built in Long Beach to help address the housing shortages.

During the conference, Rank said that a “lemming library” will be installed on-site during construction to honor the history of the library that once stood there.

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