Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s announcement that she will step away from Democratic leadership next Congress marked a transformational moment on Capitol Hill Thursday, with liberals and even some Republicans offering praise and kudos to the California congresswoman.

In a highly anticipated address from the House floor, Pelosi, who has led the Democratic caucus for 20 years, said she will continue serving her San Francisco district in the lower chamber but will pass the leadership torch to a “new generation” of Democrats, many of whom have been waiting in the wings for a shakeup among the caucus’s top brass.

The House chamber erupted in a standing ovation when Pelosi, dressed in a white suit, wrapped up her speech.

A swarm of Democrats lined up to hug the outgoing Speaker following her remarks. Some even recorded the moment on their cellphones from the floor. Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) brought his young daughter to witness the occasion.

“She’s a historical figure. She’ll be one of the top people in American history,” said Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.), a close ally of Pelosi. “This is a tough, strong, smart, courageous woman that knows how to listen to everybody, make a decision, [and] implement.”

“She’s just such a venerated leader,” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (DN.Y.) said. “It was so dignified, you know, the way that she carried and carries herself in such a dignified fashion. She went on her own terms, and I think there’s just nothing but respect there for her.”

Few Republicans ventured to the House floor to witness the speech from Pelosi, who has long been villainized in GOP messaging. House Minority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) attended — and participated in the standing ovation after her speech.

But House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), who this week was nominated by Republicans to replace Pelosi as Speaker next year when the party controls the House, did not attend and said shortly after that he did not watch her speech.

“I had meetings. But normally the others would do it during votes. I wish — she could have done that. I could have been there,” said McCarthy, who once joked that it would be hard to not hit Pelosi with the speaker’s gavel when he took it over.

The GOP leader and the Speaker have a hostile relationship, particularly during and since the Trump era. Pelosi called McCarthy a “moron” after he criticized the mask mandate she instituted on the house floor during the coronavirus pandemic.

“They’ve both [had] quite a career of how many decades they’ve been working here through,” McCarthy said of Pelosi and Hoyer on Thursday. “It’s a whole new generation for the Democrats.”

Pelosi’s historic reign in Democratic leadership began in 2002 when she assumed the role of House minority whip. She later served as chair of the House Democratic Caucus and minority leader, but will be most remembered for her ascension to the Speakership in 2007, when she became the first woman to secure the gavel.

Throughout her eight years as Speaker, Pelosi helped usher in a number of massive legislative accomplishments: she oversaw the passage of the Affordable Care Act, helped authorize trillions of dollars of emergency relief during the pandemic and pushed through this year’s multi-billion dollar tax and climate bill.

The California Democrat also twice kicked off impeachment proceedings against former President Trump during his White House tenure.

“I just admire her focus, her workmanship, her dedication and her able to get things done and work with folks,” Rep. Gregory Meeks (DN.Y.), chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee, told reporters. “When I think of the accomplishments that we’ve made under her leadership, I’m glad that I had the opportunity to be here during those times.”

Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.), a close Pelosi ally who was first to hug the speaker on the floor, called her California colleague “the most effective speaker in the history of the United States.”

The Democratic praise for Pelosi was bicameral. Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (DN.Y.), who has served as Pelosi’s counterpart in the upper chamber for years, was present on the House floor during her remarks.

“I just left the floor of the house for one of the most emotional moments I’ve had in my career: the valedictory of Nancy Pelosi, one of the greatest legislators — and greatest people — I’ve ever met,” Schumer later said on the Senate floor.

“Few in American history have been as effective, as driven, as successful as Speaker Pelosi. She’s practically transformed every corner of American politics, and unquestionably made America a better, stronger nation,” he added.

But as Pelosi heads to the leadership exits, some Democrats are emphasizing that the California lawmaker will remain a consequential figure in the party — regardless of the title she holds.

“She’s not gonna leave Dem leadership, she’s still gonna be a leader in this caucus, you know, without all the nightmares of us … without the pains in the asses she had to deal with all the time,” Dingell said. “She’s got a great deal of influence, we all know how smart she is, she’s gonna be able to pull people together. She’s going to be a voice people are gonna listen to.”

“I think that her being still involved will be helpful and it’ll help us to get — get further faster,” Rep. Cori Bush (D-Mo.) said.

Pelosi did get some praise from Republicans.

Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.), who said he often speaks to Pelosi on the house floor about her granddaughter and his daughter who share a name, gave her a hug after her speech.

“We don’t agree on a dadgum thing. And I prayed for her husband to get well. But I’m a Christian first, not a Republican,” Burchett said. “We still talk, and I think this country needs a little more than that.”

“We disagreed probably 99 percent of the time. But she’s been a very effective speaker for her own cause,” said Rep. Clay Higgins (R-La.) “She had a gracious presentation of well-prepared remarks. I think it was very appropriate.”

Rep. Doug LaMalfa (R-Calif.) was also present for Pelosi’s speech and hugged her afterwards.

“Part of it was I was first up to present on legislation immediately after. But also, I believe it was a historic moment there, and I usually tend to sit in on those no matter who it is. And thirdly, it’s an Italian thing,” LaMalfa said.

Others, however, did not contain their glee at Pelosi leaving the Speakership.

“I’m thrilled,” said Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.). “I think she’s been the most destructive speaker that we’ve had.”

Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) chimed in with a tweet: “Good riddance!”

The post Lawmakers have fun Pelosi: ‘A historic determine’ appeared first on Los Gatos News And Events.

San Francisco lawmakers have filed a resolution to locally decriminalize psychedelics like psilocybin and ayahuasca. The measure also pushes for broader statewide reform.

The legislation, sponsored by Supervisors Dean Preston (D) and Hillary Ronen (D), was introduced on Tuesday. If enacted by the Board of Supervisors, San Francisco would be the largest city by population in the US to deprioritize enforcement of laws prohibiting entheogenic substances.

The section of the resolution, however, discusses the therapeutic potential of psychedelics, as well as their traditional role as catalysts for “profound experiences of personal and spiritual growth.”

It also references a Senate-passed bill from state Sen. Scott Weiner (D) that would legalize possession, cultivation and sharing of small amounts of certain psychedelics such as psilocybin, MDMA and DMT for adults 21 and older. That legislation has since cleared two Assembly committees and is slated for consideration by another panel in the chamber on August 3.

Additionally, the San Francisco proposal, first reported by Filter, cites local moves to decriminalize psychedelics in cities like neighboring Oakland, as well as Oregon’s 2020 vote to remove criminal penalties for low-level possession of all currently illicit drugs.

If approved by the Board, the resolution would implore police to make enforcement of laws prohibiting psychedelics-related activity—including use as well as “planting, cultivating, purchasing, transporting, transporting, distributing, engaging in practices with, and/or possessing” by adults “amongst the lowest priority for the City and County of San Francisco.”

It also asks that no city resources be used for “any investigation, detention, arrest, or prosecution arising out of alleged violations of state and federal law regarding the use of entheogenic plants listed on the Federally Controlled Substances Schedule 1 list.”

Further, it says that the Board urges the mayor to instruct state and federal lobbyists and officials in the city to support efforts to decriminalize entheogenic plants and plant-based compounds that are included in Schedule I of the federal Controlled Substances Act.

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A hearing on the measure hasn’t been scheduled yet, but the Board isn’t expected to take it up until after members return from an August recess.

The resolution’s introduction is the latest iteration of a national reform movement that’s seen cities and states across the US work to advance psychedelics decriminalization both legislatively and at the ballot.

Denver was the first city in the country to enact psychedelics decriminalization in 2019, igniting activists and lawmakers to follow suit by mirroring or building upon the reform. In 2020, for example, Oregon voters also approved an initiative to legalize psilocybin therapy centers.

Colorado voters will have the chance to decide on a historic ballot initiative this November to legalize psychedelics and create licensed psilocybin “healing centers” where people can use the substance for therapeutic purposes.

Here are other examples of states working to advance psychedelics reform:

The leader of the New Jersey Senate filed a bill last month that would legalize the possession, home cultivation and gifting of psilocybin mushrooms for adults 21 and older—with provisions that adults give even more freedoms for the psychedelic than are afforded under the state’s current marijuana laws.

The governor of Connecticut signed a large-scale budget bill in May that includes provisions to set the state up to provide certain patients with access to psychedelic-assisted treatment using substances like MDMA and psilocybin.

Maryland’s governor recently allowed a bill to go into law without his signature to create a state fund to provide “cost-free” access to psychedelics like psilocybin, MDMA and ketamine for military veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and traumatic brain injury.

A Massachusetts-based campaign, Bay Staters for National Medicine (BSNM), is also supporting a statewide reform push to force state lawmakers to file legislation to both legalize entheogenic substances for therapeutic use and otherwise decriminalize certain psychedelics.

The Maine Senate approved a bill in April to create a medical psilocybin program in the state, but the House of Representatives refused to go along.

Also that month, Georgia lawmakers advanced a bipartisan resolution that calls for the formation of a House study committee to investigate the therapeutic potential of psychedelics like psilocybin and make recommendations for reforms.

The governor of Utah signed a bill in March to create a task force to study and make recommendations on the therapeutic potential of psychedelic drugs and possible regulations for their lawful use.

A Missouri House Committee also held a hearing that month on a GOP-led bill to legalize a wide range of psychedelics for therapeutic use at designated care facilities while further decriminalizing low-level possession in general.

The Washington State legislature recently sent a budget bill to the governor’s desk that includes a proposal to direct $200,000 in funding to support a new workgroup to study the possibility of legalizing psilocybin services in the state, including the idea of ​​using current marijuana regulatory systems to track psychedelic mushrooms.

In March, the Hawaii Senate approved a bill to set up a state working group to study the therapeutic benefits of psilocybin mushrooms and develop a “long-term” plan to ensure that the psychedelic is accessible for medical use for adults 21 and older.

Also that month, the Oklahoma House of Representatives passed a bill to decriminalize low-level possession of psilocybin and promote research into the therapeutic potential of the psychedelic.

Rhode Island lawmakers introduced a pair of drug decriminalization bills in March—including one focused on psilocybin and buprenorphine that would authorize doctors to prescribe the psychedelic mushroom.

Washington State lawmakers also introduced legislation in January that would legalize what the bill calls “supported psilocybin experiences” by adults 21 and older.

New Hampshire lawmakers filed measures to decriminalize psilocybin and all drugs.

Legislation was also enacted by the Texas legislature last year requiring the state to study the medical risks and benefits of psilocybin, MDMA and ketamine for military veterans in partnership with Baylor College of Medicine and a military-focused medical center.

Congressional lawmakers and federal agencies have also started to take serious interest in psychedelics policy.

For example, top federal health agency says it is actively “exploring” the possibility of creating a task force to investigate the therapeutic of certain psychedelics like psilocybin and MDMA in anticipation of federal approval of the substances for prescription use.

In January, bipartisan House lawmakers sent a letter to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) that implored the agency to allow terminally ill patients to access psilocybin as an investigational drug, pursuant to federal “Right to Try” statute enacted under the Trump administration.

DEA is now facing another lawsuit for refusing to allow a Seattle-based doctor to obtain psilocybin for his oncology patients. Plaintiffs say that the agency is unlawfully failing to abide by federal law by denying such access under the circumstances.

Bipartisan House and Senate lawmakers filed companion bills last week that seeks to clarify the intent and application of the “Right to Try” law at the center of the case. Sens. Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Rand Paul (R-KY), along with Reps. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) and Nancy Mace (R-SC), are the lead sponsors of the legislation.

In May, Booker and Sen. Brian Schatz (D-HI) separately pushed top federal officials to provide an update on research into the therapeutic potential of psychedelics, arguing that ongoing federal prohibition has stymied studies.

Federal health officials recently recognized that federal prohibition makes it harder to study the benefits of psychedelics, requiring researchers to jump through additional regulatory hoops.

Activists including one of the plaintiffs in the Right to Try case, Erinn Baldeschwiler, staged a demonstration outside of DEA headquarters in Virginia in May, demanding that the agency allow terminally ill patients to access psilocybin therapy.

DEA is separately being sued over repeated delays in processing requests for public records related to psychedelics and marijuana.

Following significant pushback from the research and advocacy communities, the agency recently rescinded its proposal to ban five psychedelic compounds that scientists say could hold significant therapeutic potential. DEA also canceled a hearing it previously scheduled on the proposal.

Separately, the agency has separately increased production quotas for the production of certain psychedelics like psilocybin in an effort to promote research, but its scheduling decisions have continued to represent obstacles for scientists.

The US House of Representatives recently approved a large-scale defense bill that includes amendments directing the Department of Defense (DOD) to carry out a study into the medical potential of psilocybin and MDMA, as well as marijuana, for military veterans with certain conditions.

New Federal Marijuana Legalization Bill Leaves My Former Cellmates In Prison (Op-Ed)

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The skyline of downtown San Francisco, seen from Potrero Hill in 2008. Photo: Andreas Praefcke

The second most valuable company in the world, Amazon has been gobbling up space throughout the southeast corner of the city, taking advantage of zoning meant to preserve blue-collar jobs in a market in which housing and office space have typically generated higher revenues. — The San Francisco Chronicle

Amazon bought a 510,000-square-foot former sanitation motor pool parcel in the Showplace Square section of the city for $200 million in December of 2020. It has since proposed an expansion of the site’s footprint into an over 725,000-square-foot distribution hub for 400 workers that neighboring tenants, including the diffuse California College of the Arts, say will create a “pedestrian nightmare” of around 2,900 vehicle trips a day.

Now, as a result of the company’s proposal, San Francisco Supervisor Shamann Walton is seeking legislation that would place an 18-month moratorium on any new parcel delivery services operating in the city. It has already picked up backing from the local Teamsters and UFCW unions. The legislative effort, which the paper sees as another flashpoint in the “war between organized labor and Amazon,” is also backed by more environmentally-minded Prothero Hill and Dogpatch inhabitants, who say the company “has the neighborhoods surrounded” with similar developments that combined with existing freeways and Caltrain stations negatively impact the air quality in the area.

Previously on Archinect: Amazon warehouses are wreaking havoc in California’s Inland Empire

The concern echoes those of residents in Southern California’s Inland Empire, who have been beset by a series of environmental and transportation headaches since buying into the jobs-centric development schemes starting around a decade ago.

“Hundreds of people now have come in to make this their neighborhood, and this just really turns the clock back to a massive usage that is antithetical to a livable neighborhood for people with children, seniors,” one Seventh Street resident told the Chronicle. “It’s contrary to that.”

Similar articles on Archinect that may interest you…

The post Amazon’s newest warehouse battle has San Francisco lawmakers pushing for a moratorium on comparable developments | Information appeared first on Los Gatos News And Events.

In addition, The Senior Citizens League has “seen no reports to indicate whether savings [with the ACO program] will be financially advantageous for beneficiaries as well. Will ACOs slow the rate of increase in base Medicare Part B premiums (currently at $170.10) or pricey supplemental Medigap insurance premiums that currently average $235 a month for beneficiaries?” writes Mary Johnson, the advocacy group’s Social Security and Medicare policy analyst, in its May newsletter.

However, some proponents of the new program stated that “criticism against the [ACO] model are misleading and flat out false,” in a February letter from the National Association of ACOs, which was signed by 200 various health care organizations.

“Traditional Medicare patients maintain their freedom of choice to see any willing provider. They keep all of their rights and protections, and in fact, get more benefits and lower cost care through the model,” they stated. “This is not the end of traditional Medicare … but a way to provide additional beneficial and provider tools as part of the whole-person approach.”

Private Equity and SPACs

But the fear of having ACOs become a key part of traditional Medicare is that the owners are not necessarily health care organizations, such as large physician practice groups. Indeed, there has been a “surge” in investment in ACO groups by private equity firms and insurance companies.

This has become a ripe investment area as the US population ages. And as Miller noted, “most of the investment activity is coming from special-purpose acquisition companies or SPACs, private equity firms and health insurance companies already dominant in the Advantage business.”

And though an AARP spokesperson said in an email to ThinkAdvisor that it had not “commented specifically on the ACO Reach program,” in its letter regarding MA programs, it said that it shares the concern by CMS on third-party marketing of MA programs and a “rise in marketing-related complaints from beneficiaries.”

They note that in 2021 there were 33 different plan options, and determining which is best is a “daunting process for even the most knowledgeable consumers. This challenge has been exacerbated by the MA program’s history of marketing abuses involving enrollment.”

Further, they “strongly” support the proposal to “restore network adequacy review standards when an MA plan applies for a new or expanded service area,” stating that per the previous administration’s rules, a network had to only “attest that it has an adequate network.”

Even the HHS inspector general had some concerns with MA programs, stating in an April report that it found a 13% to 18% rate of denied prior authorization and payment requests that met Medicare coverage rules.

Fixing Medicare

Many practitioners have advocated keeping Medicare as is, with some tweaks to strengthen it. dr Ed Weisbart, chair of the Missouri chapter of PNHP and assistant professor of clinical medicine at Washington University in St. Louis, told Healthcare Innovation in March 2022:

“There’s a school of thought that drives Medicare Advantage, and drives a lot of the innovation out of Medicare Innovation Center, which says that the root problem is [traditional Medicare] fee for service. And so, they want to move everything over to capitation. And that to me is, on its face, just ridiculous,” he said.

“We really should eliminate [or] greatly reduce the copays and deductibles of traditional Medicare. … This could fix the personal finance aspects of traditional Medicare and then other things could be experimented with like adding in hearing, vision, and dental. These are things that improve health outcomes and should be inexpensive to offer. So, improve traditional Medicare and stop giving an unfair advantage to Medicare Advantage.”

Likewise, Dr. Ana Malinow, past president of PNHP and professor of pediatrics at the University of California-San Francisco, told Healthcare Innovation that “traditional Medicare is working pretty well. … we should be looking at what it is that traditional Medicare is doing better than Medicare Advantage. The profit motive there is not making things better.”

ThinkAdvisor contacted several members of Congress and health organizations who had signed the various letters, as well as the CMS and HHS. They had not responded by deadline.

But as Miller stated: “The ACO model has important implications for the future of one of our most important social insurance programs. It shouldn’t be implemented without a robust discussion — and without the approval of Congress.”

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SAN JOSE (KPIX) — As the state’s indoor mask mandate for fully vaccinated reaches an end, health experts are reminding Californians that cases remain high.

Stanford Infectious Disease Dr. Abraar Karan cautioned that removing masks right now is a “risky game” and “experiment” on whether the easing of the health measure could cause another surge in cases.

READ MORE: San Francisco Voters Recall 3 Embattled School Board Members

“Personally, I think it’s a little bit early,” Karan said. “Taking masks off like this may very well lead to an uptick in cases again. I’m concerned about the date that was picked. I’ve encouraged people, who are public health experts, really should not be focusing on the dates — they should be focusing on the data.”

On Tuesday, the state’s positivity rate stood at 5.7%, which is slightly lower than the peak of last winter’s deadly surge despite the difference this year in access to vaccines.

Karan said it’s possible California may not see another surge after the indoor mask mandate expires Wednesday. However, he said that would likely be because more people than once thought contracted COVID-19 and have a boost in immunity.

READ MORE: COVID: North Bay Businesses Owners Cautiously Excited Indoor Mask Mandate Is Lifted

Meanwhile, while some government leaders are planning the reopening of the economy, others are focused on helping those in the community impacted by the virus forever, including children who lost a parent or caregiver to COVID-19.

During their regularly scheduled meeting, Santa Clara County supervisors discussed what they have named the “Children’s Roadmap to Recovery.”

Supervisor Cindy Chavez said an estimated 1 in 450 children have lost a parent to the virus. It’s important, she said, for the youth to have services such as grief counseling, behavioral services and wellness centers on school grounds. The recovery plan would be funded by the American Rescue Plan Act, which is an emergency fund from Congress.

Chavez said, what’s more, is that an estimated 7,000 kids in the county lost childcare because of the pandemic when 12% of providers left for more affordable cities or other reasons. County leaders are now focused on rebuilding the area’s childcare infrastructure to send parents back to the workforce and boost the economy.

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“That particular segment of the business community has just collapsed,” Chavez said. “We had so many people who dropped out of the workforce because they had no way to care for their children. I think what’s particularly heartbreaking about it is, as the world opens up, for some the road home is not clear because they don’t have that parent anymore or that caregiver.”

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A law mandating efficient toilets, faucets, and shower heads could reduce annual water use by 16,000 acre-feet.

(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) The eastern finger of Deer Creek Reservoir continues to recede as Main Creek becomes a narrow band of water during extreme drought conditions on Monday, July 12, 2021. An estimated one-third of the reservoir’s capacity is used for toilets in Utah annually.

| Oct. 21, 2021, 11:49 a.m.

| Updated at 4:49 pm

In one year, Utah toilets flow 51,000 acres of water, enough to fill one-third the capacity of Deer Creek Reservoir.

That’s the “eye-opening” statistic that Senator Jani Iwamoto highlighted Tuesday when he proposed a bill that would require more efficient toilets, faucets and shower heads in new home construction, and said annual water use would be reduced by 16,000 acre-feet by 2030 . That’s enough water to supply 30,000 households.

“Utah is the only state in the Colorado Basin that has not implemented a similar standard or allows communities to issue regulations that require these fittings,” said the Democrat in Salt Lake City of the Legislative Water Development Commission. “This is one way of addressing our scarce water supply. And let’s be honest, there is no more water left, so we have to do something with our existing water supply. “

Utah is facing both explosive housing growth and dwindling water supplies due to climate change, she added. Iwamoto’s action would have an impact on installations for new build and renovation of residential bathrooms. Building codes would be amended to set the maximum flow rate for toilets at 1.28 gallons per flush; for faucets at 1.5 gallons per minute; and for shower heads at 2 gallons per minute. These exceed the current standard by 20%.

While highly efficient faucets are generally no more expensive than less efficient ones, their ruling drew opposition from Republican lawmakers such as MP Casey Snider of Paradise, who said he prefers tiered water prices to encourage people to reduce water use.

“I am concerned that the government is telling me what type of toilet I can have in my house,” said Snider. “I’m worried what it can do to the Great Salt Lake.”

Snider argued that reducing the amount of water used in the bathroom will result in less water going into the depleted Great Salt Lake, which takes up most of the purified wastewater from the Wasatch Front.

The commission voted 5 to 4 in favor of the bill, but the move still failed because four members of the Republican House of Representatives voted against it. The vice chairman of the commission, Rep. Joel Ferry, R-Brigham City, voted in favor.

The tepid support for the law frustrated water conservation advocates such as Utah Rivers Council Executive Director Zach Frankel, who witnessed the demise of many water conservation policies.

“This shows how much the water saving in the Statehouse is hostile,” said Frankel on Tuesday. “I sat through almost 10 hours of committee discussion on water today and they didn’t allow a second of public input. That is in part why there is so much basic ignorance about water up here. They refuse to listen and learn to save money. “

Despite failing to get the commission’s official blessing, Iwamoto plans to submit the bill to the Senate at the upcoming session.

“This is a critical time and this change will make a difference,” she said. “As we see in Monroe [in Sevier County], the city council voted to suspend construction because there is no water. It’s a scary time and we need serious solutions. “

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SAN JOSE (KPIX) – Santa Clara County has allocated nearly $ 1 million in new funding to assist Afghan refugees relocate to the South Bay.

A unanimous vote by the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday increased funding for annual service contracts with the International Rescue Committee (IRC) and Jewish Family Services of Silicon Valley (JFSSV) from $ 185,000 to $ 250,000 for each organization.

CONTINUE READING: Santa Rosa legislature proposes a plan for city-sanctioned sideshow

The vote also approved one-time funding of $ 750,000 to provide shelter, food, employment and transportation for the refugees entering Santa Clara County.

At Tuesday’s meeting, the guards learned that the IRC had already relocated 40 Afghan refugees and the JFSSV had processed 25 so far. About 300 refugees will arrive in South Bay over the next 12 months.

Supervisor Susan Ellenberg, who drafted the proposal together with Supervisor Otto Lee, called the effort a “moral obligation”.

â € œThis is the core of what we as humans do for one another. We are literally saving lives and helping people start over here. And I wanted to do what I could to make this easier for the people doing the hard work of relocation. said Ellenberg.

At My Breakfast House, a popular eatery in San Carlos, owner Kakey Chang said that pictures of the refugees … Escape from Kabul were “heartbreaking”. Chang has open positions for hosts and table bussers and is encouraging Afghans to apply.

“If you need a job and I have a job, feel free to apply here, work here,” said Chang.

CONTINUE READING: San Francisco police arrest a suspected murder suspect hours after a fatal shootout

Chang, who immigrated to the United States from Taiwan as a child, emphasized the importance of making Afghan refugees feel welcome.

â € œYou always try to help. Someone fell down? Your attempt to help them. Help them get up. It’s the same idea. Why help? It’s human nature. We all have to help, â ???? said Chang.

Shef, a San Francisco-based startup, also offers support through direct donations and also through the platform. The company is an online homemade grocery marketplace where customers can order dishes from local neighborhood chefs.

Shef offers refugees a $ 3,500 scholarship for supplies, tools, and marketing, and waives all fees on the platform. In addition, locally established users are delivering Afghan dishes to recently relocated refugees in the Bay Area.

Last week “Shef Laila” delivered 100 meals to the Muslim community center in Pleasanton with the message “Dear fellow Afghans, peace and blessings be upon you. We welcome you to the United States. We hope you like and enjoy this food.

â € œI just hope other companies and other business leaders think about what they could do too. It may be something completely different, but hopefully we are all in a unique position to do something to help and that is what we are trying to do here, â ???? said Alvin Salehi, co-founder and co-CEO of Shef.

Salehi, the son of Iranian immigrants, said the Afghan refugee crisis was striking.

MORE NEWS: State Sen. Wiener’s Recovery Incentives Act would pay meth addicts to stay sober

“Many of them came to the United States under incredibly difficult and devastating circumstances. I hope we will treat her kindly. My hope is that we will actually try to show them the America they have always dreamed of, â ???? said Salehi.

The post South Bay Lawmakers Vote To Fund Housing, Meals, Employment Help For Afghan Refugees – CBS San Francisco appeared first on Los Gatos News And Events.

SACRAMENTO (CBS / AP) – Spurred on by a lack of affordable housing, rising house prices and persistent homelessness, California lawmakers on Thursday pushed ahead with the second of two measures aimed at breaking local zoning ordinances.

Sponsored by Senate Leader Toni Atkins and backed by Parliament Speaker Anthony Rendon, both Democrats, Senate Law 9 would make it easier to build smaller second homes on what is now single-family homes. This can be up to four units, such as maisonettes or houses with attached residential units, if the property is divided into two equal parcels under the bill.

CONTINUE READING: SAP Center in San Jose requires proof of COVID vaccination at all upcoming events

The goal is to “open the door to more families to realize their version of the California dream,” said Atkins, “whether that means building a home for an older parent, creating a new source of income, the first home too or to be welcomed in a new neighborhood. “

The move largely bypasses local consent, although Atkins previously added opportunities for local governments to block construction that could endanger public safety or health, or be carried out by housing speculators. Those who apply for the loss splitting must swear that they want to live in one of the residential units as their main residence for at least three years.

It cleared the 80-member assembly with a non-partisan 45-19 vote.

The bill “will expedite duplexes and property divisions in areas designated for single-family homes,” objected Republican MP Janet Nguyen, who said she voted no but will be quarantined after testing positive for the coronavirus.

The convention on Monday passed Senate Bill 10, a related bill by Senator Scott Wiener that would make it easier for local governments to rededicate neighborhoods near public transportation for up to 10 residential units.

That bill came out 41 to 9 with no votes left, despite proponents saying it was recently amended to make it optional for local governments.

CONTINUE READING: San Francisco leaning skyscraper repairs put on hold; Engineering expert breaks plan

“Legalizing small residential buildings near thoroughfares and in urban catchment areas will reduce environmental impact and reduce climate pollution,” said Brian Hanlon, executive director of advocacy group California YIMBY, in a statement.

Advocacy group California Community Builders argued that the measures will narrow an “ever-widening racial wealth gap in California,” where more than 60% of whites own their homes, compared with 35% of blacks and about 40% of Latinos.

But several Sacramento neighborhood groups said the bills “encourage large financial organizations to own home with an increasing percentage of lower and middle-class residents becoming long-term renters.”

The measures undermine both local control and environmental protection, they claim.

Both bills are going back to the Senate for final vote before the legislature is adjourned on September 10 for the year.

The Sacramento City Council is in the process of making the capital one of the first in the country to abolish traditional single-family zoning. The cities of Portland, Oregon, and Minneapolis have issued similar ordinances in recent years. The state of Oregon has passed a law that removes traditional single-family zoning nationwide.

MORE NEWS: BART receives $ 331 million grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation to help recover from the pandemic

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Even before the cause of the deadly campfire is cleared, California lawmakers are drafting laws to protect PG&E from massive fire-related liabilities.

“We want to send a signal to the financial markets that we are not going to let the utilities flutter in the wind,” said Kellie Smith, chief adviser to the state committee on utilities and energy, on Tuesday. The bill is expected to be introduced by Los Angeles County’s Democratic Rep. Chris Holden, who chairs its main legislative body.

The bill is expected to protect major California investor-owned utilities from wildfires.

“What a happy Thanksgiving gift for PG&E shareholders, directors, and executives to enjoy this holiday weekend as over 12,000 Butte County residents spend Thanksgiving in shelters, tents, or their cars, with some mourning their deaths or despair over their missing “Said Senator Jerry Hill, D-San Mateo, a frequent critic of PG&E, on Tuesday.

The idea behind the expected legal framework would be to ensure that financial liabilities resulting from destructive forest fires in 2018 like the Camp Fire in Butte County don’t destabilize a major utility like PG&E.

Governor Jerry Brown signed SB 901, a comprehensive law to end past, present, and future California wildfires, in September, brushing aside criticism that the move was a bailout for PG&E that came with a troubling mountain of inferno-related liabilities is facing the the Wine Country and other regions in October 2017.

This bill created a smoother way for state regulators and PG&E to pass costs on to the company’s customers with higher monthly utility bills. SB 901 requires the powerful state commission on public utilities to conduct a stress test to determine the maximum amount a utility and its shareholders can bear without going bankrupt. SB 901 contained a narrow provision to include the wine country fire storms, a number of which were believed to be caused by PG&E devices.

The new legislation appears to address the bug in SB 901 that primarily applied to fire liabilities in 2017 and potential fires in 2019 and years thereafter, but not specifically applicable to fire disasters in 2018.

“There will be a time and a place for all of this, but for now PG&E is solely focused on helping first responders and helping our customers recover and rebuild,” said PG&E spokeswoman Andrea Menniti on Tuesday.

Ultimately, the legislation is designed to prevent a utility company from going bankrupt in connection with the forest fires, and that protects customers, Smith said.

“When a utility goes bankrupt, it will do a lot more harm to tariff payers than this mechanism we create to make the utility pay until it hurts,” said Smith. “The idea is to make the utilities pay until it hurts.”

San Francisco-based PG&E is using the specter of bankruptcy to alert state lawmakers and regulators to come to the rescue, Hill says.

“PG&E is using the bankruptcy bogeyman to scare lawmakers,” Hill said. “You could have a PG&E payment plan for many years, which BP did after the Gulf oil spill. Instead, PG&E is always looking for the easy way out, no matter how many people are affected. “

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According to regional housing experts, a strategic approach, leveraging both legislative proposals and government funding, is needed to most effectively address the state’s housing crisis.

Michael Lane, State Policy Director at the San Francisco Bay Area Planning and Urban Research Association, assessed the gradually evolving political landscape around housing rights and government investment.

Lane watched opposing factions sided with controversial housing laws and praised Governor Gavin Newsom’s injection of resources to address the state’s housing shortage, estimated at 3.5 million units by 2025.

“We know we need to solve this problem and we need to find ways to do it,” said Lane, referring to the general recognition that it takes a variety of approaches to enable more housing.

Speaking of the state’s financial contribution, Lane praised Newsom’s willingness to draw on the historic budget surplus to fuel efforts to fight homelessness and promote housing.

These investments include $ 750 million for the Homekey Project, the government’s program to acquire hotel and motel properties to convert them into homes for the homeless. Lane also posted $ 500 million in low-income residential property tax credits, $ 250 million in infill infrastructure grant programs through the state Department of Housing and Community Development, and $ 100 million in funding for secondary housing construction.

In total, Newsom proposed $ 1.75 billion for programs targeting housing programs, which was approved by the district’s Housing Leadership Council.

“It’s worth highlighting the historic budget investment, particularly the $ 1.75 billion equity for HCD-funded projects. This will help build thousands of shovel-ready affordable homes, ”said Leora Tanjuatco Ross, deputy director of the council, in an email.

While some of the funding comes from federal pandemic bailouts, most of it comes from Newsom’s budget proposal, which was built on a $ 76 billion surplus.

In addition to the cash injection, Lane said there is a political focus on ensuring that housing laws passed in previous years are effectively implemented and enforced.

The Housing and Community Development Department is a key government resource for working with cities to ensure existing housing goals are met, Lane said, and new proposed laws are designed to strengthen that work.

Congregation member David Chiu, D-San Francisco, proposed Law 215 to the Congregation, which would allow HCD to meet with cities and track progress in the middle of the eight-year housing planning cycle.

“To address the housing crisis, we need to make sure that cities implement their plans. While some cities are trying hard, others are lagging behind, and this bill is about ensuring that all cities do what they promise, ”Chiu said in a prepared statement on the bill passed by and by the Assembly He is expected to go to the Senate this summer.

The deadline for submitting bills from homes or countries of origin was Friday June 4th. Those who survived will be tried before the September 10 deadline, which is the last day any bill gets to Newsom’s desk.

After the latest deadline, Lane said it could be difficult to gauge the progress of certain bills – especially as most lawmakers focused on budget deliberations ahead of the Tuesday June 15 approval deadline.

“A lot is incremental,” he said. “We always kind of expect that.”

Looking ahead, however, Lane expected clashes to arise over a number of divisive laws proposed by state senators earlier this year to facilitate the construction of additional housing with financial incentives and relaxed regulations.

The package called Housing Opportunities For All aims, among other things, to enable residential development in commercial areas; rationalize the construction of developments that meet high environmental standards; Permit maisonette construction in single-family zone neighborhoods; and upzone areas near job centers, bus stops and other residential centers.

Senate Draft 9, which aims to facilitate the construction of maisonettes or partitions to allow additional development of residential parcels, and Senate Draft 10, the proposal for an increase, are vehemently opposed by neighborhood groups such as Livable California.

Critics claim the proposals will incentivize speculative property developers to buy land with plans to convert neighborhood lots into large projects that are incompatible with the existing character.

If approved, they claim the bills will allow the construction of more marketable units that are unaffordable for most residents and worsen gentrification patterns across the state.

“We do not see the huge expansion of luxury housing by the state in this law as an aid to the cities,” said a press release from Livable California on Senate Law 10, written by Senator Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco.

In addition to neighborhood groups, Lane also recognized the opposition from construction groups working to ensure that all housing bills include mandates to hire union workers.

Since many development proposals, especially those with a significant amount of affordable housing, often face tight margins, union requirements can often make funding impossible, Lane said.

To allay the financial concerns, he expressed hope that lawmakers could identify more ways to fund development projects. In a broader sense, he was encouraged by the variety of efforts to address the state’s housing problems.

“I think there is a growing understanding and commitment from the legislature to keep working on it,” he said.

austin@smdailyjournal.com

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