SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF/CNN) — A day after a San Francisco Chronicle article questioned her leadership abilities, Sen. Dianne Feinstein issued a strong statement Friday, proclaiming that she is “an effective representative for 40 million Californians, and the record shows that I am.”

Her statement comes after the Chronicle reported that four unnamed senators, including three Democrats, as well as three former Feinstein aides and a California Democratic member of Congress spoke with the newspaper saying Feinstein’s mental health has gotten worse recently.

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“The real question is whether I’m still an effective representative for 40 million Californians, and the record shows that I am,” the 88-year-old, longstanding member of the Senate said in her Friday statement.

“I remain committed to do what I said I would when I was reelected in 2018: fight for Californians, especially on the economy and the key issues for California of water and fire,” she continued. “While I have focused for much of the past year on my husband’s health and ultimate passing, I have remained committed to achieving results and I’d put my record up against anyone’s.”

The newspaper noted that the comments came before Feinstein’s husband, Richard Blum, died in February following “a long battle with cancer.”

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After the report, Feinstein called the newspaper’s editorial board and defended her capacity as senator.

“I meet regularly with leaders,” Feinstein said in the Thursday call. “I’m not isolated. I see people. My attendance is good. I put in the hours. We represent a huge state. And so I’m rather puzzled by all of this.”

Feinstein, who was first elected to the Senate in 1992, faced questions about her ability to serve for a few years.

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CNN reported in 2021 she faced growing questions about her ability to do her job, losing her post as the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee after her Democratic colleagues privately complained about her performance during the confirmation hearings for Amy Coney Barrett’s nomination to the Supreme Court .

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Scott Wiener

A bill touted as a means of helping the housing crisis by streamlining infill and transit-rich neighborhood increases for small apartment buildings, but has been criticized by opponents who said it would make home ownership a competitive sport for pension funds, rental giants and Making other deep pockets passed the meeting on Monday.

The bill, Senate Bill 10, drafted by Senator Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, was passed by 41 votes to 9 and is now being sent back to the state Senate for final approval before going to Governor Gavin Newsom’s desk. On site, meeting speaker Tem Kevin Mullin, D-South San Francisco, and meeting member Marc Berman, D-Palo Alto, voted in favor.

SB 10 allows cities to voluntarily expand non-overgrown areas near transportation routes or in existing urbanized locations to 10 unit buildings without going through California’s Environmental Quality Act. Cities can also designate these projects as legitimate, meaning that they can be ministerially approved without a lengthy approval process. According to the Vienna office, it is currently illegal to build more than one residential unit per plot in single-family zones.

The bill was defeated by Livable California, which challenged the bill’s ability to resolve the housing crisis and whose officials said it would create gentrification and increase land speculation. Livable California also opposed Senate 9 bill, authored by State Senate President Toni Atkins, D-San Diego, that would allow for split and semi-detached houses in areas that are currently single-family home. The bill is due to be voted on in the Assembly this week.

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WASHINGTION (BCN) – After the U.S. Senate passed an infrastructure bill this week, California is poised to receive billions of federal dollars, Senator Alex Padilla said on Wednesday.

However, the $ 1 trillion bipartisan legislative package has yet to be approved by the House of Representatives before the money goes into the state.

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Padilla, who was attended by San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo and San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria for a press conference Wednesday, said he was excited about what the funding could do.

“With the package that has already been approved, California will receive tens of billions of dollars to modernize its physical infrastructure, improve public transport and ensure safe drinking water,” said Padilla. “California knows all too well that these investments cannot come soon enough.”

For Californians, Padilla said the priorities are health care – as the COVID-19 delta variant spreads – economic recovery and climate change as the state faces another drought and forest fires.

Padilla specifically pointed out a new federal program aimed at electrifying the country’s school bus fleets in order to make the switch from diesel to zero-emission buses.

“This is great for the environment, great for public health, and great for academic achievement because healthy children learn better,” he said.

The Senator also highlighted grants cities can apply to weather critical infrastructure and be better prepared for drought and forest fires.

For San Jose and the Bay Area, Liccardo said these grants are critical.

“Of course, like so many others, we are aware that investments in the railways, in the water infrastructure, in the resilience of the networks and in the climate mean jobs,” said Liccardo. “And for us that is the way to a just economic recovery.”

He said his South Bay city could apply for grants and secure funding from the $ 5 billion that will harden the power grid to offset forest fire threats and $ 8 billion for water infrastructure.

The mayor said that if he received the money, it would quadruple the amount of recycled groundwater San Jose produces, which is currently 8 million gallons a day.

“Groundwater replenishment could be a great way for us to recycle water to expand our supply and to do so in an environmentally friendly way,” said Liccardo.

“And it couldn’t come at a better time,” Liccardo said as Santa Clara County and much of the state grapple with shockingly low reservoir levels and a severe drought.

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Funding the infrastructure bill could also ensure San Jose receives enough cash for the BART expansion, which would bring more than 100,000 passengers from the city’s Diridon Station to San Francisco, Oakland, and the rest of the BART system.

“Diridon Station (would) ultimately become the busiest multimodal facility in the area with seven different transit lines,” Liccardo said, emphasizing that BART expansions could also connect San Jose-based employees with more affordable housing in the Central Valley.

In line with the bill’s traffic-focused goals, San Jose could also receive funding from the $ 5 billion allocated to Vision Zero projects that aim to stop pedestrian and automobile deaths by installing flashing pedestrian lights and protected bike lanes and signal upgrades, among others.

Another important aspect of the infrastructure law for Liccardo is the funding to close the digital divide.

He cited federal and local funding over the past two years that has enabled San Jose to support more than 100,000 residents – many of whom are low-income – and connect them to free community Wi-Fi in their own homes.

“We plan to expand this to more than 300,000 San Jose residents by next year,” Liccardo said. “And this investment in funding from the federal government will be of decisive help.”

So with infrastructure bills funding, 27 percent of Californians – more than 10 million people – are eligible for the affordable connectivity program, which offers discounts of up to $ 50 per month on broadband bills.

“And that’s so important because we know that cost is the main obstacle,” said Liccardo.

The Affordable Connectivity Benefits Program is also just one of many programs listed in the Broadband Services and Access Improvement Bill, for which the Senate has allocated more than $ 100 billion.

For Padilla, the unifying thread in the infrastructure law and its focus on justice, he said.

“Far too often, the communities most impacted by the environment invest the least in or see fewer opportunities when it comes to major infrastructure investments,” said Padilla.

It is unclear when parliament will vote on the bipartisan infrastructure law.

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State Senator Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, presented a bill on Thursday to decriminalize the use and possession of some psychedelics.

Senate Bill 519 would legalize psilocybin – the main ingredient in magic mushrooms – psilocyn, 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), ketamine, dimethyltryptamine (DMT), ibogaine, and mescaline with the exception of peyote.

It would also clear the criminal records of people convicted of having or using these psychedelics.

The bill would also create a commission that would make recommendations to California lawmakers on how to further regulate the substances.

The bill does not include peyote as it is classified as an endangered species.

Most of the drugs that would be decriminalized by the bill are those that the federal government believes are the most dangerous type of substances due to their high potential for abuse. Marijuana, which is legal in California, and heroin are also List I drugs.

The bill was co-authored by Congregation members Evan Low, D-San Jose, Sydney Kamlager, D-Los Angeles, and Bill Quirk, D-Hayward.

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