Newsom retains emergency powers | $500B proposed for affordable housing | Local climate plans scrutinized

By Sarah Bohannon,

Published February 28, 2022 at 8:30 AM PST

The latest North State and California news on our airwaves for Monday, Feb. 28.

Newsom ends some COVID-19 executive orders, maintains emergency powers

Gov. Gavin Newsom Friday ended all but about 5% of his COVID-19-related executive orders, but he's keeping the long-running state of emergency declaration in place, along with the powers that come with it.

Dr. Mark Ghaly, the state’s health and human services secretary, said those powers are still necessary to allow the state to respond to the uncertain future of the pandemic.

In the last two years, Newsom has signed 561 COVID-19 related proclamations through executive orders.

Republican state lawmakers have been calling for the governor to end the state of emergency. A resolution to terminate it will get a hearing in March. Read the full story.

— CapRadio Staff

California senator proposes $500B for affordable housing

U.S. Senator Alex Padilla of California unveiled federal legislation Friday that would pump more than half a trillion dollars into affordable housing projects around the country.

Padilla’s bill, called the “Housing for All Act,” would spend $531 billion over the next decade. The vast majority of it would go to the National Housing Trust Fund, which helps pay for affordable housing for extremely low-income people.

The Democratic senator announced the bill in front of a former hotel in South Sacramento, which was recently converted into 124 apartments under California’s Project Homekey.

Padilla was backed by members of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration and city and county officials.

When asked how he would get Republicans on board with the half-trillion-dollar price tag, Padilla said affordable housing isn’t a partisan issue, adding that it’s a growing problem in smaller cities and rural areas too.

— CapRadio Staff

Report finds many city, county climate plans are boilerplate solutions

Plans to address climate change on a local level are becoming more common in California, and a recent report by University of California researchers looked at 170 climate action plans across the state to grade their effectiveness when it came to equity. They found many are falling behind.

Adam Millard-Ball, an associate professor at UCLA who worked on the report, said the plans don’t require cities to leave their comfort zones.

“They don’t force the city to do something that it wasn’t already going to do,” he said.

If cities want to make greater steps toward cutting back on emissions, Millard-Ball said they’ll need to consider more controversial solutions. That could mean discouraging personal vehicle use or pushing for more affordable housing. Read the full story.

— CapRadio Staff

Reparations Task Force delays decision on eligibility

California’s Reparations Task Force was expected to make a decision last week on who would qualify for the state program, but many people were left disappointed.

In public comment, some were in favor of a tiered policy or a program more inclusive of all Black Californians. But many others advocated for a lineage-based reparations program.

The task force voted 5-4 to postpone a decision until March. Read more about reparations in California.

— Lakshmi Sarah (KQED), The California Report

Stories from NPR partner stations are edited by NSPR Staff for digital presentation and credited as requested.

In other news

Dunsmuir announces plans for wildfire refuges for firefighters, residents: “The city of Dunsmuir is taking steps to identify safety zones for firefighters to shelter in place during a wildfire for the 2022 fire season.” — Siskiyou Daily News

Local businesses received millions in county CARES Act funds. Here’s what we know.: “With new federal funds becoming available, Shasta Scout reached out to the Chamber and the county for more information on how previous funds benefited businesses.” — Shasta Scout

Chico City Council to return to redistricting discussions: “There will be four public hearings in total for the redistricting and map-drawing process that will give Chico residents a chance to provide input on districts, neighborhoods and other elements of the process.” — Chico Enterprise-Record

Chico residents protest fence surrounding City Plaza: “‘The fence around City plaza cuts all citizens off from the use of this public space. It’s especially harmful to the poorest people.’” — Chico Enterprise-Record

Former Paskenta Band of Nomlaki Indians leaders sentenced for embezzlement scheme: “Three former leaders of the Paskenta Band of Nomlaki Indians were sentenced Friday for a conspiracy to embezzle or steal from a tribal organization, as well as tax fraud and tax evasion offenses … .” — Red Bluff Daily News

Chico strategy session: “This council arrived at, in no set order: quality of life, public safety, economic development, infrastructure, housing and budget.” — Chico News & Review

Water worries continue: “While water levels in Trinity Lake and regional reservoirs continue to drop, some residents have expressed concern that action by the Trinity County Water Works District 1 in Hayfork would impact water users outside district boundaries.” — The Trinity Journal

FRC reports no positive COVID cases this week: “Feather River College reported zero positive COVID cases this week. The last time there were positive cases reported was for the week of Feb. 11 when 74 students tested and five were positive.” — Plumas News