OAKLAND — Calling California's homeless crisis a public health issue, hospital giant Kaiser Permanente on Friday pledged $25 million to a new state fund aimed at getting people off the streets. Gov. Gavin Newsom signed an executive order last week creating what he proposes to be a $750 million fund...
California Housing Crisis Mystery: Rents Way up, Eviction Filings Way Down
Shirley Gibson isn’t quite sure how to feel about these numbers. As directing attorney of the Legal Aid Society of San Mateo County — which offers legal services to low-income tenants caught between the preposterously priced southern suburbs of San Francisco and the preposterously priced suburbs of Silicon Valley —...
California Can Solve Water Shortage With Water It Has. Here’s How.
California is at a water crossroads. We can continue our costly, 100-year-old pattern of trying to find new water supplies, or we can choose instead to focus on smarter ways of using – and reusing – what we already have. With a population projected to top 50 million by mid-century,...
Walters: California's Housing Crisis vs. Reality
As he was running for governor, Gavin Newsom repeatedly and emphatically promised to attack California’s housing shortage head-on, pledging in an online article to “lead the effort to develop the 3.5 million new housing units we need by 2025 because our solutions must be as bold as the problem is big.” During his...
General Plan Needs to Do More for Market Rate Housing, Councilmen Say
Update, 11/14/2019, 9:30 a.m.: Councilman Luis Chavez pulled the General Plan item from today's council agenda, continuing it until Dec. 5. He says he wants to wait for Mayor Lee Brand to return from his vacation in order to support the resolution. Also, Councilman Miguel Arias added his name as...
Walters: Housing Crisis — Fits and Starts
The latest developments in California’s housing crisis are, as usual, mixed. In September, according to the Legislature’s budget analyst, permits for 10,580 new housing units were issued, a 13% increase from August and a 40% boost from September 2018. However, overall housing starts are still running below 2018’s level, meaning the...
Gov. Newsom Says Highway 99 is 'Top Priority'
Gov. Gavin Newsom says funding Highway 99 is a "top priority," dispelling the notion that a September executive order diverted money from improvement projects in Madera and Tulare counties. "As it relates to Highway 99 in particular, it is a top priority for our administration, a top priority for our...
Fresno's Homelessness Crisis Needs Immediate United Action
The issue of homelessness in Fresno County is not new, having been a part of our community since our foundation more than a century ago. However, an issue once seen as a blight or nuisance limited to specific pockets of our county has followed in the steps of our state...
Apple Commits $2.5B to Combat California Housing Crisis
CUPERTINO — Apple has committed $2.5 billion to ease California's housing crisis, eclipsing similar pledges by fellow Silicon Valley giants Google and Facebook to address a lack of affordable housing in the region they call home. Apple's pledge Monday includes a $1 billion fund to build new homes for households...
Fox News' Judge Jeanine Isn't Coming to Central Valley
Judge Jeanine Pirro's scheduled visit to Tulare is not happening. The Fox News personality was scheduled to speak at a rally organized by the Valley Young Republicans PAC on Nov. 7. However, the event is no longer mentioned in the group's social media. The International Agri-Center in Tulare, where Pirro's...