The Grapevine: 2/15/23
Good morning. Sen. Dianne Feinstein announces her retirement, Gov. Gavin Newsom suspends state environmental laws, and San Diego paves the way for more high-rise construction. Here's what you need to know:
- Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) announced Wednesday that she would retire at the end of her term in 2024. Over her 30-year tenure in the Senate — the longest of any female senator — she made major legislative accomplishments, such as the assault weapons ban, and captained major inquiries like the Senate Intelligence Committee study that concluded the CIA had tortured prisoners and misled the government about it. (https://www.politico.com/news/2023/02/14/dianne-feinstein-passes-senate-reelection-2024-00082786)
- A bill introduced by state Sen. Scott Weiner (D-San Francisco) would make permanent the 2017 law he authored that requires local governments to prepare plans to meet state housing goals, and fast-tracks new apartment construction if the state finds those plans unsatisfactory. (https://calmatters.org/newsletters/whatmatters/2023/02/california-housing-crisis-law/)
- Gov. Gavin Newsom suspended California environmental laws on Monday to allow the state to store more water in reservoirs, in a move that environmental activists say will likely further harm fish populations, including those of the critically endangered Delta smelt. (https://www.sfchronicle.com/climate/article/newsom-water-delta-17784742.php)
- The city council of Culver City, California voted 3-2 in favor of a controversial ordinance that would ban homeless encampments from public spaces, sparking a bitter debate between city officials, who argue that the ordinance is necessary to help the city manage its unhoused population, and critics such as former Mayor Alex Fisch, who said the ordinance would have a "body count." (https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2023-02-14/culver-city-votes-to-adopt-an-anti-camping-ordinance-opponents-says-new-law-makes-it-illegal-to-be-poor)
- San Diego has expanded a transit-oriented development provision in its zoning code to allow high-rise apartment buildings to be constructed up to a mile walk away from mass transit lines, in a move that critics say will change neighborhoods for the worse. (https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/politics/story/2023-02-14/transit-housing-priority-areas-city-council)
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