In the News

LA Times: Why we can’t solve the climate crisis without schools — and teachers

March 02, 2023

BY SAMMY ROTH

Building schools that run on renewable energy and provide shelter from heat and smoke, the report argues, will not only protect children — it can also support entire communities struggling to deal with climate change impacts and help prepare young people to thrive in a world that’s only getting hotter.

At least one legislator is already listening.

Jonathan Klein — a co-founder of the nonprofit UndauntedK12 and another of the report’s lead authors — pointed me to Senate Bill 394, introduced last month by Sen. Lena Gonzalez (D-Long Beach). It’s a “spot bill” still waiting to be filled out with details. But the goal is clear: to “require the creation of a master plan for achieving sustainable and climate-resilient school facilities.”

 

What bills are Long Beach’s state legislators working on?

February 26, 2023

By 

With nearly two months of the 2023-24 state legislative session under their belts, Long Beach’s representatives have drafted a slew of bills to address opioid addiction, gun regulations, air pollution from oil refineries and more.

Friday, Feb. 17, was the deadline to introduce new bills for this session. Some bills are placeholders on topics legislators are still researching, and others may get rewritten in an effort to win support as they pass through committees. Here’s a sampling of the issues the city’s delegation is working on.

CalMatters: Sen. Lena Gonzalez plans to introduce a bill today to make permanent a pandemic-era policy that extends the number of paid sick leave days

February 15, 2023

From CalMatters Capitol reporter Sameea Kamal:

In another effort to help workers, Sen. Lena Gonzalez plans to introduce a bill today to make permanent a pandemic-era policy that extends the number of paid sick leave days from three to seven — or 24 hours to 56.

POLITICO: California goes after corporate carbon

January 31, 2023

By LARA KORTE, JEREMY B. WHITE, MATTHEW BROWN and RAMON CASTANOS

A group of Senate Democrats Monday unveiled new versions of climate bills that died in the Legislature last year, hoping to put a tighter leash on a sector of the population that environmental advocates have long complained pumps an outsized amount of greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere.

The bill package championed by Sens. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco), Lena Gonzalez (D-Long Beach) and Henry Stern (D-Calabasas) is three-fold and attempts to crack down on corporate “greenwashing,” require climate risk disclosures, and — this is a big one — force the state pension funds to divest from fossil fuels.

AP News: Democratic lawmakers in California introduce a package of climate bills

January 30, 2023

By Sophie Austin

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Democratic lawmakers in California introduced a package of climate bills Monday aimed at holding corporations accountable for their greenhouse gas emissions.

The bills include legislation to require companies to disclose their greenhouse gas emissions to the public, ban the state’s public pension funds from investing in major fossil fuel companies, and create a group to analyze climate-caused financial risks for corporations. Similar efforts in prior sessions have failed to win enough support, but the Democratic lawmakers behind them say they’re hopeful for a different outcome this year.

La Opinion: Latinas ganan terreno en legislatura de California: son mayoría en el caucus latino

December 29, 2022

Por: Araceli Martínez Ortega 

CalMatters: California finally invested in the economic success of its street vendors

November 15, 2022

This year, California made an investment in the Golden State’s smallest and most overlooked entrepreneurs – specifically, the street vendors running hot dog carts and home kitchen operators selling delicious treats at farmers markets or from their homes.

Press Telegram: Wrigley Greenbelt project gets final $1.2 million funding, anticipated to open early 2023

October 27, 2022

By KRISTY HUTCHINGS

Long Beach’s long-awaited — and long-drawn out — Wrigley Greenbelt revitalization project is finally nearing completion with help from a $1.2 million state grant awarded to the city recently.

Signal Tribune: Signal Hill Park receives $5 million investment for outdoor amphitheater

October 19, 2022
 

The Signal Hill Park amphitheater will receive a full redesign and upgrades thanks to a $5 million check presented to City officials Tuesday morning from California State Senator Lena Gonzalez. 

Telemundo 48: California toma medidas enérgicas para luchar contra el robo de catalizadores

September 27, 2022

Por Bay City News 

La oficina del gobernador Gavin Newsom anunció el domingo que firmó dos proyectos de ley destinados a tomar medidas enérgicas contra el robo de convertidores catalíticos.

AB 1740 del asambleísta Al Muratsuchi (D-Torrance) requerirá que los recicladores de convertidores catalíticos incluyan información adicional en el registro escrito, incluido el año, la marca y el modelo del vehículo del que se extrajo el convertidor catalítico y una copia del título de propiedad del vehículo del que se extrajo el convertidor catalítico.