Bay Area
Gov. Newsom’s “Water Supply Strategy”
Employing more efficient water conservation the state will free up 500,000 acre-feet of water to make up for water lost because of climate change. Additionally, new water captured by stormwater and desalinating ocean water and salty water in groundwater basins will be available for use.
Geared to Battle Drought, Climate Change
By McKenzie Jackson, California Black Media
The Golden State is doing more than just praying for rain amid the historic drought that is battering the California and the Western United States.
Gov. Gavin Newsom unveiled a plan that would increase California’s water supply and combat the extreme weather patterns caused by climate change. The initiative, its scope captured in the 19-page document called “California’s Water Supply Strategy, Adapting to a Hotter, Drier Future,” will invest $8 billion in water recycling, storage, and desalination.
The plan, Newsom said, is in response to a deeper understanding of how dire California’s water crisis is.
“The hydrology in the state has begun to change pretty significantly,” he said. “The aridification that we are experiencing leads us now, the science and data leads us now, to understand we will lose 10% of our water supply by 2040.”
The governor made his remarks at an August 11 press conference held in front of the $110 million Antioch Brackish Desalination Project facility, currently under construction at the city of Antioch’s wastewater treatment plant.
When completed within the next two years, the first surface-water desalination plant in the Bay Area will use large reverse-osmosis filters to create 6 million gallons of fresh water per day.
Antioch Mayor Lamar Thorpe said the facility is one of the innovative solutions Californians need to embrace in response to climate change and the current drought, which began in 2020.
Assemblymember Lori Wison (D-Suisun) said, “We are experiencing the worst drought the Western United States has seen in 1,200 years. We must find innovative solutions to climate challenges like this if we are to move forward successfully… Under the Governor’s leadership, California is investing in technology, solutions, and people, even as California leads the charge to combat climate change.”
Newsom said constructions like the Antioch project are part of the plan.
“We are focused on creating more supply. We are focused on creating more water,” he said. “We need to be more creative and more aggressive in not just promoting this technology but delivering on its promise and more over its potential.”
The “Water Supply Strategy” includes creating storage space for up to 4 million acre-feet of water, so that rain water from big storms can be captured and stored for dry periods and recycling and reusing a minimum of 800,000 acre-feet of water per year by 2030, reducing wastewater discharged to the ocean.
Employing more efficient water conservation the state will free up 500,000 acre-feet of water to make up for water lost because of climate change. Additionally, new water captured by stormwater and desalinating ocean water and salty water in groundwater basins will be available for use.
Officials across the state applauded plan.
San Diego County Water Authority General Manager Sandra L. Kerl said the “Water Supply Strategy” is an important step to protect California’s economy and quality of life.
“The governor’s approach aligns closely with the Water Authority’s 30-year strategy that combines new supplies, infrastructure upgrades, and conservation,” she said.
There were some who disagreed with some of Newsom’s plan.
Kate Poole, senior director of the Natural Resources Defense Council’s nature program, told the L.A. Times that some of the initiative was good.
Poole said, “It’s really the things that aren’t in there that are most concerning,” she said. “Agriculture obviously uses 80% of our developed water supply in California. So, you can’t really deal effectively with water use without dealing with Big Ag. And Newsom does not seem very willing to do that.”
California is experiencing its second drought in the last decade. The sense of urgency is real, said Newsom.
“The hots are getting a lot hotter and the dries are getting a lot drier,” he said. “We have to adapt.”
Activism
Oakland Post: Week of April 24 – 30, 2024
The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of April 24 – 30, 2024
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Alameda County
DA Pamela Price Stands by Mom Who Lost Son to Gun Violence in Oakland
Last week, The Post published a photo showing Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price with Carol Jones, whose son, Patrick DeMarco Scott, was gunned down by an unknown assailant in 2018.
Publisher’s note: Last week, The Post published a photo showing Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price with Carol Jones, whose son, Patrick DeMarco Scott, was gunned down by an unknown assailant in 2018. The photo was too small for readers to see where the women were and what they were doing. Here we show Price and Jones as they complete a walk in memory of Scott. For more information and to contribute, please contact Carol Jones at 510-978-5517 at morefoundation.help@gmail.com. Courtesy photo.
Bay Area
State Controller Malia Cohen Keynote Speaker at S.F. Wealth Conference
California State Controller Malia Cohen delivered the keynote speech to over 50 business women at the Black Wealth Brunch held on March 28 at the War Memorial and Performing Arts Center at 301 Van Ness Ave. in San Francisco. The Enterprising Women Networking SF Chapter of the American Business Women’s Association (ABWA) hosted the Green Room event to launch its platform designed to close the racial wealth gap in Black and Brown communities.
By Carla Thomas
California State Controller Malia Cohen delivered the keynote speech to over 50 business women at the Black Wealth Brunch held on March 28 at the War Memorial and Performing Arts Center at 301 Van Ness Ave. in San Francisco.
The Enterprising Women Networking SF Chapter of the American Business Women’s Association (ABWA) hosted the Green Room event to launch its platform designed to close the racial wealth gap in Black and Brown communities.
“Our goal is to educate Black and Brown families in the masses about financial wellness, wealth building, and how to protect and preserve wealth,” said ABWA San Francisco Chapter President LaRonda Smith.
ABWA’s mission is to bring together businesswomen of diverse occupations and provide opportunities for them to help themselves and others grow personally and professionally through leadership, education, networking support, and national recognition.
“This day is about recognizing influential women, hearing from an accomplished woman as our keynote speaker and allowing women to come together as powerful people,” said ABWA SF Chapter Vice President Velma Landers.
More than 60 attendees dined on the culinary delights of Chef Sharon Lee of The Spot catering, which included a full soul food brunch of skewered shrimp, chicken, blackened salmon, and mac and cheese.
Cohen discussed the many economic disparities women and people of color face. From pay equity to financial literacy, Cohen shared not only statistics, but was excited about a new solution in motion which entailed partnering with Californians for Financial Education.
“I want everyone to reach their full potential,” she said. “Just a few weeks ago in Sacramento, I partnered with an organization, Californians for Financial Education.
“We gathered 990 signatures and submitted it to the [California] Secretary of State to get an initiative on the ballot that guarantees personal finance courses for every public school kid in the state of California.
“Every California student deserves an equal opportunity to learn about filing taxes, interest rates, budgets, and understanding the impact of credit scores. The way we begin to do that is to teach it,” Cohen said.
By equipping students with information, Cohen hopes to close the financial wealth gap, and give everyone an opportunity to reach their full financial potential. “They have to first be equipped with the information and education is the key. Then all we need are opportunities to step into spaces and places of power.”
Cohen went on to share that in her own upbringing, she was not guided on financial principles that could jump start her finances. “Communities of color don’t have the same information and I don’t know about you, but I did not grow up listening to my parents discussing their assets, their investments, and diversifying their portfolio. This is the kind of nomenclature and language we are trying to introduce to our future generations so we can pivot from a life of poverty so we can pivot away and never return to poverty.”
Cohen urged audience members to pass the initiative on the November 2024 ballot.
“When we come together as women, uplift women, and support women, we all win. By networking and learning together, we can continue to build generational wealth,” said Landers. “Passing a powerful initiative will ensure the next generation of California students will be empowered to make more informed financial decisions, decisions that will last them a lifetime.”
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