THE BUZZ: California is about to make an enormous shift to zero-emission vehicles in the approaching years, but voters don’t seem keen on funding it.
Latest polling released by the Public Policy Institute of California last night found only 41 percent of likely voters would vote yes on Proposition 30, the ballot measure that may tax people making greater than $2 million to assist fund zero-emission vehicle purchases and infrastructure. That’s a staggering drop from the 55 percent of voters who backed it in September.
The measure seems straightforward enough, especially for liberal, climate-conscious California voters. It’s backed by a whole lot of environmental groups in addition to the California Democratic Party. But one key proponent, rideshare company Lyft, was the sticking point for Gov. Gavin Newsom, who got here out forcefully against the measure over the summer, calling it a “cynical scheme” by a serious corporation to avoid shelling out money to satisfy state policies. He even cut an ad for it. By doing so, he aligned himself with the state’s business interests and the Republican party.
And here is where context is essential: Newsom in 2020 declared that the state will phase out the sale of recent gas passenger vehicles by 2035. But as Jeremy reported back in July, a little-noticed and related law requires corporations like Lyft and Uber to mostly abolish internal combustion engines from their ranks by 2030. Considering that electric vehicles are still pricey and charging stations sparse, that may very well be a heavy lift for those Silicon Valley giants. Getting the taxpayers to assist fund it could lighten the load.
But all just isn’t lost for Prop 30, supporters say. A joint statement from the Yes on 30 campaign and California Democratic Party said other independent polls, in addition to private polling, have shown “dramatically different results” than the PPIC survey.
“Only seven percent of Californians have solid ballots, and we’re confident that voters will see through the misinformation of the opposition campaign being funded by billionaires,” the Clean Air Coalition said in an announcement.
Other notable findings from PPIC’s recent survey:
- Abortion matters to everyone, but especially to Democrats: 61 percent of likely voters said abortion may be very vital in determining their pick for Congress. Unsurprisingly, there’s a 35-point partisan split on the matter, with 78 percent Democrats saying abortion may be very vital in comparison with 43 percent of Republicans.
- Sports betting measures still can’t get a majority: Support for Proposition 27, which might legalize online sports betting, fell to 26 percent on this survey, down from 34 percent in September. Proposition 26, which might legalize in-person sports betting on tribal lands and certain race tracks, has the support of 34 percent of likely voters.
- Newsom maintains lead over Sen. Brian Dahle: 55 percent of likely voters said they’d vote for the governor today, in comparison with 36 percent who would vote for Dahle. Newsom’s approval rankings also remained buoyant, with 54 percent of Californians and 52 percent likely voters approving of the best way he’s handling his job.
BUENOS DÍAS, good Thursday morning. Progressive powerhouse Bernie Sanders is in Los Angeles today headlining a GOTV rally for Rep. Karen Bass because the race for the following LA mayor heads into its final week. More details.
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QUOTE OF THE DAY: “Entering Twitter HQ – let that sink in!” Tesla CEO and recent “Chief Twit” Elon Musk walking into Twitter’s San Francisco offices on Wednesday while carrying an actual sink.
TWEET OF THE DAY:
WHERE’S GAVIN? In Orange County for a ribbon cutting on a recent homeless outreach center.
IN THE COUNCIL — “City Council censures De León, Cedillo, Martinez after police filter out demonstrators,” by the Los Angeles Times’ Dakota Smith and David Zahniser: “The Los Angeles City Council voted unanimously Wednesday to censure three current and former council members for his or her part in an incendiary conversation that contained racist remarks.”
— “California correctional officer union paid $2.3 million for property where its president lives,” by the Sacramento Bee’s Wes Venteicher and Darrell Smith: “The union representing California state correctional officers spent $2.3 million early this 12 months to purchase a 5-acre Elk Grove property with a four-bedroom house, a swimming pool and two large warehouses, in accordance with Sacramento County records, an internet listing and union representatives.”
MAIL-IN MAYHEM — “California rejected over 100,000 ballots in June. But one county bucked the trend,” by the Mercury News’ Eliyahu Kamisher: “The massive majority of the rejected ballots — nearly 70,000 — arrived late, while most others either lacked an envelope signature or had a signature that didn’t match the one on file with the state.”
— “Bass, Caruso differ on crime issues and policing — but not as much as many think,” by the Los Angeles Times’ Libor Jany: “On a campaign stop last spring within the San Fernando Valley, billionaire developer and Los Angeles mayoral candidate Rick Caruso was flanked by a who’s who of old-school heavyweights from the Los Angeles Police Department.”
OFF THEIR HANDS — “Oil giants sell 1000’s of California wells, raising worries about future liability,” by the Los Angeles Times’ Mark Olalde: “It would seem to be a lucrative time to drill for oil within the Golden State. Yet, a number of the world’s largest oil corporations, several of which have done business within the state for greater than a century, are selling assets and starting to drag out of California.”
— “Violent clash at UC Davis between protest groups cancels conservative speaker event,” by the Sacramento Bee’s Michael McGough: “A melee broke out Tuesday evening at UC Davis between about 100 protesters and counterprotesters assembled ahead of a planned event by a conservative student organization, in accordance with university officials.”
THE POLITICAL — “The rise and fall of careerist Kevin de León,” Opines Dan Walters for CalMatters: “De León’s political profession now could also be over. Leaked recordings of a political strategy meeting of 4 Latino political figures revealed racist discussions about tips on how to reduce Black political power within the mostly Latino city. It touched off a firestorm of denunciations from major political figures, including President Joe Biden, and demands that the participants resign.”
— “They made good money but left L.A. since it didn’t go far enough. Are they gone for good?” by the Los Angeles Times’ Summer Lin: “The Jansens represent one a part of the exodus from Los Angeles and other major cities that took place throughout the pandemic, which opened many opportunities for distant work, in addition to sparked deep conversations about what they wanted out of life.”
— “Citing ‘public safety,’ S.F. D.A. remains to be removing veteran jurist from juvenile cases,” by the San Francisco Chronicle’s Bob Egelko: “San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins has confirmed that she is removing J. Anthony Kline, one in every of California’s most experienced judges, from all recent cases in Juvenile Court, explaining only that she has an obligation to ‘promote more public safety.’”
WINDFALL BUZZ — “California might levy a recent tax on oil corporations. Here’s what to know,” by CalMatters’ Grace Gedye: “Gas prices in California are consistently higher than the remaining of the country, because of state taxes, a cleaner fuel mix, an isolated gas refining market and more. But in September, California prices jumped even higher and that gap grew wider.”
THE CATCH — “California carbon emissions fell 9% in pandemic’s 1st 12 months,” by AP’s Kathleen Ronayne: “California’s planet-warming emissions dropped nearly 9% in 2020 in comparison with the 12 months before as pandemic restrictions kept people at home, out of their cars and away from the workplace for much of the 12 months.”
— “Ye kicked out of Skechers’ headquarters in California,” by the AP: “The rapper formerly often known as Kanye West was escorted out of the California-based headquarters of athletic shoemaker Skechers after he showed up unannounced Wednesday, a day after Adidas ended its partnership with the artist following his antisemitic remarks.”
RESTRAINED PRESENCE — Election anxiety creeps contained in the White House, by POLITICO’s Jonathan Lemire: Despite public displays of confidence, anxiety is growing throughout the White House and allied Democrats that Republicans will capture at the least one chamber of Congress and possibly each.
— “The billion-dollar tech unicorn is becoming rare again,” by the Washington Post’s Nitasha Tiku and Gerrit De Vynck: “The new social media network BeReal — which is gaining steam with young people as an informal alternative to Instagram — recently raised money, a key milestone on the trail of any successful start-up.”
MUSK CORNER — “Elon Musk Visits Twitter as $44 Billion Deal Nears Completion,” by the Latest York Times’ Ryan Mac and Kate Conger: “Elon Musk appears to be on the right track to shut his blockbuster $44 billion deal for Twitter. Mr. Musk, who runs Tesla and SpaceX, visited Twitter’s San Francisco headquarters on Wednesday and tweeted a nine-second video of himself smiling and carrying a porcelain sink into the constructing.”
— “Meta’s Profit Slides by More Than 50 Percent as Challenges Mount,” by the Latest York Times’ Ryan Mac: “A 12 months ago, Mark Zuckerberg modified Facebook’s name to Meta and said he was going all in on the immersive digital world of the so-called metaverse.”
ELECTRIC YELLOW — “A profound change is coming to American school buses,” by the Washington Post’s Michael Birnbaum.
— “My identity theft nightmare may very well be your nightmare too,” Opines Jessica Roy for the Los Angeles Times.
— “Pickax-wielding woman smashes home’s windows as baby sleeps,” by the AP.
— “There Are 30,000 Waitlist Spots For Section 8 Housing In LA. So Far 180,000 Have Applied,” by LAist’s Julia Barajas.
— “This mall was a suburban Sacramento icon for a generation. Now it’s being redeveloped,” by the Sacramento Bee’s Ryan Lillis.
— “‘Marxist environmentalist’ and creator Mike Davis dies at 76,” by the AP: “Mike Davis, an creator, activist and self-defined “Marxist environmentalist” whose best fears drove him to anticipate riots, fires and disease in such bestsellers as “City of Quartz” and “The Ecology of Fear,” has died at age 76.”
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