And now, just days after this aired on Volts, two bills written and sponsored by David's guests have passed and been signed into law by Governor Newsom. I knew Volts is influential, but wow! The Volts effect!
Thank you for your program. We hopefully will be able to use AB 609 for our project in La Canada, Ca. We are trying to bring the first multi-family project in the city in over 25 years and the first low-income units ever built in the city (I believe). We have been fighting the city for over 6 years and with the help of CalHDF (Dillon Casey), AG Bonta, and Governor Newsome, we are almost there. Only CEQA is left and the city is trying to push a full EIR even though they have never required one on any other project. Hopefully AB 609 will put this to bed.
Thank you for your program. We hopefully will be able to use AB 609 for our project in La Canada, Ca. We are trying to bring the first multi-family project in the city in over 25 years and the first low-income units ever built in the city (I believe). We have been fighting the city for over 6 years and with the help of CalHDF (Dillon Casey), AG Bonta, and Governor Newsome, we are almost there. Only CEQA is left and the city is trying to push a full EIR even though they have never required one on any other project. Hopefully AB 609 will put this to bed.
Thank you for this topical content and great work in California. I am wondering if anyone has done anything similar for in-state wind energy? With the high penetration of solar, California really needs more wind energy generation. In addition to imports, there is an opportunity to repower the Passes (Altamont, Tehachapi, and Palm Springs) with new modern turbines. This would significantly reduce the number of machines (like remove 10 and replace with 1), improve reliability and output, and do it at a lower cost than many other alternatives. However, most developers tell me that in-state California wind re-development is next to impossible because of permitting and local opposition. Is anyone working on this issue? If so, could you please connect me?
California wind is really crappy for California loads, which peak when the wind through Altamont Pass fails.
It is pretty good for Denver loads, since when the wind fails east of the Rockies during the winter peak it is pretty much always blowing in California (while the ginormous wind farms on the high plains are standing still in the subzero calm).
This is why LADWP invested in the ginormous Wyoming farm and the DC transmission conneccting it to the SoCal-dominant transmission system around Las Vegas.
Which does for sure improve the (otherwise crap) economics of the Altamont Pass/Suisun wind turbines: the entire CAISO region is now more valuable during the East-of-Rockies winter peak.
Dunno about CEQA and wind, just that the revisions to CEQA allow the State to pay for critically needed fuels reductions on the National Forests in California, which is pretty much the low-hanging-fruit in the transition to the carbon-optimizing climate-crisis economy..
Any time Dave wants to learn about the power of the Washoe Forests Bank (or the Klamath Forests Bank, or the Maidu Forests Bank, or ...., it generalizes) for driving EV+ projects (in TAC terms, of course) across the economy, he has but to ask.
Up here in the Washoe Forests, where we are avoiding CO2 as fast as we can, the Brown/Newsom/Legislative program to reform CEQA allows us to address, at scale, the crisis in the forests (with, it must be added, the innovative support of the Californiaclimate fund to backfill the missing Federal share of the costs, as well as the major State investments, thank you very much!).
We're California. Not just beautiful. Also very very smart.
Thank you Senator Weiner. You make it even easier than usual to proclaim how I, proud native of Loyalton, am equally proud to have been a San Francisco Democrat for almost as long as CEQA has been around.
Thank you Assemblywoman Wicks. Willie Brown told me a long time ago that I was a fine fit as a Dellums Democrat. Now if only our University were ready to own up to its epic face-plant and misconduct in Loyalton and Sierraville...
If we are to succeed in our task, of finding a new way to live in and as the forests, it is due in significant part to those whom our Paiute neighbors call "the brothers and sisters of Oakland and Berkeley." And the Washoe cousins of San Francisco and their neighbors, who continue the old practice of meals for the neighborhood, still the Mission, still a place where paths cross.
I so love all your interviews and subjects but I’m so disappointed in this one. That you would buy into the false logic that California’s CEQA is all bad and the drive toward more and more housing is all good. Wicks and Weiner are both fine legislators in so many cases but their simplification of this issue undermines their credibility in my estimation.
And now, just days after this aired on Volts, two bills written and sponsored by David's guests have passed and been signed into law by Governor Newsom. I knew Volts is influential, but wow! The Volts effect!
Thank you for your program. We hopefully will be able to use AB 609 for our project in La Canada, Ca. We are trying to bring the first multi-family project in the city in over 25 years and the first low-income units ever built in the city (I believe). We have been fighting the city for over 6 years and with the help of CalHDF (Dillon Casey), AG Bonta, and Governor Newsome, we are almost there. Only CEQA is left and the city is trying to push a full EIR even though they have never required one on any other project. Hopefully AB 609 will put this to bed.
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/30/us/california-environment-newsom-ceqa.html
Thank you for your program. We hopefully will be able to use AB 609 for our project in La Canada, Ca. We are trying to bring the first multi-family project in the city in over 25 years and the first low-income units ever built in the city (I believe). We have been fighting the city for over 6 years and with the help of CalHDF (Dillon Casey), AG Bonta, and Governor Newsome, we are almost there. Only CEQA is left and the city is trying to push a full EIR even though they have never required one on any other project. Hopefully AB 609 will put this to bed.
Well I must be evil because I oppose the yimby agenda found in yimby town sponsored by Airbnb and Carl's Jr. Yeah the last part's a joke..
Thank you for this topical content and great work in California. I am wondering if anyone has done anything similar for in-state wind energy? With the high penetration of solar, California really needs more wind energy generation. In addition to imports, there is an opportunity to repower the Passes (Altamont, Tehachapi, and Palm Springs) with new modern turbines. This would significantly reduce the number of machines (like remove 10 and replace with 1), improve reliability and output, and do it at a lower cost than many other alternatives. However, most developers tell me that in-state California wind re-development is next to impossible because of permitting and local opposition. Is anyone working on this issue? If so, could you please connect me?
California wind is really crappy for California loads, which peak when the wind through Altamont Pass fails.
It is pretty good for Denver loads, since when the wind fails east of the Rockies during the winter peak it is pretty much always blowing in California (while the ginormous wind farms on the high plains are standing still in the subzero calm).
This is why LADWP invested in the ginormous Wyoming farm and the DC transmission conneccting it to the SoCal-dominant transmission system around Las Vegas.
Which does for sure improve the (otherwise crap) economics of the Altamont Pass/Suisun wind turbines: the entire CAISO region is now more valuable during the East-of-Rockies winter peak.
Dunno about CEQA and wind, just that the revisions to CEQA allow the State to pay for critically needed fuels reductions on the National Forests in California, which is pretty much the low-hanging-fruit in the transition to the carbon-optimizing climate-crisis economy..
Any time Dave wants to learn about the power of the Washoe Forests Bank (or the Klamath Forests Bank, or the Maidu Forests Bank, or ...., it generalizes) for driving EV+ projects (in TAC terms, of course) across the economy, he has but to ask.
CEQA was long overdue for rework.
Up here in the Washoe Forests, where we are avoiding CO2 as fast as we can, the Brown/Newsom/Legislative program to reform CEQA allows us to address, at scale, the crisis in the forests (with, it must be added, the innovative support of the Californiaclimate fund to backfill the missing Federal share of the costs, as well as the major State investments, thank you very much!).
We're California. Not just beautiful. Also very very smart.
Thank you Senator Weiner. You make it even easier than usual to proclaim how I, proud native of Loyalton, am equally proud to have been a San Francisco Democrat for almost as long as CEQA has been around.
Thank you Assemblywoman Wicks. Willie Brown told me a long time ago that I was a fine fit as a Dellums Democrat. Now if only our University were ready to own up to its epic face-plant and misconduct in Loyalton and Sierraville...
If we are to succeed in our task, of finding a new way to live in and as the forests, it is due in significant part to those whom our Paiute neighbors call "the brothers and sisters of Oakland and Berkeley." And the Washoe cousins of San Francisco and their neighbors, who continue the old practice of meals for the neighborhood, still the Mission, still a place where paths cross.
I so love all your interviews and subjects but I’m so disappointed in this one. That you would buy into the false logic that California’s CEQA is all bad and the drive toward more and more housing is all good. Wicks and Weiner are both fine legislators in so many cases but their simplification of this issue undermines their credibility in my estimation.
Thank you so much for all your work!! Very encouraging.