Bay Area

Newsom Calls Out “Naysayers and Doomsdayers” in State of the State Address

“This is a fight for California’s future,” Newsom said. “With more compassion, empathy, and connection, we can write the next chapter in the California story.”

Published

4 years ago

March 11, 2021

Mia Lane

Gov. Gavin Newsom

California is determined to stay on a path to a brighter future and, “won’t change course just because of a few naysayers and doomsdayers,” said Gov. Gavin Newsom in his third State of the State Address as he reflected on California’s year-long battle against the COVID-19 pandemic and the economic instability it has caused.

“This is a fight for California’s future,” Newsom said. “With more compassion, empathy, and connection, we can write the next chapter in the California story.”

Newsom delivered the remarks at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, which is doubling as a mass community vaccine site.

California was the first state in the nation to launch mass vaccine sites in partnership with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to dull the impact of the coronavirus crisis in California.

Gov. Newsom’s plan to counter the pandemic includes “vaccine equity” programs in vulnerable communities, a $6.6 billion education bill to reopen schools and $7.6 billion in relief funds for low-income residents and small businesses.

Newsom says the stark reality of the deaths of nearly 55,000 Californians since the pandemic began in early 2020 helped prompt the high level of state investments to help people move past the difficulties and build an economy that will be stronger and fairer than it was pre-pandemic.

“Our journey back must also be a path to close inequities. There is no economic recovery without economic justice,” said Newsom.

Since California began its effort to get COVID-19 shots in the arms of people, the state has been ranked sixth for vaccine distribution worldwide. Healthcare workers have administered more than 11 million vaccine doses to Californians, including 200,000 educators, school staff, and childcare workers.

“We don’t just talk about vaccine equity — we designed our entire system around it,” said Newsom.

“I agree with Governor Newsom that California will come back stronger and wiser. We will not only have economic recovery but also economic justice,” said Assemblymember Mike Gipson (D-Carson), chair of the legislative Democratic Caucus.

“And, just like our response to the pandemic, we will follow science and data. There is light at the end of this tunnel and the best is yet to come,” he said.

Toni Atkins, President Pro Tempore of the California Senate, said fiscal policy lawmakers have helped to “prevent major cuts during the pandemic and restore funding that was in jeopardy.”

“Too many people are still just barely hanging on,” Atkins said. “They need us to do more.”

Lieutenant Governor Eleni Kounalakis, said a top priority is to ensure that essential workers, who are among the 18 % of vaccinated Californians, have enough support to tackle the final stretch of the pandemic.

“We can all breathe a little easier, knowing that the most vulnerable among us, especially in underserved communities are safer, and safer with each passing day,” said Kounalakis.

State officials said although there were a few hits-and-misses in the early stages of the pandemic, they are learning from their mistakes to work toward the safe reopening of the state.

Polarized discussions about health equity have surrounded much of Newsom’s efforts as the state has taken steps to shore up a weakened economy, reopen schools against spirited pushback from large unions, and distribute vaccines to as many people as possible.

Because many essential workers are Black and Latino, some critics say state efforts to increase employee wages and advocate for vaccine equity have been neither timely nor forceful enough.

Newsom said lawmakers are working on raising the minimum wage to $14 an hour. In response to California’s health disparities, vaccine equity is the right thing to do and the fastest way through the pandemic, he said.

According to state officials, the number of recorded coronavirus cases has dropped from over 50,000 cases to less than 3,000 per day. The rate of hospitalizations has also reduced by more than 80 % since early January when infection numbers peaked, said state officials.

Despite the governor’s efforts to lead initiatives aimed at turning around the devastating effects of the pandemic, a budding movement to recall him spearheaded by Republicans is gaining traction.

“The celebratory press conference on the schools bill has not been matched with actions to actually get our kids back to school,” said Sen. Patricia Bates (R-Laguna Niguel), referring to a briefing the governor held last week announcing his plan to reopen schools across the state.

“In fact, the state this week denied the San Dieguito Union High and Carlsbad Unified School Districts in my region the chance to reopen their middle and high schools for in-person instruction, even though the districts’ applications to re-open had received the county public health officer’s approval,” Bates continued.

Newsom says he will not let his detractors cause him to lose focus.

“We will not be distracted from getting shots in arms and our economy booming again,” said Newsom, responding to critics “who are promoting partisan power grabs and outdated prejudices.”

Mia Lane

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Oakland Post: Week of May 21 – 27, 2025

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of May 21 – 27, 2025

Published

3 days ago

May 25, 2025

Oakland Post

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Chevron Richmond Installs Baker Hughes Flare.IQ, Real-time Flare Monitoring, Control and Reduction System

While the sight of flaring can cause concern in the community, flares are essential safety systems that burn pollutants to prevent them from being released directly into the atmosphere. They activate during startup and shut-down of facility units or during upsets or equipment malfunctions. The typical flare stack is about 200 feet high so that vapors are well above street levels.

Published

1 week ago

May 19, 2025

Oakland Post

Image courtesy The Richmond Standard.

The Richmond Standard

Chevron Richmond recently installed flare.IQ, a real-time, automated system that will improve the facility’s flaring performance.

The technology, developed by Panametrics, a Baker Hughes business, uses sensors to monitor, reduce and control flaring in real time. It collects and assesses data on refinery processes, such as temperature, pressure, gas flow and gas composition, and adjusts accordingly to ensure flares burn more efficiently and cleanly, leading to fewer emissions.

“The cleaner the flare, the brighter the flame can look,” said Duy Nguyen, a Chevron Richmond flaring specialist. “If you see a brighter flame than usual on a flare, that actually means flare.IQ is operating as intended.”

“A key element in Baker Hughes’ emissions abatement portfolio, flare.IQ has a proven track record in optimizing flare operations and significantly reducing emissions,” said Colin Hehir, vice president of Panametrics, a Baker Hughes business. “By partnering with Chevron Richmond, one of the first operators in North America to adopt flare.IQ, we are looking forward to enhancing the plant’s flaring operations.”

The installation of flare.IQ is part of a broader and ongoing effort by Chevron Richmond to improve flare performance, particularly in response to increased events after the new, more efficient hydrogen plant was brought online in 2019.

Since then, the company has invested $25 million — and counting — into flare minimization. As part of the effort, a multidisciplinary refinery team was formed to find and implement ways to improve operational reliability and ultimately reduce flaring. Operators and other employees involved in management of flares and flare gas recovery systems undergo new training.

“It is important to me that the community knows we are working hard to lower emissions and improve our flaring performance,” Nguyen said.

Also evolving is the process by which community members are notified of flaring incidents. The Community Warning System (CWS), operated by Contra Costa County is an “all-hazard” public warning system.

Residents can opt-in to receive alerts via text, e-mail and landline. The CWS was recently expanded to enable residents to receive notifications for “Level 1” incidents, which are considered informational as they do not require any community action.

For more information related to these topics, check out the resources included on the Chevron Richmond, CAER and Contra Costa Health websites. Residents are also encouraged to follow @chevronrichmond and @RFDCAOnline on Facebook and X (formerly Twitter), where additional information may be posted during an incident.

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Oakland Hosts Town Hall Addressing Lead Hazards in City Housing

According to the city, there are 22,000 households in need of services for lead issues, most in predominantly low-income or Black and Latino neighborhoods, but only 550 to 600 homes are addressed every year. The city is hoping to use part of the multimillion-dollar settlement to increase the number of households served each year.

Published

1 week ago

May 18, 2025

Oakland Post

iStock.

By Magaly Muñoz

The City of Oakland’s Housing and Community Development Department hosted a town hall in the Fruitvale to discuss the efforts being undertaken to remove lead primarily found in housing in East and West Oakland.

In 2021, the city was awarded $14 million out of a $24 million legal settlement from a lawsuit against paint distributors for selling lead-based paint that has affected hundreds of families in Oakland and Alameda County. The funding is intended to be used for lead poisoning reduction and prevention services in paint only, not water or other sources as has been found recently in schools across the city.

The settlement can be used for developing or enhancing programs that abate lead-based paint, providing services to individuals, particularly exposed children, educating the public about hazards caused by lead paint, and covering attorney’s fees incurred in pursuing litigation.

Most of the homes affected were built prior to 1978, and 12,000 of these homes are considered to be at high risk for lead poisoning.

City councilmember Noel Gallo, who represents a few of the lead-affected Census tracts, said the majority of the poisoned kids and families are coming directly from neighborhoods like the Fruitvale.

“When you look at the [kids being admitted] at the children’s hospital, they’re coming from this community,” Gallo said at the town hall.

In order to eventually rid the highest impacted homes of lead poisoning, the city intends to create programs and activities such as lead-based paint inspections and assessments, full abatement designed to permanently eliminate lead-based paint, or partial abatement for repairs, painting, and specialized cleaning meant for temporary reduction of hazards.

In feedback for what the city could implement in their programming, residents in attendance of the event said they want more accessibility to resources, like blood testing, and information from officials about lead poisoning symptoms, hotlines for assistance, and updates on the reduction of lead in their communities.

Attendees also asked how they’d know where they are on the prioritization list and what would be done to address lead in the water found at several school sites in Oakland last year.

City staff said there will be a follow-up event to gather more community input for programming in August, with finalizations happening in the fall and a pilot launch in early 2026.