Are express buses the key to a better I-680 commute?
Infrastructure Task Force meeting set for next week
As crawling commutes re-emerge in the region, join the East Bay Leadership Council's Infrastructure Task Force for a panel discussion focused on delivering express bus service to the I-680 corridor.
Accessible, reliable, and efficient public transit is at the center of a thriving economy and can only be realized through collaboration and innovation. That's why we're excited to bring together leaders from Contra Costa and Alameda County to discuss recent research and to envision what this fast and flexible transit service could look like in the center of Contra Costa County.
Panelists
Rick Ramcier, General Manager, County Connection
Michael Tree, Executive Director, Tri-Valley - San Joaquin Valley Regional Rail Authority
Tess Lengel, Executive Director, Alameda County Transportation Commission
Tim Haile, Executive Director, Contra Costa Transportation Authority
Date & Time
Wednesday, July 7 | 9:00 AM - 10:00 AM
Advocacy Update | State Budget Wins 🎉
We are happy to see EBLC priorities included in California's proposed state budget including a historic expansion of Cal Grants. And while details are still being finalized, we are optimistic that childcare providers will see a substantial increase to payment rates as well. More below ⤵️
Access to Financial Aid
The EBLC has joined partners throughout the state to push for increased access to our state’s higher education financial aid system. We have long supported meaningful structural changes to and investments in state need-based financial aid to support vulnerable students, in particular those who are lower income and students of color, which the impacts of the ongoing pandemic have only made more urgent. Investments like this will strengthen the East Bay's future workforce and increase economic mobility for thousands.
Childcare Reimbursement Rates
Childcare is an essential component of economic recovery and workplace equity for women. That's why EBLC is asking Governor Newsom to implement rate reform for childcare providers. Without increased rates, we fear that access to quality childcare will become increasingly rare. While this issue has been a noted stumbling block in current budget negotiations, EBLC remains hopeful that rate reform will land in the win column come budget signing day. Read EBLC's letter to Governor Newsom >>
Looking for a more comprehensive overview of what we advocated on at the state and local level?
Read last week's update >>
Must Read // Should homeowners pay for climate change?
Miranda Green in CalMatters: Insurers are betting climate change isn’t going away and that’s why they’re now pushing the state to allow them to factor in future flooding, mudslides and forest fires into customer premiums. If they don’t get their way, they say they’re just going to continue to drop more homeowners from coverage in a state where one out of three homes have been built in or near dense vegetation.
That tees up a contentious debate in the Legislature over who should be responsible for the costs caused by natural disasters to homes built in the wildland-urban interface — homeowners, insurance companies or government entities that allowed them to build in the first place. Others argue that construction should be banned entirely in fire-prone areas in spite of a statewide housing shortage.
“There are no villains here,” said Rex Frazier, president of the Personal Insurance Federation of California, which represents State Farm, Liberty Mutual, Farmers and other major insurers. “We are dealing with the way we used to do things, which doesn’t fit with our new reality. So that’s what’s causing the market to be out of whack.”
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