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A tool used by state agencies to help guide policy and billions of dollars in environmental funding is being updated for the fifth time – but critics say it still does not fulfill its intentionswrites CalMatters’ Alejandra Reyes-Velarde.
Developed in the 1990s, CalEnviroScreen evaluates different geographic regions in California based on nearly two dozen environmental, public health and demographic factors. The tool then takes the top 25% of the worst areas and designates them as “disadvantaged communities.”
Under state law, at least a quarter of California’s cap-and-invest program funds go to these communities, and since 2015 they have received at least $5.8 billion. The Air Resources Board also uses CalEnviroScreen to determine which communities participate in its Community Air Protection Program, and the Department of Toxic Substances Control are drafting rules for using the tool as a proxy for their resolution decisions.
An upcoming update will add two more indicators to track risks: diabetes prevalence and small areas with toxic air. It will also integrate more data metrics among some of the 21 indicators currently tracked. A spokeswoman for the state agency that administers the tool said the upcoming update doesn’t dramatically change which communities are considered disadvantaged, though it slightly downgrades the Bay Area and Central Valley.
Critics have disappointed CalEnviroScreen because of its limitations both apps and its planned updates have not escaped criticism. Bradley Angel, director of Greenaction for Health and Environmental Justice, said that because the tool doesn’t prevent the state from issuing permits, companies can still pay into the cap-and-invest program to keep polluting.
- angel: “It’s great that CalEnviroScreen exists … but when communities and environmental justice groups advocated for what became CalEnviroScreen, they weren’t looking at dollar signs. They wanted to protect our health.”
Officials expect the final version of the update to be released this summer.
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Other stories you should know
Curbing the ticket sellers to revitalize California nightlife
Marked-up concert tickets priced at more than 10 times their original value are the bane of many fans. But they could be a thing of the past in California if a proposal from a San Francisco lawmaker becomes law.
Member of the Democratic Assembly Matt Haney introduced a bill Thursday that would limit the resale price of tickets for concerts, theater and other live events to no more than 10 percent above face value. Sporting events are excluded from this measure.
In a statement, Haney said he wanted to curb “large-scale profiteering” by resale platforms and professional scalpers instead of fan-to-fan transactions. A spokesman for Haney’s office said the bill stemmed from conversations with artists and independent venues, who said fans getting priced out of attending events hurt local nightlife. Haney is chairman of the Assembly Select Committee on Downtown Redevelopment.
The bill is likely to be considered in the parliamentary arts, entertainment, sports and tourism committee and could be heard as early as March.
Workers are seeking job security in the face of AI
Unions send message to Gov. Gavin Newsom: Protect our jobs from artificial intelligence or you will not get our vote for president.
As CalMatters’ Carrie Johnson explains, top union leaders gathered in Sacramento on Wednesday to warn Newsom that their support for his likely 2028 presidential bid depends on him signing legislation protecting AI workers.
- Lorena Gonzalezpresident of the California Federation of Labor: “I don’t think you’re going to have a lot of motivation to go around the districts for someone who won’t engage working-class voters on the things that take away their jobs.”
Gonzalez said the labor federation intends to support about two dozen bills this year that aim to address how AI negatively affects workers, including ones that would regulate how managers can use predictive AI and require advance notice of AI-related job cuts.
California’s budget is increasingly reliant on tax revenue from tech and AI companies, and the governor must strike a balance between appeasing workers and supporting Big Tech. Meanwhile, companies like Meta and OpenAI support political action committees that support pro-AI candidates.
California voices
CalMatters columnist Dan Walters: Recent separate scandals involving Newsom’s former chief of staff and Southern California politicians serve as reminders that California has its share of corruption since the founding of the state.
California State University is giving up promised raises and incremental pay rises for its front-line workers, despite receiving full government funding to do so, writes Ernesto Torresfacilities project manager at CSU San Bernardino and vice president of Teamsters Local 2010.
Other things worth your time:
CA leaders condemn Trump’s call to “nationalize” electionsthey say they are ready to resist // Los Angeles Times
Toxic mushroom superbloom fueling CA’s largest poisoning outbreak // San Francisco Chronicle
Environmental, tribal groups slam Bay-Delta Deal for Low Flow Rules // The Sacramento Bee
Inside the polarizing plane for carbon sequestration in a California wetland // Grist
PE teachers are going on strike next week // KQED
Ten years of fentanyl: How the deadly drug still has SF in its grip // The San Francisco Standard
The Long Farewell: California couple self-deports to Mexico // New York Times
Moreno Valley votes against moratorium on warehousesbucking the local trend // Los Angeles Times
