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Publication: San Francisco Chronicle

Maya Katz-Ali said she never thought she would be able to afford an electric car. She thought it was something unattainable, something for the elite.

And in many ways, Katz-Ali is the opposite of a typical electric-car buyer in California: She’s 26, a woman and a person of color, and she doesn’t earn a six-figure salary. The Oakland native expected to drive her 1992 Volvo until it died.

That all changed last month, when Katz-Ali traded in her car for a new Honda Clarity plug-in electric hybrid with a fraction of the Volvo’s emissions. She bought it with the help of a state subsidy program.

“There’s lots of ideas that you have to be of a certain income bracket to be able to even think about” an electric car, Katz-Ali said. “It’s not just a Tesla thing. It’s not just a higher-class, higher-income thing.”

Electric-car advocates say her initial perception speaks to a diversity problem that the state must solve to reach Gov. Gavin Newsom’s goal of banning the sale of new gas-powered cars starting in 2035.

California drivers who buy electric vehicles overwhelmingly fit a narrow demographic profile. Most are male, white or Asian American, and between the ages of 30 and 49. The majority earn more than $100,000 a year and live in expensive coastal areas.

That’s according to data The Chronicle analyzed of buyers who received electric car rebates from the state Air Resources Board, California’s air-quality agency. 

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Assemblyman Phil Ting, a San Francisco Democrat and electric-car advocate, said one factor is a narrow range of electric car styles. Most are sedans or sports cars, models that appeal more to single, younger men.

“You have to offer the choices that people want,” Ting said. “The best-selling cars right now are trucks, SUVs and minivans.”

Ting said that will change dramatically in the next 15 years, as more automakers come out with larger electric models. He said the market for used, cheaper electric cars will also grow.

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Publication: San Francisco Chronicle

A quicker economic rebound than anticipated has softened California’s budget woes and will bring the state an estimated $26 billion windfall by the next fiscal year, the Legislative Analyst’s Office reported Wednesday.

But the one-time cushion is not enough to offset the severe financial losses of the coronavirus pandemic. The nonpartisan legislative analyst’s fiscal outlook warned that a projected multibillion-dollar operating deficit would more than triple over the next four years as rising costs outstrip the growth in tax revenue.

By 2024-25, California will face a budget gap of about $17.5 billion. Legislative Analyst Gabriel Petek said policymakers should start considering solutions to the problem, which may require either spending cuts or new taxes, while there is time.

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Assemblyman Phil Ting, the San Francisco Democrat who chairs the Assembly Budget Committee, stressed the need for another round of financial aid from Congress, where negotiations for a relief package broke down last month.

“We cannot take our eye off the ball,” Ting said in a statement. “The improved fiscal outlook gives us a little breathing room, but we still need help from the federal government.”

Publication: San Jose Mercury

Money will help move homeless hotel residents into housing

Gov. Gavin Newsom poured another $62 million into his waning Project Roomkey program Monday, part of an ongoing effort to prevent any of the more than 22,000 homeless Californians sheltering in pandemic hotels from ending up back on the street.

The money, which comes from the state’s Disaster Response Emergency Operations Account, will go to counties that have put up homeless Californians in hotels during the pandemic. The emergency cash injection comes as the pandemic hotels are starting to close in the Bay Area and beyond.

The bulk of the funds — $35 million — will go toward rehousing Project Roomkey residents. That money is for rental subsidies, case management, housing navigation and landlord incentives, and other housing expenses. Another $24 million will help prop up the existing Project Roomkey program, allowing residents to remain in their hotel rooms until they can obtain permanent housing. The last $3 million will go toward technical assistance — helping counties contract with experienced housing providers and create rehousing plans.

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“While allocating more funding for Project Roomkey helps in the short-term,” said Budget Committee Chair Assemblymember Phil Ting (D-San Francisco), according to the news release. “I look forward to collaborative budget discussions with the administration about reducing homelessness, focusing on smart investments and long-term housing solutions.”

Publication: ABC 30/Fresno

There are more than 500 cases of COVID-19 among inmates at the Corcoran prison - that's about 11% of the prison population.

The number of inmates infected with the coronavirus at the Substance Abuse Treatment Facility in Corcoran (SATF) has skyrocketed in recent weeks.

There are more than 500 cases of COVID-19 among inmates, or about 11% of the prison population.

There's concern that number could rise.

"They're all in the same prison but different yards are having different experiences," said Michelle Hoyt, whose boyfriend is an inmate at SATF.

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This week, San Francisco Assemblymember Phil Ting and other members of the state legislature made it clear to prison officials that the practices of masking and distancing need to improve.

"We're going to ensure that the secretary (of CDCR) and the receiver (CCHCS) fully communicate that and ensure that they follow up with each of the wardens and each of the staff to make sure that staff are properly wearing masks at the various facilities," Ting said.