Wash Post: 'Granny Flats’ Play Surprising Role in Easing CA’s Housing Woes

State & local policies have made accessory dwelling units easier to build in recent years, and homeowners are signing up in droves

... Multifamily properties are incredibly difficult to build in the state’s major cities for reasons including lack of space, environmental laws, andneighborhood opposition. But build an ADU — a small detached house with its own utilities and entryway — and practically no one bats an eye.Multiplied thousands of times over, as has been occurring in recent years, and the structures begin to look like an important, if only partial,solution to the state’s affordable housing needs.

NBC Bay Area:

A plan to save lives in San Francisco and beyond, a unique mass casualty training called "Stop the Bleed" was held today to teach people to stop bleeding after accidents or mass shootings before emergency personnel get there. There was hands on instruction on using tourniquets and gauze pads. 

SiliconValley.com: Californians Won’t Have To Pay State Taxes On Canceled Federal Student Loans

As part of a slate of budget bills signed by Gov. Newsom is an income tax exemption on student loans forgiven because of the pandemic

While the Supreme Court mulls the Biden administration’s student loan forgiveness plan, California moved to provide some relief to borrowers who had student loans forgiven during the pandemic.

Part of a slate of budget bills signed into law by Gov. Gavin Newsom earlier this week is legislation exempting Californians from paying income taxes on forgiven federal student loans and some pandemic-era emergency grants.

Ting Statement on the Governor’s May Revision

Assemblymember Phil Ting (D-San Francisco), Chair of the Assembly Budget Committee, released the following statement about the Governor’s May Revision for the 2023-24 state budget:

California to Observe Fentanyl Awareness Day to Combat Opioid Crisis

Assemblymember Haney and colleagues speak on the fentanyl crisis and proposed legislation to address it

Assemblymember Matt Haney (D-San Francisco) Chair of the Fentanyl and Overdose Prevention Select Committee, along with several other members of the Democratic Caucus held a press conference on Fentanyl Awareness Day to discuss Assembly Democrat’s legislative priorities to address the fentanyl crisis.

Fentanyl kills more Americans under 50 than any other cause of death, including heart disease, cancer, homicide, suicide, and other accidents. Last year 6,843 people died in California from opioid overdose, 5,722 of these deaths were related to Fentanyl.

National Fentanyl Prevention and Awareness Day was established in remembrance of the many loved ones that have died from fentanyl poisoning. Fentanyl prevention advocates across the country come together on this day to take coordinated action and warn the public about the dangers of fentanyl.

Assembly Unveils Care COLA: Child Care Funding Budget Plan

Assembly Unveils Care COLA: Child Care Funding Budget Plan

In honor of today’s national “Day Without Child Care,” the Assembly proposed a billion dollars cost-of-living-adjustment (COLA) from the state budget to bolster California’s child care system in an effort to stabilize the industry and help parents struggling to find providers. Assembly Budget Chair Phil Ting and Legislative Women’s Caucus Vice-Chair Cecilia Aguiar-Curry unveiled the State Assembly’s Budget Plan for the “Care COLA,” increasing child care funding by 25.44%. The figure accounts for unfunded inflation since 2016. The move is the first step in a multi-year effort currently being collectively bargained between the Governor and Child Care Providers United, which is the child care workers’ new statewide union.