A Note from Toni
Friends,
As a San Diego City Councilmember for eight years, I saw firsthand the role redevelopment can play in changing neighborhoods, economies and lives in places like North Park and City Heights, but the state budget that was recently adopted contained significant cutbacks to redevelopment programs. The recent change in redevelopment funding has been as tough for me to swallow as for anyone, but Californians of all stripes need to understand that drastic times call for drastic measures. The current plan is a balance between the needs of state-funded local programs and the need for redevelopment.
Because there has been a good deal of hot rhetoric flying around on this issue, I would like to separate fact from fiction. Redevelopment was originally created by diverting taxes from cities, counties, and schools and re-investing them into blighted areas. This year, however, the Great Recession came home to roost in a big way and California was $26 billion in the red.
Just like the City of San Diego has had to make tough choices to balance its books, the State of California had to find ways to keep public schools open, protect public safety, and retain some semblance of a safety net of health and social services. Everyone shared the pain in this budget.
Governor Brown proposed to completely eliminate redevelopment agencies in order to recapture those diverted tax dollars. I joined my colleagues in the legislature to support an alternative, voluntary plan that allows redevelopment agencies to continue their work, although admittedly, with fewer dollars. In the first year, the state will recapture 40 percent of the diverted tax dollars. After that, redevelopment agencies will be permitted to keep all but 10 percent of those funds.
And where will that money go? Not to some amorphous entity called "The State," but right into our schools to keep class sizes manageable and avoid shortening the school year; to our cities, which can use it for services that have been in their budget bullseye; and to the county, for public safety and healthcare.
Fortunately, California continues to have a dynamic and growing economy that has already started to recover. In the meantime, schools, public safety and healthcare have to be our top priorities.
Warm Regards,
Toni Atkins
Assemblymember, 76th Assembly District
In This Issue
- Steps Two and Three on The Road Home: Select Committee on Homelessness
- Changes to Car Registration Fees
- Sharing Streets Safely
- Willston Richards, Partners With Industry Rockstar
- Concerts in the Park Mean Summer Fun
- Around the District
Steps Two and Three on The Road Home
Earlier this year the Select Committee on Homelessness took its first step on The Road Home in Sacramento where they discussed an overview of the issue of homelessness and the best practices around the state to prevent and end homelessness. On July 20th the committee held a second hearing in San Diego. The topic was homeless veterans and the chronic homeless. Representatives from the US Interagency Council on Homelessness, CA Department of Veteran Affairs, San Diego County Health and Human Services Agency, Mental Health Systems, San Diego Homeless Court and Veteran Treatment Court, the Regional Task Force on the Homeless, Veterans Village of San Diego, San Diego Veteran Healthcare Systems and Father Joe Carroll gave testimony at the hearing.
Panelists discussed the importance of permanent supportive housing and the funding that is necessary to make that happen. The federal VA announced new funds dedicated to the Supportive Services for Veterans’ Families program. This initiative awards grants to private nonprofits and consumer cooperatives to assist very low income vets to obtain permanent housing. California received the largest share of these grants.
According to the 2011 Point-in-Time-Count, homeless veterans account for 20.6 percent of the homeless population in San Diego County. There are 9,020 homeless men, women and children in San Diego County.
Step three of The Road Home took place in Los Angeles on July 27th. The focus was on women, families, youth and LGBT youth. The Committee had representatives from the LA Homeless Service Agency, City of LA, LA County, Home For Good and nine other providers who serve these homeless sub-populations.
Panelists agreed that the only way to prevent any Californian from falling into homelessness and perhaps dying on our streets is to create a collaborative approach that integrates funding streams. Several panelists stressed the need for an Interagency Council which would coordinate the state’s limited resources and would attract more federal funding.
Women, youth, LGBT youth and families all have a variety of unique needs. Those with behavioral health or substance abuse problems need to be placed in supportive housing, where services are paired with residential facilities.
I believe the state and local governments need to work together and strategize how to implement model programs. Collaborating and mainstreaming resources to the organizations on the ground so that they can work in unprecedented ways is the only way we will be able to end homelessness.
Our state already has model programs that the rest of the country has begun implementing. As a state, California has made some progress, but we have to keep the momentum going to tremendously reduce homelessness in California.
The next step on The Road Home is expected to be a hearing in Sacramento to tie together all of the input received during earlier hearings, with an eye toward policy recommendations and potential state legislation.
Changes to Car Registration Fees
The Vehicle License Fee (VLF) has decreased from 1.15 percent of the car's value to 0.65 percent effective July 1, 2011. The registration fee has increased $12 (from $34 to $46) in order to provide funding for DMV operations throughout the state. These changes are a result of California's new state budget. The VLF was established by the Legislature in 1935 in lieu of a property tax on vehicles. The DMV returns almost all VLF revenue to the cities and counties.
Billing notices are currently being mailed out for vehicle registrations that are due in July, August and September. There is a 30-day grace period for VLF payments. Law enforcement in the U.S., Canada and Mexico has been notified of the change and has been asked not to cite vehicles until the first day of the second month after the vehicle registration expires. For example, if your registration expired on July 15, you would not be subject to citation until September 1.
Vehicle owners can go online and renew a July, August or September registration now without having to wait for a bill from the DMV. For more information please visit www.dmv.ca.gov.
If you need any assistance with DMV, please call my District Office at 619-645-3090.
Sharing Streets Safety
Have you noticed these unusual markings on your streets lately? Sharrows have been popping up on the streets of many San Diego neighborhoods. What is a sharrow? Sharrow stands for "shared roadway markings" and is a picture of a bicycle with two arrows above it. These road signs are used to identify streets that are too narrow for a bike lane and are shared by both bicycles and cars. They are part of an effort to help them coexist more safely. In some instances, a bicyclist needs to use the center of the lane. In these cases, motorists must share the road with cyclists, just as they would with a fellow driver.
California Vehicle Code 21202 states that when operating a bicycle one should ride close to the right-hand curb unless:
"(1) When overtaking and passing another bicycle or vehicle proceeding in the same direction.
(2) When preparing for a left turn at an intersection or into a private road or driveway.
(3) When reasonably necessary to avoid conditions (including, but not limited to, fixed or moving objects, vehicles, bicycles, pedestrians, animals, surface hazards, or substandard width lanes) that make it unsafe to continue along the right-hand curb or edge, subject to the provisions of Section 21656. For purposes of this section, a "substandard width lane" is a lane that is too narrow for a bicycle and a vehicle to travel safely side by side within the lane.
(4) When approaching a place where a right turn is authorized."
Sharrows signal to drivers that one of these situations is present and promote safety for both cyclists and motorists.
As an advocate of public health and safety, I have been fighting for increasing the number of "complete streets" in California. A street is not considered "complete" until it serves everyone in the community, such as pedestrians, motorists, seniors, and those with disabilities. Too many streets in California are designed only with cars in mind.
As a result, I have introduced AB 345 to make streets accessible and safe for a more inclusive group of users. AB 345 would improve the implementation of complete streets policies by addressing the traffic control process. The California Department of Transportation (CalTrans) would be required to consult bicyclists, persons with disabilities, motorists, movers, pedestrians, public transportation users, and seniors when developing standards. The bill is currently in the State Senate, going through the Appropriations Committee.
Willston Richards, Partners With Industry Rockstar
Dreams do come true at Partnerships With Industry (PWI), a nonprofit based in Mission Valley, as I found out when I visited the PWI offices recently and met Willston Richards, a PWI client.
Willston came to PWI after living with relatives in Florida and then El Centro. After his sister passed away, he moved to San Diego County and met with PWI staff about his vocational goals. Willston realized there were many opportunities available to him and he was ready to start a new life, become independent, get a job and meet his goals.
Willston began his first job at the age of 55 in PWI's Employee Leasing/Group Services program at PWI's UCSD site. This is a vocational program that enables adults with developmental and/or physical disabilities to work at a company or organization and, with the help of a Job Coach (provided at no charge by PWI,) obtain the work experience and skills they need. Willston and other PWI clients in this program are currently working at 33 businesses in San Diego County at a fraction of the cost of hiring temporary employees.
After a year of gainful employment in the Employee Leasing Program, Willston had another goal – to become a janitor, just like his father. He knew he would have to build his stamina and learn some new skills, but Willston was determined. Willston's dream became a reality last year when he accepted the job of PWI Janitor.
When asked about his motivation to meet his goals, Willston smiled really big and shared "If you put your mind to it, you will do it."
Concerts in the Park Mean Summer Fun
Summer is an ideal time to enjoy the outdoors and free music in San Diego. Around the 76th Assembly District, there are several venues offering great entertainment. So grab your blankets and lawn chairs and come out to enjoy the local bands. Here's a listing of the August concerts in our area:
North Park Community Association Bird Park Summer Concert Series
Bird Park, 28th and Thorn Streets; Saturdays, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.; (619) 284-0156 or northparksd.org.
- Aug. 13 - Latin A-Go-Go
Pacific Beach Concerts on the Green
Kate Sessions Park, Lamont Street just north of Beryl Street/Soledad Road; Sundays, 4 to 6:30 p.m.; pbconcerts.org.
- Aug. 7 - Candy Kane, with Sue Palmer
- Aug. 14 - Three Chord Justice
Point Loma Summer Concerts
Point Loma Park, 1049 Catalina Boulevard; Fridays, 5:30 to 8:30 p.m.; plconcerts.org.
- Aug. 12 - ROCKOLA
And don't forget the concerts in Balboa Park's Organ Pavilion we listed last month:
- Twilight in the Park - Tuesdays through Thursdays, 6:15 to 7:15 p.m.; (619) 239-0512 or balboapark.org.
- Spreckels Organ Society's Summer Organ Festival - Mondays, 7:30 p.m.; (619) 702-8138 or sosorgan.org.
Around the District
