SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) —
An eye-opening new research study says nearly every close-in city has lost population in the past two years. And as people seek lower-cost housing or a better lifestyle, this has implications for our transportation network, which is why the MTC, the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, is paying attention.
CALIFORNIA FOCUS
BY THOMAS D. ELIAS
Even before a proposed homeowner-inspired measure aiming to restore full zoning powers to local governments hit the streets looking to qualify for next fall’s ballot, the battle over who would control housing decisions in California began heating up.
In a recent online meeting hosted by the Housing Action Coalition, I heard Assemblymember Buffy Wicks, the new chair of the state Assembly Housing Committee, talking about California’s progressive housing policy. She said the housing shortage is 3.5 million units. But that calculation was dismissed by many when the Embarcadero Institute released a 2019 study showing the number was an overcalculation of about 1.5 million.
Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. is honored for his courageous civil rights efforts. He advised, “The forces of good and evil are always in play.” He warned it’s not what bad people do, but the silence of good people.
Like the dark days of 1968, when both King and Robert Kennedy were assassinated and the Viet Nam war raged on, we face new challenges: COVID, wild inflation, escalating homelessness, and Sacramento legislators’ efforts to eliminate local control.
State Sen. Mike McGuire, whose district includes Marin and other counties along the northern coast, has been named Senate majority leader.
