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SACRAMENTO – With the economic recovery expanding, California’s highways, seaports and railroads are again teeming with freight being transported across the state and on to the rest of the nation.
Caltrans has invested billions of dollars in projects aimed at improving freight movement and reducing its environmental impacts, and this summer it will ask the public to weigh-in on the future of freight movement in California.
Caltrans will host eight public workshops between June 17 and July 24 to solicit input on the draft California Freight Mobility Plan (CFMP), which lays out a vision for all the ways freight is moved, including seaports, air cargo, railroads, and trucking.
While promoting economic competitiveness, the plan will also benefit the environment and promote public health by reducing greenhouse gas emissions and other pollutants.
“To maintain and improve California’s status as the eighth-largest economy in the world, we must create a multimodal freight plan that sustains freight jobs, improves transportation, protects the environment and our communities,” said Caltrans Director Malcolm Dougherty.
The U.S. Department of Transportation will rely on the CFMP and other state freight plans as it shapes a national freight plan. Projects identified in California’s plan will be eligible to apply for a higher percentage of federal funding.
This plan is especially important because California is a national and global trade leader. Of the country’s internationally traded consumer products, about 40 percent is transported through California’s seaports. With 12 seaports, California has an unparalleled geographic trade position on the Pacific Rim.
California has set aggressive goals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and achieve a sustainable environment.
The freight plan’s goal is to transition the freight industry to zero or near zero emissions by 2050. California has already made progress in reducing freight’s effects through better engines, cleaner fuels, infrastructure changes, and improved operations.
To review the draft plan and comment, please attend any of these eight public workshops:
- Sacramento: June 17, 4-7 p.m., California State Railroad Museum, Stanford Gallery, 125 I St.
- Redding: June 19, 4-7 p.m., Caltrans District 2 office building, Lassen Training Room, 1031 Butte St.
- Marina (Monterey): June 23, 4-7 p.m., Marina Public Library, 190 Seaside Circle.
- Oakland: June 24, 4-7 p.m., Caltrans District 4 office building, cafeteria, 111 Grand Ave.
- Fresno: June 30, 4-7 p.m., Caltrans District 6 office building, Yosemite Room, 2015 E. Shields, Suite 100.
- Los Angeles: July 22, 4-7 p.m., Caltrans District 7 office building, Rooms 01.040 A, B, & C, 100 S. Main St.
- San Bernardino: July 23, 4-7 p.m., Caltrans District 8 office building, Basement Training Room, 464 W. Fourth St.
- San Diego: July 24, 4-7 p.m., Caltrans District 11 San Diego office building, Garcia Room, 4050 Taylor St.
Caltrans has accomplished much to improve freight in California over the last few years. Some of the more notable freight projects include:
- Otay Mesa East Port of Entry: This project is an innovative, tolled land port of entry designed to significantly reduce border wait times and expedite the flow of goods between California and Mexico. Caltrans broke ground on the project last year.
- Cordelia Truck Scales: In July 2013, a new $100 million truck complex opened along eastbound Interstate 80 near Fairfield in Solano County. The state-of-the-art facility fast-tracks inspections for more than two million trucks annually that travel from the Port of Oakland on I-80 through Northern California.
- Gerald Desmond Bridge: At 515 feet tall, the new Gerald Desmond Bridge when completed will be tall enough to allow the world’s largest ships to pass under and enter the Port of Long Beach’s inner harbor, increasing the Port’s capacity to handle more cargo. Currently, about 15 percent of the nation’s international containerized trade is moved by trucks across the existing bridge. The new bridge will have three lanes in each direction, allowing a more efficient flow of goods and people.
- Colton Crossing: This rail project was completed last year, $109 million under budget and eight months ahead of schedule. Most trains entering or leaving Southern California used the at-grade rail-to-rail crossing, which resulted in significant congestion on commuter and freight rail lines. A new elevated overpass has removed that chokepoint. The project will deliver an estimated $241 million in travel time savings and reduce greenhouse gas emissions 34,000 tons annually.
Caltrans is developing the CFMP in partnership with the California State Transportation Agency, the freight industry, public agencies, Native American tribal governments, and advocacy groups. The plan will be finalized by the end of this year. To view the draft plan, informational materials, and to receive more details on the public workshops, please visit: www.cfmp.dot.ca.gov .
Those unable to attend a meeting in person, can comment by email (
Comments must be submitted by July 31, 2014.
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SACRAMENTO - State Controller John Chiang on Tuesday released his monthly report covering California's cash balance, receipts and disbursements in May 2014.
Revenues for the month totaled $6.7 billion, missing estimates in the governor's January proposed budget by $389.1 million, or 5.5 percent.
Year-to-date, revenues still exceed expectations by $1.8 billion, or 2.1 percent.
"While this is the first time in six months that revenues have fallen short, the overall budgetary health remains stable and there is no threat to the state's ability to pay its bills on time and in full." said Chiang. "As lawmakers finalize their spending decisions in the coming days, my office urges fiscal restraint with an eye toward slashing the billions of dollars in debt accrued during the Great Recession."
Because the state's cash position exceeded expectations by $5 billion as of the release of the governor's May revision, the Department of Finance – with the concurrence of the offices of the state treasurer and state controller – did not produce formal cash flow projections for the May revision.
As a result, actual May receipts and disbursements are compared against projections provided in the governor's January budget proposal.
Income tax collections for the month of May came in $254.2 million, or 7.4 percent, below estimates in the governor's January proposed budget.
Corporate taxes were below estimates by $177.6 million, or 99.8 percent. Sales taxes also came in short of estimates by $98.6 million, or 3.1 percent.
As of the end of May, the state's cash reserves exceed the governor’s January projection by $4.9 billion.
This positive reserve is comprised of $3.5 billion in greater than anticipated internal borrowable resources and a cash deficit that is lower than projections by $1.4 billion.
That cash deficit, now $8.5 billion, is being covered by both internal and external borrowing.
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CLEARLAKE, Calif. – A hiring event will take place in Clearlake on Tuesday, June 10.
The event will be held from 9 a.m. to noon at the Workforce Training and Career Center, located at 14092 Lakeshore Drive.
This event is being presented by MPIC Inc., A Working Connection! in partnership with the Lake County Office of Education (LCOE) through America's Job Center of California.
In response to a rising demand for Health Care Providers in Lake County, LCOE is now providing vocational training for Certified Nurse Assistants (CNA) and Certified Medical Assistants (CMA) at the Workforce Training and Career Center.
Recognizing the need of the local health care facilities, MPIC Inc., A Working Connection! and LCOE are now taking the next logical step in connecting these businesses s with qualified applicants.
Applicants interested in working the Health Career field are encouraged to participate.
Local employers will be looking to hire CNAs, CMAs, LVNs, RNs and other health care practitioners.
LCOE also will have information available for future training opportunities.
Participating employers include St. Helena Hospital, Meadowood Nursing Center, Lake County Tribal Health, Home Health Care, Evergreen Lakeport Healthcare, Senior Helpers, Rocky Point Care, Sequoya Senior Solutions and more.
For more information, call 707-994-9004.
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SACRAMENTO – Late last week, Senate Bill 1270 (Pavley) failed to pass out of the Assembly Appropriations Committee at the Committee’s Suspense File hearing.
The Rural County Representatives of California (RCRC) was opposed to SB 1270, as the legislation sought changes to surface mining permitting and regulation, would have undermined local land use planning authority, and could have proven detrimental to the financial health of local governments that operated their own mines for public works projects.
The Surface Mining and Reclamation Act of 1975 (SMARA) currently requires a local lead agency (county or city) to review and approve a reclamation plan and financial assurances before an entity can begin surface mining operations.
SB 1270 represented a threat of a major shift in land use responsibility from experienced lead agencies to a state agency, an action unnecessary, costly, and duplicative of current law.
The existing system of mining inspections and regulations under SMARA makes sense, as California’s counties have a long history of effectively governing themselves, and administering state laws and local ordinances in a manner that is effective and appropriate to that jurisdiction.
“We commend the committee for recognizing the importance of local land use planning authority in mining regulations, and identifying the unnecessary local and state costs intrinsic to SB 1270,” said Nate Beason, RCRC chair and Nevada County supervisor. “This legislation was unnecessary under current law, which correctly places local government in the lead agency role, leaving the state with the authority to remove a jurisdiction from this role if they are not meeting specific requirements. If anything needs changing, it is simply that of better implementation of the current law, not changes to SMARA itself.”
Even if the current implementation of SMARA is somewhat flawed, as proponents of the legislation claim, the current system already allows for the ability of the state to claim authority in jurisdictions that are not following the provisions required by SMARA, making SB 1270 a duplicative, unnecessary, and costly measure to implement at both the state and local levels.
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