SACRAMENTO
Newsom announces climate investments made by Biden-Harris Administration
On Friday, Gov. Gavin Newsom highlighted the historic climate investments that the Biden-Harris Administration has announced for California so far.
The funding comes through President Biden’s signature pieces of legislation, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act – the largest investment in clean energy and climate action ever. The amount is anticipated to increase as the Biden-Harris Administration announces additional awards in the coming years.
“To quote President Biden – this is a ‘BFD.’ noted Newsom, “Never before has America invested so much in real climate action.”
$15.5-plus billion from the Biden-Harris Administration is helping California build our clean energy future, transform our transportation, clean our air, save our communities from wildfire and floods and protect our state’s unmatched natural beauty.”
What the White House said: “For decades, California has led the charge on climate action, from electrifying the transportation sector to building renewable power,” said John Podesta, Senior Advisor to the President for International Climate Policy. “The Biden-Harris administration is proud to support California’s climate leadership through our Investing in America agenda so the Golden State can continue to lead in building a clean, resilient future.” In the past month alone, California has received:
- $425+ million to build offshore wind and create manufacturing jobs at the Port of Humboldt Bay
- $88+ million to help eight California school districts purchase clean school buses
- $168+ million to add than 2,600 electric vehicle charging stations in rural and disadvantaged areas across the state
- $63+ million to upgrade existing EV charging infrastructure
This builds on our nation-leading California Climate Commitment – an unprecedented $48 billion in state climate investments that rivals what most countries spend on climate action.
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SACRAMENTO
Caltrans issues emergency declaration for Orange County landslide disrupting passenger rail service
On Thursday, Caltrans issued an emergency declaration (ADA link) for the recent landslide in San Clemente that halted passenger train service on a portion of the nation’s second-busiest intercity rail corridor. The emergency declaration, signed by Caltrans Director Tony Tavares, allows the Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA), which owns the rail line, to access up to $10 million in immediate emergency repair funding.
“This section of rail is vital to the economic prosperity of the entire Southern California region and provides critical commuter, intercity and freight rail service every day,” Director Tavares said. “This emergency declaration will give OCTA the immediate funding needed to fix this landslide and get the trains moving again as quickly and safely as possible.”
The landslide occurred Jan. 24 and affects Amtrak service along the Pacific Surfliner route, as well as the local Metrolink commuter train services. OCTA and Metrolink have begun significant grading and excavating work on the area near the Mariposa Pedestrian Bridge, though the slope remains unstable and there is no current estimate for when passenger service will resume.
Freight trains have used the rail at drastically reduced speeds (10 mph) during late night hours when crews aren’t working.
Currently, passenger trains are stopped between the San Juan Capistrano and Oceanside stations. Passengers are being bused between the two.
This section of track is part of the 351-mile LOSSAN (San Luis Obispo-to-San Diego) corridor that includes 41 stations and more than 150 daily passenger trains, with an annual ridership of nearly 3 million on Amtrak Pacific Surfliner intercity trains and 5 million on Metrolink and COASTER commuter trains. One in every nine Amtrak riders in the country uses the corridor, the busiest state-supported Amtrak route.
Because of its unique location along the California coastline, the LOSSAN corridor is at heightened risk from coastal erosion, sea-level rise and other impacts from extreme weather events fueled by climate change. The California State Transportation Agency (CalSTA) has convened a LOSSAN Working Group to support corridor-wide coordination to identify and quickly respond to emerging issues and opportunities to improve service.
The emergency declaration denotes that Caltrans believes this situation is a matter of state concern and that immediate work and remedial measures are required to alleviate, repair, and restore the damage to the tracks. The California Transportation Commission provides the emergency funding.
For the latest updates, visit https://www.octa.net/programs-projects/projects/rail-projects/san-clemente-track-closure
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SACRAMENTO
BLM hosting wildland firefighter job fair in Sacramento this weekend
This weekend, the Bureau of Land Management California will host a job fair to quickly fill over 70 vital wildland firefighter and dispatch positions throughout the state for the 2024 fire year.
During the event, staff will be on-site to review resumes, process applications, conduct interviews and background checks and, at the Sacramento event, potentially make job offers.
Available positions include wildland firefighters for engines, hotshots, handcrews, helitack and dispatchers. A summary of these types of positions is available on the National Interagency Fire Center’s wildland fire job page.
Applicants are encouraged to attend in-person and may also apply online through February 4.
Wildland firefighters and fire engines will be on-site. firefighters and staff will be made available for interviews.
What: Wildland Firefighter Job Fair
When: Saturday from 8 a.m.to 4 p.m., and Feb. 4 from 8 a.m.to 2 p.m. Where: DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Sacramento, 2001 Point W Way, Sacramento, 95815
Who: Bureau of Land Management
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