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SANDAG Board OKs Formula For New Homebuilding

/in , /by /KPBS Radio San Diegoby Andrew Bowen

Elected officials from across San Diego County on Friday approved a new long-term home building plan that prioritizes areas rich with public transit and jobs.

Board members of the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG) are responsible for determining where 171,000 new homes should be built in the county over the next decade. The process, known as the Regional Housing Needs Assessment, is meant to ensure cities are planning for enough new homes in places where they are needed the most.

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New State Bill Would Require a PLA for Pure Water Project

/in , , /by /Voice of San Diegoby Ry Rivard

To end a labor dispute that’s halted work on one of the largest and most important water projects in San Diego history, Assemblyman Todd Gloria rolled out a bill Friday to require union-friendly terms for work on the project.

The project, known as Pure Water, would provide a third of the city’s drinking water in coming decades. After years of starts and stops, the first $1.6 billion part of the project looked to be on track, until a labor dispute put everything on ice this summer.

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A Giant Mass of Warm Water off the Pacific Coast Could Rival ‘The Blob’ of 2014-15

/in , , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Deborah Netburn

A large and unusually warm mass of water is threatening to disturb the marine ecosystem along the Pacific Coast from Southern California to Alaska, scientists from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said Thursday.

They call it the Northeast Pacific Marine Heatwave of 2019, and if it doesn’t dissipate soon, researchers said it could be as destructive as the infamous “blob” of warm water that caused massive toxic algae blooms along the coast and wreaked havoc on whales, salmon, baby sea lions and other marine life in 2014 and 2015.

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Fleet Science Center Selected to Join National Effort to Train More STEM Teachers

/in , , /by /Times of San Diego

A national organization dedicated to addressing the STEM teacher shortage, 100Kin10, announced that a SanDiego museum will join 40 other new partners this year. In addition to the Fleet Science Center, the partners include the Chicago Public Schools and National Board for Professional Teaching Standards.

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A Look Inside Ventura’s Wastewater Operations. What’s The Future of its Estuary Discharge?

/in , /by /Ventura County Starby Arlene Martinez

There’s a lot of confusion and concern about what will happen once the city of Ventura no longer discharges millions of gallons of water into the Santa Clara River Estuary.

There are questions over what will happen to the birds, fish, turtles, ducks and other critters once their environment dramatically changes.

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OPINION: Valley Voice: Regional Effort Puts Water Solutions in Place for the Coachella Valley

/in , , /by /Desert Sun (Palm Springs)by Berlinda Blackburn

Behind the scenes, the valley’s public water agencies have been working together to earn grants and improve water management for our entire region.

In 2008, they formed the Coachella Valley Regional Water Management Group (Regional Group) to:

  • reduce water demand;
  • increase our region’s water supply;
  • improve regional water quality;
  • serve as stewards of our shared water resource, and;
  • improve efficiency and flexibility.
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Possible Lightning Strike Sets Brush Ablaze Near Murrieta, Schools Closed

/in , /by /KPBS

A wind-driven wildfire that may have been started by a lightning strike had scorched nearly 1,400 acres just west of Murrietta, prompted evacuations and the closure of schools and was 7% contained Thursday morning.

The blaze was first reported about 3:55 p.m. Wednesday in the area of Clinton Keith and Tenaja roads, in the unincorporated community of La Cresta, according to the Riverside County Fire Department.

In the course of an hour Wednesday night, the fire exploded from 250 acres burned to nearly 1,000 acres, the fire department said.

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Calexico Mayor Has ‘Productive’ Inaugural Meetings on Census, Homeless

/in , /by /Imperial Valley Weeklyby Richard Montenegro Brown

Calexico city officials and homeless advocates set a proposed short-term agenda that includes focusing efforts to expand and renovate the Catholic Charities men’s shelter in the city and establishing a combination homeless shelter and cooling center downtown, Mayor Bill Hodge said.

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Progress Made on Calexico Sewer and Water Plant Upgrades

/in , /by /Imperial Valley Weeklyby Richard Montenegro Brown

Although preliminary work and the replacement of aging water lines are already underway, the bulk of about $40 million in upgrades to Calexico’s water and wastewater treatment plants won’t start until 2020, a city official explained. The process to reach the point of construction is a lengthy one, but the city is making steady progress, Assistant City Manager Miguel Figueroa said.

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Local coalition plans town hall to discuss possible West Basin desalination plant

/in , /by /The Beach Reporterby Kristen Farmer

A coalition of local conservation groups is hosting a town hall about a proposed desalination plant in El Segundo that has garnered controversy since it was first proposed more than a decade ago.

West Basin Municipal Water District plans to vote on the $400 million project by the end of this year, according to the Bruce Reznik, executive director of Los Angeles Waterkeeper – part of a coalition that includes Heal the Bay, Desal Response Group, Southbay Surfrider Foundation – that comprises Smarter Water LA.

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