For eight years, Streetsblog California has been a leader in covering how the state is striving to meet its lofty goals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to head off cataclysmic impacts from climate change. 2023 was an interesting year, as state leaders (both elected and otherwise) said all of the right things, but their actions sometimes told a different story.
And we were there to cover it all, both as journalists and as advocates, to bring you the news, amplify the voices of advocates and those impacted by state policy decisions, and arm you to get involved and have your own voice be heard. If you want to help Streetsblog be an even more effective voice for a better California, please consider supporting us in our annual End of the Year fundraising drive. You can donate once or set up recurring donations through our donor portal - or join us on Patreon.
There are literally dozens of stories that we covered this year that exemplify the difference between what is said and what has been done in the State this year.
Top of the pile is Caltrans’ firing/demotion of Jeanie Ward-Waller. Ward-Waller served as the Deputy Director of Planning and Multimodal Programs at Caltrans, where she not only oversaw many of the great programs that we regularly highlight at Streetsblog, but also served as an internal watchdog to make certain the agency was working to meet its own climate and equity goals.
She was removed from that post this fall for doing her job: Asking questions about freeway widening projects. While Politico broke the story, Streetsblog followed up with an interview and an analysis of why the firing is a “bad sign” for the agency and the state. We also later presented a podcast in which Ward-Waller explained how car culture is still a dominant force at Caltrans and what the agency can do to course-correct.
Another story we covered was about how it took the state until the 11th hour of budget negotiations to finally put aside enough funds to prevent the collapse of transit.
In May, operators laid out what Gavin Newsom’s proposed cuts would mean for transit in real terms. Less than a week later, Streetsblog California connected the dots with an op/ed by a former Deputy Executive Officer at the California Air Resources Board on how Newsom’s cuts would undermine the state’s own climate goals.
Newsom changed tact, and argued that quickly passing the budget was necessary so that California could qualify for the federal money about to be allocated from the Infrastructure and Jobs Act. His message: the proposed cuts to transit were good for the environment. Fortunately, the final budget deal between the Governor and the legislature included some much-needed funding for transit.
As you can see, the battle for safe streets is far from over. If you value the work Streetsblog does to shine a spotlight on these issues, and are able to support us as we cover these issues and amplify your voices, please consider making a donation today.
