UNITE HERE Local 11 has appealed City of Santa Barbara Planning Commission approval on 5/15/2025 of Hilton Santa Barbara Beachfront Resort Project environmental review. Hearing scheduled for 9/23/2025. docs.santabarbaraca.gov/OnBaseAgendaOn… Item 14 Using #CEQA delays as organizing leverage.

"Cupertino Whole Foods closure prolongs. Experts warn of brand damage" reports Silicon Valley Business Journal: bizjournals.com/sanjose/news/2… Santa Clara County Department of Environmental Health closed it 4/22/2025 because of vermin. Still closed.

Hayward City Council 6/17/2025 considers joining other San Francisco Bay Area cities (list below) to impose a Public Art Impact Fee on new developments, for murals & artwork with "solar & wind elements." Hayward already imposes park & traffic impact fees. hayward.legistar.com/LegislationDet…

Oakland City Council vote 6/17/2025 to negotiate an agreement in which a billboard company would remove 11 of its signs in the city while being permitted to install 5 new double-sided billboards with freeway visibility. oakland.legistar.com/LegislationDet…

Staff Report: "The City of Richmond does not have an official tree." 🌳 Well, this shortcoming is being rectified at the 6/17/2025 city council meeting: "Select and Adopt an Official Tree of the City of Richmond" pub-richmond.escribemeetings.com/filestream.ash…

The idea of "Guaranteed Basic Income" is still out there. Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors vote 6/24/2025 to initiate a pilot program for 170 recipients. contra-costa.legistar.com/LegislationDet… Total cost: $4,266,200

Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors vote 6/24/2025 to schedule public hearing to delist Redman-Hirahara House from county's historic inventory. santacruzcountyca.primegov.com/Portal/Meeting… Item 91 "no maintenance has occurred on the home since the last inhabitant of the house departed in 1986"

Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District to withdraw state finding requests for 2 projects. Instructional building: go.boarddocs.com/ca/gcccd/Board… Gymnasium: go.boarddocs.com/ca/gcccd/Board…) Why? "excessive cost escalation, unforeseen infrastructure needs, and insufficient matching funds."

I’m at the former Fort Ord in City of Marina at groundbreaking ceremony for Monterey-Salinas Transit (MST) SURF! Bus Rapid Transit project. This will be a dedicated bus lane parallel to Highway between Marina & Seaside. Planning started with a community meeting in December 2003.

Oakland City Council vote 7/1/2025 on "Honoring The Remarkable Bobby Seale" with a commemorative day, naming of an intersection, and a plaque. oakland.legistar.com/LegislationDet…

Richmond City Council vote 7/1/2025 on "Resolution Urging Congress to Assert its Constitutional Authority and Prevent Future Unauthorized Military Action Against Iran." pub-richmond.escribemeetings.com/Meeting.aspx?I… Item U.2.a

Davis City Council 7/1/2025 to discuss Planning Commission’s request to "undertake research and discussion regarding the City’s annexation of the UC Davis campus." Staff recommendation: don't do it. documents.cityofdavis.org/Media/Default/… Campus is in unincorporated Yolo County & Solano County.

Imperial Irrigation District vote 7/1/2025 on resolution "Opposing the Expansion of Solar Development on Farmland." iid.com/home/showpubli… Action Item 1 "displacing agricultural operations and eliminating irreplaceable arable land"

There's a new interstellar comet in the neighborhood! Known as 3I/ATLAS, this comet poses no threat to Earth – but it does provide a rare opportunity to study an object that originated outside of our solar system: science.nasa.gov/blogs/planetar…

Oxnard City Council vote 7/15/2025 to prohibit sale or distribution of regular & flavored nitrous oxide. oxnardca.portal.civicclerk.com/event/5385/fil… Item M3 35 city citations in past 24 months for possessing nitrous oxide for purposes of intoxication or for being intoxicated under nitrous oxide.

That's quite a list of lawsuits that the City of Vallejo is involved with right now. vallejoca.portal.civicclerk.com/event/7540/fil… Hopefully none of them will bring the city back into Chapter 9 bankruptcy again.