Without the half-percent sales tax increase, which would generate an estimated $9 million per year for the city's general fund if voters approve it this November, Berkeley could face deeper cuts including shuttering a fire station, laying off police officers and reducing hours at city pools and recreation centers.
Senate Bill 1167 has received the most favorable press, based on the understanding that the e-bike problem is actually an e-moto problem. The ruckus and ER visits are not caused by pedal-assist class 1 and 3 e-bikes, but by throttle devices that often fail to cut off at 20 mph, leading to safety concerns.
The accusations against Swalwell are serious, and range from abuse of power to rape. One woman, Lonna Drewes, says Swalwell drugged her before raping her in a California hotel room.
Their agreement is aimed at deepening existing cooperation between the UK and California and creates a new framework to scale up clean energy technologies and enhance ties between businesses and researchers in Britain and the US state, which is effectively the world's fourth largest global economy. The UK and California will also share practical expertise on protecting biodiversity and building resilience amid extreme weather, Miliband's department announced on Monday.
The state budget's chronic gaps between income and outgo $125 billion over the last few years, according to the Legislature's fiscal advisor have left Gov. Gavin Newsom and legislators scrambling for ways to clean up the state's finances. Newsom has so far shunned new taxes to close the gap, even trying to sidetrack a tax on the assets of billionaires that may appear on the November ballot.