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Convincing CA voters on ballot props

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Wednesday, October 30, 2024

An attendee browses through a voter guide at an event co-hosted by CalMatters and India Currents at Shosha Restaurant in Sunnyvale on Oct. 25, 2024. Photo by Manuel Orbegozo for CalMatters In the political world, there has been a lot of discussion lately about newspaper endorsements — or non-endorsements — and whether they matter for voters. They don’t for those who pick candidates based on party. But can they influence voters on ballot propositions? CalMatters politics intern Jenna Peterson looks at where California’s six leading newspaper editorial boards landed on the 10 propositions on the November ballot. The editorial boards all supported Prop. 3 to enshrine same-sex marriage in the state constitution, and opposed Prop. 33 to enable local governments to expand rent control. Two boards stood alone on two measures: The Southern California News Group was the only one to endorse Prop. 34, which targets a sponsor of rent control measures, while the Sacramento Bee was the lone supporter of Prop. 35 to lock in revenue from a health care plan tax for Medi-Cal patients. Read more about this election’s newspaper endorsements (including our handy chart) in Jenna’s story. In other election news: Prop. 6: The constitutional amendment to limit forced prison labor is flailing in the polls and supporters are running out of time. So they’re pulling out all the stops with a series of events featuring different groups of backers: On Tuesday criminal justice reform advocates, local elected officials and Democratic Assemblymember Liz Ortega of Hayward rallied in Oakland to focus on Prop. 6’s potential impact on rehabilitation and the Latino community. And in Los Angeles today, women, including U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters, plan to discuss how the measure will help female inmates. Ballot titles: Every election, there are complaints that the proposition titles are too slanted or just too confusing. But the 10 on California’s ballot are slightly less complicated than the national average, according to a “readability” study from Ballotpedia. California’s props are written at a college reading level, while the average is one grade level higher. And Prop. 32, to increase the minimum wage, had one of the three shortest titles of 159 ballot measures in 41 states. In case you were wondering, the ballot measure with the highest grade level is a $25 million bond issue in Maine and the lowest is a Florida constitutional amendment for the right to hunt and fish. Mail ballots: The U.S. Postal Service is out with a statement that says it’s confident that extra measures will guarantee that ballots arrive in time, and that the performance this year will be at least equal to 2020, when 98% were delivered within three days and 99.7% within five days. Still, the postal service is urging voters to mail ballots before Election Day and at least a week before they’re due in election offices. Reminder: In California, ballots that are postmarked by Nov. 5 and arrive by Nov. 12 will still be counted. The Secretary of State’s office said Tuesday that more than 5 million California voters have signed up to track their ballots. VotingMatters: CalMatters has a new local lookup tool to find out what you’ll be voting on for the November election. We’re also hosting a series of public events across California. The next ones are today at the Belmont and East Palo Alto libraries. Sign up here. There are more ways to read our Voter Guide, including fully translated versions in Chinese and in Korean, as well as in Spanish. Learn about the propositions on TikTok and Instagram. And keep up with CalMatters coverage by signing up for 2024 election emails. Focus on Inland Empire: Each Wednesday, CalMatters Inland Empire reporter Deborah Brennan surveys the big stories from that part of California. Read her newsletter and sign up here to receive it. Other Stories You Should Know GOP plays the wealth card State Sen. Brian Jones at a Senate Appropriations Committee session at the state Capitol in Sacramento on Sept. 1, 2023. Photo by Rahul Lal for CalMatters In their latest attempt to stop a potential gas price hike, Republican legislators are calling out the apparent wealth of members and leaders of the California Air Resources Board. On Nov. 8 the board — 12 of 16 members appointed by the governor — is poised to vote on proposed updates to California’s low-carbon fuel standards, which seek to reduce transportation emissions and air pollution, but will also likely lead to an increase in gas prices. Citing information from publicly available economic interest statements, which elected officials and public employees are required to submit, GOP state Senate leader Brian Jones of San Diego said Tuesday that 10 of the 14 voting members are “considerably wealthier than the average Californian,” and that the board’s executive officer, Steve Cliff, “is a millionaire.” Jones added that Gov. Gavin Newsom and board members can easily afford gas should prices rise. Jones, in a press release: “Should we really be surprised they look down on the struggling middle class and working poor? Their ‘we know what’s best for you’ attitude is infuriating for hardworking Californians who are already scraping by just to fill their tanks at current prices, let alone after this new hike.” A spokesperson for the resource board told CalMatters that six board members aren’t compensated by the state and two receive less than $60,000 per year. The board also issued a statement arguing that its mission focuses on “environmental injustices in overburdened communities.” The statement: “The amended proposal is estimated to save Californians by increasing options for consumers while protecting public health and saving residents $5 billion in health costs by reducing the impacts of pollution.” And in case you’re wondering: Jones’ $147,446 annual salary as a legislative leader is about $52,000 more than the median household income in California. His own economic interest form also indicates Jones received between $1,000 to $10,000 last year in income as a partner of an interior decorating business. Look up other legislators on the Fair Political Practices Commission’s site. Are workers safe from bird flu? Raul (Che) Pedroza Cedillo milks cows at Frank Konyn Dairy Inc. in Escondido on April 16, 2020. Photo by Ariana Drehsler, AFP via Getty Images Two years since bird flu hit California poultry farms, the virus’ new target, cattle, poses a threat to dairy farmers and workers, writes CalMatters health reporter Kristen Hwang. Since August, there have been 178 confirmed bird flu cases at California dairies. In Tulare County, the nation’s biggest milk producer, the state’s first human cases were reported in early October. To date, California has reported 16 human cases of bird flu — nearly all of the country’s cattle-to-human transmissions. So far, no workers have been hospitalized; they have reported flu-like symptoms and pink eye. Local health departments and farms have distributed more than 1 million pieces of personal protective equipment. But worker advocates say California isn’t doing enough to protect dairy workers. Only 39 people have been tested for the bird flu strain infecting cattle, according to the state’s public health department. One other wrinkle: A spokesperson for the United Farm Workers union said workers often avoid testing because they can’t afford the 10-day isolation period with no pay if they are positive. Learn more about how bird flu is impacting dairy farms in Kristen’s story. In other health news: Attorney General Rob Bonta has reached a temporary agreement with a Catholic hospital in Eureka that allegedly refused to provide an emergency abortion, Kristen reports. Providence St. Joseph Hospital agrees to comply with a state law banning hospitals from denying emergency care. And lastly: Community land trusts Laurel Lamont, the founder of the housing organization Upward Community, in front of the apartment complex where she resides in Temecula on Oct. 11, 2024. Photo by Kristian Carreon for CalMatters Community land trusts are mushrooming across California as a way to preserve affordable housing, despite a state fund not getting a dime out the door. Find out about a program in Temecula from CalMatters Inland Empire reporter Deborah Brennan. California Voices CalMatters columnist Dan Walters: The California Air Resources Board’s vote on low-carbon fuel rules is going to be highly contentious given the complexities, uncertainties and anxieties surrounding gas prices. Two views on California biofuel rules: The state must proceed with the rule changes — otherwise dairy farmers could leave the state, writes Sal Rodriguez, a dairy farm manager in Fresno County. The proposed changes will burden drivers and subsidize questionable types of fuel, writes Danny Cullenward, a senior fellow at the University of Pennsylvania’s Kleinman Center for Energy Policy. Other things worth your time: Some stories may require a subscription to read. Californians head to NV and AZ to knock on doors for Harris // Los Angeles Times Newsom announces $830M in homelessness spending — with strings // KQED Crush of spending in CA, NY is political penance for Democrats // Politico Billionaire VC unloads on Musk and Trump at SF tech conference // The San Francisco Standard LA County wants to crack down on corruption. Is it worth $21M? // Los Angeles Times Egging incident haunts CA state Assembly candidate // Politico USAA raises home insurance rates for 265,000 Californians // San Francisco Chronicle World’s largest wildlife crossing spans CA freeway // Los Angeles Times Tech companies trim hundreds more Bay Area jobs, yet layoff pace slows // The Mercury News SF mayoral hopeful Lurie turns family fortune into political gold // The San Francisco Standard Feds to spend $42M to buy out Palos Verdes landslide homes // Los Angeles Times

In the political world, there has been a lot of discussion lately about newspaper endorsements — or non-endorsements — and whether they matter for voters. They don’t for those who pick candidates based on party. But can they influence voters on ballot propositions? CalMatters politics intern Jenna Peterson looks at where California’s six leading newspaper […]

A close-up view of a person's hands as they flip through a booklet with information on ballot propositions while they hold a pen with their right hand.

In the political world, there has been a lot of discussion lately about newspaper endorsements — or non-endorsements — and whether they matter for voters.

They don’t for those who pick candidates based on party. But can they influence voters on ballot propositions?

CalMatters politics intern Jenna Peterson looks at where California’s six leading newspaper editorial boards landed on the 10 propositions on the November ballot. The editorial boards all supported Prop. 3 to enshrine same-sex marriage in the state constitution, and opposed Prop. 33 to enable local governments to expand rent control.

Two boards stood alone on two measures: The Southern California News Group was the only one to endorse Prop. 34, which targets a sponsor of rent control measures, while the Sacramento Bee was the lone supporter of Prop. 35 to lock in revenue from a health care plan tax for Medi-Cal patients.

Read more about this election’s newspaper endorsements (including our handy chart) in Jenna’s story.

In other election news:

Prop. 6: The constitutional amendment to limit forced prison labor is flailing in the polls and supporters are running out of time. So they’re pulling out all the stops with a series of events featuring different groups of backers: On Tuesday criminal justice reform advocates, local elected officials and Democratic Assemblymember Liz Ortega of Hayward rallied in Oakland to focus on Prop. 6’s potential impact on rehabilitation and the Latino community. And in Los Angeles today, women, including U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters, plan to discuss how the measure will help female inmates.

Ballot titles: Every election, there are complaints that the proposition titles are too slanted or just too confusing. But the 10 on California’s ballot are slightly less complicated than the national average, according to a “readability” study from Ballotpedia. California’s props are written at a college reading level, while the average is one grade level higher. And Prop. 32, to increase the minimum wage, had one of the three shortest titles of 159 ballot measures in 41 states. In case you were wondering, the ballot measure with the highest grade level is a $25 million bond issue in Maine and the lowest is a Florida constitutional amendment for the right to hunt and fish.

Mail ballots: The U.S. Postal Service is out with a statement that says it’s confident that extra measures will guarantee that ballots arrive in time, and that the performance this year will be at least equal to 2020, when 98% were delivered within three days and 99.7% within five days. Still, the postal service is urging voters to mail ballots before Election Day and at least a week before they’re due in election offices. Reminder: In California, ballots that are postmarked by Nov. 5 and arrive by Nov. 12 will still be counted. The Secretary of State’s office said Tuesday that more than 5 million California voters have signed up to track their ballots.

VotingMatters: CalMatters has a new local lookup tool to find out what you’ll be voting on for the November election. We’re also hosting a series of public events across California. The next ones are today at the Belmont and East Palo Alto libraries. Sign up here. There are more ways to read our Voter Guide, including fully translated versions in Chinese and in Korean, as well as in Spanish. Learn about the propositions on TikTok and Instagram. And keep up with CalMatters coverage by signing up for 2024 election emails.

Focus on Inland Empire: Each Wednesday, CalMatters Inland Empire reporter Deborah Brennan surveys the big stories from that part of California. Read her newsletter and sign up here to receive it.

GOP plays the wealth card

A lawmaker wearing a grey suit sits on a red chair behind a dais while looking to his right during a session at the state Capitol. — State Sen. Brian Jones at a Senate Appropriations Committee session at the state Capitol in Sacramento on Sept. 1, 2023. Photo by Rahul Lal for CalMatters

In their latest attempt to stop a potential gas price hike, Republican legislators are calling out the apparent wealth of members and leaders of the California Air Resources Board.

On Nov. 8 the board — 12 of 16 members appointed by the governor — is poised to vote on proposed updates to California’s low-carbon fuel standards, which seek to reduce transportation emissions and air pollution, but will also likely lead to an increase in gas prices.

Citing information from publicly available economic interest statements, which elected officials and public employees are required to submit, GOP state Senate leader Brian Jones of San Diego said Tuesday that 10 of the 14 voting members are “considerably wealthier than the average Californian,” and that the board’s executive officer, Steve Cliff, “is a millionaire.” Jones added that Gov. Gavin Newsom and board members can easily afford gas should prices rise.

Jones, in a press release: “Should we really be surprised they look down on the struggling middle class and working poor? Their ‘we know what’s best for you’ attitude is infuriating for hardworking Californians who are already scraping by just to fill their tanks at current prices, let alone after this new hike.”

A spokesperson for the resource board told CalMatters that six board members aren’t compensated by the state and two receive less than $60,000 per year. The board also issued a statement arguing that its mission focuses on “environmental injustices in overburdened communities.”

The statement: “The amended proposal is estimated to save Californians by increasing options for consumers while protecting public health and saving residents $5 billion in health costs by reducing the impacts of pollution.”

And in case you’re wondering: Jones’ $147,446 annual salary as a legislative leader is about $52,000 more than the median household income in California. His own economic interest form also indicates Jones received between $1,000 to $10,000 last year in income as a partner of an interior decorating business. Look up other legislators on the Fair Political Practices Commission’s site.

Are workers safe from bird flu?

A person wearing a long blue apron and red hat, stands in the middle of cow milking machines at a dairy farm. — Raul (Che) Pedroza Cedillo milks cows at Frank Konyn Dairy Inc. in Escondido on April 16, 2020. Photo by Ariana Drehsler, AFP via Getty Images

Two years since bird flu hit California poultry farms, the virus’ new target, cattle, poses a threat to dairy farmers and workers, writes CalMatters health reporter Kristen Hwang.

Since August, there have been 178 confirmed bird flu cases at California dairies. In Tulare County, the nation’s biggest milk producer, the state’s first human cases were reported in early October. To date, California has reported 16 human cases of bird flu — nearly all of the country’s cattle-to-human transmissions.

So far, no workers have been hospitalized; they have reported flu-like symptoms and pink eye. Local health departments and farms have distributed more than 1 million pieces of personal protective equipment. But worker advocates say California isn’t doing enough to protect dairy workers. Only 39 people have been tested for the bird flu strain infecting cattle, according to the state’s public health department.

One other wrinkle: A spokesperson for the United Farm Workers union said workers often avoid testing because they can’t afford the 10-day isolation period with no pay if they are positive.

Learn more about how bird flu is impacting dairy farms in Kristen’s story.

In other health news: Attorney General Rob Bonta has reached a temporary agreement with a Catholic hospital in Eureka that allegedly refused to provide an emergency abortion, Kristen reports. Providence St. Joseph Hospital agrees to comply with a state law banning hospitals from denying emergency care.

And lastly: Community land trusts

Laurel Lamont, the founder of the housing organization Upward Community, in front of the apartment complex where she resides in Temecula on Oct. 11, 2024. Photo by Kristian Carreon for CalMatters

Community land trusts are mushrooming across California as a way to preserve affordable housing, despite a state fund not getting a dime out the door. Find out about a program in Temecula from CalMatters Inland Empire reporter Deborah Brennan.

California Voices

CalMatters columnist Dan Walters: The California Air Resources Board’s vote on low-carbon fuel rules is going to be highly contentious given the complexities, uncertainties and anxieties surrounding gas prices.

Two views on California biofuel rules:

The state must proceed with the rule changes — otherwise dairy farmers could leave the state, writes Sal Rodriguez, a dairy farm manager in Fresno County.

The proposed changes will burden drivers and subsidize questionable types of fuel, writes Danny Cullenward, a senior fellow at the University of Pennsylvania’s Kleinman Center for Energy Policy.

Other things worth your time:

Some stories may require a subscription to read.

Californians head to NV and AZ to knock on doors for Harris // Los Angeles Times

Newsom announces $830M in homelessness spending — with strings // KQED

Crush of spending in CA, NY is political penance for Democrats // Politico

Billionaire VC unloads on Musk and Trump at SF tech conference // The San Francisco Standard

LA County wants to crack down on corruption. Is it worth $21M? // Los Angeles Times

Egging incident haunts CA state Assembly candidate // Politico

USAA raises home insurance rates for 265,000 Californians // San Francisco Chronicle

World’s largest wildlife crossing spans CA freeway // Los Angeles Times

Tech companies trim hundreds more Bay Area jobs, yet layoff pace slows // The Mercury News

SF mayoral hopeful Lurie turns family fortune into political gold // The San Francisco Standard

Feds to spend $42M to buy out Palos Verdes landslide homes // Los Angeles Times

Read the full story here.

Photos courtesy of

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Lights out: can we stop glow-worms and fireflies fading away?

From night walks with children to switching off streetlights and rewilding areas, naturalists are working to save Europe’s dwindling populations An hour or so after sunset, green twinkles of possibility gleam beneath the hedgerows of Westbury-sub-Mendip in Somerset. Under an orange August moon, the last female glow-worms of the season are making one final push at finding a mate.For almost 20 years, Peter Bright and other volunteers have combed the village’s shrubberies and grasslands, searching for the bioluminescent beetles as part of the UK glow-worm survey. Most years, they have counted between 100 and 150, rising to 248 in 2017.Ben Cooke, a National Trust ranger, places a glow-worm trap near Winspit Quarry in Dorset. Photograph: P Flude/Guardian Continue reading...

An hour or so after sunset, green twinkles of possibility gleam beneath the hedgerows of Westbury-sub-Mendip in Somerset. Under an orange August moon, the last female glow-worms of the season are making one final push at finding a mate.For almost 20 years, Peter Bright and other volunteers have combed the village’s shrubberies and grasslands, searching for the bioluminescent beetles as part of the UK glow-worm survey. Most years, they have counted between 100 and 150, rising to 248 in 2017.During last year’s wet summer and this year’s dry one, they found barely 50, says Bright, a retired science teacher taking a group on a late-night glow-worm walk. By August, the remaining lights are something of a lonely hearts club – many of the adult males have already died.Glow-worms and fireflies comprise about 2,200 species of bioluminescent beetles around the world, with 65 found in Europe. The UK has two, including the common glow-worm (Lampyris noctiluca) – which is not a worm and only the females truly glow – while Italy has 17 species.Across Europe, five species of glow-worm are threatened with extinction, another two are endangered, and the common glow-worm is classified as near threatened, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature.“Once, these things were much more common than they are now,” says Tim Gardiner, an entomologist. “Nobody could have realised what would happen to them.” His 18-year survey found that the numbers of L noctiluca in Essex were falling by about 3.5% a year.Similar trends have been observed in France, Germany and Spain, though the insects, which live quiet, secretive lives in the foliage, are not easy to survey accurately. “There is so much that we don’t know about fireflies,” says Ana Catalán, who researches firefly genomics at Germany’s Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich.Their vulnerability is part of a much larger story: more than 40% of insect species are in decline, according to a global review from 2019, and scientists have warned that the picture may be more dire than is already known. Ana Catalán, an evolutionary biologist, checks a global firefly collection for a DNA study at the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich’s biomedical centre, and a researcher checks his trap for fireflies “We need more data,” says Alan Stewart, an ecologist at the University of Sussex, adding: “We haven’t really got the luxury of waiting another 50 years to find out.”For glow-worms, some of the threats are clear. Hotter summers threaten the slugs and snails they feed on as larvae, while habitat loss and fragmentation have extinguished whole populations. As female glow-worms cannot fly, they are bound to spend their lives close to where they hatched, so a change as seemingly minor as a new ditch can devastate a population.Light pollution disrupts their mating displays, with artificial lights sometimes luring males away from the female’s green glow. “Street lights are a real hazard to them,” says John Tyler, a naturalist who has studied the insects for decades.These trends recur around the world. In Italy, more agricultural activity on the plains of northern Italy and in the northern Apennine mountains has been linked with declining numbers of a range of different species, according to a 2020 study published in the journal BioScience.In Spain, the abandonment of small orchards – and the lack of irrigation that follows – makes it harder for snails, glow-worms’ preferred food, to thrive. In both countries, more streetlights seem to correlate with fewer glow-worms.We realised that to protect and preserve this place, we had to make people love itSome people have attempted to take matters into their own hands. Fabio Falchi, an Italian physics professor and light-pollution expert in Mantua, Lombardy, took steps to reduce light pollution in his garden, including using motion sensors for outdoor lights and allowing it to grow wild.Now, Falchi says: “Every May, our lawn comes alive with their tiny flickers. It’s beautiful to watch them move.” Their cat, he adds, is mesmerised.Others have proposed more drastic steps. Since 2020, Pete Cooper, an ecologist and species-reintroduction specialist in Bristol, has bred glow-worms in captivity, with a view to re-establishing healthy populations in places where they have not been seen for decades.As part of a partnership between Restore, an ecological restoration business, and the Wildwood Trust, a conservation organisation with parks in Kent and Devon, many of these insects will be reintroduced to Nosterfield nature reserve, near Ripon in North Yorkshire.But it will take years to determine the success of their efforts – glow-worms have a two-year life cycle – and some optimism is involved, Cooper says. “That’s the thing with glow-worm reintroduction – it’s not as simple as you’d think.”Tyler says: “We don’t know what habitat is good for them, in any detail. You can find sites that look ideal, but if you try to introduce or reintroduce glow-worms, you can never guarantee that they’ll take.”Glow-worm enthusiasts are divided on reintroduction efforts, which they worry may distract from preserving existing populations or embolden developers to build in ancient countryside.“Before you reintroduce something, you really need to know why it disappeared in the first place,” says Stewart. “Otherwise, they’re not going to survive.”Rewilding can help bolster the insects in riverside areas where they already thrive, says Gardiner. “You need to manage the habitats quite well,” he says. “The corridors between them have disappeared in the last 70 years – hedgerows removed, meadows ploughed up.”Areas that have been rewilded sometimes see glow-worm populations boom. In the early 1990s, a group of volunteers in the Italian village of Binasco, near Milan, began reclaiming and revitalising a plot of land between the highway and a local sports pitch.After a few years, they noticed more and more fireflies, says Ruggero Rognoni, a member of the local environmental association.“We realised that to protect and preserve this place, we had to make people love it,” Rognoni says.A first step was inviting local children to come for night walks to see the fireflies with their parents, a tradition that has continued. “That’s how we’ve managed to protect it,” he says.Such walks exist around the world and are growing in popularity. On the glow-worm walk in Westbury, locals linger along country paths, as a barn owl screeches overhead. Over a couple of hours, careful eyes spot almost a dozen female glow-worms waiting at ankle-height.The average glow-worm female lays 100 to 150 eggs – it’s a numbers’ game. You might have a brilliant year, then it might suddenly crashAmanda Bennett, 48, gently pulls a female from the grass and places it on her hand, transfixed by the green glow that spreads across her fingers. “I can’t believe I’ve never seen one before,” she says.Glow-worms were once a far more common sight, especially for people strolling on summer nights.Tyler was first introduced to them about 50 years ago, in a family friend’s garden. “I didn’t even know they were real,” he says.That night, Tyler saw more than he has on any single occasion since. “It was like looking down on a village,” he adds. “All these dots of light.”They have an unusual capacity to captivate people. John Horne, an amateur naturalist, first discovered them in his Hampshire garden about 25 years ago.After observing them for years, including discovering Phosphaenus hemipterus, a rarer species, Horne is more optimistic about their prospects than some. “The average glow-worm female lays 100 to 150 eggs – it’s a numbers’ game,” he says. “You might have a brilliant year, and then it might suddenly crash.”Where many species find it harder to capture the imagination, glow-worms can be a “gateway drug”, as Cooper puts it, for connecting with nature.Tyler says: “If it has to start with something that glows out of its bottom, then so be it.”Find more age of extinction coverage here, and follow the biodiversity reporters Phoebe Weston and Patrick Greenfield in the Guardian app for more nature coverage

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Opinion: Make Oregon a magnet for opportunity

The warning signs of an economy under pressure are all around, from mass layoffs to companies moving out of state, writes Karla S. Chambers, co-founder and co-owner of Stahlbush Island Farms. The state must focus on how to reduce barriers, grow the economy and help businesses stay competitive.

Karla S. ChambersFor The Oregonian/OregonLiveChambers is co-founder and co-owner of Stahlbush Island Farms, Inc. in Corvallis. She also served on the Federal Reserve Boards of San Francisco and Portland and serves on the Oregon State University Board of Trustees. Oregon’s job market is flashing red warning lights – and the numbers tell a troubling story. Mass layoff filings now rival or exceed levels seen during the 2008–2009 housing crash, as The Oregonian/OregonLive recently reported, (“Oregon mass layoffs approach Great Recession levels,” Sept. 14.) State data show nearly 25,000 net job losses over the past year, with layoffs cutting deep into manufacturing and technology. Intel, Nike, ESS Tech, Fred Meyer, Roseburg Forest Products and JELD-WEN are among major employers announcing reductions. In ESS Tech’s case, the company closed altogether. Job losses aren’t the only concern. The Tax Foundation ranked Oregon 35th in the nation for tax competitiveness, falling from 33rd last year. Oregon ranks near last in manufacturing growth according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics and seventh nationally for regulatory burden, according to George Mason University. Oregon’s business friendliness ranks 47th, according to CNBC, and we’re 43rd for cost of doing business.Meanwhile, the main sectors adding jobs are health care and government — and even hospitals report operating losses under rising costs and staffing mandates. When employment depends on government and health care instead of private-sector innovation, the warning lights are flashing. Oregon depends on personal income taxes for 81% of the general fund. To fund government and support schools, health care, environmental stewardship and the services we all value, the state needs a stable, growing private sector. But Oregon is making it harder for private businesses to flourish. Business has survived COVID-19, a spike in inflation, higher interest rates and tariffs. State and local governments are trying to solve their rising costs by passing on higher taxes, fees, fines, annual permit costs – to business – all while making compliance more complicated. We are watching many businesses leave the state; expand their operations elsewhere; reduce staff or close. Locally, our water bill has eight additional taxes and fees that have nothing to do with water, including charges for street maintenance, transit, urban forestry and sidewalk maintenance. Meeting payroll means ensuring compliance with new minimum wage rates, new overtime rules, new taxes based on payroll and family-leave program taxes. The state’s transportation bill has new gas taxes, vehicle registration fees, mileage charges and more. It is not any one cost but the total burden that is making Oregon uncompetitive. Neighboring states continue to grow jobs and attract employers – including those that used to call Oregon home. Dutch Bros’ headquarters has relocated to Arizona, a state which recently crowed about the billions in new investment anticipated from overseas companies and expansions of existing employers.Oregon, by contrast, is watching the Oregon forest products industry expand billions into North and South Carolina; our agricultural firms expand into Idaho; food processing plants like Pacific Foods closing its Tualatin facility and moving manufacturing out-of-state; and a record number of job losses in high tech and manufacturing. When we lose a manufacturing business, we lose family-wage jobs, innovation and the broad economic impact. These companies have many employees, vendors and customers and add value to basic commodities, creating new products through innovation.Oregon can change course, but it will take courage and accountability. We must:Reduce regulatory burdens that discourage investment. That means taking a sharper look at the collective fees and taxes the state puts on businesses and reducing them. Streamline state government to improve efficiency: For example, our food processing company must go through the industry’s most rigorous food safety audits, which take three or four days compared to cursory one-day audits conducted by state agencies. The state can reduce the time and expense for businesses by accepting the certification provided by these higher-intensity audits rather than insisting on an Oregon-specific one. Other industries have similar examples of redundant requirements. Reignite innovation by linking business, universities, and community colleges in public-private partnerships. Between Silicon Valley and Seattle lies a natural home for advanced manufacturing and sustainable technology. The University of Oregon and Oregon State University help create many new business start-ups. Our culture of innovation is strong, however we do not retain these new businesses due to our costly business policies. Fix our business climate, put Business Oregon into a public/private partnership and reinvigorate recruitment.We have everything we need to thrive — forests, farmland, clean water, renewable energy, world-class universities and a skilled workforce. What we lack is leadership that rewards productivity and entrepreneurship rather than layering on cost and complexity. Oregonians know how to innovate – Corvallis once had the highest patent rates per capita, powered by research and private collaboration. That same spirit can rebuild our economy, if we summon the will to lead again. Where will our children and grandchildren build their futures? If we want them to stay in Oregon, we must make this state a magnet for opportunity — not regulation.Share your opinion Submit your essay of 600-700 words on a highly topical issue or a theme of particular relevance to the Pacific Northwest, Oregon and the Portland area to commentary@oregonian.com. No attachments, please. Please include your email and phone number for verification. If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.

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How Promote Giving, a New Investment Model, Will Raise Millions for Charities

Joel Holsinger, a partner at Ares Management Corp., on Wednesday launched Promote Giving, an initiative encouraging investment managers to donate a portion of their fees to charity

The first foreign trip Joel Holsinger took in 2019 after joining the board of directors at the global health nonprofit PATH convinced him that he needed to do more to raise money for charities.The investment manager, who is now also a partner and co-head of alternative credit at Ares Management Corp., saw firsthand how a tuberculosis prevention program was helping residents of Dharavi, India's largest slum. He also saw that the main hurdle to expanding the program’s success was simply a lack of funding.“I wanted to do something that has purpose,” Holsinger told The Associated Press. “I wanted a charitable tie-in to whatever I do.”Shortly after returning from India, Holsinger created a new line of investment funds where Ares Management would donate at least 5% of its performance fee, also known as the “promote,” to charities. The first two funds of the resulting Pathfinder family of funds alone have raised more than $10 billion in investments and, as of June, pledged more than $40 million to charity.Holsinger wanted to expand the model further. On Wednesday, he announced Promote Giving, a new initiative to encourage other investment managers to use the model, which launches with funds from nine firms, including Ares Management, Pantheon and Pretium. The funds that are now part of Promote Giving represent about $35 billion in assets and could result in charitable donations of up to $250 million over the next 10 years.Unlike broader models like ESG investing, where environmental, social and governance factors are taken into account when making business decisions, or impact investing, where investors seek a social return along with a financial one, Promote Giving seeks to maximize the return on investment, Holsinger said. The donation only comes after investors receive their promised return and only from the manager's fees. “We’re not doing anything that looks at lower returns,” Holsinger said. “It’s basically just a dual mandate: If we do good on returns for our institutional investors, we will also drive returns that go directly to charity.”Charities, especially those who do international work, are in the midst of a difficult funding landscape. The dismantling of the U.S. Agency for International Development and massive cuts to foreign aid this year have affected nearly all nonprofits in some way. Those nonprofits who don't normally receive funding from the U.S. government still face increased competition for grants from organizations who saw their funding cut.Kammerle Schneider, PATH’s chief global health programs officer, said this year has shown how fragile public health systems are and has reinforced the need for “agile catalytic capital” that Promote Giving could provide.“There is nothing that is going to replace U.S. government funding,” said Schneider, adding that the launch of Promote Giving offers hope that new private donors may step in to help offer solutions to specific public health problems. “I think it comes at a time where we really need to look at the overall architecture of how we’re doing this and how we could be doing it better with less.”Sal Khan, founder and CEO of Khan Academy, which offers free learning resources for teachers and students, says the structure of Promote Giving could provide nonprofits stable income over several years that would allow them to spend less time fundraising and more time on their charitable work. “It's actually been hard for us to raise the philanthropy needed for us to have the maximum impact globally,” said Khan. While Khan Academy has the knowledge base to expand rapidly around the world and numerous countries have shown interest, Khan said the nonprofit lacks enough resources to do the expensive work of software development, localization and building infrastructure in every country.Khan hopes Promote Giving can grow into a major funder that could help with those costs. "We would be able to build that infrastructure so that we can literally educate anyone in the world,” he said.Holsinger hopes for that kind of growth as well. He envisions investment managers signing on to Promote Giving the way billionaires pledge to give away half their wealth through the Giving Pledge and he hopes other industries will develop their own mechanisms to make charitable donations part of their business models. Kate Stobbe, director of corporate insights at Chief Executives for Corporate Purpose, a coalition that advises companies on sustainability and corporate responsibility issues, said their research shows that companies that establish mission statements that include reasons for existing beyond simply profit generation have higher revenue growth and provide a higher return on investment.Having a common purpose increases workers' engagement and productivity, while also helping companies with recruitment and retention, said Stobbe, who said CECP will release a report that documents those findings based on 20 years of data later this week. “Having initiatives around corporate purpose help employees feel a connection to something bigger,” she said. "It really does contribute to that bottom line.”That kind of win-win is what Holsinger hopes to create with Promote Giving. He said many of the world's problems don't lack solutions. They lack enough capital to pay for the solutions.“We just need to drive more capital to these nonprofits and to these charities that are doing amazing work every day,” he said. “We're trying to build that model that drives impact through charitable dollars.”Associated Press coverage of philanthropy and nonprofits receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content. For all of AP’s philanthropy coverage, visit https://apnews.com/hub/philanthropy.Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.Photos You Should See – Oct. 2025

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EU's Von Der Leyen Says Private Sector Deals Could Unlock 4 Billion Euros for Western Balkans

TIRANA (Reuters) -European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Monday private sector deals signed or in the pipeline could unlock...

TIRANA (Reuters) -European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Monday private sector deals signed or in the pipeline could unlock about 4 billion euros ($4.63 billion) in new investment as part of an EU growth plan for the Western Balkans region.During a summit in the Albanian capital Tirana between the EU and the Western Balkans countries, Von der Leyen invited investors to take part in the growth plan that aims to double the size of the region's economies in the next decade.She said that 10 important business deals will be signed in Tirana on Monday, and 24 other potential investments will be discussed on Tuesday."Together they could bring more than 4 billion euros in new investments in the region," Von der Leyen said at the summit. "The time to invest in the Western Balkans is now."The EU has pledged 6 billion euros to help the six Western Balkans nations form a regional common market and join the European common market in areas such as free movement of goods and services, transport and energy.But in order for payments to be made, Albania, Bosnia, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia must implement reforms and resolve outstanding issues with their neighbours.Von der Leyen identified artificial intelligence, clean energy and industrial value chains as three strategic sectors that would integrate local industries into EU supply chains.She cautioned that regulatory integration and industrial alliances are key to this effort.The six countries were promised EU membership years ago but the accession process has slowed to a crawl.The delay is partly due to reluctance among the EU's 27 members and a lack of reforms required to meet EU standards - including those concerning the economy, judiciary, legal systems, environmental protection and media freedoms.Serbia and Montenegro were the first in the region to launch EU membership talks, and Albania and North Macedonia began talks with Brussels in 2022. Bosnia and Kosovo lag far behind.(Reporting by Daria Sito-SucicEditing by Ros Russell)Copyright 2025 Thomson Reuters.Photos You Should See – Oct. 2025

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Energy

Offshore oil plan was 'primed for cash flow,' but then it hit California regulators

A Texas company wants to drill for oil off Santa Barbara County's coast. Experts say its path to oil sales is looking more and more challenging.

When a Texas oil company first announced controversial plans to reactivate three drilling rigs off the coast of Santa Barbara County, investor presentations boasted that the venture had “massive resource potential” and was “primed for cash flow generation.” But now, less than two years later, mounting legal setbacks and regulatory issues are casting increasing doubt on the project’s future.Most recently, the California attorney general filed suit against Houston-based Sable Offshore Corp., accusing it of repeatedly putting “profits over environmental protections.” The lawsuit, filed last week in Santa Barbara County Superor Court, accuses Sable of continually failing to follow state laws and regulations intended to protect water resources. Sable, the lawsuit claims, “was at best misinformed, incompetent and incorrect” when it came to understanding and adhering to the California Water Code. “At worst, Sable was simply bamboozling the Regional Water Board to meet a critical deadline,” according to the lawsuit.The action comes less than a month after the Santa Barbara County district attorney’s office filed criminal charges against the company, accusing it of knowingly violating state environmental laws while working on repairs to oil pipelines that have sat idle since a major spill in 2015. The company also faces legal challenges from the California Coastal Commission, environmental groups and even its own investors. These developments now threaten the company’s ability to push forward on what has become an increasingly expensive and complicated project, according to some experts.Clark Williams-Derry, an analyst for the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis, said there are still ways Sable could get off the ground and begin oil sales, but the repeated setbacks have become what he called “cumulative risk” for investors, who are key to funding the restart. “Sable is at risk of burning through its cash, and lenders are going to have to make a decision about whether or not this is a good investment,” Williams-Derry said. Ongoing pushback from the public, the state and in lawsuits makes that increasingly a hard argument to make, he said. Sable, however, said it remains steadfast in its goal of reactivating the Santa Ynez Unit — a complex of three offshore platforms, onshore processing facilities and connecting pipelines. The unit was shuttered by a different company a decade ago after a corroded section of pipeline ruptured near Refugio State Beach, creating one of the state’s worst oil spills. The company denies that it has broken any laws and insists that it has followed all necessary regulations. Recently, however, company officials have promoted a new restart plan that could avoid California oversight. Company officials say the new plan would keep the project entirely within federal waters — pivoting away from using the contentious pipelines and from what company officials called California’s “crumbling energy complex.”Jim Flores, the company’s chief executive, said Sable is working with the Trump administration’s National Energy Dominance Council on the plan to use an offshore storage and treatment vessel to transport crude from its offshore wells instead of the pipeline system. Although the company reports that pipeline repairs are complete, the lines have not yet been approved for restart by state regulators. “California has to make a decision soon on the pipeline before Sable signs an agreement for the [offshore vessel] and goes all in on the offshore federal-only option,” Flores said in a statement. The company acknowledges that transporting oil by ship instead of pipeline would dramatically extend the company’s timeline and increase its costs. In a June Securities and Exchange Commission report, Sable said there was “substantial doubt ... about the company’s ability to continue,” given ongoing negative cash flow and stalled regulatory approvals. However, the company says it continues to seek approvals to restart the pipelines from the California Office of the State Fire Marshal. The state fire marshal has said the plans remain under review, but the office has made clear that the pipelines will be approved for operation only “once all compliance and safety requirements, including ... approvals from other state, federal and local agencies, are met.”Deborah Sivas, a professor of environmental law at Stanford’s Law School, said it’s getting harder to see a successful path forward for Sable.“It’s pretty rare that an entity would have all these agencies lined up concerned about their impacts,” Sivas said of state regulators. “These agencies don’t very lightly go to litigation or enforcement actions. ... and the public is strongly against offshore drilling. So those are a whole bunch of reasons that I think are going to be hard obstacles for that company.”But even if Sable can pivot to federal-only oversight under a friendly Trump administration, Williams-Derry said there’s no clear-cut path. “This is an environment where some of the best, most profitable oil companies in the U.S. have cut drilling this year because profits are too low,” Williams-Derry said. Sable has enough money in the bank right now to have a “little bit of running room,” he said, “...but you can imagine that [investors] are going to start running out of patience.”The new lawsuit filed by the California attorney general lays out a year’s worth of instances in which Sable either ignored or defied the California Water Code during the firm’s pipeline repair work. The attorney general’s office called Sable’s evasion of regulatory oversight “egregious,” warranting “substantial penalties.” It’s not immediately clear how much will be demanded, but violations of the California Water Code are subject to a civil liability of up to $5,000 for each day a violation occurs. Despite repeated reminders and warnings from the California Regional Water Quality Control Board, Central Coast region, Sable did not comply with the water code, preventing the board “from assuring best management practices ... to avoid, minimize and mitigate impacts to water quality,” the lawsuit said. “No corporation should gain a business advantage by ignoring the law and harming the environment,” Jane Gray, chair of the Central Coast Water Board, said in a statement. “Entities that discharge waste are required to obtain permits from the state to protect water quality. Sable Offshore Corp. is no different.”The case comes months after the California Coastal Commission similarly found that Sable failed to adhere to the state’s Coastal Act despite repeated warnings and fined the company $18 million.

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Waste

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