Permitting chaos raises energy bills and blocks clean power. @repscottepeters.bsky.social CERTAIN Act pushes clear timelines and durable decisions.
Done right, certainty should speed clean energy and housing while protecting communities.
scottpeters.house.gov/2026/2/what-...
San Diego's mayor promised austerity to fix a $300M+ deficit. Balboa Park parking was supposed to raise $15.5M—it'll bring $4M bc of delays.
Cities can't income-tax under California law, and Prop 13 caps property tax growth. Without structural reform, this cycle repeats forever.
California could slash a fifth of its emissions by getting factories off fossil gas.
But utilities charge manufacturers 19¢/kWh plus peak penalties, making gas cheaper than solar.
New rates would flip this, charging less during sunny hours.
www.canarymedia.com/articles/cle...
Natural gas leaks methane before it's ever burned — and methane heats the planet 80x faster than CO2.
The EU now requires exporters to prove their gas is clean or lose access to its market. U.S. lawmakers are backing that rule.
www.catf.us/2026/02/u-s-...
Del Mar has a state deadline to add affordable housing. The fairgrounds has the land. But the board isn't sure it wants to build — and the clock is running out on families who need homes.
www.sandiegouniontribune.com/2026/02/15/f...
San Diego's planning director says density bonus homes aren't concentrating poverty—50% go to high-resource areas.
But the real issue she flags matters more: single-family zoning in wealthier areas blocks affordable housing entirely.
www.sandiegouniontribune.com/2026/01/20/o...
Demand for green energy workers is growing twice as fast as the supply of trained people to fill those jobs. This is a workforce crisis.
Countries that train workers now will own the economy that follows.
www.wri.org/insights/cli...
Tiny homes could add affordable housing fast and cheaply.
But Vista can't agree on where to allow them, how to classify them, or whether they'll be used for other purposes.
thecoastnews.com/vista-weighs...
San Diego Dems may be souring on Ammar Campa-Najjar (0-3 in races since 2018) and backing Marni von Wilpert to challenge Rep. Issa.
The shift: progressives remember Campa-Najjar tacking right in 2020, while von Wilpert touts her record of beating a Republican.
timesofsandiego.com/politics/202...
Croplands produce nearly 5% of global emissions — as much as all of global shipping. The answer isn't replacing rice or corn.
It's smarter water and fertilizer management that cuts emissions without cutting food supply.
www.wri.org/insights/cli...
New analysis: subdividing just 1.4% of San Diego's single-family lots into townhomes could generate $800M/year for schools, $430M for city.
That's 16x the district's deficit—funded by property taxes on homes 42% cheaper than current stock.
voiceofsandiego.org/2026/01/28/s...
AI replicated a political science paper in an hour with minor errors—impressive vibecoding!
But 100X more narrow studies doesn't mean 100X more insight.
We risk drowning in statistically significant noise while missing questions that matter.
www.niskanencenter.org/can-ai-vibe-...
Didn't know it existed!
05.03.2026 01:22 — 👍 2 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
I had no idea that Howard Jarvis, the founder of the anti-tax org behind Prop 13, was the leader of a landlord lobby group in LA.
His whole goal was to cut taxes for property owners, but he sold Prop 13 as a way to protect grandma.
More people are choosing to rent single-family houses long-term, not because they can't buy, but because they genuinely prefer it.
www.npr.org/2026/03/04/n...
Yes, Huntington Beach has not yet complied with state law, but many cities still cite the city's failures as a reason to approve housing.
Here is Mission Viejo approving a six-story, 418-home project bc they see HB's lawsuits as an expensive failure.
voiceofoc.org/2026/03/six-...
OUT: evidence-based reforms
IN: vibes-based reforms
Merged Congress bill drops HUD zoning scorecards & transit-area density bonuses, tools meant to pressure cities to allow more homes.
Adds a ban on investment funds owning 350+ single-family homes & a unrelated Fed digital currency freeze to 2030.
www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/finan...
Dream come true, I'm on KPBS as a bus rider from Golden Hill! Proud to stand by my beloved route 2 in my favorite neighborhood in the city and tell everyone they should ditch their dumb cars
www.kpbs.org/news/economy...
SANDAG awarded $55M for transit-oriented projects across San Diego—the biggest funding cycle in 17 years.
Money goes to complete streets, pedestrian paths, and climate plans in 14 cities.
thecoastnews.com/sandag-award...
Rich countries are slashing climate aid by $68B while demanding poor countries mobilize 16x more private capital. The math doesn't work.
Real progress requires wealthy polluters to pay their climate debts
www.wri.org/technical-pe...
Road deaths dropped 8.2% thanks to proven street designs: protected bike lanes, traffic calming, safer crosswalks. Orlando cut serious crashes 40%.
Now feds are blocking these interventions despite their own data showing they work.
www.smartgrowthamerica.org/knowledge-hu...
AB 1406 would raise caps on new-home deposits — reducing lender risk, lowering construction costs, making homeownership more achievable.
@SPUR-urbanist.bsky.social hosts CA YIMBY's @muhammadspeaks.bsky.social on the research behind it.
Free. Tue Mar 10, 12–1.
www.spur.org/events/2026-...
Congress's new housing bill includes a reward/loss of funding based on housing supply growth.
Good idea, but Urban Institute notes that the incentives right now are pretty meager.
Should condition larger funds, such as transportation assistance, to make a dent.
www.urban.org/urban-wire/h...
By using Mixed-Income Public Development, we produce housing where market-rate units subsidize lower-income ones.
This supply strategy prevents the "squeezed middle" from being priced out, ensuring a workforce-ready city where supply finally meets demand. 4/4
This isn't a grant—it’s a loan.
Gov't capital builds the apartment; once construction is finished, the loan is repaid with interest.
This model ensures the same dollar builds multiple projects over time, creating a fiscally solvent pipeline of homes that doesn't rely on perpetual tax hikes. 3/4
When the private market stalls due to high rates, supply diminishes and rents spike.
Public Revolving Loan Funds can replace high-yield private equity with lower-cost public financing.
We can greenlight projects that private banks won't touch, boosting total housing supply. 2/4
Housing is a supply problem made worse by a financing trap.
High interest rates and 15% investor return requirements make many middle-class projects "unbuildable."
A public financing option can lower the cost of capital and get more shovels in the ground. 1/4
"Carbon neutral" beef is a marketing myth that hides high costs. Even with better grazing, beef uses 7 times more cropland than beans, wasting land and resources.
To protect consumers' wallets and keep the food system solvent, the market must shift demand.
www.wri.org/insights/tru...
South Bay residents got 10,000 air purifiers in under a year for sewage gas from Tijuana River hitting 4,500 ppb (150x safe limits).
Scientists also found the "hot spot": a pipe spewing foam that releases 1,000+ toxics.
www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/1...
