Bright, but not as big: Solar projects could be downsized to protect wildlife
The two massive solar projects winding toward approval on San Luis Obispo County’s Carrizo Plain could end up generating 30 percent less energy than the 800 megawatts their corporate backers would prefer. That is according to draft environmental impact reports circulating for the California Valley Solar Ranch, backed by San Jose-based SunPower Corp., and the Read More →
Oil company association tarred Prop. 23
Perhaps no ballot proposition divided California’s business community more than Proposition 23, the effort to kill California’s 2006 carbon emissions law. The initiative failed by a 61-39 margin. Had it passed, it would have suspended AB 32 until California’s unemployment rate stayed below 5.5 percent for a year, which has happened only a handful of Read More →
Editorial: Keep Oxnard business-friendly
There’s a bit of a “reform” movement afoot in Oxnard, the region’s largest city. Mayor Tom Holden won re-election even in the face of a district attorney’s investigation of some city officials, but the City Council has undergone some big changes. We hope the newly elected council members, Tim Flynn and Carmen Ramirez, remember Oxnard’s Read More →
Editorial: Safe seats aren’t forever
Right now it’s hard to imagine the Central Coast represented in Congress by someone other than Elton Gallegly, R-Simi Valley, or Lois Capps, D-Santa Barbara. And it’s hard to imagine Assembly districts safer than the ones won by Democrat Das Williams or Republican Jeff Gorrell. But the day is coming when, thanks to redistricting, congressional Read More →
Editorial: Memo to Abel: Keep political options open
As we watched him speed across the state in search of votes for a long-shot bid for statewide office, Lt. Gov. Abel Maldonado’s passion for small business and the small-business owner left a big impression. Yes, in the crazy world that is California politics, the former Santa Maria city councilman finished short of the mark Read More →
