“Affordable Housing” Could Actually Be Affordable with CEQA Reform
Yet again, California is ranked the #1 most expensive state to live in America for 2020. And while taxes and childcare costs are also in the top five in the nation, it is housing costs that really stand out. Rent and mortgage payments run an average of $3,000 per month, nearly seventy percent higher than […]
Governor’s Business & Job Recovery Task Force Should Give an Equal Chance to All Qualified Workers
As the California Task Force on Business and Jobs Recovery meets to formulate plans to restore and rebuild the state’s economy, it should remember Gov. Gavin Newsom’s official slogan: “California for All.” The state recognized construction as an essential business and California needs all hands to help rebuild the state as quickly as possible. When […]
All Qualified Construction Workers Should Help Rebuild California
California needs all hands on deck to help rebuild the state with an immediate need for affordable housing and recovery from the destruction of recent wildfires. While some legislation introduced in Sacramento opens an opportunity for all experienced construction workers to help rebuild California, why do other bills place barriers to rebuilding the state before […]
A Quicker Way to Rebuild California
On behalf of the men and women who will be needed to fulfill the promise of meeting California’s construction needs, I congratulate Gov. Gavin Newsom on becoming our state’s 40th chief executive. With over 500 large and small companies and their trade workers, who make up the Associated Builders and Contractors of Northern California, we […]
A Line-Item Veto Well Worth Making
When Gov. Jerry Brown considers a new state budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1, he’ll have a rare opportunity to simultaneously continue a program giving people a second chance in life, reducing prison recidivism, and saving the taxpayers money. All he has to do is run his pen through a part of the […]
The Unintended Consequences of Senate Bill 825
If only the issues held more interest for the public, they might stir more outrage. What Project Labor Agreements (PLAs) and pre-apprenticeship training programs lack in eye-grabbing and ear-riveting attention, they more than make up for in unintended consequences for thousands of working Californians. If Senate Bill 825 becomes law, there will be serious consequences […]
Senate Bill 825 Will Exacerbate Construction Crisis
As a woman that began her career in the trades, I want to formally applaud Assemblywoman Catharine Baker for her resolution, Assembly Concurrent Resolution 182, commemorating Women in Construction Week which passed its first roll-call vote, 69-0, within minutes of her finishing her presentation. I proudly observed it happening from the balcony of the Assembly […]
Celebrating Amazing Trades Professionals During “Careers in Construction Month”
California is in a building boom right now, with state and local leaders working around-the-clock to ensure we are providing safe, affordable housing, commercial development, and infrastructure work for the disadvantaged – to California’s communities. But all too often we focus on the “Big Wigs” involved in that effort, and not the everyday Californians, notably […]
Let’s Tip Our Hats to the Hard Hats During “Careers in Construction Month”
The Legislature has adjourned for the year and Governor Brown has until this Fridayto decide on the remaining stack of bills that have arrived on his desk. If last year, policy-wise, was considered the “Year of the Highway” with marked transportation reforms, 2017 has clearly been regarded as the “Year of Hammer to Nail,” with great […]