At the Loma Verde Recreation Center south of San Diego, demolition work is underway on a $24 million project that will rebuild the facility from the ground up, complete with a new pool. An hour’s drive to the north, the iconic bridge to the Oceanside pier is deteriorating because the city lacks the money for…
Some cities are urging President Joe Biden's administration to loosen its rules for spending $350 billion of coronavirus relief money directed toward state and local governments.
In California, federal relief aid is being used to finance a new recreation center, but the same money cannot be used to fix a bridge a few towns over. Local governments facing similar discrepancies across the U.S. are calling for the Treasury to loosen spending rules.
At issue is $350 billion for states, counties and cities that was part of the massive COVID-19 relief bill signed in March. Under rules developed by the U.S. Treasury Department, some governments have more flexibility than others to spend their share of the money as they want.