Newsom Climate Report Card, January 2021 Update
2020 was a record-breaking year for the climate crisis in California. Ongoing drought and elevated temperatures fed an especially long and destructive wildfire season. Californians once again endured dangerous levels of smoke for weeks on end,
[1] only this time they did so in the middle of a dangerous pandemic that attacks the respiratory system. The Covid-19 pandemic worsened the ongoing climate, public health, air pollution, housing, economic, and systemic racism crises, and highlighted the way those crises overlap and bring harm to vulnerable communities across the state.
Governor Gavin Newsom took advantage of the moment to connect the wildfires to the climate crisis and our reliance on fossil fuels. In September 2020, he issued an Executive Order requiring 100% of new passenger cars and trucks to be zero-emission vehicles by 2035.
Coming Deluge of Rain Prompts Evacuations, Landslide, Flood, and Wind Warnings Around the Bay
The next round of rain heading toward the Bay on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday will be the heaviest we ve seen in a while. And in addition to warnings of high winds coming with the next band of storms, areas that saw significant burning during last year s wildfires are facing the threat of landslides as the ground becomes over-saturated.
Parts of the Santa Cruz Mountains were under evacuation orders Monday as officials warned of potential landslides in the burn scars of the CZU Lightning Complex fires. The National Weather Service (NWS) has revised its forecasts for the atmospheric river on its way, saying that much of the Bay Area will see 3 to 5 inches of rain, primarily between Wednesday and Thursday, with higher elevations seeing a possible 5 to 8 inches of rain. Meanwhile, the Tahoe area is bracing for a blizzard that could dump seven feet of fresh powder at higher elevations.
Mansion Global
There are incentives for agreeing not to develop on the land for a certain period By V.L. Hendrickson |
Save
stevegraham / Getty Images
Every week, Mansion Global poses a tax question to real estate tax attorneys. Here is this week’s question.
Q. What kind of property tax breaks are available if part of your California property is used for farming?
A. Many agricultural land owners in California can get a reduced tax rate through the Williamson Act.
Also known as the California Land Conservation Act of 1965, the Williamson Act allows landowners to designate “specific parcels of land to agricultural or related open-space use,” according to the California Department of Conservation, which advises municipalities on the program.
Coping with fire-scorched land more prone to mudslides
After a fire, rain can feel like a refreshing mercy. But it also spells fresh danger in fire-struck areas made newly vulnerable to mudslides. Amidst recovering from the trauma of a wildfire, people in hillside homes across much of the western U.S., in particular, must now be ready to evacuate when threatening heavy rains appear in the forecast.
That’s because fires do more to the physical environment than level buildings and fell trees. They also alter the makeup of the soil, making it less likely it will absorb rainwater, especially during a downpour.