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Oakland is at a pivotal moment as city leaders work to address a significant budget shortfall of $129 million this year, with an additional $280 million projected over the next two years. Solutions to the city’s structural deficit may come from examining how past budget priorities and decisions led to current challenges.

This week, Senator Scott Wiener introduced Senate Bill 71, which would make permanent a successful pilot project that has jumpstarted dozens of sustainable transportation projects in California. ���ϴ�����has been a driving force behind this exemption and is a sponsor of this legislation. We asked Transportation Policy Director Laura Tolkoff to tell us what California has been able to accomplish with the exemption and what SB 71 will do.

California’s increasingly extreme weather, exemplified by the Los Angeles fires, is fueling a home insurance crisis, with many insurers canceling plans or raising premiums. California has already begun to implement reforms in the insurance industry, but more must be done. ���ϴ�����highlights the urgent need to accurately price hazard risk, advance risk mitigation through smart land use planning, and establish voluntary buyout programs for high-risk properties.

San Francisco voters recently passed a SPUR-cosponsored measure to realize the largest pedestrian project in California’s history. The permanent promenade along a two-mile stretch of the coastal highway expands the vision of SPUR’s 2012 Ocean Beach Master Plan, the core elements of which the California Coastal Commission just approved. The win: a resilient public coastline offering community benefits.