City Forum

Laurence Wiener is an attorney with Richards, Watson & Gershon and can be reached at LWiener@rwglaw.com.

The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) was conceived in the 1970s to promote the goal of ensuring that local government decision-makers understand the environmental impacts of their decisions. To implement this goal, the Governor’s Office of Planning and Research developed CEQA implementation guidelines, which stated that Environmental Impact Reports (EIRs) should be no more than 150 pages and written in plain language that can be readily understood by decision-makers and the public.

In 2007, the League awarded Assembly Member Anna Caballero (D-28, Salinas) its “Legislator of the Year” award, in appreciation of her support for local government on a variety of issues throughout the legislative session.

Ronald O. Loveridge is mayor of Riverside and a past president of the League. He can be reached at rloveridge@riversideca.gov.

Riverside recently became the first city in the state to offer incentives to builders who meet the strong, measurable requirements of the California Green Builder (CGB) program. This cost- effective, turnkey program improves the environment without increasing the city’s workload or costing its taxpayers a penny.

Eva Spiegel is communications director for the League and managing editor of Western City. She can be reached at espiegel@cacities.org.

In just five years, the Grassroots Regional Network (GRN) has become an integral part of the League’s effort to restore and protect local control for California cities. This innovative program put 15 regional representatives in communities throughout the state in 2002 to increase cities’ impact on the legislative process and statewide ballot measures. The GRN strengthens the connection needed between city officials and the League to accomplish common objectives. The League has a collaborative relationship with city officials, working to help them focus their message and ensuring an effective role for them in shaping public policy that affects cities at the state and national levels.

Jim Ferguson is a council member for the City of Palm Desert and can be reached at info@govlaw.com. John Phillips is executive director of the Energy Coalition and can be reached at john@energycoalition.org. For more information about the Energy Coalition, visit http://energycoalition.org.  

It seems everyone’s talking about greenhouse gas emissions and global warming. In California, public officials are taking a hard look at the fact that electricity generation is one of the biggest offenders; it’s one of the largest emitters of greenhouse gases in the state.

Lillian Henegar is director of policy and outreach for the California Redevelopment Association. She can be reached at lhenegar@calredevelop.org.

Greg LeRoy, founder and director of Good Jobs First, spoke at the California Redevelopment Association (CRA) Annual Conference held Feb. 28–March 2, 2007, in Long Beach. LeRoy is author of The Great American Jobs Scam: Corporate Tax Dodging and the Myth of Job Creation. In his speech, he shared several ways California’s local governments could better drive job creation and economic development in their communities.

The League’s lobbying strength relies on cultivating and maintaining effective relationships with legislators both in Sacramento and their districts. When legislators make extra efforts to assist the League, they deserve our recognition and thanks.