Winter 2022
With the pandemic-induced container ship backlog at the Ports of LA and Long Beach officially cleared, VX News spoke with the Port of Los Angeles’s Executive Director, Gene Seroka, to elaborate on POLA’s efforts to ease supply chain congestion.
Gas from buildings produces twice as much smog pollution as all the cars and power plants combined in California. Panama Bartholomy, Founder and Executive Director of Building Decarbonization Coalition, outlines what market and government incentives are needed to facilitate, scale, and speed the decarbonization of buildings. Bartholomy also touches upon the Coalition's work nationwide, as well as COP 27, state and local building codes, and the “niche” for green hydrogen
With all the hype around hydrogen, VX News excerpts this latest report from UC Berkeley's Center for Law, Energy and the Environment.
VX News interviewed California State Senator and Chair of its Budget Subcommittee on Resources, Environmental Protection, and Energy, Bob Wieckowski, who underscores the importance of empowering local solutions and offers insights on how the final budget might address wildfire risks, EV deployment, recycling, and other top climate priorities.
VX News checked in with Council President Nury Martinez to shed light on LA City governance and equitable economic recovery in this challenging moment of transition.
Ken Alex—former Sr. Policy Advisor for Governor Jerry Brown, OPR Director, and SGC Chair—highlights how Project Climate and other departments at UC Berkeley are significantly boosting research capacity of state and local policymakers to accelerate implementation of “absolutely realistic” and ambitious climate transition goals.
VX News shares this exit interview with Janna Sidley, who since 2013 has served as POLA's General Counsel and is retiring after a 2.5-decade career in the LA City & US Attorneys' offices, in which she reflects on her accomplishments and tenure representing the nation's 2nd largest port.
Facing significant revenue shortfalls at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic, California legislators in June 2020 paused the state's R&D and other business tax credits.
With generous surplus state funding included for climate resilience in Governor Newsom’s 2022-23 budget request, VX News caught up with Santa Monica Mountain’s Conservancy Executive Director, Joe Edmiston, to elaborate on how the influx of federal and state infrastructure investments will impact Southern California conservation and open space projects.
As early February brings heat alerts for communities in Southern California following an otherwise dry January, VX News shares the latest report by the Malibu Foundation assessing the social vulnerabilities and physical hazards of living in Southern California's Wildland Urban Interface.