Whitesides Leads Robust Funding Effort for Earthquake Safety System
U.S. Rep. George Whitesides (D-Santa Clarita, Palmdale, Lancaster, portions of San Fernando Valley) last week led a bipartisan effort to push federal appropriators to fully fund the construction, operation, and maintenance of the nation’s only public Earthquake Early Warning System (EEW), also called “ShakeAlert.”
ShakeAlert serves over 50 million residents and visitors in California, Oregon, and Washington, providing advanced notice of impending earthquakes so residents in affected areas can take steps to save lives and critical infrastructure.
“Every Californian understands the threat that even the smallest earthquakes can pose to communities and infrastructure, which is why I’m pushing my colleagues to fully fund the ShakeAlert system for the West Coast,” said Whitesides. “The cutting-edge science developed in California helps detect when an earthquake is coming before the damage begins, notifying millions of people every single year and helping them protect themselves and their property. With natural disasters on the rise, it is critical that the federal government fully fund these kinds of programs that keep people safe.”
Managed by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), ShakeAlert detects significant earthquakes quickly, so alerts can be delivered to people before strong shaking arrives, urging them to take immediate protective action. Alerts can also trigger automated actions that slow trains, close water system valves, issue public announcements, and open firehouse doors.
Between October 17, 2019 and September 1, 2023, ShakeAlert detected 94 earthquakes with estimated magnitudes of 4.5 or greater, triggering public messaging and allowing affected residents to take steps to adequately prepare themselves.
Given concerns about increased seismic activity near the San Andreas Fault, there is public demand for the EEW to be fully funded and operational. FEMA estimates that earthquake recovery and losses cost $5 billion. The investment in ShakeAlert saves money for both the federal government and local areas impacted by earthquakes while keeping more people safe.
Santa Monica Opens First-Ever Modular Affordable Housing Development
The city of Santa Monica partnered with Community Corporation of Santa Monica and St. Joseph Center on Saturday to celebrate the ribbon-cutting of Berkeley Station, Santa Monica’s first-ever modular affordable housing development.
Berkeley Station offers 13 affordable apartments for low-income families and young adults facing housing insecurity. The city of Santa Monica supported the development with an $11.32 million Housing Trust Fund construction loan and 13 Project-Based Vouchers from the Santa Monica Housing Authority.
St. Joseph Center will provide on-site case management and supportive services for young adult residents enrolled in its Santa Monica Youth Resource Team program.
“Berkeley Station is proof that Santa Monica can take on the housing crisis with urgency and results,” said Santa Monica Mayor Caroline Torosis. “We are cutting through delays and embracing new approaches like modular construction to deliver affordable homes faster and more efficiently. For the young adults and families moving in, this means stability, opportunity and the ability to stay rooted in the community they call home. This is the work of making sure Santa Monica remains a city where working people can build a future.”
The state has identified factory-built housing as a priority solution to its affordable housing crisis and is now pursuing policies to accelerate the process and remove obstacles unique to modular construction.
The prefabricated living units were designed by Brooks + Scarpa, incorporating the firm’s NEST Toolkit, a kit-of-parts modular system designed to help address the region’s housing shortage, which won a $1 million grant from the L.A. County Housing Innovation Challenge.
Plant Prefab constructed the apartments at its factory in Tejon Ranch and installed them on the narrow infill lot over three days.
González’s Bilingual Bill Advances in State Legislature
Assemblymember Mark González (D-Downtown Los Angeles, Boyle Heights) last week saw his legislation (AB 2332) to establish a Dual Language Immersion (DLI) Coordinator in California advance out of the Assembly Education Committee with unanimous support.
DLI programs are a form of education in which students are taught literacy and content in two languages, English and a partner language. DLI programs are the most effective language instruction approach and the best method to close the achievement gap between non-native and native English-speaking peers.
“If we want our communities to put their trust in us, then we must show that we are willing to invest in what works,” said González. “We must streamline these programs, rather than allowing bureaucracy to drain time and energy from our already overburdened educators. They are giving everything they have. It’s time for the state to match that commitment.”
The California Department of Education (CDE) currently has no staff facilitating over 1,075 DLI programs that serve 110,847 students. In this uncoordinated system, students suffer, and California is failing to meet its 2030 goal of 1600 programs.
After passing out of the Assembly Education Committee, AB 2332 is headed to the Assembly Appropriations Committee.
Allen Praises Effort to Crack Down on Hospice Fraud
State Sen. Ben Allen (D-Beverly Hills, Malibu, Redondo Beach, Santa Monica, Torrance) last week praised state efforts to curb hospice fraud, highlighted by the recent announcement that over 280 fraudulent providers have been shut down.
This improved enforcement demonstrates the success of recent legislation – including SB 664 (Allen, 2021) and AB 2673 (Irwin, 2022), coauthored by Allen – that provided the framework for this crackdown.
“Protecting patients during the most vulnerable moments of their lives requires strong oversight and decisive action,” said Allen. “The results we are now seeing—from hundreds of license revocations to ongoing investigations—are a direct reflection of the policies we put in place to root out fraud and restore integrity to hospice care.”
SB 664 (2021) established a first-in-the-nation moratorium on new hospice licenses in response to growing concerns about fraud and abuse in the sector. The policy halted unchecked growth and allowed regulators to improve oversight, strengthen enforcement coordination, and prevent further harm to patients and taxpayers.
Building on that, AB 2673 (2022) continued to close loopholes, strengthen program integrity, and adapt efforts to keep up with the evolving fraud tactics in hospice and related healthcare services.
“These policies allowed us to hit pause on a system that was being exploited and gave us needed tools to stay ahead of the fraud,” added Allen. “This will be an ongoing effort to maintain accountability and ensure only legitimate providers are serving patients. As bad actors become more sophisticated, so must our response to safeguard the dignity and trust of Californians.”
