Welcome to Monitor Notes, a weekly roundup of news items, event announcements, and updates on past Bay Area Monitor articles.
Made to Measure
Transportation funding measures have been ever-present at Bay Area ballot boxes in recent years. Curious about what might be next? TransForm, Urban Habitat, and Silicon Valley Community Foundation are hosting an event Monday, August 26 at 1 p.m. to hear how campaign advocates and elected officials in Los Angeles and Seattle advanced transportation funding measures in their cities. The event will include a panel and small group discussions on “how we can work together to apply these lessons to develop and pass a regional transportation mega measure in the Bay Area as early as November 2020,” according to event information. It will be interesting to hear what speakers like Move LA’s Director of Policy and Communications Gloria Ohland (pictured) recommend, and how that might ultimately affect Bay Area voters fatigued after multiple funding requests.
Outpouring of Updates
Join the Association of California Water Agencies (ACWA) for a program on Thursday, September 5 in Oakland to discuss water supply and reliability in the Bay Area. The statewide coalition of public water agencies hosts officials from the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, the East Bay Municipal Utility District, the Contra Costa Water District, the Alameda County Water District, Valley Water, and Zone 7 Water Agency, who all will provide updates about water supplies and supply projects. The day also will brim with overviews on Contra Costa County’s Los Vaqueros Reservoir, a water market program with multiple agencies, and the Pacheco Reservoir. Soak up registration details ($60 for non-members).
Through the Roof
Bay Area residents are increasingly sweating out extreme heatwaves. But sunlight-reflecting “cool” roofs may offer protection, according to Berkeley Lab researchers. They estimate that if cool roofs were adopted by 2050 in the Bay Area and other populous California areas, it could bring down heatwave exposures by 35 million each year, compared to an estimated 80 million cases in 2050 with no uptick in cool roofs. The Monitor’s Leslie Stewart hit the roof coverage in 2017 with a piece exploring climate-sensitive solutions that radiate heat more efficiently and reduce adverse effects on people and the environment. Cool off with the story for more perspective.
A Walk in the POPOS
Do you know that downtown San Francisco is home to over 70 POPOS, or privately owned public open spaces? Join the American Institute of Architects, San Francisco (AIASF) for a “walking conversation” on Wednesday, September 11 from 3 to 5 p.m. to hear about the design, impact, and history of several POPOS: 525 Market Street, 555 Mission Street, and 101 Second Street. A 1985 downtown plan requiring new developments to create publicly accessible open space (one square foot of open space to 50 square feet of occupied office space) led to this bumper crop of small-scale plazas, parks, gardens, sun terraces, and atriums. Click here for tour speakers and tickets ($25 general). The American Society of Landscape Architects, Northern California Chapter is co-hosting.
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