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Monitor Notes: League Day, Climate Planning, High-Speed Rail, and Watershed Fish

Welcome to Monitor Notes, a weekly roundup of news items, event announcements, and updates on past Bay Area Monitor articles.

 

League Day Panel, Speakers Announced

There’s still time to sign up to attend League Day on March 6 with the League of Women Voters of the Bay Area. This year’s “Equity in Action” theme reinforces the group’s focus on creating more equitable communities. The three-hour event begins at 9:30 a.m., opening with a historical perspective that acknowledges the League’s difficult history with racism and spells out equity definitions. In addition to the speakers Notes previously featured, we have more exciting details about the event line-up. This includes a panel about equity implementation with professionals representing cities like Oakland and San Jose. Then, Paulina Gonzalez-Brito (pictured), executive director of the community group the California Reinvestment Coalition, will talk about the economic impacts of racism. She’ll be joined during the presentation by Sarah Treuhaft, vice president of research at PolicyLink, and Kiku Johnson, executive director of the Rainbow Community Center of Contra Costa County. Additionally, Assemblymember Ash Kalra of San Jose will make a presentation about legislating equity policy. Be a part of this major League educational event and register here.

 

Hitting the Greenhouse Gas

A LWV of Palo Alto event will commence March 10 with a “Climate Crisis Call to Action.” The City of Palo Alto, which began a sustainability and climate action plan update last year, wants to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) 80 percent below 1990 levels by 2030. During the noontime gathering, Christine Luong, the city’s sustainability manager, is expected to address the plan and goals, which local leaders may seek to advance through new strategies, according to a Palo Alto Weekly article. There’s a lot that residents can do as well. Nicole Angiel, director of sustainability at event co-sponsor Acterra, will speak on this topic, helping people digest why food choices matter when it comes to lowering GHG emissions. Also sitting at the discussion table is Mary O’Kicki, chair of the LWV of California’s food, soil, and agriculture committee. She’ll serve as moderator for this affair. Register here.

 

Catch the Train

Attend a San Francisco Chamber of Commerce policy forum on March 2 at 10 a.m. to hear a California High-Speed Rail Authority presentation. Boris Lipkin, the Northern California regional director, will speak about the 2020 business plan, the draft of which was derailed due to the pandemic but is now available for public review and comments. Scheduled to be delivered to the legislature this April, the plan outlines the path for completing Central Valley construction and highlights priorities like identifying additional funding to “close the gaps” and expand electrified high-speed rail service to the Bay Area and Los Angeles, according to a press release. Chug along into a Trains article that explains the cash-strapped agency’s interim approach to begin operations and serve the Bay Area.

 

Fish out of Watersheds

Curious about native fish that call local watersheds home? Cast a line into a Peninsula Open Space Trust webinar on March 5 at noon to learn about fish living in South Bay and San Francisco Peninsula watersheds, including salmon and trout. Richard Tejeda, founder of the environmental education group Saved By Nature, will chat about the characteristics and ecology of common native fish species. Tejada (pictured) also will speak about why many fish populations have dwindled and how restoration work is expected to alleviate stress on local watershed ecosystems.

 

 

Monitor Notes is produced by Cecily O’Connor. To receive it by email, scroll to the bottom of this page, enter your email address in the box under “RECEIVE EMAIL UPDATES,” and click the red “SIGN UP” button.

 

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