Never Successful, Never Abandoned

Sep 20, 2022

The Blue Model keeps dying, but it keeps standing. It’s the Undead, proudly rotten.

I’ve written before about my strange little town in the Los Angeles suburbs, and about the dynamics of small town woke performance. But here we go again, with some related discussion about the decline of the whole state. If you live in a sane place, take note of the warning signs.

South Pasadena, California is a mess, and has been for years, though new management is slowly wrestling some of the old decay — some — into something resembling order. It’s been years since we’ve had a finance director who lasted a whole year in the job, and the city is currently recruiting for both a finance director and a deputy director. We have a series of special local taxes — a utility tax, a library parcel tax, and an extra city sales tax — to keep the wheels from falling off, because the city council never stops saying that we just don’t have the tax base to support even the most basic city services. Back in 2019, a push poll for the extra sales tax measure asked thoughtful questions along the lines of WHAT IF YOU WERE DYING IN AGONY AND NO ONE CAME TO HELP YOU BECAUSE THE GREED AND SHORTSIGHTEDNESS OF LOCAL VOTERS WHO REFUSED TO APPROVE REASONABLE LOCAL TAXES FORCED THE CITY TO CLOSE OUR ONLY FIRE STATION!?!?!?

Even with all that extra tax revenue, the streets look like this:

Now: This week, the South Pasadena City Council will vote…

Wait for it!

…to equip our police department with a leased fleet of patrol Teslas, item #17 in this giant package of agenda items:

Can’t pave the streets, need special taxes to keep the library and the fire station open, spending $2 million to lease Teslas for the police.

Blue Zone governance, ladies and gentlemen. In November, South Pasadena voters will go to the polls to extend the library parcel tax, because our city government is so poor it can’t hope to keep the library fully open and operating without extra money:

But the cops will have Teslas, ‘cause that’s just $2 million. Whatever, peasants.

Meanwhile, as Europe struggles with an energy crisis and Germany dials back their 100% Green Energy plan (in part because of Folk Devil Putin, in part because of the limits of magical thinking), California’s Governor Hair Gel has just signed a giant package of climate laws that order the weather to not change anymore:

Heat waves: disallowed! Clearly, the California legislature is operating on a volume model:

The full set of bills the Governor signed that work toward achieving the state’s climate goals include:

AB 1279 by Assemblymember Al Muratsuchi (D-Torrance) – The California Climate Crisis Act.
AB 1384 by Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel (D-Encino) – Resiliency Through Adaptation, Economic Vitality, and Equity Act of 2022.
AB 1389 by Assemblymember Eloise Gómez Reyes (D-Colton) – Clean Transportation Program: project funding preferences.
AB 1749 by Assemblymember Cristina Garcia (D-Bell Gardens) – Community emissions reduction programs: toxic air contaminants and criteria air pollutants.
AB 1757 by Assemblymember Cristina Garcia (D-Bell Gardens) – California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006: climate goal: natural and working lands.
AB 1857 by Assemblymember Cristina Garcia (D-Bell Gardens) – Solid waste.
AB 1909 by Assemblymember Laura Friedman (D-Glendale) – Vehicles: bicycle omnibus bill.
AB 1985 by Assemblymember Robert Rivas (D-Salinas) – Organic waste: recovered organic waste product procurement targets.
AB 2061 by Assemblymember Philip Ting (D-San Francisco) – Transportation electrification: electric vehicle charging infrastructure.
AB 2075 by Assemblymember Philip Ting (D-San Francisco) – Energy: electric vehicle charging standards.
AB 2108 by Assemblymember Robert Rivas (D-Salinas) – Water policy: environmental justice: disadvantaged and tribal communities.
AB 2204 by Assemblymember Tasha Boerner Horvath (D-Encinitas) – Clean energy: Labor and Workforce Development Agency: Deputy Secretary for Climate.
AB 2278 by Assemblymember Ash Kalra (D-San Jose) – Natural resources: biodiversity and conservation report.
AB 2316 by Assemblymember Christopher Ward (D-San Diego) – Public Utilities Commission: customer renewable energy subscription programs and the community renewable energy program.
AB 2440 by Assemblymember Jacqui Irwin (D-Thousand Oaks) – Responsible Battery Recycling Act of 2022.
AB 2446 by Assemblymember Chris Holden (D-Pasadena) – Embodied carbon emissions: construction materials.
AB 2622 by Assemblymember Kevin Mullin (D-South San Francisco) – Sales and use taxes: exemptions: California Hybrid and Zero-Emission Truck and Bus Voucher Incentive Project: transit buses.
AB 2700 by Assemblymember Kevin McCarty (D-Sacramento) – Transportation electrification: electrical distribution grid upgrades.
AB 2836 by Assemblymember Eduardo Garcia (D-Coachella) – Carl Moyer Memorial Air Quality Standards Attainment Program: vehicle registration fees: California tire fee.
SB 379 by Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) – Residential solar energy systems: permitting.
SB 529 by Senator Robert Hertzberg (D-Van Nuys) – Electricity: electrical transmission facilities.
SB 887 by Senator Josh Becker (D-Menlo Park) – Electricity: transmission facility planning.
SB 905 by Senator Anna Caballero (D-Merced) – Carbon sequestration: Carbon Capture, Removal, Utilization, and Storage Program.
SB 1010 by Senator Nancy Skinner (D-Berkeley) – Air pollution: state vehicle fleet.
SB 1020 by Senator John Laird (D-Santa Cruz) – Clean Energy, Jobs, and Affordability Act of 2022.
SB 1063 by Senator Nancy Skinner (D-Berkeley) – Energy: appliance standards and cost-effective measures.
SB 1075 by Senator Nancy Skinner (D-Berkeley) – Hydrogen: green hydrogen: emissions of greenhouse gases.
SB 1109 by Senator Anna Caballero (D-Merced) – California Renewables Portfolio Standard Program: bioenergy projects.
SB 1137 by Senator Lena Gonzalez (D-Long Beach) – Oil and gas: operations: location restrictions: notice of intention: health protection zone: sensitive receptors.
SB 1145 by Senator John Laird (D-Santa Cruz) – California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006: greenhouse gas emissions: dashboard.
SB 1158 by Senator Josh Becker (D-Menlo Park) – Retail electricity suppliers: emissions of greenhouse gases.
SB 1203 by Senator Josh Becker (D-Menlo Park) – Net-zero emissions of greenhouse gases: state agency operations.
SB 1205 by Senator Ben Allen (D-Santa Monica) – Water rights: appropriation.
SB 1215 by Senator Josh Newman (D-Fullerton) – Electronic Waste Recycling Act of 2003: covered battery-embedded products.
SB 1230 by Senator Monique Limόn (D-Santa Barbara) – Zero-emission and near-zero-emission vehicle incentive programs: requirements.
SB 1251 by Senator Lena Gonzalez (D-Long Beach) – Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development: Zero-Emission Vehicle Market Development Office: Zero-Emission Vehicle Equity Advocate.
SB 1291 by Senator Bob Archuleta (D-Pico Rivera) – Hydrogen-fueling stations: administrative approval.
SB 1314 by Senator Monique Limόn (D-Santa Barbara) – Oil and gas: Class II injection wells: enhanced oil recovery.
SB 1322 by Senator Ben Allen (D-Santa Monica) – Energy: petroleum pricing.
SB 1382 by Senator Lena Gonzalez (D-Long Beach) – Air pollution: Clean Cars 4 All Program: Sales and Use Tax Law: zero emissions vehicle exemption.