Newsom: CA economy depends on presidential race

From CalMatters economy reporter Levi Sumagaysay:

Gov. Gavin Newsom delivered a mostly upbeat message at an economic summit in Sacramento on Wednesday, especially when he was talking about California’s “resilient” economy.

Despite what many headlines say about California’s supposed decline, “the good news is we’re still the fifth-largest economy in the world,” he told several hundred people at the event held annually by California Forward, a nonprofit that focuses on state policy. (Coincidentally, we have a story that looks into what really happens when companies move their headquarters out of state.)

But when Dee Dee Myers, director of the governor’s office of business and economic development, who was interviewing Newsom on stage, asked him to talk about the remaining two years of his administration, he sounded somber and called it an existential question.

“I don’t want to get partisan or political,” Newsom said, adding that what happens in the next couple of years will depend on what happens “in the next few weeks.” He was talking, of course, about the presidential election in November. 

He referenced the recent news that a former aide of Donald Trump said the former president did not want to give federal aid to California after the deadly 2018 wildfires until he was told how many people in the state voted for him. Newsom mentioned that the state sued the Trump administration more than 100 times over a variety of issues.

Newsom then said voters’ choice in November will be between “a posture of optimism, support, daylight” — referring to his longtime political colleague, Vice President Kamala Harris — and what he called the “challenging darkness” that is Trump.

Republicans, however, said Newsom’s record on the economy “is a failure — not something to brag about.”

Also during his about 20 minutes on stage, the governor touted his administration’s efforts to streamline workforce development and create more jobs in the state’s many regions by bringing together several state agencies and making sure the educational system is involved.

Newsom: “We want to reinvigorate rural parts of the state, not just the coastal. We can’t take parts of the state for granted.”

To preserve affordable housing, state lawmakers in 2021 created a program to help tenants, community land trusts and other housing developers buy buildings at risk of foreclosure. But the $500 million program didn’t give out a single dollar before lawmakers scrapped the program in June, reports CalMatters’ Felicia Mello.

Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel, an Encino Democrat and chairperson of the budget committee: “It’s the kind of thing that you look at and it makes your head explode. … We’re sitting here with this tremendous allocation of resources and making zero progress. That is totally unacceptable.”

In addition to lawmakers facing a $56 billion budget deficit in the spring, a spokesperson for the state agency overseeing the program said its unprecedented nature created a high learning curve for agency staff. It took a year to draft guidelines, then another to turn those into rules. By the time the state was ready to award its first contract in July 2023, it was already two years into the program’s five-year timeline.

The program could have been a game-changer on preventing homelessness for cities and community land trusts, which have tripled in California over the last decade. Without state support, some trusts are banding together to create a joint fund, backed by philanthropy groups and private banks, to provide low-interest loans to buy buildings. 

Read more about the program’s demise in Felicia’s story.

The Spanish missions, the Gold Rush, California’s early statehood — these are topics most California students learn, particularly in fourth grade social studies. But starting next year, students will learn one more important subject: The treatment and perspectives of Native Americans, writes CalMatters K-12 education reporter Carolyn Jones.

A new law, led by Assemblymember James Ramos, will require teaching the plight of Native Californians in fourth grade; now, it’s just recommended.

Ramos, a San Bernandino Democrat and the first Native Californian in the state Legislature: “It’s time that the voices of California’s first people drive the educational process, especially when the subject is our ways, our people, our history.”

The topic will also be included in California’s new ethnic studies requirement for high school students, which goes into effect in 2025-26.

Tribal leaders said they welcome the new law, but also hope students learn about other aspects of Native history and culture, not just the tragedies. And some Indigenous advocacy groups said they’d like to see schools invest more in Native students, who attend college at about half the rate of their peers. Developing in-depth lessons focused on their history, they say, could boost students’ interest.

Learn more about the new curriculum in Carolyn’s story.

A new law delays monitoring of oil wells near residential areas until 2030. CalMatters environmental reporter Julie Cart and video strategy director Robert Meeks have a video segment on Julie’s story on how the measure puts disadvantaged communities at risk as part of our partnership with PBS SoCal. Watch it here.

SoCalMatters airs at 5:58 p.m. weekdays on PBS SoCal.