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Thursday, November 09-November 15, 2023
VOL. 11,
NO. 146
Sustainable Monrovia: City manager details energy The Supreme Court will decide if domestic abuse orders can initiatives that address climate change, drought bar people from having guns. Lives could be at stake.
By Joe Taglieri joet@beaconmedianews.com
By Paige Pfleger, WPLN/Nashville Public Radio, ProPublica
I
n an effort to stave off the environmental consequences of climate change caused by global warming, cities nationwide are investing in sustainable energy infrastructure. From EV charging and solar-powered city facilities in the near future to drought-tolerant landscaping and "excess usage" fees for water, Monrovia is engaged in a number of sustainable energy efforts. "Monrovia has certainly experienced our fair share of climate-driven disasters," City Manager Dylan Feik told Monrovia Weekly via email. "Wildfire on our hillsides, flooding in our parks, and windstorms knocking down our trees and utility lines…. it’s become a seemingly endless concern of mine and I feel that every day, something could happen." Feik provided a list of the city's current sustainability projects:
Electric-vehicle chargers. | Photo courtesy of the city of Monrovia
Clean Power Alliance In December 2022 Monrovia became a member of the Clean Power Alliance and by spring 2024, the city's electricity customers will have the option of getting their electricity from 100% renewable sources. "Clean Power Alliance fills the wires with electricity from renewable energy sources, and Southern California Edison delivers it to our homes and businesses," according to the city's website. "SCE still owns and reads your electric meter, sends your monthly
bill, and provides the same maintenance and other repair services they always have. The only thing that has changed is the electric generation services with your choice of 40%, 50%, or 100% renewable energy content at competitive rates." According to the city, a typical Edison residential bill totals $192. "Lean Power" from 40% renewable energy sources costs $188, which is 2% less than the base rate. "Clean Power," which is from
50% renewable sources, costs $190 or 1% less than the base. And "100% Green Power" totals $197, 3% higher than the typical bill. More information on the CPA is available online: https://www.cityofmonrovia.org/your-government/ city-manager-s-office/cleanpower-alliance-communityoutreach Excess water usage penalty Monrovia imposed an “Excess Usage Penalty” for
See Climate change Page 28
San Gabriel Valley Regional Housing Trust receives $5M to accelerate affordable housing projects
T
he San Gabriel Valley Regional Housing Trust (SGVRHT) was awarded a $5 million grant from the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) through their Programs to Accelerate Transformative Housing (PATH) initiative. This grant is part of the broader state-funded grants program dedicated to
By Staff accelerating infill housing development, advancing housing affordability, endorsing fair housing policies, and minimizing vehicle miles traveled. The grant was awarded Friday following the approval of the Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) for the Lasting Affordability Program by SCAG’s Regional Council.
The grant is set to fortify the San Gabriel Valley Regional Housing Trust's Revolving Loan Fund, a key source of acquisition, predevelopment, and construction financing for affordable housing projects. With a term of 2-5 years, these funds will initially support the devel-
opment of an estimated 60 units, and the continuous cycle of loan repayments will finance the development of future units, according to the San Gabriel Valley Regional Housing Trust. Since its inception, the Revolving Loan Fund has supported 266 units, including 16 single-
See Affordable housing Page 27
This story was originally published by ProPublica. ProPublica is a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative newsroom. Sign up for The Big Story newsletter to receive stories like this one in your inbox. Series: Under the Gun:How Gun Violence Is Impacting the Nation s America emerged from the pandemic, communities continued to experience a rising tide of gun violence. School shootings and the rate of children and teens killed by gunfire both reached all-time highs since at least 1999. ProPublica’s coverage of gun violence reveals how first responders, policymakers and those directly affected are coping with the bloodshed. The U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments next week in a pivotal firearms case that could have profound implications for how police and courts deal with domestic violence. The question: Should people who are placed under domestic violence protection orders also lose access to their guns? For many victim advocates, the answer is obvious. Women are five times more likely to be killed in a domestic violence incident when the abuser has access to a gun. Advocates argue that the gun restrictions tied to such orders are among the most powerful tools for domestic violence victims and that without them, more people will die. For gun rights groups and their most ardent supporters, that is beside the point. They contend that people subject to protection orders haven’t been convicted of a crime and that taking their firearms away violates the Second Amendment. If the government can disarm them, they ask, who could the government disarm next? Earlier this year, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit sided with gun rights supporters, invalidating a federal law passed by Congress in 1994 that bars people under domestic violence orders from having firearms. If the Supreme Court upholds that decision and rules that gun restrictions tied to restraining orders are unconstitutional, states would have fewer options to stop domestic abusers from possessing, and using, guns. And in conservative states, the aggressive rollback of gun control laws means that it is already easier for people to get guns to begin with. This year, WPLN and ProPublica have been reporting on the issue at the heart of the Supreme Court case: the difficulty of separating domestic abusers from their guns. The court’s ruling could have immense ramifications in Tennessee, where weak enforcement of gun laws has allowed
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See Supreme Court Page 13