The Coast News INLAND EDITION
.com ESCONDIDO, SAN MARCOS, VISTA
VOL. 6, N0. 23
NOV. 12, 2021
Vista council knocks SANDAG over mileage tax By Steve Puterski
interpreted by many as yet another attack on independent contractors and freelancers by unfairly conflating their need for emergency financial assistance with the state’s failure to protect against massive fraud. In 2019, the former Teamster boss targeted the same group of Californians during her push to pass Assembly Bill 5, a contentious state bill that upended the state’s $1 trillion gig economy and jeopardized the livelihoods of millions of independent contractors, freelancers and self-employed workers — many of whom are still reeling from the double
VISTA — A resolution opposing the San Diego Association of Governments vehicle-miles-traveled tax was approved by the City Council during its Nov. 9 meeting. The item was brought forward by Councilman John Franklin, who said he brought it to the council because he’s responded to numerous complaints from residents, in addition to concerns that the SANDAG Board of Directors has been vague regarding a number of questions. (The Escondido City Council also adopted a resolution opposing the plan. See story, Page 7.) SANDAG last year unveiled its 5 Big Moves, also known as the 2021 Regional Plan, and it calls for a massive $172 billion investment in public transit. The funding mechanisms, though, have come under fire as the plan proposes charging drivers per mile on top of gas taxes, adding managed lanes (toll roads), scrapping highway projects along state Route 78 and Interstate 5 and 15, plus calling for two voter-approved tax increases in 2022 and 2028, which were discussed during SANDAG’s Oct. 29 meeting. The VMT tax is proposed at 2 cents per mile, but the state is also studying a VMT tax, which would also be 2 cents per mile. In addition, the Biden administration, through the Build Back Better infrastructure bill, would also include a voluntary VMT program to study the issue. No cost is detailed in the bill. Some of the goals of the regional plan, meanwhile, are to increase ridership to 10% of residents and cut greenhouse emissions by 20% to meet state man-
TURN TO FREELANCERS ON 8
TURN TO MILEAGE TAX ON 8
‘SUPER BOWL’ BOUND
10-year-old lineman Lucas Obligado (99) and his teammates on the La Costa Canyon Mavericks 10U Pop Warner football are headed to the national championships in Orlando, Florida, next month after defeating the Oceanside Running Pirates, 30-0, on Oct. 30 in the West Coast Conference championship game. The Mavericks include players from Encinitas, Carlsbad, Oceanside and San Marcos. Photo by Erin Margerum
Gonzalez comments on EDD fraud draws freelancer pushback By Jordan Ingram
REGION — A San Diego lawmaker’s recent statements on social media claiming a federal program designed to help independent contractors receive unemployment benefits was responsible for billions in stolen benefits while seemingly ignoring a host of well-documented problems within the state’s own unemployment agency have prompted backlash online. On her personal Twitter account, Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez (D-San Diego) tweeted on Oct. 25 about rampant fraud perpetrated against the California Employment Development Department (EDD), which she
LORENA GONZALEZ represents San Diego in the Assembly. She was the author of the controversial AB 5, which upended the state’s gig economy. File photo
WE ARE BACK! Move Your Feet Before You Eat!
Thanksgiving Day November 25, 2021 ï Oceanside, CA
blamed on a self-certification process on unemployment assistance forms: “Please don’t write about the EDD Fraud in CA without noting that this wasn’t the traditional unemployment insurance. This was largely a result of PUA (Pandemic Unemployment Assistance) — which was a taxpayer funded benefit for individuals who didn’t have an ‘employer’ that paid into UI (Unemployment Insurance) & needed a safety net. Without an employer record of payment, we had to let 1099 workers (independent contractors) and self-employed folks self-certify. That allowed for massive fraud.” But Gonzalez’s remarks were
THE 2021 O’SIDE TURKEY TROT is BACK
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