Things to read from the past week.
- Some homeowners struggled to pay PACE improvement loans. The coronavirus made it harder: "Property Assessed Clean Energy, or PACE, loans first took off in the middle of last decade — the result of a private-public partnership created to finance energy- and water-efficient home improvements." (LA Times)
- A "Zero" "Net" "Emissions" Clippers Arena: CEQA hijinks for the controversial arena project in Inglewood (Unstatable)
- No jobs, no tests, no savings: Southeast LA County hit hard by pandemic: "The survey was conducted for a Los Angeles foundation seeking information on how small cities in the region are faring, including Bell, Bell Gardens, East Los Angeles, Huntington Park, Maywood, Lynwood, South Gate, Paramount and East Compton, among others. About 700,000 people reside in the 15 communities, about 90% of them Latino with many families living below the poverty line." (CalMatters)
- Eyes on the Street: Red Pavement Bus Lanes in Downtown L.A.: LADOT makes the Figueroa Street bus-only lanes more visible (Streetsblog LA)
- Coronavirus and financial hurdles are delaying projects to build homeless housing: "The coronavirus, which has disrupted contractors’ schedules and dragged out inspections, is only part of the problem....A number of projects that have commitments for HHH funding are being delayed even before construction can begin because the federal rent subsidies that are crucial to their financing are drying up." (LA Times)
- New Rule on Environmental Impacts of Driving, Long Awaited, Goes Into Effect on Wednesday: Level of Service is dead, long live Vehicle Miles Traveled (Streetsblog California)
- Gov. Newsom to Order Immediate Closure of LA Restaurant Dining Rooms Over Next Three Weeks: "The action comes a little over a month after the state allowed LA County dining rooms to reopen. Outdoor dining will still be allowed, but bars must close entirely." (Eater LA)
- After Internment, a Store Was Born. It’s Still an L.A. Staple.: "Bunkado, a gift shop that opened in 1946 in Little Tokyo, tells the story of a Japanese-American family." (New York Times)
- Editorial: To end City Hall corruption, get politicians out of land-use decisions: "Los Angeles needs to fundamentally alter how developments are approved. The city needs clear, modern and objective rules for development that spell out what can be built where. The rules should represent the needs of the city for housing and jobs, as well as the neighborhood’s desires for amenities and livability. Those rules should guide project approvals. The city cannot continue to tolerate case-by-case development based on the whims of a councilman, a political contribution or a NIMBY opponent." (LA Times)
- Props to you, Californians: A preview of what’s on your November ballot (CalMatters)
- LA's Covid-19 'explosion': overwhelmed hospitals, struggling workers, shuttered restaurants: "LA county broke records in recent days with worrying coronavirus outbreaks and fatality rates – the county reported three straight days of more than 2,100 new cases." (The Guardian)
- Black and Brown Residents Speak to Urgency of Deep Systemic Transformation, Offer Insights Regarding Reinvestment (Streetsblog LA)
- Former L.A. building official alleges he was ousted after blowing whistle on fraud: "Ongele’s claims are tied to an earlier scandal that revolved around improper purchases and falsified invoices in the technology section of the agency, which procures and maintains computer software and equipment for the department." (LA Times)
- It’s Time to Try Congestion Pricing in L.A.: Parking guru Donald Shoup makes the case for congestion pricing. (Bloomberg)
