The nation's most read Spanish language newspaper, La Opinion, endorsed Measure B calling it, "a visionary proposal that merits voter's firm support".

Also supporting Measure B was the LA Sentinel which proclaimed, "On Tuesday, March 3, South LA Voters finally have an opportunity to vote on a measure which will create jobs, develop clean energy and improve the air we breathe. We strongly urge support for Measure B."

County Supervisor Mark Ridley Thomas led a spirited rally in support of Measure B. He was joined by SCOPE which recently released a report highlighting the importance of bringing green jobs to LA's distressed communities.

http://cbs2.com/video/?id=94018@kcbs.dayport.com

Measure B, which will bring 400 MW of solar power to Los Angeles, is the focus of one of the largest labor-environmental alliances of the new Obama era. Key enviromental leaders showed their strong support for Measure B last week, speaking out on the steps of LA's City Hall:

http://www.greenenergygoodjobsla.com/blog/entry/ed-begley-jr.-environmen...

The Los Angeles League of Conservation Voters recently blogged about their support for Measure B on their website. The link is below:

http://www.ecovote.org/blog/?p=508

As election day approaches Measure B continues to attract a broad coalition in favor of green energy and good jobs.

California has always been a land of pioneers– and since the 1970s it has originated innovative energy and environmental policies that have served as models for the rest of the nation. Landmark pieces of legislation and investment have encouraged the creation of everything from cleaner cars to a smarter electric grid. We have spurred the growth of new industries while preserving one of the planet's most beautiful natural landscapes. Measure B is the next big step in this proud tradition and will make Los Angeles the solar capital of the United States.
What Silicon Valley was to the computer chip, Los Angeles can be to the solar panel. If voters pass Measure B, Los Angeles will become the living laboratory for President Obama's promise to create five million green jobs. Below are links that put Measure B in the context of the burgeoning national green jobs movement:

This article from this month's issue of Rolling Stone describes how:

"If the president wants an energy policy that creates jobs while protecting the environment, one state holds the answer: California."

http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/25833544/look_west_obama

This advertisement, the first general election TV spot run by the Obama campaign reminds us of the new President's promise to put people back to work by transforming our energy system:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NRgWpa_rnWQ

This article from Time magazine discusses the promise of green jobs to improve the lives of working Americans:

http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1852183,00.html?iid=spher...

This editorial by S David Freeman- former General Manager of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power- describes how Measure B will make LA the solar hub of America:

http://www.greenenergygoodjobsla.com/news/entry/sun-can-offer-l.a.-a-wor...

On March 3rd we can not only provide green energy and good jobs for Los Angeles but lead the rest of the nation towards a clean renewable energy revolution.

There are many, many questions worth asking PA Consulting about why they are releasing a rehash of a private report compiled in a few days with what they admit was, “limited data”. This thrown-together presentation diverges strongly from the conclusions of the exhaustive independent analysis done over more then two months by Huron Consulting, which included 450 hours of interviews and 10,000 cost simulations. Huron pegged the price of implementing Measure B at around a billion dollars without tax credits and grants factored in which would make the cost significantly lower. This means that rates would increase, (if at all), a little over a dollar per month (at the very most) and that LADWP customers will continue paying the lowest rates in Southern California.

The full Huron report can be found at:
http://www.ladwpnews.com/posted/1475/Measure_B_Analysis.251664.pdf

PA Consulting has apologized to the DWP for the embarrassing and
politically-motivated leak of their hurried and incomplete slide show.
Yet opponents of Measure B continue to tout rehashed versions of it in
an effort to confuse voters as to the costs of Measure B.

Not only as advocates for green energy and good jobs but as members of
the public, we hope the press will ask PA consulting just a few vital
questions:

How many days did PA consulting have to complete the report?

How many hours of interviews did they conduct?

How many solar manufacturing plants did they visit?

How many cost simulations did they run to reach their estimates?

What is the confidence level of their figures?

Did they consult with LA-based solar manufacturing facilities, and if so, who?

Did they interview the management at any solar training facilities? If so who?

Who was the "report" intended for?

Isn't it true that it was based on, "limited and incomplete
information" and included a, "guarantee that it would never be
publicized"?

Do they regret the manner in which their incomplete work was released
to the public?

Did Andrew Rea of PA Consulting write an email apology to the DWP? Why?

Were PA Consulting's estimates ever intended to allow stakeholders to
make decisions with confidence?

Was PA Consulting's report even based on information from this year
and did it even consider the final version of Measure B?

Why did they feel it was necessary to include a long list of
disclaimers at the end of their "report"?

Do they dispute the far more comprehensive analysis of Huron consulting?

The late Senator Daniel Patrick Monihayan once said, "everyone is
entitled to their own opinion, but not their own facts." An exhaustive
report released by an experienced independent firm confirms what we
have been saying all along- that Measure B will bring green energy to
LA and create thousands of good local jobs while keeping the LADWP's
rates the lowest in Southern California. So, the biggest question of
all is:

Why are the opponents of Measure B still peddling their own distorted
and discredited set of "facts"?

Los Angeles is the largest city on the West Coast and the second largest city in the United States. For decades, Los Angeles has been a large part of the economic engine that drives prosperity in the region, the state and the nation. However, as Los Angeles looks to the future it faces substantial challenges:

• Job growth has slowed, and many of the new jobs being created are low wage jobs that don’t provide good benefits. Close to one third of Los Angeles workers earn less than $25,000 and many do not have health benefits. This is harming local communities inside Los Angeles and putting a strain on city services.

• The current recession has driven the unemployment rate in Los Angeles to 9.9% further dampening the city’s economy and threatening the city’s tax base.
• The infrastructure that made Los Angeles famous and prosperous has reached a dangerous state of decay. Years of neglect have particularly affected the Department of Water and Power, a major support for the city’s economy.
• The effects of global warming combined with development and population growth are exacerbating the strains on the city’s water and power infrastructure and are leading to an increase in the number of failures of the power system and threats to the water supply.
• State law and city ordinances require that Los Angeles shift 20% of its energy supply to renewable energy by 2010. This goal cannot be reached in any meaningful way with programs that are currently on the books.
  

The city badly needs responses to these challenges that provide for continued economic growth, good jobs, and updates to the infrastructure that relieve pressure on the current system while furthering the city’s goal of reducing the growth of its carbon footprint.
To this point, the response to these problems has been piecemeal. An example is the purchase of energy from sources outside the city to meet the renewable energy requirements. While this may help meet the energy requirements, it does nothing to promote economic development, create good jobs, or reduce the strain on the city’s energy infrastructure.
Under Measure B the LADWP will install photovoltaic solar systems on the commercial rooftops of cooperating owners using materials manufactured in the City of Los Angeles and installed by employees of the LADWP. For this to happen, the DWP will have to hire new workers.
These new jobs created by Measure B will be open to Los Angeles residents and a training academy will be established to train them, creating a green work force that will give LA a leg up on the future. Under Measure B, the LADWP would finance and own the systems and use them as part of their renewable energy portfolio.

The Bottom Line

• Photovoltaic solar is the only way to generate renewable energy that is scalable inside the city of Los Angeles and therefore produces jobs and economic development in the city.

• Installation of photovoltaic solar that is owned and operated by the Department of Water and Power will produce good wage jobs at the Department of Water and Power and in the private sector.
• The installation of photovoltaic solar systems on commercial buildings will reduce the load demands on the current power infrastructure during times of peak load.
• A photovoltaic solar system installed on commercial buildings that is owned and operated by the LADWP will replace the current ineffective solar program and save the city money in the long run. That will help the city meet its renewable energy goals and save taxpayer dollars at the same time.
• Creating good, high tech jobs in Los Angeles provides a secure foundation for our economy. Measure B is our chance to make Los Angeles a leader in renewable energy technology and produce good, middle class jobs at the same time.
  

Yesterday, when I was watching the CNN/YouTube Democratic debate I noticed that there was a significant number of Californian's questions that were selected to be asked of the candidates. Out of the 38 questions that were asked, eight came from Californians. No other state even came close to matching that total. Minnesota, Michigan, South Carolina and Pennsylvania had two each. The rest were single digits and two came from unknown locations.

Everyone in the country was eligible to submit a question. A state by state breakdown of the origin of all of the 2,000+ questioners is impossible to find, since we only know user names. However, during the debate they listed the hometown of almost all. So we can't know if this was a representative sample of the questions asked. Regardless, it is great to see so many Californians get a chance to ask the candidates questions during the debate. Wouldn't it be ironic if there were more CA questions asked during this debate than the one in LA?

Below the fold are the Californian questions and the name and hometown of the questioner.

>> read more

MoveOn held their climate change townhall this weekend and numbers are starting to come out from both the straw poll and the attendees. It was the largest MoveOn event since 2004, with over 100,000 people at 1,300 house parties. There is immense interest from activist Democrats in what the presidential contenders have to say on climate change.

Obama got a lot of kudos for his bold moves on the environment over the weekend, and broke some new ground during the townhall, announcing a proposal for carbon auctions to fund alternative energy research.

Some activists pronounced themselves delighted with Obama’s words aired over the weekend.

The president of Clean Air Watch, Frank O’Donnell, said Obama’s support of carbon auctions “shows a terrifically enlightened attitude.” O’Donnell noted that a recent Congressional Budget Office study found that buying and selling emissions allowances would produce long-term economic benefits.

Interestingly, that did not translate into votes in the straw poll, where Edwards had the clear lead in both the overall vote and among those who attended the house parties. MoveOn allowed all of their members to participate in the straw poll, even though many of them may not have seen all of the candidate's remarks. Obama came in forth in both. Environmentalists' concerns with Obama's position on coal-to-liquid fuel may have effected the results. He has been moving away from that position, much in the way that Clinton has done on free trade. However, the shifting may not have solidified support for him in this particular crowd.

The results of the straw poll will go for more than just a few blog posts (even if they are on the NYT site). MoveOn will run print ads in newspapers in Iowa and New Hampshire next week, announcing the results. They used an email announcing the results to fundraise for the ads.

“The enormous response we got from our members on this issue emphasizes how important it will be for our next president to make solving the climate crisis a top priority in 2008,” said Eli Pariser, Executive Director of MoveOn.org Political Action.

“MoveOn members want leaders who will take on the oil and coal industry and create a clean energy economy. That’s probably why Sen. Edwards’ support of cap and auction systems – which force polluters to pay citizens—and his call for more green collar jobs received such strong backing,” added Ilyse Hogue, Campaign Director of MoveOn.org Political Action.

MoveOn will host a third and final townhall in the fall on affordable health care. The first was on Iraq.

Over the weekend, MoveOn hosted one of a series of virtual townhalls, where the presidential candidates answer questions of concern to MoveOn members. This one was on the climate and timed to coincide with Live Earth.

All of the Democratic contenders participated and were asked three questions:

1. How does your plan on climate crisis differ from other candidates?
2. Do you support the use of an subsidies for liquid coal?
3. How will Americans, not just corporations, benefit from new energy economy?

The responses were video taped and put up on YouTube. Nobody really made any real news in their comments, but it is an easy way to compare the candidates in a non-traditional format. The candidates often use the initial questions to address their broader environmental and energy policies.

Here is the highlights video.

Perhaps the most interesting tidbit was that while Senators Edwards and Obama stated their support for a carbon emissions market (cap-and-trade variation), Clinton said that it would be one of several things she would consider.

[UPDATE] 5:30 pm Check out this quick and snarky overview of the top five Democrat's plans on the environment by Grist. It is well worth a read.

The presidential campaign seems to have settled down in to a groove. Candidates traipse across the country rarely going a day without fundraising and calling at least one press conference. The early primary states are lavished with much more attention than the February 5th states. Every few weeks there is a debate or an event where they all get to make their stump speeches. This week it is the Take Back America conference in DC. The ratio of campaign events to campaign events is shifting as the quarterly deadline approaches and the need to feed the media beast with a large figure drives decisions. Hillary Clinton had a pretty classic campaign day today, which the AP details.

She was in her now home state of New York, but was upstate most of the day, going from appearance to appearance. She started off in Buffalo at the Eero Saarinenn designed Kleinhan Music hall for a $500 plate breakfast fundraiser. A neat space actually, if you happen to find yourself in Buffalo. It's right on the Frederick Law Olmsted park. Clinton left from there to plant trees with Buffalo's mayor at the City Honors High School. She had brought along seeds from a white ash tree from Eleanor Roosevelt's Hyde Park estate Val-Kill. The trees were meant to replace the ones that were lost in an enormous (even for Buffalo) snow storm. That one forced my grandmother to evacuate her home for a few days. The planting appearance gave Hillary a chance to promote her energy and environmental policy positions.

After planting trees and raising cash Clinton headed East to Rochester for a meeting on the city's crime rate and an opportunity to talk about her national anti-violence initiatives. Oh and she has another fundraiser scheduled in Rochester later today.

In that way, Clinton said, she sees her presidential run as a positive for New York.

"There's a linkage between everything I do in and for New York and what I'm trying to do on the campaign trail and what I want to do as president," Clinton said at City Honors High School, where a lawn full of children awaited her arrival for more than an hour.

"You can talk about global warming right here in Buffalo while we're planting trees that are going to benefit the people of Buffalo, and I want to make those connections," she said.

It is an effective approach that is employed by all of the major candidates. They smoothly transition from event, to press conference, to fundraiser. I am simply amazed that they don't screw up the name of the town more often, as they plant trees to harvest voters and cash.