Cal Pensions Cutting Coal Stock Called an “Emotional” Response to Climate Change

Cal Pensions Cutting Coal Stock Called an “Emotional” Response to Climate Change Posted: 03 Sep 2015 10:59 AM PDT By Doug Porter  You would think that losing $5 billion in pension fund investments in fossil fuel companies in 2014 would cause the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) and the California State Teachers’ Retirement System (CalSTRS) to change course. But Republican reaction to passage of SB 185, also called “Investing with Values and Responsibility,” beginning an eighteen month process to disinvest in any holdings of thermal coal is quite the opposite. Assemblyman James Gallagher, R-Yuba City decried the measure, saying, “We need to make (investment) decisions based on good, sound financial decisions, not based on emotions.” So there you have it. Global climate change is simply an emotional issue.   [Read more...]

shared from San Diego Free Press First “Wetbacks,” Then “Illegal Aliens,” and Now “Anchor Babies” — the Continued Scapegoating of Mexicans Posted: 03 Sep 2015 09:35 AM PDT The current anchor baby debate is all about who has and maintains political, economic and social power in the United States By Ruben Salazar / Raza Legal News “Anchor baby” and automatic “birthright citizenship,” thanks to Donald Trump, are the debate topics de jure. Anchor baby is the pejorative term for a child born in the United States to a foreign national mother who was not lawfully admitted for permanent residence. It first appeared in print around 1996. But the derogatory term has remained relatively obscure until about 2006. In fact, it became the American Dialect Society’s “2006 Word of the Year.”   [Read more...]

Boltman Attempts a Hail Mary Posted: 03 Sep 2015 09:34 AM PDT

Postcard from Puerto Rico: Someone Gave Us a Cistern. Thank God. Posted: 03 Sep 2015 07:11 AM PDT By Anna Daniels Hola My Tia. Yes they r talking about closing schools. It's really scary my niece writes from the municipality of Carolina, which neighbors Puerto Rico's capital of San Juan. The bagmen who are now running the show have proposed laying off teachers and closing schools as one solution to the island's financial crisis. There was a time when we could agree that our children's public education was a collective responsibility and one of the best investments in their future and our future as a democracy. That time seems to have passed as hedge fund managers, investors and banks demand to be paid today.The future be damned. And now with the water issues the schools r closing half a day.   [Read more...]

Kick Me While I’m Down Posted: 03 Sep 2015 07:08 AM PDT

Loss of Community Is Greatest Threat From Airbnb and Short-Term Vacation Rentals Posted: 03 Sep 2015 07:07 AM PDT Short-term vacation rentals are on the minds of a lot of people these days, especially with those who live at the coast in San Diego. The issue bubbles up at community meetings. An OB resident brought it up at a recent Ocean Beach Planning Board meeting. And it was the subject of a panel discussion organized recently by the Point Loma Democratic Club. Also, back in February of this year, residents of Pacific Beach made their complaints about them heard publicly. Then it came up at the most recent OB Town Council meeting last week, during the non-agenda comment period, where folks on both sides on the issue contended for audience sympathy. And it's certainly a hot topic among callers to District 2 Councilwoman Zapf's office.   [Read more...]

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