Latest news with #MelissaHurtado
Yahoo
24-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Bill that aims to increase Kern County's commercial air service passes Senate Transportation Committee
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — If passed, a proposed bill that aims to expand commercial air service in Kern County and improve funding for airports throughout California may play a crucial role in helping the state prepare for the 2028 Summer Olympics. Senate Bill 661, also known as the Airport Expansion and Regional Optimization (AERO) Act, passed out of the Senate Transportation Committee with bipartisan support, according to a press release from Sen. Melissa Hurtado's office. The bill would increase funding sources to increase the number of commercial flights to and from Kern County and improve infrastructure at the Meadows Field Airport. These changes are meant to take account of the growing population and economic potential in Kern County, according to the bill. Honor Flight 51 returns to Kern County The bill would also allocate state sales tax revenue from aviation fuel for improvements in airports of all sizes throughout California as well as other developments in California's aviation industry. Senate Bill 661 would help California prepare for major statewide events like the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles by encouraging partnerships among local governments and communities, according to Hurtado. 'Kern County feeds the nation, fuels the state and increasingly powers the clean energy transition — but it remains one of the most disconnected regions by air,' Hurtado said in the release. 'SB 661 is about building something better for Kern County and something stronger for all of California.' Never miss a story: Make your homepage Hurtado also announced a collaborative agreement with the Senate Transportation Committee to continue working with airports throughout California for a fairer and more transparent funding distribution plan. Senate Bill 661 will now head to the Senate Appropriations Committee, according to Hurtado. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
18-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Residents balk at proposed sewer rate increase
Letters notifying Bakersfield residents of a major hike in their sewer rates went out last week and already residents are organizing to oppose the increase. The city has raised its sewer rates only twice since 2006, allowing Bakersfield residents to enjoy some of the lowest rates among the state's large cities. Now, city officials say they need to start looking into building a new wastewater treatment plant. The rate increase approved by the City Council at its March 26 meeting is planned to increase raise rates more than 300%. For a single-family home that means what was a yearly rate of $239, or $19.92 a month, will jump to $950 per year, or $79.17 a month. A state law known as Proposition 218 requires jurisdictions to send notices to impacted ratepayers and hold a public meeting within 45 days of those notices being issued. On April 11, such notices were sent to Bakersfield residents. "How can they think we can afford this big increase?" a user self-identified as R.L. asked on the social media platform Nextdoor. "We need to go to the meeting and tell them, 'No, we're not paying this.'" The official meeting to hear protests against the increase isn't scheduled until May 28, but social media posts have called on residents to attend the council's next meeting on Wednesday to protest the increase. The change even drew the attention of state Sen. Melissa Hurtado, D-Sanger, who issued a letter Wednesday "urging greater transparency and oversight" in the city's proposal. "I appreciate the work local leaders are doing to invest in our infrastructure — that's not in question,' Hurtado said in a statement. 'But when ratepayers are potentially on the hook for hundreds of millions of dollars in unexplained spikes, it's our responsibility to ask the tough questions." Under Prop. 218, if the city receives objections from more than 50% of impacted residents, it can't move forward with the increase. Objections can be made in person at the May 28 meeting or submitted in writing to the city clerk's office before the end of that meeting. Some residents have posted letter templates in English and Spanish protesting the increase for residents to use. Driving the cost is pent-up demand for maintenance and repairs with the city's aging sewer infrastructure, including what the city says is the need for a new wastewater treatment plant. The city currently has two treatment plants, the smaller of which — Wastewater Treatment Plant No. 2 on East Planz Road — was built in 1958 and last upgraded in 2000. The plant, which operates at all hours to process 25 million gallons of wastewater daily, has significant corrosion issues and runs technologies that were cutting edge in the 1970s, according to Wastewater Manager Evette Roldan. Needed repairs at the facility added up quickly, Roldan said, and staff determined that a new facility would be a better use of money, not just for current residents but for the rapid growth the city is experiencing, particularly in southwest Bakersfield. "We got to the point of when you started adding up all the potential improvements that we came to the conclusion that it's most likely going to be some type of a significant upgrade or a full rebuild," Kristina Budak, director of water resources, said at the March 26 meeting. "And that's where we identified the cost of being approximately $450 million for construction," she said. Staff presented council members with four options for funding the projects, two of which were designed to collect all needed money while two others would have raised only enough money to operate the old plant while raising half the funds for a new facility, both within five years. Budak said staff looked at expanding the timeline beyond five years to seven, but Prop. 218 limits approval of increases to five years into the future. If the city were to raise only half the needed funds, it would likely issue bonds to raise the remaining money, adding interest payments long into the future to the total cost of the project. According to a graphic presented by city staff, Bakersfield's current rate of $239 per year was lower than that of Fresno ($379), Anaheim ($558) and Sacramento ($627). The proposed annual rate of $950 would put the city between that of San Diego ($939) and Los Angeles ($1,375). It wasn't an easy decision for council members to make. Members spent roughly an hour debating the topic, and several expressed frustration with the shortage of options. "When you're the cheapest and you only patch what's broke," Ward 4 Councilman Bob Smith said, "then sooner or later you have to pay. And the longer we wait, the higher this number goes in my mind." Ward 1 Councilman Eric Arias said he recognized the need for upgrades to the treatment plant but noted many of his constituents were living on fixed incomes. "I think that we have to do everything that we can at the local level to help folks literally survive and fight for the next day. And I think that timing is really what it comes down to for me," Arias said. "I think it's very clear we have to upgrade the sewer plant, No. 2. I just don't know that now is the right time." The decision to send out the Prop. 218 notices came down to a narrow vote. Council members voted 3-2 to send out the notices, with members Zack Bashirtash, Larry Koman and Greg Smith voting in favor and Eric Arias and Andrae Gonzales voting against. Members Manpreet Kaur and Ken Weir were absent. The city has taken note of the public's frustration with the issue, posting information on social media about the proposal with instructions on how to give public comment. "We've seen your posts and messages about the proposed sewer rate adjustment — and we understand your frustration," the city said on social media.
Yahoo
14-02-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
A new bill could require California to monitor wastewater for disease in the Central Valley
State Sen. Melissa Hurtado (D-Sanger) is frustrated by the lack of wastewater monitoring for H5N1 bird flu in the state's most at risk communities: regions of the Central Valley where dairy workers, dairy herds and commercial poultry operations are most concentrated. On Tuesday, she introduced a bill to fix that. Called the Wastewater Surveillance Act, if passed, it would require at least one wastewater monitoring site in every California county. The bill would require the state's department of public health to expand its current wastewater network, known as Cal-SuWers, to include all counties "and prioritize underserved and high-risk areas." California is ground zero for the H5N1 bird flu virus in dairy cattle and dairy workers. Since the virus was first reported in dairy herds in March 2024, California has accounted for 77% of all U.S. dairy herd infections and 38 of the nation's 68 human cases. Hurtado has said her father and niece were both sickened last summer by an unknown respiratory virus. She said they live in the Central Valley near poultry and dairy operations — but they were not tested for H5N1. The Central Valley, where the majority of California dairy herds are located, has been center of the outbreak. However, when it comes to wastewater surveillance — which health officials use to alert them to the presence and concentration of pathogens, such as H5N1, seasonal influenza, COVID-19 and norovirus — little is being done in this area of the state to monitor for the virus. In fact, it's nonexistent in some of the counties most at risk, including Tulare and Kings. In California, health officials say they are monitoring 78 sites in 36 counties for a range of viruses; in all but two sites they say they are looking for bird flu. "We have a bird flu outbreak. It's running amok among dairy cattle and herds which are largely in the Central Valley," said Hurtado. "And right now we don't have any waste monitor, wastewater monitoring going on there. This law would change that." This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Los Angeles Times
14-02-2025
- Health
- Los Angeles Times
A new bill could require California to monitor wastewater for disease in the Central Valley
State Sen. Melissa Hurtado (D-Sanger) is frustrated by the lack of wastewater monitoring for H5N1 bird flu in the state's most at risk communities: regions of the Central Valley where dairy workers, dairy herds and commercial poultry operations are most concentrated. On Tuesday, she introduced a bill to fix that. Called the Wastewater Surveillance Act, if passed, it would require at least one wastewater monitoring site in every California county. The bill would require the state's department of public health to expand its current wastewater network, known as Cal-SuWers, to include all counties 'and prioritize underserved and high-risk areas.' California is ground zero for the H5N1 bird flu virus in dairy cattle and dairy workers. Since the virus was first reported in dairy herds in March 2024, California has accounted for 77% of all U.S. dairy herd infections and 38 of the nation's 68 human cases. Hurtado has said her father and niece were both sickened last summer by an unknown respiratory virus. She said they live in the Central Valley near poultry and dairy operations — but they were not tested for H5N1. The Central Valley, where the majority of California dairy herds are located, has been center of the outbreak. However, when it comes to wastewater surveillance — which health officials use to alert them to the presence and concentration of pathogens, such as H5N1, seasonal influenza, COVID-19 and norovirus — little is being done in this area of the state to monitor for the virus. In fact, it's nonexistent in some of the counties most at risk, including Tulare and Kings. In California, health officials say they are monitoring 78 sites in 36 counties for a range of viruses; in all but two sites they say they are looking for bird flu. 'We have a bird flu outbreak. It's running amok among dairy cattle and herds which are largely in the Central Valley,' said Hurtado. 'And right now we don't have any waste monitor, wastewater monitoring going on there. This law would change that.'
