giving you the scoop on all the things. literally
Attention all climate warriors: there is a new power center in town. The SLO Climate Coalition is official and looking for volunteers to help make a Carbon Free SLO. They’re starting with Community Choice Energy and spreading EV charging throughout town. Your influence could add other initiatives… and with a partnership with the city, they will get sh*t done. Easy action: sign up to get their emails. Better action: commit to helping with your talent and time.
No mo’ baby steps! On Tuesday the SLO City Council took a big daddy step toward a new Community Choice Energy program. A locally controlled non-profit will break the PG&E monopoly to keep jobs and profits here while empowering each other to produce and conserve renewable energy. This long and winding road has big momma steps ahead, so we applaud & encourage the many voices that continue to put one foot in front of the other to make our world a better place.
The local clean power movement sweeping California has finally arrived at our doorstep. You could soon have cleaner alternatives to PG&E’s electricity plus more incentives to go solar. City Council, with urging from SLO Clean Energy, is pushing for a Net Zero carbon goal. Council is opening their ears (and inboxes) to the public on Dec 12th from 4-5:30 pm about ways to adopt a Community Choice Energy program. Renewables + local + choices –monopoly = good, amirite?
Another fun thing that happened at the kumbaya Council meeting last week was the adoption of an MOU (Memorandum of Understanding) with a “Community Climate Action Task Force”. Translation: a new and open-to-the-community subgroup of SLO Clean Energy just hitched up to the council and took Aaron Gomez hostage so they can banter and bicker about how best to get to Net Zero. Current priorities are promoting EVs and Community Choice Energy… but your input and passion is needed. Just reach out via FB or Email to help out!
The city of SLO has proclaimed June 20 Net Zero Energy Day. Inspiring SLO-cals to reduce their energy use could lead to some romantic candle-lit nights this Tuesday. Proactively addressing climate change is one of the city’s major goals, and Mayor Harmon aims to make SLO a Net Zero City while a tri-county commission studies Community Choice Energy. Poppin’ a bottle of local vino and whispering sweet nothings may use zero energy, but sure creates some sparks!
Much has been made about the closure of Diablo and the difficulty of replacing that semi-clean energy with totally clean renewables. What if we could make that happen for realz? Well, SLO county (along with Ventura and Santa Barbara counties) is looking into adopting a Community Choice Energy program to give our 1.5 million residents the option of following in the footsteps of Marin, Sonoma, Alameda, SF, the East Bay… and many others.
This would create local green jobs, lower our electricity rates, reduce our carbon footprint, encourage energy innovation, and empower homeowners and landowners to become their own power plants. Seriously, it’s the best thing since sliced bread and it could be oursss, all OURSSS. You just have to want it. Get involved with our local non-profit advocacy group, SLO Clean Energy, before you pay that next PG&E bill!
Keeping SLO great
Are we surprised that cities all over are careening off the COVID cliff? Although we all wish the pandemic would not keep going, like this Karen mask tantrum, COVID19 is still blowin’ up. SLO was in pretty good financial shape, but the virus has basically obliterated funds for non-mandatory community investment. Over 2 years ago, the city surveyed residents about the services and infrastructure most important to them (Hint: preserving open space, maintaining emergency services…) but haven’t really figured out how the *bleep* it was gonna be paid for.
Dubbed SLO Forward, the city has focused its attention on economic stability, recovery and resiliency. Basically it’s an item on the November ballot: an extension of the ½ cent Measure G and add another cent… up to 8.75%. With the average CA sales tax at 8.66% and an estimated 70% of revenue to come from visitors, this thing polls well. Prolly because the estimated $21.6M annual revenue would help G.S.D. ‘round town. Read up dear voter, because Council voted recently to give you the choice.
Tuesday night our earth-lovin city council approved (4 to 1) the Clean Choice Energy Program that will slash pollution and make our homes safer by encouraging new buildings to be all-electric in addition to the state mandates of solar panels & extra efficiency. Developers who don’t wanna play all-electric ball will either pay a fee or have to off-set their carbon footprint by removing gas from elsewhere. Older buildings (i.e. the one you live in) will by next year be eligible for incentives to remove gas appliances using, you guessed it, the fees paid by the new gas-filled buildings.
Buildings account for 30% of the carbon emissions in SLO, second only to cars. As San Luis aims to be carbon neutral by 2035 – the most ambitious climate action target in the nation – these new building regulations are a huge step in the right direction. To make this clean energy pie even sweeter, SLO will begin receiving cheaper carbon-free electricity in January 2020, thanks to its partnership with Monterey Bay Community Power. Worried you’ll miss the burnt tortilla fingers provided by your current gas stove? Rent a not-yo-mama’s electric induction burner from the city library here.
When we were developing our brainchild SLO Scoop back in 2015 [ages and ages ago], our goal was to present local issues from the Under 40 perspective. We debated whether we had a duty to be unbiased… and we decided — nope. Although we fully recognize the Under 40 demographic contains a wide array of beliefs and values, we’re going to take a stand and represent the majority of opinions we see and hear among the SLO U40s [and a few of us who’ve crept over the hill]. We’ve stuck to our word, and made our voices heard on issues ranging from housing projects, to climate change initiatives, to better bike lanes, and we’re #notsorry about it.
In line with taking a stand and not backing down [feels like a Tom Petty song is about to play], we decided it was about time SLO Scoop endorsed candidates in the race for SLO Mayor and City Council. Those butts sitting up on the dais at City Hall shape SLO in a myriad of ways that affect our lives on a daily basis, and we’re not about to support candidates who aren’t willing to promote positive change, community engagement and progress.
SLO Scoop officially supports and endorses:
Why? Because they rock. But also because their visions and beliefs align with the issues that matter to us professional-workin’ trail blazin’ Under 40 residents who believe we’re already on the right track to a better SLO-morrow. That, by the way, is a SLO where working professionals can afford to live, have great career opps, multi-modal transportation choices, a clean environment, and maybe afford a few craft cocktails while we’re at it [adulting is stressful, amiright?]. Over a few Sidecar cocktails and emails, we interviewed Heidi, Carlyn & Erica and got a deeper understanding of why they’re running, their positions on issues, and their spirit animals. Here goes…
