Local and State by Sam

 How are California's state legislator and/or local governments using their power to preserve state and local values in the face of conflicting Federal policies?   Legislatures principal functions are policy making, representation and oversight. This is a good question wish an example would be on the oversight function.  In Missouri 1997 they were having issues with their budget. The executive branch (Federal) got outside of their lane and into the states lane. Although state agencies are required to provide extensive data to justify their budget the federal agencies need to stay out of the process.   A California example will be added soon.

Just testing to see why some post are not posting after clicking on "Publish"

Solar World Power energy company is expanding in California. There are 2 training locations, one in Berkeley and another in Fremont.  The next available is Feb 23, 2019 Until then I have spend some time looking at other options. In Belmont there was a meeting at 1 Twin  Pines Lane at 4pm about the approved expansion of downtown and how traffic is going to be effected.  One of the major issues to minimize the congestion.  The plan is to utilize more public transportation and more bicycle, scooter and walking options. 2- hours

Solar Power World will be offering the next possible training on Feb 23 at 9am at the Sobrato Center for Nonprofits in building 5 room 6, 600 Valley Way, Milpitas, CA 95035.  This is a mandatory safety course and classroom training before any member is allowed to participate in the solar power program. There is a scheduled project that weekend to offer hands on help with a project.

My original Community Partner was with the city of Belmont and the volunteer department. I have not had much luck connecting with the right people to get involved so I am trying something else.  This week I stumbled on  volunteermatch.org . The solar panel volunteer project really caught my interest.  I signed up for a solar college course back in 2017 at College of San Mateo but was cancelled before the first day of class. The next possible training before I get to volunteer with them is Saturday Feb 23. So far what I know is that all volunteers need this classroom training before anyone are allowed to volunteer. The actual organization is Solar Power World.  The organization focuses on homes that use less than $100 per month.  Large solar companies avoid homes like these because there is not enough profit for the company.  Some of there founders came from  Cleveland, Ohio and are fairly new to Berkeley, California. My thought is how this connects wi...

Let's first start with why there needs to be a difference.  The local governments can exercise their power that has been granted by the state.  These are explicit powers.  One example for chapter 10 was that some the community wanted to build a new church but others wanted to redevelop in the same district an entertainment and tried to short the construction of the church. Some might say this could cause a conflict with a few bars and other adult establishments. The state of Arizona has a law prohibiting cities for using their zoning codes to restrict where religious facilities can be located. In a slight joking was this was a smart idea for the church to reach out to the community if you were already out on the town the church would be a convenient place to attend. But let's focus a bit on money.  Most of us have heard to places of states with no sales tax like Delaware.  Well places like California where the sales tax is 7.25%, but cities like San F...

This is just a test post.  Here is a link to report an road hazards such as dangerous pot holes, tripping hazards and even vegetation growth that can cause a hazard. https://www.belmont.gov/departments/public-works/operations-maintenance/streets-and-sidewalks