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The Almond Alliance is lauding California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s inclusion of bee habitat projects and funding for growers in the revised budget proposal he unveiled recently.

The $267.8 billion budget that Newsom submitted on Friday, May 14 would include $213 million for an agricultural equipment incentive program, $150 million for the Alternatives to Agricultural Burning Incentive Program and $30 million in pollinator habitat funding, the organization notes.

Assemblyman Carlos Villapudua was elected in November 2020 to represent District 13 – composed of areas throughout Stockton, Tracy, Mountain House, Lodi, and Thornton – at the State Assembly. He was born and raised in Stockton and graduated from California State University, Sacramento.  

He previously served on the San Joaquin County Board of Supervisors for eight years and was the CEO of the San Joaquin County Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. 

1. Why should people get vaccinated?  

A bill in the Assembly that would encourage farmers to provide forage and habitat for pollinators through incentives grants is facing a key vote in the Appropriations Committee on Wednesday.

Assembly Bill 350 seeks to help farmers and ranchers navigate the implementation of the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA). The SGMA assistance bill would provide funding for technical support for producers to help with compliance. Introduced by Assemblymember Carlos Villapudua, the bill is being sponsored by American Farmland Trust (AFT). The legislation was passed out of the Assembly Agriculture Committee with a unanimous vote and is being heard in the Assembly Water, Parks, and Wildlife Committee beginning April 26.

Following efforts from California legislators to call on Gov. Gavin Newsom to declare a state of emergency over the drought, one Central Valley Democrat is urging the governor to go one step further by making long-lasting investments to solve the state’s water crisis. 

Earlier this month, a group of bipartisan legislators wrote a letter to Newsom making their case for an emergency declaration. 

Exactly a year ago, Oasis City Center Executive Director Heather Green and her team established a drive-thru food distribution center at Oasis Cares, 848 E. Hammer Lane. 

After 12 months, they’ve collected and delivered over 1 million pounds in pantry products to 250,000 community members. 

Because of her work, Green was recently named Woman of the Year for District 13 by State Assemblyman Carlos Villapudua.  

The recent announcement by the governor's office that 40% of upcoming vaccine allocations in the state will be distributed among the most vulnerable residents that have been impacted by COVID-19, is welcome relief to the cherry industry, where vaccinating staff is an urgent need.

The cherry industry has not only worked through a year of COVID-19 protocols, but will be packing and exporting its second harvest during the pandemic. 

A new bill would move the office of California’s powerful public utilities regulator to Stockton and encourage the selection of commissioners from the Central Valley. The bill’s author, Asm. Carlos Villapudua (D-Stockton), says that it could create as many as 1,000 jobs in the Stockton region.

The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), which is currently located in San Francisco, oversees the state’s natural gas, telecommunications, water, and power utilities like PG&E. The agency also has field offices in Los Angeles and San Francisco.

A state lawmakers is pushing for homeless shelters to allow pets. Assemblymember Carlos Villapudua introduced Assembly Bill 258, which would require shelters that receive money from the state to accept people living on the street and their pets.

The bill is modeled after a Stockton pilot program, where the shelter for the homeless in Stockton allows individuals to take in one pet as long as it’s vaccinated.

Villapudua says about 5% of the homeless in the state own pets.

A post-pandemic California could potentially feature permanent restaurant parklets, open-container zones in cities. and an easier road for opening pop-up restaurants, if a new bill introduced Friday is passed by the Legislature.

Sponsored by Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, the Bar and Restaurant Recovery Act, or SB314, would loosen certain alcohol laws throughout the state. The goal, Wiener said, is to give more flexibility to bars, restaurants and music venues in order to help them stay afloat.