Here’s what we’re talking about this week:

• Economic and environmental opportunity of warehouses (believe it)
• Supercommuters and the impact on our environment
• Missing Chinese tourists in California

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🤫 Everything you should know

- Economic development and warehouses go hand-in-hand in San Bernardino County, and as you can imagine it’s a controversial change for locals and the businesses who see economic opportunity. Media coverage over the last couple of months focuses on what could be lost with the heralding of 2 million square feet of warehouse space. The community of 23,000 residents will soon be home to the Bloomington Business Park, “a 213-acre industrial park that promises to bring several thousand jobs.” Many residents sold their homes to developers to make way for the changes, but hold-outs rightfully wonder what their community will turn into after the houses are supplanted with warehouses. Outside groups rage that the environment will be ruined by trucks going in and out of Bloomington for shipping, but the alternative is putting storage farther from roadways and city centers, leading to an increase in emissions overall. Ecommerce will not stop, and in the most populous state in the country, it makes sense to have warehouses located in California to cut down on transportation emissions rather than elsewhere, like Nevada or Arizona. Outsourcing vital infrastructure like warehouses will only exacerbate our environmental problems. Anyway, feel free to read the LAist piece on the new Bloomington Business Park but know that the environmental and economic positives of this development are missing from the story. LAist

- NIMBYs love to fancy themselves as environmentalists, but their refusal to build more housing is actually contributing to transportation pollution. The share of supercommuters — people who travel more than 90 minutes to get to work — is rising across the nation, but it may be rising fastest in California. Southern California had more than 300,000 supercommuters in 2022 — more than any other region in the country. The city with the most supercommuters is Palmdale, where residents have to drive 60 miles to get around the Angeles National Forest to get to Los Angeles. Creating more affordable housing in highly desirable places, even say Malibu, will reduce emissions because then the workers of the city will be more likely to live nearby, reducing emissions. SFGATE

- The COVID-19 lockdowns imposed by the Chinese government are still affecting us. In the year before the pandemic, 1 million Chinese tourists visited Los Angeles. Now, more than four years after the start of the pandemic the number of tourists has only recovered to around 40%. This slow recovery is in part due to a slower Chinese economy where families have smaller travel budgets, a growth in domestic tourism in China, and even fewer flights connecting California to China. California is an international attraction, and the tourism industry wants to see more people from China visit the Golden State and return to pre-pandemic numbers. Channel News Asia

Congressman Schiff on our NCC Partner Call

We’re grateful to Congressman Schiff for joining our June partners call with dozens of civic leaders from all across California. Congressman Schiff has been a staunch advocate for federal dollars to boost his district, and is committed to bringing more infrastructure and economic development to the state!

💰 Who will bear the price of fire?

Should new fire insurance policies put the burden on underwriters or consumers? If you want both sides of the argument you can hear from a representative of the insurance industry and a consumer advocate in this Los Angeles Times article. Here’s one perspective: yes, there is burdensome regulation that prevents insurers from raising rates willy-nilly. But consumers are also being given a terrible deal. Homeownership in the state is already incredibly difficult – hiking insurance premiums is unaffordable and leaving consumers without insurance is dangerous. Perhaps our policymakers should be focusing on tackling the core issues that are leading to more frequent and more powerful fires.

🌲 Free California State Parks

Californians can access hundreds of the state’s parks for free through at least December 2025. The recently renewed Library Parks Pass Program allows Californians with valid library cards to check out a park pass from their local library to be used for a single-vehicle entry at more than 200 state parks, beaches, and recreation areas. Cardholders can check out a pass and visit as many as 54 state parks throughout the year, free of charge. KTLA

2️⃣0️⃣ Celebrating Jim Wunderman at Bay Area Council

Our Co-Founder and Board Chair, Jim Wunderman, was surprised with a 20th anniversary party recognizing his two decades serving the Bay Area Council. Jim is a passionate advocate for the future of California and dogged in his pursuit of a new era of opportunity for everyone in the state. We’re grateful for his hard work and leadership!