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EcoNews Report: Senator Catherine Blakespear talks CEQA reform

Blakespear's official portrait from Wikimedia
Blakespear's official portrait from Wikimedia

The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) is under attack. CEQA is blamed by some for virtually all issues, from housing to high gas prices, and there are corresponding calls for its "reform," a slippery word with a variety of meanings from light-touch efforts to reform to larger dismantling of California's flagship environmental law. The legislature has responded with various new legislation, mostly specifically targeted at releasing most major infill housing from the law's control. Now, a ballot initiative sponsored by the California Chamber of Commerce, Proposition 45, aims to significantly reduce the law's reach over broad areas.

Central to many of these conversations has been Senator Catherine Blakespear. Sen. Blakespear has emerged as one of California's environmental champions, pushing back against more aggressive rollback proposals.

Senator Blakespear joins the show to discuss her legislative work to protect California's environment and her thoughts on Prop. 45.

In addition to being a host on EcoNews Report, Scott Greacen is also Executive Director of Friends of the Eel River. Scott is a graduate of Reed College and Lewis and Clark Law School, and a member of the California bar. He has been active in the environmental movement since 1989.
Jennifer Kalt is the Director of Humboldt Baykeeper, which works to safeguard coastal resources for the health, enjoyment, and economic strength of the Humboldt Bay community. The Baykeeper edition of the Northcoast Environmental Center's EcoNews Report airs on the third Thursday of the month, and features interviews of the many fascinating people involved in Humboldt Bay issues. For more info, visit humboldtbaykeeper.org.
Tom Wheeler is the Program Director and Staff Attorney at the Environmental Protection Information Center. Tom graduated from the University of Washington School of Law with a concentration in Environmental Law. When he’s not nerding out over the Endangered Species Act (his all-time favorite law), Tom is probably plunking the banjo, playing ping-pong with his wife, Jenna, or petting his cats, Fatty and Trim. Tom can be reached at tom@wildcalifornia.org.