Latest news with #Californians
Business Wire
4 hours ago
- Business
- Business Wire
Wescom Financial Hosts Grand Opening Celebration for New Marina Branch
--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Wescom Financial: ***Media Advisory*** WHAT: Wescom Financial has been helping Californians build better lives with a full array of banking and financial services for 90+ years. The financial institution is hosting a grand opening celebration with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at its new Marina Branch, taking place Tuesday, June 24th from 5 - 7 p.m. The event, open to the public, will feature food, beverages and prizes. This marks the first new branch for Wescom in Monterey County following the merger with Central Coast Federal Credit Union (CCFCU) in 2024. The media is encouraged to attend the grand opening event and can RSVP here: WHEN: Tuesday, June 24, 2025 from 5 to 7 p.m. WHO: Wescom Financial Marina Branch team members Leinette Limtiaco, Vice President, Branch Operations, Central Coast region Community members Field representative Luis Meza from Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas' (AD-29) office Marina Mayor Bruce Delgado Marina City Council Salinas Valley Chamber of Commerce WHERE: 130 General Stilwell Drive, Suite 100, Marina, CA 93933; parking available at The Dunes on Monterey Bay – Retail Center Interview with Wescom's Adriana Welch, Senior VP Branch Operations Photos of area residents interacting with Wescom team members; ribbon-cutting ceremony; branch interior and exterior photos; photos with local city officials Expand
San Francisco Chronicle
5 hours ago
- Business
- San Francisco Chronicle
Letters: Instead of cutting Muni service, here's what S.F. can do to balance agency's budget
Regarding 'Muni is cutting service on five S.F. bus lines. Here's when the changes go live' (San Francisco, June 18): If Muni service cuts will save only $7.2 million, how many more cuts will we have to stomach to cover the projected $322 million deficit? Muni is an essential service for thousands of San Franciscans, including me. I take Muni every single day, including on the 5 and the 31 lines, which are among the cuts. Cutting or reducing service on these lines sets a terrible precedent; how many cuts will billionaire Mayor Daniel Lurie, who's probably never had to take Muni in his life, think are acceptable to balance the budget? The new budget shows Lurie's priorities: preserving tax breaks for billionaires and corporations while cutting the essential services working people need. Increasing taxes for billionaires and corporations by just a small fraction would easily fund all Muni lines. We must not let Mayor Lurie privatize public transit and sell it back to us at a steep price. The people need affordable and reliable public transit, and we will accept nothing less. Rhys Hedges, San Francisco Suisun City forever At a time when headlines often paint California as stagnant and dysfunctional, Suisun City is showing true leadership by advancing a reimbursement agreement tied to the possible annexation of the California Forever project. This bold move signals a commitment to tackling the state's housing crisis and reviving a core California value: the ability to build. California once led the nation in dreaming big, from aerospace to Silicon Valley, and built homes to match that ambition. But in recent decades, growth has slowed due to regulatory barriers, soaring costs and resistance to change. Suisun City's decision represents more than local planning; it is a vision for a future that includes homes and space for industries like advanced manufacturing, keys to restoring the middle class and keeping young Californians close to home. The City Council acted decisively and transparently, modeling the leadership that California needs. At the California Building Industry Association, we believe this is the path forward: communities that welcome innovation, embrace responsibility and reignite the California Dream. Suisun City just showed us what real leadership looks like. Bravo. Dan Dunmoyer, president and CEO, California Building Industry Association College preference unfair AB7, which has passed the California Assembly and is being debated in the state Senate, allows college admission preference in the state to descendants of slavery in the United States. The idea of favoring African American students for college admissions over others, when California was a free state, is an affront to the rest of us who have felt the sting of discrimination, too. Yes, California upheld the Fugitive Slave Act and practiced discrimination in everything else, from housing to equal education. However, if we are being fair, we need to consider those other groups that suffered discrimination but do not represent 'America's original sin' when applying to California universities. Thousands of Japanese Americans in California were imprisoned during World War II. Mexicans had their land stolen from 1848 and the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo up to modern times in places like Chavez Ravine in Los Angeles, where a neighborhood was razed to make way for Dodger Stadium. Jews were once kept out of universities and subjected to repressive quotas at places like the USC. AB7 is a travesty and an affront to all of us who also suffered, and it needs to die in the state Senate. President for all President Donald Trump wants immigration enforcement to focus on Democratic cities like Los Angeles, New York, Chicago and, I'm sure, San Francisco. Perhaps he needs to be reminded that he is the president of the United States, not just the states that voted for him, but all of them.
NBC News
9 hours ago
- Politics
- NBC News
California is to examine its Amazon oil ties following pleas from Indigenous leaders from Ecuador
RICHMOND, California — An oil tanker sat docked at Chevron's sprawling refinery in Richmond on Thursday — a visible link between California's appetite for Amazon crude and the remote rainforest territories where it's extracted. Just offshore, bundled in puffy jackets against the Bay wind, Indigenous leaders from Ecuador's Amazon paddled kayaks through choppy waters, calling attention to the oil expansion threatening their lands. Their visit to California helped prompt the state Senate to introduce a landmark resolution urging officials to examine the state's role in importing crude from the Amazon. The move comes as Ecuador's government prepares to auction off 14 new oil blocks — covering more than 2 million hectares of rainforest, much of it Indigenous territory — in a 2026 bidding round known as "Sur Oriente." The Indigenous leaders say the move goes against the spirit of a national referendum in which Ecuadorians voted to leave crude oil permanently underground in Yasuni National Park. The preservation push in Ecuador comes as another South American country that includes part of the Amazon rainforest, Brazil, is moving ahead with plans to further develop oil resources. On Tuesday, Brazil auctioned off several land and offshore potential oil sites near the Amazon River as it aims to expand production in untapped regions despite protests from environmental and Indigenous groups. Indigenous voices Juan Bay, president of the Waorani people of Ecuador, said that his delegation's coming to California was "important so that our voices, our stance, and our struggle can be elevated" and urged Californians to reexamine the source of their crude from the Amazon — "from Waorani Indigenous territory." On Thursday, the Indigenous delegation joined local Californians in Richmond for a kayaking trip near a Chevron refinery, sharing stories about the Amazon and perspectives on climate threats. For Nadino Calapucha, a spokesperson for the Kichwa Pakkiru people, the visit to California's Bay Area was deeply moving. Spotting seals in the water and a bird's nest nearby felt ¨like a gesture of solidarity from nature itself," he told The Associated Press on a kayak. "It was as if the animals were welcoming us," he said. The connection between the Amazon and California — both facing environmental threats — was palpable, Calapucha said. "Being here with our brothers and sisters, with the local communities also fighting — in the end, we feel that the struggle is the same," he said. California is the largest global consumer of Amazon oil, with much of it refined and used in the state as fuel. Ecuador is the region's top producer of onshore crude. Bay highlighted a March 2025 ruling by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, which found that Ecuador had violated the rights of the area's Indigenous groups by allowing oil operations in and around a site known as Block 43. The court ordered the government to halt extraction in protected areas and uphold the 2023 referendum banning drilling in Yasuni National Park, where the country's largest crude reserve lies, estimated at around 1.7 billion barrels. Bay appealed to the California government to reconsider if it "should continue receiving crude from the Amazon" — or continue to be "complicit in the violation of rights" happening on Indigenous territory. Defending Indigenous rights State Senator Josh Becker, who introduced the new resolution, praised the visiting leaders for defending both their land and the global climate. "Their communities are on the front lines asserting their rights and resisting oil extraction," Becker said on the Senate floor on Monday. "They are defenders of a living rainforest that stores carbon, regulates the global climate, and sustains life." Long criticized by environmental justice advocates, the refinery has processed millions of barrels of Amazon crude, fueling concerns over pollution, public health, and the state's role in rainforest destruction. The delegation also helped launch a new report by Amazon Watch, an Oakland-based non-profit dedicated to the protection of the Amazon Basin, which outlines the climate, legal and financial risks of operating in Indigenous territories without consent. 'Addiction to Amazon crude' Kevin Koenig, Amazon Watch's director for climate, energy and extraction industry, said the impacts of Amazon crude extend far beyond Ecuador. He joined the Ecuadorian delegation on the kayaking trip on Thursday. "The Golden State, if it wants to be a climate leader, needs to take action," he told AP. "California has an addiction to Amazon crude." Californians need to "recognize their responsibility and their complicity in driving demand for Amazon crude and the impact that that is having on Indigenous people, on their rights, on the biodiversity and the climate," he added. California's future is closely tied to the Amazon's — the state relies on the rainforest's role in climate regulation and rainfall, Koenig said, warning that continued Amazon crude imports contribute to the very destruction increasing California's vulnerability to drought and wildfires. He said environmental and public health damage tied to oil drilling is not confined to South America. "We're seeing the same impacts from the oil well to the wheel here in California, where communities are suffering from contamination, health impacts, dirty water," he said. "It's time that California lead an energy transition." California, one of the world's largest economies and a major importer of Amazon crude, must take stronger climate action, Koenig added and called on the state to phase out its reliance on oil linked to deforestation, human rights abuses, pollution, and climate damage. The resolution commends the Indigenous communities of Ecuador for their struggle in defending the rainforest and Indigenous rights. It also marks the first time California would examine how its energy consumption may contribute to the region's deforestation and cultural loss. The resolution is expected to be up for a vote within a few weeks, according to Koenig.
Hamilton Spectator
18 hours ago
- Politics
- Hamilton Spectator
California is to examine its Amazon oil ties following pleas from Indigenous leaders from Ecuador
RICHMOND, California (AP) — An oil tanker sat docked at Chevron's sprawling refinery in Richmond on Thursday — a visible link between California's appetite for Amazon crude and the remote rainforest territories where it's extracted. Just offshore, bundled in puffy jackets against the Bay wind, Indigenous leaders from Ecuador's Amazon paddled kayaks through choppy waters, calling attention to the oil expansion threatening their lands. Their visit to California helped prompt the state Senate to introduce a landmark resolution urging officials to examine the state's role in importing crude from the Amazon. The move comes as Ecuador's government prepares to auction off 14 new oil blocks — covering more than 2 million hectares of rainforest, much of it Indigenous territory — in a 2026 bidding round known as 'Sur Oriente.' The Indigenous leaders say the move goes against the spirit of a national referendum in which Ecuadorians voted to leave crude oil permanently underground in Yasuni National Park. The preservation push in Ecuador comes as another South American country that includes part of the Amazon rainforest, Brazil, is moving ahead with plans to further develop oil resources. On Tuesday, Brazil auctioned off several land and offshore potential oil sites near the Amazon River as it aims to expand production in untapped regions despite protests from environmental and Indigenous groups . Indigenous voices Juan Bay, president of the Waorani people of Ecuador, said that his delegation's coming to California was 'important so that our voices, our stance, and our struggle can be elevated' and urged Californians to reexamine the source of their crude from the Amazon — 'from Waorani Indigenous territory.' On Thursday, the Indigenous delegation joined local Californians in Richmond for a kayaking trip near a Chevron refinery, sharing stories about the Amazon and perspectives on climate threats. For Nadino Calapucha, a spokesperson for the Kichwa Pakkiru people, the visit to California's Bay Area was deeply moving. Spotting seals in the water and a bird's nest nearby felt ¨like a gesture of solidarity from nature itself,' he told The Associated Press on a kayak. 'It was as if the animals were welcoming us,' he said. The connection between the Amazon and California — both facing environmental threats — was palpable, Calapucha said. ¨Being here with our brothers and sisters, with the local communities also fighting — in the end, we feel that the struggle is the same,¨ he said. California is the largest global consumer of Amazon oil, with much of it refined and used in the state as fuel. Ecuador is the region's top producer of onshore crude. Bay highlighted a March 2025 ruling by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, which found that Ecuador had violated the rights of the area's Indigenous groups by allowing oil operations in and around a site known as Block 43. The court ordered the government to halt extraction in protected areas and uphold the 2023 referendum banning drilling in Yasuni National Park, where the country's largest crude reserve lies, estimated at around 1.7 billion barrels. Bay appealed to the California government to reconsider if it 'should continue receiving crude from the Amazon' — or continue to be 'complicit in the violation of rights' happening on Indigenous territory. Defending Indigenous rights State Senator Josh Becker, who introduced the new resolution, praised the visiting leaders for defending both their land and the global climate. 'Their communities are on the front lines asserting their rights and resisting oil extraction,' Becker said on the Senate floor on Monday. 'They are defenders of a living rainforest that stores carbon, regulates the global climate, and sustains life.' Long criticized by environmental justice advocates, the refinery has processed millions of barrels of Amazon crude, fueling concerns over pollution, public health, and the state's role in rainforest destruction. The delegation also helped launch a new report by Amazon Watch, an Oakland-based non-profit dedicated to the protection of the Amazon Basin, which outlines the climate, legal and financial risks of operating in Indigenous territories without consent. 'Addiction to Amazon crude' Kevin Koenig, Amazon Watch's director for climate, energy and extraction industry, said the impacts of Amazon crude extend far beyond Ecuador. He joined the Ecuadorian delegation on the kayaking trip on Thursday. 'The Golden State, if it wants to be a climate leader, needs to take action,' he told AP. 'California has an addiction to Amazon crude.' Californians need to 'recognize their responsibility and their complicity in driving demand for Amazon crude and the impact that that is having on Indigenous people, on their rights, on the biodiversity and the climate,' he added. California's future is closely tied to the Amazon's — the state relies on the rainforest's role in climate regulation and rainfall, Koenig said, warning that continued Amazon crude imports contribute to the very destruction increasing California's vulnerability to drought and wildfires. He said environmental and public health damage tied to oil drilling is not confined to South America. 'We're seeing the same impacts from the oil well to the wheel here in California, where communities are suffering from contamination, health impacts, dirty water,' he said. 'It's time that California lead an energy transition.' California, one of the world's largest economies and a major importer of Amazon crude, must take stronger climate action, Koenig added and called on the state to phase out its reliance on oil linked to deforestation, human rights abuses, pollution, and climate damage. The resolution commends the Indigenous communities of Ecuador for their struggle in defending the rainforest and Indigenous rights. It also marks the first time California would examine how its energy consumption may contribute to the region's deforestation and cultural loss. The resolution is expected to be up for a vote within a few weeks, according to Koenig. ___ Follow Steven Grattan on X: @sjgrattan ___ The Associated Press' climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP's standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at .
San Francisco Chronicle
18 hours ago
- Politics
- San Francisco Chronicle
California is to examine its Amazon oil ties following pleas from Indigenous leaders from Ecuador
RICHMOND, California (AP) — An oil tanker sat docked at Chevron's sprawling refinery in Richmond on Thursday — a visible link between California's appetite for Amazon crude and the remote rainforest territories where it's extracted. Just offshore, bundled in puffy jackets against the Bay wind, Indigenous leaders from Ecuador's Amazon paddled kayaks through choppy waters, calling attention to the oil expansion threatening their lands. Their visit to California helped prompt the state Senate to introduce a landmark resolution urging officials to examine the state's role in importing crude from the Amazon. The move comes as Ecuador's government prepares to auction off 14 new oil blocks — covering more than 2 million hectares of rainforest, much of it Indigenous territory — in a 2026 bidding round known as 'Sur Oriente.' The Indigenous leaders say the move goes against the spirit of a national referendum in which Ecuadorians voted to leave crude oil permanently underground in Yasuni National Park. The preservation push in Ecuador comes as another South American country that includes part of the Amazon rainforest, Brazil, is moving ahead with plans to further develop oil resources. On Tuesday, Brazil auctioned off several land and offshore potential oil sites near the Amazon River as it aims to expand production in untapped regions despite protests from environmental and Indigenous groups. Indigenous voices Juan Bay, president of the Waorani people of Ecuador, said that his delegation's coming to California was 'important so that our voices, our stance, and our struggle can be elevated' and urged Californians to reexamine the source of their crude from the Amazon — 'from Waorani Indigenous territory." On Thursday, the Indigenous delegation joined local Californians in Richmond for a kayaking trip near a Chevron refinery, sharing stories about the Amazon and perspectives on climate threats. For Nadino Calapucha, a spokesperson for the Kichwa Pakkiru people, the visit to California's Bay Area was deeply moving. Spotting seals in the water and a bird's nest nearby felt ¨like a gesture of solidarity from nature itself," he told The Associated Press on a kayak. 'It was as if the animals were welcoming us,' he said. The connection between the Amazon and California — both facing environmental threats — was palpable, Calapucha said. ¨Being here with our brothers and sisters, with the local communities also fighting — in the end, we feel that the struggle is the same,¨ he said. California is the largest global consumer of Amazon oil, with much of it refined and used in the state as fuel. Ecuador is the region's top producer of onshore crude. Bay highlighted a March 2025 ruling by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, which found that Ecuador had violated the rights of the area's Indigenous groups by allowing oil operations in and around a site known as Block 43. The court ordered the government to halt extraction in protected areas and uphold the 2023 referendum banning drilling in Yasuni National Park, where the country's largest crude reserve lies, estimated at around 1.7 billion barrels. Bay appealed to the California government to reconsider if it 'should continue receiving crude from the Amazon' — or continue to be 'complicit in the violation of rights" happening on Indigenous territory. Defending Indigenous rights State Senator Josh Becker, who introduced the new resolution, praised the visiting leaders for defending both their land and the global climate. 'Their communities are on the front lines asserting their rights and resisting oil extraction," Becker said on the Senate floor on Monday. 'They are defenders of a living rainforest that stores carbon, regulates the global climate, and sustains life.' Long criticized by environmental justice advocates, the refinery has processed millions of barrels of Amazon crude, fueling concerns over pollution, public health, and the state's role in rainforest destruction. The delegation also helped launch a new report by Amazon Watch, an Oakland-based non-profit dedicated to the protection of the Amazon Basin, which outlines the climate, legal and financial risks of operating in Indigenous territories without consent. 'Addiction to Amazon crude' Kevin Koenig, Amazon Watch's director for climate, energy and extraction industry, said the impacts of Amazon crude extend far beyond Ecuador. He joined the Ecuadorian delegation on the kayaking trip on Thursday. 'The Golden State, if it wants to be a climate leader, needs to take action," he told AP. 'California has an addiction to Amazon crude.' Californians need to "recognize their responsibility and their complicity in driving demand for Amazon crude and the impact that that is having on Indigenous people, on their rights, on the biodiversity and the climate,' he added. California's future is closely tied to the Amazon's — the state relies on the rainforest's role in climate regulation and rainfall, Koenig said, warning that continued Amazon crude imports contribute to the very destruction increasing California's vulnerability to drought and wildfires. He said environmental and public health damage tied to oil drilling is not confined to South America. 'We're seeing the same impacts from the oil well to the wheel here in California, where communities are suffering from contamination, health impacts, dirty water,' he said. 'It's time that California lead an energy transition." California, one of the world's largest economies and a major importer of Amazon crude, must take stronger climate action, Koenig added and called on the state to phase out its reliance on oil linked to deforestation, human rights abuses, pollution, and climate damage. The resolution commends the Indigenous communities of Ecuador for their struggle in defending the rainforest and Indigenous rights. It also marks the first time California would examine how its energy consumption may contribute to the region's deforestation and cultural loss. The resolution is expected to be up for a vote within a few weeks, according to Koenig. ___ ___ The Associated Press' climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP's standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at
