Dear CalMatters reader,

Greetings and welcome to our new Inland Empire newsletter. 

Clashes between warehouses and neighboring communities are a common theme in Riverside and San Bernardino Counties, where 4,000 warehouses occupy a billion square feet and generate more than 600,000 truck trips a day.

The negative effects on air quality and neighborhood traffic are well-known, but so is the warehouse industry’s role as an employer; more than 270,000 people work in distribution in the Inland Empire. 

So a last-minute bill that would restrict where warehouses can locate and limit truck traffic set off a volley of objections last week from business groups and environmental advocates alike. 

Assembly Bill 98 would tighten building standards for new warehouses, ban diesel truck traffic next to “sensitive sites” and require two-for-one replacement of any homes demolished to build distribution centers. 

It passed the Legislature in the final hours of the session Saturday, but Gov. Gavin Newsom still has to sign or veto it.

Business leaders predict it would cost jobs and drive business out of state, and they warn those extra costs would be passed on to consumers.

“In a time when inflation and the cost of living are already high, the last thing California’s families need is legislation that makes everyday goods more expensive,” Paul Granillo, CEO of the Inland Empire Economic Partnership, wrote in a commentary. 

Environmental groups aren’t happy either. They said the bill didn’t go far enough to protect public health in neighborhoods near distribution centers, where asthma and cancer cases are linked to pollution from diesel exhaust.

The setbacks that the bill requires as buffers between warehouses and homes and schools aren’t big enough, said Ana Gonzalez, executive director of the Center for Community Action and Environmental Justice. 

Another complaint was the way the bill passed. AB 98 is what’s called a gut-and-amend bill. That’s when lawmakers take an unrelated piece of legislation — in this case a bill about agricultural pests — and swap out all the language for a new purpose.

It’s perfectly permissible under California law, but it tends to spur complaints about cloak-and-dagger politics. 

Granillo complained that AB 98 was “created in secret.” Gonzalez said she thought it wouldn’t move forward because it was so late in the game:  “We feel there should have been a more holistic approach.”

Though the bill was new, its purpose has been a top priority for Eloise Gómez Reyes, the San Bernardino Democrat who co-authored the legislation. Her similar bill, AB 1000, failed in committee earlier this year, so she resurrected it with slightly scaled back restrictions.

“I think what we have put together is a common sense approach and it’s a very important first step,” she said.

As more Californians move inland to seek affordable housing, they’ll have to contend with dangerous heat and sky-high electric bills. CalMatters’ Alejandra Reyes-Velarde and Arfa Momin report that many California cities with recent population booms are the same places that will experience extreme heat as climate change drives up global temperatures. These include Apple Valley, Victorville and Hesperia in San Bernardino County and Lake Elsinore and Murrieta in Riverside County, along with parts of Los Angeles and the Central Valley.

Short-term rentals in the mountain community of Idyllwild and the Temecula Valley Wine Country have generated many complaints about loud music and parties this year and code enforcement hasn’t been up to speed, a report to the Riverside County Board of Supervisors concluded last week. From January through July there were 5,392 complaint calls and 539 cease-and-desist orders filed against property owners countywide, the Riverside County Transportation & Land Management Agency wrote. Supervisors said code enforcement officers and sheriff’s deputies must start fining property owners for violations.

A new exhibit by the Inland Empire Labor Council documents the lives of workers, from cooks to caregivers to stage hands. It weaves video interviews with local labor leaders, archival photos of workers on picket lines, and documents dating to the late 19th century to tell the story of labor resistance in the region. Among its subjects is Assemblymember James Ramos, a San Bernardino Democrat who rose from a janitor and fast food worker to become the first Native American state lawmaker. 

Mark your calendars for a free CalMatters voter education event on October 9th at 5:30 p.m. at The Cheech Marin Center for Chicano Art & Culture at the Riverside Art Museum, 3425 Mission Inn Ave. Registration information will be coming soon.

What topics would you like to know more about? Drop us an email at inlandempire@calmatters.org.

Thanks for reading,