Stories you shouldn’t miss:
1. Jerry Brown arguably wouldn’t be governor if it hadn’t been for redevelopment funds. Indeed, he used Oakland’s redevelopment money during his time as mayor to rehab his political career. His much-touted 10K plan would not have been possible without redevelopment dollars, and so his mayoral tenure would have ended without any real successes and no record to run on for governor. But now that he’s used redevelopment funds to get to Sacramento, Brown wants to strip all other mayors in the state of the chance to revitalize their cities in the future — and their careers — too, so that he can use the money instead for the state budget. Yesterday, the new governor proposed eliminating redevelopment agencies completely as part of his budget plan, the Chron and Mercury News report. The proposal would devastate urban revitalization efforts around California — including Oakland.
Tuesday Must Read: Brown Wants to ‘Privatize’ Higher Ed, Close State Parks, and Shred Social Safety Net
