SAN DIEGO (CNS) – San Diego executives on Wednesday highlighted some major projects and programs that will receive millions of dollars from California’s $ 262.6 billion budget, which Gov. Gavin Newsom signed off last week.
“The dollars San Diego receives from the state will modernize critical infrastructure, help us fight homelessness, ensure a reliable supply of clean water, improve our arts and culture and much more,” Mayor Todd Gloria said at a press conference at Ocean. Beach pier.
Topping the list of recipients is San Diego’s Pure Water Program, a project to convert wastewater into potable water and provide about half of San Diego’s water supply by 2035. It received $ 50 million from the state budget.
Gloria advocated for massive investment in the fight against homelessness with members of the California Big City Mayors coalition. The state will invest $ 12 billion over the next two years in homelessness efforts, including $ 1 billion in direct funding for cities. Of that amount, San Diego is expected to receive at least $ 27.3 million this year.
“Ten years ago, my neighbors sent me to Sacramento to vote on my first state budget,” said Pro Senate President Tem Toni Atkins, D-San Diego.
“This year, I was proud to stand up for our community once again and vote on a budget that makes huge investments in the San Diego area,” she continued. “With millions of dollars directly benefiting our neighborhoods, parks, libraries, small businesses, nonprofits, and local infrastructure improvements, this budget will not only benefit San Diego this year, but for years to come. “
Other important budget items impacting local communities include:
- $ 35 million to replace an aging research vessel used by the Scripps Institution of Oceanography;
- $ 35 million for the renovation and redevelopment of a historic theater and community hall at the San Diego Community College District Cultural Educational Complex;
- $ 30 million for planning, design, site development and construction of a replacement UCSD Hillcrest medical center;
- $ 18 million for an energy storage project at the San Vicente reservoir;
- $ 8.4 million to help rehabilitate the Ocean Beach Pier;
- $ 3.7 million for the renovation of the Casa del Prado buildings in Balboa Park;
- $ 3.1 million to prevent polluted runoff from entering Chollas Creek in the community of Southcrest;
- $ 3 million for capital improvements at the new Rady Shell Bayfront concert hall at the San Diego Symphony;
- $ 2.5 million for renovations to the Barnes Tennis Center in Point Loma; and
- $ 1 million for training on gun violence prohibition orders for law enforcement agencies
Assembly member Chris Ward, D-San Diego, City Council President Jennifer Campbell and City Councilor Sean Elo-Rivera joined Gloria and Atkins.
“The legislature has worked hard to enact a state budget that significantly addresses our most immediate challenges, including homelessness, the climate, education and support for small businesses,” Ward said. “I am especially grateful for the local funding identified to meet the long-standing needs of the greater San Diego community.”
Campbell thanked lawmakers for their efforts to secure funding for the Ocean Beach Pier, which was damaged in a storm earlier this year and faces serious questions about its future.
Elo-Rivera said he was grateful for the funds meant to help underserved districts.
“From cleaner coves in Southcrest to improvements in Lake Chollas, to safer streets in Rolando, these are transformative investments that resolve historic underinvestment and will move us closer to our goal of creating a more sustainable, safer and more sustainable city. habitable for all San. Diegans, ”he said.
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