Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/557867
ByJuliaHorowitz The Associated Press SACRAMENTO Three years after California vot- ers passed a ballot mea- sure to raise taxes on cor- porations and generate clean energy jobs by fund- ing energy-efficiency proj- ects in schools, barely one- tenth of the promised jobs have been created, and the state has no comprehensive list to show how much work has been done or how much energy has been saved. Money is trickling in at a slower-than-anticipated rate, and more than half of the $297 million given to schools so far has gone to consultants and energy au- ditors. The board created to oversee the project and sub- mit annual progress reports to the Legislature has never met, according to a review by The Associated Press. Voters in 2012 approved the Clean Energy Jobs Act by a large margin, closing a tax loophole for multistate corporations. The Legisla- ture decided to send half the money to fund clean energy projects in schools, promising to generate more than 11,000 jobs each year. Instead, only 1,700 jobs have been created in three years, raising concerns about whether the money is accomplishing what vot- ers were promised. "Accountability boards that are rubber stamps are fairly common, but ac- countability boards that don't meet at all are a big problem," said Douglas Johnson, a state govern- ment expert at Claremont McKenna College in South- ern California. The State Energy Com- mission, which oversees Proposition 39 spending, could not provide any data about completed projects or calculate energy savings because schools are not re- quired to report the results for up to 15 months after completion, spokeswoman Amber Beck said. Still, she said she believes the program is on track. Not enough data has been collected for the nine- member oversight board of professors, engineers and climate experts to meet, she said. The AP's review of state and local records found that not one project for which the state allocated $12.6 million has been completed in the Los Angeles Unified School District, which has nearly 1,000 schools. Two schools were scheduled this summer to receive light- ing retrofits and heating and cooling upgrades, but no construction work has been done on either site, LAUSD spokeswoman Bar- bara Jones said. The office of Senate Pres- ident Pro Tem Kevin de Leon, D-Los Angeles, pre- viously estimated LAUSD would save up to $27 mil- lion a year on energy costs; projects proposed by the district so far would save only $1.4 million. De Leon, the primary booster of Proposition 39 in the state Legislature, was not available to com- ment, spokeswoman Claire Conlon said. She said the program is working as planned, and that school districts are encouraged to let funds build up to make "bigger, more comprehen- sive investments." School district officials around the state say they in- tend to meet a 2018 dead- line to request funds and a 2020 deadline to com- plete projects. They say the money will go to major, long-needed projects and are unconcerned schools have applied for only half of the $973 million available so far, or that $153 million of the $297 million given to schools has gone for en- ergy planning by consul- tants and auditors. "If there's money out there, we're going for it," said Tom Wright, an en- ergy manager for the San Diego Unified School Dis- trict, which has received $9.5 million of its available $9.7 million. Leftover money would return to the general fund for unrestricted projects of lawmakers' choosing. The proposition is also bringing in millions less each year than initially pro- jected. Proponents such as de Leon and billionaire in- vestor and philanthropist Tom Steyer, who funded the ballot measure with a personal $30 million, told voters in 2012 that it would send up to $550 million an- nually to the Clean Jobs En- ergy Fund. But it brought in just $381 million in 2013, $279 million in 2014 and $313 million in 2015. AP REVIEW Ca li fo rn ia m ea su re f ai ls to generate green jobs DAMIANDOVARGANES—THEASSOCIATEDPRESS Christos Chrysiliou, le , director of architectural and engineering, Los Angeles Unified School District, LAUSD, and Peter Yee, senior project manager, tour the machine room Friday at John Marshall High School in Los Angeles. By Kristin J. Bender The Associated Press SAN FRANCISCO A short, sharp earthquake rattled the San Francisco Bay Area early Monday, break- ing picture frames and cracking plaster without prompting reports of inju- ries or major damage. The magnitude-4.0 quake struck at 6:49 a.m. and was centered just north of Piedmont, near Berkeley, the U.S. Geologi- cal Survey said. It was felt in downtown San Fran- cisco, along the peninsula and in the East Bay. "This was a fairly small one but we should be prepared for them at all times," USGS spokes- woman Leslie Gordon said. The shallow quake pro- duced a sharp jolt followed by gentle rolls. People on social media reported broken clocks and picture frames. "I was eating break- fast when the whole house shook and several picture frames propped on our mantle and on a side table in the dining room crashed to the floor," Adam Van de Water of Oakland said in an email to The Associ- ated Press. "My heart rate spiked and stayed elevated for a few minutes until it was clear it was over." He said a neighbor- hood visitor from Austra- lia thought a bomb had gone off. Bay Area Rapid Tran- sit held commuter trains for about five minutes and there were minor delays as crews checked the tracks. No damage was reported. The quake struck on the Hayward Fault at a depth of about 3.4 miles, accord- ing to the USGS. There are several hun- dred known faults in the state and others that are not known, said Lucy Jones, a seismologist with the USGS. About 200 are considered potentially hazardous. The Hayward fault runs from the cities of San Pablo Bay to Fremont and passes through Berkeley, Oakland and Hayward. MAGNITUDE 4.0 Short, sharp earthquake jolts San Francisco Bay By Tami Abdollah The Associated Press LOS ANGELES A man sus- pected of killing a retired dentist, taking three men hostage and wounding two deputies was likely travel- ing a section of the famed Pacific Crest Trail to elude searchers during an 18-day manhunt, authorities said Monday. Investigators believe 34-year-old Benjamin Pe- ter Ashley was headed back to the trail when he was confronted and shot by deputies Saturday be- hind a mini-mart in In- yokern, Kern County Sher- iff Donny Youngblood said. Ashley was hit by sev- eral shots after failing to obey orders to drop a handgun and may have turned his weapon on him- self, the sheriff said. An au- topsy will determine his cause of death. Asked about a motive, Youngblood said, "the mindset of this man we'll never know." Ashley is suspected in the crime spree that began on July 28 when a gunman took three men hostage in a cabin in the Twin Oaks area after they confronted him about squatting on the property. MANHUNT Suspect used Pacific Crest Trail to elude capture | NEWS | REDBLUFFDAILYNEWS.COM TUESDAY, AUGUST 18, 2015 8 A