California governor moves to ease homelessness

He does not believe a short rail line from Merced to Bakersfield will help the Central Valley. That's a stipulation of federal dollars the state has already received.

Newsom said the project "as now planned" would "cost too much and take too long", and added that there had been too little oversight and not enough transparency.

California Governor Gavin Newsom said he is scuttling plans to build a high-speed railroad between Los Angeles and San Francisco, saying the ambitious project that was approved by voters is too costly.

New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham, a democrat, also ordered the removal of most of the National Guard troops deployed at her state's border after her Republican predecessor granted the Trump administration's request previous year, Reuters reported.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom is preparing to deliver his first State of the State address a day after declaring he wouldn't participate in the Trump administration's "political theater" over border security. A revised business plan adopted last year pushed back the completion of the project by four more years and estimated a final cost of $77 billion.

Former California Gov. Jerry Brown agreed to deploy troops at the Trump administration's request a year ago, although he said they couldn't participate in immigration enforcement.

But while he addressed issues ranging from high-speed rail to homelessness, the 40th governor of California began by pushing back against the agenda of President Donald Trump.

Newsom said "we will continue our regional projects north and south", and committed to connecting the Central Valley to other parts of the state, finishing the Phase 1 environmental work which covers San Francisco to Los Angeles and Anaheim, and continuing to push for more federal and private funding. And I know this, in the bottom of my heart: "The best is yet to come".

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A spokesman said the records he sent "are not sufficient and do not meet the burden of a criminal investigation". I don't believe it, not around here. "They have cameras everywhere".

'Last week, we heard (Trump) stand up at the State of the Union and offer a vision of an America fundamentally at odds with California values, ' he said. "He described a country where inequality didn't seem to be a problem, where climate change didn't exist, and where the greatest threat we face comes from families seeking asylum at the border. Overall immigrant apprehensions on the border last year were as low as they've been in almost 50 years".

Newsom said he had convened a strike force of lawyers to help the state advocate for fire victims and consumers as the giant utility PG&E Corp goes through bankruptcy proceedings.

"This is our answer to the White House: No more division, no more xenophobia and no more nativism", Newsom said in a wide-ranging speech.

Newsom appointed Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg to head his Commission on Homelessness & Supportive Housing.

Newsom's administration recently sued Huntington Beach for failing to reach housing goals and says he'll meet with other city leaders next week.

"I don't intend to file suit against all 47, but I'm not going to preside over neglect and denial", he said during his address. "We need to get ready for the major demographic challenge headed our way", Newsom said.

"Abandoning high-speed rail entirely means we will have wasted billions and billions of dollars with nothing but broken promises, partially filled commitments and lawsuits to show for it", Newsom said.