News Around San Diego County

Harborside Park Project (August 2015)

Chula Vista CBO (Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment) ACCE is an action network of community service volunteers whom are taking action about the vagrancy of the local Harborside Park. The park shares local space with the HHSA of Chula Vista providing economic security resources for the Chula Vista and greater San Diego area.  There are a multitude of resources that can be obtained and in most cases of deprivation even emergency aid.

What’s New With The Public Utilities Commission Of California?

(Aug/2015)

The Public Water utility for the City of San Diego seek to enforce water conservation by a sought out price hike.  This plan is currently being reviewed by the city council in response to the Southern California water drought. The initiative asks for a total 17% increase by July 1st 2016. It would be implemented in two stages. First an increase of 9.8% in January and then a second increase of 6.9%.

Leaves residents with high water bills and little Government assistance; since there are no current advocacy resources for water bill payment. Once a year FEMA provides the Emergency Food And Shelter State grant which provides rent, water, and gas/electric grants. However, the funding is limited and runs out quickly leaving low income families with no discount programs nor the resource to help keep a vital basic need available for Diegans.

Public Forum to be held 5:30pm to 7pm at Chautauqua Hall 162 16th Street in Pacific Grove.  The water authority I am sure would like to hear your thoughts on the 17% increase.

(Dec/2020)

The California Public Utilities commission has updated their website as of December 17th 2020. The following consumer protection provisions were enacted, in response to the COVID-19 outbreak in California.

Electricity – Community Choice Aggregators (CCAs)

• Disconnections: All CCAs are suspending service disconnections due to non-payment for both residential and commercial customers until further notice.

Electricity & Natural Gas Utilities – Investor Owned Utilities (IOUs)

• Disconnections: All electric and natural gas investor-owned utilities were ordered by the CPUC to suspend service disconnections due to non-payment for both residential and commercial customers until April 16, 2021. Please read our decision for more information.
• Flexible Payment Plans: The electric and natural gas IOUs are offering customers the opportunity to create flexible payment plans if financial hardship is a challenge.
• Low Income Programs: Two programs – California Alternate Rates for Energy (CARE) and Family Electric Rate Assistance (FERA) – offer bill discounts for low-income customers. Customers already enrolled in CARE or FERA do not have to renew their applications during the COVID-19 outbreak. Customers are encouraged to contact their utility to see if they qualify for CARE or FERA, amounting to an 18-20% discount on their monthly bill.

What’s Changed with the Cost of Living?

The Cost of living has infused a lot of people with the new health care reform becoming another added cost that people are having to account for. The way it works is The Cost of living is determined by the Census Bureau reporting of individuals per household, the Bureau of Labor averaging the consumer price index over a sequential period of years. The CPI is now at 1.6%price increased With the strict reporting of change in the index between 2013 & 2014. This percentage plus the number of people per household and reported income through an IEVS (Income Eligibility Verification System)thus with a quadratic equation of all these factors are rounded off for future price index fluctuations.
The CPI sets the Cost of Living for the entire nation. The community Service block grants and other federal funds for the people are given to the people, through various assistance programs that are governed by the FPL(Federal Poverty Level) as then set by the Secretary of the department of Human & Health Services. For example the state Medicaid or subsidies for the health care market exchange. More information about qualifying for state health insurance services can be found at healthcare.gov.

People whom are able to receive state and federal benefits are able to do so because the FPL is used as criteria guidelines by the community Services Block of Grants to the State. These benefits are contiguous from state to state based on the National FPl, but contiguous in 48 States only. Places like Hawaii whom have a higher C.O.L.A. due to the price hike of that region; are eligible based off a different FPL. as award or grants to eligible public charges to the people. This year 2016 it started lower than previous years down although not by much.
there could be a considerable difference in whom can or will not receive public aid.
I also think this may have been one of the deciding factors for the increase of minimum wage across the nation. With the COLA differing from state to State.
The wage also being bird dogged for future increases by lobbyist calling for an increase to roughly 15$ hourly by 2020.

(Dec/2020)

Approximately 70 million Americans will see a 1.3 percent increase in their Social Security benefits and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) payments in 2021. Federal benefit rates increase when the cost-of-living rises, as measured by the Department of Labor’s Consumer Price Index (CPI-W).
The 1.3 percent cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) will begin with benefits payable to more than 64 million Social Security beneficiaries in January 2021. Increased payments to more than 8 million SSI beneficiaries will begin on December 31, 2020. (Note: some people receive both Social Security and SSI benefits)