Newest articles on The Sacramento Press tagged as "us rep doris matsui"

Region wins $1.5m for sustainability

2010-10-16T00:28:32Z

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has earmarked $1.5 million to help fund sustainable planning for the Sacramento region, HUD Deputy Secretary Ron Sims said Friday.

The money is being awarded to the Sacramento Area Council of Governments and its planning partners through HUD's new Sustainable Communities Regional Planning Grant Program.

A day earlier, HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan announced Sacramento was among 45 regions to win a portion of nearly $100 million in grants created under President Barack Obama's Partnership for Sustainable Communities. The grant program is designed to boost regional economies through coordinated planning for housing, transportation, the environment and economic development.

"You are among that remarkable list of people who said our communities are going to move forward in a sustainable fashion," Sims said Friday morning in a press conference at the Township 9 construction site. "You have to have people thinking about that now."

At least 80 people turned out for the event. U.S. Rep. Doris Matsui and SACOG officials also spoke to the crowd, which included community advocates and city, county and state officials and planners.

The Nehemiah Corporation's Township 9 is a "perfect" example of a sustainable community because the plan is to build mixed use, including 2,500 to 2,800 homes, next to a new light rail station and extended line and the American River Parkway. Projects like that are leading the way in terms of planning for smart growth, he said.

The one-mile light rail line extension has been delayed by five months and is now expected to be completed in June. Building demolition work by Otto Construction has been under way. Roadway construction on Richards Boulevard and North Seventh Street is expected to start in early November and finish by mid-2011. Construction of Township 9 housing units is expected to begin late next year.

Sims applauded Matsui for the way she has championed sustainability and clean technology in the region. Matsui has worked hard to get funding such as this grant for Sacramento, he said.

The $1.5 million grant will be used for ongoing work under SACOG's Sacramento Region Blueprint Transportation and Land Use Study, first adopted in 2004, and its Metropolitan Transportation Plan for 2035. The only other grant being awarded in this state is $4 million, which is going to the California Partnership for the San Joaquin Valley, administered by the California State University Fresno Foundation.

SACOG and its partners are matching the HUD funds with another $3.3 million in local funds and in-kind work. The money will help develop plans for infill development of six sustainable communities in highly used transit corridors throughout the six-county region, SACOG Executive Director Mike McKeever.

Matsui tours skylight leader

2010-10-14T01:25:54Z

U.S. Rep. Doris Matsui toured a Sacramento-based global leader in prismatic skylight technology Wednesday to spotlight the area's emerging clean energy industry.

Matsui also used the visit to Sunoptics' South Sacramento manufacturing complex to focus on the need for federal and local support of green technology and manufacturing, and the jobs that come with it.

Sunoptics' newest technology, which combines reflected LED lights with skylights, is currently being demonstrated at an energy conference at the Pentagon. Clean tech companies like Sunoptics can help the country's economy and the environment, she said.

"We need the jobs to be here," she said. "With companies like this, we're going to be moving ahead."

Jerry Blomberg and sons Jim and Tom started the business in 1978 to reduce electricity use and oil dependence.

The company has installed 1 billion square feet of prismatic skylights to create "daylighting" in commercial spaces such as offices, stores and warehouses throughout the world. Sunoptics has installed skylights at more than 3,000 Walmart Supercenters, Chief Executive Officer Jim Blomberg said.

"Utilities don't like daylighting. They want to sell electricity," he said.

The company has added 25 jobs in the last six months and could create more if the demand to replace standard fluorescent lights with its prismatic skylights increases, he said.

Blomberg led Matsui through the company's complex, where all three buildings were lit completely by skylights of various sizes. One building was illuminated by 2-foot by 2-foot light cubes. Fluorescent lights contain mercury and lead.

Sunoptics skylights are made of modified or UV-capped polycarbonate that can withstand the force of a baseball flying at 100 miles an hour without cracking. Polycarbonate skylights were created for areas with hail and hurricanes.

Sunoptics has partnered with inventor Tom McClellan to form a new company, Cool Lumens. Their newest product may be the world's most energy-efficient commercial light once it's available for sale.

The fixture is made from a 4-foot by 4-foot light cube with reflective interior walls, four LED lights set in corners, a skylight roof and a louvered bottom panel lens developed by Sunoptics. The lens can let in varying amounts of diffused light without glare, UV damage or hot spots.

The LEDs, which were developed by McClellan, can be dimmed when natural light is enough, and an occupancy sensor can turn them off when someone's not in the room. The system was designed for drop ceilings such as those found in offices.

The product was created this year, after McClellan met Blomberg and they talked about combining technologies.

"There's no greater efficiency than 'off'," McClellan said.

Matsui has partnered with other members of the U.S. House to introduce clean tech legislation recently. The Small Business Clean Energy Financing Act was introduced Sept. 23. The House passed the Clean Energy Technology Manufacturing and Export Assistance Act in July. The U.S. Senate has yet to consider the bill.

Photos by Suzanne Hurt, a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Flood control projects to get $87m

2009-10-29T03:46:43Z

The Sacramento region will get nearly $87 million in federal flood protection funds after President Obama signed a key water and energy bill Wednesday.

The 2010 Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act provides $63 million for Folsom Dam modifications designed to help decrease flooding risks in the American River watershed. That project is expected to provide 200-year flood protection for much of the area, according to U.S. Rep. Doris Matsui, who fought for the funding.

“Sacramento is the most at-risk river city in the country,” Matsui said in a written statement. “We live among one of the most important water projects in America today that provides water and energy to more than 3 million people throughout northern California.

"Without proper protection and levee improvements, a severe storm could cause flooding that would contaminate our water supply and destroy our economy and communities," she said. "These appropriations clearly demonstrate that our flood protection projects are a national priority.”

The legislation also provides $14 million to fight Sacramento River levee erosion, $2.5 million for projects to prevent the Mokelumne-Cosumnes River system and the Morrison Creek watershed from flooding South Sacramento County, $6 million for other flood prevention projects in the American River watershed and $570,000 to raise Folsom Dam reservoir dikes by 3.5 feet.

Biz workshop on stimulus funding

2009-08-04T01:11:13Z

U.S. Rep. Doris Matsui on Thursday will host a Sacramento workshop to help small business owners learn how to access federal stimulus funds and other resources.

Staff from the U.S. Small Business Administration and the Federal Technology Center will provide information about American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds and federal grants, and how both can help people who own small businesses or who are considering starting them, according to a press release put out by Matsui's office.

“Even in these challenging economic times, there are opportunities for entrepreneurs to start a new business here in Sacramento, or for existing business to help make ends meet, build off successful business models, and grow their business – all of which will help foster our economic recovery and create new jobs for Sacramentans,” Matsui said in a prepared statement.

The workshop will be held from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Thursday at Sacramento City College, 3835 Freeport Blvd. Federal government employees will discuss federal government contracts and business counsel resources to help small businesses.

Panelists will discuss how to get financing, starting small businesses and business planning. Participants also will have an opportunity to network with people from government, banks and local businesses.

Space is limited. Those interested must RSVP with Matsui's Sacramento office at (916) 498-5600.