Biden visits California to survey storm damage - Los Angeles Times

MOUNTAIN VIEW — 

During a circuit of the storm-ravaged Central Coast, President Biden vowed that national assistance to rebuild California would not extremity until the occupation is complete.

Biden visited the authorities Thursday and joined Gov. Gavin Newsom and U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla successful a chopper to survey areas battered by wintertime storms that caused large flooding and landslides crossed the state.

The president walked on a breached boardwalk successful Capitola and spoke with concern owners astir the estimated $1 cardinal successful harm from the drawstring of storms that started connected Dec. 26 and led to astatine slightest 22 deaths.

“The national authorities is not leaving its work till it’s each fixed, it’s done,” Biden said successful Aptos.

The president traveled to the authorities aft issuing an exigency declaration for California that authorizes the Federal Emergency Management Agency to coordinate catastrophe alleviation and offering national assistance for betterment efforts done a abstracted large catastrophe declaration successful the six counties of Monterey, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Merced, Sacramento and Santa Cruz.

The politician praised the Biden medication for its enactment of California during and aft atmospheric rivers pummeled the state. The rains yet dropped much than 17 inches successful San Francisco and 20 inches successful the Santa Cruz Mountains.

It was San Francisco’s second-wettest three-week play since “the Great Flood of 1862.”

“Trust me, that matters,” Newsom said of Biden’s support, adding that the president called him during the storms. “When you’re cynical, again, astir government, relationships, wherever you consciousness similar things are frayed, things person go excessively polarized, I anticipation you’ll see these moments.”

Newsom said the collaboration betwixt the authorities and national authorities defines “the champion of who we are.”

Biden’s sojourn and governor’s comments marked a interruption successful the subtle governmental hostility betwixt the up-and-coming California politician and a president who has yet to publically denote his plans to tally for reelection successful 2024.

Newsom made a nationalist splash implicit the summer for criticizing Republican governors for criminalizing abortion, utilizing immigrants arsenic governmental pawns and restricting voting rights and astatine the aforesaid clip needled Democratic leaders for not launching a stronger response.

President Biden talks with Gov. Gavin Newsom arsenic helium visits with concern owners and residents successful Capitola connected Thursday.

(Susan Walsh / Associated Press)

The politician was cautious to aboriginal clarify that his comments were not directed astatine Biden, though helium continued his run to implore his enactment to beryllium much assertive politically and repeatedly took swings astatine Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a imaginable GOP statesmanlike campaigner and, to a lesser extent, Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas.

Mike Madrid, a Republican governmental consultant, described Newsom’s actions arsenic “natural jockeying” and “legitimate for a caller procreation to beryllium not lone poking astatine whether oregon not Biden’s going to beryllium running, but truly positioning if helium weren’t going to be.” Though Biden has not made immoderate authoritative announcements, he is expected to run again. Newsom has repeatedly denied having immoderate involvement successful moving for president successful 2024.

Newsom’s vexation with his ain enactment resonated with rank-and-file Democrats, galore of whom were aggravated implicit the Supreme Court determination to overturn the nationalist close to termination and were bushed of the feeble effect to attacks by the GOP.

“The much helium sets himself arsenic the extremity of the spear, the much it helps his positioning arsenic an heir apparent, oregon arsenic idiosyncratic who’s going beryllium viable nationally,” Madrid said. “I deliberation what he’s doing tactically is close and helps Biden due to the fact that what it does is it sets a opposition successful the contention with the utmost elements of the Republican Party.”

Biden has stepped up his ain warnings to the country that American ideology remains successful peril, singling retired erstwhile President Trump and his supporters.

The president placed Newsom successful a hard presumption successful September erstwhile helium offered an antithetic amusement of enactment for a measure approved by the California Legislature to marque it easier for farmworkers to organize. The bill, known arsenic the California Agricultural Labor Relations Voting Choice Act, was connected Newsom’s table and the politician had been grappling with whether to motion the authorities oregon not. His bureau had antecedently said that helium didn’t enactment the measure connection arsenic the connection moved done the Legislature.

Newsom yet signed the measure into law. Madrid called the president’s determination to enactment the farmworker measure a “pop connected the snout” from Biden.

Biden talks with Paradise Beach Grille co-owner Chuck Maier arsenic helium visits with concern owners and residents successful Capitola, Calif.

(Susan Walsh / Associated Press)

Months later, Newsom traveled to the Mexican border days aft Biden came nether occurrence from the GOP for visiting Arizona and not stopping astatine the border.

Newsom has ne'er been acrophobic of pushing his enactment wherever helium thinks it needs to go. Madrid pointed to Newsom’s enactment for cheery matrimony successful 2004 and the resulting blasted helium received for John Kerry’s statesmanlike nonaccomplishment arsenic an example.

Biden touched down midday astatine Moffett Federal Airfield successful Mountain View, wherever Newsom, Padilla and U.S. Rep. Anna G. Eshoo (D-Menlo Park) greeted him.

Shortly aft noon, the president’s helicopter, and 4 others, roseate implicit the airfield and turned southwest toward the mountains and seashore to survey the damage.

The president met with concern owners and section residents affected by the storms and flooding successful Capitola and spoke with archetypal responders and authorities and section officials astir betterment efforts successful Aptos.

Assembly Republican Leader James Gallagher of Yuba City encouraged the president and politician to prioritize infrastructure projects contempt immoderate biology concerns.

“Newsom and Biden’s allies connected the acold near proceed to propulsion up roadblocks to improving captious infrastructure,” helium said successful a statement. “Everything from fuels simplification projects that support communities from wildfire to h2o retention get bogged down successful reddish tape.

“This is simply a substance of safety.”

Along the California coast, cities specified arsenic Santa Cruz, Capitola and Fort Bragg were battered by tempest surge, rainfall and wind. Iconic wharfs, restaurants, sidewalks and roads collapsed nether towering surf, portion streets, parks, homes and shops were flooded by almighty waves.

Meanwhile, rivers successful Salinas, Merced and Sacramento counties swelled and spilled implicit their banks — turning farmland, full metropolis blocks and neighborhoods into lakes upon which archetypal responders required pitchy skis, boats, kayaks and canoes to evacuate stranded Californians.

And successful the coastal mountains, from the Bay Area southbound to Ventura, drought-stressed trees fell crossed roads and houses — isolating full neighborhoods — portion debris flows, mudslides and sinkholes blocked postulation and spurred dozens of evacuations. More than 500 landslides were recorded crossed California successful the past fewer weeks.

Vice President Kamala Harris announced her plans to travel Biden’s sojourn with her ain travel to Southern California connected Friday to “focus connected gathering resilience to floods and droughts.”