Newsom pushes environmental carve-out for campaign donor’s Santa Monica project

Governor Gavin Newsom is facing criticism for a legislative proposal that would exempt a specific Santa Monica housing project from state coastal environmental regulations. As CalMatters reports, the project is owned by Jeff Worthe, a longtime donor and state appointee who has contributed more than two hundred seventy-four thousand dollars to Newsom's campaigns and inaugural fund. The proposal would fast-track the three hundred fifty million dollar mixed-use development if the city fails to adopt its own land use policies by January first, twenty twenty-eight. Environmental advocates and local lawmakers argue the move creates a dangerous precedent by overriding the California Coastal Act for wealthy developers.

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