Today’s Headlines

• Environmental review kicks off for the Silver Lake Reservoir Master Plan (Urbanize LA)
• OakDOT distributes 500 prepaid ($150) debit cards to East Oakland residents and employees for purchasing trips or passes on public transit, bike-share, and scooter-share. (NBCBayArea)
• Houston bike-share looking to expand into underserved communities of color (Houston Public Media)
• Wired argues Build Back Better needs to offer more breaks for e-bikes and invest more in active transportation.
• State education officials seek to accelerate addition of 10,000 school mental health counselors. (LAT)
• Ed Yong’s look at what Omicron is doing to the health care system (The Atlantic)
• Hotel housekeepers are reporting the pandemic has made their job more strenuous and subjected them to worse conditions (LAT)
• Bee-keeping goes corporate (Bloomberg)
• Wall Street Is Using Tech Firms Like Zillow to Eat Up Starter Homes (Bloomberg)
• Metro Cancels In-Person Enrollment for Discounted Fares (NBC4)… but plans to move ahead with front door boarding and fare collection on buses. (ACT-LA tweets)
• Sugar cane burns pollute communities of color in Florida, but big sugar companies say they are safe and can’t be stopped without economic harm. Yet Brazil show there is another way. (ProPublica)
• Lithium mining under new scrutiny: The outgoing government of Pres. Sebastián Piñera had invited bids from private companies to expand lithium production to 400,000 metric tons a year. (NYT) Lithium is essential for the transition to green energy, but the extraction costs are high (NYT)
• For the first time in over 30 years, the EPA adds to its list of hazardous air pollutants – by one. (WaPo) Meanwhile, 2022 crucial year for Biden’s climate agenda. (WaPo)
• Two weeks after her death, the mayor finally speaks on the killing of 14yo Valentina Orellana Peralta. Says tactics will be examined and that he’s learned not to prejudge. (LAT)
• Sentencing for the three men convicted in the case of the killing of Ahmaud Arbery is underway. They face life in prison. (NPR)

Find more state headlines at Streetsblog California