San Francisco Chronicle: Gov. Newsom Says Trump-backed Investment Program Could Boost California

By Roland Li

Gov. Gavin Newsom said Monday that a Trump administration program that provides tax breaks meant to spur investment in low-income areas could boost California’s economy.

Newsom said the Opportunity Zones program could help address two of the state’s major challenges: promoting energy investment to meet its climate change goals and providing funding for housing amid a shortage that has exacerbated income inequality...

“We all heard about these opportunity zones. We were a bit perplexed,” Newsom said. “A lot of us, at least on my side of the political aisle said, ‘That actually sounds like a good idea. Wait a second, it came out of which administration? I’m still trying to get my arms around it. Maybe it’s too good of an idea.’”

The program’s roots date back to a proposal from the Economic Innovation Group, a think tank backed by Bay Area venture capitalist and former Facebook and Napster executive Sean Parker.

Read the full article here.