VALLEJO – Gov. Gavin Newsom announced $48.5 million in funding to support 18 state projects at a press conference on Mare Island on Wednesday morning, including $8.2 million for shipbuilding and career development on Mare Island in partnership with Cal Poly Maritime Academy.
“There’s nothing like this anywhere in the western United States,” Newsom said, gesturing around at Mare Island’s historic shipyard, where the U.S. Navy established its first permanent base on the west coast in 1854. “But it’s not what it once was … we’ve got to get that back, we’ve got to jumpstart that again.”
The $8.2 million investment will be broken into three projects. Cal Poly Maritime Academy will use $4.3 million to transform Mare Island’s shipyard into an applied research and technology acceleration campus. An extra $1.4 million will be used for workforce development for the students. Finally, $2.4 million will go towards creating the ecosystem and establishing regional coordination to become the Bay Area’s maritime industrial base, which will be overseen by the Solano County Economic Development Corporation, a nonprofit that represents the county and various agencies.
“The state's investments will help create an integrated talent pipeline through training in maritime manufacturing to prepare more students and workers with skills needed to support shipbuilding, repair, and other industries critical to the region, and the state, and the nation,” said California Labor and Workforce Development Secretary Stewart Knox.
The funding also includes $3.9 million for aerospace education at San Diego State University, $6.8 million in space and satellite improvements in Kern County, $9.7 million in quantum education at UCLA and CSU San Marcos, and $17.7 million for advanced manufacturing projects in the Central San Joaquin region.
“I am so thrilled at the extraordinary impact this collective investment will undoubtedly have on CSU students, faculty, and staff, and on the regional economies these universities drive as vital anchor institutions within our communities,” said CSU Chancellor Mildred Garcia.
“For generations, Mare Island has been a center of American shipbuilding and maritime innovation,” said state Assemblymember Lori Wilson. “The work done here helped shape our nation, supported generations of families, and established Vallejo and Solano County as an important part of our country's maritime history. Today we have an opportunity not just to honor that legacy, but to build upon it.”
The announcement with Cal Poly Maritime came just a day after the Solano County Board of Supervisors tabled a shipbuilding proposal from California Forever for Solano County. The supervisors voted on Tuesday to oppose legislation, called the Solano Maritime and Manufacturing Act, that would’ve allowed California Forever to use a nearly 20-year-old environmental report to build a shipbuilding facility on the land it owns in Collinsville, a small community at the mouth of the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta.
The 3-2 vote ended any chance of the proposal getting passed before the end of the legislative session, which closes on Aug. 31.
Supervisor Mitch Mashburn said that they “shouldn’t be doing it because we’re rushed,” adding that the proposal put too much responsibility on the county to ensure that the old environmental report was sufficient enough to protect the environment.
“We’ve already heard this legislation has holes,” Mashburn said. “We need to continue to work on this.”
The Solano Land Trust, a nonprofit environmental organization that advocates for natural spaces in Solano County, praised the decision.
"Solano's future is worth getting right, and we're grateful the board recognized what was at stake here," said CEO Nicole Braddock. The “decision wasn't about choosing between economic opportunity and conservation. It was about taking the time to understand how we can achieve both. Growth should add to Solano, not replace what already makes this county strong."
After Wednesday’s press conference, Wilson told reporters that the Solano County supervisors said they would revisit the issue during the next legislative session, which begins in January.
“I look forward to engaging them,” Wilson said. After the vote, Wilson released a statement on social media about how she would continue to let the county take the lead on shipbuilding opportunities.
This is the second setback for California Forever’s shipbuilding plans in Collinsville. In July, California Forever lost a bid with defense technology company Saronic, which proposed building a $3.2 billion shipyard there. The company decided to instead build in Texas.
At the press conference, Newsom expressed frustration that the county supervisors voted down California Forever’s proposal.
“Solano County is struggling. It has the highest unemployment rate of the nine counties, and we have an opportunity to make investments in housing and infrastructure,” Newsom said.
But Newsom added that the board “delayed it, they didn’t deny it,” and said he believes that the supervisors “will ultimately embrace the tenets of the project.”
When asked about whether he widely supports California Forever, Newsom said he’s “not attaching himself to any specific proposals,” but he is interested in moving California’s economy forward.
“We’ve got to step up our game. We want to compete,” he said. “In this community, people are left behind. They want jobs and economic opportunity.”
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