Overview
- The Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development issued a memo calling the proposed Solano Shipyard and Solano Foundry “projects of statewide significance” and urged a clear, predictable approval process for projects that deliver exceptional economic benefits.
- Autonomous shipbuilder Saronic awarded its $3.2 billion shipyard to Texas instead of the Solano site, a loss that supporters say cost the region an estimated 10,000 potential jobs and is being used to press for faster permitting.
- Governor Gavin Newsom has not publicly endorsed California Forever’s plan to build a new 400,000‑person city, and the GO‑Biz memo lets the administration back the industrial and job‑creation aspects without taking a position on the city proposal.
- GO‑Biz cited recent closures and downsizings in Solano County — including Budweiser, Valero, parts of Jelly Belly, Mare Island Dry Dock, and Factory OS — as justification for pursuing transformational manufacturing investment that labor unions support and local residents and environmental groups oppose.
- Advisers and allies connected to California Forever are drafting legislation and possible budget trailer language to streamline approvals, a move that could change how California competes for large industrial projects and affect future job and land‑use decisions in the region.