Gov. Gavin Newsom traveled to the Los Angeles area on Wednesday to unveil what his administration called a first-of-its-kind economic blueprint for job growth throughout the state and to announce more than $245 million in investments to support workers.

That amount includes $13 million to support economic recovery and small businesses in L.A. County following last month’s devastating wildfires.“I’m not naive about the economic challenges, particularly here in Southern California. … I’m not naive about the imperative to remove debris concurrently to get people to feel optimism again, getting permits, getting people starting to rebuild their community,” Newsom said.

“But we also need to be rebuilding confidence in the economy here in Los Angeles and the broader region, particularly as we build up to the Olympics, build up to other large-scale events,” he added.

The governor’s remarks came during a news conference at East Los Angeles College in Monterey Park, where he spoke earlier at an economic forecast event put on by the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp.

The statewide California Jobs First Economic Blueprint is intended to guide state investments in key sectors to spur economic growth, innovation and access to good-paying jobs in all 13 regions of the state over the next decade. It aims to streamline economic, business and workforce development programs to create more jobs and to do so more quickly.

The statewide plan was more than three years in the making and reflects ideas taken from 13 regional plans developed by stakeholders in different parts of California.

The $245 million in investments that Newsom touted Wednesday includes:

$125 million in grants for “ready-to-go” projects to grow the economy.

$15 million in grants for economic planning, predevelopment and implementation projects for Native American tribes.

$52 million for new apprenticeship programs, with a focus on high-demand sectors such as finance, advanced manufacturing and health care.

$16 million for pre-apprenticeship and apprenticeship funding for youths ages 16 to 24.

$24.1 million in High Road Training Partnership funds to train people to work in health care, with a focus on behavioral health and nursing.

$13 million to support the recovery and rebuilding of Los Angeles.

Because of last month’s wildfires in L.A. County, Wednesday’s talk of economic development quickly turned to talks about rebuilding communities.

Newsom maintained that while the state is waiving certain environmental review processes as part of the California Environmental Quality Act for homeowners who are rebuilding after the wildfires, the state continues to have the highest building safety standards — regulations which aren’t being waived.

The goal, he said, is to rebuild smarter so communities are resilient amid climate change.

The governor also said the state has had a great working relationship with the city and county of L.A. and underscored the importance of maintaining partnerships with all levels of government — including Republican President Donald Trump, with whom Newsom, a Democrat, has frequently sparred.

“That’s why I have no problem calling balls and strikes and thanking (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator) Lee Zeldin and thanking President Trump for Phase 1 of the debris removal as he cuts the U.S. Forest Service, as he had his representatives out here attacking some state projects like the high-speed rail,” Newsom said.

“We can agree to disagree,” he continued. “But at the end of the day, it’s essential in this disaster framework and recovery that we all work together.”

Despite their frequent public spats, Newsom greeted Trump at LAX last month when the president visited Southern California to see for himself the aftermath of the Palisades fire.

During that meet-up, the two shook hands, and Newsom thanked Trump for traveling to California and told the president “we’re going to need your support; we’re going to need your help.”

Newsom has also sought to win the support of both Democrats and Republicans in Congress as he recently requested nearly $40 billion in federal disaster aid.

Although business leaders and county officials who joined Newsom at his news conference thanked him for his leadership, not everyone in Los Angeles expressed appreciation for the governor on Wednesday.

Newsom’s visit to L.A. occurred the same day that Saving California, a group that hopes to recall the governor, held its own news conference to discuss the next steps in their effort.

Mel Gibson, the actor and director who lost his Malibu home in the Palisades fire, came to Altadena on Wednesday to show his support for the effort, as he and others lamented what they said was the state’s lack of preparedness for the fires.

“California was ill-prepared and had scant resources to deal with the inevitable fires,” said Gibson, joining about 100 people, some who lost homes in the catastrophe. “They knew that. So are we supposed to believe our elected officials didn’t know that? Of course they knew that.”

On its website, the group’s chairperson, Randy Economy, said that under Newsom’s leadership, costs of living have gone up, as have crimes, drug use and homelessness. He also criticized the response to the recent wildfires as “woefully unprepared.”

They also said Wednesday that Newsom could not be trusted with the $40 billion he’s requested in federal aid.

Nathan Click, a spokesperson for Newsom, said in a statement that the governor “is focused on leading the state and the recovery from the L.A. fires — not politics.”

Many of the same people were involved in other unsuccessful recall attempts against Newsom in the past, “each of which have failed spectacularly,” Click said.

Newsom is scheduled to leave office in late 2026 when his term ends. He is ineligible to run again due to term limits.