April 6, 2018

06Apr

TOP POLITICAL STORIES​​​​​​​

 

Valley Politics:

 

Atmospheric river to flow into Central California Friday night

ABC30

This is the second time in a week and a half an atmospheric river is impacting in Central California. An atmospheric river is more common during the months of December and January instead of the spring and autumn seasons.

See also:

·       The Latest: Yosemite campsites closed before storm Fresno Bee

·       ‘Potent’ atmospheric river to bombard central California on Friday and Saturday Washington Post

 

Report: Most Seats On Valley Water Boards Go Uncontested

Valley Public Radio

A new report from the Visalia-based Community Water Center indicates that nearly 500 local water board seats have gone uncontested in recent elections. In the southern San Joaquin Valley, the report finds that 87 percent of seats on public water boards went uncontested. When only one candidate is seeking a seat, the election for that seat is not held.

 

City says candidate a slumlord; he calls violations ‘petty’

Fresno Bee

Fresno’s anti-slum enforcement team has issued nearly 1,300 violations since 2017 to property owner Sean Sanchez, who is running for the District 3 city council seat.

 

Fresno has low numbers of young people murdered, based on state data

Fresno Bee

The recent school shooting in Parkland, Fla., left 14 youths dead and reignited a debate about gun control. In California, about that many youths have been murdered every three weeks, on average, over the past 30 years. Most of the deaths involve firearms. Because such killings are common, they receive much less attention than a mass school shooting.

 

Visalia backs ballot measure to address Prop 47 crime concerns

The Business Journal

The California Police Chief’s Association is proposing a statewide initiative aimed at addressing some of the problems that have resulted from the passage of recent ballot measures — particularly Propositions 47 and 57 — that they believe have negatively impacted the safety of California citizens. Locally, Visalia Police Chief Jason Salazar is in support of this measure and is asking the Visalia City Council to adopt a resolution. The intent is for this measure to be on the ballot for the November 2018 General Election.

 

Tulare County faces voting rights lawsuit

Visalia Times-Delta

Tulare County’s highest elected officials are being accused of suppressing more than half of the voters in the county, according to lawyers who plan to sue. On Tuesday, Tulare County Board of Supervisors learned they will face a lawsuit if they don’t immediately redraw their boundaries to include more Latino voters throughout the five districts that make up Tulare County.

 

City administrators will follow confidentiality rules on ex-Police Chief Wes Hensley matter

Visalia Times-Delta

Tulare City Attorney Heather Phillips said the city’s time of being unable to defend itself against “baseless accusations” is nearing an end.  But the debate on whether Hensley is entitled to a full evidentiary hearing seems far from over. “I understand there’s a very high level of interest in this case. I understand that, but the proper venue to deal with personnel matter — especially one that involved someone at the very top of an organization — is not in the media,” Phillips said during Tuesday’s Tulare City Council meeting.

 

What Modesto’s Awesome Spot playground needs to break ground

The Modesto Bee

Fundraising for an estimated $2.5 million “inclusive playground” planned for Beyer Community Park in north Modesto is nearly a third done, and some big advances are expected in the next few months. “We’re making great strides,” said O’Dell Engineering landscape architect Chad Kennedy, one of those spearheading The Awesome Spot project. “Currently, between pledges, contributions and in-kind donations, we’re at 31.5 percent.

 

Big bust shows how fentanyl is new local scourge

Modesto Bee

Authorities said Thursday that a highly toxic opioid drug is now a dangerous threat in the Central Valley. At a news conference in Modesto, U.S. Attorney McGregor Scott of the Eastern District of California announced the indictment of two men charged with distributing fentanyl as part of a drug trafficking network stretching across counties in Northern California.

 

Fitzgerald: Patti: Questionable language, Trump-like response

Stockton Record

On Thursday, this paper ran a story about Supervisor Tom Patti that Patti stridently denounced as “fake news” — on Wednesday, a full day before he read it. Yes, Patti called the story fake on his Facebook page a day before the reporter even wrote it. Surely this sets a record of some kind, even in our fact-challenged times.

 

This Atwater school was named a ‘Distinguished School’ by the state

Merced Sun-Star

Elmer Wood Elementary is the only school in Merced County honored as one of the state’s “Distinguished Schools” this year for using data-driven instruction and intervention techniques to improve student achievement. The State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson announced Monday that 287 elementary schools were honored and recognized for their “outstanding educational programs and practices that help California students realize their potential, and put them on the path to achieve their dreams.”

 

Former State Farm complex, Bakerfield’s largest office building, sells

Bakersfield Californian

Could Bakersfield’s largest office building become the new local headquarters for a big oil company? In a landmark sale that could affect commercial real estate in Bakersfield for years to come, Cushman & Wakefield and two of its directors said Thursday that the former operations center for State Farm in southwest Bakersfield has been sold.

 

In bellwether decision, water board orders McKittrick oilfield disposal pond operator to monitor pollutants

Bakersfield Californian

Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board members voted Thursday to require an oil wastewater dump site operator in McKittrick suspected of polluting nearby groundwater to install a network of wells monitoring contamination. That falls short of environmentalists’ demands for the board to shutter the operation.

Visalia backs ballot measure to address Prop 47 crime concerns

The Business Journal

The California Police Chief’s Association is proposing a statewide initiative aimed at addressing some of the problems that have resulted from the passage of recent ballot measures — particularly Propositions 47 and 57 — that they believe have negatively impacted the safety of California citizens. Locally, Visalia Police Chief Jason Salazar is in support of this measure and is asking the Visalia City Council to adopt a resolution. The intent is for this measure to be on the ballot for the November 2018 General Election.

 

State Politics:

 

Two houses, one promise: a Capitol with more dignity

Sacramento Bee

Shakespeare opened “Romeo and Juliet” with the line, “Two households, both alike in dignity.” It didn’t end well for those two houses. By contrast, California’s two dignified houses – the Senate and the Assembly – can promise much better things.

See also:

     Atkins and Rendon: Capitol leaders promise workplace dignity The Sacramento Bee

 

California Chamber of Commerce releases its ‘job killers’

The Sacramento Bee

The California Chamber of Commerce’s “job killer” list is back, highlighting 21 bills the state’s most powerful business coalition plans to slay in the Legislature this year.

 

California lawmakers want to roll back some criminal sentencing laws, keep young offenders out of adult court

Los Angeles Times

In a legislative hearing packed with criminal justice experts and former youth offenders, California lawmakers pushed forward a bill this week to keep minors who commit crimes out of adult courts.

 

California Legislature discloses seven sexual misconduct investigations from 1990s and 2000s

Los Angeles Times

Newly released records from the California Legislature show seven sexual misconduct investigations prior to 2006 that resulted in some sort of reprimand. The documents were released Thursday after a request made by the Los Angeles Times in mid-February, part of an ongoing examination of what women have called a “pervasive” culture of sexual harassment in the legislative workplace.

 

Sudden departure of state industrial relations head Baker stuns labor, business

San Francisco Chronicle

Christine Baker, the first female director of the California Department of Industrial Relations, retired abruptly and unexpectedly Friday after 34 years with the agency that administers and enforces state laws covering workers’ compensation, workplace safety, wages, hours, overtime, retaliation and apprenticeship programs.

 

Walters: Politics may defeat common sense on bonds

CALmatters

When governments seek permission to borrow money through bonds, telling voters how much and for how long taxes will be increased to repay those loans is just common sense. In fact, the Legislature last year passed such a law, requiring bond measures or taxes proposed by local governments or school districts to state “the amount of money to be raised annually and duration of the tax to be levied.” It was carried by Assemblyman Jay Obernolte, a Big Bear Lake Republican.

 

How California car culture killed the promise of a 20-minute commute

CALmatters

As an innovator and early adopter of freeways, California became the symbolic capital of car culture. But the ease of movement conferred by the massive postwar freeway building boom was short-lived, turning the dream of car travel into a nightmare of congestion and long commutes. The story of how Californians went from getting around to getting stuck behind the wheel is deeply entwined with the history of the urban freeway, an enterprise that advanced earlier and on a larger scale here than anywhere else in the country.

 

The Gender Gap in California Politics

Public Policy Institute of California

In the past year, women have led large-scale political protests nationwide and an increasing number are running for elected office. In California, likely women voters have a numeric edge over men (53% to 47%), according to PPIC’s analysis. With the midterm elections quickly approaching, will women make a pivotal difference?

 

California Today: Villaraigosa on Not Backing Impeachment (Yet)

The New York Times

Antonio Villaraigosa, the former mayor of Los Angeles, is a leading Democratic candidate for governor. California Today has been doing occasional question-and-answer sessions with candidates for office, and today we turn to Mr. Villaraigosa. The interview, edited and condensed for clarity, was done for our article on the race.

 

Republicans Allen, Cox spar in California governor’s race.

The Sacramento Bee

Republican gubernatorial candidate Travis Allen is going after his Republican rival John Cox for his business dealings as owner of a residential property management company in the Midwest.

 

Quietly, Trump Officials and California Seek a Deal on Car Emissions

The New York Times

Officials from the Trump administration and the State of California, who have been negotiating behind the scenes on car emissions standards, are expected to reopen talks that could preserve rules targeted by the Environmental Protection Agency for elimination, according to people briefed on the talks.

 

Federal Politics:

 

Trump v. California: The Biggest Legal Clashes

The New York Times

The Trump administration and California are fighting a furious multifront legal war, and every week seems to bring a new courtroom battle. “It’s bloody combat,” Jessica Levinson, who teaches at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles, said on Tuesday. “This isn’t a cold war. It’s a scorching hot war. And that’s politically expedient for both sides.”

 

FACT CHECK: Trump Repeats Voter Fraud Claim About California

capradio.org

At an event billed as a roundtable discussion about taxes in West Virginia, President Trump went off script Thursday afternoon, and notably repeated a claim about voter fraud that has repeatedly been proven false. “In many places, like California, the same person votes many times — you’ve probably heard about that,” Trump said. “They always like to say ‘oh that’s a conspiracy theory’ — not a conspiracy theory folks. Millions and millions of people.”

See also:

     Pants On Fire for Trump’s claim about ‘serious voter fraud’ in California PolitiFact California

●     Trump revives debunked accusation of massive vote fraud in California Los Angeles Times

●     Trump repeats debunked voter fraud claim CNN

●     Trump’s California claim: Millions of people vote ‘many times’ San Francisco Chronicle

 

Citizenship question could ruin census

Modesto Bee

As former secretaries of Commerce, with direct oversight of the U.S. Census Bureau, we have grave concerns about the proposed addition of a citizenship question to the decennial census in 2020. If included, this question will put in jeopardy the accuracy of the data the census collects and increase costs.

 

Rebuffed by Congress, Trump resorts to old ideas on the border

Brookings

As President Trump has no doubt just discovered, there are very few genuinely new ideas in government. Take, for instance, his

latest pronouncement: “Until we have a wall and proper security, we’re going to be guarding our border with the military… That’s a big step. We really haven’t done that before.”

 

U.S. to Consider Additional $100 Billion in China Tariffs

WSJ

President Donald Trump threatened a major escalation in trade tensions with Beijing on Thursday, saying he was considering imposing tariffs on an additional $100 billion in imports from China. The move would triple the amount of Chinese goods facing levies when entering the U.S., up from the tariffs on $50 billion in imports from China that the president announced last week.

See also:

·       Trump escalates China trade fight, threatening $100 billion more in tariffs Reuters

 

Sen. Kamala Harris on Stephon Clark: ‘My heart breaks for what has happened’

Los Angeles Times

Sen. Kamala Harris told a Sacramento crowd Thursday she was grieving with them over the death of Stephon Clark, an unarmed black man whose shooting by police nearly three weeks ago has roiled California’s capital city. Hosting a town hall at a church, Harris addressed the shooting at the outset and touted training for law enforcement to counter implicit bias, telling the audience that Clark’s life “is a life that should not have been lost. That is a loss that should not have been taken.”

See also:

     California Sen. Kamala Harris says police need to be aware of biases KCRA Sacramento

      DA gets $13,000 from police unions – and more protests – days after Stephon Clark’s death Sacramento Bee

●      After Stephon Clark’s Death, People Want More Investment In Sacramento’s Neighborhoods Of Color. Here’s How This Year’s Election Could Help. Capital Public Radio

 

Other:

 

Backlash grows over Sinclair Broadcast Group’s ‘must-run’ conservative content on local TV stations

Los Angeles Times

Even in the politically polarizing age of President Trump, local TV news has tried to remain a source for viewers who want to know what’s going on in their backyards. But the viral video posted Saturday showing local TV anchors at Sinclair Broadcast Group reciting the same promotional announcement about combating “fake news” sources has revealed that not all local news is local.

See also:

     The New Clash Between Free Speech And Privacy NPR

 

Section 230: A Key Legal Shield For Facebook, Google Is About To Change

NPR

It’s 1995, and Chris Cox is on a plane reading a newspaper. One article about a recent court decision catches his eye. This moment, in a way, ends up changing his life — and, to this day, it continues to change ours. The case that caught the congressman’s attention involved some posts on a bulletin board — the early-Internet precursor to today’s social media. The ruling led to a new law, co-authored by Cox and often called simply “Section 230.”

 

What Free Speech Has To Do With Skim Milk, Condoms And Corporate Political Spending

NPR

The concept of free speech is frequently heard in courtrooms across the country. Advocates on all kinds of issues try to tie their legal and policy arguments to a constitutional right most Americans hold as fundamental. Consider recent debates overnet neutrality, for example, or abortion rights.

 

Go Get ‘Em, George! Too Many Laws

Fox and Hounds Daily

Bravo to Los Angeles Times columnist George Skelton for his article yesterday excoriating frivolous and dumb laws that waste lawmakers’ time and public money. Too many laws is an issue I’ve returned to time and again on this page, even praising former U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer because she did not author many laws.

 

Most Guns Used in School Shootings Come From Home

WSJ

A striking detail stands out in nearly three decades of American mass school shootings: The killers mostly use guns owned by a family member, not purchased on their own. As Congress, statehouses, school districts, retailers and various groups debate how to prevent a school shooting after a 19-year-old who legally bought guns left 17 dead in Parkland, Fla., much discussion centers on whether to raise the minimum age for gun purchases. But statistics suggest that a lack of gun safety at home also has played a big role in school…

 

 

MADDY INSTITUTE PUBLIC POLICY PROGRAMMING  

 

Sunday, April 8, at 10 a.m. on ABC 30 – Maddy Report: “California’s Concealed Carry Permits: The Wild West of Permitting?”​ – Guest: Elaine Howle, California State Auditor. Host: Maddy Institute Executive Director, Mark Keppler.

 

Sunday, April 8, at 10 a.m. on Newstalk 580AM/105.9FM (KMJ) – Maddy Report ​ – Valley Views Edition​: “Concealed Carry Permits: Are Valley Standards the De Facto State Standards?” – Guests: Fresno County Sheriff Margaret Mims, Tulare County Sheriff Mike Boudreaux, and Stanislaus County Sheriff Adam Christianson. Host: Maddy Institute Executive Director, Mark Keppler.

 

Sunday, April 8, at 7:30 a.m. on UniMas 61 (KTTF) – El Informe Maddy: “Concealed Weapons Permits”  Guests: Margarita Fernández, Jefe de Relaciones Públicas de la oficina de la Auditora de California. Host: Maddy Institute Program Coordinator, Maria Jeans.

 

Support the Maddy Daily HERE.

Thank you!

 

 

Topics in More Detail…

 

AGRICULTURE/FOOD

 

Tulare Deputies Catch Alleged Citrus Thief

KMJ

A 49-year-old man was arrested after deputies say he stole citrus fruits from an orchard. It happened Tuesday around 10:25 a.m. in Lindsay. According to the Tulare County Sheriff’s Office, deputies responded to the area for an ongoing theft of lemons at the orchard in the 1000 block of Citrus Avenue. While deputies were investigating the theft, a car matching the description drove by the area.

 

CRIMINAL JUSTICE​ ​/​ ​FIRE​ ​/​ ​PUBLIC SAFETY

 

Crime:

 

Fresno has low numbers of young people murdered, based on state data

Fresno Bee

The recent school shooting in Parkland, Fla., left 14 youths dead and reignited a debate about gun control. In California, about that many youths have been murdered every three weeks, on average, over the past 30 years. Most of the deaths involve firearms. Because such killings are common, they receive much less attention than a mass school shooting.

 

Why big bust in Turlock shows how fentanyl could be Central Valley’s new scourge

Modesto Bee

Authorities said Thursday that a highly toxic opioid drug is now a dangerous threat in the Central Valley. At a news conference in Modesto, U.S. Attorney McGregor Scott of the Eastern District of California announced the indictment of two men charged with distributing fentanyl as part of a drug trafficking network stretching across counties in Northern California.

 

Big bust shows how fentanyl is new local scourge

Modesto Bee

Authorities said Thursday that a highly toxic opioid drug is now a dangerous threat in the Central Valley. At a news conference in Modesto, U.S. Attorney McGregor Scott of the Eastern District of California announced the indictment of two men charged with distributing fentanyl as part of a drug trafficking network stretching across counties in Northern California.

 

California lawmakers want to roll back some criminal sentencing laws, keep young offenders out of adult court

Los Angeles Times

In a legislative hearing packed with criminal justice experts and former youth offenders, California lawmakers pushed forward a bill this week to keep minors who commit crimes out of adult courts. The proposal, one of several in a package of bills introduced by Sens. Holly J. Mitchell (D-Los Angeles) and Ricardo Lara (D-Bell Gardens), is part of an ongoing effort to divert young people from a path to prison and create parity in state punishment laws. Other bills would roll back mandatory sentencing rules that research shows disproportionally affect black and Latino defendants.

 

Visalia backs ballot measure to address Prop 47 crime concerns

The Business Journal

The California Police Chief’s Association is proposing a statewide initiative aimed at addressing some of the problems that have resulted from the passage of recent ballot measures — particularly Propositions 47 and 57 — that they believe have negatively impacted the safety of California citizens. Locally, Visalia Police Chief Jason Salazar is in support of this measure and is asking the Visalia City Council to adopt a resolution. The intent is for this measure to be on the ballot for the November 2018 General Election.

 

Millions sought to stem arrests at California foster care shelters

San Francisco Chronicle

A California lawmaker is calling for $22.7 million in state funding to help prevent unwarranted arrests of abused and neglected children in the state’s residential foster-care facilities — a disturbing practice exposed in a Chronicle investigation last year. The three-year budget proposal, to be introduced next week by Assemblyman Mike Gipson, D-Carson (Los Angeles County), comes as arrests continue across the state at county children’s shelters, despite pledges of reform.

 

Fire:

 

Cal Fire’s Defensible Space Inspectors begin making rounds

Sierra Star

Cal Fire’s Defensible Space Inspectors are visiting homes to ensure local residents maintain a defensible space of a minimum of 100 feet. Due to recent rains and warm sunshine, vegetation growth has been charged and with fire season fast approaching, if not managed correctly it can create hazardous conditions.

 

ECONOMY / JOBS

 

Economy:

 

Trump escalates China trade fight, threatening $100 billion more in tariffs

Reuters

President Donald Trump on Thursday directed U.S. trade officials to identify tariffs on $100 billion more Chinese imports, upping the ante in an already high-stakes trade confrontation between the world’s two largest economies. The further tariffs were being considered “in light of China’s unfair retaliation” against earlier U.S. trade actions, which included a proposed $50 billion of tariffs on Chinese goods, Trump said in a White House statement.

See also:

·       A Trade War With China May Be Inevitable The Atlantic

·       Your trade war questions, answered Marketplace

 

Trump just put himself in a political red zone (Opinion)

CNN

It might very well be that Donald Trump tweets himself into a one-term presidency. Following the President’s recent tweets about Amazon and news of a growing trade war with China, stocks slid on Tuesday and Wednesday morning. While the stock market rebounded on Wednesday afternoon, more rocky days are likely. Without any advisers in the Oval Office who are willing or capable to say “Stop!” to the President, the situation is likely to deteriorate if there are more tweets about major American companies or trade battles overseas.

 

Jobs:

 

Former State Farm complex, Bakersfield’s largest office building, sells

The Bakersfield Californian

Could Bakersfield’s largest office building become the new local headquarters for a big oil company? In a landmark sale that could affect commercial real estate in Bakersfield for years to come, Cushman & Wakefield and two of its directors said Thursday that the former operations center for State Farm in southwest Bakersfield has been sold.

 

5 Things to Watch in the March Jobs Report – Real Time Economics

WSJ

The Labor Department releases its broadest look at the U.S. job market for March on Friday. Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal expect employers added 178,000 jobs during the month and see the unemployment rate ticking down to 4.0%. Here are five things to watch in the report. 1.  A fresh low Economists project the […]

 

EDUCATION

 

This Atwater school was named a ‘Distinguished School’ by the state

Merced Sun-Star

Elmer Wood Elementary is the only school in Merced County honored as one of the state’s “Distinguished Schools” this year for using data-driven instruction and intervention techniques to improve student achievement. The State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson announced Monday that 287 elementary schools were honored and recognized for their “outstanding educational programs and practices that help California students realize their potential, and put them on the path to achieve their dreams.”

 

What should we pay teachers?

Brookings

The chart below, taken from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s (OECD) just released “Education at a Glance 2017,” has been receiving considerable attention. Take a look at the big red arrow I added to see why. On the horizontal dimension: The U.S. is far to the right, way down on the list of relative teacher pay. Vertical: The U.S. bars are short, indicating that American teachers are poorly paid relative to other American workers with comparable education.

 

Four reasons teachers are striking

Brookings

Senior Fellow Michael Hansen discusses teacher pay strikes in Oklahoma, Kentucky, and Arizona, and predicts which states might be next.

See also:

     What striking teachers in Oklahoma and Kentucky teach us The Washington Post

 

How a tiny Native American community’s trauma might impact education law

EdSource

lawsuit brought on behalf of schoolchildren in the most remote Native American community in the United States is addressing an emerging question in public education — namely, are school districts required to provide disability services to children who’ve suffered trauma related to poverty and discrimination.

 

Unlike California, many states have umbrella agency for early childhood programs

EdSource

There is growing recognition that California in effect has three systems of education — one for children before they enter kindergarten, another serving children in the K-12 grades and one for higher education. But in the eyes of many experts, policymakers and elected officials, the system serving the state’s youngest children is the most important in building a foundation for a student’s future success. It is also the most fragmented and least coordinated one.

 

Most Guns Used in School Shootings Come From Home

WSJ

A striking detail stands out in nearly three decades of American mass school shootings: The killers mostly use guns owned by a family member, not purchased on their own. As Congress, statehouses, school districts, retailers and various groups debate how to prevent a school shooting after a 19-year-old who legally bought guns left 17 dead in Parkland, Fla., much discussion centers on whether to raise the minimum age for gun purchases. But statistics suggest that a lack of gun safety at home also has played a big role in school…

 

ENVIRONMENT/ ENERGY

 

Environment:

 

In California vs. the EPA, it’s the state that’s fighting to protect the environment

Los Angeles Times

President Trump and the auto industry are teaming up to roll back gas mileage and emissions rules that would deliver a new car fleet in 2025 averaging 36 mpg in real-world driving. Fortunately, California — and a dozen other states — insist we need to keep the tough standard, which is the biggest single step ever taken against climate change.

 

Quietly, Trump Officials and California Seek a Deal on Car Emissions

New York Times

Officials from the Trump administration and the State of California, who have been negotiating behind the scenes on car emissions standards, are expected to reopen talks that could preserve rules targeted by the Environmental Protection Agency for elimination, according to people briefed on the talks.

 

Energy:

 

Oil Slips Amid U.S.-China Trade Tensions

WSJ

Oil prices wavered between gains and losses Friday after an escalation of trade tensions between the U.S. and China pressured markets. U.S. crude futures recent traded down 28 cents, or 0.44%, at $63.26 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent, the global benchmark, fell 9 cents, or 0.13%, to $68.24 a barrel on ICE Futures Europe.

 

HEALTH/HUMAN SERVICES

 

Tipping healthcare in the right direction

Fresno Bee

Recently billionaires Jeff Bezos of Amazon, Jamie Dimon of JPMorgan Chase bank, and Warren Buffett of Berkshire Hathaway announced plans to tackle health care. As expected from three titans of industry, this move makes sense because health care is big business, gobbling up 17 percent of the U.S. economy and rising.

 

Amid deportations, immigrants shy away from medical care

Los Angeles Times

They need to prepare, they say, in case they never come back. Patients at the St. John’s Well Child & Family Center in South Los Angeles have recently started asking for copies of their medical records. Some request extra medicine from their doctors, taking home as much as they’ll supply.

 

Dialysis clinic revenue would be capped under California ballot measure

San Francisco Chronicle

An effort to cut the costs of kidney dialysis — and trim the profits of the huge companies that dominate the service — moved closer to the November ballot Thursday when supporters turned in more than 600,000 signatures for the initiative. The none-too-euphoniously named California Limits on Dialysis Clinics’ Revenue and Required Refund Initiative needs 365,880 valid signatures to go before the voters in the fall.

 

IMMIGRATION

 

No, California’s ‘sanctuary state’ law does not allow the release of dangerous criminals to the streets

Los Angeles Times

As the fight over California’s immigration policies intensifies, so have the attacks from opponents who argue its landmark “sanctuary state” law is allowing the release of violent criminals into the streets. The California Values Act, which was signed into law last year, prevents law enforcement officers in many cases from holding and questioning people at the request of federal immigration agents, and limits them from sharing the release dates of some county jail inmates who are in the country illegally.

 

What role do immigrants play in U.S. labor force?

Marketplace

President Donald Trump and many congressional Republicans are pursuing policies to reduce legal immigration to the United States, with proposals to prioritize admission for highly skilled and well-educated immigrants over those with family ties to residents and by deporting undocumented immigrants currently living and working in the U.S.

 

California sheriff: Why won’t the state allow us to enforce immigration law?

The Hill

Newly-enacted legislation in California has reversed course on nearly two decades of improved law enforcement collaboration, restricting communication between law enforcement and federal immigration authorities. As the sheriff in Orange County, this deeply concerns me. Senate Bill 54, signed into law by Gov. Jerry Brown in October 2017, prevents sheriffs from directly sharing information with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) with respect to when they will release wanted, undocumented criminals from our jails.

 

Rebuffed by Congress, Trump resorts to old ideas on the border

Brookings

As President Trump has no doubt just discovered, there are very few genuinely new ideas in government. Take, for instance, his

latest pronouncement: “Until we have a wall and proper security, we’re going to be guarding our border with the military… That’s a big step. We really haven’t done that before.”

 

LAND USE/HOUSING

 

Land Use:

 

Former State Farm complex, Bakersfield’s largest office building, sells

Bakersfield Californian

Could Bakersfield’s largest office building become the new local headquarters for a big oil company? In a landmark sale that could affect commercial real estate in Bakersfield for years to come, Cushman & Wakefield and two of its directors said Thursday that the former operations center for State Farm in southwest Bakersfield has been sold.

 

Housing:

 

California housing crisis podcast: Why there aren’t enough construction workers in the state?

Los Angeles Times

California has a shortage of homes, which is a key factor in the state’s affordability crisis. To fix that problem, a lot more building will need to happen in the state. But there’s another issue: an ongoing shortage of construction workers.

 

PUBLIC FINANCES

 

Retired LA assistant fire chief was paid $1.4 million last year

The Mercury News

Former high-level Los Angeles city employees continued to rake in high pension payouts in 2017, with a former assistant fire chief topping the list with his $1.38 million pension earning, according to data released this week by Transparent California. The assistant fire chief, Donald Frazeur, was paid a lump sum of $1,171,994 in addition to his normal $212,730 annual pension because he took advantage of a program known as the deferred retirement option plan, or DROP, according to Transparent California.

 

With California taxpayers facing a $1 trillion unfunded pension liability, lawmakers focus on foam and plastic straws

OCRegister

Brooklyn-based columnist David Klion has drawn national attention with a recent tweet storm arguing that driving is immoral and automobiles should be banned. Nanny-state proposals from Acela corridor opinion writers like this are easy to dismiss and, in Klion’s case, mock.

 

TRANSPORTATION

 

How California car culture killed the promise of a 20-minute commute

CALmatters

As an innovator and early adopter of freeways, California became the symbolic capital of car culture. But the ease of movement conferred by the massive postwar freeway building boom was short-lived, turning the dream of car travel into a nightmare of congestion and long commutes. The story of how Californians went from getting around to getting stuck behind the wheel is deeply entwined with the history of the urban freeway, an enterprise that advanced earlier and on a larger scale here than anywhere else in the country.

 

WATER

 

For stories on “weekend storm” See: “Top Stories – Local Politics,” above

 

In bellwether decision, water board orders McKittrick oilfield disposal pond operator to monitor pollutants

Bakersfield Californian

Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board members voted Thursday to require an oil wastewater dump site operator in McKittrick suspected of polluting nearby groundwater to install a network of wells monitoring contamination. That falls short of environmentalists’ demands for the board to shutter the operation.

 

California storm may test spillway at nation’s tallest dam

Sacramento Bee

Heavy rain is moving across Northern California, prompting at least one city to bring in additional emergency crews as authorities warn morning commuters to drive slowly. The spring storm is expected to dump several inches of rain on burn-scarred areas of wine country and could present the first test of the partially repaired spillway at the nation’s tallest dam.

See also:

     ‘Not one to mess around with.’ Sacramento could see double its usual April rainfall this weekendSacramento Bee

 

Report: Most Seats On Valley Water Boards Go Uncontested

Valley Public Radio

A new report from the Visalia-based Community Water Center indicates that nearly 500 local water board seats have gone uncontested in recent elections. In the southern San Joaquin Valley, the report finds that 87 percent of seats on public water boards went uncontested. When only one candidate is seeking a seat, the election for that seat is not held.

 

Statewide Water Bond Measures Could Have Californians Doing a Double-Take in 2018

Water Education Foundation

California voters may experience a sense of déjà vu this year when they are asked twice in the same year to consider water bonds — one in June, the other headed to the November ballot. Both tackle a variety of water issues, from helping disadvantaged communities get clean drinking water to making flood management improvements. But they avoid more controversial proposals, such as new surface storage, and they propose to do some very different things to appeal to different constituencies.

 

“Xtra”

 

Bakersfield basketball product named head coach at Fresno State

Bakersfield Californian

Justin Hutson grew up around the game, and subsequently worked his way up the ranks. The son of legendary coach Mark Hutson, Justin played at Bakersfield High before winning two Division II national championships at Cal State Bakersfield in 1993 and 1994. Then there was his ascension up the college basketball coaching ladder.

 

Merle Haggard to be honored Friday with post office building

Bakersfield Californian

Country Music Hall of Fame performer and Oildale native Merle Haggard will be honored on his birthday, April 6, with a ceremony that officially names the downtown post office in his honor. Starting Friday, 1730 18th St., 93301, will be designated the Merle Haggard Post Office Building.

 

Friday a fine night to be downtown

Bakersfield Californian

Who you gonna call this First Friday? If you’re headed to Bubble Pop Gallery, one of the locations offering new exhibitions downtown, you might want to bust some ghosts. That’s just some of the fun set for Friday. The “Ghostbusters”-themed show is in tribute to the 1984 film, which will screen at the Fox Theater on April 16. (Friday, the adjacent theater will screen fellow ’80s flick “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial.”)

 

Valley Cultural Calendar

Valley Cultural Coalition

Great things are happening in the Valley. Here’s a list of VCC member offerings to keep you busy and entertained!

 

CASA of Kern County holding Superhero Run Saturday

Bakersfield Californian

Court Appointed Special Advocates of Kern County is holding its annual Superhero Run on Saturday. Runners are encouraged to wear costumes of their favorite superheroes during 2K, 5K and 10K runs that start at 8 a.m. at the Park at River Walk, 11200 Stockdale Highway. Registration takes place from 7-8 a.m. Following the runs, there will be kids activities, obstacle courses, information booths and more at the park.

 

EDITORIALS

 

The Delta is dying. The planet is warming. Is California too focused on the tunnels?

Sacramento Bee

For far too long, too many leaders in California have had tunnel vision – Gov. Jerry Brown, local elected officials, water district executives.  The epic battle over the Delta tunnels – how many, how big, who pays – has consumed this state, in one form or another, for generations. It has occupied legions of scientists and armies of lawyers – “a million hours” of study, as the governor once put it. The most recent environmental impact report has 90,000 pages of findings in it.

 

California is doing just fine without the National Guard on the border

Sacramento Bee

It’s sometimes hard to know just how worked up to get over the torrent of tone-deaf ideas coming out of the White House. But for Californians, Donald Trump’s latest plan to “protect” the U.S.-Mexico border with the National Guard is obviously offensive. The president’s war on immigrants and this state has been escalating for weeks, and this is just the latest nonsensical salvo.

 

What is Trump’s trade war good for?

San Francisco Chronicle

President Trump’s intensifying trade faceoff with China comports with his broader foreign policy, to use the term loosely. As with his approach to Mexican immigration and North Korean aggression, Trump’s provocative tactics are tailored for self-aggrandizing spectacle rather than international problem-solving.

 

California needs open records on police misconduct

OCRegister

For many years, California police departments have cited a desire to not overemphasize officer misconduct as a key reason to keep private almost all records of aberrant activity by law enforcement.It’s true that the vast majority of policing is good work performed by good people under tough conditions. Probably 99 percent of arrests and even encounters between officers and citizens are “good” ones — probable cause, allowing the system to work, keeping the public safe. But what about the other 1 percent? Why are we so frequently kept in the dark?

 

Parents shouldn’t need a ‘free-range children’ law to raise their kids

OCRegister

In an era when Americans are reasonably torn between protecting their kids’ freedom and their kids’ security, it can feel like parents get the short end of the stick either way. Some culture warriors want kids free from the authority of their moms and dads. Others want to put them under greater government authority. Still others want both.

 

Police lethal force policies need thoughtful debate

San Diego Union-Tribune

The fatal March 18 shooting of an unarmed 22-year-old African-American man in the backyard of his grandparents’ home in Sacramento raised anew painful questions about U.S. law enforcement’s troubling history of disproportionate use of lethal force against black men. Stephon Clark’s death and the issues it evokes demand thoughtful debate.

See also:

      DA gets $13,000 from police unions – and more protests – days after Stephon Clark’s death Sacramento Bee

●      After Stephon Clark’s Death, People Want More Investment In Sacramento’s Neighborhoods Of Color. Here’s How This Year’s Election Could Help. Capital Public Radio

 

 

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Maddy Institute Updated List of San Joaquin Valley Elected Officials HERE.

 

The Kenneth L. Maddy Institute at California State University, Fresno was established to honor the legacy of one of California’s most principled and effective legislative leaders of the last half of the 20th Century by engaging, preparing and inspiring a new generation of governmental leaders for the 21st Century. Its mission is to inspire citizen participation, elevate government performance, provide non-partisan analysis and assist in providing solutions for public policy issues important to the region, state and nation.

                                                     

This document is to be used for informational purposes only. Unless specifically noted, The Maddy Institute at California State University, Fresno does not officially endorse or support views that may be expressed in the document. If you want to print a story, please do so now before the link expires. ​​​​​​​

 

 

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