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TOP POLITICAL STORIES
Local/Regional:
Breitbart News calls out Fresno mayor Lee Brand over concealed carry policy
Fresno Bee
The Fresno City Council got some attention last week, over a proposed resolution that would allow city employees to carry a concealed weapon on the job – provided they have the proper licensing.
Sit down with Fresno’s New City Manager
KSEE and KGPE
A discussion with Wilma Quan Schecter, Fresno’s new City Manager (and first female city manager)…
State:
Special interest lobbying spending spikes in California
Fresno Bee
California lawmakers were busy in the second quarter of the year. So were the special-interest groups that lobby them.
Los Angeles Times
You may or may not find this surprising.
Gavin Newsom outpaces rivals in fundraising in Gov race
San Francisco Chronicle
Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom leads the 2018 fundraising race for governor, pulling in $5.4 million in the first six months of the year, according to campaign finance reports filed with the California secretary of state.
See also:
· California politics updates: Gavin Newsom stays far ahead in money race for governor Los Angeles Times
Is Antonio Adopting the Old GOP Fishhook Strategy?
Fox and Hounds Daily
For those who remember the Republican “fish hook” strategy for winning statewide races three and four decades ago you can see a similarity to Antonio Villaraigoisa’s potential roadmap to capture the governorship: string together a strong showing through Central Valley counties and hook up through San Diego and Orange Counties to his home county of Los Angeles. Such a plan could offset the expected strength rival and former San Francisco mayor, Gavin Newsom, has in the Bay Area.
California’s race for lieutenant governor is attracting a lot of money
Los Angeles Times
Money is pouring into the race for multiple candidates, according to a batch of campaign finance reports filed with the secretary of state this week. That’s interesting in part because the current lieutenant governor and gubernatorial candidate Gavin Newsom once dismissed the job as a “largely ceremonial post … with no real authority.”
See also:
· Millions flow for California job with few duties Sacramento Bee
Mob Mentality Comes to Sacramento from the Left and the Right
Fox&Hounds
Diagnosed with brain cancer, his left eyebrow stitched from recent surgery, U.S. Senator John McCain appealed to civilities all but forgotten this week when he advised colleagues, “Let’s trust each other. Let’s return to regular order.” McCain was speaking about the Senate’s tortured efforts to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act. But he could have been talking about California.
California Emerging Technology Fund
A new 2017 Statewide Survey on Broadband Adoption that details how the lowest-income, least-educated and most-rural Californians are living without an essential tool to access the educational, employment, healthcare and civic engagement opportunities that lead to greater economic opportunities and a better quality of life. Too many rural communities and low-income neighborhoods lack adequate broadband.
National:
Want to know if Democrats can take back the House? Keep an eye on this Orange County race.
The Washington Post
The Orange County-area seat represented by Rep. Edward R. Royce (R-Calif.) is a typical, affluent suburban Republican district that went for Clinton over President Trump by nearly nine points. That made it one of the most pro-Clinton Republican-held districts in the nation.
Democratic rising star Kamala Harris has a “Bernieland” problem
Mic
Freshman Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) has recently become the subject of much speculation about a potential 2020 presidential run. Several majornews outlets have run feature-length profiles of Harris, and top Democratic donors are starting to coalesce around her as their preferred candidate to take on President Donald Trump.
See also:
· Clinton Cult Lines Up Behind Kamala Harris Observer
Other:
Potential new Assembly bill focuses on pushing off special elections
San Jose Mercury News
A proposed piece of state legislation could give California municipalities more options when it comes to placing initiatives on the ballot.
Millennials will soon be the largest voting bloc in America
Brookings Institution
It turns out that the 2016 election was historic in more ways than one. A report released today by the Pew Research Center shows that for the first time ever, Millennial and Gen X voters outnumbered Boomers and older voters, 69.6 million to 67.9 million. This gap will only widen in future elections: death and infirmity will steadily thin the ranks of older cohorts while rising turnout rates among younger voters will continue to swell their share of the electorate. In addition, naturalization will steadily increase the number of Millennials born outside the United States who are on track to attain citizenship.
See also:
· For First Time, Millennials And Gen X Were A Majority Of Electorate In 2016 NPR
Pentagon misses deadline for finishing California Guard bonus review
Los Angeles Times
Despite a last-minute push, the Pentagon has failed to fully meet a deadline set by Congress to review and mostly reverse efforts to recover enlistment bonuses for up to 17,500 California National Guard soldiers and veterans, including some who were wounded in battle.
EDITORIALS
If it’s fake news you want, just follow Trump
Did the president dictate a misleading statement about his son’s meeting with Russians or work with Fox News to divert attention from the Russian Investigation? If he did, fallout could be devastating.
Kelly is America’s best hope for saving the Trump presidency
Fresno Bee
When times get tough, Americans look to their general and admirals for leadership. Trump best remember that when weighing whether to heed Kelly’s advice or to act on his own.
Community Voices: To nurture is to nurse, with many benefits
Bakersfield Californian
All mammals, including human beings, depend on their mother during a substantial part of their early development. Mammals are uniquely dependent on their mothers to provide them milk. When a mother breastfeeds, she is doing something only she can do. She is providing milk specially designed just for her baby. Today, more women are taking charge of this special skillset that nature has bestowed on them.
Who’s really to blame for fake news? It may be President Trump
Sacramento Bee
As he does many mornings, President Donald Trump tweeted a complaint Tuesday about the “Fake News” media.
But new allegations suggest that it’s Trump, himself, who is a primary purveyor of fake news.
The Mooch’s coming and going is a distraction, there are real problems to confront
Merced Sun Star
Was Anthony Scaramucci ever anything more than a sideshow? A vulgar distraction?While the nation is either transfixed, amused or dumbfounded by the a former hedge fund wheeler-dealer turned political hand puppet, other far more important developments have gone largely unnoticed. Important developments.
Editor’s Corner: Fresno a model for what Madera should do
Madera Tribune
If you happen to spend any time driving around Fresno, you soon will be aware that the city is installing a high-capacity water system to take care of its future needs. This system will include a new treatment plant, to take advantage of surface water that’s available. Like Madera, Fresno is seeing a decline in its water table, and, and it knows the state may put limits on what it can pump from groundwater.
California bill to raise costs of dialysis threatens patients’ lives
San Jose Mercury News
An insidious bill in the California Legislature that purports to improve medical care will actually endanger the most vulnerable of lives: Low income and elderly residents who need regular dialysis for their very survival.
The truth on California’s healthy economy
Visalia Delta-Times
For many years, Californians have heard “experts” (read: folks who figure to profit by touting the theory) claim their state suffers from a lousy business climate and is steadily losing middle-class population and jobs to other states, especially arch-rival Texas.
Cheers and jeers: Grand opening
Stockton Record
It was a long time coming, 10 years in planning, but the new San Joaquin County Courthouse officially opened Monday. The 13-story, $308 million building provides ample seating, a reading room and most importantly more security and safety than the outdated former courthouse, which was built in 1963.
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AGRICULTURE/FOOD
Hanford FFA to get new ag farm
Hanford Sentinel
Students, educators, elected officials and community members gathered Monday to celebrate the groundbreaking of the new Hanford agricultural school farm and learning laboratory.
Dole, Driscoll’s Tied to Watsonville Chemical Incident That Sickened Farmworkers
KQED
Two firms affiliated with the Dole Food Co. and another tied to Driscoll’s, a major berry distributor, are under investigation in connection with a release of insecticides, fungicides and other chemicals believed to have sickened raspberry workers in Watsonville in late June.
High-level federal officials meet with state ag directors
Capital Press
The directors of 13 Western state departments of agriculture were joined by what they described as an unprecedented number of top officials from federal agencies during their annual conference.
CRIMINAL JUSTICE/PUBLIC SAFETY
Crime:
CA issued 86 gun violence restraining orders in 2016
Fresno Bee
A new law, which took effect in 2016, allows family members or law enforcement officers to seek a “gun violence restraining order” against someone they believe poses an “immediate and present danger” of harming themselves or others. Generally, the suspension expires within 21 days, though in 10 cases last year, the judge held a hearing and extended the order to one year because they determined the individual was still a substantial threat.
Federal judge dismisses civil rights lawsuit against Fresno police
Fresno Bee
A federal judge on Tuesday dismissed a civil rights lawsuit by two businessmen who claim Fresno police officers stole thousands of dollars after confiscating cash and rare coins during a 2013 gambling investigation
Breitbart News calls out Fresno mayor over concealed carry policy
Fresno Bee
The Fresno City Council got some attention last week, over a proposed resolution that would allow city employees to carry a concealed weapon on the job – provided they have the proper licensing.
Los Angeles Times
Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerra revised regulations Tuesday aimed at preventing racial profiling by police. The rules, which will go into effect starting next year, require police officers statewide to track racial and other demographic data when conducting traffic and other stops.
Let third strikers seek parole
Sacramento Bee
Last November, California voters gave prisoners serving extreme sentences for nonviolent crimes another chance by overwhelmingly passing Proposition 57. Among other things, it allows those convicted of nonviolent offenses to be eligible for parole after serving their base term, before a sentencing enhancement or alternative sentence.
To Reduce Recidivism, States Scrap Barriers for Ex-Offenders
Pew Trust
To ease prison crowding and rein in corrections spending, state legislatures are trying to help ex-offenders re-enter society with the goal of ensuring they don’t return to prison.
Fire:
Erna’s Elderberry House to host fundraiser for victims of Detwiler Fire
Fresno Bee
On Sunday, Aug. 13, Erna’s Elderberry House invites the public to come enjoy a delicious brunch, all while benefiting victims of the Detwiler Fire in Mariposa County.
The New Frontier: Satellites Inform Fire Personnel About How Blazes Spread
Valley Public Radio
While crews fought to keep the Detwiler Fire in California’s Central Valley from reaching the historic gold rush town of Mariposa, a separate fire crew was watching the blaze from an entirely different angle – space.
ECONOMY / JOBS
Economy:
As economy improves, fewer Californians use food stamps
Sacramento Bee
For 10 years, the number of California residents on food stamps increased, ultimately doubling to more than 4.4 million by late 2015.
Expanded CalEITC Is a Major Advance for Working Families
California Budget & Policy Center
California’s 2017-18 budget agreement included a major advance for working families who struggle to get by on low incomes.
Jobs:
Modesto Bee
Construction on the next distribution center in Patterson will begin later this month.
Costa bill would provide dollars for employment, job-training
The Business Journal
Rep. Jim Costa has introduced a bill to bolster federal funding of employment and job-training programs for people receiving Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits. He introduced the Results Through Innovation Act of 2017 bill to the House on Friday.
EDUCATION
K-12:
Will Fresno Unified ever have a female superintendent?
Fresno Bee
Now that Fresno Unified board President Brooke Ashjian has announced that trustees will select a new superintendent before the start of the school year, I am crossing my fingers they will pick the right woman for this demanding job.
Cyberbullying on the rise in Tulare County classrooms
Visalia Times-Delta
The bullying often starts off campus, and arrives in an app on a smartphone. Increasingly, it’s part of life for students in Visalia and Tulare middle schools, 40 percent of whom say they’ve been cyberbullied.
LOIS HENRY: Bakersfield couple’s escape from postwar Hungary is the stuff of movies
Bakersfield.com
Last August, Kern High School District trustees narrowly shot down a contract for $380,000 to hire a local public relations company.
Los Angeles Times
Gov. Jerry Brown vetoed a bill Monday that would have required school districts that have zero-tolerance policies toward drugs or alcohol use to hold community-wide conversations on whether expulsions related to substance abuse deter students from seeking help for mental health problems.
‘No shots, no school’? Vaccination rates lag in California charter schools
89.3 KPCC
Vaccination rates in California schools reached an all-time high last school year, but one subset of public schools still appears to be lagging behind: charter schools.
California Today: Should the School Day Start Later?
New York Times
That’s the rationale behind a state bill that would require California’s middle and high schools to begin no earlier than 8:30 a.m., a policy favored by the American Academy of Pediatrics.
Higher Ed:
No intermediate algebra, no problem: CSU ditches tricky math prerequisite
San Jose Mercury News
Beginning in fall 2018, students will have more choices when it comes to satisfying math requirements.
Cal State drops intermediate algebra requirement; allows other math courses
EdSource
A new policy from the California State University system will soon allow students to take courses other than intermediate algebra to satisfy general education math requirements.
UC Davis chancellor who resigned after ethics probe to return as professor
Los Angeles Times
Linda Katehi, the former UC Davis chancellor who resigned last year after an ethics probe into questionable moonlighting activities, will return to campus as a professor this fall for roughly the same rate of pay she received as an administrator, university officials said.
Report: Justice Department plans to target affirmative action
PBS NewsHour
For supporters of affirmative action in college admissions, the news was a shock. Just over a year ago, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the admissions policies of the University of Texas at Austin, which include consideration of race and ethnicity.
ENVIRONMENT/ ENERGY
Environment:
July air-quality in San Joaquin Valley
ARB
It’s not good news…
Mathis defends cap-and-trade vote
Visalia Times-Delta
Last week, Assembly Bill 398 passed in both the California Senate and Assembly. The bill will extend California’s cap-and-trade system, which is designed to protect the environment.
Dozens of police respond to ‘cap and trade’ protest at GOP Assemblyman’s office
San Jose Mercury News
A protest last week at Assemblyman Marc Steinorth’s Rancho Cucamonga office over California’s recently extended cap and trade climate change program prompted the response of dozens of CHP officers and sheriff’s deputies.
Oil companies outspent environmentalists during California’s climate change negotiations
Los Angeles Times
Oil companies spent $2.5 million lobbying during negotiations over California climate policies this summer, according to new disclosures.
15 states, including California, appeal EPA delay of stricter air-quality standards
Los Angeles Times
Attorneys general from 15 states, including California, filed a legal challenge on Tuesday over the Trump administration’s delay of Obama-era rules reducing emissions of smog-causing air pollutants.
California Senate leader Kevin de Léon heads delegation to Japan to talk climate, trade
Los Angeles Times
How are California lawmakers spending their month-long summer break from legislative action? A contingent of state senators has jetted off to Japan to discuss trade and efforts to combat climate change with that country’s leaders.
Energy:
Electric companies offer ways to save on summer bills
Fresno Bee
Triple digit temperatures have a firm grip on the central San Joaquin Valley this summer. But electric customers groaning under ballooning power bills from nonstop home cooling may be able to get relief, whether you’re a customer of Pacific Gas and Electric Co. or Southern California Edison.
Consumer report alleges conflicts of interest between Gov. Brown and Sempra
San Diego Union-Tribune
One day after Sempra Energy’s regulated natural gas utility announced it had reopened the Aliso Canyon natural gas storage plant, a Southern California consumer activist group raised new questions about the San Diego energy giant’s close ties to Gov. Jerry Brown.
California Goes All In – Sets Sights On 100 Percent Renewable By 2045
Forbes
California is one step closer to a 100 percent renewable future, one that aims to reduce pollution and cut carbon emissions, while increasing jobs in the renewable energy field.
HEALTH/HUMAN SERVICES
Covered California announces insurance premium hikes, possible surcharge in 2018
Fresno Bee
California consumers buying insurance for 2018 through the state’s insurance exchange will see average premiums increases of 12.5 percent, but by comparison pricing, many could limit their premium hikes to 3.3 percent, Covered California officials announced Tuesday.
See also:
· Covered California premiums will rise 12.5%, and Anthem Blue Cross cuts coverage Los Angeles Times
Here’s what you need to know as Covered California rates go up in 2018 San Jose Mercury News
· Anthem leaves SoCal as health insurance rates set to rise 13 percent in 2018 89.3 KPCC
Fresno Bee
Amid turbulence over the future of federal health-care reform, consumers buying insurance in Tulare, Mariposa and Merced counties will see a rate increase for monthly premiums of 24 percent on average in 2018 – nearly twice the statewide hike. In Fresno, Kings and Madera counties, the rate increase is much lower – 4.7 percent – but about 30 percent of consumers will have to find a new plan since Anthem Blue Cross will not be offering coverage in those counties next year.
Chronic kidney disease affects 1,900 in Modesto; there are treatments available
Modesto Bee
In June 2017, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported the number of Americans with chronic kidney disease is higher than previously estimated. Now, 1 in 7 American adults, or roughly 29 million people, are estimated to have CKD. This is roughly 15 percent of the adult population.
Did Gavin Newsom get his facts right on universal health care?
PolitiFact California
Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democratic candidate for governor, announced in March he’s drafting a statewide universal health care plan based in part on Healthy San Francisco. That’s the citywide program he signed into law as San Francisco mayor in 2006. How true are his claims?
See who lobbied California’s failed universal health care bill
Sacramento Bee
From rehab centers to burger joints, more than 100 businesses, unions, trade groups and other entities weighed in on California’s universal healthcare legislation during the first half of 2017, according to new state lobbying disclosures.
California ready to add Obamacare surcharge amid Trump’s subsidy threats
CNN Money
The funding of Obamacare’s cost-sharing subsidies has emerged as a key weapon for Trump in his fight to repeal the health reform law now that efforts in Congress have stalled. He is threatening to stop sending insurers these payments, which reduce deductibles and co-pays for low-income enrollees.
Court ruling imperils Trump threat to cut off Obamacare payments
Fresno Bee
A federal appeals court issued a ruling Tuesday that could help preserve a key subsidy that helps health insurers and millions of Americans under the Affordable Care Act. The ruling could make it more difficult for the White House to carry out recent threats by President Donald Trump to cut off the payments, giving legal standing to a new set of the payments’ defenders.
As Trump mulls cutting off Obamacare aid, Senate begins bipartisan approach
Los Angeles Times
Even as President Trump renews his threat to undermine the Affordable Care Act, senior Republican and Democratic senators announced plans Tuesday to begin work on a new bipartisan effort to stabilize the 2010 healthcare law, often called Obamacare.
See also:
· Trump’s Tweets To Withhold Funds Threatens to Destabilize Insurance Markets NPR
· Trump Move Would Boost Premiums, Raise Federal Costs, Destabilize Insurance Market Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
A Bipartisan Health Care Fix? Governors Have Some Ideas
Pew Charitable Trust | Stateline
One area of agreement: The federal government should continue to help needy Americans pay for their health insurance.
Congress launches valley fever task force website
Kicking off Valley Fever Awareness Month in Kern County, House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy and Rep. David Schweikert, R-Ariz., launched the Congressional Valley Fever Task Force website Tuesday. The site serves as the online home for the bipartisan task force, which was founded in 2013 to reduce misdiagnosis, increase awareness and find a viable cure to valley fever, or coccidioidomycosis, a fungal disease that infects more than 150,000 people annually in the United States.
See also:
· Symptoms of Valley Fever Center for Disease Control
IMMIGRATION
Jailing Immigrants Means Money and Jobs for Poor Areas. Is This Deal Humane?
KQED
Inside his cell in the Yuba County Jail, Rafael was vomiting again, too weak and dizzy to stand. He is HIV-positive and has hepatitis C. Without treatment, the two can be a deadly combination. But Rafael, 27, had not been treated for hepatitis C in six months, his medical records show.
California’s ‘sanctuary state’ bill will just protect criminals
Sacramento Bee
The duty of law enforcement is to protect the public safety. Our protection extends to everyone in our communities, but we must not provide sanctuary to criminals.
Unfortunately, Senate Bill 54 does just that. It gives cover to lawbreakers and will result in recycling criminals through our justice system. Sheriffs oppose SB 54 because it will impede our ability to protect the public, including immigrant communities.
Sacramento activists vow to help undocumented immigrants during raids
Sacramento Bee
The Sacramento Immigration Coalition has trained about 60 volunteers to serve as legal observers who will take video and notes during any Immigration and Customs Enforcement actions reported to the group’s 24-hour hotline. Observers also will provide detainees with contact information for local attorneys.
If this U.S. citizen had a lawyer, he wouldn’t have spent 1,273 days in immigration detention
Los Angeles Times
guilty in a New York State court to selling cocaine, and served an eight-month sentence. As he neared release, federal immigration agents filed a detainer letter with the prison in which the Jamaican-born Watson was held, asking officials to hang on to him until they could pick him up as a suspected immigrant living in the country without permission.
Trump crafting plan to slash legal immigration
POLITICO
Trump plans to get behind a bill being introduced later this summer by GOP Sens. Tom Cotton of Arkansas and David Perdue of Georgia that, if signed into law, would, by 2027, slash in half the number of legal immigrants entering the country each year, according to four people familiar with the conversations. Currently, about 1 million legal immigrants enter the country annually; that number would fall to 500,000 over the next decade.
LAND USE/HOUSING
Rent cost on average are up across the board in Fresno
ABC30
According to Apartmentlist.com the average monthly rent for a one bedroom apartment in Fresno is $810, $1,010 For a two-bedroom apartment– those prices represent a 6.1-percent spike from a year ago.
New apartment complex aims to house Sacramento millennials with modest paychecks
Sacramento Bee
Sacramento’s downtown apartment-building boom stepped up its already speedy pace this week with a notable new project – a densely packed midtown apartment aimed squarely at millennials with modest pocketbooks.
PUBLIC FINANCES
CDCR widow wins $500,000 lawsuit over officer’s firing
Sacramento Bee
CDCR fought to uphold this prison guard’s firing for nine years. He died before he won in court.
Calif. Lawmakers Likely Must Reapprove State Funding For Olympics
California lawmakers will likely have to reapprove $250 million for the newly-announced Olympic games in Los Angeles. A law passed last year authorizes the funding in case of cost overruns, but it only mentions a 2024 Olympics.
TRANSPORTATION
Walters: California has big stake in Tesla’s new car, and it may get bigger
Fresno Bee (blog)
Tesla delivered the first of its new and much less expensive battery-powered cars last week, betting that it can move beyond producing a relative few luxury vehicles and become a mass producer.
Los Angeles Times
Every week, Yolanda Bowie’s part-time job as a driver for Lyft and Uber takes her from her Sacramento home and across the constellation of cities that make up the greater Bay Area.
Engineering.com
Earlier this year, at a test track in the Nevada desert, the world’s first full-scale, full systems test of a Hyperloop was successfully completed by Hyperloop One. For those who’ve been following the Hyperloop story thus far, this will register as a pretty exciting milestone. But for those who think Hyperloops is a type of breakfast cereal, now is a perfect time to get caught up on the Hyperloop hype.
WATER
Killer Kern: Should The County Do More To Prevent River Drownings?
Valley Public Radio
Now after a winter season of near record rain and snowfall in the Southern Sierra, the Kern River is rushing, and reminding people why it earned the nickname the “Killer Kern.”
Bringing Order to Groundwater Management
Public Policy Institute of California
California’s water management is a complex stew with many cooks. At the local level, hundreds of irrigation districts and urban water agencies and a few thousand small drinking water suppliers are responsible for a wide variety of water-related issues. And it just got more complex: as of June 30, more than 250 newly formed Groundwater Sustainability Agencies (GSAs) were added to the mix.
See also:
· First Step In Implementing California Groundwater Law Successful Capital Public Radio News
Interruptions, shouting and sarcasm: another typical meeting in Oakdale
Modesto Bee
The best way to resolve 2-2 stalemates of the Oakdale Irrigation District board would be adding a fifth member to break tie votes. But the board could not agree Tuesday on how to go about it.
Opinion: Twin tunnels project jeopardizes stability of your water rates
East Bay Times
One of the most monumental and potentially devastating decisions in California’s water history is currently being considered and the health and sustainability of the backbone of California’s water system and affordability of your water rates are at stake.
Why California has tossed drinking water limit on ‘Erin Brockovich’ chemical
Sacramento Bee
California’s water agency Tuesday agreed to eliminate the cap on hexavalent chromium in drinking water, the toxic chemical made famous in the movie “Erin Brockovich.”
Water use jumps in dry, inland Southern California
89.3 KPCC
Numbers released today by the State Water Resources Control Board show that water use ticked up statewide in June, compared to the same months in 2015 and 2016.
“Xtra”
Fresno Philharmonic announces 2017-18 concert lineup
Fresno Bee
Rei Hotoda was the unanimous choice to lead the Fresno Philharmonic, and the first woman to ever hold the orchestra’s reins wasted no time in creating a 2017-18 season rich in both modern pieces from living composers and classics from Beethoven, Debussy and more.
Mountain Area pets take road trips to new loving homes
Sierra Star
The Madera Shelter is the only open-intake shelter available to residents of our Mountain Area. The county must accept all animals brought to them, regardless of the reason. That means there are always more animals at the shelter than there are families to adopt them.
Freedom of the Press to be discussed at Oakhurst Democratic Club meeting
Sierra Star
The Oakhurst Democratic Club will soon welcome a director from news and music radio station KVPR next week to discuss the relation between the station and freedom of the press.
Walmart expands curbside grocery pickup to 26 stores in California
Orange County Register
The online grocery war between Amazon and Walmart is heating up this month in Southern California as the Arkansas retail giant plans to roll out curbside pickup in several local markets including Foothill Ranch.
Fitzgerald: Help save the city’s urban forest
Stockton Recorder
At its last meeting, the Stockton City Council voted to hire an emergency tree crew to respond when storms knock down more trees or limbs than the city’s crew can handle. No big deal.