Local/Regional:
Passionate debate erupts as supervisors begin weighing future of pot
Bakersfield Californian
If Tuesday was any indication, the next two months should be filled with passionate debate about the future of commercial cannabis in unincorporated Kern County.
Mendota City Council passes marijuana ordinance allowing limited indoor cultivation
ABC30
Even before the City Council narrowly approved marijuana cultivation in Mendota– interested companies were already circling in.
For the past three years, Fred Vanderhoof said the Fresno County Republican Party has honored members of law enforcement at its annual end of the year gathering. This year former Maricopa County of Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio is the special guest.
White nationalist Nathan Damigo is ‘not Oakdale’, mayor says
Modesto Bee
Concerned that some could get the wrong impression of the Cowboy Capital, a few dozen people gathered here Monday in a rally to promote unity, diversity and inclusion.
State:
California Today: A Candidate for Governor Looks to the Central Valley
New York Times
The path to the governorship of California winds through the Central Valley. That, at least, is the idea animating the candidacy of Antonio R. Villaraigosa, a former two-term mayor of Los Angeles and speaker of the State Assembly.
Endangered California Republicans Feuding Over Ideology
New York Magazine
These are tough times to be a Republican in California. Last year Donald Trump won the lowest percentage of the presidential vote any Republican has registered since 1912, when GOP nominee William Howard Taft was denied a ballot spot (Progressive candidate Theodore Roosevelt narrowly defeated Democrat Woodrow Wilson). That’s right: Famous Republican losers like Alf Landon and Barry Goldwater won a higher percentage of the vote than Trump did.
California Republican wants to repeal top-two primary system
The Sacramento Bee
Both Republicans and Democrats oppose the top-two system. It has been criticized by the Republican Party for making it more difficult for Republican candidates to make it through a primary contests in a state growing more blue, and by Democrats because it forces them to fight one another, driving up the cost of races.
In California, judges must be accountable to voters
San Francisco Chronicle
A number of California law professors, including more than half of my colleagues at Stanford Law School, published a letter opposing the recall of Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Aaron Persky.
California attorney general to wade into legal battle over Judge …
KTVU San Francisco
Campaign leaders seeking to recall a California judge for his handling of a sexual assault case say state elections officials are siding with them in a legal dispute over the ballot.
National:
Prominent UC professor resigns post in Trump administration
Sacramento Bee
A prominent University of California, Berkeley energy professor resigned his post with the U.S. State Department on Wednesday in response to President Donald Trump’s “attacks on the core values” of the country.
Groups rally to oppose possible changes to national monuments
Some estimate that close to three-quarters of all giant Sequoia trees in the world are located in the Giant Sequoia National Monument that stretches into Tulare, Fresno and Kern counties. The goal of protecting that 328,000-acre national monument, the trees and the ecosystem that allows them to thrive was on the minds of about 100 people who rallied at Yokuts Park on a very warm afternoon Tuesday.
5 California national monuments are among 27 up for axing
The Modesto Bee
Five California national monument areas may be axed or downsized by the Trump Administration on Thursday. They are among 27 national monuments established or expanded by presidents since 1996 that Trump in an executive order asked Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke to review. Here’s a quick look at the state’s areas that could lose some or all of their protected status.
GOP money continues to flow into Trump’s coffers
San Jose Mercury News
The Republican National Committee paid the Trump International Hotel in Washington $122,000 last month after the party held a lavish fundraiser at the venue in June, the latest example of how GOP political committees are generating a steady income stream for President Trump’s private business, new Federal Election Commission records show.
Other:
Exclusive: Trump team goes to bat for NRA-backed bill, deleting Park Service concerns
Sacramento Bee
The National Park Service has several big problems with NRA-backed legislation that would restrict the agency from regulating hunting and fishing within park boundaries. But according to a leaked memo obtained by McClatchy, the Trump administration has so far prevented the parks from voicing such concerns.
EDITORIALS
Trump’s path forward keeps U.S. stuck in Afghanistan quagmire
Fresno Bee
The president approves the Pentagon’s request for 4,000 more troops. But he doesn’t outline a clear strategy to finally end the U.S. mission in a war-torn country where we have expended immense amounts of blood and treasure already.
The parkway is already a sewer. This dumb decision by Sacramento County would keep it that way
Sacramento Bee
Instead of spending $5 million on a futile plan to stop illegal camping on the American River Parkway, try homeless shelters.
Don’t restrict free speech. Restrict the right to carry guns at potentially explosive public events
Los Angeles Times
Russian playwright Anton Chekhov noted that, as a dramatic device, a gun introduced in the first act of a play must be fired in the second, otherwise it has no reason to be there. Let’s hope that’s not as true in life as it is in art, now that we have an armed racist right squaring off against…
See also:
· Why States Should Ban Guns From Political Rallies Time
On gun-violence research, California sets an example for the nation
Washington Post
California has never been reluctant to take the lead on critical issues facing the nation. When federal funding was cut off for embryonic stem cell research, it created its own state program. It adopted standards for vehicle emissions and fuel efficiency that have been emulated by other states, and it has doubled down on a commitment to climate change policy in the face of disinterest, if not outright hostility, from the Trump administration. But perhaps nothing is more welcome than California’s decision to advance the science of gun-violence prevention with the establishment of the country’s first publicly funded research center.
Don’t let Trump roll back California’s environmental gains
Los Angeles Times
California has long been an environmental leader, adopting strong laws to protect the air, water and land that often, eventually, become national policy. Yet the task of setting and enforcing environmental standards is a huge one, and even Green California has relied on the federal government to handle much of that work.
How the poor get locked up and the rich go free
Los Angeles Times
Arguments were filed last week in the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in support of Maranda Lynn ODonnell, a young mother who was held in a Houston jail for three days last year because she couldn’t pay $2,500 in bail. Her alleged crime? Driving with an invalid license.
Fund a public good — clean water for all
San Francisco Chronicle
In California, a state that considers itself among the most advanced nations in the world, nearly 2 million people live without safe drinking water.
AGRICULTURE/FOOD
Immigration, Farm Bill Top DC Agenda
The Salinas Californian
Every September, a large contingent of Grower-Shipper Association (GSA) officers, directors, members, and staff travels back to Washington D.C. to attend and participate in the United Fresh Produce Association’s Washington Public Policy Conference.
Fresno County ‘s 2016 crop value drops 7 percent
Fresno Bee
Suffering from the effects of a multi-year drought, Fresno County’s 2016 overall agricultural value dropped for the second consecutive year. Fresno County’s total value was $6.1 billion, a decline of 7.3 percent from the previous year.
See also:
· Tail end of drought still impacting Fresno County Ag Report ABC30
SJ County ag declines $900 million over past two years
Stockton Recorder
Agriculture in San Joaquin County tumbled 14 percent last year, continuing an unprecedented decline that has seen the county shed roughly $900 million in crop revenue — or nearly one-third of its leading industry.
Almond growers anticipate another record as harvest begins
Capital Press
New plantings are fueling a production boom for California almonds, which are expected to weigh in at 2.25 billion meat pounds this season.
Critics maintain Utah mustang meeting a ‘slaughter summit’
Fresno Bee
Federal scientists and mostly rural interests are gathering at a wild horse conference in Utah that mustang-protection advocates maintain is a thinly veiled effort to promote increased roundups and eventual slaughter of tens of thousands of animals from California to Colorado without public input.
The latest news on marijuana in California
Los Angeles Times
A roundup of all things marijuana from the pages of the Los Angeles Times.
CRIMINAL JUSTICE/PUBLIC SAFETY
Crime:
Walters: Could uptick in California crime make it a political issue again?
Fresno Bee (blog)
In the main, issues that dominate any session of the California Legislature reflect what the public and news media consider at the time to be the most burning. That’s why, for instance, the state’s acute housing shortage will receive much attention during the final month of this year’s session.
Has crime been getting worse in California since Jerry Brown was elected governor?
Politifact
Republicans including California State Sen. John Moorlach have railed against Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown for signing a gas tax increase earlier this year. The Orange County lawmaker took his criticism a step further in a recent op-ed in which he predicted the gas tax hike, combined with California’s cap-and-trade extension, would boost gas prices so much that thieves would start siphoning fuel from cars. Moorlach went on to declare that crime has been on the rise under Brown.
Supervisors approve tougher rules on massage businesses to combat prostitution
Bakersfield.com
Massage businesses face new, tougher rules, licensing requirements, fees and inspections after Kern County supervisors approved more regulation of the industry.
California bail system needs reform
Visalia Times-Delta
There are plenty of problems with the kind of one-party government California now has, with every statewide office in the hands of Democrats, who also hold two-thirds majorities in both houses of the Legislature.
Bail Reform Restores Basic American Values of Freedom and Justice
Fox and Hounds Daily
Bail reform is not a partisan issue. It’s not an urban or rural issue. It should be everyone’s issue.
Gouging families with kids in detention serves no one. California should make it stop
Sacramento Bee
The California Legislature should pass Senate Bill 190 and lead a national movement to end the practice of charging parents for the costs of children being in the juvenile justice system.
Los Angeles Times
The city of Los Angeles sought Tuesday to join a legal battle against President Trump’s Department of Justice over conditions requiring police to cooperate with immigration enforcement officials in order to qualify for anti-crime funding.
LA Times
A new ACLU campaign highlights the positions of California district attorneys on crime and punishment ballot measures.
Fire:
South Fork Fire continues to grow in Yosemite National Park
The Fresno Bee
The South Fork Fire, which started Aug. 13, grew to nearly 3,500 acres by Mondayand was 10% contained, with 758 firefighters assigned to the incident.
Fire district politics heat up in Salida. Board members will look for a new chief.
Modesto Bee
After several months of tumult, the Salida Fire Protection District board will be considering options for the fire chief position.
ECONOMY / JOBS
Economy:
NAFTA renegotiation: Separating fact from fiction
Brookings Institution
This week, top trade officials from the United States, Mexico, and Canada are meeting in Washington, D.C. to submit their proposals and revisit the terms of the 23-year old trade pact. If all three nations can come to consensus on a new deal in the coming months, President Trump will still have to get the changes approved by Congress.
Jobs:
Faraday Future electric car plant benefits to ripple through Valley
The Business Journal
When Faraday Future announced over the weekend that its first electric car manufacturing plant will be in Hanford, not everyone was surprised.
Marketplace
How many of those job losses were actually caused by NAFTA? In other words, what would the world have looked like without NAFTA?
EDUCATION
K-12:
Why is state being so stingy on school bonds?
Sacramento Bee
Major school construction projects require vision and patience to plan and appropriately budget, but pay off in student performance and teacher job satisfaction. Typically, school districts invest years in planning and in raising the funds to pay for them.
School trustee: Brooke Ashjian should step down as president
The Fresno Bee
It is with a heavy heart and extreme concern for our students, staff and community, that I’m compelled to apologize for the unfortunate distractions created by the latest comments from Board President Brooke Ashjian.
BCSD holds off on replacing vacant seat until March 2018
Bakersfield City School District board members passed on an opportunity Tuesdayto fill a vacant board seat three months earlier than they had planned and with a greater cost savings to taxpayers.
SUSD’s ‘backbone’ demands parity, new contract
Stockton Record
Stockton Unified custodians, food service workers and other members representing the California School Employees Association Delta Valley Chapter 821 marched around North Madison Street to demand respect and make their voices heard.
Fresno Unified’s superintendent to show off his vocal skills at McLane High football game
Fresno Bee
Fresno Unified interim Superintendent Bob Nelson earned his undergraduate degree in vocal performance way back when, and on Friday he’ll get to demonstrate his stuff when he sings the national anthem and provides the play-by-play for McLane High School’s first football game of the season.
Merced students collect eclipse data for NASA
Merced Sun-Star
At 10:18 a.m. Monday, students at Yosemite High School in Merced used a number of methods to turn their eyes toward the sun and view the peak of the Great American Eclipse.
Tulare high schools hand out laptops to every student
Visalia Times-Delta
With laptops, iPads and smart boards, students and teachers in local classrooms have embraced the idea of 21st Century learning.
Orange County Register
California’s schoolrooms are filled with children speaking a lot of languages. The U.S. Census Bureau said in 2015 that 44 percent of the state’s residents over age 5 speak a language other than English at home. In the Los Angeles region, that number jumps to 54 percent.
Number of charter schools, students in US rises: report
Reuters
The number of children attending charter schools in the United States hit a record of about 6 percent of all students in public schools, according to a federal education report released on Tuesday.
How the quality of school lunch affects students’ academic performance
Brookings Institution
In 2010, President Barack Obama signed the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act. The main goal of the law was to raise the minimum nutritional standards for public school lunches served as part of the National School Lunch Program. The policy discussion surrounding the new law centered on the underlying health reasons for offering more nutritious school lunches, in particular, concern over the number of children who are overweight. The Centers for Disease Control estimates that one in five children in the United States is obese.
Brain matter matters: Should we intervene well before preschool?
Brookings Institution
The case is clear: Investments in young children have enormous payoffs for society. This global movement in the early education sector has already influenced one of the targets for U.N. Sustainable Development Goal 4, to “ensure that all girls and boys have access to quality early childhood development, care and preprimary education so that they are ready for primary education.”
University of California system didn’t follow its own contracting rules …
Los Angeles Times
The University of California broke the rules that govern when it is allowed to replace full time employees with contract workers, according to a state audit released on Tuesday.
See also:
· Audit: UC System Not Following Contracting Guidelines AP
California Community Colleges Helping Address Nursing Shortage
CAFWD
Internationally-trained nurses face a difficult barrier to practice in California. The California Board of Registered Nursing requires that, in specific courses, both classroom instruction and clinical practice must take place concurrently. In some nursing schools overseas, they are offered in consecutive semesters, which is deemed a “deficiency” and makes the applicant ineligible to take the NCLEX-RN (National Council Licensure Examination), the national exam required to practice in the state.
California wants to simplify its $2 billion-a-year college aid programs
EdSource
California wants to find a simpler and less confusing way to distribute more than $2 billion in Cal grants and other annual aid to about 400,000 students.
ENVIRONMENT/ ENERGY
Environment:
3rd Quarterly California Cap-And-Trade Auction Strongest In History, But Not All Good News
Energy Innovation: Policy and Technology
As we had anticipated, auction demand was the strongest in years – all 64 million current vintage allowances offered were sold at $14.75 per ton clearing price, the highest auction settlement price in the system’s history. This was also the strongest result in years for the advance auction of future vintage allowances. All future vintages offered were purchased at $14.55. The last time all allowances offered through an advance auction sold out was November 2015.
California cap-and-trade program generates more than $1 billion. Who gets the money?
Sacramento Bee
Yesterday’s carbon permit auction, the first since California extended its cap-and-trade system through 2030, was among the most successful the state has held in the program’s five years.
See also:
· California sees strong results from cap-and-trade auction after program extension LA Times
Officials promise to protect Lake Tahoe with $415 million
Sacramento Bee
Federal officials promised Tuesday to protect Lake Tahoe for future generations, a pledge that one said doesn’t rule out also maintaining a robust regional economy.
CalPERS steps up on climate change
Capitol Weekly
CalPERS is a leader in forming a first-ever global alliance of large investors that would use its combined shareholder clout to engage companies with the most carbon emissions, believed by scientists to contribute to climate change.
California green tech booms, but warning signs ahead
San Jose Mercury News
California continues to lead in green tech innovation, but traffic created by the booming economy and housing crisis means it may struggle to hit future greenhouse gas reduction goals, according to a new report.
2017 California Green Innovation Index
Next 10
Ninth annual Green Innovation Index finds California clean economy thriving but emissions-reduction challenges loom; transportation sector emissions spike, pose major challenges to state’s 2030 climate goals.
Energy:
Appointees to powerful utility regulator set to testify
Sacramento Bee
Gov. Jerry Brown’s two most recent nominees to a powerful commission that regulates natural gas and other utilities are before lawmakers Wednesday for confirmation hearings.
See also:
· PUC confirmation is a test for legislators The Sacramento Bee
Energy, CCAs and the seniors’ cost burden Capitol Weekly
Capitol Weekly
The Legislature will be reviewing a flurry of bills upon its return from summer recess, but an informational hearing regarding Community Choice Aggregations (CCAs) on Wednesday morning in the Senate Energy, Utilities and Communications Committee warrants equal attention.
Scientists Hope To Farm The Biofuel Of The Future In The Pacific Ocean
VPR | NPR
The push for renewable energy in the U.S. often focuses on well-established sources of electricity: solar, wind and hydropower. Off the coast of California, a team of researchers is working on what they hope will become an energy source of the future — macroalgae, otherwise known as kelp.
California Proves That Environmental Regulations Don’t Kill Profits
WIRED
California is the most energy efficient economy in the world, and least carbon intensive.
HEALTH/HUMAN SERVICES
Report: Valley Hospitals Need To Do More To Improve Community Health
VPR | NPR
A new report from the advocacy organization Building Health Communities and the Central Valley Health Policy Institute at Fresno State says hospitals should be doing more to improve ‘neighborhood health’.
When It Comes To Doctor Access, The San Joaquin Valley Is Being Left Behind
Valley Public Radio
For much of 2017, healthcare has dominated the headlines. But while access to insurance coverage remains a national debate, here in the San Joaquin Valley, getting to see a doctor isn’t always easy, even for people who have coverage.
Doctor on new cancer treatment: ‘genetically engineered, tumor-killing factory’
The Business Journal
Valley oncologists and groups devoted to fighting cancer are optimistic about a new leukemia treatment that was recently recommended for approval by the US Food and Drug Administration.
In a swing district, a Democrat runs on (eventual) single-payer health care
The Washington Post
Andy Thorburn, a health insurance executive who is plugging $2 million into a bid to replace Rep. Edward R. Royce (R-Calif.), is the latest Democrat pushing the party to embrace single-payer health care – even in swing districts. In a video announcement, Thorburn paints the contest as a referendum on health care, between a Republican who voted for the repeal of the Affordable Care Act and a Democrat who wants to move, eventually, to Medicare for all.
IMMIGRATION
Speaking out against immigration raids is her duty, California justice says
Sacramento Bee
California’s Supreme Court chief justice has forcefully called on federal immigration agents to stop looking in California’s courtrooms for people they suspect are living in the country illegally, a move some have criticized as politically motivated.
See also:
· California’s Chief Justice tells ICE to stay out of courtrooms Sacramento Bee
· California’s chief justice says immigration enforcement at courthouses continues ‘in full force’ Los Angeles Times
California Legislature approves bill extending protections for immigrant witnesses
LA Times
The legislation, filed by Assemblyman Reggie Jones-Sawyer (D-Los Angeles), would keep officers from holding a crime victim or witness solely for an immigration violation unless they acquire a judicial warrant. It was approved by the state Assembly on Monday with a 64-15 vote. Brown has until Oct. 15to sign or veto the bill.
LA Times
In its lawsuit, San Francisco is seeking to strike down rules U.S. Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions announced last month for Justice Department funds that have long been dispersed to local law enforcement agencies to bolster efforts to fight violent and gang crime.
Los Angeles Times
One morning two years ago, baby sitter Eva Del Rio went to drop off her charge at Madison Elementary in Pasadena, the same K-5 school where she had sent her own children.
LAND USE/HOUSING
How California’s housing crisis happened
Sacramento Bee
California’s high housing costs are driving poor and middle income people out of their housing like never before. While some are fleeing coastal areas for cheaper living inland, others are leaving the state altogether.
Pay construction workers a living wage
Sacramento Bee
To lower prices, California needs to build a lot more housing. But to do that, it needs enough workers with the skills to do so safely and correctly. Prevailing wage standards, which function as a local minimum wage for skilled construction work, can help address these critical needs and improve the industry’s competitiveness in increasingly tight labor markets.
Council committee backs new construction fee to aid affordable housing
LA Times
A key Los Angeles City Council committee Tuesday
Fannie, Freddie to waive appraisals on some purchase loans
San Francisco Chronicle
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac each have announced that they will begin waiving appraisal requirements on a limited number of home-purchase loans they back, which will save hundreds of dollars and speed closings for qualified buyers but strike a blow to appraisers.
PUBLIC FINANCES
Government Compensation in California website
Calif. State Controller
State Controller Betty Yee updated her “Government Compensation in California website” to include 2016 self-reported data for the University of California (UC), community college districts, fairs and expositions, and First 5 commissions: “a total of 445,374 positions and more than $18.69 billion in wages.
See also:
· Who are the best-paid public workers in California? OCRegister
CalPERS steps up on climate change
Capitol Weekly
CalPERS is a leader in forming a first-ever global alliance of large investors that would use its combined shareholder clout to engage companies with the most carbon emissions, believed by scientists to contribute to climate change.
TRANSPORTATION
New car sales vary by California region
The Fresno Bee
A Bakersfield resident in the market for a new car last year more likely than not headed home in a light-duty pickup truck. Someone living in the San Francisco Bay Area tended to prefer Honda and Toyota sedans.
See also:
· California stays on track for 2 million new-car sales in 2017 Sacramento Bee
· Light truck sales exceed sales of cars in California The San Diego Union-Tribune
Finally, making bicycling safe in Stockton
Stockton Recorder
Bicycling in Stockton can be a harrowing experience. When you pedal out of your neighborhood’s calm, tree-lined streets, inevitably you come to some feverish Autopia of hurtling traffic.
WATER
Speaker Rendon Hints At Support For Temperance Flat
Valley Public Radio
During a visit to Fresno Tuesday, Speaker of the California Assembly Anthony Rendon highlighted one key aspect of the Temperance Flat Dam proposal that could give it a boost over other water storage projects.
In Bakersfield, Complex Web Of Water Systems Makes Pollution Cleanup Difficult
From Keith Prickett’s front yard just east of Bakersfield you can see the trees of where the official city begins. He’s on the board of a tiny water system with less than 30 homes. It’s called the East Wilson Road Water Company and the water he’s washing his dishes with is polluted with nitrates.
County claims tunnels would ‘devastate’ Delta
Stockton Record
A flurry of lawsuits over Gov. Jerry Brown’s Delta tunnels continued on Monday, with several Delta counties, farm groups and environmentalists joining the fray as expected.
LOIS HENRY: Water updates large and small
Bakersfield Californian
What’s new in water? Oh, I thought you’d never ask. I’ve got some important tidbits for you. Oh don’t whine, this is the last water column by me you’ll have to slog through so COWGRRRL UP!
California’s Forests Continue To Die After Years Of Drought
VPR | NPR
California’s record drought is officially over. But all over the states, trees are still dying. They’ve been badly weakened by years without water. From member station KPCC, Emily Guerin has a story of a community living in a dead forest.
“Xtra”
BASE jumper faces charges for leaping off Yosemite’s cliffs
Fresno Bee
Austin Carey says he loves to leap from Yosemite National Park’s towering granite cliffs. Even a near-deadly plunge in 2015 hasn’t stopped him from being a BASE jumper.
US citizens warned about traveling to Mexico’s Cancun and Los Cabos
Fresno Bee
The U.S. State Department has warned its citizens about traveling to Cancun and Los Cabos, two of Mexico’s most popular tourist destinations, after a spike in violence in those regions.
Fresno civil rights leader, educator Mattie Meyers dies
The Fresno Bee
The Fresno civil rights activist and educator died Aug. 16.
ABC30
The biggest players in Fresno’s tech revolution, facing off to win $25,000 in cash and $80,000 in prizes! Come see what they’ve been work on at The Expo on Saturday, August 26th, from 12pm – 4pm at the Pacific Southwest Building in Downtown Fresno. Plus food trucks, beer garden, movies, games and more. It’s free and open to the public.
Maderans honored for achievements at annual event
Madera Tribune
More than 300 people gathered Thursday at Hatfield Hall on the Madera District Fairgrounds to confer the Madera Chamber of Commerce’s annual Lifetime Achievement Awards on five hometown heroes.
TEDx Conference heads to Bakersfield on Sept. 21
Bakersfield.com
People can spend hours online watching one TED Talk after another, taking in all kinds of insights provided by some of today’s great thinkers. Next month, they can do just that but inside a downtown theater with others interested in a variety of topics.
Beloved tri-tip restaurant fires up ‘Express BBQ’ for hungry I-5 travelers
Sacramento Bee
Harris Ranch, that beefy roadside attraction in the heart of the Central Valley, just added another reason to stop.
Seniors, buy a lifetime federal lands pass now. The price will jump from $10 to $80 in five days
Los Angeles Times
The America the Beautiful pass gives seniors age 62 and older access to federal recreational lands for a lifetime. The pass costs $10, but the price will jump to $80 starting Monday.
Six Flags Magic Mountain plans year-round operation to compete with bigger rivals
Los Angeles Times
Good news for thrill-seekers: Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia and its stomach-churning roller-coaster collection will operate every day of the year, starting Jan. 1.
Public libraries are now lending out ukuleles, neckties and even telescopes
Marketplace
The word “library” technically means “collection of books.” But nowadays libraries lend out all kinds of stuff — from screwdrivers to spatulas.