TOP POLITICAL STORIES
Local/Regional:
Valley residents receive free smog tests
The Fresno Bee
San Joaquin Valley residents will have the opportunity for a free smog check and $500 voucher for emission-related repairs on Saturday at the “Tune In & Tune Up” event at the Fresno Fairgrounds.
Q&A: Retiring CSUB President Horace Mitchell talks career, vision and retirement
After 13 years at Cal State Bakersfield, President Horace Mitchell announced he would retire in June. We sat down with the 72-year-old to talk about his achievements, his vision and his retirement.
After two months of political wrangling, Fresno no closer on pot
The Fresno Bee
The third time was not a charm Thursday, as the council voted 4-3 to remove the issue from the agenda. Since the original vote on June 22, one vote ended in a 3-3 tie; earlier this month, the council postponed the issue for more study.
State:
Universal health care set for hearings in California
Fresno Bee
Assemblyman Joaquin Arambula, D-Fresno and Jim Wood, D-Healdsburg will lead the Assembly’s discussions. Speaker Rendon said the committee will look across the U.S. and abroad when analyzing different health care financing and delivery models, noting “there’s a lot of different models of single payer.”
Brian Dahle will replace Chad Mayes as Assembly Republican leader
Los Angeles Times
Assembyman Chad Mayes of Yucca Valley told lawmakers during a floor session that he will step down as caucus leader and that Assemblyman Brian Dahle of Bieber will succeed him before the end of the legislative session next month.
See also:
· California Republicans clash over approach to party’s future The Sacramento Bee
· California Republican lawmakers vote to oust Chad Mayes, elect new leader The Mercury News
· Republicans oust Inland Assemblyman Chad Mayes as GOP leader Press Enterprise.
· In first political consequence of cap-and-trade vote, Chad Mayes is replaced by Brian Dahle as Assembly Republican leader Los Angeles Times
· Contemplating political death, California GOP clashes over party’s path Sacramento Bee
Walters: California’s states’ rights fight has local impact
The Mercury News
California’s Democratic state government is exerting “resistance” to the Republican federal government on issues such as immigration and climate change.
Chiang’s Pay-to-Play Troubles Remind Us: California Has Too Many Statewide Elected Officials
Fox&Hounds
Given his reputation for fiscal probity, a Sacramento Bee report showing that John Chiang has a pay-to-play approach to this job – steering tax breaks to his political donors – might seem surprising. It isn’t. Statewide elected posts like the two Chiang has held – controller and treasurer – have long been used for pay-to-play purposes. Heck, pay-to-play is practically their reason for existence.
Republican John Cox takes shot at governor’s race, political corruption
Bakersfield Californian
Nearly every topic of discussion with Republican gubernatorial candidate John Cox comes back to the corrupting influence of money on California government and politics. He thinks he can get rid of it.
Fox&Hounds
San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer called for a “New California Republican Party” during his speech at the Commonwealth Club last week. He said, “It’s time to offer California a GOP with broad appeal again – because a vibrant, competitive Republican Party is good for our state.” Meanwhile, Assembly Minority leader Chad Mayes, holding off a coup to remove him from his leadership post, came at the same message from a different direction. He told reporters, “The party hasn’t done a good job of converting folks. In fact, we’ve done a good job of repelling individuals.” Do Republicans, especially Republican activists, want to hear this message?
California Democrats OK bill to help senator facing recall
Sacramento Bee
California Democrats fast-tracked a bill Thursday that could help protect one of their own lawmakers facing a recall and preserve their Senate supermajority after a court put their first attempt on hold.
See also:
· Another effort by Democrats to revamp California’s recall elections is signed by Gov. Jerry Brown Los Angeles Times
California lawmakers ask Gov. Jerry Brown to bar the marketing of pot edibles to minors
Los Angeles Times
Just months before shops can begin selling marijuana for recreational use, state lawmakers on Thursday sent the governor a bill aimed at preventing the drug from being marketed to minors.
National:
Interior Department identifies ‘a handful’ of national monuments to shrink; Kern impact unclear
The blueprint delivered to President Donald Trump on Thursday by the Department of Interior — but not yet shared with the public — represents an unprecedented effort to roll back protections on federal land. The exact impact to Kern County-area monuments was unclear.
See also:
· Trump administration moves to shrink national monuments San Jose Mercury News
· Interior Department identifies ‘a handful’ of national monuments to shrink in its report to Trump Los Angeles Times
California might formally support censure of Trump
Los Angeles Times
California could become the first state to support a censure of President Trump for his response to violence at a protest over a Confederate statue in Charlottesville, Va.
Other:
Charlottesville backlash emerges in Fresno with ‘rally against hate’
Fresno Bee
A “Counter Rally Against Hate” in the Tower District on Saturday to protest white supremacy rallies taking place elsewhere is designed to be peaceful, but Fresno police are ready in case neo-Nazis or alt-right groups show up with their own signs.
A lawsuit claims California absentee ballots were wrongly rejected because of ‘penmanship’ problems
Los Angeles Times
A lawsuit filed in a California appeals court on Thursday alleges the ballots of as many as 45,000 voters weren’t counted in November because of the state’s flawed rules for verifying the signatures of those who vote by mail.
See also:
· ACLU Challenges California’s Voter Signature-Matching Law American Civil Liberties Union
Gender X? California may be first state to create broad “nonbinary” option
CALmatters
When Californians are designated by gender on a driver’s license, a birth certificate or any state identification, there are only two possible boxes to check: either “M” or “F.” But they may soon have a third option.
Opinion: Petition for Smarter Infrastructure
The United Slate
Part of California’s housing problem is an infrastructure problem. Our traffic is some of the worst in our country, and our public transit systems are not very good. This hurts our productivity, damages our environment, and has a profoundly negative impact on quality of life. If we unclog our infrastructure we can spread out to more of the state and increase the supply of developable land. There is lots of land in this state, but only a small amount is close to jobs. If we make it easier to quickly travel longer distances in/out of work hubs, the intense demand for housing can be diffused to communities that can handle it. This will lead to a lower cost of housing and economic growth throughout the state.
What is free enterprise good for?
AEI
Free enterprise, individual liberty, and American leadership as abstract concepts. They are practical principles with a staggering track record of proven success. These ideas are peerless among economic systems and political philosophies when it comes to promoting prosperity and expanding human rights.
EDITORIALS
How justices’ ruling shows death penalty law shouldn’t be decided by initiative
Sacramento Bee
There won’t be an execution this year, and probably not next year. But the Supreme Court decision ensures the death penalty will be an issue in the 2018 race to replace Gov. Jerry Brown.
California’s Supreme Court thankfully refuses to put a deadline on death
Los Angeles Times
The news that executions might resume in California after more than a decade is terribly depressing, for all the reasons we’ve repeated so often. Even those who don’t believe it is cruel and unusual for the state to take lives must see that death sentences are meted out unfairly and disproportionately…
Sacramento trains EMTs, but they can’t work in city ambulances
Sacramento Bee
Graduates of a worthy apprenticeship program wouldn’t be allowed to join the Sacramento Fire Department and work in its ambulances without becoming full-fledged firefighters.
California still mangles communication about Lake Oroville mess
San Jose Mercury News
While promising better communication about the Lake Oroville mess, the state’s Department of Water Resources isn’t doing so.
Lawmakers put labor interests ahead of housing crisis
East Bay Times
Once again, state lawmakers are placing labor interests ahead of solving California’s serious problems.
Heaven forbid, a Republican willing to work with Democrats
Los Angeles Times
If the California Republican Party is looking for a path to irrelevance in Sacramento, pushing aside Chad Mayes as the GOP leader in the Assembly is a good way to get there.
California Democrats’ labor of love for unions
San Francisco Chronicle
A union-backed bill to pad local government payrolls has been steadily diminished by those with the clout to fend off organized labor and its numerous friends in the California Legislature. The state’s cities got a reprieve from the bill en masse. So did San Francisco, the state’s only city and county, and Santa Clara County. All that’s left for the state Senate is to finish the job and kill this misbegotten bill altogether.
AGRICULTURE/FOOD
After two months of political wrangling, Fresno no closer to rules for growing pot
Fresno Bee
It’s been more than two months since the Fresno City Council gave its initial approval, on a contentious 4-3 vote, to a law that puts heavy restrictions on growing pot within the city. But it can’t become official and take effect until 30 days after the council approves it with a second vote – and that hasn’t happened yet.
Long days are typical for almond and walnut farmer
Madera Tribune
Waking up before the heat, Roger Farmer begins to prepare for a 12-hour day full of machinery, dust, and almonds. Harvest season, almond farmer Poythress said, is the busiest time of the year. On-and-off from mid August to October, almond farmers shake trees and watch a year’s worth of work pay off.
Real food, real flavor draws diners to California Al’s in Lodi
Lodi News-Sentinel
Pull up to California Al’s during lunchtime on a weekday and you’ll find the parking lot packed without a free spot in sight. When you go inside, you’ll find tables crowded with happy diners.
Wine is big business in California but how big might surprise you
Orange County Register
While the harvest for grapes used in some sparkling wines already has begun, the majority of the state’s harvest will occur from now through October. The vines remain in need of a steady dose of hot days and cool nights to improve on the 2016 harvest, which set several records for production.
CRIMINAL JUSTICE/PUBLIC SAFETY
Crime:
Local ACLU accuses Fresno Police of only monitoring certain rallies and protests
ABC30
From January’s Women’s March to the downtown May Day Rally –Fresno police have tracked more than 47 events, from January to May of this year.
Executions Could Come Sooner After California Supreme Court Ruling
The California Report KQED News
The state Supreme Court upheld a measure approved by voters to speed up death sentences. No one’s been executed in California for more than 10 years.
See also:
· After 11-year hiatus, could death penalty soon be carried out again in California? Los Angeles Times
· Essential California: A return to executions in California? Los Angeles Times
· Executions could resume after California Supreme Court leaves most of Proposition 66 intact LA Times
If California’s so liberal, why do we still have money bail?
Los Angeles Times
Since Inauguration Day, anti-Trump resistors nationwide have turned to California as a laboratory for a new liberal democracy. What they don’t realize is that, years ago, somebody broke into our lab and ransacked the equipment, leaving behind one beaker and a microscope with the eyepiece missing.
In 40 years, what’s changed the most for law enforcement in Merced? Just ask Pat Lunney
Merced Sun-Star
Though many things in law enforcement have changed since Pat Lunney began his career with Merced Police Department in 1975, he said one thing’s stayed the same: “We’re responsible for keeping the peace.”
Sting nets $22.8 million worth of illegally grown marijuana
The Mercury News
Authorities on Thursday announced the removal of thousands of marijuana plants from illegal grow sites on public and private lands in San Mateo County.
Transgender prison guard says colleagues call her a freak. Now she’s suing California
Sacramento Bee
It didn’t take long for Meghan Frederick to feel the harassment she feared would come when she told her fellow correctional officers at a Sacramento prison that she identified as a transgender woman.
California Law Threatens Jail Time for Dissenters from Transgender Dogma
National Review
California may see itself as a leader on criminal-justice reform, but it is on its way to creating a whole new class of criminals: citizens who use “him” to refer to a man and “her” for a woman.
ECONOMY / JOBS
Economy:
AT&T rolls out 1 gigabit Internet service for Madera
Fresno Bee
That means customers can download 25 songs in a second, a 30-minute television show in four seconds and a 90-minute high-definition movie in about half a minute. AT&T Internet 1000 offers speeds up to 1 gigabit per second, which should also eliminate annoying pauses or buffering for instant streaming and an easier time video conferencing, the company said.
Study Finds Arts Generate Millions For Sacramento Economy
Capital Public Radio
The Americans For The Arts study says the arts drive $166.7 million in spending in Sacramento each year. Slightly more than half is spent by people on arts events and on other things like dinner, drinks and babysitting.
When a gig economy company folds, workers can be left holding the bag
San Francisco Chronicle
The warning signs began popping up a year ago.
Michaela Azzopardi, a graduate student and part-time babysitter, noticed that the direct deposit payments for babysitting jobs she completed in early 2016 — which she booked through San Francisco online child care agency Wondersitter — were landing in her bank account two weeks later than usual.
First Amazon Bookstore in Bay Area Opens in San Jose
KQED
The online retailer Amazon opened a bookstore in San Jose Thursday, 20 years after the online retail giant helped lay waste to the brick and mortar book industry. The San Jose bookstore is Amazon’s tenth nationwide, its second in California and its first in the Bay Area.
The century gap: Low economic mobility for black men, 150 years after the Civil War
Brookings Institution
The results of the enslavement, disenfranchisement and exclusion of black Americans remain visible and vivid in 21st century America.
Jobs:
California trashes workers’ rights
OCRegister
While California Secretary of State Alex Padilla claims there’s no voter fraud in the state, while refusing to release the data to federal investigators, the state’s unelected Agricultural Labor Relations Board has repressed the votes of California farmworkers who chose to decertify the United Farm Workers union.
EDUCATION
K-12:
Fresno Unified’s Brooke Ashjian hit by new FPPC complaint
Fresno Bee
A Merced attorney who has been a thorn in the side of Fresno Unified School District board president Brooke Ashjian for more than a year is filing a new complaint against the trustee with the state Fair Political Practices Commission.
Community reacts to Fresno Unified trustee’s comments
Fresno Bee
A Fresno Armenian pastor is among many now calling for the resignation of Fresno Unified School Board President Brooke Ashjian after he equated LGBT activists to Ottoman Turks.
California’s back-to-school assignment: Voter registration
Sacramento Bee
The health of our democracy depends on widespread participation. We all need an understanding of how our public institutions function and how to make our voices heard. But our country suffers from a serious deficit in basic civic knowledge. Political engagement by young voters is especially low. With the start of the school year just around the corner, it is sobering to realize how much more we need to do to address these problems.
Understanding the Common Core State Standards in California: A quick guide
EdSource
Although the State Board of Education adopted new Common Core standards in math and English language arts nearly seven years ago, some school districts are still in the process of implementing them.
East Coast experts criticize California’s plan to satisfy a federal education law
Los Angeles Times
California’s proposed plan to satisfy a major federal education law is falling short, according to a new report.
Voter initiative opens door to expansion of popular dual language immersion programs
EdSource
As an initiative approved by California voters last November clears the path for districts to increase opportunities for students to become fluent in more than one language, the Fresno Unified School District is creating an educational track that will provide dual language instruction from preschool through 12th grade.
CSUB President Horace Mitchell to retire at the end of the year
Bakersfield Californian
Ending a nearly 50-year career in education, Cal State Bakersfield President Horace Mitchell announced during a campus welcome-back event Thursday that he would be retiring at the end of the academic year.
See also:
· Horace Mitchell, longtime president of Cal State Bakersfield, is retiring Los Angeles Times
· Q&A: Retiring CSUB President Horace Mitchell talks career, vision and retirement bakersfield.com
Los Angeles Times
Cal State no longer will require all its general education math courses to have a strict intermediate algebra prerequisite — a policy that has long stymied students trying to transfer from community colleges and freshmen forced to prove they know how to factor trinomials, graph exponential functions and apply other abstract concepts they might rarely use in everyday life.
900 UC Faculty To First Generation Students: We Feel You
KPBS
During the first week of class, nearly 900 faculty across the university system will wear T-shirts and buttons identifying themselves as first-generation college students. This, and an online portal, aims to help students connect with faculty who were once just like them.
UC’s new payroll system will cost at least $200 million more than expected
Los Angeles Times
The University of California president’s office has failed to keep a proposed new payroll system on budget and on schedule, and original estimates of its cost savings are unlikely to be realized, a state audit concluded Thursday. The Office of the President originally estimated in 2011 that the UCPath payroll system would be implemented by 2014, cost $306 million and save the university $753 million, mostly from staff reductions.
Ann Coulter, Milo Yiannopoulos, Stephen Bannon Are Invited to Speak at UC-Berkeley
The Chronicle of Higher Education
A student group, California Patriot, invited the speakers for a series of events set to take place on the campus from September 24 to 27.
California wants to simplify its $2 billion-a-year college aid programs
EdSource
The state agency that administers the state’s myriad aid programs recently started a search for a consultant to study the current system and come up with reform ideas. Students long have complained that they are baffled by the various forms of the grants and their eligibility rules.
ENVIRONMENT/ ENERGY
Environment:
Valley residents can receive free smog tests and a $500 voucher for emissions repairs
Fresno Bee
San Joaquin Valley residents will have the opportunity for a free smog check and $500 voucher for emission-related repairs on Saturday at the “Tune In & Tune Up” event at the Fresno Fairgrounds.
California car culture undermines state’s effort to reduce carbon emissions
The Sacramento Bee
Californians can’t shake their love affair with cars – and pickup trucks and SUV’s. That’s hurting the greenest state in the union’s much-publicized crusade against climate change.
California’s Car Culture Is Slowing the State’s Emissions Cuts
InsideClimate News
Even as fuel efficiency has improved and electric cars have begun catching on, Californians as a whole are driving more, pushed by lower gas prices and longer commutes, according to a report published today by Next 10, a California-based think tank, and Beacon Economics, an independent research firm. Emissions from the transportation sector rose in 2015, slowing the state’s overall emissions reductions to just 0.34 percent that year, the most recent year with complete data.
Key senator vows to block climate deal that would aid polluters
CALmatters
An irritated chairman of the state Senate Budget Committee says he intends to thwart a recent move by the state Air Resources Board that could give California’s biggest polluters a cushion of more than $300 million.
California Proves That Environmental Regulations Don’t Kill Profits
Wired
To anyone who believes environmental regulation is poison for profits, California must be infuriating. The state’s pollution policies rarely wilt its perennially blooming economy. For the past nine years, a Golden State-centric think tank Next 10 has been releasing its California Green Innovation Index. The results this year show a continuing trend: For two and a half decades, California’s GDP and population have continued to rise, while per capita carbon dioxide emissions have stayed flat.
Sierra Star
Between the five million visitors who come through Yosemite National Park each year and the park’s 2,800 staff members, California’s famous national park sends nearly 2,200 tons of garbage each year to the Mariposa County Landfill.
Energy:
Grid storage in the 1830s: Lessons for innovation in today’s energy market
Brookings Institution
One of Allen’s contributions has been hardly remembered because it’s been sitting idle for decades, after functioning remarkably for 80 years. As the owner of two major water-powered textile mills on the modest 50-square mile Woonasquatucket River watershed across town from his home, Allen faced a serious problem in utilizing all the thousands of spinning machines and legions of workers he hired: He needed water to reliably turn the machines.
HEALTH/HUMAN SERVICES
Add Kings County to the places where mosquitoes have the Zika virus
The Fresno Bee
Kings County now joins Fresno and Madera counties in having mosquitoes that can cause Zika, dengue fever, yellow fever and chikungunya viruses.
California faces major physician shortage
Capitol Weekly
California is facing a primary care physician shortage, and one of the only solutions to address it is sitting on the edge of a fiscal cliff. The Teaching Health Center program, which places new resident physicians in underserved communities, will lose federal funding unless Congress acts to reauthorize it by Sept. 30.
Sacramento Bee
Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon said Thursday it’s time for the state Legislature to have a “serious discussion” on how to create a universal health care system for all of California.
See also:
· Universal health care set for hearings in California Sacramento Bee
· Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon, who shelved single-payer measure, announces hearings to study universal coverage Capital Public Radio
· Single payer, revived? California lawmakers to hold health care hearings this fall San Jose Mercury News
IMMIGRATION
California Republicans are urging Trump to support DACA
Los Angeles Times
Reps. Jeff Denham and David Valadao joined four other Republicans Thursday to urge President Trump to leave in place deportation protections for some people who were brought to the country illegally as children.
LAND USE/HOUSING
Land Use:
City council moves forward with $100 million construction project in Southwest Fresno
ABC30
Not since Donald Trump’s Running Horse dream fizzled in late 2007 has West Fresno been targeted for this type of economic jolt. Investors are looking to develop about 120 acres off of Jensen between Martin Luther King Boulevard and Church Avenue.
The Central Valley Ledger: Craig Scharton of the Downtown Fresno Partnership
CMAC
Craig Scharton of the Downtown Fresno Partnership talks about the Fulton Mall opening and much more.
Housing:
Visalia Residents Enjoy Green Space and Affordable Housing with Smart Growth Initiative
Central Valley Community Foundation
The need for affordable housing in California, particularly within the Central Valley, is a matter which cannot be overstated. In Fresno alone, it’s estimated that at least 35,000 additional units of affordable housing are needed for thousands of families struggling to afford rent. This problem is not unique to just one area in the Central Valley, which is why Self-Help Enterprises has worked for over 50 years to build and sustain healthy homes and communities throughout the region.
Chronic camping by homeless people gets banned in Fresno
Fresno Bee
A law to ban chronic camping by homeless people on public property or on private property without the owner’s permission was approved Thursday by the Fresno City Council.
Bay Area housing crisis: Advocates call for action and creative solutions
San Jose Mercury News
A forum Thursday on the Bay Area’s egregious housing situation — the high prices, the scarcity of new construction — brought together academics, developers, real estate agents, government officials and housing advocates, all in the name of seeking creative solutions to the crisis.
California lawmakers consider spending billions to fix housing
Reuters
Affordable housing advocates are closely watching a package of bills currently under consideration by California lawmakers that would invest billions of dollars in helping to alleviate the state’s severe housing crisis.
Opinion: Bill to make homebuilders pay twice is sailing through California Legislature
The Mercury News
California is grappling with a housing crisis. We are only building half the housing that experts say is needed annually to keep pace, and the resulting supply-demand imbalance is skyrocketing home prices and rents.
PUBLIC FINANCES
Commentary: Legislature Should Reject AB 1250 and SB 649
PublicCEO
We are concerned about AB 1250 and SB 649. They would impede every county supervisor in the state from making important local decisions that affect their counties and the people they serve. The two bills are vastly different in terms of the issues they impact, but they are similar in the way they apply a top-down, blanket approach to issues that should clearly be handled at the county level. Local elected officials would not be allowed to act in the best interests of their constituents.
Valley residents receive free smog tests
The Fresno Bee
San Joaquin Valley residents will have the opportunity for a free smog check and $500 voucher for emission-related repairs on Saturday at the “Tune In & Tune Up” event at the Fresno Fairgrounds.
TRANSPORTATION
B-PAC to Help Make Fresno Safer
YourCentralValley
“In a two year time period we have had 700 injuries of pedestrians and cyclists with over 50 fatalities,” says Joe Martinez of Fresno’s Bike and Pedestrian Advisory Committee. These are not numbers to be proud of. That’s why the Bike and Pedestrian Advisory Committee was formed. B-PAC members are appointed by the city to come up with a plan to keep everyone safe.
Caltrans continues tree removal efforts in Madera, Mariposa counties
Sierra Star
Caltrans is identifying and marking dead and dying trees that could impact the safety of the traveling public along state highways. The effort is part of an ongoing need to address over 102 million dead trees that have died due to drought and bark beetle infestation since 2010.
Caltrans will replace Botts’ Dots with thermoplastic striping
San Jose Mercury News
Caltrans has approved removing the nonreflective pavement markers that for the last five decades have warned motorists when they veer out of their lanes. The 20 million now in use will be replaced over time with new markers that are cheaper and safer to install and can better guide the thousands of self-driving cars that are in our future.
Farmers Insurance asks court to block state review of auto rates and a possible refund order
Los Angeles Times
Farmers Insurance has asked a court to block a state review of its auto insurance rates dating to 2008, making it the latest case to test the limits of California’s landmark insurance law, Proposition 103.
Joe Mathews: The reward for riding Bay Area transit? A truly powerless feeling
The Desert Sun
The northern terminus of SMART, the new passenger-rail system in the North Bay, is the Sonoma County Airport Station in Santa Rosa. But after my 8-year-old son and I flew in, we learned the airport is more than a mile from the train.
WATER
Community Voices: Support bill to ensure safe drinking water
The Bakersfield Californian
In California, and especially the Central Valley, water is life. Six years of extreme drought emphasized the value of water for us all.
Proposed Tax For Safe Drinking Water Gets Support From Environmental, Agricultural Groups
State lawmakers are considering a tax to help poor rural communities provide safe drinking water. Agricultural and environmental groups are backing the bill—but water companies, not so much. More than a million Californians lack safe drinking water, either due to fertilizer runoff from farms or contaminants like arsenic.
Sites Reservoir Supporters Request Half Of Prop. 1 Funds
Capital Public Radio News
More than a dozen water storage projects are vying for money from the Proposition 1 water bond California voters approved in 2014.
Bill would create new state drinking water tax, if passed
Lawmakers are looking to raise billions of dollars to make sure California’s water is clean, but to raise that money they’re proposing a tax on everyone’s drinking water. SB 623 aims to raise $2 billion in 15 years by adding a monthly 95 cent drinking water tax for homeowners, while businesses could pay up $10 a month.
KRON4.com
KRON4’s Catherine Heenan sat down with Congressman Jerry McNerney, who represents California’s 9th district.
“Xtra”
HERB BENHAM: Lois Henry — hard to ignore, impossible to forget
Bakersfield Californian
A couple days ago, I heard “Strong Enough” by Sheryl Crow. That song reminds me of Lois Henry because most of us are barely strong enough to be her friend. Strong enough to argue with her. Strong enough to answer her phone calls should she be dogging an issue that was important to her.
Clovis Chamber prepares to search for new executive director
Clovis Roundup
On Aug. 3, the chamber’s CEO Mark Blackney resigned before the board, which then voted to instate former board president Gary Honeycutt as an interim executive director of sorts. He and current board president Layla Forstedt, who works full time for Fresno/Clovis Convention and Visitors Bureau, are working hand and hand with membership director Diana Hunnicutt and events coordinator Tammi Walton to keep operations running smoothly as they prepare to start the search for a new executive director to take up the helm.
Community Calendar – August 24 edition
Sierra Star
What’s happening in the foothills…
Fitzgerald: DB Cooper: The mysterious plot thickens
Stockton Record
The ace investigator who tied the legendary D.B. Cooper skyjacking case to Stockton last year says Cooper got away with the help of three until-now unknown partners.
San Jose’s new Amazon bookstore raises ire of independent booksellers
San Francisco Chronicle
From the outside, San Jose’s newest bookstore looks like any other. Inside, it looks like a Web page come to life. “Highly Rated: 4.8 Stars and Above,” reads one shelf. Another highlights books “Read Around the Bay Area,” while a third features “Books with More Than 10,000 Reviews on Amazon.com.