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 IN THIS ISSUE:​
- Top Political Stories
- Editorials
- Agriculture/Food
- Criminal Justice/Public Safety
- Economy/ Jobs
- Education
- Environment/Energy
- Health/Human Services
- Immigration
- Land Use/Housing
- Public Finances
- Transportation
- Water
- “Xtra”​
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TOP POLITICAL STORIES​​​​​​​
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Local/Regional:
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Damigo steps down from white supremacist post but still holds to beliefs
The Modesto Bee
Nathan Damigo announced Sunday that he was stepping down as leader of a white supremacist group, but the Oakdale-area resident said he remains committed to the cause.
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At least one of Devin Nunes’ challengers is making the Russia investigation a major campaign issue
LA Times
Fresno County Deputy Dist. Atty. Andrew Janz put the Russia investigation front and center at a backyard barbecue Sunday as he made his case for running against Rep. Devin Nunes. Janz took Nunes to task for his role in the investigation, spending a good portion of his remarks giving a play-by-play of the complex story of Nunes’ involvement.
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State:
Walters: Housing crisis spawns transportation crunch and political squabbles
Fresno Bee (blog)
California’s housing crisis has spawned several other socioeconomic dilemmas, the most important being a transportation crunch
California’s biggest political fights these days are among, not between, Republicans and Democrats
LA Daily
Rendon drew a progressive backlash and reportedly got death threats after shelving a bill to establish single-payer health care in California. The Steinorth protest stemmed from his vote with seven other Republicans to extend California’s Cap-and-Trade Program to 2030. The blowback is even harsher for Assembly Republican Leader Chad Mayes of Yucca Valley, who also voted for cap-and-trade. Mayes was replaced this month as leader after facing mounting calls to step aside.
Kevin Faulconer: The New California Republicans
Commonwealth Club of California Podcast
Can Republicans in California make a comeback? It may seem daunting, but as the mayor of California’s second most populous city, Kevin Faulconer strives to appeal to all. Elected 36th mayor of San Diego in 2014 after a highly publicized special election, Faulconer easily won reelection in 2016. He has focused on improving infrastructure, reducing homelessness and creating neighborhood safety initiatives. He has joined Democrats with a strong commitment to environmental protection and a pathway to citizenship for immigrants, which have put him in direct opposition to the Trump administration and other Republicans on the national stage. Will Kevin Faulconer popularize his brand of Republicanism in California?
Skelton: With Chad Mayes’ ouster, Assembly Republicans did what they often …
Los Angeles Times
Conservative Republicans in the state Assembly dumped their moderate leader last week, and it was hardly a shock.
California Politics Podcast: Republicans seek a reset in picking a new Assembly leader
LA Times
California Politics Podcast: Republicans seek a reset in picking a new Assembly leader
Assembly GOP leader-elect Brian Dahle looks to end Democratic supermajority in 2018
LA Times
The passage of controversial gas tax increases has already led to one recall campaign against a Democrat, and Dahle believes it will help Republican candidates running against Democratic incumbents who voted for the tax hikes.
Los Angeles Times
More than six years of state Capitol wrangling over how to improve disclosure of big donors in California political campaigns comes down to a crucial vote later this week.
Could John Chiang Be California’s First Asian-American Governor?
NBC News
“Some people really focus on marketing. I focus on getting the job done right.” John Chiang has been less vocal than his rivals in the race for governor.
Why the SEIU backs 4 bills in California Legislature
San Francisco Chronicle
The union I’m privileged to work for, Service Employees International Union, has a core philosophy: Empowering and protecting workers improves society as a whole. The union is about more than a paycheck: It’s about how ordinary people, together, can share in the power to improve their lives and their communities
Huge crowds march through San Francisco as right-wing protesters lie low
The Mercury News
Thousands of demonstrators denouncing racism filled this city’s streets Saturday, as right-wing activists who had planned a show of force here found themselves holding meetings in secret locations to avoid the wrath of counterprotesters.
California Population Lags Behind Projections
Newgeography.com
Halfway through the new decade, California, widely seen as an irresistible force for the young and ambitious, is underperforming the state’s own demographic projections. Since 2010 the state’s population grew 5.3 percent from the 2010 census figure, 12 percent below the 6.1 percent increase projected by the California State Department of Finance. The population increased at below projected rates in all of the five metropolitan regions (combined statistical areas, or CSAs and metropolitan statistical areas MSAs, outside the CSAs) with more than 1,000,000 population, except in San Diego.
National:
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California sends aid for Hurricane Harvey disaster relief
Sacramento Bee
California has joined the Hurricane Harvey relief efforts, sending eight water search and rescue teams to flooded areas of Texas, according to the California Office of Emergency Services.
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Listen to Shields and Brooks on Trump’s contrasting speeches, GOP ruptured relations
PBS News Hour
The week began with the president’s scripted speech on Afghanistan, followed by a raucous rally in Phoenix that helped widen a rift between Mr. Trump and top Republicans in Congress. That’s the backdrop as we turn to the regular Friday analysis of Shields and Brooks.
Other:
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Where are Fresno’s fallout shelters?
The Fresno Bee
The sirens, which still stand in various areas of town, were silenced years ago, Fresno city and fire emergency personnel said. But no one seems to know much about the old fallout shelters – basements, upper floors of high-rise buildings, dams and tunnels designated by the federal government in the 1960s to protect people from radiation.
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LA Times
Facebook security chief Alex Stamos says the social media network has massively expanded its team to target the threats of cyberwarfare that trickle down from countries like Russia and China. But it is increasingly focused on the subtle ways in which attackers can manipulate digital propaganda and misinformation to affect the outcome of elections around the world — a new risk that requires little or no traditional expertise on information security.
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U.S. Muslims Concerned About Their Place in Society, but Continue to Believe in the American Dream
Pew Research Center
Overwhelmingly, they say they are proud to be Americans, believe that hard work generally brings success in this country and are satisfied with the way things are going in their own lives – even if they are not satisfied with the direction of the country as a whole.
EDITORIALS
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CA legislators must not waste $1.4B cap and trade fund
The Fresno Bee
In past years, lawmakers earmarked 60 percent of cap-and-trade money to the voter-approved high-speed rail, housing near transportation hubs, inner-city rail and low-carbon transit. The $1.4 billion is the remainder we’re talking about. Sen. Bob Wieckowski, D-Fremont, who chairs the budget subcommittee, wants to aim high by using some of the money to electrify commuter rail, a worthy effort in the fight against climate change.
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Strike up the band for back to school – let there be joy
Fresno Bee
The familiar rhythm of the school year is strangely calming as it weaves our Valley homes and neighborhoods together.
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Thumbs up, thumbs down: Tulare County deputies swap a kidney next week
Fresno Bee
Tulare County deputy will get a kidney from fellow officer. VH1 and Amazon save the music for Caruthers kids.
Don’t silence haters, just drown them out
Modesto Bee
Speaking out against hatred and racism is better than silencing those who promote it
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The two Donalds: We’ve seen a lot of them both
Bakersfield Californian
What I’m about to describe is Fake News — it hasn’t happened, at least so far. However, I think it’s just a matter of time. At some Nazi/KKK rally where some of President Donald Trump’s “good people” are joining the lunatic-fringe types in hateful demonstrations, they are confronted by angry counterprotestors. Someone pulls a gun and starts firing. The violence escalates, and people die.
In California, poor people go to jail, rich people go free. How long will this go on?
Sacramento Bee
A bill that would reduce the use of cash bail in California won’t pass this year. But new support from Jerry Brown is huge.
Bipartisanship: Such a nice concept, like unicorns
Sacramento Bee
Chad Mayes falls. Democrats defend Josh Newman. Firefighters fight for their jobs. Trump extends our longest war. What a week.
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Democrats delay, Republicans head to court in Josh Newman recall fight
Sacramento Bee
But for a sprint of legislating last week, today would have been the deadline for California Secretary of State Alex Padilla to certify that proponents of ousting state Sen. Josh Newman, D-Fullerton, had turned in enough valid voter signatures to qualify a recall measure for the ballot.
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.
Jobs building local transit projects should go to the communities paying for them
Los Angeles Times
When Los Angeles County voted last November to increase the sales tax again to pay for more rail lines, buses and highway improvements, one of the selling points was that the revenue would fund a transportation building boom and create lots and lots of new jobs — more than 465,000 of them, by one estimate.
A TSA agent who may have lied about a bomb threat can’t be sued? That’s appalling
Los Angeles Times
In 1965, narcotics agents burst into the home of Webster Bivens without a warrant, manacled him in front of his family, threatened to arrest his wife and children and marched him off to the Brooklyn courthouse. Six years later, the lawsuit Bivens brought reached the Supreme Court, which ruled for the first time that agents of the federal government could be sued personally for damages if they violated a citizen’s constitutional rights, even if Congress hadn’t explicitly authorized such lawsuits.
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Housing shortage, hot economy take toll on environment
San Francisco Chronicle
California’s housing crisis doesn’t just affect people struggling to live and work here right now. There’s growing evidence that it could impact everyone who lives here, and elsewhere, in the future.
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AGRICULTURE/FOOD
Healthy Soils Program accepting applicants
The Turlock Journal
California is the nation’s leading agricultural production state when it comes to value and crop diversity, and in order to keep that title, maintaining healthy soils throughout the state’s farm and ranchlands is vital. The Healthy Soils Program is accepting applications now and aims to promote the development of such soils, reducing greenhouse gas emissions while providing a variety of benefits to the local community.
State enlarges citrus greening quarantine area
Central Valley Business Times
The California Department of Food and Agriculture and the U.S. Department of Agriculture have established a 94-square mile quarantine in portions of Riverside and San Bernardino counties following the detection of the citrus disease huanglongbing (HLB), or citrus greening, in a single citrus tree in the city of Riverside.
Scientists Try To Fight Crop Damage With An Invasive Moth’s Own DNA
NPR
If you like coleslaw — or kimchi or sauerkraut on your hot dog — you should worry about cabbage. This staple veggie has been under constant threat for decades, along with broccoli, cauliflower, collard greens, Brussels sprouts, kale and other leafy greens belonging to the Brassica genus. The danger? A tiny insect called the diamondback moth, an invasive marauder that has spread across the world and mutated to become immune to each new chemical pesticide designed to slay it.
CRIMINAL JUSTICE/PUBLIC SAFETY
Crime:
Walters:Â Â Could uptick in California crime make it a political issue again?
The Bakersfield Californian
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.
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Evolution of Kings County marijuana rules
Three years ago, local lawmakers were trying to prevent marijuana from being grown within city limits, even if it was intended to be used for medicinal purposes. Now, after California voters passed Proposition 64 in November, the Hanford City Council is searching for ways to tax pot revenue, as multiple medical marijuana companies show interest in opening processing plants in Hanford.
Gouging families with kids in detention serves no one
Modesto 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.
Yolo County says feds failed to prove that undocumented kids jailed in Yolo were gang members
The Sacramento Bee
Portraying them as violent criminals swept up during a gang crackdown, the federal government sent at least seven undocumented teenagers from their homes in New York to a high-security detention center in Yolo County. But the head of that facility says his agency could not verify the gang allegations and pushed to have the boys released to less-restrictive facilities.
No bail reform this year in CA
The Sacramento Bee
Gov. Jerry Brown announced Friday that a California Senate bill to overhaul the bail system will be held this year as negotiations continue with lawmakers and court officials.
See also:
- Is California on the verge of bail reform?  89.3 KPCC
LA Times
Several years ago, little was known about the StingRay, a powerful surveillance device that imitates the function of a cell tower and captures the signals of nearby phones, allowing law enforcement officers to sweep through hundreds of messages, conversations and call logs.
The age of artificial intelligence surveillance is here
Quartz
For years we’ve been recorded in public on security cameras, police bodycams, livestreams, other people’s social media posts, and on and on. But even if there’s a camera in our face, there’s always been a slight assurance that strangers wouldn’t really be able to do anything that affects us with the footage. The time and effort it would take for someone to trawl through months of security footage to find a specific person, or search the internet on the off-chance they’ll find you is just unrealistic. But not for robots.
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Fire:
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How California’s aerial firefighters are handling 1,000 more fires than last fire seasonÂ
Orange County Register
Cal Fire statistics statewide for 2017 show that by Aug. 23, there have been 4,398 fires that burned 223,526 acres. That’s 1,000 more fires and many more acres burned than all of 2016. Unfortunately, the worst may be ahead of us.
ECONOMY / JOBS
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Economy:
Elevating California means all regions must rise together
CAFWD
When I adopted the term “Two California’s” several years ago, it reflected the frustration that some of us who live outside California’s coastal “boom areas” have.
Angry Business Voices Ask: “Who’s the Boss?”
Fox and Hounds Daily
Feeling the affects regulations impose on business, angry business leaders attending the California Business and Industrial Alliance (CABIA) inaugural meeting in Los Angeles last week had a simple question: “Who’s the boss?” Is the employer still in charge or has government taken over the boss’s role?
Jobs:
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How Americans Perceive the Workplace: Results from the American Working Conditions Survey
RAND
For many Americans, the workplace is hectic, hazardous, and physically demanding — yet many retirees would still consider rejoining the workforce if the right opportunity came along. Those are just a few of the results from the American Working Conditions Survey — one of the most in-depth surveys ever undertaken about the American workplace. This brief presents highlights from the survey, conducted by investigators from Harvard University, the RAND Corporation, and the University of California, Los Angeles.
Bouncing Back: The Role of Social Safety Nets
Hoover Institution
Social safety nets exist to help those who have fallen on hard times. However, when poorly designed they can lead to long-term dependence. It is crucial to design social safety nets to encourage people to transition from government assistance back into the workforce.
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EDUCATION
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K-12:
How to give your child a healthy start to the school year
The Modesto Bee
You may be buying notebooks, erasers and crayons to prepare your kids to go back to school, but you should be thinking about preparing them from the inside out, too. Here are some healthy adjustments you can make to ensure your child gets off to a good start.
CA state superintendent tours Valley schools
ABC30
The trip to the Valley is part of his efforts to interact with not only school officials but students. Students at Parlier High School put their best foot forward as State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson paid a visit.
Why are California charter schools’ vaccination rates so much worse than district-run schools?
89.3 KPCC
When a particular group of parents call Claudia Weintraub asking for a spot in her school, they don’t speak in code. They’re not coy. They’re honest.
East Coast experts criticize California’s plan to satisfy a federal education law
LA Times
California’s proposed plan to satisfy a major federal education law is falling short, according to a new report. While the report by the Boston-based nonprofit Bellwether Education Partners praises the state’s Every Student Succeeds Act plan for using multiple signs of student performance and employing up-to-date tests, it highlights the plan’s lack of detail about how it will identify and help low-performing schools.
Math is amazing and we have to start treating it that way
PBS News Hour Podcast
We require elementary school teachers to teach everything, but what if math wasn’t their favorite subject at school? Math-y people are more likely to be specialist math teachers at higher levels. So, if elementary school teachers remember math as important, but not fun, they’re likely to teach it as important, but not fun.
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Back to School: What Is the Purpose of Public Education?
Commonwealth Club of California Podcast
Across the country, the challenges of growing extremism, xenophobia, violence and filter bubbles, alongside a lack of mutual understanding and collective responsibility, plague communities and the country at large. Can public education be a part of the solution, or will it crumble in today’s political climate?
As schools reopen, teachers will have a difficult time avoiding the Trump fallout
EdSource
As California teachers return to the classroom this fall, many of them will be faced with the multiple challenges of how to deal with children’s responses to the No. 1 political issue in the United States: the increasingly troubled presidency of Donald Trump.
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.
Can computers enhance the work of teachers? The debate is on
PBS News Hour
As schools struggle to raise high school graduation rates and close the persistent achievement gap for minority and low-income students, many educators tout digital technology in the classroom as a way forward. But experts caution that this approach still needs more scrutiny and warn schools and parents against being overly reliant on computers.
Higher Ed:
‘Are we being greedy?’ College trustee suggests district do away with student parking fees bakersfield.com
Responding to homeowners fed-up with a slew of college students parking in their neighborhoods, district Trustee Kyle Carter suggested Bakersfield College should all but eliminate parking permit fees for students. Kern Community College District charges BC students $45 per semester for parking. If Carter has his way, he would charge just $2 or $3 to cover administrative fees related to issuing permits, he said.
The community college-employer connection
Brookings Institution
Elizabeth Mann, a fellow in the Brown Center on Education Policy in Governance Studies, discusses her work on the relationship between community colleges and employers and outlines how cooperation between the two can counter the skills gap in the American workforce.
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With DACA’s uncertain future, how will states address access to higher education?
Brookings Institution
Despite the demand to rescind the executive order and introduction of the DREAM Act, there may not be conclusive action from the federal executive or legislative branch anytime soon. But, this recent chain of events could have implications for students’ access to college and for state policy.
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California’s Partisan Divide on Higher Education
PPIC
New national polling shows a big divide has opened up between Democrats and Republicans on higher education. A Pew Research Center poll taken in June shows that a majority of Republicans and those who lean Republican (58%) think colleges and universities have a negative effect on the way things are going in the country, while a vast majority of Democrats and those who lean Democrat (72%) think colleges and universities have a positive impact. This is a big change from two years ago, when majorities in both parties said higher education institutions had a positive impact on the direction of the nation.
ENVIRONMENT/ ENERGY
Environment:
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California car culture undermines state’s effort to reduce carbon emissions
The Fresno Bee
Californians can’t shake their love affair with cars – and pickup trucks and sport-utility vehicles. That’s hurting the greenest state in the union’s much-publicized crusade against climate change.
See also:
- See which top-selling cars spew the most and least carbon  Sacramento Bee
- Hundreds of drivers get free emissions test  yourcentralvalley.com
- Electric cars now 5 percent of California new-car sales  Green Car Report
Morain:Â How King Coal dodged California, thanks to Democrats
The Sacramento Bee
Suddenly, California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones is at the front of the national war over coal and climate change. And thanks to our Legislature, Jones seems to be losing to the Republican attorney general of the oil state of Oklahoma. Yes, politics get weird.
States Dare to Think Big on Climate Change
New York Times
The one bright spot amid the generally gloomy news about climate change, and the Trump administration’s resistance to doing anything about it, is the determination of a number of state governments to take action on their own.
Energy:
Solar Employs More People In U.S. Electricity Generation Than Oil, Coal And Gas Combined
Forbes Mobile
In the United States, more people were employed in solar power last year than in generating electricity through coal, gas and oil energy combined. According to a new report from the U.S. Department of Energy, solar power employed 43 percent of the Electric Power Generation sector’s workforce in 2016, while fossil fuels combined accounted for just 22 percent. It’s a welcome statistic for those seeking to refute Donald Trump’s assertion that green energy projects are bad news for the American economy.
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Walters:Â It will take more than promises to polish the PUC’s tarnished image
CALmatters
The California Public Utilities Commission must, by its nature, straddle the fine line between providing consumers with dependable electric power, natural gas and other utility services at fair prices and protecting the financial health of the huge corporations that supply those services.
HEALTH/HUMAN SERVICES
Abuse in nursing homes unreported despite law
The Fresno Bee
More than 1 in 4 cases of possible sexual and physical abuse against nursing home patients apparently went unreported to police, says a government audit that faults Medicare for failing to enforce a federal law requiring immediate notification.
Kaiser contract end affects 9,000 Medi-Cal patients
The Fresno Bee
CalViva Health has terminated a contract with Kaiser Permanente, leaving about 9,000 people on Medi-Cal in Fresno, Kings and Madera counties to find new doctors beginning Sept. 1.
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Tulare councilman asks residents to save hospital
Visalia Times Delta
Now that the recent recall election for the Tulare Regional Medical Center Board of Directors is behind us, it is time that we set aside the political division we have experienced over the last year and a half and move forward together as One Tulare to save our hospital and complete the medical tower.
‘It is a disease that is not respected and not funded.’ States skimp on valley fever awareness
The Bakersfield Californian
Valley fever infects more than 13,000 people annually in Arizona and California and kills more than 100. Yet the two states spend less on public awareness about the disease in one year than what the Bakersfield City School District spends on lunch milk for a month and less than what Pima County, Arizona’s Parks and Recreation Department spent on janitorial supplies in 2016.
State public health department opposes superbug tracking bill
89.3 KPCC
A bill in the California legislature is designed to improve the state’s tracking of antibiotic-resistant infections, but the state’s public health agency opposes the measure, arguing that it would be ineffective.
Single Payer Vs Universal Health Care: What’s The Difference?
Capital Public Radio News
Just two months after shooting down single payer health care, Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon says he wants to achieve universal coverage in California. So what’s the difference?
The debate over single-payer healthcare in California isn’t going away. Here’s why
LA Times
Bill to establish single-payer healthcare screeched to an abrupt halt earlier this summer — but that hasn’t blunted its continuing influence on California politics.  Calls for a sea change in the state’s healthcare system have proven remarkably durable, even after Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon shelved a measure in June that would have made the state responsible for paying all of its residents’ medical costs.
Babies’ race affects quality of care in California neonatal intensive care, study saysÂ
San Francisco Chronicle
An infant’s race and ethnicity affect the quality of care they receive in California neonatal intensive care units, according to a study by the Stanford University School of Medicine.
Pants on Fire! Paul Ryan uses old stat to claim counties will have no Obamacare insurer in 2018
PolitiFact
Republicans leading the charge to repeal Obamacare say their primary motivation is to save Americans from a program that has failed them. That was House Speaker Paul Ryan’s main argument during a CNN town hall broadcast on health care.
Health care will cost couples $275,000 in retirement
CNN Money
A couple retiring this year will need an estimated $275,000 to cover health care costs in retirement, according to Fidelity. That’s a 6% increase over last year.
IMMIGRATION
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Trump leaning toward ending DACA for undocumented brought to US as children
ABC News
President Donald Trump is leaning toward ending a U.S. immigration policy the Obama administration started for undocumented immigrants who were brought to the United States as children, according to multiple sources. The president’s decision on the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA, could be announced as early as this week, one source said.
See also:
- Gov. Brown urges Trump to keep DACA program   LA Times
- Congressman David Valadao writes Trump a letter to save DACAÂ Â yourcentralvalley.com
No country for sanctuary seekers
Reveal Podcast
President Trump has promised to withdraw federal money from jurisdictions that do not help immigration agents find and deport people living illegally in this country. We look into places that offer sanctuary to those immigrants – and what the conflict between federal and local policies means for them.
Feds failed to prove undocumented teens sent to jail were gang members, officials say
Sacramento Bee
Portraying them as violent criminals swept up during a gang crackdown, the federal government sent at least seven undocumented teenagers from their homes in New York to a high-security detention center in Yolo County. But the head of that facility says his agency could not verify the gang allegations and pushed to have the boys released to less-restrictive facilities.
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Do immigrants “steal” jobs from American workers?
Brookings Institution
A motivating factor behind Trump’s proposed policies—including the construction of a new U.S.- Mexico border wall, more border patrol agents, and stricter deportation policies–is his belief that immigrants are stealing job opportunities from American workers.
LAND USE/HOUSING
Land Use:
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City council moves forward with $100 million construction project in Southwest Fresno
ABC30
Thursday the city council voted unanimously to develop an area of town that has been neglected for decades.
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Father-son duo brings big-city taste to Old Town Clovis
Yourcentralvalley.com
Almost three decades back, John Shamshoian never imagined his company of less than 50 would one day have a three-story building of its own, with windows matching the Realty Concepts company logo.
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More promise for Stockton parks?
Stockton Record
McKinley Park is maintained by the city, not the state. But assembly members Susan Eggman of Stockton and Eduardo Garcia, from the Coachella Valley, listened to Chavez because they think they can help. The legislators visited McKinley earlier this week to promote a $3 billion parks bond that Democratic legislators want to put on the 2018 ballot for voter approval.
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Peter Calthorpe:Â 7 principles for building better cities
TED Talks Daily Podcast
More than half of the world’s population already lives in cities, and another 2.5 billion people are projected to move to urban areas by 2050. The way we build new cities will be at the heart of so much that matters, from climate change to economic vitality to our very well-being and sense of connectedness. Peter Calthorpe is already at work planning the cities of the future and advocating for community design that’s focused on human interaction. He shares seven universal principles for solving sprawl and building smarter, more sustainable cities.
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Housing:
California’s housing crisis – it’s even worse than you think
The Mercury News
Half the state’s households struggle to afford the roof over their heads. Homeownership-once a staple of the California dream – is at its lowest rate since World War II. Nearly 70 percent of poor Californians see the majority of their paychecks go immediately to escalating rents.
See also:
- Opinion: Bill to make homebuilders pay twice is sailing through California Legislature  The Mercury News
- Want more affordable housing? Here’s 9 odd ways California could do it!  OCRegister
- Will California Legislature Act On Housing This Week? – capradio.org  Capital Public Radio News
If GOP scales back the mortgage interest deduction, Californians would be hit hardest
LA Times
Republicans crafting legislation to overhaul the federal tax system and cut rates are considering placing new limits on the home mortgage interest deduction. And thousands of Californians could feel the pain.
PUBLIC FINANCES
Kern County budget to get final approval
Kern County will finalize its $2.6 billion budget Tuesday.
Big public pensions keep piling up
LA Daily News
While politicians across California seem content to ignore the problem, both the cost and excesses of public sector pensions continue to grow.
TRANSPORTATION
Should California spend $3 billion to help people buy electric cars?
Los Angeles Times
Over seven years, the state of California has spent $449 million on consumer rebates to boost sales of zero-emission vehicles.
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Complaints over delays, cancellations plague Allegiant Air
The Fresno Bee
Passengers who book on Allegiant may feel like they’re facing a gamble before they even get off the ground at Fresno Yosemite International Airport, thanks to the airline’s spotty track record. Recent months have been filled with delays and cancellations both to and from Fresno. On July 30 and 31, the airline canceled five scheduled flights between Fresno and Las Vegas – two departures from Las Vegas and three from Fresno.
High-Speed Rail construction relocating factory that has called Downtown Fresno home for 80 years
ABC30
Modern Custom Fabrication makes giant tanks that hold water, petroleum products, chemicals, and just about any liquid. They ship all over the country and around the world from its 80 year old plant in Downtown Fresno. Because High-Speed Rail will come right through where they are located they have to move, and city leaders are happy they chose a new site in Southeast Fresno.
DMV cracking down on fraudulent use of disabled parking placards
The Bakersfield Californian
Borrowing a disabled parking permit may result in a closer spot to the grocery store, but offenders could end up paying a cart’s worth of lobster and filet mignon in penalties.
3rd gender option for state IDs advancing in Legislature
San Francisco Chronicle
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.
Clovis Old Town Trail Bike and Pedestrian Counter Display (City of Clovis)
Nextdoor
Have you ever wondered how many people use the Clovis Old Town Trail? A permanent bike and pedestrian counter display will be installed in spring 2018 along the trail to collect and display this data. This will help the City of Clovis with future trail planning and encourage outdoor healthy activities.
WATER
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California drinking water could soon be taxed
San Jose Mercury News
For the first time Californians would pay a tax on drinking water — 95 cents per month — under legislation aimed at fixing hundreds of public water systems with unsafe tap water. Senate Bill 623, backed by a strange-bedfellows coalition of the agricultural lobby and environmental groups but opposed by water districts, would generate $2 billion over the next 15 years to clean up contaminated groundwater and improve faulty water systems and wells. The problem is most pervasive in rural areas with agricultural runoff
Oroville Dam: Man gets 13 years for breaking into market during evacuations
The Mercury News
A man has been sentenced to 13 years in state prison after pleading no contest to charges he broke into an Oroville market during the Oroville Dam spillway evacuations in February, Butte County District Attorney Mike Ramsey announced Friday.
Delta tunnels sued over SMUD hydro power
The Sacramento Bee
Sacramentans enjoy cheap electricity compared to most Californians, thanks in part to a string of hydroelectric dams along the American River. Which is why SMUD, the Sacramento Municipal Utility District, joined the deluge of regional governments, environmentalists and others suing the state in an effort to block its Delta tunnels project.
 “Xtra”
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Lois Henry has made ‘our town a better place.’
The Bakersfield Californian
Now that veteran columnist and investigative reporter Lois Henry has left The Californian after 27 years of exposing malfeasance, injustice and corruption, it’s time to reveal her deepest, darkest secret.
Henry: Saying goodbye, and thanks, for 30 great years
I admit, Monday will be weird. It will be the first time in nearly 30 years that I receive my copy of The Bakersfield Californian as a “civilian.”
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New Exhibit Celebrating Unity Has Timely Opening in Sacramento
KQED California Report Magazine Podcast
The California Museum in Sacramento is celebrating a new exhibit called the Unity Center, and it’s opening the same weekend far-right rallies in Northern California are expected to draw white nationalists. That’s an eerie coincidence, because the idea for the center began nearly 20 years ago when Sacramento was reeling from a string of hate crimes linked to white supremacists.
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Fitz’s Stockton: Dick McClure’s Pink pal
Stockton Record
Attending a vintage car rally in Carmel, Stockton car collector Dick McClure struck up a conversation with a stranger — without recognizing Nick Mason, Pink Floyd’s drummer.
Fitzgerald: The Mild Bunch turns 80
Stockton Record
The first member of the Port City Motorcycle Club I talked to when I got to their clubhouse at the end of Laurel Street by the switchyards was a big, bearded guy called Tiny.