February 2, 2018

02Feb

TOP POLITICAL STORIES​​​​​​​

Local/Regional Politics:

Trump Formally Clears Release of Nunes Memo
Roll Call

Ignoring warnings from his hand-picked FBI director, President Donald Trump on Friday cleared the release of a classified memo compiled by House Intelligence Committee Republicans alleging the bureau overstepped its authorities early in the Russia election meddling probe.

See also:

·       Trump will clear way for publication of classified memo  The Fresno Bee

·       ‘Never any hesitation’: Trump was quickly persuaded to support memo’s release Washington Post

·       Nunes Memo Could Weaken FISA, Congressional Panels Roll Call

·       Dept. of Justice and FBI involved in conspiracy against president, says Rep. Devin Nunes  abc30.com

·       Right and Left React to the Debate Over the GOP Memo on the FBI New York Times

·       In letter, DOJ tells Devin Nunes releasing memo would be “extraordinarily reckless”  CBS News

·       With Memo, Devin Nunes, Once a Scourge of the Hard Right, Becomes Its Hero  The New York Times

·       Furor grows over Nunes intel memo TheHill

·       Schumer, Pelosi call for Nunes to be removed as House intelligence chair NBC News

·       The director of the FBI says he will publicly dispute the Nunes memoBusiness Insider

·       Trump sees Nunes memo as a way to discredit the Russia investigation  CNN

·       Justice, FBI Brass Have Anti-Republican Bias, Trump Says Roll Call

·       Fox News’s Napolitano: If Nunes changed memo to satisfy political needs, ‘innocent people will suffer’  TheHill

·       Republicans’ FBI Memo, Hype & Trump’s State of the Union National Review

·       Sen. Manchin: Nunes ‘neutered’ confidence in House Intel  CNN

·       Republicans vote to release memo alleging FBI missteps in surveillance of Trump campaign operative The Washington Post

Kevin McCarthy’s stint as a small-business entrepreneur

Washington Post

Just about every politician has an origin story — the tale they tell over and over about a key moment in their life that spurred them on. It becomes part of their regular pitter-patter on the stump and often ends up as a line in just about every newspaper biography.

Air district warns about pollution from warm weather, stagnant air

Fresno Bee

The Valley Air District is warning residents to avoid strenuous outdoor activity as a high-pressure weather system traps pollution in the area and causes temperatures to rise. “Unfortunately, these stagnant conditions may cause high concentrations of particulate pollution in our region,” said Jon Klassen, the district’s air quality analysis manager. “While these conditions bring about pleasant unseasonably warm temperatures, it is best to avoid heavy outdoor activities during periods of elevated particulate matter concentrations.” 

Demolition clears way for downtown apartments, commercial space

The Fresno Bee

A pair of Fulton Street buildings dating to the 1940s and ’50s are falling under the steel teeth of an excavator to make way for a four-story building that will eventually provide more than 50 apartments as well as ground-floor commercial space. A demolition crew began work Thursday taking down the side-by-side buildings at 835 and 829 Fulton St., north of Inyo Street. The site, along with an adjoining parking lot, is being cleared for the first phase of the South Stadium redevelopment project in the downtown neighborhood near Chukchansi Park. 

Rent in Fresno significantly increases over the last year

ABC30

Since 2017 rent in Fresno has increased, according to ApartmentList.com Chris Salviati, a housing economist with Apartment List, said over the last month it’s been steady. “Fresno is one of the few remaining affordable cities in California,” he said. However, over the last year rent is up 5.7%. “5.7% in Fresno is pretty fast paced and a rapid increase,” Salviati mentioned.

Boswell throws in towel on Yokohl Valley project

Visalia Times-Delta

First proposed in 2005, a plan for a 36,000-resident “new town” in Yokohl Valley, won’t move forward. Property owner and developer JG Boswell Company notified Tulare County officials he would withdraw the application for the controversial 10,000 home foothill development, just east of Visalia and Exeter.

Chinook salmon reach milestones in San Joaquin

Fresno Bee

As work to restore the San Joaquin River continues, scientists are seeing promising signs that salmon can thrive in the river as hatchery fish reach new milestones. A recent breakthrough came in fall 2017, when spring-run Chinook salmon created their nests, called redds, in the colder parts of the river below Friant Dam. The fish successfully spawned, laying eggs that incubated and hatched into tiny fry as the sexually mature fish died, part of the species’ unusual life cycle.

See also:

·       For first time in 60 years, spring-run Chinook salmon reproduce in the SJ River Modesto Bee 

Election 2018: Sally Moreno Eyes Madera DA Office, Challenging David Linn

Valley Public Radio

The race for Madera County District Attorney is likely to be one of the more interesting local contests in 2018. It pits incumbent DA David Linn against challenger and current Fresno County prosecutor Sally Moreno. The race took on a new tone in late 2017 after allegations surfaced that Linn had made racist and sexist remarks on the job.

Tulare hospital votes to exclude Asm. Mathis from state audit

Visalia Times-Delta

Tulare hospital board members want California Senator Jean Fuller (R-Bakersfield) – and only Jean Fuller — to represent them during a state-led audit. Earlier this week, a request initiated by the board for an audit of the hospital’s finances and the $85 million general obligation bond, was approved by state lawmakers. On Wednesday, during a short special meeting that likely broke the Brown Act, board members voted to exclude Assemblyman Devon Mathis (R-Visalia) from representing the hospital.

Hall Ambulance violated county response time standards in much of 2017

Bakersfield Californian

Hall Ambulance’s seemingly unassailable, exclusive grip on ambulance service in western Kern County has been shaken by a dramatic report from the Kern County Public Health Services Department. Hall Ambulance, it states, is in violation of its contract to supply ambulance service to customers in Bakersfield, Wasco, Tehachapi, Arvin, Lamont and Frazier Park and surrounding areas. The report, released publicly Thursday, documents chronic failure to meet time performance standards in four “exclusive operating areas” in western Kern.

State Politics:

How will Gov. Brown have Republicans’ back?

Sacramento Bee

It doesn’t have the comedic value of “the era of big government is over” (Bill Clinton’s 1996 State of the Union speech), but I do wonder what Gov. Jerry Brown was getting at in last week’s State of the State address when he assured legislative Republicans: “Don’t worry, I’ve got your back.”

Newsom cash leads rivals in race for California governor

Fresno Bee

Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom has far outraised his rivals from both parties in the race for California governor with more money available to spend than all his rivals from both parties combined ahead of the June 5 primary.

See also:

·       Gavin Newsom can’t stop using this Jerry Garcia quote The Sacramento Bee

·       Newsom dominates governor’s race fundraising as De León trails Feinstein in Senate campaign The Mercury News

·       Gavin Newsom’s list of one and onlys is getting longer Sacramento Bee

·       Gavin Newsom continues to far outpace his rivals’ fundraising in California’s race for governor Los Angeles Times

·       Latest California Governor Campaign Fundraising Reports Are Out, And Gavin Newsom Is Lapping The Field  Capital Public Radio

 

John Chiang accuses gubernatorial opponent Gavin Newsom of flip-flopping on single-payer healthcare

Los Angeles Times

State Treasurer John Chiang criticized Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom for his stance on single-payer healthcare Thursday, saying his chief rival in the governor’s race has flip-flopped on the issue. Chiang and fellow Democratic candidate Antonio Villaraigosa have expressed concerns about the cost of establishing a state-sponsored universal healthcare program, which could run from $330 billion to $400 billion a year depending on various estimates.

A Conversation with Treasurer John Chiang

Public Policy Institute of California

Please join us for a conversation with Treasurer John Chiang, candidate for governor. He will talk with PPIC president Mark Baldassare about important issues facing California, from improving K-12 and higher education, to addressing inequality, to navigating federal-state tensions over health care and immigration.

See Also:

State Treasurer John Chiang, running for governor, outlines vision for state San Francisco Chronicle

In SF appearance, Villaraigosa says he has plans to solve the housing crisis

San Francisco Chronicle

Garcetti’s PAC raises $120000 in first few weeks

89.3 KPCC

A new political action committee formed by Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti to help flip Congress to Democratic control reported more than $120,000 in its first couple of weeks of fundraising, according to its first filing with the Federal Election Commission.

Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerra has big lead in campaign fundraising over challengers

Los Angeles Times

State Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerra maintained his large political fundraising lead over five possible challengers in the June 2018 primary, with the incumbent reporting he brought in $4 million last year, according to campaign disclosure reports filed Wednesday. 

Kevin de León reports tiny sliver of rival Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s campaign cash

Los Angeles Times

State Senate leader Kevin de León, a Democrat who is challenging Sen. Dianne Feinstein, kicked off 2018 with a tiny fraction of the money the veteran lawmaker has in the bank, according to federal fundraising documents filed Thursday.

Interest groups spent record $339 million on lobbying California state government in 2017

Los Angeles Times

The spending activity to influence elected officials and bureaucrats far exceeds the previous record of $314.7 million in 2015, new lobbying reports show.

Environmentalism or ‘nanny state’? Efforts to regulate plastic in California take off

Sacramento Bee

Environmental advocates in California who successfully pushed for a ban on single-use plastic bags have expanded their fight against plastic waste, targeting straws and bottle caps and calling on the state to increase the amount of recycled material in plastic water and soda bottles.

Voters OK’d $2.7 billion for new reservoirs. Critics say California won’t spend it

Sacramento Bee

It’s a tantalizing pot of money, $2.7 billion for new dams and reservoirs approved by California voters during the worst of the drought. But is the state willing to spend it?

Roadshow: Second try at gas tax repeal underway

The Mercury News

While the first repeal attempt failed to garner enough signatures to make it onto the ballot, a second attempt is underway, backed by many Republican legislators in Southern California. It’s too early to predict if it will get enough signatures to make it on the November ballot.

Coffee might soon come with cancer warning label in California

The Mercury News

Step away from that soy latte. Cancel that cold brew. After decades of conflicting information over whether or not coffee was good or bad for you, your morning cup of joe may now come with a cancer warning in California. 

California failing its youngest and poorest children, study says

The Mercury News

California is failing to get most of its youngest residents off to a healthy, productive start, according to a report released Thursday, and is particularly falling short in serving kids from low-income families. The findings underscore the impact of growing income inequality amid a booming economy in the Golden State.

Land acquisition delays have paralyzed high-speed rail contractor, lawsuit alleges

Los Angeles Times

The California bullet train project is supposed to be an economic engine for small business in the Central Valley, but one woman-owned construction firm is alleging in a suit that the project has paralyzed her company.

See also:

·       Walters: Bullet train finances need a vigorous test  CALmatters

State Senate passes long-stalled whistle-blower protection for Capitol workers

San Francisco Chronicle

Republicans took a rare victory lap in the Senate chambers Thursday after lawmakers unanimously approved whistle-blower protections for legislative employees, many of whom have come forward in recent months to say they fear reporting sexual harassment and abuse because of retaliation.

Federal Right To Try Proposal Could Make California Law More Effective

Capital Public Radio News

President Donald Trump voiced support Tuesday night for a Right to Try policy, which could help terminally ill patients nationwide more easily access experimental drugs. California enacted a similar policy in 2017. It allows very sick patients to plea for experimental treatments directly from drug companies, instead of waiting for years for drugs to hit the market or asking the Food and Drug Administration for early access. 

California’s tax-avoidance scheme for the rich

The Hill

Remember the “Seinfeld” non-holiday called “Festivus?” In the episode, character George Costanza gives his work colleagues gift cards with donations in their names to a fake charity called “The Human Fund.”

Where’s the Republican Bench?

Fox and Hounds Daily

The Republican Party in California is fighting for relevance – “Dying at the box office,” as former Republican governor Arnold Schwarzenegger once put it—so you would expect an effort to be made to field known, credible candidates in all statewide races. But with little over a month to go to file for a constitutional, statewide office there are few recognizable Republicans vying for those posts. 

Disturbing news for GOPers

David Binder Research

California voters, by a whopping 55-28 percent margin, are more inclined to vote for generic Democratic candidates over Republicans in the next midterm election, according to a new poll from David Binder Research 

Activists Try to Recall Judge in Stanford Sex Attack Case. Some Say They’ve Gone Too Far.

New York Times

When a California judge sentenced a Stanford University swimmer found guilty of sexual assault to six months in jail, many saw the verdict as too lenient. Outrage spread across the country, particularly among those who felt it was the latest proof of a criminal justice system stacked against women who have been victims of sexual violence.

Unions give big to Thurmond, charter backers to Tuck in state superintendent campaign filing

EdSource

Marshall Tuck collected $2 million in donations in 2017 and Assemblyman Tony Thurmond received $1.4 million, according to year-end filings by the two presumptive candidates vying to become the next state superintendent of public instruction.

California cities say pension costs are high — and will get even higher in the next few years

LA Times

Citing limited options for raising local taxes, the association representing hundreds of California cities warned that rising public employee pension costs might mean fewer services and longer emergency response times over the next several years.

Federal Politics:

Rep. David Valadao again out-raises his 2018 Democratic opponent, in a district Clinton won

Los Angeles Times

Republican Rep. David Valadao of Hanford, Calif., raised 10 times as much as his Democratic opponent last quarter, despite representing a district that backed Hillary Clinton for president in 2016, and where Democrats have a voter registration advantage.

GOP alarm? Dem challengers outraise seven California House Republicans

The Mercury News

Democratic challengers outraised seven Republican members of Congress in California over the last three months of 2017, the latest sign of a flood of support for Democrats as they try to take control of the House of Representatives in this year’s midterm elections.

The Last Two Weeks of Polls Have Been Great for Republicans. Do They Signal a Shift?

The New York Times

Last month it seemed that Democrats might ride a giant tsunami to control of the House and Senate. Now, some are wondering whether there’s a Democratic wave at all. The Democratic advantage on the generic congressional ballot, which asks people whether they’ll vote for Democrats or Republicans for Congress, has dwindled since the heart of the tax debate in December. Then, nearly all surveysput Republicans behind by double digits. Now, poll averages put the Democratic lead at only around six or seven percentage points.

The Democrats Stumble with White Voters

Fox&Hounds

Are Democrats becoming an anti-white people party? One could certainly conclude that watching the Democratic response to President Trump’s immigration plan that provides a very generous path to citizenship to the Dreamers but at the cost of sharply reducing legal immigration. 

Fact Check: Democratic Responses to Trump’s State of the Union

The New York Times

Democrats offered five separate responses to President Trump’s State of the Union address, differing in content and tone but united in their disapproval of Mr. Trump. Representative Joseph P. Kennedy III of Massachusetts gave the official Democratic rebuttal on Tuesday night, in which he portrayed Mr. Trump as a divisive figure. Elizabeth Guzman, a delegate in Virginia’s State Assembly,delivered another Democratic Party response in Spanish.

Brookings experts on Trump’s first State of the Union

Brookings

President Donald Trump delivered his first State of the Union address to Congress on January 30, 2018. In the speech, the president highlighted his administration’s accomplishments over its first year, and emphasized its policy priorities. These include infrastructure investment, immigration changes, and confronting the challenge of North Korea. 

MADDY INSTITUTE PUBLIC POLICY PROGRAMMING  

Sunday, February 4, at 5 p.m. on ABC 30 – Maddy ReportGov’s Twin Tunnels Project:  Planning Snafus?​ – Guest: State Auditor Elaine Howle. Host: Maddy Institute Executive Director, Mark Keppler.

Sunday, February 4, at 10 a.m. on Newstalk 580AM/105.9FM (KMJ) –Maddy Report: Is There a ‘Water Fix’ for the Valley?” – Guests: State Auditor Elaine Howle and Ellen Hanak, Director – Water Policy Center – PPIC. Host: Maddy Institute Executive Director, Mark Keppler. 

Sunday, February 4, at 7:30 a.m. on UniMas 61 (KTTF) – Informe Maddy:Gov’s Twin Tunnels Project:  Planning Snafus?  Guest: Margarita Fernandez, PIO State Auditor’s Office. Host: Maddy Institute Program Coordinator, Maria Jeans.

Support the Maddy Daily

HERE.

Thank you!

 

Topics in More Detail…

AGRICULTURE/FOOD 

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

Crime:

California’s mentally ill inmate population keeps growing. And state money isn’t enough to meet needs, lawmaker says

Los Angeles Times

Gov. Jerry Brown has earmarked $117 million in his new state budget to expand the number of treatment beds and mental health programs for more than 800 mentally ill inmates found incompetent to stand trial.

California prosecutors dropping, reducing pot convictions

Fresno Bee

With pot now legal in California, prosecutors in San Francisco and San Diego are moving to erase thousands of marijuana convictions en masse, a step that could prove life-changing for some and could especially help minorities, who were more likely than whites to be arrested for such crimes.

See also:

·       Cities, states work to clear marijuana convictions, calling it a states’ rights issue  Washington Post

Public Safety:

Hall Ambulance violated county response time standards in much of 2017

The Bakersfield Californian

Hall Ambulance’s seemingly unassailable, exclusive grip on ambulance service in western Kern County has been shaken by a dramatic report from the Kern County Public Health Services Department. 

Sacramento erased crosswalk two months before woman, child were struck by hit-and-run driver

Sacramento Bee

Pedestrian advocates and residents are asking why Sacramento recently removed crosswalk markings from the intersection where an older woman and young boy were critically injured Wednesday.

ECONOMY / JOBS

The economy added 200,000 jobs in January

Washington Post

The economy added 200,000 jobs in January as the unemployment rate stayed at 4.1 percent, federal economists reported Friday. Analysts had predicted job additions of about 180,000 jobs last month.

See also:

·       5 things to know before the January jobs report  CNN

·       Job growth accelerates in January POLITICO

·       The black unemployment rate spiked in January, muddling Trump’s message  The Washington Post

California lost 9,000 business HQs and expansions, mostly to Texas, seven-year study says

Dallas Business Journal

Roughly 9,000 California companies moved their headquarters or diverted projects to out-of-state locations in the last seven years, and Dallas-Fort Worth has been a prime beneficiary of the Golden State’s “hostile” business environment. That’s the conclusion of study by Joseph Vranich, a site selection consultant and president of Irvine, California-based Spectrum Location Solutions. 

Doctors don’t just heal the sick. They create jobs

Sacramento Bee

During some of the worst wildfires in California’s history, medical professionals stepped up to provide aid to neighbors and strangers, alike. The incredible response is a testament to our collective strength. Heroes include Michael Witt, who risked personal safety to help evacuate babies from Sutter Santa Rosa Regional Hospital, and the staff at Kaiser Santa Rosa who helped evacuate patients attached to IVs as flames threatened the hospital.

Report: Labor Department hiding unfavorable report on impacts of tip-pooling rule

TheHill

The Department of Labor is reportedly hiding an unfavorable report on its proposal to pool workers tips. Bloomberg Law, citing current and former Labor Department sources, reported that department leaders scrubbed a report that showed employees could lose billions of dollars if it follows through on its plan to reverse the Obama-era ban on employers pooling workers’ tips.

Here is the truth about wages

Marketplace

When he delivered his first State of the Union speech on Tuesday, President Donald Trump pointed to growing wages as a sign of the strong state of the U.S. economy. However, while we are finally starting to see some signs that wages are going up, many workers are still not seeing the effect on their paychecks.

EDUCATION

K-12:

BCSD hires two school resource officers as it combats chronic truancy

The Bakersfield Californian

Taking aim at high rates of chronic absenteeism in its schools, Bakersfield City School District brokered a partnership with Bakersfield Police Department to assign two full-time officers to work with at-risk students, the organizations announced Thursday. 

Take a book, leave a book in The Book Bin

The Bakersfield Californian

One Tulare girl’s dream of getting more books into the hands of students is coming true — thanks in part to Disney and a few local grocery stores.

Getting to know BCSD’s trustee candidates: Rupert Gregorio

The Bakersfield Californian

Residents throughout central Bakersfield will choose among four candidates in an April 10 special election to determine who will help lead Bakersfield City School District — the state’s largest elementary school district. 

All California schools built before 2010 must be tested for lead in water

EdSource

The water supply to all schools in California built before 2010 must be tested to ensure it does not have high levels of lead, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson declared in a message to all school districts.

Higher Ed:

Don’t turn campus health centers into abortion clinics

Sacramento Bee

Senate Bill 320 will require University of California and California State University campus student health centers to become abortion clinics by forcing them to distribute chemical abortion pills, intended to end human life as long as ten weeks into pregnancy.

ENVIRONMENT/ ENERGY

Environment:

New California legislation would make it easier to build projects that meet climate goals. But environmentalists don’t like it

Los Angeles Times

A Bay Area lawmaker wants to knock down what he believes is a key barrier to California meeting its ambitious climate change goals: one of the state’s most prominent environmental laws. Assemblyman Tim Grayson (D-Concord) has introduced legislation that aims to make it harder for lawsuits filed under the California Environmental Quality Act, or CEQA, to stop construction of roads and public transit.

Trump administration takes aim at California desert protection plan

Los Angeles Times

The Trump administration is threatening to scrap a major Obama-era agreement that sought to protect millions of acres of the California desert by placing sensitive areas off-limits to major solar- and wind-energy installations.

See Also:

·       Trump plan could undo preservation of millions of acres of California desert for renewable energy development OCRegister

Energy:

California Could See the Return of $4 Gasoline by May

Bloomberg

Gasoline, which is currently averaging $3.30 a gallon in California, may reach $4 by Memorial Day.  It would be the first time the state has seen $4 gasoline since July 2014 

HEALTH/HUMAN SERVICES

Health:

 Flu cases crowding emergency rooms, affecting attendance at schools

The Bakersfield Californian

The message is mixed — or maybe the jury is still out. But the deeper you look, the more it appears Bakersfield is in the midst of one of its worst flu seasons in years. Adventist Health, a hospital in downtown Bakersfield, saw more cases of flu in its emergency room in January than it saw throughout the entire flu season last year.

Organizations urge vaccinations due to dog flu outbreak in state

The Bakersfield Californian

People aren’t the only ones facing a flu epidemic, which has already killed one person in Kern County. Our furry friends are in danger of getting the flu too.

Does Coffee Cause Cancer? California Cuppas Could Soon Carry Warning

Newsweek

Acrylamide is created when coffee beans are roasted, according to the American Cancer Society website. The International Agency For Research on Cancer has classified the white odourless chemical a “probable human carcinogen.”

Human Services: 

SNAP Linked to Better Health Throughout Life, Benefits for All Age Groups

Center on Budget and Policy Priorities

We’ve discussed why food insecurity (lack of access to sufficient food) is linked to poor health and higher health costs — and how SNAP (formerly food stamps) reduces food insecurity and therefore may provide a path to better health. What’s more, those health benefits may last a lifetime: children receiving SNAP benefits early tend to have fewer obstacles to physical and mental development; adult recipients report better health; and seniors are less likely to cut back on medications due to cost, our new paper shows.

The foster care system was unprepared for the last drug epidemic—let’s not repeat history

Brookings

Indeed, foster parents are the child welfare system’s primary intervention for helping children. Unfortunately, current policies and practices do not adequately promote quality parenting in all foster care settings 

IMMIGRATION

US Immigration agency demands documents from dozens of Northern California employers

Sacramento Bee

Homeland Security agents this week hit dozens of Northern California businesses with a demand they turn over records proving employees are legally entitled to work, putting state employers in the middle of the escalating immigration battle between the state and the federal government.

See Also:

·       Federal agents demand documents from 77 Northern California businesses in immigration sweep Los Angeles Times

If Immigrants Are Pushed Out, Who Will Care for the Elderly?

New York Times

In Dallas, a 93-year-old is worried about the woman who, for years, has come to her house four days a week to help with shopping, laundry, housecleaning and driving. “She’s just a wonderful person, someone I feel I can trust completely,” said the older woman.

LAND USE/HOUSING

Land Use:

Demolition clears way for downtown apartments, commercial space

The Fresno Bee

A pair of Fulton Street buildings dating to the 1940s and ’50s are falling under the steel teeth of an excavator to make way for a four-story building that will eventually provide more than 50 apartments as well as ground-floor commercial space. A demolition crew began work Thursday taking down the side-by-side buildings at 835 and 829 Fulton St., north of Inyo Street. The site, along with an adjoining parking lot, is being cleared for the first phase of the South Stadium redevelopment project in the downtown neighborhood near Chukchansi Park.

See also:

·       Fulton Street renovations continue in 2018  ABC30

Rent in Fresno significantly increases over the last year

ABC30

Since 2017 rent in Fresno has increased, according to ApartmentList.com Chris Salviati, a housing economist with Apartment List, said over the last month it’s been steady. “Fresno is one of the few remaining affordable cities in California,” he said. However, over the last year rent is up 5.7%. “5.7% in Fresno is pretty fast paced and a rapid increase,” Salviati mentioned.

Boswell drops plans to build a new town in a scenic California valley

Fresno Bee

J.G. Boswell Co. is dropping plans to build the Yokohl Ranch project, a proposed planned community in scenic Yokohl Valley in the foothills east of Exeter, Tulare County officials said Thursday.

See also:

·       Boswell throws in towel on Yokohl Valley project Visalia Times-Delta

 

Visalia health clinic eyes Mooney Boulevard, faces critics

Visalia Times-Delta

While some say Visalia’s newest healthcare clinic is needed, others are wary of what it may bring to the area. Earlier this month, Visalia’s Planning Commission approved a request from Family HealthCare Network to start a new clinic near the Visalia Mall, taking over the former Dollar Tree.

Canadians love the California desert. Why not let them have it, eh?

Sacramento Bee

Let’s give the Coachella Valley to Canada. After all, Canadians already rule the desert in winter. Canadian snowbirds love Palm Springs because it’s a shorter flight than Maui and because it offers more culture – the international film festival, Modernism Week, the Coachella music festivals – than Phoenix.

 Housing: 

Some applaud Fresno camping ban. The homeless say it’s little more than pack, unpack, repeat

Fresno Bee

Cruel. That’s what 62-year-old Madison Allen called the city of Fresno’s Unhealthy and Hazardous Camping Act.  “’Round and ’round we go,” he said. “No matter where you go, you’re being run off.”

Housing shortage: New report shows how California cities and counties stack up

The Mercury News

Nearly all the cities and counties in California — 97.6 percent — are failing to approve the housing needed to keep pace with population growth and will be subject to a new law that aims to fast-track development, according to a report released by the state Thursday. 

California housing crisis podcast: The complicated relationship between environmentalists and housing

Los Angeles Times

Cars and trucks are the largest source of California’s greenhouse gas emissions. Essential to meeting the state’s ambitious climate change goals, academics and other researchers have said, is to reduce the number of cars on the road by building new homes in already populated areas near jobs and transit.

Hundreds of California cities and counties will have to make it easier to permit housing, state says

Los Angeles Times

Almost every city and county in California will have to streamline its rules for approving new housing following the passage of legislation last year, the state Department of Housing and Community Development said Thursday. 

PUBLIC FINANCES

The cost of healthcare for California government workers when they retire rises sharply to $91.5 billion

Los Angeles Times

 That’s a substantial increase from last year’s estimate, a result of changes in the way the total debt is calculated and changes in the projected cost of healthcare in the coming decades.

California cities say pension costs are high — and will get even higher in the next few years

LA Times

Citing limited options for raising local taxes, the association representing hundreds of California cities warned that rising public employee pension costs might mean fewer services and longer emergency response times over the next several years.

Economists warn of Trump deficit’s ‘dark trajectory’

Financial Times

TRANSPORTATION 

Here are five reasons we may soon be paying $4 a gallon for gas

The Mercury News

Californian owners of gas guzzlers, beware. We may soon be approaching $4 gasoline once again. It’s been nearly four years since motorists in the Golden State saw that high of a price for petrol, which peaked at four bucks a gallon in the summer of 2014. But now, at least according to some industry observers, those bad ol’ days may be back by Memorial Day.

Southern Californians are on a car-buying spree, and that’s cutting deeply into transit ridership, study says

Los Angeles Times

The vast majority of public transit agencies across Southern California, from modest municipal carriers to the West Coast’s largest bus system, have watched their ridership numbers fall off a cliff over the last five years. 

California wants more electric cars. The Trump administration doesn’t. Automakers are in the hot seat

Los Angeles Times

An intensifying clash between California and Washington over getting cleaner, more fuel-efficient vehicles on the road has put auto companies in a bind as they contemplate what cars they should be rolling onto showroom floors. 

Exclusive: How Tesla’s first truck charging stations will be built

Reuters

Elon Musk, the chief executive of Tesla Inc, has said little about how he plans to turn his prototype electric truck into reality. But Reuters has learned that Tesla is collaborating with Anheuser-Busch, PepsiCo and United Parcel Service Inc to build on-site charging terminals at their facilities as part of the automaker’s efforts to roll out the vehicle next year.

Walters: Bullet train finances need a vigorous test

CALmatters

Gov. Jerry Brown reappointed Elaine Howle as the state auditor last week. It was a wise move. Howle has served in that vital, if little known, position longer than anyone with fierce independence and dogged determination to bore deeply into state and local government operations.

WATER

Drought back in much of state; shortages in LA area severe

Fresno Bee

California is rapidly plunging back into drought, with severe conditions now existing in Santa Barbara, Ventura and Los Angeles counties – home to one-fourth of the state’s population, a national drought monitor said Thursday. The weekly report released by the U.S. Drought Monitor, a project of government agencies and other partners, also shows 44 percent of the state is now considered to be in a moderate drought. It’s a dramatic jump from just last week, when the figure was 13 percent.

See also:

·       Despite gains California’s snowpack still below average ABC30

·       Southern California’s brief escape from drought ends Fresno Bee

·       The Latest: Despite drought fears, idea of rain scares somThe Bakersfield Californian

·       With storms skipping state, nearly half of California is back in a drought San Francisco Chronicle

·       California Today: Hot Winter Means Snowpack Is Far Below Normal  New York Times

·       California Appears Headed Back To Drought  NPR

·       With no snow, this California ski resort owner wonders how long he can keep it open Fresno Bee

Voters OK’d $2.7 billion for new reservoirs. Critics say California won’t spend it

Sacramento Bee

It’s a tantalizing pot of money, $2.7 billion for new dams and reservoirs approved by California voters during the worst of the drought. But is the state willing to spend it?

See also:

·       No water bond funding for proposed Sites dam  San Francisco Chronicle

Rainwater collection systems would get boost under new California state ballot measure

The Mercury News

Worried about California’s dry winter? Interested in installing a rainwater capture system from your roof? A new state ballot measure written by an East Bay lawmaker and signed by Gov. Jerry Brown late Wednesday will put the issue before voters in four months. If voters approve Proposition 72 — which became the fifth statewide ballot measure to qualify for California’s June 5 primary election  — property owners who install rainwater capture systems won’t be required to have their property reassessed as the law now requires, saving them from paying higher property taxes.

New Suit Seeks Huge Damages for DWR ‘Recklessness’ at Oroville Dam

KQED

The California Department of Water Resources is facing a new and potentially very costly lawsuit over the failure of the spillways at Oroville Dam a year ago.

See also:

·       Businesses, farmers sue California over Oroville Dam crisis The Sacramento Bee

Fitzgerald: A ‘birth announcement’ on the San Joaquin River

Stockton Record

As long as salmon swim our rivers, The Age of Miracles is not over. So it is heartening to hear that salmon reproduced in the San Joaquin River for the first time in 60 years.