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​​ ​ TOP POLITICAL STORIES Local/Regional Politics: Brown budget covers courthouse projects in Modesto, Sonora Modesto Bee Gov. Jerry Brown’s proposed budget includes funding to finish the design work for Modesto’s new downtown courthouse as well as a plan to pay for building it and nine other court projects across the state, including a new Sonora courthouse. Modesto hires Marin County’s IT chief The Modesto Bee Modesto has hired Marin County’s top information technology manager to fill the same role here. Charlie Haase starts Jan. 9 as chief information officer, at a salary of $159,387. The city conducted a nationwide search that attracted 59 candidates, according to a Modesto news release. “Although we had a very competitive list of highly qualified candidates, Mr. Haase rose to the top,” interim City Manager Joe Lopez said in the release. Dyer forecasts rise in drug-related crime due to legalized marijuana The Fresno Bee Fresno police Chief Jerry Dyer Wednesday forecast a rise in drug-related crime in the city with the advent of legalized marijuana in the new year. The chief, speaking after a monthly review of crime statistics with his command staff, said more marijuana and more cash flowing from the sale of the weed will lead directly to ripoffs of both. A rental registry is Fresno’s newest weapon in the battle to wipe out housing blight Fresno Bee The city of Fresno on Wednesday launched its online rental housing registry and called on property owners and managers to sign up in a required first step to tackle substandard housing conditions. If Fresno City Hall red tape gets out of hand, builders should get fees back, councilman says Fresno Bee Fresno Councilman Garry Bredefeld announced Wednesday he wants the city to offer a “money-back guarantee” to builders whose projects are delayed by red tape. But he’s getting pushback from Mayor Lee Brand. The two would be rivals if Bredefeld runs for mayor in 2020. Fresno’s Fulton Street: New restaurants include Chicken Shack, Quail State, more The Fresno Bee Now that Fulton Street – closed to cars for more than 50 years – is reopened, people are waiting to see what new businesses appear there. There still are many vacancies and metal gates pulled across storefronts. But restaurants are among the first new businesses working on plans to open on Fulton Street. It might take a while – not all have signed leases yet – but there is plenty of prep work happening. Fresno gets low marks for STEM workers The Business Journal According to finance website WalletHub, Fresno is one of the lowest-scoring metro areas for workers in the science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) professions. The list looked at the 100 largest US metro areas and the data ranges from per-capita job openings for STEM graduates to wage growth and future demand. Fresno was ranked at No. 87 on the list with an overall score of 34.5. It was ranked at No. 98, 56 and 84 for professional opportunities, STEM friendliness and quality of life, respectively. Fresno County works to centralize its Social Services under one roof Abc30.com Each year 400,000 people visit 40 different Fresno County Department of Social Services Offices. They need assistance on everything from job training to child protective services. Fresno County Public Information Officer, Jordan Scott said, “Really trying to bring all of our social services in the county under one roof. It’s going to be a lengthy transition process.” Locals in Madera urge investigation into city financesMadera Tribune Concerned by recent decisions reportedly made by Mayor Andy Medellin and passed with little public or council discussion, some residents, including a major developer, are calling for an independent investigation into city funds and salaries, and also a review of Medellin’s recent decision to appoint former Chief of Police Steve Frazier as interim city administrator, after the abrupt departure in mid-December of David Tooley, who held the administrator post for some 25 years. Sheriff Youngblood will run for fourth term in office The Bakersfield Californian Kern County Sheriff Donny Youngblood will run for another term in office. Youngblood, 67, first won election as a retired sheriff’s commander in 2006 and has served as Kern County’s conservative, straight-talking top law enforcement officer since then. “I am running again,” Youngblood said Wednesday. Why? “There’s just still a lot to do,” he said. County workers ignored call-out to help with black-ice mess that stranded 64 vehicles The Bakersfield Californian A messy cocktail of ice, cars and county contract concerns snarled the curvy mountain route into Pine Mountain Club in late December and, on Tuesday, put Kern County’s Public Works director on the spot. City Council approves ShotSpotter contract, funding The Bakersfield Californian The Bakersfield Police Department has the green light to move forward with implementation of the gunshot-detecting ShotSpotter system. Stockton City Council Votes To Go Ahead With Advance Peace Program Capital Public Radio Stockton has adopted a controversial plan to reduce gun violence by paying those most likely to commit gun related crimes. The City Council voted to try the Advance Peace program over the next four years. Advance Peace goes out into the community, identifies those most likely to be a suspect or a victim, and mentors them. A new trend in statewide migration: Californians ditching coastal cities and moving inland Sacramento Bee California Gov. Jerry Brown refused invitations to criticize President Donald Trump. Brown wasn’t much interested in talking about who he hopes to replace him next year, either. State Politics: Gov. Jerry Brown releases 2018-19 CA budget The Fresno Bee n his 16th and final year as governor, Jerry Brown is using a surplus to stash away billions of dollars in reserves that would help his successor weather a recession while boosting some of his signature programs. He’s proposed a $190.3 billion spending plan on Wednesday that accelerates funding for his 2013 education law and uses new gas tax revenue to fund $4.6 billion in new transportation projects. See also: ·       Brown’s final budget plan proposes $132 billion in spendingSacramento Bee ·       Gov. Jerry Brown proposes $131.7 billion state budget amid sizable surplus  The Mercury News ·       Myers: California lawmakers have a $190.3-billion state budget plan to consider. Here’s some of what it would pay for  Los Angeles Times ·       Downplaying the threat of repeal, Brown offers spending plan for $4.6 billion in new gas taxes and fees Los Angeles Times ·       In His Final California Budget, Gov. Brown Boosts Education, Rainy Day Funds capradio.org ·       Jerry Brown unveils record $132 billion California budget for 2018-19 San Francisco Chronicle ·       Rapid response: What they’re saying about Jerry Brown’s California budget Sacramento Bee ·       California Today: Jerry Brown Warns of Recession and Reveals His Final Budget  New York Times ·       Gov. Jerry Brown proposes topping off California’s rainy-day fund in his new state budget Los Angeles Times ·       Jerry Brown offers tight-fisted 2018 budget The Sacramento Bee ·       Republican Sen. Leader Bates Comments on Governor’s Budget Plan Cal Channel ·       Statement From California Budget & Policy Center on the Governor’s Proposed Budget California Budget and Policy Center ·       CBRT Issues Statement in Response to Governor Brown’s FY 2018-19 Budget Proposal California Business Roundtable ·       Skelton: In his final state budget, Gov. Jerry Brown is tying up loose ends for his successor — and protecting his rear  Los Angeles Times ·       Walters: Brown’s final budget reflects cautious approachCALmatters ·       Jerry Brown’s Legacy: A $6.1 Billion Budget Surplus in CaliforniaWSJ ·       California Today: Jerry Brown Warns of Recession and Reveals His Final Budget The New York Times ·       Once More, With Feeling: Brown Again Urges Fiscal Prudence In Final Budget Proposal capradio.org ·       Jerry Brown warns candidates about spending, raising taxes The Sacramento Bee  California’s effort to dodge President Trump’s tax plan faces political and practical challenges Los Angeles Times A complex proposal to help Californians evade a provision in President Trump’s federal tax plan faces key questions even as its author is working toward the bill’s speedy passage: How much would the plan ease Californians’ new tax burdens, and would the Trump administration let it happen? Is Tony Mendoza really gone? Lawmaker works on bills at Capitol while on leave Sacramento Bee Despite taking a leave of absence while under investigation for sexual harassment, Sen. Tony Mendoza returned this week to his Capitol office and attended a Sacramento event hosted by an interest group The re-education of Patty Lopez: Capitol’s sexual harassment scandal gives her a second chance CALmatters Patty Lopez came to Sacramento in 2014 as a complete outsider, disconnected from the political machinery that helps most people win election to the California Legislature Jerry Brown to Trump: Give California coasts the same courtesy you gave Florida’s Sacramento Bee Gov. Jerry Brown on Wednesday said California plans to ask for an exemption from the Trump administration’s proposed expansion of off-shore oil-drilling, seeking the same exception that the White House gave to Florida from a controversial plan that upset residents of coastal states. Los Angeles Times Republican candidate for governor Doug Ose, a former three-term congressman from the Sacramento area, criticized USC for excluding him from a candidate town hall being held on the campus Saturday. Brock Turner case: Campaign turns in 100000 signatures to put judge’s recall on June ballot The Mercury News The campaign to recall Judge Aaron Persky for giving a former Stanford athlete convicted of sexual assault a relatively lenient sentence — six months in jail plus having to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.– has collected nearly 100,000 signatures, 70 percent more than necessary, recall organizers say. The re-education of Patty Lopez: Capitol’s sexual harassment scandal gives her a second chance CALmatters Patty Lopez came to Sacramento in 2014 as a complete outsider, disconnected from the political machinery that helps most people win election to the California Legislature. Los Angeles Times Gov. Jerry Brown estimated Wednesday that the state will receive $643 million from excise taxes on marijuana during the first full year of legalization in California, much more than the cost to the state of issuing licenses and enforcing new rules. Brown’s estimates are contained in the budget he proposed for the fiscal year beginning July 1, and fall short of some past state projections that legalized cannabis could eventually bring $1 billion annually to the state’s coffers. This year, with only six months of taxing, the budget estimates $175 million in pot taxes. Walters: California races likely will pit Democrat vs. Democrat The Mercury News Billionaire environmentalist Tom Steyer and former Republican Congressman Doug Ose are polar opposites politically, but have jointly altered dynamics of this year’s California elections. After Year of Resistance, California Faces Huuuge Trump Assault Santa Barbara Independent In 2017, California’s Democratic leaders and lefty activists brandished fierce rhetoric and staged large protests to proclaim all-out resistance to the person and policies of Donald Trump. In 2018, the 46 percent 45th president has responded with his favorite weapon: the counterpunch, vicious and hard. In the first days of the year, the administration battered California on multiple fronts, putting Sacramento in a defensive crouch and scrambling for unorthodox legislative and aggressive legal strategies to fight back. Public Policy Institute of California Major change at the federal level and increasing pressure from demographic and economic forces are pushing California into uncharted territory. Wide-ranging critical issues—our environment, our health care, the future of our immigrant populations—are prompting state leaders to rethink California’s role in national and global communities. Federal Politics: Trump gives Feinstein a re-election gift Sacramento Bee Sen. Dianne Feinstein is the newest target of President Trump’s Twitter rage, and it couldn’t be better news for the California Democrat. See also: ·       Californians have mixed views of Robert Mueller – but really don’t like Donald Trump, new poll finds  OCRegister ·       Fact Check: Trump’s Dossier Tweet Full of Dubious Claims  Roll Call To Grease Wheels of Congress, Trump Suggests Bringing Back Pork New York Times Remember the infamous “Bridge to Nowhere”? The Montana Sheep Institute or the now-shuttered North Carolina teapot hall of fame? Congress years ago eliminated funding for these types of pet projects, known as earmarks, after they became derided as government boondoggles, largess and a pathway to corruption. President Trump now wants to bring them back.  Jerry Brown wants Florida off-shore oil drilling exemption The Sacramento Bee Gov. Jerry Brown on Wednesday said California plans to ask for an exemption from the Trump administration’s proposed expansion of off-shore oil-drilling, seeking the same exception that the White House gave to Florida from a controversial plan that upset residents of coastal states. Trump’s Interior Department last week released a plan to open more shorelines to oil and gas drilling, including proposing six new leases for drilling platforms off the California coast. The Trump administration cast the proposal as an effort to boost energy security. CBO Says Funding CHIP Actually Saves Gov’t Billions. So What’s The Holdup? Talking Points Memo It has now been more than 100 days since the Republican-controlled Congress allowed funding for the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) to lapse, and despite several infusions of stopgap funding from both Capitol Hill and the Department of Health and Human Services, states could run out of money as early as next week. By March, according to a new report from Georgetown University,nearly half of all states will exhaust all of their federal funding. The program covers nearly 9 million children and pregnant women across the country. Issa, Royce retirements set off political scramble in California The Sacramento Bee In the past 72 hours, two of California’s longest-serving Republicans in Congress announced they are not seeking reelection this fall, scrambling state politics and dealing a blow to their party’s chances of hanging onto the majority in the U.S. House of Representatives. Nine-term Rep. Darrell Issa, of San Diego County, became the latest incumbent to announce his retirement Wednesday morning, issuing a statement that thanked his constituents and promised to “continue advocating on behalf of the causes that are most important to me, advancing public policy where I believe I can make a true and lasting difference. See also: ·       California GOP Rep. Darrell Issa will retire CNBC ·       Rash of retirements dim GOP hopes of keeping the HousePOLITICO ·       GOP retirements boost Democrats’ hopes of taking targeted House seats in California Sacramento Bee ·       More GOP candidates rush into congressional race after Rep. Royce’s announcement Orange County Register ·       Inside the House Republican Brain Drain Roll Call DACA injunction adds to limbo for ‘dreamers’ as Trump crackdown, Hill talks continue Washington Post The Trump administration vowed Wednesday to fight a federal injunction that temporarily blocked its plans to rescind work permits for young undocumented immigrants, insisting that Congress must find a solution for those known as “dreamers.” See also: ·       DACA reinstatement throws lawmakers for a loop Politico ·       DACA Deal — Republicans’ Immigration Deal Must Win Concessions  National Review ·       Judge Orders Renewal of DACA Applications  The AtlanticCalifornia attorney general lauds DACA ruling Los Angeles Times ·       A wall-for-Dreamers deal is dividing Democrat  The Boston Globe ·       Trump: Border wall with Mexico must be part of any DACA dealUSA Today ·       Here are the key players in Congress on immigration  CNN The motivation behind Trump’s immigration policy Brookings Dany Bahar, David M. Rubenstein Fellow in the Global Economy and Developmentprogram, discusses the Trump administration’s decision not to extend immigration protections for El Salvadorian immigrants in the United States, their earlier decision to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival Program (DACA), and their other efforts to curtail immigration. Bahar explains the legal and economic aspects of immigration policy and argues that immigration has a positive impact on the U.S. economy. The GOP Needs a Down Payment on Deficit Reduction RealClearPolicy The recently enacted tax bill is an important component of the Republican effort to boost economic growth and wages. The Joint Committee on Taxation has confirmed that the legislation will increase GDP by about 0.7 percent over the coming decade. The legislation would expand employment by the equivalent of 900,000 new full-time jobs. Other: Swimmers back home after chlorine accident Fresno Bee All of the Fresno Pacific swimmers who were hospitalized after an accident involving chlorine have been medically cleared and released, according to a follow-up statement Wednesday from the university. Death toll rises to 17 in Montecito; 100 homes destroyed by mudslides Los Angeles Times The death toll from massive debris flows that buried homes and cars under a torrent of mud and boulders rose to 17 in Montecito, where local personnel and the U.S. Coast Guard continued rescue operations Wednesday afternoon. MADDY INSTITUTE PUBLIC POLICY PROGRAMMING   Sunday, January 14, at 10 a.m. on ABC 30 – Maddy Report: Candidate for Governor: Delaine Eastin​ – Guest: Delaine Eastin. Host: Maddy Institute Executive Director, Mark Keppler. Sunday, January 14, at 10 a.m. on Newstalk 580AM/105.9FM (KMJ) –Maddy Report: “Gubernatorial Candidate Delaine Eastin & The Price of Education” – Guests: Delaine Eastin and Judy Lin, CalMatters Reporter. Host: Maddy Institute Executive Director, Mark Keppler.  Sunday, January 14, at 7:30 a.m. on UniMas 61 (KTTF) – Informe Maddy:“Opportunities for New Businesses in the Valley – Guests: Dora Westerlund, CEO – The Fresno Area Hispanic Foundation; Yeru Olivares, CFO –  The Fresno Area Hispanic Foundation, Yolanda Garcia, Owner – YO’MAMMAS!; Robert Zapata, Opportunity Fund. Host: Maddy Institute Program Coordinator, Maria Jeans. Support the Maddy Daily HERE. Thank you!  Topics in More Detail…   EDITORIALS Denham can help Dreamers, if he wants to Modesto Bee Rep. Jeff Denham was on MSNBC Wednesday explaining his support for the Dreamers – those young people brought to the United States as children but who never became citizens. Trump targets Salvadoran immigrants. Here’s what Congress must do Fresno Bee With the Trump administration announcing Monday it wants to deport even more immigrants, Congress must come to the rescue. Forcing Salvadorans to return home after 20 years in the U.S. is both cruel and bad policyLos Angeles Times In a span of 30 days in 2001, El Salvador endured two devastating earthquakes, the first a magnitude 7.7 followed by a magnitude 6.6. Hillsides crumbled and swept away neighborhoods. Houses disintegrated. Roads buckled. In all, the two quakes killed 1,156 people and injured 8,122 more while destroying 150,000 houses and damaging another 185,000. It was a devastating $2.8 billion natural disaster. The George W. Bush administration responded with compassion, allowing more than 200,000 Salvadorans who happened at that moment to be in the U.S. (both legally and illegally) to remain and work here under what is known asTemporary Protected Status until El Salvador recovered sufficiently to let them return safely. GOP holds CHIP health care for kids hostage to other public health cuts The Mercury News Congress has become so embarrassingly dysfunctional that it can’t find a way to fund one of the most admired, fully bipartisan health care programs of the past 20 years: the Children’s Health Insurance Program, which provides basic coverage for 9 million kids, including 200,000 in the Bay Area. Gov. Brown sticks to his no-frills budget outlook San Francisco Chronicle Gov. Jerry Brown isn’t changing a winning act. His proposed budget, drenched in a $7 billion surplus, spends money sparingly, dumps dollars into a record rainy-day fund, and dodges big-ticket programs favored by his would-be successors. Jerry Brown offers a tight-fisted final budget. We may come to appreciate every centSacramento Bee Brown proposes a $13.5 billion rainy day fund. The next governor should appreciate that surplus, as other big issues loom.  We’re in the money, California! Now let’s not spend our budget surplus like drunken sailors Los Angeles Times When California Gov. Jerry Brown proposed the first state budget of his third term in 2011, it was a gloomy affair. The recession lingered over the nation’s economy like a nasty head cold, and California was $27 billion in the hole. Brown’s message at the time was, appropriately, one of belt tightening. How do you stop the GOP from destroying your coastal waters? Be a Republican, apparently Los Angeles Times Florida Gov. Rick Scott seems to have found the secret to getting the Trumpadministration to undo a stupid and dangerous policy: just ask. But it apparently helps that the person asking is a Republican contemplating a run for the U.S. Senate against a Democratic incumbent, and the change in policy spared him from having to run with an oil-stained albatross wrapped around his neck. Editorial: Trump’s offshore-drilling plan is riggedSan Francisco Chronicle The Trump administration’s threat to encircle the nation with a necklace of offshore oil rigs was conspicuously short on rationale to begin with in an era of plentiful energy and gathering environmental risk. Now its own authors have robbed it of any remaining shred of coherence. Put some blinders on the feds’ prying eyes Los Angeles Times The House faces a crucial choice Thursday over how to extend a program that is credited with disrupting terrorist plots but also has taken a toll on Americans’ privacy. Another ag co will relocate to make room for HSR Hanford Sentinel Fumigant supplier Trical Inc. is in the process of replacing its main shop building on Hanford Armona Road on its 13-acre parcel in order to make room for high speed rail. Riverbank welcomes weed dispensary No. 2 Modesto Bee Despite passionate objections from people worried about problems from commercial marijuana, city leaders this week approved a second dispensary.  Sacramento dispensaries say pot legalization has led to supply shortages The Sacramento Bee Less than two weeks after recreational pot sales became legal in California, some of Sacramento’s dispensaries already are complaining about supply problems. As Sessions targets legal marijuana, former California AG launches cannabis company OCRegister While the nation’s attorney general is calling for a crackdown on legal marijuana, a former California Attorney General is launching his own marijuana distribution business. Pot 101: Facts you should know about California’s legal marijuana PolitiFact California Recreational marijuana sales became legal in California on Jan. 1, 2018, marking a major milestone for the state’s cannabis industry and its many customers.Proposition 64, the voter-approved lawthat governs recreational pot in the Golden State, however, doesn’t offer the complete freedom to buy, grow and smoke marijuana just anywhere you please. CRIMINAL JUSTICE​ ​/​ ​FIRE​ ​/​ ​PUBLIC SAFETY Crime: Fresno police Chief Dyer predicts rise in drug violence with legal marijuana Fresno Bee Fresno police Chief Jerry Dyer Wednesday forecast a rise in drug-related crime in the city with the advent of legalized marijuana in the new year. Public Safety: Approval granted on request to find bids for sheriff’s department’s plane equipment Visalia Times-Delta Tulare County Supervisor Kuyler Crocker wants to keep track of the money spent on the sheriff’s department’s aviation program. CDCR uses technology for court appearances to benefit public safety The Bakersfield Californian D. Arzate, a convicted murderer serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole, has a history of aggression in prison, but his appearance in Kern County Prison Court added little tension to arraignment proceedings Oct. 16. It helps that the Pelican Bay State Prison inmate never stepped outside the facility’s secure perimeter, 600 miles away in Crescent City. SJPD puts use-of-force data online in pioneering move The Mercury News For the first time in a decade, the San Jose Police Department is giving its community access to a trove of data about use of force, but now through a new web portal its inviting residents to do their own research of the violent encounters that have spurred reform movements across the country. Residents didn’t heed voluntary evacuation before mudslide AP Residents of the area hit the hardest by the deadly flash floods in Southern California didn’t heed a voluntary evacuation. In Montecito, California, the vast majority of people under mandatory and voluntary evacuation orders early Tuesday stayed in their homes, 400 of which were either destroyed or damaged. At least 17 people died. See Also: Sudden, unstoppable and deadly: Mudslides bring destruction with nowhere to hide Los Angeles Times ·       Emergency cellphone alerts didn’t go out until after mudslides began in Montecito  Los Angeles Times  Fire: How proposed insurance legislation protects homeowners The San Diego Union-Tribune California is blessed by our environment and cursed by it. In the Golden State, natural beauty and natural disaster are never far apart. We learned that lesson again in 2017, when wildfires tore through cities and towns, left 47 dead, including a Southern California firefighter, and destroyed more than 10,000 homes across the state. When You’ve Seen Fire and You’ve Seen Rain, Expect Mudslides New York Times If, as some scientists think, climate change may make for more frequent severe wildfire seasons in California, it may lead to more deadly mudslides as well. That’s because in California, as in other fire-prone regions, fires and mudslides are inextricably linked. ECONOMY / JOBS Economy: Hair ties for guys on Shark Tank The Fresno Bee Two former Fresno State students, who are making a career out of their long flowing locks, will be on ABC’s Shark Tank in hopes of attracting investors for their men’s hair care company. Chris Healy and Lindsay Barto are owners of The Longhairs, a San Diego-based company they founded in 2015. The company makes hair ties and other accessories for “aspiring longhairs and guys with majestic flow.” Plan to retire with $1M? See how far study says that will get you in Modesto. Modesto Bee Looking to live in Modesto for nearly 25 years after retirement? If you’ve got a $1 million nest egg, you’re good to go, a new study finds. The study, by financial technology company SmartAsset, factored in expenses for housing, food, health care, utilities and more, to determine where $1 million lasts the longest. Report: Cost of living sinks many Californians into poverty, but not in Kern County The Bakersfield Californian If you’re poor, it’s better to be destitute in the Central Valley. That’s one of the takeaways of a new report published this month by the California Public Policy Institute, a nonprofit San Francisco-based think tank, and the Stanford University Center on Poverty. The groups re-evaluated the U.S. Census Bureau’s poverty measures to take into account a full range of expenses, including housing costs, food stamps and non-cash benefits. Based on the new index, the report found that it’s cheaper for the poor to live in Kern County than anywhere else statewide. The new tax plan could mean growth but if not, “then there’s a problem” Marketplace In record time, Congress has passed the first major tax reform bill since 1986. So now what? In this Marketplace series, we talk to business owners, economists and families about how they see their futures under the new tax system, while answering listener questions along the way. You can find those stories and more of our tax coverage here. Tax Reform Will Pay Growth Dividends WSJ The recently enacted tax package promises to raise economic growth substantially over the short and long run. In a November letter to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, eight other economists and I argued that the bill’s corporate tax provisions would increase business investment and expand the economy. But what about the changes to the individual tax code? Financial Instability, Debt and the American Dream WSJ 28% of non-retired adults have no retirement savings at all. Jobs: What state has the lowest rate of workplace fatalities? California’s rank may surprise you! The Mercury News California had the fourth lowest rate of workplace fatalities in the nation in 2015-16, federal stats show. California had 376 people die on the job in 2016, down 12 from 2015, according to the latest statistics from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Wal-Mart Raises Hourly Wage to $11 in Wake of Tax Overhaul Bloomberg Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is boosting its starting hourly wage to $11 and delivering bonuses to employees, capitalizing on the U.S. tax overhaul to stay competitive in a tightening labor market. The increase takes effect next month and will cost $300 million on top of annual wage hikes that were already planned, the world’s largest retailer said Thursday. The one-time bonus of up to $1,000 is based on seniority and will amount to an additional $400 million. The company is also expanding its maternity and parental leave policy and adding an adoption benefit. Trump appointee may give McDonald’s a break in landmark labor case CNN The Trump administration is moving to undo the actions of former President Obama on almost every front, and now it’s happening with breathtaking speed at an agency charged with protecting worker rights.Starting last month, after a 3-2 majority of Republican appointees were confirmed, the National Labor Relations Board reversed four Obama-era decisions and one from the Bush years that bolstered protections for workers. EDUCATION K-12: State flunks in try to rank its schoolsMadera Tribune If the state wanted to tell parents how their children’s schools are performing in clear and certain terms, it missed the mark with its “Dashboard,” a new report card recently released by the California State Department of Education. Gov. Brown proposes California’s first fully online public community college EdSource Gov. Jerry Brown wants California to launch its first fully online public community college to help 2.5 million young adults without college credentials gain skills for better jobs and greater economic mobility. Gov. Brown proposes ambitious education agenda in his final state budget EdSource Even while again predicting an economic recession just around the corner, Gov. Jerry Brown is proposing to leave office with a burst of education spending. OCRegister One lens into California’s size is its public education system. Six million children under the age of 18 attend public schools — including 600,000 in charter schools — while nearly 3 million students are enrolled in the state’s storied higher education system, which is still struggling to recover from decades of underfunding. The largest teachers union has 325,000 members. Higher Ed: California launching online community college in fall 2019 The Fresno Bee California will launch a new community college completely online next year, under a $100 million initiative included in Gov. Jerry Brown’s latest budget proposal. The online college will target working adults without a higher education degree, offering short courses and certificate programs based on skills that employers are looking for and students need for career advancement. In his budget press conference Wednesday, Brown called it an “opportunity to improve their lives.” Gov. Brown proposes California’s first fully online public community college Los Angeles Times Gov. Jerry Brown wants California to launch its first fully online public community college to help 2.5 million young adults without college credentials gain skills for better jobs and greater economic mobility. ENVIRONMENT/ ENERGY California’s climate fight gets harder soon, and the big culprit is cars CALmatters By most measures, California has earned the right to brag about how much it has cleaned up its environmental act. The air in much of smog-shrouded Southern California has been scrubbed. A passenger car for sale here today is 99 percent cleaner than one on offer in the early 1970s. The fossil fuels required to power the state’s economic engine have decreased by a third since their peak in 2001, while economic activity has expanded in that time by an equal measure. Cold Facts on the Globe’s Hottest Years FactCheck.org Sen. James Inhofe misleadingly claimed that the statistics behind the globe’s likely hottest years on record — 2014, 2015 and 2016 — were “meaningless” because the temperature increases were “well within the margin of error.” Taking into account the margins of error, there’s still a long-term warming trend. A Coal Executive’s “Action Plan” For Trump Is Made Public: War on the EPA FRONTLINE – PBS As early as his 2016 election campaign, Donald Trump has been a vocal advocate for the coal industry. As a candidate and now as president, he’s promised to slash regulations he says cost miners their jobs, and forged political alliances with leaders across the industry. HEALTH/HUMAN SERVICES Health: Need to lose weight but not sure where to start? We talked with a registered dietitian. The Fresno Bee Fresno Bee health reporter Barbara Anderson chats with Kim Tirapelle, a registered dietitian at Kaiser Permanente Thrive in Fresno, on how to lose weight and keep it off. This video first appeared Wednesday on The Fresno Bee’s Facebook page @fresnobee. Flu vaccine won’t give you the flu, despite repeated claims Hanford Sentinel Dear Doctor: What is in the flu vaccine that makes people feel so bad? A co-worker of mine got a flu shot last year and wound up feeling quite ill. Can a flu shot give you the flu? Governor Brown’s Proposed Budget Has Only Modest Boost For Health Care KPBS Despite a projected $6.1 billion surplus, Governor Jerry Brown’s proposed budget calls for only a modest increase in heath care spending. The proposal contains $233 million for larger payments to doctors and dentists who treat Medi-Cal patients. It also uses revenue from California’s recently-increased tobacco tax to boost pay for home-health providers. Trump declared an opioids emergency. Then nothing changed. Politico President Donald Trump in October promised to “liberate” Americans from the “scourge of addiction,” officially declaring a 90-day public health emergency that would urgently mobilize the federal government to tackle the opioid epidemic. That declaration runs out on Jan. 23, and beyond drawing more attention to the crisis, virtually nothing of consequence has been done. CBO Says Funding CHIP Actually Saves Gov’t Billions. So What’s The Holdup? Talking Points Memo It has now been more than 100 days since the Republican-controlled Congress allowed funding for the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) to lapse, and despite several infusions of stopgap funding from both Capitol Hill and the Department of Health and Human Services, states could run out of money as early as next week. By March, according to a new report from Georgetown University,nearly half of all states will exhaust all of their federal funding. The program covers nearly 9 million children and pregnant women across the country. HHS Will Let States Require People To Work For Medicaid NPR The Trump administration is encouraging states to require “able-bodied” Medicaid recipients to work or volunteer in order to keep their health insurance coverage. On Thursday, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which is part of the Department of Health and Human Services, issued new guidelines for states that want some adults to work in exchange for the health insurance coverage. See also: ·       Trump administration ends registry for substance abuse, mental health programs  TheHill ·       Millions of Medicaid recipients already work CNN  Distrusting China’s medical system, patients turn to US doctors online Los Angeles Times The doctor told Renee Gao’s parents that the tumor in their teenager’s chest wasn’t disappearing. The girl would need a costly operation that could leave her sterile — if she survived.Then he ushered them out. IMMIGRATION For stories on “DACA” and immigration, See: “Top Stories – Federal Politics,” above LAND USE/HOUSING Land Use: A new trend in statewide migration: Californians ditching coastal cities and moving inland San Francisco Chronicle Researchers have uncovered a surprising trend in California migration: The populations of inland counties are growing faster than that of urban coastal counties. Phuong Nguyen, a research specialist at the California Department of Finance, began noticing the influx of Californians to inland regions, like San Joaquin and Sacramento, around 2014. Housing: A rental registry is Fresno’s newest weapon in the battle to wipe out housing blight Fresno Bee The city of Fresno on Wednesday launched its online rental housing registry and called on property owners and managers to sign up in a required first step to tackle substandard housing conditions. California has tight limits on rent control. That could be changing. Sacramento Bee Hundreds of housing activists and pro-rent control tenants are expected to flood the Capitol this morning for a hearing on a controversial bill shelved last year amid intense opposition from the state’s real estate industry. PUBLIC FINANCES For stories on “State Budget” See: “Top Stories – State Politics,” above TRANSPORTATION California’s climate fight gets harder soon, and the big culprit is cars CALmatters By most measures, California has earned the right to brag about how much it has cleaned up its environmental act. The air in much of smog-shrouded Southern California has been scrubbed. A passenger car for sale here today is 99 percent cleaner than one on offer in the early 1970s. The fossil fuels required to power the state’s economic engine have decreased by a third since their peak in 2001, while economic activity has expanded in that time by an equal measure. Ford rigged diesel trucks to beat emissions tests, lawsuit alleges Los Angeles Times Ford Motor Co. rigged at least 500,000 heavy-duty trucks to beat emissions tests, drivers allege in a lawsuit filed Wednesday. The suit adds Ford to the tally of automakers linked to diesel-cheating allegations worldwide that started in 2015 with Volkswagen. WATER After Oroville disclosures, embattled California water agency names new director The Sacramento Bee  The California Department of Water Resources underwent a management shakeup Wednesday, less than a week after investigators released a scathing report on last February’s crisis at Oroville Dam and how the department handled it. Grant Davis resigned as DWR’s director barely seven months after taking over the embattled department, which has been heavily criticized following the near-catastrophe at the dam’s two flood-control spillways. Davis will go back to his old job as general manager of the Sonoma County Water Agency. See also: ·       Department of Water Resources chief ousted after report blames Oroville dam crisis on lax safety culture  Los Angeles Times  |