January 23, 2018

23Jan

Top Policy/Political Stories

  • Local/Regional
  • State
  • Federal
Additional information on the following topics
 
  • Agriculture/Food
  • Criminal Justice/Public Safety
  • Economy/ Jobs
  • Education
  • Environment/Energy
  • Health/Human Services
  • Immigration
  • Land Use/Housing
  • Public Finances
  • Transportation
  • Water
  • “Xtra“​
  • Editorials

TOP POLITICAL STORIES​​​​​​​

 

Local/Regional Politics:

 

Valley air district receives $88 million from CARB for reducing emissions

Bakersfield Californian

The San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District received more than $88 million in Cap and Trade funds from the California Air Resources Board, the air district reported Monday. A major portion of the funds, $80 million, will be used to support programs that reduce emissions, including funds to help farmers, truck drivers and businesses replace heavy-polluting trucks, diesel equipment and school buses with low- or zero-emission vehicles and equipment.

 

Fresno’s 2017 jobless rate in single digits; fourth time in 27 years

The Business Journal

Fresno County’s average unemployment rate for 2017 was 8.6 percent, marking only the fourth time in 27 years the annual jobless rate was below 10 percent.

Last year’s unemployment rate for Fresno County was nearly half of what it was at the height of the recession — it topped out at 16.7 percent in 2010.

 

Saturday’s Women’s March drew a crowd

Bakersfield Californian

You’ve probably seen photos from the first Kern County Women’s March, which took place Saturday.

Planning Commission hears downtown development plan relating to high-speed rail

Bakersfield Californian

Increased pedestrian and bike access, additional parking facilities, and a shuttle service are just a few of the things that the City of Bakersfield is hoping will be developed in downtown once high-speed rail arrives. At its Jan. 18 meeting, the city’s Planning Commission received a report on a plan looking at how a 2.3-square-mile area of downtown that includes a rail station at F Street and Highway 204 could be developed over 30 years if the station location was approved by the California High Speed Rail Authority.

See also:

·       Community Voices: F Street station penalizes future HSR passengers  Bakersfield Californian

 

City leaders plan to change annual music festival’s venue

Abc30

Grizzly Fest is now in its fourth year and organizers have plans to move it from Chukchansi Park to Woodward Park. Last year, more than 10,000 people visited, The Chuk, to see dozens of acts perform. To accommodate the growth, organizers are making it a two-day event.

 

City agrees to sports parks naming rights with Kaiser Permanente, Tarina Homes

Bakersfield Californian

The City of Bakersfield has approved 2018 naming rights for two city sports parks: Kaiser Permanente Sports Village and Tarina Homes Sports Complex at Mesa Marin. Late last year, the Bakersfield City Council approved separate naming rights agreements for those two developing sports parks concurrently within the city.

 

Familiar phone scam, with a new twist, circulating in Kern County

Bakersfield Californian

The callers may seem friendly, claim to work for a government agency or be providing seemingly crucial information about a loved one who’s traveling. Don’t trust them.

 

Exeter District Ambulance faces lawsuit, lacks board members

Visalia Times-Delta

Exeter District Ambulance is in turmoil. It’s been that way for a year.  The board is made up of two members, not enough to vote. They can’t hire a management team or oversee taxpayer’s money. In the meantime, employees are tasked with focusing on the job at hand — saving lives on the streets.

 

Salida fire district board looks to hire a full-time chief. But can district afford it?

Modesto Bee

The Salida Fire Protection District is preparing to recruit for a full-time fire chief and will need to find additional revenue to cover the salary and benefits.

 

Deputies move to clear big California homeless encampment

Merced Sun-Star

Southern California authorities on Monday went tent to tent telling the homeless living in a 2-mile-long (3.2-kilometer-long) encampment that the large riverbed encampment some have called home for years is being closed down.Orange County sheriff’s deputies called out to tent dwellers on the dusty trail designed for biking and jogging, letting them know county workers will haul their trash, store personal belongings and provide transportation to area shelters.

 

State Politics:

 

A Final State of the State From Jerry Brown

New York Times

If history is any guide, the State of the State speech Gov. Jerry Brown will deliver in Sacramento on Thursday — his last one — won’t be very long. It probably won’t be overly sentimental. And it will probably include a tribute to his home state.

See also:

·       So Very Jerry: Can you decode the governor’s speeches? CALmatters

 

Get to know gubernatorial candidate Doug Ose

Sacramento Bee

The former Republican congressman came back onto the political scene at the 2016 Republican National Convention. Now, he wants to be governor.

 

California state rep (Gov candidate Travis Allen): ‘Trump and Sessions should come here and arrest Xavier Becerra’

Politico

A California state lawmaker is asking President Donald Trump and Attorney General Jeff Sessions to come to the state and arrest its Attorney General Xavier Becerra for “crossing the line” in enforcing an immigration law.

California employers caught between feds and state on immigration

Sacramento Bee

If immigration authorities decide to raid Pancake Circus, the popular diner on Broadway in Sacramento, they will likely find the proprietor willing to grant their demands for access and information.

 

California begins issuing Real ID cards for residents traveling on planes or internationally

Abc30

Starting in October of 2020, the DMV Real ID will be required to board a domestic flight unless you have a passport. However, you have plenty of time to decide if you want to apply for the Real ID. The 9/11 Commission required states to have a standardized, more secure ID for travelers boarding domestic flights. The Real ID is that card.

See also:

·       Getting a California Real ID driver’s license on the first day it’s offered? Not a problem Los Angeles Times

·       You can get a Real ID in California now. What is it?  Sacramento Bee

 

Kevin de León: Tony Mendoza proving he has ‘no decency’

Sacramento Bee

California Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de León had harsh words on Monday for his former housemate Sen. Tony Mendoza, who has continued to attend and host events during his voluntary leave as the house investigates sexual harassment allegations against the Artesia Democrat.

 

Group that first raised sexual harassment issues in Sacramento now has an app to report misconduct

Los Angeles Times

As thousands take to the streets this weekend for women’s marches across the country, leaders of the Sacramento-based “We Said Enough” campaign are unveiling a tech app to help victims of sexual harassment report workplace abuse across the nation, no matter their location or industry.

 

How California lawmakers are preparing for more natural disasters

Los Angeles Times

Dozens of Californians lost their lives in wildfires and other natural disasters in recent months. In response to the widespread emergencies, Gov. Jerry Brown and legislators want to change insurance rules, emergency alert systems and debris removal policies and spend more money on fire protection. If passed, these new laws would add to the many protections already enshrined in state law for those who have experienced natural disasters, including substantial relief from property taxes.

 

Rival Bids To Overturn California Gas Tax Join Forces

capradio.org

The effort to overturn the fuel tax and vehicle fee increases in California’s new transportation funding law appears to be gaining momentum. The author of one proposed ballot measure is now backing a rival initiative that could be headed for the November election.

 

Borenstein: California faces tectonic local election changes

Mercury News

Cities and school districts across California are facing legal ultimatums: Convert from at-large elections to balloting by district, or risk spending millions of dollars on litigation. Some jurisdictions are fighting back. But most are capitulating, resulting in a radical revamping of the political process that proponents say will improve the voting power of minority groups.

 

California, America’s Poverty Capital

National Review

California — not Mississippi, New Mexico, or West Virginia — has the highest poverty rate in the United States. According to the Census Bureau’s Supplemental Poverty Measure — which accounts for the cost of housing, food, utilities, and clothing, and which includes non-cash government assistance as a form of income — nearly one out of four Californians is poor. Given robust job growth in the state and the prosperity generated by several industries, especially the supercharged tech sector, the question arises as to why California has so many poor people, especially when the state’s per capita GDP increased roughly twice as much as the U.S. average over the five years ending in 2016 (12.5 percent, compared with 6.27 percent).

 

Federal Politics:

 

Senators strike a deal re-opening government after 69 hours

Fresno Bee

President Donald Trump signed a bill reopening the government late Monday, ending a 69-hour display of partisan dysfunction after Democrats reluctantly voted to temporarily pay for resumed operations. They relented in return for Republican assurances that the Senate will soon take up the plight of young immigrant “dreamers” and other contentious issues.

See also:

·       California’s US senators vote no on move to resume government spending Los Angeles Times

·       Feinstein, Harris, oppose stopgap spending bill  Sacramento Bee

·       Feinstein ‘very disappointed’ in deal to end shutdown  Sacramento Bee

·       Federal workers could return to work Tuesday after shutdown weekend The Bakersfield Californian

·       Essential Politics: Whether you call it the Schumer shutdown or Trump shutdown, there’s plenty of blame to go around Los Angeles Times

·       With Talking Stick in Hand, Moderate Senators Broke the Shutdown New York Times

·       Senate Democrats’ Vote to End Shutdown Infuriates Some on the Left New York Times

 

Trump tentatively agrees to expand number of Dreamers protected

The Fresno Bee

The White House has tentatively agreed to provide legal status to as many as 1.2 million so-called Dreamers — far more than the 690,000 currently protected under an expiring Obama-era program — as part of a broader immigration deal, according to three people familiar with the negotiations.

 

Trump’s solar tariff could hit California hard

San Francisco Chronicle

No state uses as much solar power as California, or boasts as many solar jobs. So President Trump’s decision Monday to slap a 30 percent tariff on imported solar panels could have an outsize effect on the Golden State.

See also:

·       President Donald Trump Imposes 30% Tariffs on Solar Panels Time

·       Trump imposes tariffs on solar imports POLITICO

·       Trump Slaps Steep Tariffs on Foreign Washing Machines and Solar Products The New York Times

·       Trump’s Solar Tariffs Mark Biggest Blow to Renewables Yet Bloomberg

·       Trump deals blow to solar makers, industry to focus on growth away from U.S. Reuters

 

Other:

 

Schwarzenegger to Trump: ‘Don’t touch California. If you want to drill, do it off Mar-a-Lago’

Los Angeles Times

Former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Monday blasted President Trump’s move to allow increased offshore drilling, saying he ought to drill in the waters off his Palm Beach, Fla., resort rather than California.

 

California: Why I stay

The Fresno Bee

For 12 days in December, I was evacuated from my home outside Santa Barbara and survived the largest wildfire in California recorded history. Last week, I was evacuated yet again as freakish torrential rains produced catastrophic mudslides that cascaded down from denuded, fire-ravaged hills, sweeping away dozens of houses in my beautiful, close-knit town, while stealing the lives of no fewer than 20 of my neighbors.

 

U-Haul ranks California last for migration momentum

Mercury News

California drew a last-place ranking last year in U-Haul’s annual measurement of interstate relocation momentum. U-Haul ranks states by year-by-year changes in their net flow of its rental vans — inbound trips minus outbound. Trends in U-Haul’s do-it-yourself moves can be seen as a benchmark of the popularity of states for households with relatively modest incomes.

 

Fitzgerald: Stockton’s multi-culti deejay from Kumkum

Stockton Record

There’s a deejay in Stockton who receives fan mail on Facebook from India’s Punjab, from Fiji and from Brisbane, Australia. Piara Singh Gill, 71, reaches distant listeners with his program “Hindi Voice,” streamed from his home studio in north Stockton. Days ago, the remarkably steady Gill marked his program’s 40th year.

Recalling the Brock Turner judge won’t serve justice, and could backfire on all of us

Sacramento Bee

The effort to recall Judge Aaron Persky, which has submitted signatures to be on the ballot in Santa Clara County in June, is misguided and a threat to judicial independence. If there is disagreement with a judge’s decision, the appropriate remedy is to appeal the ruling, not to seek removal of the judge.

 

 Topics in More Detail…

 

AGRICULTURE/FOOD

 

Ag Industry Fights Pesticide Penalties and State Efforts to Increase Future Fines

KQED

Several produce and farm labor contractors are contesting fines they face in connection with two separate pesticide drifts in the Central Valley that sickened close to 130 agricultural workers last year.

 

The FDA Has a Rule Against Defining “The Food Commonly Known As Eggs”

Modern Farmer

Panera, in a very clever marketing campaign, has turned up something extremely weird deep within the FDA’s Code of Federal Regulations.

 

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

 

Crime:

 

Sheriff seeks to cut down on underage drinking at parties

Visalia Times-Delta

The sheriff’s department is hoping for appr

oval to help cut down on people throwing parties with alcohol for minors.

 

Police to DUI fugitives: ‘We’re going to come find you’

Visalia Times-Delta

Police reminded accused DUI offenders the importance of showing up to court and alcohol recovery programs.

 

California’s death penalty law may hinge on outcome of Arizona case

San Francisco Chronicle

After narrowly surviving voter initiatives in 2012 and 2016, California’s death penalty law may soon be in jeopardy again, this time at the U.S. Supreme Court.

 

In the fight against bail, a new group brings resources

Marketplace

When somebody gets arrested, having a few hundred dollars in a bank account can mean the difference between sleeping at home and spending time in jail. But that’s not an easy proposition for people struggling to make ends meet.

 

California torture case raises the question: When should you call police with suspicions about neighbors?

The Mercury News

Nearly 20 years later, the woman whose phone calls led sheriff’s deputies to find a malnourished 6-year-old Norco girl chained to a bed is still haunted by what the girl went through and the need to know if she’s alright.

 

Public Safety:

 

California falls short in passing protections against drunk driving, group says

89.3 KPCC

California ranks just middle of the road in adopting strong traffic safety laws, according to a new report from Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit.

See also:

·       Legalization is expected to lead to more stoned drivers. Is law enforcement ready?  The Sacramento Bee

 

ECONOMY / JOBS

 

Economy:

 

California economy: A business model for spreading the wealth

The Sacramento Bee

California voters are anxious. The economy is growing, the state budget is balanced and drought worries have receded. Yet according to a recent CalChamber poll, voters believe state leaders are not addressing the issues that truly concern them. For the first time in three years, the October poll showed, more voters say that California is headed down the wrong track than in the right direction.

 

The GOP’s New Tax Plan Will Affect Everyone, But Will It Grow The Economy?

NPR

The hubbub over the Republican tax plan has died down some since it passed, but the bill isn’t forgotten — not by a long shot. Many Americans will see the effects already this year, when the IRS gives employers new guidance on how much money to withhold from people’s paychecks. And you can bet it will be a major talking point in the 2018 midterm elections, supplemented by regular presidential tweets touting new hiring and higher stock prices.

 

California: Poverty Capital of America

National Review

California — not Mississippi, New Mexico, or West Virginia — has the highest poverty rate in the United States. According to the Census Bureau’s Supplemental Poverty Measure — which accounts for the cost of housing, food, utilities, and clothing, and which includes non-cash government assistance as a form of income — nearly one out of four Californians is poor. Given robust job growth in the state and the prosperity generated by several industries, especially the supercharged tech sector, the question arises as to why California has so many poor people, especially when the state’s per capita GDP increased roughly twice as much as the U.S. average over the five years ending in 2016 (12.5 percent, compared with 6.27 percent).

 

Jobs:

 

Stanislaus County is about to go on a hiring spree. But first, a $578000 office remodel

Modesto Bee

Officials are citing a number of reasons why Stanislaus County needs to spend $578,500 on a project to move human resources from the top floor of Tenth Street Place to a prime location on the first floor. The chief executive’s office has run out of space on the sixth floor. The county needs to revamp an outdated recruitment program to lure talent to county departments.

 

Why California employers are still paying for recession-era jobless benefits

San Francisco Chronicle

California’s unemployment rate may have dropped to a record low 4.3 percent in December, but the state’s employers are still paying for jobless benefits paid out during the Great Recession in the form of a special tax due at the end of this month.

 

Will Trump tariffs cost California solar industry jobs?

The Mercury News

The Trump administration on Monday announced it would slap costly tariffs on imported solar technology, drawing ire from Bay Area solar companies that rely on the parts for solar panels, and frustration from homeowners who worry the costs of converting to green energy will spiral.

 

EDUCATION

 

K-12:

 

Tulare High School Farm expansion moves forward

Visalia Times-Delta

Tulare Joint Union High School District is moving forward with its plan to expand and modernize one of it’s most beloved campuses: the Tulare High School Farm.

 

California’s School Boards Are Such Class Clowns

Fox and Hounds Daily

You gotta laugh when those folks at the California School Boards Association start talking. I mean, they are class clowns but they are so funny. Take the demands that the school boards issued to the state legislature recently.

 

Higher Ed:

 

The next battle over affirmative action is about discrimination against Asian Americans

Sacramento Bee

Nearly four years ago, the Asian American community rallied to defeat a proposal reversing California’s ban on the consideration of race in public university admissions.

 

Community colleges offer many opportunities so-called elite universities do not

Los Angeles Times

I write this article in praise of California community colleges, including Orange Coast College.

 

Saving the Associate of Arts Degree: How an A.A. Degree Can Become a Better Path to Labor Market Success

AEI

Every year hundreds of thousands of students earn an associate of arts (A.A.) degree from community colleges in the United States. Most graduates intend to use the degree as a stepping-stone to a bachelor’s degree. As a result, most A.A. degree programs focus more on general education than developing marketable skills. Unfortunately, many A.A. students never earn a bachelor’s degree. Without this higher-level degree and without high-value, marketable skills, A.A. degree holders experience a wage penalty compared to their peers completing career and technically oriented associate degrees and, as we show below, compared to what employers are willing to pay better-skilled workers.

 

ENVIRONMENT/ ENERGY

 

Environment:

 

Valley air district receives $88 million from CARB for reducing emissions

The Bakersfield Californian

The San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District received more than $88 million in Cap and Trade funds from the California Air Resources Board, the air district reported Monday.

 

Trump’s Busy Year On Energy And Environment

NPR

President Trump campaigned on a platform to make American energy great again. “We’re loaded,” he said, at a 2016 campaign appearance in North Dakota, referring to fossil fuel reserves. By unleashing those reserves and slashing regulations, Trump promised, he would usher in an era of “energy independence” and, ultimately, American energy dominance.

 

How Much Warmer Was Your City in 2017?

The New York Times

Last year was the second hottest year on record. In a database of more than 3,800 cities compiled by AccuWeather, about 88 percent recorded annual mean temperatures higher than normal. Enter your city below to see how much warmer or cooler it was.

 

Sewage spill shuts beaches along California’s central coast

Sacramento Bee

Nearly 5 million gallons of sewage spilled into the ocean on California’s Central Coast after a filter at a water treatment plant got clogged and the computer system failed to sound an alarm, an official said Monday, forcing several popular beaches to close.

 

Pot farms are poisoning spotted owls in the Emerald Triangle, study finds

The Mercury News

The spotted owl is once again being threatened by human activities, but this time the offending industry isn’t logging – it’s cannabis.

 

Energy:

 

Trump’s solar tariff could hit California hard

San Francisco Chronicle

No state uses as much solar power as California, or boasts as many solar jobs. So President Trump’s decision Monday to slap a 30 percent tariff on imported solar panels could have an outsize effect on the Golden State.

See also:

·       President Donald Trump Imposes 30% Tariffs on Solar Panels Time

·       Trump imposes tariffs on solar imports POLITICO

·       Trump Slaps Steep Tariffs on Foreign Washing Machines and Solar Products The New York Times

·       Trump’s Solar Tariffs Mark Biggest Blow to Renewables Yet Bloomberg

·       Trump deals blow to solar makers, industry to focus on growth away from U.S. Reuters

 

Natural gas is energy’s new king — but how long will it reign? California may offer some clues

San Diego Union-Tribune

Some have estimated there is enough natural gas in the U.S. to meet the country’s energy needs for about 200 years. But “King Gas” has its critics — especially among environmentalists — and California’s fast-changing energy landscape offers hints that a long, smooth reign for natural gas is far from assured.

 

HEALTH/HUMAN SERVICES

 

Health:

 

Deportation fears have legal immigrants avoiding health care

The Fresno Bee

The number of legal immigrants from Latin American nations who access public health services and enroll in federally subsidized insurance plans has dipped substantially since President Donald Trump took office, many of them fearing their information could be used to identify and deport relatives living in the U.S. illegally, according to health advocates across the country.

 

Signups for health insurance through Covered California up 7 percent

San Francisco Chronicle

About 342,000 Californians have signed up for health insurance through Covered California since open enrollment began in November — up roughly 7 percent compared to this time last year, according to figures released by the agency Monday.

See also:

·       Robust Health Insurance Sign-Ups Surprise Supporters And Opponents  NPR

 

Deal To End Shutdown Funds Health Care For 2 Million Californians

Capital Public Radio

About two million California children will continue to receive health care through the federal-state Children’s Health Insurance Program. The federal budget deal that ended the government shutdown reauthorizes the CHIP program for six years.

 

Full Dental Benefits Restored For Adults On Medi-Cal

KPBS

Adults with Medi-Cal coverage can now get something they have had to do without: dental care. State lawmakers have fully restored Denti-Cal benefits as of Jan. 1. They were cut in 2009 during the depths of the recession, and only partially restored in 2014.

 

Think you’ve got the flu? At-home doctor consultation app might help

The Mercury News

Alarmed about the country’s deadly flu epidemic, Lisa Maciel knew she needed to get her 2-year-old daughter to a doctor when the toddler’s eyes began to water and she started to run a fever.

Stem cell agency eyes kidney transplant breakthrough

Capitol Weekly

The California stem cell agency has doubled down on its bet on a potentially breakthrough treatment for kidney transplants, raising to $25.4 million its support for a project that is entering its final stages.

 

Right-to-try laws are hazardous to your health–and now they’re backed by the Koch brothers

Los Angeles Times

Falling victim to a terminal disease is one of the ultimate human tragedies in its own terms. But congressional conservatives, egged on by libertarian ideologues and the Koch brothers, are working hard to burden these people with another layer of victimization in their last weeks or months of life.

 

When your insurer denies a valid claim because of ‘lack of medical necessity’

Los Angeles Times

We learned last week that roughly 3.2 million more Americans were uninsured in 2017 — hard data attesting to how Republicans’ cold-hearted obsession with overturning Obamacare is playing out in the real world.

 

IMMIGRATION

 

Legal action leaves DACA deadline murky

Politico

The March 5 deadline that President Donald Trump set for winding down a disputed immigration program continues to add a sense of urgency to the debate about so-called Dreamers, even though a court injunction and the administration’s own legal strategy have essentially wiped out the significance of that date.

 

LAND USE/HOUSING

 

New housing laws rolling out

smdailyjournal.com

As the new year unfolds, local governments are expected to begin unraveling the practical implications of new statewide laws designed to promote affordable housing.Steep housing costs, a drought in subsidies for affordable units and cumbersome planning processes were cited by California lawmakers who pushed through a package of bills aimed at increasing development.

 

Southern California ends 2017 with home price gains and sales declines

OCRegister

Last year ended with house prices up 6.7 percent in Los Angeles and Orange counties and rising 7.5 percent in the Inland Empire as a drop in listings continued to push prices upward, the California Association of Realtors reported Monday, Jan. 22.

 

PUBLIC FINANCES

 

Fox: Forget Business Friendly, More Calls to Raise Business Taxes

Fox & Hounds

Is it possible for California to drop lower than 50th in surveys testing state business friendly environments? It seems legislators and spending advocates have that goal in mind as they continue to call for higher and higher taxes on business even while Governor Brown offers up a record-setting budget.

 

TRANSPORTATION

 

Sacramento airport food prices could rise soon. Price gouging a concern, supervisor says

Sacramento Bee

Food prices at Sacramento International Airport, already lofty, may soon be going up. Airport chief John Wheat will ask the county Board of Supervisors on Tuesday to remove a rule that caps airport food prices at 10 percent higher than the cost of similar products at comparable restaurants around Sacramento.

 

WATER

 

California can’t wait any longer for clean water

Fresno Bee

After years of the state’s mystifying failure to address a public health crisis that plagues about 1 million predominantly low-income residents, many advocates believed they had reached a breakthrough last year.

 

California DWR ignored Oroville spillway warnings, report says

The Sacramento Bee

An investigation into last winter’s near catastrophe at Oroville Dam uncovered a litany of problems with how the dam was built and maintained, but one of them stands out: Even as workers built the dam, they were raising alarms about the eroded, crumbling rock on which they were directed to lay concrete for the 3,000-foot-long main flood control spillway.

 

Breakthrough in seasonal predictions for mountain snowpack

The San Diego Tribune

Farmers, ecologists, water managers, even those tasked with fighting backcountry wildfires could greatly benefit from knowing months in advance how much water will be available from melting mountain snow every spring.

 

“Xtra”

 

Giving local artists an outlet

Clovis Roundup

Clovis Friends of the Library (CFOL) hosted its first ArtHop at the Clovis Regional Library on Thursday, Jan. 18 with Claudia Fletcher as the featured artist. Fletcher is an award-winning painter who creates art for the annual Clovis Rodeo posters and has over 70 years of experience. Her western-themed art was showcased throughout the evening with a reception for art connoisseurs to mingle.

 

Worth Noting: City agrees to sports parks naming rights with Kaiser Permanente, Tarina Homes

The Bakersfield Californian

The City of Bakersfield has approved 2018 naming rights for two city sports parks: Kaiser Permanente Sports Village and Tarina Homes Sports Complex at Mesa Marin.

 

EDITORIALS

 

Assembly Democrats offer a dumb tax bill. Republicans love it

Fresno Bee

Playing to bad tax-and-spend stereotypes of California Democrats, Assemblymen Kevin McCarty and Phil Ting have offered a counter-productive, ill-considered and ultimately futile proposal to raise corporate taxes.

 

Editorial: VTA and BART should commit to single tunnel in downtown San Jose

Mercury News

In the 46 years since its first train rolled, BART has been a pioneer of technical innovation. It had the first automatic train control system when it opened. It had the first automatic fare vending. The Transbay Tube was the first submerged tube for transit.

 

Yes, California needs taller, denser development near transit. But not at the expense of affordable housing

Los Angeles Times

California has the sixth largest economy in the world, but the state still has the nation’s highest poverty rate. Why? Because of the staggering cost of housing. When housing expenses are tallied with incomes, U.S. Census officials estimate that one in five Californians live in poverty.

 

No, Chuck Schumer isn’t Charlie Brown

Los Angeles Times

The deal struck to end the government shutdown Monday leaves Democrats with precious little to show for their efforts. Nevertheless, they were right to sign on, even if it doesn’t bring immediate or certain help to the “Dreamers” at risk of deportation.

 

Editorial: Trump isn’t doing a great deal

San Francisco Chronicle

In “The Art of the Deal,” Donald Trump wrote, “Deals are my art form. Other people paint beautifully on canvas or write wonderful poetry. I like making deals, preferably big deals.” With the federal government running out of money, Congress riven by divisions, and the fate of hundreds of thousands of immigrants on the line, it was an ideal occasion for a big, beautiful, wonderful deal.