January 4, 2018

04Jan

TOP POLITICAL STORIES​​​​​​​

 

Local/Regional Politics:

 

Valley’s air pollution is at dangerous levels

abc30.com

Bad air is nothing new for the Central Valley, but right now it is extremely bad. The haze is made up of tiny particles, at levels five to six times higher than the level considered dangerous to health. It looks like fog but the stuff in the air over the Central Valley is concentrated particulate air pollution, and it is making people sick.

See also:

·       Valley gripped by terrible air pollution. Will storms bring relief this weekend? Modesto Bee

·       Bad air quality in Tulare County Visalia Times-Delta

·       Bad air quality Bakersfield Californian

·       Hold your breath: Lingering smog, and spike in ER visits, should ease up soon  Bakersfield Californian

·       AIRNow CA Air Quality

 

Fresno State fraternity under investigation after police say student ended up at hospital dead

Abc30.com

Heartbroken family members pleaded with Fresno Police Wednesday, trying to understand how a young man’s visit to a fraternity house ended with death. “Because they are trying to say it’s not a murder, and it is. Someone gave him Fentanyl,” said a friend of the victim. Friends say the 19-year-old Fresno State student was visiting Delta Sigma Phi during Winter break when someone handed him a pill. Police have not confirmed that information.

 

Grant to waive fee for first time students prompts extreme registration at FCC

Abc30.com

It resembled a line for concert tickets but this one snaked around the Fresno City College campus for extreme registration. Students not yet registered for the spring semester patiently waited to sign up for classes which start on Monday. “I think I’ve been here for an hour and I’m still waiting. I mean we’re almost there right?” said FCC student Gerardo Garzon-Morales.

 

Central Sierra snowpack just 29% of average

Modesto Bee

When the measurements were done, Gehrke reported the dismal numbers: just 1.3 inches of snow on average, and a “snow water content” of 0.4 inches. That was 3 percent of average for early January. “While we would have liked to have had more snow atthe first of the year, I believe more will come,” said DWR director Grant Davis, who accompanied Gehrke on the snow survey. “We’re obviously hopeful there’ll be more the next time we come out here.”

 

Democrat congressional candidates debate Friday at the Gallo Center

Modesto Bee

Six Democratic candidates are scheduled to debate in Modesto at 7 p.m. Friday, each hoping for a shot at unseating GOP Rep. Jeff Denham this year in a high-stakes race drawing national attention. The downtown venue — the Gallo Center for the Arts’ smaller, 444-seat Foster Family Theater — sold out a week ago. But anyone with interest should come anyway, organizers say, because they’re giving away dozens of seats reserved outside the ticketing process. Also, by Friday they will have secured an overflow room in a nearby location.

 

California’s Jeff Denham making bid to lead powerful House Transportation Committee

Los Angeles Times

Central Valley Rep. Jeff Denham is being more open about his desire to lead the powerful House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. “This is a committee I’ve really shown a great deal of leadership on, but as chairman I’ll be in a better position to fight for California’s needs as well as [needs] across the country,” said Denham, a Republican from Turlock.

 

2018 Denham challengers rile up Valley Democrats

Sacramento Bee

Can a blue wave knock out a tough-to-beat Central Valley Republican who has stared down a recall campaign and repeated attempts to unseat him? Eight primary challengers think this is the year to make a run at U.S. Rep. Jeff Denham, R-Turlock, and they’re drawing widespread enthusiasm from San Joaquin Valley Democrats for their campaigns.

 

Ads thank four California Republicans (including Cong Denham and Valadao) for their votes to pass tax plan

Los Angeles Times

The fight to define the effects of the new tax law is continuing with new ads that target four vulnerable California Republicans. The six-figure ad buy from the American Action Network, a nonprofit with ties to House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.), will run on television and online through January. They are tailored to Reps.Jeff Denham of Turlock, David Valadao of Hanford, Mimi Walters of Irvine andSteve Knight of Palmdale.

 

State Politics:

 

Burning questions California’s gubernatorial, Senate candidates must answer

San Francisco Chronicle

If you’ve been sleeping through California’s gubernatorial and U.S. Senate races, it’s time to wake up. A lot of major questions about the candidates are about to be answered.

 

Fox: Jerry Brown’s Last Budget—Again

Fox and Hounds

Governor Jerry Brown and his Finance Department are putting finishing touches on his final budget to be presented soon. This is a second time that Brown has wrapped up two terms as Governor of California offering a final budget.

 

Five things you need to know about John Cox

Sacramento Bee

John Cox has run for office many times. Once, he briefly ran for president of the United States. This year, the Republican businessman wants to be governor of California. Here are five things you should know about Cox.

 

GOP candidate for governor Travis Allen calls on Trump administration to sue California over immigration policy

Los Angeles Times

Republican gubernatorial candidate Travis Allen on Tuesday urged President Trump and U.S. Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions to sue California over the state’s immigration policies.

 

Top advisor to John Chiang resigns from his campaign for governor

Los Angeles Times

Gubernatorial candidate John Chiang’s longtime political advisor has resigned after new consultants were hired to change the direction of the race the state treasurer is running, a campaign official said on Wednesday. The person, who spoke to The Times on condition of anonymity to freely discuss internal personnel moves, said Parke Skelton decided to leave the campaign after new consultants were hired around the end of the year. 

 

California Legislature’s 2018 Priorities: Addressing Sexual Harassment, Housing, Federal Tax Law

Capital Public Radio News

California legislative leaders have finally agreed to address perhaps the most overarching goal of activists pushing to end sexual harassment at the state Capitol: Create a uniform process to handle complaints and investigations.

See also:

·       Net neutrality fight heads to California capital San Francisco Chronicle

·       Legislation would allow Californians to donate money to the state in effort to blunt effects of GOP tax bill Los Angeles Times

·       ‘California Resistance’ Takes Aim at New GOP Tax Law  KQED

 

Amid uproar over sexual harassment, California lawmakers return to work

Los Angeles Times

Most years, the Legislature’s January kickoff after a months-long break has the predictable feel of the first day back at school. But Wednesday, as lawmakers returned for a new year of work, the atmosphere was distinctly unsettled. In the months lawmakers had been gone, the national tidal wave of sexual harassment allegations made a direct hit on the Capitol dome, leading to allegations, resignations and an uncomfortable scouring of a workplace environment women say has been rife with misconduct.

See also:

·       Democrat Mendoza to take leave during sex misconduct probe Fresno Bee

 

Walters: Long-running judicial feud has a new battleground

Sacramento Bee

The size and cultural complexity of California spawns many unique political conflicts, and none more so than a years-long, multi-party squabble within the nation’s largest judicial system.

 

Cannabis in California: What you can and can’t do

Abc30

The sale of recreational marijuana is now legal in California. So, what can and can’t you legally do?

 

California’s Brain Gain

Public Policy Institute of California

Recently released data from the US Census Bureau show that even as California continues to experience large net losses of residents moving out of state, the state is still a net importer of college graduates from other states. This interstate migration pattern—gaining large numbers of college graduates while losing large numbers of less educated adults—is unique among the states.

 

Federal Politics:

 

ICE leader says sanctuary city politicians should be arrested. Come get me, mayor says

Sacramento Bee

The nation’s top immigration cop took aim at sanctuary cities like Sacramento on Tuesday, saying in a televised interview that politicians who support limiting cooperation with federal deportations might belong in handcuffs themselves.

 

Divided Democrats face liberal backlash on immigration

The Bakersfield Californian

ith a new deadline fast approaching, Democrats in Congress are struggling to adopt a unified strategy to protect hundreds of thousands of young immigrants from deportation.

 

The Latest: Top Democrats: Bipartisan budget talks positive

San Francisco Chronicle

The top Democrats in Congress say a meeting to try to forge a bipartisan budget deal was “positive and productive.” The rosy assessments came Wednesday after a Capitol meeting between White House representatives and the top leaders in Congress. Republicans also issued a statement expressing hope that “further discussions will lead to an agreement soon.”

 

Let’s Not Make a Deal: No Breakthrough on Spending

Roll Call

Congressional leadership and White House officials were unable to strike a spending deal Wednesday after their first meeting on the topic of 2018. Democrats headed into the meeting pushing for equal increases in defense and nondefense spending, while Republicans continued to pan that approach. The pressure is on, because the 2011 Budget Control Act calls for sequestration, or across-the-board cuts, absent a deal to change that.

 

Sessions is rescinding Obama-era directive for feds to back off marijuana enforcement in states with legal pot

Washington Post

Attorney General Jeff Sessions is rescinding an Obama-era directive that discouraged enforcement of federal marijuana laws in states that had legalized the substance, according to people familiar with the decision.

See also:

·       Sessions Set To End Noninterference Policy On Marijuana In Break With Trump Campaign Promises Forbes

·       US to end policy that let legal pot flourish AP News

 

California Democrats applaud end of Trump voter fraud commission: ‘It’s about time’

The Mercury News

California Democrats applauded the shuttering of President Trump’s controversial voter fraud commission on Wednesday, calling it an exercise in voter suppression that had gone too far.

See also:

Trump Terminates Election Fraud Commission Roll Call

Pants On Fire for Trump’s claim about ‘serious voter fraud’ in California PolitiFact California

 

Sexual harassment issue complicates Kevin de Leon’s bid for U.S. Senate

Sacramento Bee

State Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de León titled a December fundraising email with the phrase. He outlined key messages in his campaign against California’s senior U.S. senator, Dianne Feinstein, and said she isn’t being tough enough on President Donald Trump. But the Los Angeles Democrat is facing a momentous challenge of his own in his first statewide campaign: No sooner had he announced he’d challenge one of California’s first two female U.S. senators than the Harvey Weinstein scandal unleashed a torrent of of sexual harassment allegations that engulfed the California Legislature.

 

Other:

 

California can help women by requiring nearly all employers to provide sexual harassment training

Los Angeles Times

Many women (often the sole breadwinners of their households), including farmworkers, housekeepers and restaurant line cooks, have shared with me their painful workplace experiences. With deep concern for the millions who still feel powerless and invisible, I recently proposed changes in California law and policy to extend sexual harassment prevention training requirements to all businesses with five or more employees across all industries.

 

California can’t prevent credit card surcharges, court rules

AP

A federal appeals court says California can’t prevent five businesses from charging additional fees to customers who use credit cards. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said Wednesday a 1985 state law that banned credit card surcharges violated the businesses’ free speech rights.

 

 

MADDY INSTITUTE PUBLIC POLICY PROGRAMMING  

 

Sunday, January 7, at 10 a.m. on ABC 30 – Maddy Report: 2018: The Political Forecast​ – Guests: John Myers with the LA Times and Dan Walters with CalMatters. Host: Maddy Institute Executive Director, Mark Keppler.

 

Sunday, January 7, at 10 a.m. on Newstalk 580AM/105.9FM (KMJ) – Maddy Report: “State Politics: The Year Past & the Year Ahead”– Guests: John Myers with the LA Times and Dan Walters with CalMatters. Host: Maddy Institute Executive Director, Mark Keppler.  

 

Sunday, January 7, at 7:30 a.m. on UniMas 61 (KTTF) – Informe Maddy“Follow the Money!” A Primer on the Calif Budget Process  Guest: Edgar Cabral, Analista Oficina de Analisis Legislativo. Host: Maddy Institute Program Coordinator, Maria Jeans.

 

 

Support the Maddy Daily HERE.

Thank you!

 

Topics in More Detail…

 

 

EDITORIALS

 

How far can California go to get around that awful Republican tax law?

Sacramento Bee

For years, corporations have relied on their accountants to sift through the federal tax code, and find exemptions and loopholes to exploit for financial gain. And for just as many years, Democrats have been claimed to irked by the practice.

 

Swatting is unconscionable. That doesn’t mean we need a federal law against it

Los Angeles Times

All 2017 had to do was go away quietly, but no. It left us a nasty New Year’s gift: “Swatting” is now officially a thing, with an innocent Wichita man shot dead by police in his own home a week ago for opening his front door, and an apparently callous Los Angeles gamer in jail pending his transfer to Kansas sometime in the next month.

 

Editorial: Save the Dreamers and skip the border wall, Mr. President

San Francisco Chronicle

It’s deadline time for 800,000 young people, most of them in California. They’re the Dreamers, brought here as children by undocumented immigrant parents. Whether they stay or go is at a turning point.

 

Puerto Rico: 100 days in, Trump administration’s response to disaster a disgrace

Hanford Sentinel

A hundred years have passed since President Woodrow Wilson signed the Jones-Shafroth Act, granting U.S. citizenship to the inhabitants of Puerto Rico, a Caribbean territory that the United States seized from Spain in 1898 during the Spanish-American War. And it’s hard to think of a more disgraceful way to mark this centennial than with the Trump administration’s passive response to the U.S. commonwealth’s desperation since being slammed by Hurricane Maria in September.

 

AGRICULTURE/FOOD

 

Born in the USA and working in the fields — what gives?

Los Angeles Times

Nicholas Andrew Flores swatted at the flies orbiting his sweat-drenched face as he picked alongside a crew of immigrants through a cantaloupe field in California’s Central Valley. It was hard and repetitive work, and there were days under the searing sun that Flores regretted not going to a four-year college. But he liked that to get the job he just had to “show up.” And at $12 an hour, it paid better than slinging fast food. For Joe Del Bosque of Del Bosque Farms in the San Joaquin Valley, American-born pickers like Flores, though rare, are always welcome.

 

More Banks Are Welcoming Marijuana Businesses, Federal Data Shows

Forbes

A steadily growing number of banks are willing to open accounts for marijuana businesses, according to new federal data. Even as a string of conflicting signals from the Trump administration surrounds the debate about legalization with uncertainty, the number of depository institutions that are actively banking the cannabis industry has increased roughly 18% since the beginning of 2017.

 

 

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

Crime:

 

California law targets abuse of power and sexual exploitation

San Francisco Chronicle

Over the past several months, a loud national conversation has been taking place about sexual harassment and assault — in Hollywood, in business, the judiciary, and in the halls of Congress and state legislatures. The conduct revealed is not new and all stems from the same root cause — abuse of power.

 

New evidence that access to health care reduces crime

Brookings

Most people who cycle through our criminal justice system have serious health care needs.

 

Public Safety:

 

Driving under the influence has a new meaning

Hanford Sentinel

Now that the New Year has begun, several new laws or changes to existing motor safety laws have come into effect; the biggest concerning recreational cannabis use while driving.

 

SPD hits milestone

Stockton Record

Twenty-seven-year-old David Scott is part of a milestone that has never before been reached by the Stockton Police Department.For one, he was officially sworn in by Chief Eric Jones as a new police officer Tuesday. Additionally, Scott has brought the department to its highest number of officers, ever.

 

State study says California police departments receive few racial profiling complaints

Los Angeles Times

California police departments receive few formal complaints of racial profiling or other bias and find even fewer of them to be true, according to newly released data from Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerra.

 

Fire:

 

Republican tax bill and wildfire aid could hasten the need to raise the debt limit

Los Angeles Times

The next fight over the debt limit could take place earlier than anticipated. The Republican tax bill could force Congress to act sooner to raise the nation’s $20.5-trillion borrowing ceiling because less money is expected to flow into the Treasury in coming weeks.

 

President declares disaster over deadly California wildfire

Madera Tribune

President Donald Trump on Tuesday declared a major disaster in California over a wildfire that destroyed more than 1,000 buildings as fierce winds whipped it through Ventura and Santa Barbara counties last month.

See also:

·       Damaged PG&E equipment near Wine Country fires’ origins, new reports show  San Francisco Chronicle

·       California Lawmakers Aim To Improve Warning Systems Before The Next Huge Wildfire Hits Huffingtong Post

 

ECONOMY / JOBS

 

Economy:

 

Why Wall Street’s tax party could be short-lived

CNN Money

There’s little doubt that the massive business tax cuts will provide an instant and sizable boost to corporate America’s already booming bottom line.

 

Jobs:

 

California construction firms plan to hire in 2018, but skilled workers in short supply

OCRegister

California contractors are feeling optimistic about their prospects for 2018, but many are struggling to recruit enough skilled workers, according to a report released Wednesday.

 

New year brings minimum wage hike for Tulare County workers

Visalia Times-Delta

For thousands of Central Valley workers, their first 2018 paycheck will see a much-anticipated increase. As of Jan.1, California’s minimum wage for businesses with more than 26 employees increased by $0.50 to $11 per hour. The increase is reflective of 2016 legislation that increases the state’s minimum wage by $1 a year until it reaches $15 an hour by 2022.

 

Economic Policy Institute’s widely-reported $5B in higher earnings for minimum wage workers is almost 2X too high; and every $1 of worker stimulus will ‘un-stimulate’ businesses by $1

AEI

The Economic Policy Institute (EPI) has been getting a lot of media attention for its estimate that 4.5 million American workers will benefit collectively by more than $5 billion in additional earnings this year from minimum wage hikes in 18 states that took effect yesterday. For example, see media reports hereherehere, andhere that cite EPI’s $5 billion estimate.

 

EDUCATION

 

K-12:

 

Despite cutbacks, auto shops play a role in math and science education in California schools

EdSource

Thirty years ago, auto shop was as much a part of California high schools as frog dissection, typing classes and Friday night football.

 

Higher Ed:

 

Grant to waive fee for first time students prompts extreme registration at FCC

Abc30.com

It resembled a line for concert tickets but this one snaked around the Fresno City College campus for extreme registration. Students not yet registered for the spring semester patiently waited to sign up for classes which start on Monday. “I think I’ve been here for an hour and I’m still waiting. I mean we’re almost there right?” said FCC student Gerardo Garzon-Morales.

 

Governor’s Budget Could Fund New Community College Campus — In The Cloud

KPBS

Gov. Jerry Brown is expected to release his budget in the coming days, and it could include funds for a brand new community college — one that is fully online. Last year, the governor asked California Community Colleges Chancellor Eloy Ortiz Oakley to develop a plan for an online-only campus. The chancellor’s office sent him three options in November: an online school fed by faculty and staff at an existing college, another staffed by a consortium of existing colleges, or a completely new and separate operation run out of the chancellor’s office.

 

Opinion: CSU’s new plan for remedial work will improve students’ performance

The Mercury News

Every year tens of thousands of first-time freshmen admitted to California State University campuses start their college experience informed they are not ready for college level work. This message is disheartening, and of those 25,000 freshmen receiving it, 1 in 4 will not return for the second year and only 10 percent will graduate in four years. This is unacceptable.

 

California’s Brain Gain

Public Policy Institute of California

Recently released data from the US Census Bureau show that even as California continues to experience large net losses of residents moving out of state, the state is still a net importer of college graduates from other states. This interstate migration pattern—gaining large numbers of college graduates while losing large numbers of less educated adults—is unique among the states.

 

Apprenticeships:

 

A critical need for well-trained construction workers

Capitol Weekly

It’s taken an army of firefighters to battle California’s historic infernos. It will take an even larger army to rebuild the Golden State from the devastation. As the president and CEO of the Associated Builders and Contractors of Northern California, I’ve had many reasons to be proud of the 1,200 ABC Contractors in California that have a battalion of the most highly qualified, best trained, safe workers awaiting orders to lift their hammers and saws, repair the plumbing, and lay the electrical wiring needed to restore our communities.

 

ENVIRONMENT/ ENERGY

 

Environment:

 

Valley’s air pollution is at dangerous levels

abc30.com

Bad air is nothing new for the Central Valley, but right now it is extremely bad. The haze is made up of tiny particles, at levels five to six times higher than the level considered dangerous to health. It looks like fog but the stuff in the air over the Central Valley is concentrated particulate air pollution, and it is making people sick.

See also:

·       Valley gripped by terrible air pollution. Will storms bring relief this weekend? Modesto Bee

·       Bad air quality in Tulare County Visalia Times-Delta

·       Bad air quality Bakersfield Californian

·       Hold your breath: Lingering smog, and spike in ER visits, should ease up soon  Bakersfield Californian

·       AIRNow CA Air Quality

 

Californians, economics and environmental protection

Capitol Weekly

Something that isn’t too surprising for legislators or Gov. Brown as California continues to be on the forefront of environmental policies: A major survey shows strong majority (62 percent) of Californians believe air pollution is a problem in their part of California.

 

One million more dead trees in Calaveras

Stockton Record

Bark beetle devastation continues even after drought. Another 1 million-plus trees died in Calaveras County alone last year, despite abundant rainfall which protects the trees from the ravages of bark beetles. As large as last year’s death toll was, it marked an improvement from 2016, when nearly 1.9 million trees died in Calaveras.

 

Magnitude 4.5 earthquake rumbles across Bay Area but no damage reported

Los Angeles Times

magnitude 4.5 earthquake shook up the San Francisco Bay Area early Thursday. It was felt throughout the region, and could be felt for perhaps five to 10 seconds. Near the San Francisco International Airport, several jolts could be felt.

 

One way to cut plastic pollution

Sacramento Bee

If you’re old enough to remember walking the beaches of Malibu or Coronado in the 1970s, you can vouch for what was then often the truth of beach life in California – stepping on pop-tops, the aluminum ring that came off after opening a can of soda. Today, small plastic caps from bottled water line soccer fields and litter streets, parks and beaches, where they trail only cigarette butts and food wrappers among our leading sources of litter.

 

Energy:

 

Labor and solar companies must compromise on clean energy

Sacramento Bee

While we do have an impressive track record, California is really a conglomeration of various stakeholders with important interests. This can lead to stalemates, but if we focus on our common goals – such as a prosperous economy and a healthy environment for future generations – we can genuinely hear and respect each other.

 

Here’s how the Senate’s two new Democrats change its energy math

Washington Post

With Jones replacing Republican Luther Strange and Smith replacing Democrat Al Franken, who resigned after facing his own allegations of groping, Republicans’ 52-vote majority in the chamber has narrowed to just 51. That small change has a disproportionate effect on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. Both Strange and Franken served on the panel, meaning that if Jones and Smith simply replaced them, committee membership would be tied.

 

The Future Of Energy Isn’t Fossil Fuels Or Renewables, It’s Nuclear Fusion

Forbes

Let’s pretend, for a moment, that the climate doesn’t matter. That we’re completely ignoring the connection between carbon dioxide, the Earth’s atmosphere, the greenhouse effect, global temperatures, ocean acidification, and sea-level rise. From a long-term point of view, we’d still need to plan for our energy future.

 

HEALTH/HUMAN SERVICES

 

Health:

 

Two different flu bugs are keeping hospital emergency doctors busy

Fresno Bee

Strains of influenza are ripping across the U.S., and hospitals in the Fresno area are seeing growing numbers of patients coming to their emergency rooms suffering with respiratory problems and other flu symptoms.

 

This diet was just named the best way to eat in 2018

Los Angeles Times

The bad news: It’s January, so we’re all looking for ways to be more healthful after our holiday excesses. The good news? If we embrace the Mediterranean diet, which was just named the best overall diet for 2018 by U.S. News & World Report, it should be pretty easy to stick to.

 

A renewed brawl over single-payer healthcare in California is on deck for 2018

Los Angeles Times

California officials are bracing for healthcare battles in Washington to have a major impact on the state’s budget and programs. Activists and politicians are planning a showdown over whether or not to establish a single-payer healthcare system in the state. And prescription drug manufacturers are the target of a number of bills meant to target the rising costs of medication.

 

IMMIGRATION

 

Why the census shouldn’t try to count undocumented immigrants

Los Angeles Times

The U.S. Constitution requires the federal government to conduct a national census every 10 years, a tally that is used to apportion various benefits among the states, including seats in the House of Representatives. It’s a difficult task, and a magnet for disputes. Now the Department of Justice is pushing the Census Bureau to insert a question into the 2020 census asking each person for his or her citizenship status, which would ensure that the next census, too, will be controversial — and more inaccurate.

 

Divided Democrats face liberal backlash over inaction on immigration

PBS NewsHour

With a new deadline fast approaching, Democrats in Congress are struggling to adopt a unified strategy to protect hundreds of thousands of young immigrants from deportation.

 

California cites Trump tweet in immigration policy fight

Washington Post

The California attorney general says a tweet by President Donald Trump shows the true motivation behind his decision to end a program protecting some young immigrants from deportation.

 

LAND USE/HOUSING

 

Kings building activity down one-third in 2017

Hanford Sentinel

Kings County’s building activity was down in 2017 on both the residential and commercial front. Builders permitted 260 homes in the county in 2017, down from 415 the year before according to Construction Monitor.

 

California housing legislation to watch in 2018

Sacramento Bee

California lawmakers are preparing new housing legislation this week, just months after Democrats in both houses pushed through the biggest legislative package on housing in decades. As the Legislature returns for session, state Sen. Scott Wiener, a San Francisco Democrat, will unveil his 2018 proposals.

See also:

·       Get ready for a lot more housing near the Expo Line and other California transit stations if new legislation passes  Los Angeles Times

 

Some homeowners lose insurance coverage as wildfire risks rise

San Francisco Chronicle

Two days before Christmas, Oakland hills resident Anil Prasad got a letter in the mail saying his longtime home insurance wouldn’t be renewed, citing his property’s location “in an ineligible brush area.” Essentially, the fire risk was too great.

 

5 Things a Californian Should Know Now About Rent Control

PublicCEO

One way or another, two words are likely to dominate the complicated politics of California’s housing crisis in 2018: rent control. Next week state lawmakers will hear a proposal from Assemblyman Richard Bloom, Democrat from Santa Monica, that would allow cities to dramatically restrict what landlords can charge tenants year-over-year. The bill couldn’t even get a hearing last year amid intense opposition from landlords.

 

PUBLIC FINANCES

 

California tax revenues surged unexpectedly in December. Here’s why

San Francisco Chronicle

California’s income tax collections in December came in a whopping $4 billion — 32 percent above expectations — and the surprise came not from growth in the economy but from people speeding up their final 2017 state income tax payments before federal tax law changes took effect Jan. 1.

 

Pension costs are threatening public services all over California. It has to stop.

Sacramento Bee

California is great at making pension promises, but a dismal failure at properly funding them. The most recent annual report released by the California Public Employees’ Retirement System shows that, as of June 2016, CalPERS was more than $138 billion in debt. The teachers’ retirement system (CalSTRS) is nearly as bad, with $96 billion in debt. Even with a couple of really good years in the stock market, pension debts have grown.

 

 

TRANSPORTATION

 

Elena Linehan: Where is gas tax going? Here are some specific spots in Sonora

Modesto Bee

Where does the gas tax go? Senate Bill 1 – the Road Repair and Accountability Act of 2017 – raised our gas tax to fix roads and increase public transit. An editor’s note broke down SB1 planned expenditures over the next 10 years, including road maintenance, bridge rehabilitation and transportation research. I can tell you where the SB1 funds will be used in Tuolumne County.

 

Not so happy new year: Expect to pay more for gasoline in 2018 San Diego Union-Tribune

The average price of a gallon of regular gasoline is expected to go up about 19 cents in 2018, according to the annual Fuel Price Outlook put out by GasBuddy, a tech company based in Boston that helps motorists find the cheapest gasoline in a given area.

 

Gasoline-powered cars could not be sold in California after 2040 under new bill

Los Angeles Times

A new bill in the state Legislature would prohibit the sale of any gasoline-powered car in California after 2040. The measure, AB 1745, from Assemblyman Phil Ting (D-San Francisco) would only allow zero-emission vehicles to be sold after Jan. 1, 2040. Ting said the bill is necessary to meet California’s pollution reduction goals.

See also:

·       Statement in Response to New Legislation Banning New Gas-Powered Vehicles in 2040  California Business Roundtable

 

Community Voices: You should be informed about the High Speed Rail plan

bakersfield.com

The High Speed Rail Project is going to be completed. Not only is it going to be built, it is going to do everything they have promised. The system will have great ridership and pay for itself. It is going to have all of the economic impacts to Bakersfield that have been presented in many workshops that have been conducted over the last two years.

 

WATER

 

California’s first snow survey shows very little snow in Sierra

Sacramento Bee

When the chief of California’s snow measurements conducts his manual surveys, he usually does it in style, skimming the snow in cross-country skis as reporters plod behind him in snowshoes. No need this time. The vast meadow around Phillips, a remote spot near Echo Summit, was mostly grass and dirt Wednesday, with pitifully small patches of snow. Frank Gehrke, the Department of Water Resources employee who runs the survey, wore simple winter boots as he walked the 200-yard course off Highway 50 to complete the first official snow survey of the season.

See also:

·       Central Sierra snowpack just 29 percent of average  Modesto Bee

·       Snow measures just 3 percent of average in first California mountain  San Jose Mercury News

·       California Today: Want Snow? Don’t Go Looking in the Sierra Nevada. New York Times

·       Southern California’s water year has been nearly bone dry so far, making some history Los Angeles Times

·       California Today: Want Snow? Don’t Go Looking in the Sierra Nevada. The New York Times

 

“Xtra”

 

Wilbur Plaugher: The Greatest Cowboy living today

Clovis Roundup

Wilbur Plaugher hopped on a bull at the Clovis Rodeo in 1942 and rode it into a career that would earn Plaugher spots in nearly a dozen hall of fames, roles in major motion pictures and a place in the hearts of many Americans as a beloved rodeo clown. At 94, Plaugher is still riding horses and roping cattle, living up to his title as one of the greatest cowboys who ever lived. A title Plaugher’s longtime friend and Country-Western musician Jack Hannah won’t let him forget.

 

First Friday heats up for January

Bakersfield Californian

For the first First Friday of 2018, everyone is shaking off the chill for a lively presentation of art, dining and entertainment. Here’s a look at some of what’s on tap. Laura Valenzuela is the featured artist at the Bakersfield Art Association Art Center with her exhibit “Natural Inspiration.” The series of oil paintings showcase mountain scenes throughout Kern County.