January 8, 2018

08Jan

TOP POLITICAL STORIES​​​​​​​

Local/Regional Politics:

Air District criticized for lack of public outreach

Fresno Bee

Critics say the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District does not do enough to alert the public about hazardous air quality levels such as those that recently gripped the region for weeks.

See also:

·       Public outreach during bad air days criticized Modesto Bee

 

Work on Highway 58/99 interchange to wrap up this spring

Bakersfield Californian

A project that makes improvements to the Highway 58 and 99 interchange is still on track to be completed this spring after more than a year of work. The Beltway Operational Improvements project, expected to cost around $90 million, focuses on the southern leg of Highway 58 from the Highway 99 interchange to Cottonwood Road and on the 99 from north of Ming Avenue to Wilson Road. With some major work still left to be done, the project is estimated to wrap up around April or May.

 

Here’s what Deutsche Bahn rail executive Carsten Puls says California high-speed rail needs to succeed

Silicon Valley Business Journal

The head of the German-American consortium that just signed a contract intended as a preamble to a deal to run the railroad said that like all mega-projects, high-speed rail has financial and political obstacles. But California has a more unique issue, too, that will require a big shift in mindset.

 

Arvin, already facing infrastructure challenges in quest to lure cannabis growers, warily eyes possible crackdown by feds

Bakersfield Californian

Now that 2018 is here and cannabis is officially legal in California, the City of Arvin is going full-steam ahead with its plan to license indoor commercial cannabis cultivation. But trouble could be on the horizon. City Manager Alfonso Noyola said Arvin, one of only two Kern County cities that allow some kind of commercial cannabis activity, is still developing a permitting process and fee structure. The Arvin City Council approved an ordinance allowing the indoor commercial cultivation and manufacturing of marijuana in November.

 

Kern County supervisors to take up controversial report on fire department operations, cuts

Bakersfield Californian

On Tuesday Kern County Supervisors will face their first challenge of 2018: a report that calls for aggressive steps to streamline the operations of the Kern County Fire Department. Supervisors will formally receive the report and decide what, if anything, they’ll do with it. The efficiency proposals in the “Operational and Administrative Analysis” drafted by the independent Center for Public Safety Management could cut at least $12.75 million from fire department spending without laying off firefighters or reducing station staffing.

 

First (official) Women’s March coming to Kern County

Bakersfield Californian

For last year’s first national Women’s March, Kimberly Kirchmer arranged for buses to take people from Bakersfield to the march in Los Angeles, where around 750,000 people took to the streets for women’s rights. When she asked L.A. organizers if she could arrange another caravan for this year’s march, she was told no.

 

Bredefeld unhappy with Fresno chamber’s business vote score

Fresno Bee

Fresno City Councilman Garry Bredefeld is used to ruffling feathers from the council dais since he was sworn in a year ago. But on Thursday, it was Bredefeld whose feathers were ruffled by the Fresno Chamber of Commerce on Twitter, which has become a fascinating sandbox of local politics.

 

Latest Central Valley phone scam uses your number against you

Visalia Times-Delta

Social media outlets have been flooded with posts about a new phone scam popping up in the Central Valley. The scam, which has many people looking twice at their caller ID, has a twist — your own number is calling you. Scammers are using this new tactic to phish for your personal information, according to officials with Fresno’s Better Business Bureau

 

Central Valley Punjabi and Hmong Communities Excited by New Ballot Rules

The California Report – KQED News

Californians who speak Punjabi, Hmong, Syriac, Armenian, Persian and Arabic will now have the option of requesting a facsimile ballot in their language when they go to vote. A facsimile ballot is a laminated copy that voters can refer to as they fill out an English ballot. The change is the result of new, more detailed data that California Secretary of State Alex Padilla requested from the U.S. Census Bureau.

 

SUSD takes initial steps in superintendent search

Stockton Record

The search is on for a new Stockton Unified School District superintendent. Trustees held a special meeting Wednesday night to consider their direction for the initial steps of a superintendent search process.In an email Thursday, district spokeswoman Dianne Barth said trustees agreed to a timeline for finding a consulting firm to assist in the search.

 

Rep. Devin Nunes plays defense for Trump by going on hard offense against Justice Department

Los Angeles Times

It became known as “the midnight run,” a dark-of-night dash to the White Housecompound last March 21 by Rep. Devin Nunes to view classified reports two weeks after President Trump’s incendiary claim that President Obama was “tapping my phones” before the 2016 election.

 

Venom for Denham at Democratic debate

Modesto Bee

The most unpopular guy at Friday’s congressional debate wasn’t even in the house. GOP Rep. Jeff Denham’s name was invoked at least 35 times, never kindly, by six Democratic Party candidates hoping to replace him. They also bashed President Donald Trump a half-dozen times in the nearly 3 1/2-hour forum.

 

California’s Jeff Denham making bid to lead powerful House Transportation and Infrastructure 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. Denham isn’t the most senior member of the committee, but the GOP weighs more than seniority in deciding who gets the gavel.

 

State Politics:

 

Gov. Jerry Brown plants the seeds of his next chapter on a ranch in rural Northern California

Los Angeles Times

The thought lingered with Jerry Brown, perhaps sustained through the years by an old black-and-white photograph in his state Capitol office. The image is a man with a long, white beard feeding his sheep in a rustic 19th-century setting. California’s longest-serving governor told himself that one day he should do something special with all of that rolling Northern California acreage that once belonged to his great-grandfather August Schuckman, the man in the photo.

 

California governor’s race is likely to be decided in Los Angeles County

Los Angeles Times

For the hopefuls in California’s race for governor, the sprawling metropolis of Los Angeles County is as mesmerizing as the blanket of lights that glistens every night from the San Gabriel Mountains to the Long Beach coast.

 

Doug Ose opens campaign for California governor

Sacramento Bee

Republican Doug Ose, a politically moderate former congressman from the Sacramento region who last year became one of President Donald Trump’s most vociferous surrogates in California, on Friday opened a committee to run for governor. The filing allows Ose, 62, to begin raising money for the June primary. He said he will make a formal announcement within 10 days.

See Also:

·       Republican Doug Ose says he’s running for California governorSacramento Bee

·       Another Republican has jumped into California’s race for governor, and he could sink his party’s chances Los Angeles Times

 

Gavin Newsom: Learn about the candidate in CA governor’s race

Sacramento Bee

California Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom is running as the heir apparent to Gov. Jerry Brown. The former mayor of San Francisco, Newsom was the first candidate to announce a 2018 gubernatorial campaign, way back in February 2015, offering that he’d rather be candid than coy about his plans. Newsom, a Democrat, originally sought the office in 2009, but stepped aside after Brown made it clear he was running.

 

Walters: Senator’s creative tax plan faces many pitfalls

CALmatters

State legislators are floating some creative schemes to blunt the impact of the new federal tax law on California taxpayers. Several are in the air, but the main one,proposed by Kevin de León, the outgoing state Senate president pro tem, more than slightly resembles phony tax avoidance scams that entice the unwary and often result in hefty penalties and interest payments being imposed by the Internal Revenue Service.

See Also:

·       Skelton: Democrats’ plan to help California taxpayers doesn’t pass the smell test. They should still go for it Los Angeles Times 

·       California Scheming: Playing Games with the Taxman  Fox and Hounds Daily

 

Can California preserve net neutrality? Lawmakers pledge to try

Sacramento Bee

In another episode of the California vs. Donald Trump saga, Democratic state lawmakers are promoting legislation to preserve equal internet access in defiance of a recent federal ruling.

 

California moves to protect legal weed

Sacramento Bee

California is putting up a united front against U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions and his federal directive targeting legal weed, with one state lawmaker reviving a proposal this year that would make California a so-called “sanctuary state” for marijuana. Assemblyman Reggie Jones-Sawyer, D-Los Angeles, said Sessions’ decision Thursday to allow federal prosecutors to crack down on marijuana growers and sellers, just as California’s recreational use law took effect, prompts the need for protection from what he called the “outdated federal war on drugs.”

See also:

·       How California politicians are voting on pot legalization Sacramento Bee

 

Toni Atkins poised to enter history books

Capitol Weekly

State Sen. Toni Atkins has come a long way since she was a girl growing up poor without running water in rural Virginia. This month, the San Diego lawmaker is set to replace Kevin de León as leader of the California Senate. She will be the first woman and first open lesbian to hold the position. She also will be the first person since the 19th century to hold both of the Legislature’s top jobs – Assembly speaker and Senate leader.

 

In about-face after legal threats, California’s Legislature will grant new access to sexual misconduct allegation records

Los Angeles Times

The California Legislature unveiled a new policy Friday that for the first time would reveal the identities of some who have been accused of sexual misconduct, two months after refusing to disclose detailed information about years of allegations.

 

Better Poverty Measure Shows Economic Hardship Is More Widespread in Certain Parts of California

California Budget & Policy Center

The official poverty measure published annually by the US Census Bureau does a poor job of capturing the true extent of economic hardship in California. This is because it doesn’t account for the high cost of housing in many parts of the state, and it doesn’t factor in many of the non-cash public supports (such as CalFresh food assistance) and post-tax supports (like the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC)) that families use to meet basic needs.

 

Severe flu brings medicine shortages, packed ERs and a rising death toll in California

Los Angeles Times

So many people have fallen sick with influenza in California that pharmacies have run out of flu medicines, emergency rooms are packed, and the death toll is rising higher than in previous years. Health officials said Friday that 27 people younger than 65 have died of the flu in California since October, compared with three at the same time last year. Nationwide and in California, flu activity spiked sharply in late December and continues to grow.

See also:

·       Packed emergency rooms, deaths as flu hits California hard Miami Herald

 

Sign Here: ‘Tis Initiative Season

Fox&Hounds

It is too early to know which initiatives will qualify for the November ballot; some measures have not even received their titles and summaries from the attorney general yet. But we know that money goes a long way in helping to qualify ballot measures using professional signature gatherers. It is conventional wisdom that money can almost assuredly qualify a measure for the ballot but money is not a magic bullet for getting measures approved by voters.

 

Federal Politics:

 

How Dianne Feinstein’s age is shaping California Senate race

Sacramento Bee

California Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s age has become an increasingly unavoidable part of her biography. “At age 84, Dianne Feinstein is the oldest of the 100 United States senators,” Los Angeles Times columnist Harold Meyerson began a July op-ed that argued she shouldn’t run for re-election.

 

In Clash Between California and Trump, It’s One America Versus Another

New York Times

When drivers entered California recently from the borders with Arizona and Nevada, they were greeted with signs welcoming them to an “official sanctuary state” that is home to “felons” and “illegals.” It was a prank, but the message was clear: By entering California, they might as well have been entering foreign territory. And in many ways it feels like that these days, as the growing divide between California and the Trump administration erupted this past week over a dizzying range of flash points, from immigration to taxes to recreational marijuana use.

See also:

·       ‘This is further proof of President Trump’s war on California’  POLITICO

 

California prepares for legal and political battles after Sessions takes tougher enforcement stand on marijuana

Los Angeles Times

Days after California began issuing licenses for marijuana sales, state leaders were preparing Thursday for possible political and legal battles in response to a decision by U.S. Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions to rescind a federal policy that has allowed dispensaries to operate without fear of prosecution.

See also:

·       Becerra vows to fight pot crackdown: ‘They have tripped over themselves and given us opportunities to legally stop them’ Los Angeles Times

 

Trump’s plan to open California coastal waters to new oil and gas drilling probably won’t go very far

Los Angeles Times

There are two things working against the Trump administration’s proposal to open up California coastal waters to new oil and gas drilling: state regulators and simple economics.

 

Solution for Dreamers tied to Trump’s border wall

Sacramento Bee

In case you missed it: Immigration advocates say any deal to protect Dreamers will likely give Trump his border wall. A new proposal would restrict state and local agencies from carrying out Jeff Sessions’ war on weed. Former Congressman Doug Ose opened a committee to run for governor.

 

Trump explains what he wants for immigration reform

The Washington Post

At a Camp David news conference Jan. 6, President Trump walked through his priorities on immigration, including ending the practice of giving priority to immigrants’ relatives and the lottery system.

 

California Dreamers say ‘We can’t wait,’ as they plead for Congressional action

Center for Public Integrity

Luis Galvan, 20, enjoyed a moment of triumph in late October when he boarded a plane for the first time and flew to Indianapolis to receive his Future Farmers of America degree, a prestigious certificate of achievement in the world of agriculture. Galvan was proud that all

 

Tax law’s pass-through provision could harm 401(k) plans

Investment New

The new tax law’s provision on pass-through businesses is proving to be one of the most challenging to dissect, and it’s one that some retirement pundits are eyeing with concern. Some industry groups, such as the American Retirement Association, say the pass-through rules could become the most impactful part of the law for 401(k) plans, which were otherwise largely left untouched by the legislation.

 

I’ve been a census enumerator. Asking about citizenship is a terrible idea.

The Washington Post

As ProPublica recently reported, the Justice Department is asking the Census Bureau for the 2020 count to add a new question about citizenship. The department’s reasoning: To enforce the Voting Rights Act, it “needs a reliable calculation of the citizen voting-age population in localities where voting rights violations are alleged or suspected.” That’s not the first time the Trump administration has suggested adding a citizenship question. In February, The Washington Post reported on a draft executive order proposing “questions to determine U.S. citizenship and immigration status on the long-form questionnaire in the decennial census.”

 

AP fact check: Trump’s empty boasts on air safety, vets, EPA

The Mercury News

It’s been a week of bogus boasting by President Donald Trump and members of his administration as they took unearned credit for airline safety, pollution cleanup and major advances in care for veterans.

 

Other:

 

Is Facebook preparing to open up on fake news?

POLITICO

After months of criticism over their refusal to share data on whether efforts to halt the spread of false news are working, Facebook officials told POLITICO they may be ready to slowly open up. Tessa Lyons, a product manager at Facebook, said the company has invited representatives from the fact-checking groups with whom it has partnered to its Menlo Park, California, headquarters in early February to discuss, in part, what information could finally be shared. Going ahead and doing so would represent a major shift for the social media giant.

 

Declare California ‘done’ all you want, but we’re still the world’s 6th-largest economy

Los Angeles Times

As an historian, I disagree with urbanist and California critic Joel Kotkin’s naysayer views. The California dream of a better life for all has supposedly died many times. The 1990s economic slowdown triggered funereal editorials. Then the tech boom in the middle of that decade catapulted the state to the forefront. The next death supposedly came in the early 2000s with energy shortages caused largely by out-of-state providers.

 

National parks become digital battle sites

Modesto Bee

In Yosemite, Yellowstone, Mount Rainier and other iconic parks, environmentalists are pressing the National Park Service to slow or halt construction of new cellular towers within park boundaries. They say the NPS is quietly facilitating a digital transformation with little public input or regard to its mission statement – to preserve “unimpaired the natural and cultural resources and values of the National Park System.”

 

Why setting up a living trust may be wise, especially in California

Los Angeles Times

Living trusts allow estates to avoid probate, the court process that otherwise oversees the paying of creditors and distribution of someone’s assets. (The sources of income you listed aren’t considered assets, by the way, since those will cease upon your deaths and can’t be transferred to other heirs.) Living trusts offer privacy, because probate is a public process, and can make it easier for a designated person to take over for you if you should become incapacitated.

Topics in More Detail…

EDITORIALS

 

Block Trump plan to pump Delta water south to the Central Valley

The Mercury News

Few things are more important to the future of the Bay Area and Northern California than the quality of our water supply. And here comes the latest threat. At the behest of the Central Valley’s billionaire agribusiness operators, the Trump administration on Dec. 29 proposed pumping more water south from the fragile Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta despite the potentially devastating long-term impact on the water Silicon Valley and the East Bay count on.

 

Stop Trump from drilling for oil off California’s majestic coast

The Mercury News

Remember the devastation of the 1969 Santa Barbara oil spill: Union oil’s inadequate safety precautions resulted in 3 million gallons of crude oil spewing into the Pacific Ocean, spawning what we now know as Earth Day. The prepare to fight.

 

Jeff Sessions ought to butt out of marijuana enforcement, and focus on what matters

Fresno Bee

Sessions wants to enforce cannabis law. Zinke wants to drill offshore. ICE wants to prosecute local officials. Do states’ rights matter?.

 

Losers in the GOP tax plan, blue states are unwisely turning to tax evasion

Los Angeles Times

Congressional Republicans say the $1.5-trillion tax cut they passed last month will produce far more winners than losers, with the typical family of four earning the median income saving more than $2,000 this year. But the losers will be easier to find in states with high tax rates and elevated property values — like, say, California.

 

Why is the Trump regime trying to push our buttons?

Modesto Bee

It wasn’t enough for the Trump administration to put a thumb in the eye of California with its punitive tax law enacted last month. Now it wants to tar our beaches and tell us that we should happily return to the days of Leave it to Beaver

 

ICE director bullies California politicians over sanctuary policies

San Francisco Chronicle

The country’s top immigration cop crossed a dangerous line last week, suggesting politicians in sanctuary cities — i.e., California cities — should be arrested.

 

Can you afford a California home? Take that answer to the 2018 voting booth

Fresno Bee

We aren’t big on resolutions, but we do have certain wishes for the 2018 election campaign. Gov. Jerry Brown has shown a successful governor must not overspend or over-promise. Clearly, there are limits what a state can do. But our hope is that voters will select candidates who hold realistic views that will most help people in need.

 

Our View: It is time for solutions to homelessness crisis

Stockton Record

We see them making a makeshift camp in a park. Sleeping on a piece of cardboard in the alcove of a building. Rummaging through a trash can at curbside. Panhandling at busy intersections and highway exits. To many they are nuisances who make us feel uncomfortable, leave behind their trash or, worse yet, invade our homes committing crimes either out of necessity or just because that’s what they do.

 

Cut the red tape already and start building supportive housing for the homeless

Los Angeles Times

Here is a smart way for the Los Angeles City Council to jump-start the building of housing for homeless people: Cut the red tape that delays the construction of supportive housing and the conversion of dilapidated motels into new apartments.

 

Wearing black to the Golden Globes is just the televised part of the #MeToo revolution

Fresno Bee

From the Time’s Up initiative by Hollywood power players to a blizzard of legislation in Sacramento, California is stepping up.

 

AGRICULTURE/FOOD

 

A chat with a vineyard innovator: The man behind cotton candy grapes

Bakersfield Californian

At the start of a new year in Spain, to beckon prosperity and health, residents eat 12 grapes in sync with the chiming of the clock tower. They scramble to gulp down 12 Spanish grapes, one at a time, for good luck, on the countdown to midnight. And, as one might imagine, it can be a challenge, especially since the grapes there usually have seeds.

 

Farmers gave Trump their votes and are looking for a return

Sacramento Bee

Farmers are looking for a sign from President Donald Trump that their issues mean as much to him as their votes do. Trump is scheduled to speak at the American Farm Bureau Federation’s annual conference Monday in Nashville, the first sitting president to address the group in 26 years. He’ll be getting a warm welcome, even though there are policies his administration is pursuing that run counter to some farm interests.

 

As Trump Appeals to Farmers, Some of His Policies Don’t

New York Times

President Trump will head to Tennessee on Monday to appeal to farmers, a key demographic that helped elect him, as he promotes his tax law and previews a new White House strategy to help rural America. But back in Washington, some of the economic policies his administration is pursuing are at odds with what many in the farm industry say is needed, from a potentially drastic shift in trade policies that have long supported agriculture to some little-noticed tax increases in the $1.5 trillion tax law.

 

Marijuana processing business backed by NBA All-Star coming to eastern Kern

Bakersfield Californian

A business that will process medical marijuana into a variety of products from edibles to oils was scheduled to break ground in the desert northeast of California City Friday afternoon. Mountain Chief Products is one of a number of businesses being established in the Kern County community northeast of Mojave.

See also:

·       High or Dry? California legal pot to test supply pipeline Washington Post

·       Why Sessions is wrong to reverse federal marijuana policy  Brookings Institute

·       The Health 202: Can marijuana survive the disapproving glare of Jeff Sessions?  Washington Post

·       Did Jeff Sessions Just Increase the Odds Congress Will Make Marijuana Legal? POLITICO Magazine

 

CRIMINAL JUSTICE / FIRE / PUBLIC SAFETY

 

Public Safety:

 

More funds sought for sheriff’s department plane

Visalia Times-Delta

The sheriff’s department will look for Supervisors’ approval to spend up to $500,000 to buy a high-definition, thermal imaging camera for the law enforcement agency’s Cessna plane. The camera will be lightweight and fully digital with “exceptional picture clarity with target acquisition.” The new camera will allow the sheriff’s department to be better equipped for quick response to public safety missions.

 

California traffic fines prey on poor

Sacramento Bee

Today, more than at any time, California has an opportunity to continue its leadership in building a fair society. So far, it has missed the mark on an issue that significantly affects more than 4 million residents: traffic fines and fees.

 

There’s been a minor accident on the highway. Here’s what to do next

Fresno Bee

I often get asked, “What can I do (or cannot) following a traffic collision? Am I allowed to move my vehicle? Who should I call? What personal information does the law require me to share?” Here are answers from the California Highway Patrol’s perspective.

 

How can summer jobs reduce crime among youth?

Brookings Institute

Summer youth employment programs (SYEPs) have become increasingly popular in cities and counties across the country, and are effective in reducing crime and incarceration among participants according to recent evaluations.  However, less is known about how they achieve these impacts, and which participants benefit the most. With more information about which program elements are the most effective, places can do more to ensure quality as they expand or launch programs.

 

Fire:

 

Rains finally arrive, bringing new danger in California’s vast fire zones

Los Angeles Times

In the mountains above coastal Santa Barbara County, the vegetation is typically so deep and lush that it can soak up a half-inch of rainwater before it flows downhill. But that was before the Thomas fire swept through in December, burning those trees and brush to the ground. Now, the rain has no buffer, and that is cause for alarm.

 

ECONOMY / JOBS

 

Economy:

 

Productivity and Pay: Is the link broken?

National Bureau of Economic Research

Since 1973 median compensation has diverged starkly from average labor productivity. Since 2000, average compensation has also begun to diverge from labor productivity. These divergences lead to the question: to what extent does productivity growth translate into compensation growth for typical American workers?

 

Jobs:

 

U.S. Employers Slowed Pace of Hiring in December

Wall Street Journal

The pace of hiring slowed a bit in the final month of 2017, but remained robust for the year as a whole and the jobless rate held at a 17-year low, signs the broader labor market maintained plenty of momentum going into the new year. Nonfarm payrolls rose a seasonally adjusted 148,000 in December, the Labor Department said Friday. That brought employment gains for the year to 2.1 million, the seventh straight year of increases exceeding two million. It is only the second time on record—the other being in the 1990s—when…

See also:

·       Black unemployment falls to 6.8 percent, the lowest level on record The Washington Post

·        

The downside of California’s $15 minimum wage may be more automated jobs

Sacramento Bee

Outwardly, the McDonalds restaurant just off Highway 101 in Pismo Beach doesn’t look any different from the 1,500 or so others in California. But when you walk into this one, you immediately encounter a robotic kiosk that allows you to order your hamburger or other fast food on a touch screen, rather than verbally with a human worker at the counter.

 

Retail workers feel disruption from shifting shopper habits

AP

With new options and conveniences, there’s never been a better time for shoppers. As for workers … well, not always. The retail industry is being radically reshaped by technology, and nobody feels that disruption more starkly than 16 million American shelf stockers, salespeople, cashiers and others. The shifts are driven, like much in retail, by the Amazon effect — the explosion of online shopping and the related changes in consumer behavior and preferences.

See also:

·       Why the retail apocalypse isn’t being taken seriously Marketplace

 

Is It Finally Time To Allow California Legislative Staff To Unionize?

Capital Public Radio News

The latest proposal from a California lawmaker in response to the #MeToo and We Said Enough movements strikes at one of the Legislature’s most sacred cows: the “at-will” employment of its staff.

 

EDUCATION

 

K-12:

 

How to hire a teacher: Report offers California schools advice

The Mercury News

The Burlingame School District highlights its Maker Spaces and technology program. The Belmont-Redwood Shores district promotes its partnership with a Columbia University reading and writing workshop. Tiny Bayshore Elementary talks about the advantages of working in a cozy community and the opportunity to shape the culture of a brand-new K-8 school. These are among the strategies that school districts employ in pursuit of an increasingly elusive prize: new public school teachers.

 

Feds offer up a gift for California school reformers

San Francisco Chronicle

For years, an “Equity Coalition” of civil rights and education reform groups has battled the state’s education establishment — state schools Superintendent Tom Torlakson, the state Board of Education and the California Teachers Association, most notably — over how the “achievement gap” should be addressed.

 

Concerns Mount Over State K-12 Education Plans

US News

As states cement education plans for their schools under the federal K-12 law, the Department of Education is working furiously to assess them amid mounting concerns about states’ commitment to following the law, their proposals to ensure historically disadvantaged students have access to quality education, and the department’s capacity – and in some cases, lack of desire – to police it all.

 

High-Quality Early Childhood Programs Can Change Lives

RAND

The evidence has been mounting for decades: Programs that help children learn and grow in their earliest years can change the trajectories of their lives. That’s especially important for children in disadvantaged families who often face obstacles to success from the day they are born. Done well, programs like home visiting and early childhood education can offer them a better shot at a better life.

 

A Case History of CART and Project-Based Learning

Center for Advance Research and Technology

this project and case history of the Center for Advanced research and technology (CArt) was inspired by an interest in the concept of innovation and the convergence of ideas from diverse fields about how we think and learn and ultimately, how innovation happens.

 

Higher Ed:

 

Despite legalization, California colleges stick to their marijuana bans

EdSource

Students at UC San Diego don’t need to go far if they want to take part in California’s new recreational marijuana market: Torrey Holistics, a dispensary that sells cannabis to anyone over 21, is the next exit up Interstate 5 from the university.

 

Why Free College Tuition Is Spreading From Cities to States

Pew Charitable Trusts | Stateline

To churn out more workers with marketable skills, an increasing number of states are offering residents free tuition to community colleges and technical schools. The move also is a reaction to fast-rising tuition costs — increases that stem, in part, from states reducing their financial support of public colleges and universities.Morley Winograd, president of the Campaign for Free College Tuition, a Seattle-based nonprofit, described the movement as “the fastest-growing policy idea in the country” — one with bipartisan support.

 

ENVIRONMENT/ ENERGY

 

Air District criticized for lack of public outreach

Fresno Bee

Critics say the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District does not do enough to alert the public about hazardous air quality levels such as those that recently gripped the region for weeks.

See also:

·       Public outreach during bad air days criticized Modesto Bee

 

Climate-Change Policies Can Be Punishing for the Poor

Wall Street Journal

Freezing temperatures in the U.S. Northeast have pushed up heating costs, creating serious stress for many Americans. Although the rich world’s energy poor are largely forgotten in discussions about climate policies, they bear an unfair burden for well-meaning proposals. That reality is being laid bare this icy winter as energy and electricity prices surge.

 

Protecting California’s beaches from Donald Trump

Los Angeles Times

We were headed to Redondo Canyon, just off the peninsula, the day after the Trump administration announced plans to open coastal waters around the country to drilling, including six regions off California. The administration is also rolling back protections put in place to reduce the risk of oil spills.

 

HEALTH/HUMAN SERVICES

 

Health:

 

Air District criticized for lack of public outreach

Fresno Bee

Critics say the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District does not do enough to alert the public about hazardous air quality levels such as those that recently gripped the region for weeks.

See also:

·       Public outreach during bad air days criticized Modesto Bee

 

Hard-hitting flu dwindling local supply of antiviral medications, overwhelming physicians

The Bakersfield Californian

Ten people in California have died so far this winter from influenza, evidence that health professionals’ warnings are valid: this flu is hitting harder and earlier than it has in years. The virus has hospitalized scores of people, leaving the state to contend with widespread outbreaks and, locally, a dwindling supply of antiviral medications.

See also:

·       Severe flu brings medicine shortages, packed ERs and a rising death toll in California  Los Angeles Times

·       No, it’s not too late to get a flu shot Los Angeles Times

 

Apple should study how iPhone use might hurt kids, two big investors say

Los Angeles Times

Two big shareholders of Apple Inc. are concerned that the entrancing qualities of the iPhone have fostered a public health crisis that could hurt children — and the company as well.

 

IMMIGRATION

 

For stories on federal immigration policies, See: “Top Stories – Federal Politics,” above

  

Why would we want to exclude Dreamers from America?

San Francisco Chronicle

I was just a child when my parents emigrated with me from Argentina six decades ago. Yet even as an inquisitive youngster, it never crossed my mind to ask if we had proper documentation to enter the United States. My parents, like so many before them, were filled with the hope of a better life in America for themselves and their children, and they were willing to sacrifice much and overcome even more to secure those opportunities. We settled in California, and in due course I took advantage of my state’s extraordinary commitment to education by enrolling at Diablo Valley Community College before transferring to Fresno State University, where I earned my bachelor’s degree. Later, I attended California State University East Bay, where I received my master’s, and ultimately earned a Ph.D. from UC Berkeley.

 

Orange County quits program that exemplified its tough stance on illegal immigration

Los Angeles Times

Orange County stands as an outlier in California, a state that has become increasingly friendly to immigrants. At a time when state leaders resisted President Trump’s hard line against illegal immigration, Orange County Sheriff Sandra Hutchens reached out to the Trump administration, stating that she wanted her deputies to work more closely with federal immigration officials.

 

LAND USE/HOUSING

  

Will Sacramento home prices keep rising in 2018? Here are predictions from three experts

Sacramento Bee

Last year saw rising prices in Sacramento-area real estate as buyers competed for a tight supply of homes for sale. What will 2018 hold? The Sacramento Bee asked three experts in different fields of real estate to help predict market conditions in the coming year.

See also:

·       Experts weigh in on what the 2018 housing market will bring Washington Post

·       Housing market could shift under new tax law The Washington Post

 

Five Things A Californian Should Know About Rent Control

capradio.org

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.

 

Marin County has long resisted growth in the name of environmentalism. But high housing costs and segregation persist

Los Angeles Times

The December meeting on a proposed 400-home development played out as many have in Marin County. Dozens of residents approached the microphone to argue the project would hurt their quality of life. The Board of Supervisors killed the planand told the developer what to expect when it tried again.

 

PUBLIC FINANCES

 

Mathews: Should Prop. 13 exemption be immortal?

VC Star

Yes, all Californians eventually will die. But why can’t our property tax discounts live forever? That’s the question raised by the California Association of Realtors’ glorious new ballot initiative to make our state’s Proposition 13 property tax savings even more generous. The “People’s Initiative to Protect Prop. 13 Savings” reminds us of a Californian truth as undeniable as the Golden Gate Bridge: Limiting property taxes is the fundamental organizing principle of post-modern California.

 

‘Excess’ pension payments grow then phase out

Calpensions

If the Internal Revenue Service annual limit for a public pension was $210,000 two years ago, why were the top 10 CalPERS pensions well above the limit, ranging from $290,273 to $390,485? The answer is that pension systems have the option of going over the IRS limit — if they set up a special fund so only the employer pays the cost of the “excess” pension amount.

See also:

·       City services slashed to fund pensions, and now your taxes are going up, too!  Fox&Hounds

·       Chuck Reed: California: Rein in public employee pension costsSacramento Bee

 

TRANSPORTATION

 

California’s Jeff Denham making bid to lead powerful House Transportation and Infrastructure 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. Denham isn’t the most senior member of the committee, but the GOP weighs more than seniority in deciding who gets the gavel.

 

Work on Highway 58/99 interchange to wrap up this spring

Bakersfield Californian

A project that makes improvements to the Highway 58 and 99 interchange is still on track to be completed this spring after more than a year of work. The Beltway Operational Improvements project, expected to cost around $90 million, focuses on the southern leg of Highway 58 from the Highway 99 interchange to Cottonwood Road and on the 99 from north of Ming Avenue to Wilson Road. With some major work still left to be done, the project is estimated to wrap up around April or May.

 

Here’s what Deutsche Bahn rail executive Carsten Puls says California high-speed rail needs to succeed

Silicon Valley Business Journal

The head of the German-American consortium that just signed a contract intended as a preamble to a deal to run the railroad said that like all mega-projects, high-speed rail has financial and political obstacles. But California has a more unique issue, too, that will require a big shift in mindset.

 

Assemblyman Jim Patterson opposes new proposed High Speed Rail bill

ABC30

As the state continues hunting for ways to finance high-speed rail a local assemblyman says he wants to make sure the money is not coming at the expense of highway repairs. You can find battered roads all across California. That’s why local Assemblyman, Jim Patterson, says he’s working to make sure money meant to repair them stays that way. “When those funds are collected, they’re supposed to go to highways. Here’s the basic problem, a railroad is not a highway,” Patterson.

 

WATER

 

A dense blob has kept California weather dry. Here’s how it works

Sacramento Bee

Think of it as a dense blob of air. When it parks itself over the Pacific Ocean, it can act like a wall – and prevent rain and snow from reaching Northern California. When meteorologists say a “high pressure system” or a “ridiculously resilient ridge” is keeping the West unseasonably dry, this is what they mean.

 

Storm expected to bring heavy rain and snow to Northern California

Sacramento Bee

Commuters and mountain travelers should prepare for hazardous road conditions Monday as a storm moves in, according to the National Weather Service.

 

Human error played a role in Oroville Dam spillway failure, report finds

Los Angeles Times

Complacency, bureaucracy and an inadequate safety culture led to the failure last year of the Oroville Dam spillway, according to an independent investigation reportreleased Friday. The findings point to human error by a number of organizations but say that the dam’s owner, the California Department of Water Resources, was “significantly overconfident and complacent about the integrity of its State Water Project civil infrastructure, including dams.”

 

“Xtra”

 

Visalia strays get new temporary home

Visalia Times-Delta

On Saturday, staff and volunteers of Valley Oak SPCA welcome hundreds of Valley residents to their new location in North Visalia. “This is amazing,” said Board member Mike Skrocki. “A year ago with all the uncertainty, it’s come to fruition.” In 2016, the agency ended its contract with the Visalia Animal Care Center and began looking for a new facility.

 

Snakes and lizards and geckos, oh my! The second annual Central Valley Reptile and Exotic Pet Expo stops in Bakersfield

Bakersfield Californian

The new family pet doesn’t have to be a four-legged and furry friend, but could be a long, scaly fella with a forked tongue, like a ball python. For Bakersfield reptile and exotic pet enthusiasts, Sunday was a dream come true as the Central Valley Reptile and Exotic Pet Expo stopped through at the Kern County Fairgrounds.

 

Bakersfield’s 2018 concert lineup heats up with Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, Sugarland

Bakersfield Californian

“Tha Crossroads” meet at the Fox Theater next month when rap group Bone Thugs-N-Harmony hits the stage Feb. 18. The rap group out of Cleveland, Ohio, burst onto the music scene in the 1990s, mixing melodic rhyming with fast-pace rapping. That brew led to a string of hits, including “Thuggish Ruggish Bone,” and “Tha Crossroads,” which was featured on the band’s multiplatinum release “E 1999 Eternal.”