TOP POLITICAL STORIES
A Democrat is gaining ground in California governor’s race, and it isn’t Gavin Newsom
| Sacramento Bee |
A new poll of likely statewide voters suggests the upcoming contest to replace Gov. Jerry Brown could be a competitive one. And it could come down to two Democrats.
Newsom still leads California governor’s race, but Villaraigosa is hot on his heels
Sacramento Bee / San Jose Mercury/ KQED
In the crowded and ever-expanding race to become California’s next governor, Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom’s early lead in the polls is narrowing as former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa gains ground, according to a new survey released Wednesday.
LA Hotbed for Governor’s Race
| Fox and Hounds Daily |
If you want to see a candidate for California governor go to Los Angeles. The leading Democrat in the governor’s race, Lt. Gov.
Rural Californians seek to take Los Angeles and its ‘tyranny of the majority’ down a notch
| Sacramento Bee |
Think of it as the Congress-ization of the California Legislature, elevating rural north state voters and Central Valley agricultural communities in the Senate while leaving proportional representation intact in the Assembly. “California is tough to …
Should Rural Districts Have A Greater Voice In The California Senate?
| Capital Public Radio News |
Republican state lawmakers from rural counties are pushing a proposed constitutional amendment to give their constituents a louder voice in the California …
Councilman-elect Bruce Freeman says he ran because his business experience can help
| Bakersfield Now |
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KBAK/KBFX) – Bruce Freeman beat two other candidates in a special election Tuesday to fill the Ward 5 seat on the Bakersfield City Council. Results are unofficial, but all precincts have reported. Freeman garnered just over 62 …
CA would elect senators by region under constitutional amendment …
| Sacramento Bee |
Assemblyman James Gallagher, R-Yuba City, wants to end the legislative dominance of Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay Area by redistricting the …
New California congressman takes ‘resistance’ to Washington – KTTC Rochester, Austin, Mason City News, Weather …
| KTTC |
The liberal California Democrat who easily captured a vacant U.S. House seat on Tuesday goes to a Republican-controlled Congress with little interest in his campaign trail talk of debt-free college, fighting climate change and enacting universal health …
Top US Security Officials Testify Amid Furor Over Russian Meddling
| New York Times |
White House officials also asked Senator Richard Burr of North Carolina, the committee’s Republican chairman, and Representative Devin Nunes of California, the Republican chairman of the House intelligence committee, to reach out to news organizations …
The Josh Newman recall effort is all about retaliation
| Los Angeles Times |
One of the more troubling things happening in California politics right now is the signature-gathering effort to recall freshman state Sen. Josh Newman from … Newman did vote for the transportation package, but he was hardly “the deciding factor, “as …
‘Berniecrats’ putting pressure on California Democratic Party
| OCRegister |
On rare occasions an actual battle pops up over the platform or a highly coveted party endorsement, which can result in delegates getting testy with one another, but the California Democratic Party convention last month in Sacramento flew completely …
Kamala Harris copies Obama’s political playbook
| Washington Times |
In California, she at times was known for being too cautious during her tenure as attorney general. Now in Washington … Cabinet picks.
GOP senators interrupt Kamala Harris – and reactions flood social media
| Sacramento Bee |
The Republican chairman of the Senate intelligence committee admonished California Sen. Kamala Harris, along with other Democrats, and asked her to be more respectful Wednesday as she pressed top intelligence chiefs testifying before the panel.
Los Angeles Times
California’s scandal-plagued tax agency might benefit from making its board appointed rather than elected, according to legislators who held a hearing Wednesday on how to address deep-seated problems.
More than 4,000 ‘incidents’ marred California’s November election, according to a watchdog group
Los Angeles Daily News
Failure to ask for voters’ names at check-in, failure to ensure voter privacy and a lack of supplies are among the problems identified by an elections watchdog group that sent observers to the polls in November. Jeff Horseman in Los Angeles Daily News
Los Angeles Times
Voters in a handful of Los Angeles communities will face as many as two more elections before the end of the year, after choosing a sitting member of the state Assembly on Tuesday to fill a vacant seat in Congress.
‘No One Is Above the Law’: California Lawmakers on Comey Testimony
KQED
President Trump’s alleged request for “loyalty” from former FBI Director James Comey was met with criticism and questions from California’s lawmakers on Wednesday, with one saying, “no one is above the law.”
EDITORIALS
We must conquer terrorism without surrendering our civil liberties
Fresno Bee
British Prime Minister Theresa May, confronting the harsh reality of terrorism and a re-election campaign, sought to shift blame to major California tech companies after the weekend attacks in London.
Can a phoenix rise from the ashes?
Stockton Record
Tragedy struck again, this time in downtown Stockton on Tuesday morning, when a fire engulfed the Mayfair Apartments. Fortunately, no lives were lost in the four-alarm blaze that may claim another of Stockton’s historic buildings. In part, thanks to the quick actions of John Tienda, a 37-year-old CrossFit owner and…
|
|
AGRICULTURE/FOOD
Calif. Farmers Creating Healthier Soil To Help Battle Climate Change
| CBS San Francisco Bay Area |
California farmers and researchers are helping rethink approaches to climate change by reworking traditional farming practices.
Huge grain supplies dampen impact of USDA reports
| Reuters |
Huge grain supplies dampen impact of USDA reports. An early crop of wheat is seen in the spring in the Central Valley in Davis, California, U.S., May 1, 2017. REUTERS/Hyungwon Kang. By Mark Weinraub | CHICAGO. CHICAGO The U.S. Agriculture …
A California Plan To Save Millions On Cannabis Regulation Is Getting Props Worldwide
| Forbes |
Since then, Prop M’s master cultivators in City Hall and the cannabis business community have been working non-stop to pin down the licensing system and processes that will define the largest market of the highest-selling state in this booming industry ..
CRIMINAL JUSTICE/PUBLIC SAFETY
Inmates who escaped from California jail can stand trial
| The Bakersfield Californian |
(AP) – A judge on Wednesday ruled three Southern California inmates can stand trial on charges of making a brazen escape from jail before leading authorities on a weeklong manhunt. Wearing orange jail jumpsuits and shackles that clinked throughout …
Less on prisons, more on prevention? California starts the shift
| Sacramento Bee |
“The first thing the ballot initiative did was change the penalty for six low-level crimes, and then the subsequent savings it generated in the state prison budget as a result of those penalty changes would be reallocated to prevention treatments …
LA Sheriff equips deputies to stop opioid ODs
| 89.3 KPCC |
Now, many pharmacies carry it as an over-the-counter drug thanks to a law passed by the California legislature and signed by Governor Brown.
Driving Stoned: San Diego Scientists Try To Find DUI Limit For Marijuana
KPBS
On Friday and Saturday nights, according to roadside surveys conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, one out of five drivers has a drug other than alcohol in their system.
The agency says the drug that showed the greatest increase between 2007 and 2014 was marijuana.
Calming down from the gang panic: We’re already too aggressive in attacking kids with supposedly criminal associations
| New York Daily News |
Last year, a California state auditor found the state gang database, CalGang, was so full of errors and unsubstantiated entries (like gang-affiliated toddlers) that it should be overhauled.
EDUCATION
California law spurs reforms after suicide cluster
EdSource
About 24 hours after a Clovis High School boy killed himself in early March, his cell phone buzzed. The incoming text was the latest in a conversation thread among the deceased boy and three teenage girls before he died. One of the girls, also from the Central Valley, was thinking of killing herself.
Three local school districts named in complaint
| Hanford Sentinel |
Hunt said the district’s board policies had been revised to reflect California School Board Association’s recommendations, and said the district reviewed the website and followed up with an email verifying that in fact their enrollment document does …
From farmworker fields to MIT: Gilroy family shares success story
San Jose Mercury
When Alejandro Diaz arrives at the world-renowned Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the fall, the Gilroy teen will mark an odds-defying achievement for a family of recent immigrants who embody the promises of the American dream.
Internal Affairs: UC to pay up to $595 an hour for audit investigation
| The Mercury News |
The University of California will pay up to $210,000 for an independent investigation into a recent state audit that accused the system of failing to disclose hundreds of millions of dollars and tampering with a survey sent to UC campuses that was …
Education’s role in the resistance
| San Francisco Examiner |
But we don’t live in a perfect world, and a framework for civic education is slow to form. Another … Then, I stumbled upon Politics 101, an event run by the United Democratic Club, an organization involved in federal, California and San Francisco …
School curriculum whitewashes communism’s history
| OCRegister |
When the state Assembly passed Assemblyman Ro
1 in 5 CSU students graduate in four years
| The Mercury News |
SACRAMENTO – Just 21 percent of the students who enrolled at a California State University campus in 2012 graduated in four years, far fewer than the system would like.
40th Anniversary
| EdSource |
|
Parents, practitioners and policymakers trust EdSource to synthesize complex education issues and provide them with accurate, actionable information to make school reform work throughout California—and the nation. We strive to engage everyone who has …
Higher Education Seeks Answers to Leaner Years
| New York Times |
And that is not happening anymore,” said James A. Hyatt, associate director of the Center for Studies in Higher Educationand former vice chancellor for budget and finance at the University of California, Berkeley. On top of that, public universities …
Charter school parents to Legislature: Hands off
| Sacramento Bee |
There’s been a one-sided conversation that lawmakers know what’s in the best interest for a unique group of learners. (“For-profit charter schools are ripping off taxpayers,” Viewpoints, June 6). Unfortunately, Assemblyman Kevin McCarty and the …
Essential Education: About 125 ACT tests get lost in LA
| Los Angeles Times |
DeVos said she could not answer, only that states’ plans would be accepted as long as they follow the Every Student Succeeds Act.
ENERGY/ENVIRONMENT
What price are Californians paying to fight climate change?
| Sacramento Bee |
Californians pay about 15 cents a gallon extra at the pump to fight climate change. Here’s what they’re getting for their money: continued progress in the effort to curb carbon.
California, Tsinghua to set up US-China climate change institute
| Reuters |
BEIJING The state of California and China’s Tsinghua University will establish a U.S.-China Climate Change Institute to cooperate on technology and research in the battle against global warming, they announced on Thursday.
Essential California: Take a breath, California. Your greenhouse gas emissions are down a notch
| Los Angeles Times | |
|
It’s a fight: A former high-ranking Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department official says he was pressured to take an early retirement after he reported alleged criminal misconduct by various department officials, including Sheriff Jim McDonnell …
Greenhouse emissions fall for another year in California
| Los Angeles Times |
California has continued to chip away at its greenhouse gas emissions even as its economy grows, according to new data released by state regulators on Wednesday.
Environmental groups sue EPA over California ozone pollutio
| Reuters |
Two California environmental groups have sued the Environmental Protection Agency alleging that it failed to enforce Clean Air Act requirements for addressing ozone pollution in some of California’s most populous counties. Filed on Tuesday in San ..
For sustainable climate policy, California needs a balanced approach
| Fox and Hounds Daily |
Furthermore, if we create a sustainable and functioning cap-and-trade system, we can fully fund and even expand air pollution reduction programs, such as the Carl Moyer Program and the Lower-Emission School Bus Program, that get polluting car, truck …
Building a Sustainable ‘Highway of the Future’
The PEW Charitable Trusts/Stateline
A Georgia highway would create its own clean, renewable energy and generate income by selling power to utility companies, with a goal of producing no pollution and no traffic deaths.
Jerry Brown in China with a climate message to the world: Don’t follow America’s lead
Los Angeles Times
When Gov. Jerry Brown stepped to the stage in Beijing on Wednesday, he still was recovering from a 15-hour time difference, a cavalcade of business meetings and ceremonial events, a flight and a train ride to three Chinese cities and a last-minute meeting with President Xi Jinping.
EPA’s Scott Pruitt wants to set up opposing teams to debate climate change science
| Washington Post |
Multiple scientific assessments have concluded that man-made climate change is real and poses risks to human health and the environment.
FINANCES
Only 1 of 3 tax measures pass in Kern County special election
| Bakersfield Now | |
|
In California City, a tax on marijuana businesses needed a simple majority to pass and got a whopping 74 percent of the vote.
Financial crash devastated Central Valley. Why risk a repeat?
| Sacramento Bee |
When our nation was rocked by the Great Recession, California’s San Joaquin Valley was at the center of the damage. Residents were losing their homes, jobs and life savings in droves.
City Council postpones voting on resolution opposing Trump Budget cuts
| The Bakersfield Californian |
The City Council voted unanimously Wednesday to postpone voting on a resolution that would oppose the Housing and Urban Development cuts President Donald Trump proposed in his budget plan.
City 2017-18 budget up slightly
| Porterville Recorder |
Another large chunk of money is designated for the purchase of 10 zero-emission buses from GreenPower Motor company and 11 charging stations, all covered by a grant from the California Air Resources Board. Another $1 million is being designated for a …
A risk worth taking to cut CalPERS’ pension liabilities
| Los Angeles Times |
One of the major challenges facing the California Public Employees Retirement System, which handles retirement benefits for the state and more than 3,000 local agencies, is that its $324-billion pension fund is about 35% short of the amount needed to …
CalSTRS agrees to divest non-US thermal coal assets
| Reuters |
“This is a serious decision,” said California State Controller Betty Yee, who is a member of the CalSTRS board. But Yee noted that engagement with corporations is much harder when the companies are headquartered abroad, so CalSTRS engagement with …
State worker bonuses were ‘effective’ bait in fake phishing scam
| Sacramento Bee |
Dozens of state workers clicked on the link in the 20 minutes after the Housing and Community Development Department first sent the message to its 598 employees, according to documents The Bee obtained through the California Public Records Act. “I …
HEALTH/HUMAN SERVICES
GOP health plan cripples health center care for elderly Valadao constituents
| Fresno Bee (blog) |
We’ve made tremendous progress under the ACA, which is why I was so surprised to read a recent opinion piece by Congressman David Valadao (May 22). I’ve known the … In California alone, 5 million Californians will lose health insurance coverage.
Valley congressmen introduce bill to recruit and retain doctors
| The Bakersfield Californian |
Central Valley Congressmen David Valadao of Hanford and Jeff Denham of Turlock have introduced legislation to fix flaws in California’s Medicaid reimbursement system to encourage doctors to practice here, it was announced this week. The Assessing …
Merced youth gather at state Capitol to advocate for “Health4All”
| Merced Sun-Star |
Young people from Merced presented an art piece at the state Capitol on Tuesday afternoon they say advocates for accessible and affordable healthcare for everyone regardless of immigration in a campaign dubbed “Health4All.” … All of the young people …
Democrats eye more health care for California’s undocumented
CalMatters
California’s Democratic legislators want to extend health benefits to undocumented young adults, the continuation of an effort that ushered children without legal status into the state’s publicly funded health care system last year.
Bridging the foster care gap: Lawmakers weigh more funding to help families take in children
CalMatters
Amy Woods got a call last year from the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services, informing her that the mother of her 2-and-a-half-year-old foster son had just given birth to another boy. The newborn needed a home: Would she take him in?
She keeps her teeth in a box – evidence of a system that failed her
| Sacramento Bee |
This year, the debate about how to fix the Denti-Cal program has gained traction in the state Legislature. Last November, California’s voters approved Proposition 56, a $2 a pack tax on cigarettes. Most of the revenue – estimated at $1.2 billion …
In health care debate, nurses union boss doesn’t play nice—and …
| CALmatters | |
|
The day after Democrats in the California Senate passed a proposal for a universal health care system, RoseAnn DeMoro took to Twitter to call out those who.
11 bright ideas for Washington
| Politico |
For instance, the last CTO of the Department of Health and Human Services implemented an “Innovator in Residence” program in which tech and other industry hotshots are brought in to spend 13 months solving specific government challenges.
IMMIGRATION
Under Trump, old deportation orders get new life
| Merced Sun-Star |
Now, in cases spanning from Michigan to California, some of these immigrants are being told their time here is up. Immigrants who already have deportation orders and were allowed to stay in the country under the prior administration have become a …
Why immigration debate focuses on border crossers while visa overstayers largely overlooked
KPCC
Visa overstayers receive relatively scant mention in the national debate over illegal immigration, although federal statistics suggest more people have overstayed on expired visas last year than have been arrested crossing the southern border in the same period.
House passes bill to allow some border and customs job applicants to skip polygraph test
Washington Post
The House voted 282 to 137 Wednesday in favor of a bill that would allow U.S. Customs and Border Protection to waive a mandatory lie-detector test for applicants from law enforcement or the military, raising alarms that the move will weaken standards at the agency.
One year after it passed, California’s right-to-die law still faces challenges
OC Register
For Betsy Davis, California’s End of Life Option Act worked exactly as intended. “It was like a weight was lifted off her shoulders,” said Davis’ sister, Kelly Davis. “She got her sense of control back because she knew she had the option.” The option, of course, was death.
JOBS AND THE ECONOMY
Warehouses Promise Jobs, But What Happens When the Robots Come?
| KQED |
“It’s the conveyance,” said Ashley Robinson, an Amazon spokeswoman. I could barely hear her above the noise. What she calls conveyance, most people know as conveyor belts. “We’ve got miles of conveyance here in this facility,” Robinson said. What is …
Letters: Reducing California’s skilled-
| OCRegister |
The California Community Colleges system, with 113 campuses across California, already provides students with practical, hands-on training to earn certificates and gain required experience in a wide variety of careers.
The new Fortune 500 list is out. These California companies made the cut
| Los Angeles Times |
The latest version of the Fortune 500 list came out Wednesday, and it’s studded with California companies. The list, which ranks U.S.
California businesses join, pay for Gov. Brown’s China trip
AP
Gov. Jerry Brown has company on his trip to China to further his climate change agenda: About 30 California business leaders are along for the ride to support Brown’s policies and build their own business deals.
LAND USE/HOUSING
How to claim property held by the state of California
| ABC10 |
The State Controller’s Office (SCO) is in charge of keeping any unclaimed property submitted by holders, such as financial institutions, corporations, business associations and insurance companies.
TRANSPORTATION
Autonomous cars (no human backup) may hit the road next year
| Sacramento Bee |
Transdev operates trains, buses, ferries and other transportation services in 19 countries, including the U.S.. Two on-demand Renault Zoe autonomous taxis will be deployed in Rouen, Normandy, and a shuttle van will run between a rail station and campus …
Building a Sustainable ‘Highway of the Future’
The PEW Charitable Trusts/Stateline
A Georgia highway would create its own clean, renewable energy and generate income by selling power to utility companies, with a goal of producing no pollution and no traffic deaths.
WATER
People are hungry to experience San Joaquin River
| Fresno Bee |
I have been a volunteer/docent for the San Joaquin River Parkway Conservancy for four years. This has been an amazing time for me.
Watwerwise: Study urges school water tests
| Visalia Times-Delta |
School districts should test drinking water supplies for lead during summer vacation, the Water Quality Association said. Water studies and media reports over the past school year show lead exposures is an ongoing concern nationwide, stemming primarily …
Crew begins sandbagging
| Porterville Recorder |
… Recorderonline.com. Spillway work will take a week. An inmate firefighting crew from Mountain Home California Conservation Camp has begun the task of placing sandbags on the spillway of Success Dam to hold back more spring runoff coming into the …
Here’s the right strategy for California’s next drought
| Sacramento Bee |
The recent drought brought record high temperatures and record low precipitation, pushed numerous native fish species to the brink of extinction and led to unusually large drops in groundwater levels.
If You See Dirty Water, Don’t Just Gripe. Talk To The Cloud!
| NPR |
“The measurements were used as evidence to advocate policychange,” she says. “We’ve seen … Sometimes governments initiate citizen drives themselves, like in California, where IBM worked with the state to make a water mapping app called Creekwatch.
Tunnels will wreck the Delta
| Sacramento Bee |
Being one of the architects (now retired) of the emergency water regulations and urban drought response at the State Water Resources Control Board, I was acutely aware of the issues and implications associated with local and statewide water …
“Xtra”
This Fresno County dinosaur could be California’s next ‘rock’ star
| Fresno Bee |
“I would say the people of Fresno County should be proud that they’re one of the only areas in which bones of this dinosaur have been found,” said Assemblyman Richard Bloom, D-Santa Monica, who authored Assembly Bill 1540. … Yes votes in the Assembly …
Complaints prompt state to modify new insect fee
| Capital Press |
Lynn Kimsey, director of the Bohart Museum of Entomology at the University of California, opens a drawer within the museum’s library of millions of insect specimens.
The Bee scores four awards in statewide journalism contest
| Modesto Bee |
The Modesto Bee took home four awards in the most recent California News Publishers Association contest – the state’s most prestigious local journalism competition.
‘Digital deserts’ push life to the slow lane
| Capitol Weekly |
An immediate solution can be found in an existing program established by the Legislature in 2008 – the California Advanced Services Fund (CASF) which comes from a few cents monthly surcharge on our phone bills.