TOP POLITICAL STORIES
Local/Regional Politics:
Fresno seeks grant to boost downtown, southwest, Chinatown
Fresno Bee
A new southwest Fresno satellite campus for Fresno City College, a 68-unit complex of affordable housing with retail in Chinatown, and a “clean shared mobility network” of electric cars, vans and bicycles are among the key components to be considered for at least $70 million in state climate-change funds. Transform Fresno, a collective of residents, businesses and property owners in downtown and southwest Fresno, presented its recommendations to the Fresno City Council on Thursday for projects hoping to win a piece of a windfall from the state’s Transformative Climate Communities program.
Fresno mayor challenges San Joaquin River parkway access criticism
Fresno Bee
From coffee shops to social media to The Fresno Bee, I understand that my job performance is constantly being evaluated. I welcome it. All I ask is that is that it be fair and fact-based. It’s how I approach my job serving the city’s residents. At times, however, the errors, misstatement of facts and judgments are so egregious, so off the mark, that I must take note and set the record straight. This is one of those times.
Fresno Bee
ValleyPBS CEO Phil Meyer has resigned due to family reasons, according to a statement released Monday. The move was first announced by the ValleyPBS Board of Directors at a staff meeting earlier in the day. Meyer took the reigns of the Fresno TV station group in January 2015.
Assembly hires investigator to look into Mathis allegations
Visalia Delta-Times
The state Assembly Rules Committee has launched an investigation into complaints of sexual assault by Assemblyman Devon Mathis, the Times-Delta has learned. Jennifer Shaw, founder of Shaw Law Group, contacted a conservative blogger and activist Nov. 7 and 8 to request time to discuss his reporting on the assault allegations.
Tulare hospital board seeks to fill vacant seat
Visalia Times-Delta
The Tulare Regional Medical Center Board of Directors may get its fifth board member today. Two candidates will be interviewed for the board’s District 1 seat vacancy created when Richard Torrez resigned. Phil Smith, former Tulare Board of Public Utilities commissioner, and Steve Harrell, former Tulare police captain, applied for the position.
Commentary: HCCA – Blame elected board for Tulare hospital woes
Visalia Times-Delta
Regrettably, it is a much too common a practice these days to generate false narratives to advance one’s agenda, irrespective of the facts. Unfortunately, the narrative presented to our community by some is replete with inaccuracies and a continuing false narrative about HCCA and the Tulare hospital. I, therefore, believe that it is much better to present facts and let people make their own judgment. Here are the undisputed facts:
State data: 2017 could be worst year for valley fever in decades
Bakersfield California
State public health officials suspect cases of valley fever, the insidious respiratory disease endemic to Kern County, have increased so far this year by at least 34 percent statewide — which could make it the worst year for valley fever in the disease’s recorded history, according to new data released Monday. California Department of Public Health officials estimate that through Oct. 31, at least 5,121 people have acquired coccidioidomycosis, or cocci for short, better known as valley fever.
See also:
· Valley fever has found its champion Hanford Sentinel
Bakersfield Californian
When body-worn cameras start appearing on Kern County Sheriff’s deputies in the Bakersfield area early next year, they may bring positive change with them. Federal grant money will equip 90 deputies — the full contingent serving in the metropolitan Bakersfield area — with the cameras. Kern County law enforcement agencies have been named the most violent in the nation by a series of stories in The Guardian in 2015 and targeted for criticism by the American Civil Liberties Union just last week.
City Of Madera management salaries, benefits, as compared to other valley jurisdictions
Madera Tribune
It is my opinion that certain employees of the City of Madera have undertaken, since 2010, the task of convincing the City Council to go along with raising salaries for upper management in the hope that planned, but so far unrealized, developments would boost City tax revenues to cover those increased salaries and benefits.
Almost half of Merced renters are burdened by high rent
Merced Sun-Star
Do you think you pay too much rent? Almost half of Merced County renters do, according to a new report. Five of the top 10 worst major U.S. cities for renters are in California, according to an Apartment List survey that compares rent to income. Renters who pay 30 percent or more of their income for housing are considered cost-burdened, and the report ranks cities by their percentage of cost-burdened renters. About 49.1 percent fit that demographic in 2016, and 24.9 percent “were severely cost-burdened” by spending half of their income on rents, the report says.
California High-Speed Rail Authority seeks public input on EIR for new alignment
KBAK
The California High-Speed Rail Authority is seeking feedback on a new environmental-impact report for its high-speed rail project. This supplemental EIR focuses on the southern portion of the alignment between Poplar Avenue in Shafter and a possible station in Bakersfield, according to the High-Speed Rail Authority. The EIR finalized in 2014 included alignments that generally followed the existing BNSF tracks from Shafter into Bakersfield. Since then, a new alignment was developed that would go from Shafter east towards Highway 99 and the existing Union Pacific tracks, then south into Bakersfield.
State Politics:
All sexual harassment investigations in California state Senate to be sent to outside attorneys
Los Angeles Times
In a break with its long-standing practices that signals growing pressure to forcefully address sexual harassment allegations at the state Capitol, the California Senate will soon take steps to hire outside attorneys for any abuse investigation involving either staff or lawmakers.
See also:
· Capitol Enlists Help to Navigate Harassment Claims New York Times
California may reach 50% renewable power goal by 2020 — 10 years early
San Francisco Chronicle
Two years ago, Gov. Jerry Brown signed an ambitious law ordering California utility companies to get 50 percent of their electricity from renewable sources by 2030. It looks like they may hit that goal a decade ahead of schedule.
California promises free community college tuition, but where will money come to pay for it?
Fresno Bee
AB 19, would expand upon the current Board of Governors’ fee waiver for low-income students, recently renamed the California Promise Grant. The new grant would waive the first year of fees for all first-time, full-time students attending a California community college, regardless of need.
Mobile home owners could get a tax break
Visalia Times-Delta
There are roughly 500,000 mobile homes in California and Tulare County has 4,663 of them. Mobile home owners don’t always realize it is mandatory to have their homes titled and registered. This week, a program will offer qualified owners a tax break to get the proper papers in order.
Emily’s List makes makes its picks for three statewide races in California
Los Angeles Times
Emily’s List, an influential Democratic organization that promotes women running for office, on Monday endorsed three candidates running for statewide office in California. The group backed Eleni Kounalakis for lieutenant governor, Fiona Ma for state treasurer and Betty Yee, who is running for reelection as state controller. Kounalakis of San Francisco, a former U.S. ambassador to Hungary and fundraiser for former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, is in a race for lieutenant governor that is shaping up to be one of 2018’s most competitive down-ballot contests in California.
Walters: California’s school war flares up on three fronts
CALmatters
Three recent and seemingly discrete events neatly frame California’s political and legal war over whether the state’s six million K-12 students are being adequately educated. The conflict pits the state’s education establishment against a coalition of civil rights groups, education reformers and charter school advocates over the “achievement gap” that separates poor children, particularly Latinos and African-Americans, from more privileged white and Asian students. The battle has been waged in the Legislature, before the state school board and local boards and quite often in the legal arena.
Real Pension Reform: A California Design
Hoover Institution
California could be the leader of real pension reform by rejecting the flawed national accounting standards for public pensions, measuring pension liabilities using government bond yields, and linking part of the benefit to investment performance for all workers. But it probably won’t.
FBI: Hate crimes jump 11.2 percent in California
San Francisco Chronicle
Reported hate crimes increased 11.2 percent in California in 2016, according to the F.B.I. Most victims were targeted based on their race, religion or sexual orientation.
Will the political wave hit California’s shores?
Capitol Weekly
With Tuesday night’s Democratic wins in traditional bellwether gubernatorial elections in Virginia and New Jersey, a massive pickup-in the Virginia Legislature, wins in several mayoral races and other assorted gains, the pundits appear locked into the narrative that we are headed for a wave election.
Capitol Weekly podcast: Paul Mitchell
Capitol Weekly
Political Data whiz Paul Mitchell joins the Capitol Weekly podcast to talk about last week’s results and what they do — or don’t — portend for California in 2018. We also chat about the strengths and weaknesses of polling.
Federal Politics:
More political groups pressure California Republicans on tax bill
Los Angeles Times
With a floor vote expected soon on the proposed GOP tax overhaul, California’s House Republicans are the target of several ad campaigns highlighting the changes that could hit Californians hardest. Red to Blue California, a PAC seeking to unseat seven vulnerable GOP lawmakers, began running digital ads Monday casting the tax bill as “billionaire tax cuts” and urging voters to on call their members of Congress to oppose the plan. The group said the ads will reach about 250,000 people in each of the seven GOP-held districts where Hillary Clinton won last year.
See also:
· Does tax bill help or hurt Californians? Republicans hearing it from both sides Sacramento Bee
· Quiet Californians will make the difference for GOP tax bill in the House Washington Post
· Some in state GOP delegation to Congress take soft stand on tax bill San Francisco Chronicle
· Skelton: In high-tax California, a vote to scrap deductions could be the kiss of death for endangered House Republicans os Angeles Times
For more info on “tax reform,” See, “Public Finances” below
The California US Senate Race And A Steyer Insurgency
Fox and Hounds Daily
Tom Steyer, the self-styled Democratic activist and billionaire who has made little secret of his desire to be the next Senator from California has spent in excess of $10 million of his estimable fortune, but not to replace long-time incumbent. Diane Feinstein. That may come later. His company, Next Gen Climate, a San Francisco based environmental advocacy group from which the hedge fund wizard has spun off several others has earned him $30 billion. That’s more than enough to launch a campaign should he decide to run.
Los Angeles Times
The Supreme Court said Monday it will hear an anti-abortion group’s free-speech challenge to a California law that requires “crisis pregnancy centers” to notify patients that the state offers subsidies for contraception and abortion. The challengers say the disclosure law violates the 1st Amendment because it forces the faith-based pregnancy centers to send a message that conflicts with their aim of encouraging childbirth, not abortion.
20 Dems for 2020: who might the Democrats field next time around?
The Guardian
Democrats had thought they would be celebrating the one-year anniversary of Hillary Clinton being elected the first female president in American history, at long last breaking that “highest, hardest glass ceiling”. The Democratic party has instead been relegated to watching from the sidelines as Donald Trump continues to flout institutional norms, often choosing to govern in 140 characters or less. In an ordinary political climate, Democrats would seem well positioned to make Trump a one-term president. And yet one year after the election, the party remains in search of a leader.
Other:
Roll Call
Dealing with mass shootings is becoming all too familiar for many members.
MADDY INSTITUTE PUBLIC POLICY PROGRAMMING
Sunday, November 19, at 5:00 p.m. on ABC 30 – Maddy Report: Voting in California: No Longer Coming to a Neighborhood By You– Guests: Mindy Romero with University of California – Davis, Dan Walters with CalMatters and John Myers with Los Angeles Times. Host: Maddy Institute Executive Director, Mark Keppler.
Sunday, November 19, at 10:00 a.m. on Newstalk 580AM/105.9FM (KMJ)– Maddy Report – Valley Views Edition: “State and Valley Participation: We Can All Do Better” – Guests: Registrar of Voters, Kristine Lee (Kings Co.), Brandi Orth (Fresno Co.), Barbara Levey, (Merced Co.) and Justin White, (Chief Assistant to the Madera Co Clerk). Host: Maddy Institute Executive Director, Mark Keppler.
Sunday, November 19, at 7:30 a.m. on UniMas 61 (KTTF) – Informe Maddy Opportunities for New Businesses in the Valley. Guests: Dora Westerlund, CEO of The Fresno Area Hispanic Foundation; Yeru Olivares, CFO of The Fresno Area Hispanic Foundation; Yolanda Garcia, Owner of YO’MAMMAS! and Robert Zapata with the Opportunity Fund. Host: Maddy Institute Program Coordinator, Maria Jeans.
Support the Maddy Daily HERE. Thank you!
Topics in More Detail…
EDITORIALS
Sen. Mendoza, what are you thinking? Inviting young women to your home, your hotel, for drinks?
Fresno Bee
Sen. Tony Mendoza must know better than to invite a woman seeking a job to his home. Or to drink with him in his hotel suite.
Sacramento needs to prove it’s serious about ending sexual harassment
San Francisco Chronicle
Sacramento needs to clean up its act. Over the past several weeks, as American women from different walks of life have spoken up about the still-pervasive role of sexual harassment in their workplaces, it became abundantly clear that there was a need for change on Capitol Hill. There have been serious questions about what powerful people did or didn’t do.
Success! California’s first-in-the-nation plastic bag ban works
San Jose Mercury News
Until Prop 67 was approved in 2016, the plastic bags industry sold about 15 billion plastic bags to California consumers every year
Thumbs up, thumbs down: Jessica’s home at last. Scammer impersonates deputies.
Fresno Bee
Fresno Bee’s weekly Thumbs Up, Thumbs Down opinion. This week includes celebrity chef Tyler Florence, Las Vegas shooting victim Jessica Milam and more.
In bringing McGregor Scott back as U.S. attorney in California, Trump did something right
Sacramento Bee
Scott, chief federal prosecutor here during the Bush years, has the experience and, we hope, the independence for the job.
Trump is dangerously cutting corners in his quest to remake the Judiciary
Los Angeles Times
Like presidents before him, Donald Trump sees his appointments to the federal courts as an important part of his legacy. But he is moving with unseemly haste to fill the 145 current vacancies — some of which exist only because the Republican-controlled Senate blocked former President Barack Obama’s…
How Trump projects American weakness
San Francisco Chronicle
It’s remarkable to hear top intelligence officials, who value discretion more than most, bluntly characterizing the president of the United States as vulnerable to the flattery and …
AGRICULTURE/FOOD
Wineries eager to make up losses after California wildfires
Fresno Bee
Wine country operators face unknown as they recover from effects of deadly California wildfires.
CRIMINAL JUSTICE / FIRE / PUBLIC SAFETY
Crime:
Keith Foster: Former cop sentenced for selling drugs
Fresno Bee
Keith Foster lacks remorse and has not accepted responsibility for conspiring to peddle heroin and marijuana while employed as deputy chief of the Fresno Police Department, a judge said Monday in U.S. District Court. Foster, 53, also committed perjury on the witness stand during his trial in May, Judge Anthony Ishii said. In addition, Ishii ruled that Foster obstructed justice and violated his position of trust.
FBI: Hate crimes jump 11.2 percent in California
San Francisco Chronicle
Reported hate crimes increased 11.2 percent in California in 2016, according to the F.B.I. Most victims were targeted based on their race, religion or sexual orientation.
Unfair impact? Bail for the same crime can be $1000 for some, $50000 for others
OCRegister
Arrested for being drunk in public? You could get to bail out of jail in Los Angeles County for $250, but get arrested for the same crime in Ventura County and it could cost you $2,500. In Orange County, a person arrested for misdemeanor prostitution could need $1,000 to get from behind bars, but in neighboring San Bernardino County the price tag is $50,000 under the posted bail schedule.
Fire:
After Fires, California Wine Country Wants Tourists Back
KQED | California Report
Buena Vista Winery in Sonoma Valley, founded in 1857, is considered the birthplace of California wine. The cavernous cellar, carved into a hill by Chinese laborers, has survived earthquakes, several owners and last month’s fires in Northern California. Now, the black tree stumps and scorched hills right next to the winery’s buildings show just how close the flames came — less than 30 feet, says Tom Blackwood, general manager at Buena Vista.
ECONOMY / JOBS
An important new analysis shows progressive policies don’t hurt, and probably help, growth and jobs
Washington Post
Of the many things that are terribly wrong with our current tax debate, one primary offender is the notion that tax cuts will unleash massive growth effects. If facts could kill this mythology, it would be long dead. Instead, we get Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin saying on CNN’s “State of the Union” that the cut will generate enough growth to not merely offset its $1.5 trillion price tax; it will generate another $1 trillion on top of that. I suspect even White House economists wouldn’t defend such an outlandish claim.
EDUCATION
K-12:
VUSD looks out of state for teachers
Visalia Times-Delta
Visalia Unified School District currently has more than 1,320 teachers working hard to get students on a track to success. With class sizes getting smaller and the student population nearing 29,000 district-wide, administrators are scrambling to fill positions across school sites. What was once a seasonal project is now a year-round commitment, with Visalia Unified personnel traveling up and down California and to neighboring states to fill empty positions.
Higher Ed:
Visalia, Tulare students race to complete financial aid applications
Visalia Times-Delta
In 2017, 57 percent of Tulare County public high school seniors completed a Free Application for Federal Student Aid or DREAM Act Application. This is the second year the application process has opened early — on Oct. 1 — to give students more time to complete their applications. Before, the application period opened on Jan. 1 for the upcoming school year.
What the Republican tax plan will do to students should make every American parent ashamed
Sacramento Bee
As I read the Republican’s tax proposals, I kept thinking, “Have you no shame?” After years of lamenting the size of the federal deficit, the House version of the tax plan would increase the deficit by more than $1.7 trillion over the next 10 years. The proposed overhaul of the tax system is an unabashed effort to help Republican friends and hurt others in a way that would be unprecedented in American history.
An all-online community college: A solution to working class needs, or a dangerous move?
KPCC
A proposal that advocates hope will use online courses to help the job prospects of about 2 million working class Californians got its first hearing in Sacramento on Monday.
Enrollment of first-time foreign students dips in the U.S., but California is still No. 1
Los Angeles Times
After years of rapid growth, enrollment of first-time international students in U.S. colleges and universities dipped last year amid concerns about political uncertainty, tuition increases, visa delays and reductions in scholarship money, an annual survey found. California remained the nation’s most popular destination for foreign students, with 157,000 coming to the state in 2016-17. They made up nearly 16% of more than 1 million international students in the United States that year, according to the survey of more than 2,000 institutions released Monday by the Institute of International Education.
USC had many warnings about medical school dean’s behavior but took little action
Los Angeles Times
Complaints about Dr. Carmen Puliafito’s drinking began to reach USCadministrators more than five years ago.
ENVIRONMENT/ ENERGY
Environment:
California Gov. Jerry Brown to world climate leaders in Germany: ‘#WeAreStillIn’
San Francisco Chronicle
Gov. Jerry Brown led a group of U.S. political and business leaders visiting Germany this week to make a sales pitch to the rest of the world: that most Americans don’t support President Trump’s agenda on climate change — or lack thereof. For the first time since Trump vowed to pull out of the 2015 Paris climate agreement, the international community is meeting to discuss how to go about cutting greenhouse gas emissions, an effort that’s only become harder with America’s new outsider status. Even Syria, the other holdout on the climate deal, revealed last week it’s now on board.
See also:
· Forget Donald Trump. Can anybody solve climate change? Sacramento Bee
Local Clean-Up Efforts Find Fewer Plastic Bags One Year After California’s Ban
Each September, thousands of California volunteers clean up trash in their communities. They count and record how many items they find, from pieces of foam to candy wrappers. You can sift through those results by neighborhood, county or state. “Going back as far as I can remember, plastic bags were one of the third, fourth, or fifth most common items found on California beaches,” says Mark Murray with Californians Against Waste, an organization that supported the statewide ban.
Energy:
California may reach 50% renewable power goal by 2020 — 10 years early
San Francisco Chronicle
Two years ago, Gov. Jerry Brown signed an ambitious law ordering California utility companies to get 50 percent of their electricity from renewable sources by 2030. It looks like they may hit that goal a decade ahead of schedule.
HEALTH/HUMAN SERVICES
Plastic surgery: Visalia surgeon’s license suspended
Fresno Bee
The state medical board has ordered a 30-day suspension for a Visalia plastic surgeon accused of gross negligence and incompetence in the treatment of four patients, including two women who died in 2013.
State data: 2017 could be worst year for valley fever in decades …
Bakersfield Californian
State public health officials suspect cases of valley fever, the insidious respiratory disease endemic to Kern County, have increased so far this year by at least 34 percent statewide — which could make it the worst year for valley fever in the disease’s recorded history, according to new data released Monday. California Department of Public Health officials estimate that through Oct. 31, at least 5,121 people have acquired coccidioidomycosis, or cocci for short, better known as valley fever. CDPH officials say that by the time those cases are confirmed — a process that typically takes until spring or early summer — the numbers generally drop, but the figures don’t take into account the cases that are tallied from October through December, when most diagnoses take place.
AARP Sues To Stop Illegal Evictions From Nursing Homes
NPR
A California judge could decide Tuesday if Gloria Single will be reunited with her husband, Bill. She’s 83 years old. He’s 93. The two have been married for 30 years. They lived in the same nursing home until last March, when Gloria Single was evicted without warning. Her situation isn’t unique. Nationwide, eviction is the leading complaint about nursing homes. In California last year, more than 1,500 nursing home residents complained that they were discharged involuntarily. That’s an increase of 73 percent since 2011.
Marketing ‘Obamacare’ With Less Help From the Feds
Pew Charitable Trust | Stateline
With tough rhetoric, a shortened open enrollment period, and fewer federal funds, the federal government is making it harder to get the word out on “Obamacare” sign-ups.
IMMIGRATION
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LAND USE/HOUSING
Scammer who used Craigslist to cheat renters gets a jail sentence
Fresno Bee
A man who cheated would-be renters by taking their money but not delivering on the promise of a place to live must do a year in the county jail, a judge in Tulare County has ruled. Nicholas Vallez, 29, of Visalia, was sentenced Thursday by Judge Nathan Leedy after pleading no contest in May to felony grand theft and forgery, and misdemeanor petty theft, the Tulare County District Attorney’s Office said.
Almost half of Merced renters are burdened by high rent
Merced Sun-Star
Do you think you pay too much rent? Almost half of Merced County renters do, according to a new report. Five of the top 10 worst major U.S. cities for renters are in California, according to an Apartment List survey that compares rent to income. Renters who pay 30 percent or more of their income for housing are considered cost-burdened, and the report ranks cities by their percentage of cost-burdened renters. About 49.1 percent fit that demographic in 2016, and 24.9 percent “were severely cost-burdened” by spending half of their income on rents, the report says.
PUBLIC FINANCES
CalPERS wants broke cities to deliver bad news to out-of-luck pensioners
Sacramento Bee
The California Public Employees’ Retirement System would like someone else to deliver the bad news when local governments quit paying their bills and put a retiree’s pension in jeopardy.
Repeal gas tax or end revenue for road repairs? It’s the same ballot measure
San Francisco Chronicle
The future of California’s new fuel tax — 12 cents a gallon for gasoline, 20 cents for diesel fuel — is likely to go before the voters in November 2018. What’s less clear is whether the official title on the state ballot pamphlet, an important source of voter information, will start by saying it “repeals taxes” or “eliminates … revenues” for transportation and road repair.
See also:
GOP Leadership Confident on Votes for House Tax Bill, Brady Says
Roll Call
Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady told reporters Monday changes could be made to the House tax overhaul bill before it reaches the floor Thursday but they would not be substantive. “We don’t anticipate major changes,” Brady said of the possibility that Rules Committee would adopt an amendment to the bill when it meets Wednesday. “A lot of the work has been done.” Brady was optimistic that the tax overhaul bill would pass the House this week.
See also:
· Podcast: How the Tax Cuts Could Stymie Economic Growth Roll Call
· Trump ready to put his own mark on tax debate POLITICO
· Mnuchin, Ivanka Trump plug GOP tax reform, say House, Senate effort ‘very close’ POLITICO
· Republicans will need to work with Democrats to pass tax reform Brookings Institute
· Congress week ahead: Key House vote on tax reform CNN
· Required reading to understand the tax policy fight Brookings Institute
· Senate Tax Markup Will Be Spirited, but Don’t Expect Fireworks Roll Call
· Republicans Search for Proof Their Tax Plans Will Pay for ThemselvesNYTimes.com
· Quiet Californians will make the difference for GOP tax bill in the HouseWashington Post
TRANSPORTATION
Los Angeles Times
At the beginning of the year, efforts to put driverless cars on California’s streetslooked like they were careening. Uber had defied state officials by failing to get permits to test its technology and then the company shipped its cars to Arizona to test them there. After four years of trying, regulators were still trying to write rules for testing cars without anyone in the driver’s seat. Lawmakers and tech industry representatives worried that California was losing its grip on innovation in a sector primed for growth.
Self-Driving Trucks Are Now Running Between Texas and California
WIRED
If you live in Southern California and you’ve ordered one of those fancy new smart refrigerators in the past few weeks, it may have hitched a ride to you on a robotruck. Since early October, autonomous trucks built and operated by the startup Embark have been hauling Frigidaire refrigerators 650 miles along the I-10 freeway, from a warehouse in El Paso, Texas, to a distribution center in Palm Springs, California. A human driver rides in the cab to monitor the computer chauffeur for now, but the ultimate goal of this (auto) pilot program is to dump the fleshbag and let the trucks rumble solo down the highway.
WATER
Californians slashed water use, but we still use more than the US average
KPCC
Between 2015 and 2010, Californians slashed their water use by seventeen percent, according to the US Geological Survey report. During that time, the state was gripped by the worst drought in modern times, and Governor Brown declared the first-ever mandatory water restrictions.
Storm fueled by atmospheric river to pummel Sierra in ‘biggest storm of the season’ so far
SFGate
A roaring “pineapple express” is expected to blast the Sierra Wednesday and Thursday, marking the biggest storm of the season so far. The warm, moisture-rich storm is fueled by an “atmospheric river” originating in the South Pacific and predicted to bring up to a foot and above of snow at elevations as low as 7,500 feet. Last year’s winter of record-breaking snowfall in the Sierra was distinguishes by a series of these moist systems, and Scott McGuire, a forecaster with the National Weather Service in Reno, says that while the moisture tap of this storm is well-defined, it will be quick hitting, swooping in Wednesday night and heading out Thursday night.
Did Erin Brockovich Fix Hinkley’s Water Pollution?
PublicCEO
The 2000 film “Erin Brockovich” seemed like a successful David versus Goliath story. A single mom of three took on PG&E for contaminating drinking water in Hinkley, California, and came out victorious, suing and winning $333 million from the giant utility company. But whatever became of the tiny town? For the roughly 600 residents who received part of that payout, the ending wasn’t all happy. Residents who lived there in the ‘90s, such as Roberta Walker, say they suffer from residual health problems. And while they can’t disclose how much money they received from the lawsuit, they say it wasn’t enough to keep them afloat for long. Now, 21 years after the lawsuit, it seems the same public health hazard continues to affect the welfare of Hinkley residents.
A New Approach to Accounting for Environmental Water: Insights from the Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta
Public Policy Institute of California
This report reviews the state’s long-standing methods for defining and accounting for environmental water and proposes reforms to improve the timeliness, transparency, and detail in the accounting of environmental water allocation. Foremost among our recommendations is that the state adopt a new approach to environmental water accounting.
“Xtra”
Superior Dairy co-owner killed in freak accident on Hanford street
Fresno Bee
Susan Wing, the co-owner of Superior Dairy in Hanford, died Friday after she was hit by a vehicle while rushing across the street to help a neighbor. Family friend Mickey Stoddard said Wing, 64, got a call from a neighbor asking for help because her son was having some type of medical emergency. Wing ran out of her house and was crossing the street in the 1300 block of North Douty Street when she failed to see an oncoming motorcycle. The motorcycle swerved to avoid hitting her. But she fell to the ground where she was struck by a Toyota SUV heading south, according to the Hanford Sentinel.
Former Fresno State AD Jim Bartko releases statement on departure
Fresno Bee
Former Fresno State athletics director Jim Bartko, who resigned his position on Nov. 6 citing personal reasons, released a statement through The Bee on Monday thanking the community for its support and its support of Bulldogs’ athletics while shedding little light on his decision to step away after nearly three years on the job. The statement in full: “These last few days, while gut wrenching in so many respects, have restored my belief that Fresno is full of solid, decent people who are unconditional in their love of others and their embrace of what’s right.