IN THIS ISSUE:
Top Policy/Political Stories
- Valley
- State
- Federal
Additional information on the following topics
Agriculture/Food
- Criminal Justice/Public Safety
- Economy/ Jobs
- Education
- Environment/Energy
- Health/Human Services
- Immigration
- Land Use/Housing
- Public Finances
- Transportation
- Water
- “Xtra“
- Editorials
TOP POLITICAL STORIES
Valley Politics:
China’s tariffs have Valley growers hoping for speedy talks.
The Fresno Bee
Central San Joaquin Valley farmers are hoping negotiations between the U.S. and China can head off the potential economic effects ofnew tariffs imposed by Chinaon a wide range of agricultural products imported from California.
Rubin: Trump’s ignorance of DACA, immigration ought to embarrass his supporters in the Valley
Fresno Bee
President Donald Trump’s Easter tweets and rambling comments to reporters about immigration should remind us that he shows no desire to learn even rudimentary facts about the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.
Push to improve SR 99 interchanges as businesses move in
ABC30
An industrial area in Southwest Fresno has become the perfect spot for companies to grow their business. It has attracted local companies like Valley Wide Beverage and national companies like Amazon and Ulta Beauty.
Goodbye, neighborhood polling places—5 counties (Madera is one) switch to mega-vote centers
CALmatters
This election season five California counties are doing away with hundreds of neighborhood polling places and replacing them with fewer “one-stop vote centers”—an experiment sold by Democrats as a way to save money and boost anemic voter turnout from the last mid-term elections.
Tulare officials say Hensley has no right to public hearing
Visalia Times-Delta
Wes Hensley is being granted an administrative appeal hearing, just not the one he asked for. For more than a week, attorneys have gone back and forth on whether the former Tulare police chief is entitled to a “full evidentiary” administrative appeal. City Attorney Heather Phillips said Hensley will be provided an appeal in accordance with what “the law provides for.” Hensley’s reinstatement as police chief will not be a possible outcome, she said.
Parking at a premium downtown, city pays $300K to help Rawhide, businesses
Visalia Times Delta
Single-A baseball season is almost here and Visalia Rawhide fans might have an easier time finding parking this year. Recently, Visalia City Council approved purchasing three vacant downtown lots that will bring additional parking near Recreation Park and the west side of downtown Visalia.
Property owner and candidates speak out about political signs on Coarsegold veterans’ monument
Sierra Star
On Thursday evening, March 29, Mountain Area social media pages roared with public outcry due to a ‘Letter to the Editor’ by Kevin Lee Jones of Oakhurst to the Sierra Star, asking for the removal of campaign signs from the site of Coarsegold’s veterans’ monument. Jones called the signs on the corner of Highway 41 and Road 415, “sinful” and “garbage.”
Bublak takes shots at Soiseth as she emerges as candidate for Turlock mayor
Modesto Bee
Turlock City Councilwoman Amy Bublak is running for mayor and is leveling sharp criticism against the incumbent, Gary Soiseth. In a recent campaign announcement, Bublak claimed that Soiseth’s leadership style is to blame for staff turnover and what she said is a caustic work environment at Turlock City Hall.
Lemoore selects voting district map
Hanford Sentinel
In November there will be an election for the Lemoore City Council and it will be different. Two council members will be up for reelection and only voters who live in their districts will be eligible to vote.
Cannabis tax, ordinance amendment up for Council discussion
Hanford Sentinel
After a long meeting on March 20 ended with uncertainty, the Hanford City Council is once again set to discuss the future of the cannabis industry in Hanford. During a study session before the regular meeting, Council will hear a presentation from HdL Companies consultants on a possible cannabis tax structure.
Senate candidate Ruben Macareno to visit Hanford
Hanford Sentinel
State senatorial candidate Ruben Macareno (D) is scheduled to appear in Hanford on Saturday for his first press conference in Kings County. Macareno announced his senate bid a year ago against Senator Andy Vidak (R-Hanford) for the 14th State Senate District. The primary election will be held on June 5.
State schools chief distinguishes three Kern County schools, names BCSD an ‘exemplary’ district
Bakersfield Californian
State Superintendent of Schools Tom Torlakson on Monday recognized three Kern County schools as California Distinguished Schools, representing campuses that have made exceptional gains in performance and academics — and also named Bakersfield City School District as an “exemplary school district,” according to state education officials.
State Politics:
President Trump and California governor spar on Twitter over immigrant pardons
Los Angeles Times
Gov. Jerry Brown’s move on Friday to pardon five immigrants facing possible deportation for past criminal acts prompted a Twitter tit-for-tat with President Trump over Easter weekend.
CA governor candidate pushes institutions for homeless
The Sacramento Bee
Republican gubernatorial candidate Travis Allen says he’d build state-run institutions and force homeless people to live in them against their will, if necessary. “We need state-run mental institutions where people can actually go, (where) the indigent can go and get the help that they need,” Allen said at a housing forum last month. “What we’re doing is not working.”
Lawmakers skeptical about costly bullet train completion
San Francisco Chronicle
High-speed rail executives asked skeptical lawmakers Monday to provide more stable, long-term funding for the bullet train in the face of ballooning costs. Brian Kelly, the project’s chief executive, said he has only about a third of the money needed to complete the project, now pegged at costing $77 billion.
Checking the facts on California’s wealth and poverty
PolitiFact California
We’ve heard endless claims about California’s extreme wealth and poverty.Democrats in control of state offices tend to tout the state’s enormous GDP and its long stretch of job gains. Republicans, meanwhile, and nearly all candidates in the state’s 2018 gubernatorial race, Democrat and Republican, have cited the state’s economic inequality, its surging homeless population, affordable housing crisis and high poverty rate.
Federal Politics:
Trump Legal War With California Escalates Over Land, Air
Bloomberg
As the Trump administration went to court to void a California law obstructing the sale of federal land, the state was threatening to sue the U.S. if it waters down automobile fuel-efficiency standards. Monday’s legal salvos were the latest in a series of showdowns over numerous U.S. initiatives, particularly on immigration and the environment, that clash with California’s more liberal policies.
See also:
- Trump administration moves on two fronts to challenge California environmental protections Los Angeles Times
- Trump administration steps up war with California over environmental protectionsLos Angeles Times
- Salters: Proposed Clean Cars Act ignores years of progressBakersfield Californian
- Calling Car Pollution Standards ‘Too High,’ E.P.A. Sets Up Fight With CaliforniaThe New York Times
- EPA Will Ease Vehicle-Emissions StandardsWSJ
- Car Makers Get Their Wish on Fuel-Efficiency StandardsWSJ
- California Should Stand Its Ground on Tailpipe RulesBloomberg
- California Presents Unique Roadblock For Trump Administration Attempt To Roll Back Fuel Regulationscapradio.org
- In Latest Clash With California, Justice Dept. Sues Over Land Use LawNew York Times
- Trump administration sues California over sales of US landWashington Post
Dianne Feinstein bashes Donald Trump on DACA reversal
The Sacramento Bee
U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein on Monday bashed President Donald Trump for reversing his commitment to work with Democrats on legislation to protect young undocumented immigrants brought to the country as children.
See also:
Feinstein to Facebook: ‘Fix it’ before the feds do it for you
San Francisco Chronicle
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the top Democrat on a Senate panel looking into the unauthorized release of millions of Facebook users’ personal data, told the social media giant and other platforms Monday to “fix it” or risk having the federal government intervene.
SCNG Poll: California voters split on investigation into Russian election meddling
OCRegister
California voters are split along party lines when it comes to their views about congressional players involved in the investigation into Russia’s meddling in the 2016 election, and many simply don’t know what to make of Special Council Robert Mueller.
Los Angeles Times
He went ahead and did it. Of course he did. Bashing California is way too much fun and easy for President Trump. California Democratic leaders shouldn’t be shocked. Politically, they had it coming, proudly emerging as the president’s chief antagonist while revving up their liberal and Latino bases.
Other:
Sinclair Broadcast Faces Backlash For Requiring Anchors to Recite Segments
WSJ
Sinclair Broadcast Group Inc., the nation’s largest owner of broadcast TV stations, is under fire for requiring news anchors at dozens of its local stations to read a segment saying they were concerned about “the troubling trend of irresponsible, one-sided news stories plaguing our country.”
See also:
- Trump defends Sinclair broadcasting after video slams anchors for scripted warning on ‘fake news’PBS NewsHour
- Sinclair Chairman: Entire Print Media Has ‘No Credibility’NYMAG
California Today: Is This the End of Youth Football?
New York Times
Kimberly Archie’s son stopped playing football by age 15. But by then he had already absorbed many hits to the head during eight years of Pop Warner football and one year playing as a high school freshman.
Topics in More Detail…
AGRICULTURE/FOOD
China’s tariffs have Valley growers hoping for speedy talks.
The Fresno Bee
Central San Joaquin Valley farmers are hoping negotiations between the U.S. and China can head off the potential economic effects ofnew tariffs imposed by Chinaon a wide range of agricultural products imported from California. The import duties that took effect Monday are the latest salvo in an escalating trade dispute between the Trump administration and the Chinese government.
See also:
- Trump’s call for tariffs creating anxiety in the farm belt The Sacramento Bee
- China Finds California Wine Pairs Well With a Trade War New York Times
- U.S. Pork Producers, Fruit Growers Brace for China Tariffs WSJ
$750K grant for dairies and livestock operators
Hanford Sentinel
California Department of Food and Agriculture has begun accepting applications for the Alternative Manure Management Program. The CDFA’s alternative Manure Management program is designed to help reduce overall greenhouse gas emissions.
Reduce state cannabis taxes to level the field for licensed growers
San Francisco Chronicle
Now that adult-use cannabis is allowed by law in California, it’s clear that the promise of the free market that thrived before legalization has been badly damaged. It can be fixed.
CRIMINAL JUSTICE/FIRE/PUBLIC SAFETY
Crime:
Civil racketeering case can go forward against two law firms over disability claims
Merced Sun-Star
A federal racketeering civil lawsuit is moving forward against two law firms that have filed hundreds of Americans with Disabilities Act lawsuits that supporters say have benefited the disabled — but critics contend have put a financial strain on many small business owners in Fresno and elsewhere.
California vehicle thefts declined in 2017—but some local counties saw increases
Sacramento Bee
The number of vehicle thefts in California headed downward in 2017, following two years of increases. The 6.2 percent decline statewide may be attributed to advances in anti-theft technology, aggressive police work and the public’s vigilance, according to a California Highway Patrol news release.
Should animal abusers in California get mandatory mental health evaluations?
The Mercury News
Senator Scott Wilk, R-Antelope Valley, introduced legislation Monday, March 26, which would require those convicted of animal abuse crimes to undergo mandatory mental heath evaluations and ongoing psychological counseling, if necessary. Wilk said the link between animal abuse and future violence can be weakened by early intervention with mental health services and education.
Calif. Supreme Court upholds law forcing arrestees to give up DNA samples
UPI.com
The CaliforniaSupreme Courton Monday held up a controversial state law that allows law enforcement officers to take DNA from anybody arrested or charged with a felony. In a 4-3 vote, the court ruled in favor of the law, which has allowed California law enforcement officials to create a DNA database of tens of thousands of people who were arrested but never charged or convicted.
See also:
Public Safety:
Stockton airport’s triennial exercise helps prepare local agencies for emergency situations
Stockton Record
Shortly after 9 a.m. Monday, an armed man walked into the lobby at Stockton Metropolitan Airport and began firing, wounding or killing multiple staff and customers. He then walked into the airport departure terminal and took hostages while wounding or killing several more people. San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded within minutes, storming through the airport to detain the shooter and tend to his victims.
California needs to get serious about distracted driving
Sacramento Bee
Our vehicles are full of electronic sensors, cameras and other technological advances to make driving dramatically safer than in the past. But on the flipside, too many drivers think they can successfully multitask on their smartphones while they maneuver a 3,000-pound car.
California eyes lethal force law after shootings by police
Washington Post
Several state lawmakers and the family of a 22-year-old unarmed black man fatally shot by police are proposing Tuesday that California become the first state to significantly restrict when officers can open fire. The proposed legislation would change the current “reasonable force” rule to a “necessary force” standard.
ECONOMY / JOBS
Economy:
Checking the facts on California’s wealth and poverty
PolitiFact
Democrats in control of state offices tend to tout the state’s enormous GDP and its long stretch of job gains. Republicans, meanwhile, and nearly all candidates in the state’s 2018 gubernatorial race, Democrat and Republican, have cited the state’s economic inequality, its surging homeless population, affordable housing crisis and high poverty rate.
Stocks’ Second-Quarter Start Is the Worst Since the Great Depression
Bloomberg
If you feel like the second quarter began badly, you’d be right. U.S. stocks had their worst April start since 1929, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The S&P 500 index slumped 2.2 percent, a rout exceeded only by its 2.5 percent decline 89 years ago, a prelude to the devastating crash later that year that brought on the Great Depression.
See also:
- Markets That Climbed the Trump Bump Are Tumbling Down From It The New York Times
- U.S. Stocks Set to Rebound After Tech Selloff WSJ
U.S. Factories Report Strong Demand, as Tariffs, Prices Threaten Expansion
WSJ
U.S. factories reported robust demand for their products in March but say rising prices for materials, tied to new tariffs, threaten to slow the industry’s expansion. The Institute for Supply Management said Monday its index of factory activity settled at 59.3 in March, down slightly from 60.8 the prior month.
Brick and mortar stores trying to win customers over from online retailers
ABC30
Springtime is in full swing in the Valley, and people are headed out to their local hardware stores. “This is our Super Bowl,” says Brian Bernard, the manager of the Clovis Lowe’s store. “Everybody’s getting out of their homes and doing their spring projects.” This year, the retail stores are looking to better serve customers who start shopping online.
Jobs:
Fresno Fire Department is hiring
ABC30
The Fresno Fire Department is hiring after making an announcement on social media Monday afternoon. But if you’ve always wanted to be a firefighter, you’ll need to act quickly. Applications will only be accepted between Wednesday, April 4th, and Sunday, April 8th.
EDUCATION
K-12:
State schools chief distinguishes three Kern County schools, names BCSD an ‘exemplary’ district
The Bakersfield Californian
State Superintendent of Schools Tom Torlakson on Monday recognized three Kern County schools as California Distinguished Schools, representing campuses that have made exceptional gains in performance and academics — and also named Bakersfield City School District as an “exemplary school district,” according to state education officials.
Higher Ed:
Community colleges deliver the good jobs that Trump keeps promising. So why does he dump on them?
Los Angeles Times
‘I don’t know what that means, a community college,” President Trump said last week during a speech in northeastern Ohio. “Call it vocational and technical. People know what that means.” The president made similar remarks in West Virginia two months ago, and then again in March at a White House forum on education.
Thousands of college hopefuls could leave California—and never come back
CALmatters
High school seniors across the state are waiting on news that will shape the rest of their lives. This month they find out whether they are among the thousands being admitted to the University of California or California State University.
The hidden crisis on college campuses: 36% of students don’t have enough to eat
Washington Post
Caleb Torres lost seven pounds his freshman year of college — and not because he didn’t like the food in the dining hall. A first-generation college student, barely covering tuition, Torres ran out of grocery money halfway through the year and began skipping meals as a result.
College is Too Expensive — For Students and Taxpayers
National Review
North Carolina has managed to keep its public universities more affordable than most, but could further reduce the cost burden on both students and taxpayers, writes Shannon Watkins in today’sMartin Center article.What she has to say about North Carolina applies with at least equal force in other states, and usually more.
ENVIRONMENT/ ENERGY
Environment:
For stories on “Federal v. California” environmental disputes, See: “Top Stories – Federal Politics,” above
Energy:
Get Ready for Another LNG Boom
WSJ
Natural gas that is supercooled and shipped around the world may be the only big growth market for the fossil-fuels industry. Last week, Lorenzo Simonelli, chief executive of oil-field-services giant Baker Hughes, a GE Company, painted a bullish long-term picture.
HEALTH/HUMAN SERVICES
Health:
Stop Trump from discriminating against patients on ‘moral grounds’
The Mercury News
Caregivers must advocate for patients, not discriminate against them. I’ve seen firsthand how people suffer when health care workers discriminate against patients on “moral grounds,” as President Donald Trump is now giving them the green light to do.
State senator says it may be time for law requiring easily understood medical bills
Los Angeles Times
Last week, I called for California to pass a law requiring that medical bills be written in clear language so that patients can understand them. As it stands, bills from hospitals, doctors and insurance companies are frequently indecipherable with their codes, abbreviations, misleading descriptions and lack of any explanation for why charges are so high.
Human Services:
Bulky Waste Collection Event takes place Saturday
The Bakersfield Californian
The Kern County Public Works Department and Kern Refuse Haulers are joining efforts to help beautify the community by hosting a Bulky Waste Collection Event on Saturday. Residents living in the Metro-Bakersfield area with bulky items to be disposed of can stop by any of the three drop-off locations from 8 a.m. to noon Saturday.
Americans tell Interior to take a hike over proposed national park fee increase
Washington Post
Interior Department officials are backing away from a planto dramatically increase entrance fees at the most popular national parks after receiving more than 100,000 public comments from Americans nearly unanimously opposed to the idea.
IMMIGRATION
Rubin: Trump’s ignorance of DACA, immigration ought to embarrass his supporters in the Valley
Fresno Bee
President Donald Trump’s Easter tweets and rambling comments to reporters about immigration should remind us that he shows no desire to learn even rudimentary facts about the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.The Post reports: “In fiery Sunday morning tweets, sent an hour after he wished Americans a ‘HAPPY EASTER’ and minutes before he attended a church service, Trump vowed, ‘NO MORE DACA DEAL.’ “
See also:
- Trump’s Tweets On ‘Caravans’ Crossing The Border, Annotated NPR
- Trump sounds off on illegal immigration and migrant ‘caravans’
- POLITICO
- Trump threatens foreign aid to Honduras as he continues focus on ‘caravan’ of migrantsWashington Post
- Who is Trump’s recent anti-immigrant rhetoric meant to convince?Washington Post
- Trump Begins Third Day of Twitter Attacks on ‘Weak’ Border LawsNew York Times
New Quotas for Immigration Judges as Trump Administration Seeks Faster Deportations
WSJ
The Justice Department has notified immigration judges that it will begin evaluating their job performance based on how quickly they close cases, aiming to speed deportation decisions and reduce a lengthy backlog.The new quotas for judges to meet—laid out in a memo sent Friday to immigration judges—follow other directives by the department to expedite handling of cases. Attorney General Jeff Sessions has said that the backlog at the immigration courts allows people who should be deported to linger inside the U.S.
As Trump targets immigrants, the elderly brace to lose caregivers
NBC News
Nirva is one of about 59,000 Haitians living in the U.S. under Temporary Protected Status (TPS), a humanitarian program that gave them permission to work and live here after the January 2010 earthquake devastated their country. Many work in health care, often in grueling, low-wage jobs as nursing assistants or home health aides.
LAND USE/HOUSING
Land Use:
Parking at a premium downtown, city pays $300K to help Rawhide, businesses
Visalia Times Delta
Single-A baseball season is almost here and Visalia Rawhide fans might have an easier time finding parking this year. Recently, Visalia City Council approved purchasing three vacant downtown lots that will bring additional parking near Recreation Park and the west side of downtown Visalia.
Housing:
Force homeless people into institutions, Republican candidate for California governor says
Sacramento Bee
Republican gubernatorial candidate Travis Allen says he’d build state-run institutions and force homeless people to live in them against their will, if necessary. “We need state-run mental institutions where people can actually go, (where) the indigent can go and get the help that they need,” Allen said at a housing forum last month. “What we’re doing is not working.”
PUBLIC FINANCES
Some Cities Outsource Their Highest Pension Costs
PublicCEO
Dozens of cities, many of them formed in recent decades, do not directly pay police and firefighter pension rates. They get their safety services though contracts with county sheriff departments and large fire districts.
TRANSPORTATION
Push to improve SR 99 interchanges as businesses move in
ABC30
An industrial area in Southwest Fresno has become the perfect spot for companies to grow their business. It has attracted local companies like Valley Wide Beverage and national companies like Amazon and Ulta Beauty. They’ve clustered in an area bordered by Highway 99, Highway 41, North Ave and Central Ave.
Testing high-tech cameras where it counts: aimed at carpool-lane cheaters
San Francisco Chronicle
On an undisclosed Bay Area freeway over the past couple of weeks, a camera system has been counting the people inside every vehicle in the carpool lane in an experiment to detect cheaters. No tickets or warnings are being issued, but that could change if Bay Area transportation officials are convinced that the technology is the next-generation enforcement answer to a growing number of scofflaws who, despite the risk of a heavy fine, use the region’s restricted carpool lanes to shave time off their commute.
Tesla may have violated federal rules by releasing information about fatal California crash
Washington Post
Tesla may have run afoul of federal rules governing safety investigations when it released information over the weekend about a fatal crash involving one of its Model X SUVs in California last month. The release of investigative information was the latest instance of Silicon Valley bucking long-standing norms in dealing with government officials.
California launches system allowing driverless cars to ditch their backup drivers
Washington Post
It was a rulemaking slog, one that some in the industry criticized as an example of typical Golden State overreach. But on Monday, after years of drafts, public comment sessions and revisions, California regulations allowing the testing and public use of fully driverless cars took effect. Previous rules required human backup drivers behind the wheel.
Could electric cars be the future of rural transportation?
The Business Journal
In rural Fresno County, catching a bus to get to a doctor’s appointment, social services office or run any number of errands can be an arduous tack. In the city of Huron, for example only one bus to Fresno arrives each weekday morning at 8:35 a.m., and reaching the larger city involves multiple stops in other communities, including Coalinga and Easton, before arriving in Fresno a couple of hours later.
WATER
Sierra snowpack has gotten bigger, but that was no ‘March miracle’
Fresno Bee
March’s powerful storms may have saved California from having one of the worst wet seasons on record, but the state’s Sierra snowpack still remains well below average. Early April is considered the tail end of California’s rain and snow season.
See also:
- Sierra Snowpack Still Skimpy After March Storms KQED Science.
Late-winter storms slow California’s dive back into drought
The Bakersfield Californian
A stormy close to California’s rainy season has slowed the state’s plunge back into drought, bringing the vital Sierra Nevada snowpack to just over half of average, water officials said Monday. The welcome run of rain- and snowstorms last month more than doubled the state’s snow totals for the year, hiking it to 52 percent of normal.
See also:
- ‘Pineapple Express’ rain expected to soak Bay AreaThe Mercury News
Southern California water agency backs off plan to finance both Delta tunnels
Sacramento Bee
It was one of the most ambitious and controversial plans floated in California water politics in decades. Southern California’s behemoth water agency was going to bankroll mostof Gov. Jerry Brown’s $16.7 billion Delta tunnels project, ensuring both giant pipes get built but raising the specter of a “water grab.”
See also:
Oroville Dam: Wet spot on spillway wasn’t unexpected
The Mercury News
Oroville— First there was the green spot, now there’s the wet spot. There was quite a buzz around Oroville last week about aerial photos that showed a wet streak down the face of the repaired main Oroville Dam spillway. But it was something that had been expected, and the Department of Water Resources said as early as Januarythat it might happen.
Californians Go Back to Using About as Much Water as Before the Drought
KQED
Since Gov. Jerry Brown called off California’s drought emergency a year ago, we Californians seem to have gotten a little lazy when it comes to water conservation.
“Xtra”
Want to be in the new Marvel movie? It’s filming at Shaver Lake
Fresno Bee
While you may not get to meet “Captain Marvel” stars Brie Larson or Samuel L. Jackson at Shaver Lake, you could have a chance to cement yourself in part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. While production for the new “Captain Marvel” movie is based in Los Angeles, where filming has already begun, it was announced Monday that it will shoot on location in Fresno.
They followed Muir’s footsteps across California, then found his words to describe it
Sierra Star
John Muir hopped off a steamer in the San Francisco Bay and asked for the quickest way out of town. Where to? “Anywhere that is wild,” he said. So, 150 years ago on April 1, Muir set off on foot from San Francisco to Yosemite. After a ferry trip to Oakland, the not-yet-famous naturalist made his way on a 310-mile ramble; south to Gilroy, east through the Pacheco Pass, across the Central Valley, then into the Sierra. Six weeks later, he arrived in Yosemite Valley, a place where he would return many times.
Meet Cali, California’s new deputy first dog
Sacramento Bee
While you were away, Gov. Jerry Brown announced the appointment of his new pup, Cali Brown, as deputy first dog. The 2-month-old Standard Poodle and Border Collie mix will “assist First Dog Colusa Brown in herding staff at the State Capitol and will lend a paw around the family ranch in Colusa County,” according to Brown’s press office.
EDITORIALS
Sinclair makes mockery of ethical reporting with corporate propaganda
Modesto Bee
A familiar TV news anchor stares directly at the camera and begins to deliver a seemingly heartfelt message about the dangers of “fake news” and how much this station values “quality, balanced journalism.” Coming from a single, trusted newsperson, it seems benign enough.
Don’t let Trump and Pruitt Make America Smoggy Again
Los Angeles Times
The world is increasingly speeding toward a future of clean, zero-emissions cars. China — the largest auto market on the planet — plans to banthe sale of new vehicles powered by gasoline and diesel engines in the coming decades. Until then, the Chinese government requires that carmakers sell an increasing number of hybrid and electric vehicles in the country each year.
Why roll back progress toward cleaner cars?
Sacramento Bee
For decades California has used its market power and its policy innovation to push America toward a cleaner energy future. But the Trump administration seems just as determined to drag America backward to more dependence on dirty fossil fuels.
Our View: Saving downtown Bakersfield: Form a PBID: Give vision and dreams a chance
The Bakersfield Californian
Since the City of Bakersfield was officially incorporated in 1873, its downtown — its beating heart — has survived multiple devastating fires and a 1952 earthquake that nearly leveled it. Give downtown Bakersfield points for stubborn resilience. Natural and manmade disasters couldn’t kill it. So modern-day negligence should not be able to deliver the fatal blow, either.
Justice for Stephon Clark must start with righting injustice in Sacramento
Hanford Sentinel
Now that Stephon Clark’s family has laid him to rest, many will want a return to normalcy in Sacramento. It’s time to move on with our lives, they’ll say, and put this dark chapter behind us. That would be an injustice, and a civic mistake.
Schools need to keep students safe, not act like thought police
Los Angeles Times
These are difficult days for schools as they try to figure out how and when to discipline students for misbehavior, disruption, bullying and other actions. Social media has further complicated the matter, blurring the lines between behavior on campus, where schools clearly can set rules, and behavior off campus, where it is not so obvious that they can.
Balanced-budget measure is fiscal flimflam
San Francisco Chronicle
Why should preaching the gospel of fiscal responsibility be constrained by the failure to practice anything of the kind? So goes the thinking behind a balanced-budget mandate expected to surface on Capitol Hill courtesy of the same lawmakers who passed tax cuts worth more than $1 trillion in deficits.
China tariffs, ICE crackdown put California’s leaders on spot
San Diego Union-Tribune
The Democratswho dominate California politics weren’t just thrown off-balance by Donald Trump’s election as president 18 months ago; they were beside themselves. This has led to two distinctly different types of responses from top elected officials who oppose Trump’s most provocative initiatives on big issues such as immigration and the environment.
Legalizing hemp in America is long overdue
OCRegister
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, is making another push for legalizing hemp as an agricultural commodity. On March 26, McConnell announced plans to introduce The Hemp Farming Act of 2018 on a bipartisan basis along with fellow Kentucky Republican Rand Paul to exclude hemp, a variety of cannabis sativa with low amounts of THC, from the Controlled Substances Act, thereby removing a key barrier to the lawful production of hemp throughout the country.
Does the West need to do more to counter Russian meddling?
OCRegister
Following the Salisbury, U.K. attack on Sergei Skripal, a former Russian military intelligence officer, and his daughter with a nerve agent believed to have originated in Russia, the West has given its old Cold War rival the cold shoulder.
A Second Kick of the Ninth Circuit
WSJ
One paradox of the Supreme Court is that some of the nation’s finest legal minds are often asked to resolve the most straightforward questions about what a statute says. A case in point is a Monday decision that is a victory for the rule of law over legal obfuscation and a deliberate political attempt to expand the Fair Labor Standards Act.