13Aug

POLICY & POLITICS

North SJ Valley:

Modesto considers law regulating weapons in light of ‘straight pride’ rally proposal

Modesto Bee

While the proposed straight pride rally started as a debate over free speech, it briefly grew into a debate over gun rights as Modesto produced a proposed ordinance that included banning firearms at rallies and protests.

Stanislaus education board torpedoes charter school for refugee, immigrant students

Modesto Bee

The Stanislaus County Board of Education rejected a petition Tuesday for the New Colossus Academy.

UC Merced Chancellor Dorothy Leland prepares for retirement

abc30

After more than eight years as head of the state’s youngest University of California Campus, UC Merced Chancellor Dorothy Leland is retiring. Since her appointment in 2011, UC Merced Chancellor Dorothy Leland has taken the campus’ progress to new heights.

After Gilroy shooting, San Jose mayor pushes new gun liability insurance requirement

Mercury News

Mayor Sam Liccardo unveiled the plan after meeting with families who lost children at the garlic festival.

Central SJ Valley:

Who’s picking Fresno’s next police chief? The search lacks transparency, critics say

Fresno Bee

Transparency in the process to find a new Fresno police chief is vital, community organizers say. But as the process winds down, advocates say the mayor’s administration is not living up to its duty to bring in enough diverse voices in a city looking for sweeping changes in its police force.

This Valley congressman took money from a pro-gun group. Students ask him to give it back.

Fresno Bee

In the wake of the most recent mass shootings, young people with March for Our Lives Fresno on Monday sent Rep. Jim Costa a letter asking him to return a campaign donation from a pro-gun group and instead donate to an organization working to end gun violence.

Warszawski: Hundreds of mayors urge Senate to stiffen background checks on guns. Where’s Mayor Brand?

Fresno Bee

Nearly 250 U.S. mayors, both Democrat and Republican, have signed a letter demanding the Senate take up legislation that would strengthen background checks on anyone wishing to buy a gun.

Special election for Fresno City Council District 2 seat

abc30

A special election will be held Tuesday for the Fresno City Council District 2 seat. The seat became vacant when former councilmember Steve Brandau won a Fresno county supervisorial seat in 2018.

South SJ Valley:

Lawsuit against California Dept of Corrections moving toward jury trial in October

Bakersfield Californian

A motion filed by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to throw out a civil lawsuit alleging discrimination against a former pregnant correctional officer was denied by a Kern County judge Monday, making way for a jury trial to begin in October.

Police have limited enforcement powers to deal with those who camp in city parks

Bakersfield Californian

Jackie Cameron likes walking her dogs at Saunders Park, near Oak Street in central Bakersfield.

State:

Housing, charter schools, vaccines: Lawmakers return to Capitol with a big to-do list

Merced Sun-Star

It’s back to the Capitol for California lawmakers, who are returning on Monday from a month-long break to finish out the 2019 session. In the next two months, state legislators are scheduled to pass or ax hundreds of proposals that range from slight legal modifications to systemic overhauls.

More fallout from nepotism report: California state worker receives $250,000 from lawsuit

Sacramento Bee

A former California state worker who said in a lawsuit that she was fired for cooperating with a nepotism investigation has settled.

Horse Racing Doesn’t Have a Standard Concussion Protocol For Jockeys. Now, California Wants To Create One.

Capital Public Radio

Horse racing is one of the most dangerous sports in the world — but unlike other pro sports, it doesn’t have a concussion protocol. The consequences can be dire for jockeys.

Mathews: In Fighting Trump’s Monster, Is California Creating Its Own?

Fox & Hounds

As California builds its capacity to fight the Leviathan that is the Trump administration, does it risk turning our state government into a Leviathan of our own?

Federal:

New rules can deny green cards for immigrants on food stamps

abc30

The Trump administration announced Monday that it is moving ahead with one of its most aggressive steps to restrict legal immigration, denying green cards to many immigrants who use Medicaid, food stamps, housing vouchers or other forms of public assistance.

● Trump to deny green cards to immigrants receiving public benefits Politico

● WATCH: Trump administration issues rules to deny green cards for immigrants on food stamps PBS NewsHour

● Trump Administration Rule Would Penalize Immigrants For Needing Benefits Valley Public Radio

What The El Paso Moment portends for the Republican Party

CALmatters

For more than 20 years, political observers have pointed to California’s Proposition 187 campaign as the seminal moment in Latino political consciousness–a year in history when Latinos across generational, educational, economic and national divides united in a singular voice against a threat to the community.

Trump Is Right—the Fed Is Still Tightening

Wall Street Journal

Sure, the size of the balance sheet is holding steady, but leaving riskier assets in the market will slow growth.

House Judiciary Committee doomed for failure with impeachment inquiry

Roll Call

The courts likely will not give credence to a House committee claiming to be an impeachment inquiry so it can bypass all the usual rules about obtaining grand jury materials or the testimony of potential witnesses.

Americans are sick of robocalls. Can Congress agree on how to block them?

Fresno Bee

Fake charity appeals or IRS tax delinquency notices. Tricks that tempt you to call an overseas hotline — and rack up expensive charges. By one estimate, Americans lost more than $10 billion thanks to scam phone calls over the last year.

Elections 2020:

Trump’s Primary Advantage: No Real Competition

Wall Street Journal

Lack of a serious primary-season challenge would allow the president to avoid the kind of bruising battle that has hurt other incumbents.

‘A reckoning’: Sanders and Warren supporters see an alliance on the brink

Fresno Bee

Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren are ideological allies in the 2020 Democratic presidential primary. But the two candidates are splitting the liberal vote, which their supporters fear could help Joe Biden.

What California knows about Kamala Harris

CalMatters

What most Americans are still just beginning to learn about California’s junior senator, we’ve seen here for decades. Here are eight ways that California shaped Kamala Harris and that Harris has shaped California.

Quinn: The Democrats Plan For Voter Suppression

Fox & Hounds

Sacramento Democrats have come up with a clever way to suppress votes in the next primary, one that will keep hundreds of thousands of voters from the polls next March. This is a just passed law that forbids the Secretary of State from listing President Trump on the Republican primary ballot because he has not released his tax returns, which he obviously has no intention of doing.

Other:

Are We All Unilateralists Now?

Wall Street Journal

On war, trade and climate, Democrats sound remarkably similar to Trump.

MADDY INSTITUTE PUBLIC POLICY PROGRAMMING

Sunday, August 18, at 10 a.m. on ABC30 – Maddy Report: “Higher Ed: A Good Investment for Students and Taxpayers?” – Guests: Sarah Bohn, Radhika Mehlotra and Patrick Murphy from PPIC and Dorothy Leland – Former Chancellor – UC Merced. Host: Maddy Institute Executive Director, Mark Keppler.

Sunday, August 18, at 10 a.m. on Newstalk 580AM/105.9FM (KMJ) –Maddy Report – Valley Views Edition: “The Valley’s Public Universities: An Update” – Guests: President Joseph I. Castro from California State University, Fresno; President Ellen Jun from California State University, Stanislaus; and President Lynette Zelezny from California State University, Bakersfield. Host: Maddy Institute Executive Director, Mark Keppler.

Sunday, August 18, at 7:30 a.m. on UniMas 61 (KTTF) – El Informe Maddy: “Higher Education and Path in California” – Invitados: PPIC Olga Rodriguez and Marisol Cuellar. Presentado Por: Coordinadora del Programa del Maddy Institute, Maria Jeans.

AGRICULTURE/FOOD

Ag leaders object to plan to expand Manteca’s Forward Landfill

Stockton Record

San Joaquin County supervisors are reviewing a request by Manteca’s Forward Landfill to expand its footprint and extend its lifespan. Agricultural leaders in the region said they are hoping the board denies the request for a landfill that not only takes in waste from the county but from the Bay Area and other parts of the Central Valley, as well

Zach Friend: What one California county did to improve nutritional outcomes

Sacramento Bee

As a Santa Cruz County Supervisor, I see first-hand how nutrition impacts health outcomes.

Lemoore neighbors oppose plan to sell city land to cannabis company

abc30

Nine acres of vacant, city-owned land on Lemoore’s west side could soon be sold. If all goes according to the city’s plan-the buyer would operate commercial marijuana businesses on the site-including cultivation, manufacturing, distribution, and retail.

Lobbyists race to cash in on cannabis boom

The Hill

Lobbying firms are taking advantage of the cannabis boom as a number of bills on the industry move through Congress and state legislatures.

See also:

● Got hemp? You can lose your bank Business Journal

CRIMINAL JUSTICE / FIRE / PUBLIC SAFETY

Crime:

Date rape drug: What is a roofie, what happens when you take one?

Fresno Bee

Here’s a look at a common date rape drug, rohypnol, otherwise known as roofies or forget me pill, how people take them and how to guard against getting drugged at a bar.

Tobacco sting targets retail establishments

Hanford Sentinel

Several clerks and businesses were cited after a tobacco sting conducted by Hanford Police, officials said. Officers said underage minor decoys, who were 17 and 19 years of age, were sent into retail establishments and attempted to purchase tobacco products from the clerks.

Money collection for Stanislaus Boys & Girls Clubs is a scam, the nonprofit says

Modesto Bee

People claiming to represent a group called Charlie’s Music and collecting money purportedly to provide music to youth in the Boys & Girls.

Public Safety:

Who’s picking Fresno’s next police chief? The search lacks transparency, critics say

Fresno Bee

Facial recognition program mistakes 26 California lawmakers for criminals

Fresno Bee

When two California lawmakers came together Tuesday to champion a bill that would block police departments from using facial recognition.

Mandatory liability insurance for gun owners? California mayor wants to require it

Fresno Bee

The mayor of San Jose announced Monday that he is seeking “a first-of-its-kind ‘harm reduction’ model” to curb gun violence in his city, a plan that includes requiring gun owners to carry liability insurance.

See also:

● San Jose mayor wants gun owners to have insurance San Francisco Chronicle

● California Gun-Control Backers Concerned About Changing Federal Courts Capital Public Radio

● Guns and the Do-Something Fallacy Wall Street Journal

Clovis PD is recruiting for Explorer Post 355

Clovis RoundUp

The Clovis Police Department is looking for new recruits for their Explorer Post 355.

California county jail deaths rise after prison realignment

Sacramento Bee

Among other things, we’re looking at what sheriffs are doing with the increased responsibility and funding, and we’re poring through documents that can tell us about successes, shortcomings and failures in jail decision-making.

Lawsuit against California Dept of Corrections moving toward jury trial in October

Bakersfield Californian

Police have limited enforcement powers to deal with those who camp in city parks

Bakersfield Californian

Jackie Cameron likes walking her dogs at Saunders Park, near Oak Street in central Bakersfield.

EDITORIAL: Thanks for west Modesto shooting footage, Sheriff, but please, limit production

Modesto Bee

We’re grateful that your department finally began using body cameras in April, and that you are sharing, for the first time, video of a “critical incident.” We just wonder why you felt compelled to cushion 1 minute, 39 seconds of action among 3 minutes and 26 seconds of introduction, education, explanation and wrap-up.

Fire:

Goals to fight fire with fire often fall short in Sequoia, Kings Canyon

Visalia Times Delta

The thick scent of smoke hung in the midday air when a trail along the Kings River opened up to an ominous scene: flames in the trees and thick gray smoke shrouding canyon walls.

See also:

● US West struggles to hit goals of fighting fire with fire Bakersfield Californian

● PG&E’s fund for wildfire victims to start taking applications soon San Francisco Chronicle

● PG&E’s legal schemes in bankruptcy to hurt fire victims San Francisco Chronicle

Northern California fire victims can file claims with PG&E

Bakersfield Californian

People affected by wildfires in Northern California in 2017 and 2018 can soon file claims for housing assistance and other immediate needs with Pacific Gas & Electric Co. They can file their claims online through the website for the utility’s wildfire assistance program as early as this week.

● PG&E is accused of trying to dodge wildfire responsibilities San Jose Mercury

ECONOMY / JOBS

Economy:

China’s Xi gets tougher on Trump after new tariff threat

Fresno Bee

Facing another U.S. tariff hike, Chinese President Xi Jinping is getting tougher with Washington instead of backing down.

● ‘Trump is ruining our markets’: Farmers lose a huge customer to trade war — China CNBC

Kern County Hispanic Chamber of Commerce CEO receives statewide recognition

KGET

The California Hispanic Chambers of Commerce are honoring the CEO of Kern County’s local branch. The chambers named Jay Tamsi as chamber executive of the year. Tamsi leads the Kern County Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, which represents over 400,000 Hispanic business people and professionals.

Jobs:

Trump’s Push to Bring Back Jobs to U.S. Shows Limited Results

The New York Times

From tax cuts to relaxed regulations to tariffs, each of President Trump’s economic initiatives is based on a promise: to set off a wave of investment and bring back jobs that the president says the United States has lost to foreign countries.

EDUCATION

K-12:

Stanislaus education board torpedoes charter school for refugee, immigrant students

Modesto Bee

Stanislaus County Bd of Ed rejected a petition Tuesday for the New Colossus Academy.

Students head back to class on the first day of school in Fresno

Fresno Bee

Del Mar Elementary School in the Fresno Unified School District welcomes back students for the 2019-2020 school year.

Central Unified installs student ID card readers to all school buses

abc30

Central Unified students now have their student ID cards in lanyards. They’ll be required to swipe them every time they board and exit a school bus this year.

VUSD to teachers: ‘Don’t worry, be happy’

Visalia Times Delta

Visalia Unified School District screened an inspirational video for 3,000 staffers at Monday’s convocation ceremony at the Visalia Convention Center.

YUSD Appoints New Board Trustee For Area 1

Sierra News

Effective June 13, 2019, Board Trustee for Area 1 of Yosemite Unified School District, Tim Curley, resigned from office. August 5, 2019, Anne Flanagan was appointed as Provisional Trustee to Area 1 effective August 19, 2019 through December 2020.

Revised bill proposes later school start times for California middle, high school students

EdSource

After former Gov. Jerry Brown vetoed a bill last year that proposed starting middle and high school times later to give teens more time to sleep, the bill’s author started working to bring it back again this year.

Editorial: California’s proposed new ethnic studies curriculum is jargon-filled and all-too-PC

Los Angeles Times

In a state as diverse as California, with all the social, historical and economic issues that arise from our rapidly changing demographics, the idea of offering an ethnic studies course in public high schools is more than a nice notion; it’s critical to imbuing students with an understanding of their own history and that of others.

● What about the Nazis? Lawmakers question ‘anti-Jewish’ curriculum for California schools Sacramento Bee

Schools Fight Websites That Sell Homework Help

Wall Street Journal

Hundreds of sites claiming to offer tutoring services are often selling completed assignments to students.

Higher Ed:

UC Merced Chancellor Dorothy Leland prepares for retirement

abc30

After 5 strikes, thousands of health, research and technical workers ratify new UC contract

Fresno Bee

After more than two years of bargaining and five strikes, roughly 16,000 health-care, research and technical workers at the University of California voted to ratify a new labor contractwith their employer, according to the union’s website.

Audit: California university system cut pay amid reserve

Fresno Bee

The chancellor of California State University — the country’s largest system of four-year public universities — is pushing back against a state audit that found the system raised tuition and cut employee pay while sitting on a $1.5 billion reserve.

● CSU chancellor defends reserves following critical state audit AP

Fresno State ranks 35th in Money Magazine’s ‘Best Public Colleges’ list

Fresno State News

Going to college wasn’t a realistic goal for Jordan Cordova whose parents weren’t around when he was growing up. But in high school, the Clovis resident learned about Fresno State and the quality education he could get at a university close to home.

● Fresno State Philanthropy increases 23% in 2018-19 academic year Fresno State News

Fresno City College makes changes to campus

abc30

Fresno City College has welcomed back its students for the fall semester. Throughout the campus, information booths were set up with helpful information, and students who got there early were treated to free coffees.

Tracking California’s higher education bills

EdSource

The bills would address a range of issues, including financial aid, student debt, homelessness and access to college for undocumented students, among others.

ENVIRONMENT/ ENERGY

Environment:

CalRecycle’s ‘gross mismanagement’ led to recycling chain’s closure, letter to Newsom says

Fresno Bee

The leadership of CalRecycle must drastically change or else be sacked and replaced by Gov. Gavin Newsom, according to a letter written to the governor from the head of a consumer advocacy group, just days after the largest recycling chain in California shuttered all remaining locations.

● Recycling Can Be A Lifeline For People In LA, But Places To Do It Keep Disappearing laist

‘We’re ready to fight’: Wildlife activists vow to protect Endangered Species Act from Trump

Fresno Bee

Wildlife advocacy groups and two state attorneys general vowed to fight the Trump administration’s proposed regulatory change to the Endangered Species Act, arguing that it could threaten species ranging from the California condor to the monarch butterfly and the northern spotted owl.

See also:

● States vow suit over endangered species rollback Bakersfield Californian

● Trump Administration Makes Major Changes To Protections For Endangered Species Capital Public Radio

● Trump weakens Endangered Species Act, California promises to put up a fight San Francisco Chronicle

● Massachusetts, California vow suit over endangered species rollback AP

● US government weakens application of Endangered Species Act AP

Chance to comment on forest plans

Porterville Recorder

Sequoia and Sierra National Forests announced the release of their revised drafts environmental impact statement and revised draft land management plans on June 28, initiating a 90-day comment period closing on September 26.

Correction: Weed Killer-Label story

In a story Aug. 9 about a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announcement regarding the chemical glyphosate, The Associated Press misspelled the first name of a spokeswoman from Bayer AG. She is Charla Lord, not Chandra Lord. Also, in an early version of the story, the AP reported that the EPA had instructed companies not to warn customers about glyphosate. The EPA’s announcement said it would no longer approve labels warning that glyphosate could pose a cancer risk.

More than a century of data examined by The Post reveals the fastest-warming places in the U.S. Here’s how your county has changed.

Washington Post

A Washington Post analysis of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration data across the Lower 48 states and 3,107 counties found that major areas are nearing or have already crossed the threshold of 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit), a crucial marker in international climate change policy.

Energy:

California’s fight over fuel economy standards

Capitol Weekly

Top law enforcement officials in California and New York are leading 10 other states in an attempt to retain tougher penalties for automakers that violate fuel economy standards.

COMMUNITY VOICES: Keep natural gas and renewable natural gas in California

The Californian

Earlier this month, a Tulare County dairy celebrated the completion of its renewable natural gas facility, an operation that’s gathering biogas from dairy farms and turning it into pipeline-quality renewable methane.

Clean energy powers California climate emissions drop

San Francisco Chronicle

California is continuing to lower its greenhouse gas emissions, but the transportation sector remains a stubborn obstacle in the state’s aggressive fight against climate change, new data show.

Energy Boom Began Years Before Trump Took Office

NPR

The United States has become the world’s leading producer of oil and natural gas — reshaping the global energy economy from the shipping lanes of the Middle East to the factories of the Midwest.

HEALTH/HUMAN SERVICES

Health:

Bricks, death threats and fury: A last-ditch fight against California’s vaccine crackdown

Merced Sun-Star

California’s debate over a proposed law to tighten kids’ exemptions for mandatory vaccines was never subtle. Lawmakers sponsoring the bill say they’ve been receiving death threats for months. Someone in June mailed Assembly members dozens of bricks etched with appeals to kill the measure.

● Interactive Map: California schools with low vaccination rates EdSource

To Find The Next Antibiotic, Scientists Give Old Drugs A New Purpose

Capital Public Radio

Scientists discovered that a medication used to treat parasites in horses can fight deadly staph infections. It’s a promising new approach to solving the problem of antibiotic resistance.

Annual Valley Fever walk aims to raise money for a cure

abc23

For the eighth straight year, the Valley Fever Institute at Kern Medical held its annual walk to help raise awareness for the crippling disease. Officials say Valley Fever is most prevalent in Kern County than in any other part of California.

Human Services:

Medical board accuse Tulare doctor of opioid overprescription

abc30

A Tulare doctor could lose his medical license after accusations he overprescribed opioids to a patient. When something kills 42,000 Americans in a single year, people take note, and the opioid epidemic is in the spotlight.

Covered California draws more insurers after state moves to bolster Obamacare

Los Angeles Times

California’s ACA exchange is not the only one benefiting from the renewed interest of insurance companies. Other states are expected to see more insurers enter or reenter their marketplaces next year. That’s a critical signal, experts said, that the state-based marketplaces, which cover about 11 million people nationally, are becoming more robust and less risky for insurers — despite ongoing political and legal battles over the ACA.

California union members back strike against Kaiser Permanente; 5 other states still voting

Sacramento Bee

The Service Employees International Union–United Healthcare Workers West said Monday that thousands of California workers in its Kaiser Permanente unit have voted overwhelmingly to support a strike against their employer in early October.

New CPR technology serves as another set of hands for Hall paramedics

Bakersfield Californian

A new piece of equipment has been introduced to Hall Ambulance paramedics that serves as essentially another person on scene — and provides continuous compressions while implementing improved blood flow at the same time.

Sexual misconduct allegations against California doctors rise sharply since #MeToo era began

Los Angeles Times

Since fall of 2017, the number of complaints against physicians for sexual misconduct has risen 62%, a jump that coincides with the beginning of the #MeToo movement, according to a Times analysis of California medical board data.

Pregnant or trying? Here’s how to get the most out of California’s new paid family leave law

CALmatters

Gov. Gavin Newsom just expanded California’s paid family leave law. Will you and your baby make the most of it?

As overdoses soared, nearly 35 billion opioids — half of distributed pills — handled by 15 percent of pharmacies

Washington Post

By the time Clinton County coroner Steve Talbott arrived at the scene of an overdose in southern Kentucky, the bottles of prescription pain pills usually had vanished. Friends and relatives of the dead rarely had answers to Talbott’s questions: What kind of pills did they take and where did they come from?

● How many pain pills went to your pharmacy? Washington Post

● Where Doctors Can Recommend Pot to Replace Opioids PEW

Column: Why the short-term health plans Trump favors are cheap: They shortchange you on care

Los Angeles Times

President Trump and other foes of the Affordable Care Act have made the expansion of short-term health plans a centerpiece of their campaign to gut the ACA.

IMMIGRATION

Trump crackdown on legal immigrants could damage California economy, experts say

Los Angeles Times

The Trump administration’s new immigration crackdown — which could deny green cards to immigrants who use Medicaid, food stamps, housing vouchers or other forms of public assistance — would have major ramifications on the California economy, experts and advocates said Monday.

See also:

● How Trump’s new rule on immigrants endangers public health San Francisco Chronicle

● What does President Trump’s latest immigration crackdown mean for California? CALmatters

● Opinion: Trump’s claim that he supports legal immigration turns out to be a lie The Washington Post

● Trump Administration Rule Would Penalize Immigrants For Needing Benefits NPR

Trump Administration Seeks Decertification Of Immigration Judges’ Union

Capital Public Radio

The administration argues that immigration judges are managers who are barred from forming a union. The leader of the union says the administration wants the judges to speed up deportation cases.

Remain in Mexico: migrants face uphill climb to get out of program

Los Angeles Times

Vulnerable migrants facing persecution in Mexico are having a difficult time getting out of the Remain in Mexico program because the federal government is limiting their access to attorneys and preventing them from preparing for asylum interviews, according to immigration lawyers and human rights workers.

Guatemala’s Incoming President Faces Tense Migration Talks With The U.S.

Capital Public Radio

Voters elected conservative candidate and former prison director Alejandro Giammattei to lead the country. It was his fourth bid for the presidency. He faces poverty and Washington threats.

U.S. Border Agency to Expand Use of Facial Recognition Tech

Bloomberg

The U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency is set to expand its use of facial recognition, deploying the controversial technology to screen people entering the country, according to a government document released recently.

A glimpse inside the Central Processing Center, at the heart of the border crisis

Washington Post

Dozens of dirt-caked shoes popped out from beneath the silver Mylar blankets, where children lie on mats, watching cartoons, and parents cooed infants to sleep. Inside the chain-link pens of U.S. Border Patrol’s largest holding facility, nearly 1,300 migrants were waiting Monday to be released, deported or transferred.

LAND USE/HOUSING

Land Use:

Fresno Bee

Glacier Point Road in Yosemite National Park will be closed for road construction in 2021. The Glacier Point Road Rehabilitation Project will start in spring 2021 and the road is expected to be closed at least through that fall.

What urban activists get wrong about gentrification

AEI

By reducing exposure to concentrated poverty and increasing exposure to employed adults and stable families, children in low-income neighborhoods have a greater chance of leading successful adult lives.

Housing:

Tarina Homes park could be renamed after city says company failed to make $100,000 payment

Bakersfield Californian

The Bakersfield park called Tarina Homes Sports Complex at Mesa Marin may be a mouthful, but it could soon be a little easier to swallow after the local developer failed to pay the city the full cost of naming rights.

Why Is It So Expensive To Build A Home In California? Developer Fees Could Be One Reason

Capital Public Radio

Residential ‘impact fees’ are a big reason it’s so expensive to build a home in California. Those charges are not only expensive, but unpredictable and lack transparency, according to a new state-commissioned study.

The Governor Wants Rent Caps

Fox & Hounds

Calling for a rent cap bill for all California, Governor Gavin Newsom said such a measure is long overdue. While Newsom sees this as a temporary solution to the state’s housing crisis, his advocacy for a new law will renew the debate over rent control and set into motion some interesting political machinations.

PUBLIC FINANCES

A $2.3 Billion investment in California’s future

Clovis RoundUp

California’s early childhood education got a big boost from Governor Gavin Newsom on Thursday, Aug. 8.

California officials warn of ‘unsustainable’ taxpayer costs in disaster bill

San Francisco Chronicle

SB290, sponsored by Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara, would authorize the governor to directly purchase policies and other financial products from insurance companies in hopes of mitigating California’s costs from natural disasters such as wildfires and floods.

Budget Decider: Making choices that impact millions

CALmatters

California lawmakers have passed a $215 billion budget filled with progressive eye-catchers. But what if you had the awesome power to tax and spend, charting a new course for California?

TRANSPORTATION

Prices are still falling at Valley gas pumps. Here’s where the lowest fuel prices are

Fresno Bee

Gasoline prices in Fresno and the Valley are continuing to fall since reaching a sticker-shocking peak several months ago. Pump prices vary from one station to another in various markets; the figures reported by AAA represent an average across all stations.

Attempt to bury DMV audit raises questions

Fresno Bee

The “Friday dump” is a trick that PR experts use to hide bad news. It works like this: You release bad or unfavorable news late on a Friday, when most people supposedly tune out for the weekend. With any luck, few will be aware of your misdeeds or misfortunes come Monday morning.

Major road work could delay commutes in Merced County this week. What you need to know

Merced Sun-Star

Road work will cause traffic delays in Merced County this week, according to the California Department of Transportation.

Preparations nearly complete for SkyWest Airlines’ expansion into Stockton

Stockton Record

SkyWest’s addition to Stockton will bring two flights to and from Los Angeles daily. The airline’s first flight from Stockton is scheduled for 3 p.m. Friday. Starting Saturday, there will be a 7:40 a.m. flight in addition to the 3 p.m. flight.

WATER

—

“Xtra”

These new tacos are shaking up Fresno’s food scene. Here’s what you need to know

Fresno Bee

Two new(ish) kinds of tacos that have exploded on Instagram are bringing something a little different to the Fresno taco scene. For one young taco truck (OK, technically a trailer), it has meant long lines of people waiting for tacos.

A field full of dreams and flowers

abc30

This beautiful flower is just one of many at “In the Garden House” in Fresno County. Kaoshoua Thao is the owner of the small u-pick flower farm in Fresno County.

Oakhurst’s 27th Annual Oakhurst Fall Festival Free Entertainment Line-Up

Sierra News

The 27th Annual Oakhurst Fall Festival, located at the south gate entrance to Yosemite National Park, and presented by the Oakhurst Area Chamber of Commerce is excited to announce the entertainment line-up for the festival from Friday, October 11 through Sunday, October 13.

Take me home! Animals available for adoption

Bakersfield Californian

These 5 animals at Kern County Animal Services are looking for their forever homes. Can you help?

Donate a pint of blood and get free admission to Kern County Fair

Bakersfield Californian

Houchin Community Blood Bank is hosting its annual Pint for A Pass Blood Drive, now until Sept. 22. The nonprofit organization is partnering with the Kern County Fair to give away one free adult admission pass to this year’s fair to anyone who donates a pint of blood, according to a press release.

Superhero heart. Spidey swings into Modesto to help families in need

Modesto Bee

Spider-Man, as the theme song goes, “spins a web, any size, catches thieves just like flies.” But when Yuri Williams, not Peter Parker, dons the Spidey threads, he slings a safety net. He and others involved with his 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, called A Future Superhero and Friends.