Political Briefs

Top stories 

John Myers: Tricking tax timing for state lawmakers to fund health care — The fate of a tax that funds health care for California’s poorest citizens seems to be a great example of how in politics, as in life, timing really is everything. And here’s a key question: Is the proposal rolled out at the state Capitol on Monday, a $1.1 billion tax on health insurance plans, crafted cleverly enough to break through the otherwise ironclad position of legislative Republicans to voting against new taxes? Myers in KQED

Dan Walters: Big money issues face rough ride in California Capitol — The Legislature reconvened Monday after a monthlong summer recess and immediately focused on what most members like best: spending money. The 2015-16 state budget was enacted in June, but three big financial issues were postponed – raising and spending billions of dollars on transportation, raising and spending billions more on the Medi-Cal program of health care for the poor, and spending about $3 billion in “cap-and-trade” carbon emission fees. Walters column in Sacramento Bee

Gov. Brown 

Jerry Brown signs job protection for grocery workers — Gov. Jerry Brown signed legislation Monday requiring grocery store owners to retain employees for at least 90 days after a merger or buyout, handing a victory to labor unions in a closely watched bill. Capitol Alert; LA Times article

Statewide politics/Ballot Measures

California Senate approves bill reacting to anti-gay plan — The California Senate on Monday approved a bill that seeks to discourage frivolous ballot questions by raising filing costs, following a measure advocating the slayings of gay and lesbian people. Senators approved the bill, AB1100, by Assemblyman Evan Low, D-Campbell, on a 23-14 vote. It would increase filing fees from $200 to $2,000 to help defray administrative costs. Sacramento Bee article; LA Times article

California ferret legalization cleared for signatures — What’s long, furry and about to be debated at a grocery store near you? The California ferret fight is back. The 2016 ballot is increasingly looking like a crowded one. Measures before voters next November could include whether to overturn a plastic bag ban, legalize recreational cannabis, boost the minimum wage, alter pension laws and extend higher taxes. Sacramento Bee article

Immigration 

It’s not just poor and uneducated Mexicans who move to the U.S. — If Donald Trump thinks all Mexican migrants are criminals, it’s because he hasn’t met the likes of Pablo Meyer, a computational biologist, or Enrico Ramirez Ruiz, an astrophysicist. They are two of the thousands of Mexicans with doctorates who’ve left their homeland, mostly for the United States, in a brain drain that saps Mexican academia of super-hot minds. McClatchy Newspapers article 

Trump plan: Make immigrants pay for ‘permanent border wall’ and deport millions – Donald Trump has been stirring up passions with his heated rhetoric on immigration for weeks. But when he finally outlined a platform Sunday detailing his policy proposals, what he outlined wasn’t all red meat. The plan, as he posted on his website and explained in an interview on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” offers a mix of familiar conservative proposals, alongside some far-fetched ideas and blunt talk that pleased immigration hard-liners. It’s likely to lay down the marker for his rivals as they roll out their own. LA Times article

Tony Quinn: Preparing for the Trump deportation of 5 million Californians — Donald Trump’s statement on Meet the Press yesterday that he will deport all illegal immigrants and their American born children has huge implications for California, where this could affect as many as five million people. Quinn in Fox & Hounds

Young immigrants placed in foster homes are at risk of abuse, experts say — The federal government has created a pseudo-foster-care system for placing youths with relatives and other “sponsors” without the same levels of screening and follow-up found in state and local foster-care agencies. LA Times article 

Other areas

Republicans wary of new special session taxes, fees – California lawmakers are back in town for their final four weeks of work this year. Special sessions on highway repairs and Medi-Cal funding top the priority list. But Republicans say they don’t support tax or fee increases for either issue. Capital Public Radio report

California assisted death effort to be relaunched – An effort to allow terminally ill Californians to take their own lives will get a fresh push after appearing to be finished for the year, supporters announced on Monday. Sacramento Bee article

Joel Fox: For biz & govt: The art of the deal — What’s business looking for in the remaining legislative session and what kind of deals are being discussed to get there? Fox in Fox & Hounds 

Arnold Schwarzenegger was Donald Trump before Donald Trump (except better) — Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) had done everything right, it seemed. He’d put up a million dollars of his own money, made from selling that car alarm systemthat was ubiquitous 20 years ago, and gotten the recall of California’s Democratic governor on the ballot. That was the big first step to his eventual goal: Winning the right to replace Gov. Gray Davis as the state’s chief executive in a special election on Oct. 7, 2003. And then that celebrity showed up. Washington Post article 

White House announces push to combat growing heroin epidemic — The White House is zeroing in on the growing heroin epidemic, announcing federal funding Monday to combat use of the drug with a focus on both public health and safety. LA Times article

Carly Fiorinia’s business record: Not so sterling – Mrs. Fiorina has begun to make significant gains in the polls that have made her a more formidable candidate. She has attracted attention for her sharply articulated pro-market policies and broadsides against both Hillary Rodham Clinton and Donald J. Trump. And so it is curious to those of us who have reported on her business career that there has not been a greater focus in recent days on her “track records and accomplishments,” as she suggested she should be measured by. New York Times article 

Joe Altschule: Musings on Trump, Shuklian, high-speed rail in Visalia — Politicians everywhere complain about the aging infrastructure all over the country and it’s certainly true in California. One area where we lag well behind the rest of the world is train travel. We just lack the modern, sleek, high-speed trains that other countries provide for their citizens. Altschule column in Visalia Times-Delta 

Tom Fife: Trump is cunning, Shuklian capable, bullet train dumb — So tell us, Joe, how much water will your Bullet Train carry? Fife column in Visalia Times-Delta

California Government Today:

Senate Daily File

Assembly Daily File

News Briefs

Top Stories 

State plans taking farmland for water tunnels – State contractors have readied plans to acquire as many as 300 farms in the California delta by eminent domain to make room for a pair of massive, still-unapproved water tunnels proposed by Gov. Jerry Brown, according to documents obtained by opponents of the tunnels. AP article 

Independent report on Bank of the West robbery offers praise, criticism — A Police Foundation report on how the Stockton Police handled the Bank of the West bank robbery last July that led to a rolling shootout and the death of a hostage and two bank robbers concluded that the more than 600 shots fired by officers was excessive and unnecessary. Stockton Record article; AP article; LA Times article;Stockton Record article

Jobs and the Economy

Bakersfield council committee to review departmental contracts — A Bakersfield City Council committee will review all departmental agreements between $10,000 and $40,000, following a discussion Monday of city policy on bidding and requests for proposals and concern from its chairman the city may not always get its money’s worth. Bakersfield Californian article

Stockton mayor, builders pushing fee cuts – Months after first going public with the idea, Mayor Anthony Silva and the home-building industry are pushing a fee-slashing proposal they promise will create thousands of jobs and spark Stockton’s economy. The proposal would reduce public facilities fees — revenue the city collects from builders to pay for the costs of infrastructure and service needs that result when new developments are constructed — by $17,000 for 1,000 new homes throughout Stockton over a three-year period. Stockton Record article

Pay raises remain elusive for typical American workers, but not for CEOs — Chief executives of major corporations saw their median pay jump 5% last year to nearly $10.3 million, a pickup from the 4% gain recorded in 2013, according to a report released Monday from benefits consulting firm Mercer. LA Times article

Chowchilla looks to make downtown attractive to business – Incentives meant to draw business to the downtown district will go into place in Chowchilla after a vote last week by the City Council. The incentives, which encourage new development and expansion, come about a month after the city implemented separate incentives to try to court industrial development. Merced Sun-Star article 

Merced group will help business owners spruce up downtown buildings — Business owners in Merced’s downtown district can get a hand in refurbishing the outside of their buildings through a new program. The Merced Main Street Association recently announced its facade grant program, which is available to any business or property owners who pay into the downtown tax. Merced Sun-Star article 

State fines janitorial firm on wage violations — The state Labor Commissioner’s Office issued citations amounting to nearly $460,000 against a Sacramento-area janitorial firm with customers including grocery stores in Madera, Merced and Los Banos. Fresno Bee article 

Lawmakers call for oversight hearings on green jobs measure – California lawmakers from both parties are calling for more stringent oversight of a clean jobs initiative after an Associated Press report found that a fraction of the promised jobs have been created. AP article; Sacramento Bee editorial

Sacramento Kings hotel won’t open until early 2017 – The Sacramento Kings wanted to open their hotel and condominium tower at Downtown Plaza in time for the opening of their new arena. They won’t make it. Sacramento Bee article

Single-family houses fuel gains in U.S. homebuilding in July – U.S. builders started work on single-family houses last month at the fastest pace since the Great Recession began in late 2007. AP article

Work policies may be kinder, but brutal competition isn’t – A closer look at the forces that drive the relentless pace at elite companies suggests that — however much the most sought-after employers in the country may be changing their official policies — brutal competition remains an inescapable component of workers’ daily lives. In some ways it’s getting worse. New York Times article

Overcharged LA DWP customers would get tens of millions back under settlement — The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power would credit or refund tens of millions of dollars to customers who were overbilled during the botched rollout of a new billing system, under a proposed class action settlement between the utility and aggrieved customers that was announced Monday. LA Times article; LA Times article

Jeff Bezos says he won’t tolerate a ‘callous’ Amazon workplace — Amazon Chief Executive Jeff Bezos rebutted a New York Times depiction of his company’s workplace as overly harsh and demanding, writing in a memo on Sunday: “The article doesn’t describe the Amazon I know.”  LA Times article

At LA City Hall, it’s the visionary vs. the lawmakers — When Mayor Eric Garcetti unveiled his plans for Los Angeles in his State of the City address this spring, he welcomed technologies that have transformed the way many people get around town or snag a room for the night. LA Times article

IRS targets a Chukchansi tribal council member — A criminal investigation summons has been issued by the Internal Revenue Service for records from a Picayune Rancheria of Chukchansi Indians business offshoot and its leader, tribal council member Jeffrey Chance Alberta. Fresno Bee article

Agriculture/Water/Drought 

Betty Jo Toccoli: Brown’s new Delta fix makes all sorts of economic sense – The president of the California Small Business Association writes, “Some opponents have claimed the economics of the revised approach don’t pan out. But those arguments fall short on the math, and fail to account for the severe economic consequences of inaction.” Toccoli op-ed in Sacramento Bee

Sacramento Bee: Keep the flood of water-saving policies coming – The drought is an emergency, and we must continue to treat it as such, implementing as many water conservation measures as possible. But we must be smart about it. Sacramento Bee editorial

Weather: Reason for hope, but no sure thing – Anyone who assumes the “Godzilla” El Niño developing in the Pacific Ocean is our ticket out of this drought would do well to remember the winter of 1965-66. It was, looking back, one of the four or five strongest El Niño years on record in California. And nothing happened. Stockton ended up with a hair more than 11 inches of rain, not much more than the city has received even during this fourth year of drought. Stockton Record article

Judge won’t toss lawsuit in Matheny water tussle – A judge on Monday ruled in favor of the city of Tulare by rejecting a request by advocates to throw out the city’s lawsuit against two entities representing Matheny, an unincorporated community south of Tulare. Fresno Bee article

Milk price debate resurfaces at Sept. 22 hearing in Clovis – It never fails. If you need a quart of milk for your cereal or a block of cheddar for tonight’s tacos, you can find it at a store. The dairy industry seems to excel at marketing its products efficiently. What you might not see is the tension that has long existed in California between farmers who produce the milk and many of the processors that put it in jugs or turn it into cheese and other products. Fresno Bee article

Criminal Justice/Prisons 

Report details terror, resolve in Bank of the West robbery, gun battle — A report released Monday analyzing last year’s deadly bank robbery and shootout in Stockton contains details of terror and resolve during the robbery and rolling gun battle. In its report, entitled “A Heist Gone Bad,” the Police Foundation, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit organization aimed at helping police departments improve their effectiveness, provided an in-depth look at the 62-minute ordeal that ended in the deaths of two bank robbers and a hostage, left two other hostages injured, and revealed a suspect who emerged from the fleeing SUV unscathed. Stockton Record article

Did CHP officers, attorney conspire in killing of scrap metal thief? – The bizarre case, outlined in sometimes graphic detail in a meandering, 325-page arrest warrant affidavit released Friday, includes allegations against three current and former California Highway Patrol officers, as well as Frank Carson’s wife and daughter, two brothers who owned the Pop-N-Cork liquor stores in Turlock and an associate of theirs who was arrested last year. Sacramento Bee article

Video: CHP commissioner talks about his officers and Turlock murder case – Last week’s shocking allegations that three California Highway Patrol officers were charged in a Turlock murder probe prompted Commissioner Joe Farrow to drive to the city on Friday to make a public statement about the case and offer his condolences to victim Korey Alan Kauffman’s family. Sacramento Bee article 

Modesto defense attorney wants to continue law practice while behind bars – A judge hasn’t had a chance to set a bail amount for Modesto defense attorney Frank Carson, who has been held without bail since his arrest Friday. And prosecutors had not even formally charged the defense attorney, which also is expected to happen Tuesday. Yet attorneys on Monday were arguing in court whether Carson can continue to practice law while in custody or out on bail awaiting prosecution. Modesto Bee article 

Jeff Jardine: Murder case has many layers, back stories – Scott Peterson. The Yosemite tourists. Doug Porter. Indeed, the Valley has been home to, or linked to, some high-profile and horrific murder cases over the past couple of decades. But none of those offered the numerous layers and back stories like the affidavit released Friday. Authorities accused longtime Modesto attorney Frank Carson and eight others – including three California Highway Patrol officers and an alleged bigamist – in the case involving the 2012 killing of Korey Kauffman. Jardine column in Modesto Bee

Target of manhunt used Pacific Crest Trail to elude capture – A man suspected of killing a retired dentist, taking three men hostage and wounding two deputies was likely traveling a section of the famed Pacific Crest Trail to elude searchers during an 18-day manhunt, authorities said Monday. AP article; Bakersfield Californian article 

Carmen George: Hanford police rally to replace stolen playset – just one of many acts of kindness from officers — Hanford Police Chief Parker Sever wasn’t at all surprised last week when his officers said they wanted to help replace a playset stolen from a program that serves children with disabilities. “They do this all the time,” Sever says. George in Fresno Bee

Clerk who reported manhunt suspect says he’s to receive reward – Gary Welfl was unfazed when murder and kidnapping suspect Benjamin Peter Ashley, the subject of what’s believed to be the largest manhunt in Kern County history, entered the Inyokern convenience store where he works Saturday afternoon. It should come as no surprise, then, that Welfl was equally laid-back when told he’ll receive reward money for information that helped put an end to Ashley’s crime spree. Bakersfield Californian article 

Foon Rhee: Diversity, one recruit at a time – Raul Perez could be one face of the new and improved Sacramento Police Department. He was one of 18 potential recruits at a career workshop the other night – a group noticeably more diverse than the department is now. Rhee in Sacramento Bee

Modesto police ‘ticketing’ kids for exemplary behavior — The program is called Operation Chill, but Modesto police Officer Billy Boyle wasn’t looking for kids who were simply chillin’ on Monday morning. He was on the lookout for students modeling good, safe behavior as the school day was getting under way. Modesto Bee article

Education 

How a little-known education office has forced far-reaching changes to campus sex assault investigations — For the last four years, a little-known civil rights office in the U.S. Department of Education has forced far-reaching changes in how the nation’s colleges and universities police, prosecute and punish sexual assaults on campus. With a strong mandate from President Obama and Vice President Joe Biden, the office’s lawyers have redefined campus sexual assault as a federal civil rights issue, changed the standard by which allegations must be judged and publicized the names of a growing number of schools under investigation for allegedly failing to respond properly to complaints of sexual misconduct. LA Times article 

Community college sexual assault measure sent to Gov. Jerry Brown – California lawmakers on Monday sent Gov. Jerry Brown a measure that would extend the jurisdiction of state community colleges beyond campus borders when the institutions are responding to incidents of sexual assault. LA Times article 

Efforts to attract new teachers stall in state Legislature – Efforts to reinstate state support to attract new teachers to the profession have stalled in the state Legislature, despite a shrinking supply of teachers that isspreading beyond traditionally high-needs areas such as special education, math and science, and bilingual education. EdSource article

Kate Karpilow: Cal State system has a major gender diversity problem – The executive director of the California Center for Research on Women and Families writes, “It’s time for trustees and Chancellor White to step up their commitment to diversity – and appoint more women from all backgrounds to serve as college presidents in the CSU system.” Karpilow op-ed in Sacramento Bee

Arne Duncan: Where California schools need to put their money – The U.S. Education Secretary writes, “If we want our children to grow into the scientists, researchers, educators and entrepreneurs who will address our most pressing challenges, and if we want our nation to remain a global leader in innovation, we must ensure that all students have access to deep learning in STEM subjects and are taught by talented teachers knowledgeable in these fields.” Duncan op-ed in LA Times 

Fresno State professors win entrepreneurial stipends to diversify courses – The Lyles Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Fresno State has selected four Coleman Fellows for the 2015-16 academic year. As part of the Coleman Fellowship, faculty members from a multitude of disciplines incorporate entrepreneurial elements into their lesson plans, and are given a two-semester stipend. Through the Coleman Fellowship, access to entrepreneurship is made available to students outside of the business school. Fresno Bee article 

Fresno’s Patiño School of Entrepreneurship opens its doors – The Phillip J. Patiño School of Entrepreneurship opened its doors for the first time on Monday as a new school year began in the Fresno Unified School District. The school is the first in the country that aims to graduate all students with a well-developed plan to start their own business. Fresno Bee article 

Visalia school bond to end 3 years early — Property owners in Visalia Unified School District will see the Measure E school construction bond end three years sooner than scheduled thanks to the current low interest rate environment, the district said Monday. And in a break for property owners, the annual assessment charged will be noticeably less than forecast. Fresno Bee article 

Tulare County ranks near bottom in education – A study ranking the best- and least-educated of the 150 largest cities and metropolitan areas in the U.S. has put the Visalia-Porterville metropolitan area at nearly the bottom of the list. Visalia Times-Delta article

Game changer: Program to give Arvin high schoolers a head-start on college — Arvin High and Bakersfield College will start phasing in a program this school year to help Arvin High students complete one year of college coursework before they graduate from high school — at no cost to the students. The program is called 1 + 1 + 2 = Game Changer. The formula breaks down a four-year degree into a more palatable option for students: one year of college in high school, plus one year at BC and two years at a university.  Bakersfield Californian article 

For-profit colleges recruit vets for cash — Many of the nation’s largest for-profit college chains have seen enrollments plummet amid investigations into questionable job placement rates and deceptive marketing practices. One crucial source of revenue, however, has remained a constant: military veterans. LA Times article

These LA Unified students are not heading back to school — As thousands of Los Angeles students head back to school Tuesday, Sabrina Campos is already six weeks deep into her algebra, chemistry, English and history classes. That’s because she attends Bell High School — the last year-round campus in the Los Angeles Unified School District. LA Times article

Energy/Environment 

State calls for $2 million audit of PG&E’s focus on safety – Nearly five years after the San Bruno gas pipeline explosion, state regulators called Monday for a $2 million utility-financed investigation into whether Pacific Gas and Electric Co. is putting enough emphasis on safety. San Francisco Chronicle article; LA Times article

Rough fire east of Fresno surges to 20,978 acres – The Rough fire in the Sierra National Forest grew Monday to more than 20,978 acres and smoke from the blaze worsened air quality in the central San Joaquin Valley. Fresno Bee article; KQED report

Poor air quality becomes concern during back-to-school season — Residents in the San Joaquin Valley are being reminded about the health risks that come with episodes of poor air quality during this back-to-school season. Emissions related to the increase in traffic and vehicle idling that occur when children are dropped off and picked up at school often contribute to dirty air, local officials say. Merced Sun-Star article 

Brush fire in San Luis Obispo County triples in size, evacuations ordered — The Cuesta fire, burning east of U.S. 101 and about eight miles north of San Luis Obispo, grew from 100 to 300 acres as embers jumped containment lines and sent the blaze toward Santa Margarita, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said. Authorities issued an evacuation order for the area south of the railroad tracks along California 58 and the Miller Flats community. LA Times article 

Methane gas leaks in natural-gas supply chain far exceed estimates, study says — A little-noted portion of the chain of pipelines and equipment that bringsnatural gas from the field into power plants and homes is responsible for a surprising amount of methane emissions, according to a new study. New York Times article 

Health/Human Services

Dignity Health joins bid for Bakersfield Heart Hospital — The nonprofit owner of three local hospitals would receive partial control of a fourth under a proposed acquisition of Bakersfield Heart Hospital, a 47-bed for-profit whose majority ownership changed hands only three years ago. Bakersfield Californian article

Dogs to join medical staff at UC Davis to sniff out cancer — UC Davis may soon be using dogs to sniff out cancer in patients as a result of innovative research that could help doctors make cancer diagnoses earlier. Sacramento Bee article
Land Use/Housing

Gallo Glass seeks rezoning of 16 residential parcels in south Modesto — Gallo Glass Co. is asking the county to rezone 16 residential parcels in south Modesto in order to expand its glass-bottle storage and parking. Modesto Bee article

Transportation 

Sacramento sports teams try to ‘fix’ transit ahead of downtown arena opening — Saying the time is now for better transit, Sacramento’s professional soccer and basketball teams have launched a social media campaign called “Fix My Ride 916” to help and politely push the Sacramento Regional Transit District to improve its service, image and relationship with the public. Sacramento Bee article 

Other areas 

Kern fair loses another longtime food vendor — The Kern County Fair will tempt the epi-curious with mac-and-cheese baked potatoes and funnel cake cheeseburgers this year, but one mainstay of Cholesterol Row will be missing: BARC has ended its 45-year association with the fair. Bakersfield Californian article

Sandy Banks: LA leaders’ lofty goals are at odds with reality — We’re going to house every homeless veteran by the end of this year. We’re going to stop killing dogs and cats in animal shelters by 2017. And we’re going to eliminate traffic fatalities by 2035. Really, Los Angeles? You can call me a cynic, but I’m tired of high-minded claims that aren’t backed up by sound and realistic plans. Banks column in LA Times

Valley Editorial Roundup

Fresno Bee – Fixing California’s roads and highways should top legislators’ agenda.

Sacramento Bee – The drought is an emergency, and we must continue to treat it as such, implementing as many water conservation measures as possible. But we must be smart about it; Trust is in short supply as Proposition 39 gets off to a slow start.
Stockton Record – Cheers and jeers: Green for no-green in cash for grass, Gospel Center Rescue Mission starts over, and other issues.

Upcoming Events 

• The California Air Resources Board will hold a public work group to discuss the development of an Off-Road Mobile Agricultural Equipment Trade-Up Pilot Project in the San Joaquin Valley at the Fresno County Farm Bureau on Wednesday, Aug. 26, from 10:30 a.m. to noon.  More information about the program: www.arb.ca.gov/aqip.  More information about the work group: Meri Miles at 916.322.6370 ormeri.miles@arb.ca.gov or Michelle Buffington at 916.323.8748 or michelle.buffington@arb.ca.gov.
• Fresno State President Joseph I. Castro will be the featured speaker at the fourth annual State of Our Children event at the Clovis Veterans Memorial Building on Thursday, Sept. 3, from 7:30-9:15 a.m.  More information is available here.
• West Hills Community College District will hold an event, “Shifting Ground — Adapting the San Joaquin Valley Economy to a Changing Climate,” on Oct. 8 at Harris Ranch in Coalinga. Senior leaders from business, agriculture, government agencies and nonprofits will gather to launch immediate actions and provide near-term guidance to create next generation jobs in a region battered by drought and struggling with multiple challenges. Visitwww.essentialelementsseries.com for details of this no-fee policy series.

Interactive

Next 10: UPDATED California budget challenge – For the first time in a decade, California’s budget is largely in balance.  However, the state has outstanding debts of $28 million, not counting long-term pension and retiree health care costs.  Budget choices affect us all.  Take the Challenge and decide how much should be spent on programs and where the money should come from.  Next 10 California Budget Challenge 

Next 10: Federal budget challenge — The Federal Budget Challenge is based on The Concord Coalition’s Principles and Priorities budget exercise, which has been used in numerous town hall meetings across the country by members of Congress from both parties, as well as in hundreds of high school and college classrooms.  Next 10 Federal Budget challenge at www.federalbudgetchallenge.org.

Next 10: California Water Challenge – As our state faces some of the most severe drought conditions in its history, Next 10 wants to issue a new challenge to Californians: can you create a plan to make sure there’s enough water for everyone?  Next 10 California Water Challenge

LEGISLATORS’ VOTING RECORDS: How often has a California legislator broken party ranks, abstained or switched sides? The Sacramento Bee has a database of the voting records of every member of the state Senate and Assembly. Enter a lawmaker’s last and first names to see how he or she voted, or enter a bill number to see how every legislator voted on it. Check it out at this link.  http://www.sacbee.com/votingrecord/

Maddy Institute Updates List of San Joaquin Valley Elected Officials – The Maddy Institute has updated its list of San Joaquin Valley elected officials.  The list is available here.

Maddy Institute on Facebook and Twitter – To learn about Maddy Institute activities (e.g. The Maddy Report tv show, The Maddy Associates’ Luncheons, the Maddy Legislative Intern Program), become a fan of the Maddy Institute on Facebook or log on to http://twitter.com/MaddyInstitute. And if you have a Facebook or Twitter account, please add us and follow us!

The Kenneth L. Maddy Institute at California State University, Fresno was established to honor the legacy of one of California’s most principled and effective legislative leaders of the last half of the 20th Century by engaging, preparing and inspiring a new generation of governmental leaders for the 21st Century. Its mission is to inspire citizen participation, elevate government performance, provide non-partisan analysis and assist in providing solutions for public policy issues important to the region, state and nation.

This document is to be used for informational purposes only. Unless specifically noted, the Maddy Institute at California State University, Fresno does not officially endorse or support views that may be expressed in the document. If you want to print a story, please do so now before the link expires.

Funding for The Maddy Daily is made possible by grants from The Wonderful Company and BNSF Railroad and generous donations from you, our subscribers.