Maddy Institute – August 20, 2020

20Aug

POLICY & POLITICS

North SJ Valley:

UC Merced makes Princeton Review’s ‘Best 386 Colleges’ for 2nd year

abc30

UC Merced received national recognition after landing in the Princeton Review’s annual “Best 386 Colleges” list for the second year in a row. The guide showcases the universities it recommends to students and families as the best for undergraduates. Only about 13% of the country’s four-year colleges make it onto the list each year.

Stanislaus at 203 deaths. Infection rate declines again

Modesto Bee

The coronavirus death toll in Stanislaus County stood at 203 on Tuesday, up three from the day before, the county Health Services Agency reported. Details were not available on the latest deaths. The 77 new positive tests were the fewest since the 49 on Aug. 6 and brought the total to 12,745 residents. Another 65,207 people have tested negative, and 11,487 are presumed recovered.

Leading From The Center in The Central Valley

Calif Forward

“How can thousands of Americans be lined up for blocks to get boxes of food, in the year 2020?” That’s the question posed by Stanislaus Community Foundation President and CEO Marian Kaanon as she described a scene she witnessed in her hometown of Modesto in the wake of COVID-19.

Central SJ Valley:

Hospital numbers dropping; how T cells may be key to COVID immunity

Fresno Bee

More than 50,000 people have now tested positive for the coronavirus in the six counties that make up the central San Joaquin Valley. The region added 772 new cases Tuesday and has been averaging more than 900 each day for the past two weeks. Fresno County alone has added 3,338 new coronavirus cases in the past seven days, according to state data.

Central San Joaquin Valley has had more than 50,000 people with coronavirus

Fresno Bee

The central San Joaquin Valley surpassed 50,000 total coronavirus cases on Tuesday. The chilling milestone – just looking at data from six counties in the region – included 797 new cases and five more COVID-19 deaths across Fresno, Kings, Tulare, Madera, Merced and Mariposa counties.

See Also:

● Kings County COVID-19 data updated Hanford Sentinel

‘The well’s been poisoned’: how mixed messaging on Covid battered Calif’s Central Valley

The Guardian

At the heart of Calif’s Central Valley, Fresno county and its namesake city is struggling to shoulder an onslaught of infections that have overwhelmed an overburdened healthcare system and devastated communities of low-wage, primarily Latinx essential agriculture workers.

Fact check: Did GOP’s Valadao work with Democrats on health care, water and immigration?

Fresno Bee

Former Rep. David Valadao in a new campaign ad portrays himself as someone who worked across the aisle while he was in Congress, contrasting himself with current lawmakers who’ve been unable to pass a new coronavirus relief package..

South SJ Valley:

Parents, nonprofits and vulnerable to get money from supervisors to combat COVID-19

Bakersfield Califn

The Kern County Board of Supervisors used Tuesday’s board meeting to take on a number of unaddressed needs related to the coronavirus pandemic. COVID-19 has impacted nearly all aspects of daily life and although millions of dollars have already been distributed to help fight the disease, the county has identified multiple outlets that are also in need of funds.

Local biodiesel producer gives glimpse into large expansion, future forms of energy

Bakersfield Califn

The state’s largest biodiesel producer gave a glimpse into the continued expansion of its local plant Wednesday, as it continues attempting to increase its production by 50 percent.

State:

Gov. Newsom gives update on wildfires across Calif

Sacramento Bee

At a news conference on Aug. 19, 2020, Calif Governor Gavin Newsom gave an update on the wildfires burning across the state and the firefighting efforts deployed in efforts to contain them. Newsom declared a statewide emergency the day before.

Can Calif handle this many wildfires at once? Crews and equipment already ‘depleted’

Fresno Bee

Calif’s ability to fight wildfires, already compromised by the COVID-19 pandemic, is being severely strained by a rash of lightning strikes and a stupefying array of new fires. As major fires burned from Lake County to the South Bay, Cal Fire officials said Wednesday they’re struggling to keep up with 367 new fires that have broken out over the past three days, the result of nearly 11,000 lightning strikes.

● Calif firefighting resources ‘stretched’ by 23 major wildfires, Newsom says LA Times

Fires, Blackouts, a Heat Wave and a Pandemic: Calif’s ‘Horrible’ Month

NY Times

The nation’s most-populated state is facing multiple crises, including 23 major wildfires raging while the daily death toll from the coronavirus is above 100.

Q&A: Calif’s new electricity-blackout challenge

Bakersfield Califn

As if the pandemic and economic recession weren’t bad enough, millions of Califns now face recurring threats of abrupt blackouts during a heat wave in the nation’s most populous state.

● Grid Operator Rejects Trump’s False Claim Democrats Purposely Triggered Calif’s Rolling Blackouts Capital Public Radio

· Here’s how Calif can keep the lights on while meeting its clean energy goals LA Times

· Calif Doomed to Frequent Blackout Risk by Battery Shortage Bloomberg

· Editorial: No, Calif’s shift to green power isn’t to blame for rolling blackouts LA Times

· Calif power prices have skyrocketed. Is this normal — or more Enron-style ‘manipulation’? Fresno Bee

Calif gig war intensifies as Uber, Lyft could pull rideshare in hardball fight

POLITICO

Calif’s gig economy battle could come to a head with Uber and Lyft pulling vehicles from the road Friday if a state court rules against them, a watershed moment that could ripple across the country.

Gavin Newsom said he’d take a pay cut 3 months ago. He didn’t

Sacramento Bee

Gov. Gavin Newsom said he would take the same pay cut as state workers. Their pay was cut in July. His wasn’t.

OPINION: AB 979 would put people of color on corporate boards in Calif. It deserves support

Modesto Bee

While corporations talk a good marketing and sales game to people of color, they usually fall far short of actually letting them into the boardroom. The door may not be locked, exactly, but it’s got barbed wire and broken glass in front of it.

Federal:

Postmaster General Backs Down, But Democrats Press For Answers And Assurances

VPR
Postmaster General Louis DeJoy backed off planned changes to the Postal Service on Tuesday that critics had worried might threaten voting by mail this year, but Democrats say they aren’t satisfied and want more answers.

Trump praises QAnon conspiracists, appreciates support

QAnon has ricocheted around the darker corners of the internet since late 2017, but has been creeping into mainstream politics more and more. The baseless theory centers on an alleged anonymous, high-ranking government official known as “Q” who shares information about an anti-Trump “deep state” often tied to satanism and child sex trafficking. Trump insisted he hadn’t heard much about the movement, “other than I understand they like me very much” and “it is gaining in popularity.

● Facebook bans some, but not all, QAnon groups, accounts KGET 17

Democrats’ postal conspiracy is the biggest made-up controversy since Russiagate

Wash Post

The narrative that Donald Trump is manipulating the post office to steal the election is the new Russiagate — a conspiracy theory designed to delegitimize Trump’s victory if he wins.

Federal Judge Throws Out Trump’s Challenge to Manhattan DA Subpoena for Financial Records

WSJ

A federal judge dismissed President Trump’s second attempt to block the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office from obtaining years of financial records from his accountant.

Steve Bannon Arrested In Scheme To Raise Money For Trump’s Border Wall

VPR

Steve Bannon, President Trump’s former political adviser, has been arrested alongside three other people in connection with an online fundraising scheme that federal prosecutors in New York say is responsible for defrauding hundreds of thousands of people. Bannon, Andrew Badolato, Timothy Shea and Brian Kolfage are alleged to have orchestrated a scheme around an online crowdfunding campaign called “We Build the Wall,” which has raised over $25 million, according to prosecutors.

Coronavirus Trackers:

Coronavirus (COVID-19) in Calif

Covid19.ca.gov

COVID-19 is a new illness that can affect your lungs and airways. It’s caused by a virus called coronavirus.

See also:

● Calif Department of Public Health

● Coronavirus (COVID-19) CDC

● Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) Pandemic – WHO

● John Hopkins University & Medicine John Hopkins University

● Tracking coronavirus in Calif LA Times

● Coronavirus Tracker SF Chronicle

● Coronavirus in the U.S.: Latest Map and Case Count New York Times

● How many coronavirus cases have been reported in each U.S. state? Politico

● Coronavirus Daily NPR

● Coronavirus tracked: the latest figures as the pandemic spreads Fin Times

● Coronavirus in Calif by the numbers CalMatters

Elections 2020:

Trump and Biden on trade: Same diagnosis, different prescription

LA Times

International trade was never much of an issue in presidential campaigns until Donald Trump. In 2016, he made trade a key plank in his economic nationalism platform, denouncing America’s biggest free trade pacts and promising a whole new way of doing business with the rest of the world.

Skelton: Don’t pay any attention to Trump. Voting by mail in Calif is safe, secure and reliable

LA Times

President Trump probably would prefer that our mail ballots be delivered by ox cart. Or carrier pigeons flying through flocks of raptors. Unless we voted for him. Then he’d dispatch the military to “harvest” the ballots.

Walters: Presidential race will put Calif’s foibles on trial

CALmatters

Joe Biden’s selection of Sen. Kamala Harris as his vice presidential running mate is a source of great pride for Calif Democrats, understandably so.

Should Fresno Co allow Arabic-language voting information on the 2020 ballot?

Fresno Bee

Like past election seasons, Bayan Mamoun would like to vote in November. Born in Michigan, Mamoun spent 35 years living in Saudi Arabia. There, she earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology and mentored young women in the Middle East before returning to the United States in 2018.

Local DNC delegates see hope for November

Bakersfield Califn

Local delegates to this week’s 2020 Democratic National Convention say the event’s new online format works well enough and that they are hopeful the party will turn dissatisfaction with President Donald Trump’s performance into gains at the ballot box Nov. 3.

● Democrats want young voters, but showcase old faces LA Times

● Kamala Harris accepts vice presidential nomination — and a place in history LA Times

● 4 Takeaways From Night 3 Of The Democratic National Convention VPR

● Kamala Harris is now Calif’s presidential standard-bearer. Where does that leave Newsom?POLITICO

● Clinton the advocate, Obama the ‘friend’ and Harris the nominee: Takeaways from Night 3POLITICO

● ‘We’ve gotta do the work’: Harris accepts VP nomination, calls for fight against ‘structural racism’ POLITICO

● Will A “New” Biden Emerge This Week? Forbes

● ‘Finally the Country Sees Us’: Some Women of Color Cheer Harris’s Rise NY Times

● What Kind of Second Gentleman Would Doug Emhoff Be? NY Times

● The DNC’s celebration of women has to be backed up by policy Brookings

● Fact-checking the third night of the Democratic convention Politifact

● Kamala Harris accepts vice presidential nomination CALmatters

● Harris sets off Democratic donor stampede POLITICO

Other:

Not far enough: Why the law is only the first benchmark to true equality

Brookings

“Our centennial celebration of the 19th Amendment serves as a memory, a reminder, a clarion call to not just ‘remember the ladies’ and their achievement, but to redouble our efforts to make the kind of systemic, structural change that will fully realize the change in women’s lives that was imagined a hundred years ago,” writes Tina Tchen for the 19A Brookings Gender Equality Series.

AGRICULTURE/FOOD

‘The well’s been poisoned’: how mixed messaging on Covid battered Calif’s Central Valley

The Guardian

USDA Coronavirus Funds Expand for Farmers

Calif Ag Today

Calif farmers stand to benefit from the addition of more commodities now covered by the USDA Coronavirus Food Assistance Program, say UC Agriculture and Natural Resources expert. This week, the U.S. Department of Agriculture expanded eligibility and extended the deadline to apply to Sept 11.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE/FIRE/PUBLIC SAFETY

Crime:

2 Calif correctional officers kept jobs after beating inmate and lying, report says

Fresno Bee

Two Calif corrections officers should have been fired for beating a mentally ill inmate and then lying about it later, according to a new report released by a state watchdog.

Public Safety:

Folsom Prison COVID-19 cases double, now Calif’s largest active inmate outbreak

Fresno Bee

A coronavirus outbreak at Folsom State Prison has more than doubled in size in the past week, according to the Calif Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, now representing the largest current outbreak among the state’s nearly three dozen prisons.

Fentanyl is a crisis in the Central Valley. You must talk to your kids about it, officials warn

Fresno Bee

Parents were urged Wednesday to talk to their children ASAP about the dangers of fentanyl manufactured by drug cartels and sold on Valley streets, federal and local officials said during a news conference at the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office.

What to Pack in Your Emergency Bag — With COVID-19 in Mind

KQED

As large, destructive wildfires rage across the Bay Area, forcing tens of thousands to flee their homes, the COVID-19 pandemic has added another layer of challenges for first responders, emergency managers and evacuees headed to evacuation centers.

Calif’s Incarcerated Population Plunges to New Low during COVID-19

Public Policy Institute of Calif

By the end of July, 33,500 fewer people were incarcerated in Calif prisons and jails than in February—an 18% decline. Despite this drop, most prisons remain overcrowded, and many counties are experiencing renewed upticks in jail populations.

Fire:

Lightning-sparked fires erupt overnight, threaten homes

Fresno Bee

Wildfire activity increased dramatically overnight in Northern Calif, especially in the Bay Area, where Cal Fire says “extreme” fire behavior led multiple blazes to explode in size while still uncontrolled.

● Nearly 11,000 lightning strikes spark over 350 Calif fires, forcing thousands to flee LA Times

● Calif declares state of emergency as it fights fires, extreme weather NBC

● 1 Dead In Calif Fire, As Lightning-Strike Fires Push Resources To Limit VPR

Central Valley firefighters help battle wildfires burning across Calif

abc30

Central Valley firefighters are responding to help battle several wildfires burning across Calif. Local fire crews from Hanford Fire and a Kings County strike team were deployed to fight the River Fire burning south of Salinas.

Update: At least 5 people injured in Canyon Zone Fire rescued from Del Puerto Canyon

Modesto Bee

Five to seven people taken out of Del Puerto Canyon.

● Firefighters battling Canyon Zone Fire near Patterson struggle with heat, rugged terrain Modesto Bee

Can Calif handle this many wildfires at once? Crews and equipment already ‘depleted’

Fresno Bee

● Calif firefighting resources ‘stretched’ by 23 major wildfires, Newsom says LA Times

ECONOMY/JOBS

Economy:

Want to launch a startup? Free virtual program here to help Modesto-area residents

Modesto Bee

Modesto and Central Valley entrepreneurs will gain a new opportunity to develop their startups through a free, 14-week course hosted through UC Merced’s Venture Lab in partnership with the Founder Institute.

Bethany Clough: Fresno restaurants were already struggling with coronavirus pandemic. Then a heat wave hit

Fresno Bee

First, the coronavirus pandemic shut down all but outdoor dining at restaurants in Fresno. Then the thermometer hit 112 degrees. When it’s this hot, people don’t go out to eat as much. And when their only option is dining outdoors, they do it even less.

S&P 500 takes a step back after setting record; yields rise

LA Times

The S&P 500 pulled back from its newly set record Wednesday after a meandering day of trading took a late turn lower. The benchmark index fell 14.93 points, or 0.4%, to 3,374.85, a day after it wiped out the last of its losses created by the pandemic and surpassed its Feb. 19 peak.

Jobs:

Why are stocks so strong when employment is so weak?

LA Times

Why is the stock market disconnected from the reality of what’s happening on the ground? Few are vacationing, driving, shopping, eating in restaurants, going to barsand millions are unemployed, yet stocks hit record highs each week. Can the Feds endlessly support the pre-pandemic economic levels that don’t currently exist?

Calif is asking Trump administration for new $300-a-week jobless benefit

SF Chronicle

Calif is asking the federal government for a $300 weekly supplemental unemployment benefit for jobless Californians, Gov. Gavin Newsom said Wednesday. The move comes after the Trump administration said states would not have to put up billions of new matching dollars, which the governor said last week made the plan unworkable.

Congress’ Failure to Extend UI is an Economic Attack on Workers & Families, Particularly Black & Brown Califns… Here’s How We Know

Calif Budget & Policy Center

Another day ticks by and out-of-work Californians are increasingly uncertain how they’re going to pay their rent and put food on the table if Congress cuts federal unemployment benefits, as Senate Republicans have proposed.

These States Aren’t Waiting for the Feds to Create COVID-19 Worker Safety Rules

PEW

One state released regulations last month. Two others may follow.

EDUCATION

K-12:

Fresno students get ‘mooned,’ Clovis class Zoombombed during week one of online school

Fresno Bee

Distance learning got off to a rough start in the Fresno area after students at one school turned an email into a 1,000-plus-reply chain, which included memes, and a student mooning the camera. At another school, an intruder yelled an obscene word before being removed from a Zoom class.

Madera’s new school year begins

Madera Tribune

The prospect might be a bit scary for some; never before have Madera schools tried to begin a school-year with the teachers in their classrooms and the students at home. The Tribune visited some of the local schools last week to talk with teachers and principals about what they are facing this year.

Calif Students With Disabilities Could Soon Return To In-Person Schooling

Capital Public Radio

Iolani Van Brusselen’s right hand is becoming so stiff she can hardly use it. The 11-year-old has cerebral palsy, among other conditions, and her mother JoAnna Van Brusselen is watching the change with constant concern.

Education is a top U.S. priority, and there’s wide support for online learning, poll finds

LA Times

As children begin school, public education is among Americans’ top priorities, and most believe students should continue their education through some form of distance learning, a national poll has found.

Black History Instruction Gets New Emphasis in Many States

PEW

Some state social studies curriculums infuse the Black experience.

Higher Ed:

UC Merced makes Princeton Review’s ‘Best 386 Colleges’ for 2nd year

abc30

ENVIRONMENT/ENERGY

Environment:

Calif slammed by wildfires, heat, unhealthy smoky air

Bakersfield Califn

Northern Califns were confronted with multiple threats as wildfires, unhealthy smoky air, extreme heat, the looming possibility of power outages and an ongoing pandemic forced many to weigh the risks of staying indoors or going outside.

● As Califns Deal With Heat, Lightning, Fire, Scientists Point To Climate Change Capital Public Radio

How Weather Detectives Scrutinize Would-Be World Records

VPR

When a weather station in Death Valley, Calif., registered an astonishing 130 degrees Fahrenheit this week, it got meteorologists’ attention. After all, there’s a possibility that this is the highest such temperature ever reliably recorded on Earth — if it’s for real. One person who received the news with keen interest was Randy Cerveny, a geographer at Arizona State University.

Energy:

Local biodiesel producer gives glimpse into large expansion, future forms of energy

Bakersfield Califn

The state’s largest biodiesel producer gave a glimpse into the continued expansion of its local plant Wednesday, as it continues attempting to increase its production by 50 percent.

Q&A: Calif’s new electricity-blackout challenge

Bakersfield Califn

As if the pandemic and economic recession weren’t bad enough, millions of Califns now face recurring threats of abrupt blackouts during a heat wave in the nation’s most populous state.

Grid Operator Rejects Trump’s False Claim Democrats Purposely Triggered Calif’s Rolling Blackouts

Capital Public Radio

President Trump claimed on Tuesday, without evidence, that “In Calif, Democrats have intentionally implemented rolling blackouts.” The state and much of the Western United States is in the middle of a searing heat wave. Calif’s grid operator called for utilities to initiate temporary blackouts on Friday and Saturday as the high demand for electricity outstripped supply. Additional blackouts are possible.

Here’s how Calif can keep the lights on while meeting its clean energy goals

LA Times

Even before Calif’s rolling power outages threatened to become a full-on crisis in the last few days, long-standing critics of the state’s aggressive push into renewable energy were sharpening their knives. Solar power, they said, had failed Calif, never mind that state officials never expected the sun to keep shining into the night.

Calif Doomed to Frequent Blackout Risk by Battery Shortage

Bloomberg

[T]he Golden State is going to need a lot more batteries to weather the next climate-driven crisis—let alone to achieve its goal of a carbon-free grid.

Editorial: No, Calif’s shift to green power isn’t to blame for rolling blackouts

LA Times

In June, the Arctic experienced a disturbing heat wave. One town in Siberia recorded a high of 100 degrees, possibly the highest temperature ever recorded for the Arctic and more befitting the hottest place on Earth, Death Valley. Speaking of which, Death Valley may have just hit the highest recorded temperature recorded anywhere in nearly a century, 130 degrees.

Calif power prices have skyrocketed. Is this normal — or more Enron-style ‘manipulation’?

Fresno Bee

The epic heat wave that’s produced rolling blackouts in Calif comes with a high price tag. Wholesale power prices have occasionally shot up past $1,000 per megawatt hour — mirroring prices from the devastating 2001 energy crisis — as the Calif Independent System Operator has frantically worked to keep the juice flowing to the grid.

HEALTH/HUMAN SERVICES

Health:

Central San Joaquin Valley has had more than 50,000 people with coronavirus

Fresno Bee

See Also:

● Kings County COVID-19 data updated Hanford Sentinel

● 12 new deaths, 216 new cases of COVID-19 reported in Kern County Bakersfield Califn

Mosquitoes that can transmit yellow fever, Zika have spread to Turlock and Ceres

Modesto Bee

Mosquitoes that can carry yellow fever, Zika and a few other diseases have turned up in Turlock and Ceres, officials said Tuesday. The finds came about a year after this species, Aedes aegypti, made its first known appearance in Stanislaus County. That was in Modesto and Newman. No diseases have been reported in Calif.

‘Why is this happening to us?’: Coronavirus takes a toll on Latinos and funeral homes

LA Times

Under a large canopy in the parking lot of the Continental Funeral Home in East LA, more than two dozen folding chairs carefully placed several feet apart faced the cherry wood casket of 59-year-old Felipe Juarez.

‘Superspreaders’ of bogus health news racked up billions of views on Facebook

POLITICO

Groups and pages that spread misleading health news attracted an estimated 3.8 billion views on Facebook in the past year, an activist group said in a report Wednesday — adding that those networks pushing bogus claims drew far more traffic than authoritative sources on topics like Covid-19.

Calif confirms first human case of the plague in 5 years: What to know

NBC

The man, a South Lake Tahoe resident, was Calif’s first case of plague in five years, according to the El Dorado County health department.

Human Services:

Tulare hospital restarts expansion project

Visalia Times Delta

The Tulare Local Health Care District is seeking help to restart its long-stalled hospital expansion project.

Top doctors develop a new plan to help Fresno County fight COVID-19

abc30

Fresno County now has a new action plan to control the spread of the coronavirus, developed with the help of a State Strike Team. Now the real work begins. County public health leaders now must implement several recommendations.

‘From the Valley, For the Valley’: Local Students Start Training at UCSF to Become Physicians for the Region

UC Merced Newsroom

The San Joaquin Valley has a shortage of doctors, but students such as Kyle Shen (’18) aim to change that by attending a tailored track at UCSF’s medical school specifically designed to address this problem.

Dentists reassure patients despite WHO warning

Bakersfield Califn

Worried their patients may be needlessly putting off important checkups and cleanings, local dentists are trying to clear up confusion about cautionary guidance issued earlier this month by the World Health Organization.

Yep, Masks And Protective Gear Are Still Hard To Get — Especially For Small Buyers

VPR
At the height of summer, temperatures climb to nearly 100 degrees most days in Pharr, a small city in South Texas. Nonetheless, nurse practitioner Oralia Martinez and her staff have set up a temporary exam room outside her small clinic.

● Face Mask Exemption Cards Are Not Real CFILC Website

How Feds Decide On Remdesivir Shipments To States Remains Mysterious

VPR

One of the few treatment options for patients seriously ill with COVID-19 is the antiviral drug remdesivir. Authorized by the Food and Drug Administration in May for emergency use in the pandemic, remdesivir is in short supply. The federal government has taken on the responsibility for deciding where vials of the medicine should go.

How To Tell A Real COVID-19 Contact Tracer’s Call From A Scammer’s

VPR

State officials and federal agencies warn there’s a new phone scam circulating: Callers posing as COVID-19 contact tracers are trying to pry credit card or bank account information from unsuspecting victims. The grifters apparently are taking advantage of a genuine public health intervention that is crucial to stopping the spread of the novel coronavirus: contact tracing.

Americans misperceive the risks of death from coronavirus, research shows

The Hill

A joint Franklin Templeton-Gallup survey found Americans underestimate the coronavirus mortality rate for those aged 55 and older.

IMMIGRATION

One of Calif’s largest sheriff’s departments bans ICE transfers, officials say

Fresno Bee

The LA County Sheriff’s Department banned all U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement transfers, officials said. In April, the sheriff’s department placed “a moratorium on transfers of qualified inmates from the nation’s largest jail system to ICE during the COVID-19 pandemic,” which will now be permanent, Sheriff Alex Villanueva said in a statement.

Calif Picks Up Fight Over DACA Restrictions Again

VPR
After several legal victories, Calif’s Attorney General Xavier Becerra says he will take the Trump Administration back to court over the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. In a court filing Tuesday, Becerra said his office expects to challenge the latest set of rules that the state argues have scaled back DACA against the orders of the U.S. Supreme Court and a federal lower court in Maryland.

Trump says ‘toll’ on Mexico border crossings may finance his wall

LA Times

President Trump said his administration may impose a “toll” on cars crossing into the U.S. from Mexico to finance construction of his promised wall on the southern border. “They’re going to pay at the border, at the gate, cars going through, we’re going to do a toll — or we may do a toll,” Trump said during an event in Yuma, Ariz., where he touted construction of the wall.

Shadow Immigration System: Migrant Children Detained In Hotels By Private Contractors

VPR

It was late at night when two teenage cousins from Honduras arrived in a hotel parking lot somewhere in the U.S., escorted by armed men in civilian clothes. The young men crossed the border illegally into Texas last month and turned themselves in to the Border Patrol. After spending the night in detention, they say they were loaded into a van by the men who were not in uniforms and driven three hours to the hotel.

LAND USE/HOUSING

Land Use:

Wildfires shut down more than 20 parks across region

SF Chronicle

Amid the peak of the summer vacation season, wildfires have closed Lake Berryessa to the public as well as more than 20 parks in the greater Bay Area. “I think we’re experiencing hell,” said Tamara Clark, chief public information officer at Santa Clara County Parks. “We can’t seem to catch a break, and we won’t until the weather cools.”

Housing:

The tough questions pushing Calif to an eviction cliff

CALmatters

The governor, lawmakers and interest groups confront thorny questions in mad dash to prevent “eviction wave.”

‘There Is No Redo On This’: Eviction Crisis Looms As Lawmakers’ Timeline Dwindles

Capital Public Radio

Califns who have fallen behind on housing payments due to the coronavirus are set to lose protections and could face evictions beginning Sept. 1 — unless state lawmakers step in. Two bills to address what one lawmaker described as a “massive wave of evictions” with “catastrophic” consequences are moving through the state capitol, but legislators are running out of time as their own Aug. 31 session deadline approaches.

PUBLIC FINANCES

IRS is sending extra money to nearly 14 million Americans

LA Times

The good news: Money may be soon coming to you from the Internal Revenue Service. The bad news: It probably won’t be much, and you will have to pay taxes on it. The IRS announced this week that it owes interest payments to nearly 14 million Americans who received their individual tax refunds after April 15 or are still owed refunds.

How to fix the COVID-19 stimulus payment problem

Brookings

The financial response to the COVID-19 crisis has demonstrated the inability of the U.S. federal government to rapidly get money to people during times of crisis. To improve the speed of emergency financial assistance, Aaron Klein proposes solutions that address gaps in accounts, information, and infrastructure.

TRANSPORTATION

Calif gig war intensifies as Uber, Lyft could pull rideshare in hardball fight

POLITICO

WATER

Op-Ed: Warren Buffett can save the Klamath River Basin. Will he?

LA Times

It should not take pleas to Warren Buffett, the billionaire leader of the Berkshire Hathaway holding company, to save the wobbling deal to take down four obsolete dams on the Klamath River.

“Xtra”

Rotary Band Festival canceled

Hanford Sentinel

One of the community’s most-anticipated annual events won’t happen this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The annual Selma Rotary Band Festival has been canceled for the first time in the event’s history. This year’s festival would’ve been the 56th annual event and it was set to take place on Halloween, which likely would have revolved around the theme of the festival. Last year’s theme was Shine On Harvest Moon — A Salute to Agriculture.

Kern County Fair going virtual for 2020

Bakersfield Califn

This year’s Kern County Fair may have been physically cancelled, but that doesn’t mean the show can’t go on in some form.