August 24, 2020

24Aug

POLICY & POLITICS

North SJ Valley:

Marijuana dispensary gives councilwoman $100K in her campaign to become Modesto mayor

Modesto Bee

Councilwoman Kristi Ah You has accepted a $100,000 contribution from one of the owners of a cannabis dispensary for her campaign to become Modesto’s next mayor in the November election.

EDITORIAL: Stanislaus County leaders must come clean on COVID-19 data before reopening schools

Modesto Bee

Proceed with extreme caution. That’s the only sane approach to the suddenly confusing question of whether elementary schools throughout Stanislaus County should open sooner rather than later.

Central SJ Valley:

Fresno to spend millions for rent relief, contact tracing. Why 2 councilmembers voted no

Fresno Bee

The Fresno City Council on Thursday extended its rental assistance program and implemented contact tracing programs related to the coronavirus — but not before squabbling over one of the lead organizations. 

South SJ Valley:

County Health concerned about MIS-C cases

Porterville Recorder

The COVID-19 virus continues to rapidly spread throughout Tulare County, and Public Health officials urge residents take necessary precautions as cases of Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome (MIS-C) are being reported in Tulare County.

Maria Lara selected as next McFarland city manager

Bakersfield Californian

The McFarland City Council has tapped its community development director, Maria Lara, to be its next city manager. The decision caps off a long period of uncertainty following the death of former City Manager John Wooner, who died abruptly while in office in the spring of 2019.

As counties prepare to leave state COVID-19 watchlist, Kern’s numbers remain stubbornly high

Bakersfield Californian

Despite the sudden decrease in daily reported coronavirus cases, the Kern County Public Health Services Department still sees warning signs that a surge in COVID-19 infections persists locally.

State:

Gov. Newsom reportedly collected full salary despite promise to cut his own pay

abc30

Gov. Gavin Newsom has reportedly been collecting his full salary despite a promise to cut his own pay when he ordered state workers’ paychecks be reduced by 10%. At the time, Newsom vowed to slash his pay because of the state’s economic crisis brought about by the coronavirus pandemic.

California granted federal disaster declaration in response to wildfires

Stockton Record

California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Saturday announced that the White House had granted the state’s request for a Presidential Major Disaster Declaration in response to wildfires burning in Northern California. 

See Also:

Jerry Brown takes stock of the pandemic and the president

Los Angeles Times

At first, Jerry Brown seemed to reject the question based on its premise. He has a penchant, as journalists know, for dismissing a question for no other reason than a misplaced word. In a call placed to the state’s longest-serving governor who has retired to his rural Colusa County ranch, I had asked him to take stock of the challenging times in which we’re living — the state of his state and nation, so to speak.

California sues over USPS changes

CalMatters

California on Friday sued Postmaster General Louis DeJoy over recent changes at the U.S. Postal Service, arguing they could hamper the November vote-by-mail election in what marks Attorney General Xavier Becerra’s 89th lawsuit against the Trump administration.

California’s Data Failures Stymie Efforts to Curb the Virus

California Healthline

The failure of California’s infectious disease monitoring system for a stretch of at least 20 days in July and August triggered potentially deadly fallout that continues to reverberate across the state.

California Forum: California is gambling with stopgap legislation, prominently with Assembly Bill 1436

Sacramento Bee

The severe recession that has engulfed California as the state battles the COVID-19 pandemic presents the state’s dominant Democrats with a very large dilemma. As businesses closed their doors and unemployment skyrocketed, the natural inclination of Gov. Gavin Newsom and Democratic legislators was to spend money to relieve the economic pain — but the recession also was eating into tax revenues.

WALTERS: Short-circuiting the legislative process for electric cars

CalMatters

The 2020 session of the California Legislature is radically different from any other in the state’s 170-year history, thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic. Legislators abandoned the Capitol last spring after giving Gov. Gavin Newsom carte blanche authority and a billion dollars to deal with the crisis. 

WALTERS: California gambles with stopgap legislation

CalMatters

The severe recession that has engulfed California as the state battles the COVID-19 pandemic presents the state’s dominant Democrats with a very large dilemma. As businesses closed their doors and unemployment skyrocketed, the natural inclination of Gov. Gavin Newsom and Democratic legislators was to spend money to relieve the economic pain — but the recession also was eating into tax revenues.

Commentary: Steps California can take now to reimagine an equitable recovery

CalMatters

During the COVID-induced economic crisis, a great deal of attention has been focused on the provision of unemployment benefits and eviction moratoriums.  But as important as these lifelines have been, they are not mechanisms for redressing economic inequality and structural racism.

OPINION: California’s Democrats move warily through a season of darkness and fire

Washington Post

As swaths of California burn and the state’s lights flicker, few elected officials are likely to emerge from the crises as winners. But President Trump is determined to try. Now that former attorney general and current Sen. Kamala D. Harris (Calif.) is on the Democratic ticket, Trump seems poised to make California his favorite cautionary tale about the dangers of Democratic governance. California’s Democratic leaders should take note.

Federal:

Trump declares California wildfires a major disaster, promising aid despite previous threats

Fresno Bee

President Donald Trump declared the worst of California’s nearly two dozen active wildfires a major disaster Saturday, providing funding to victims despite his vocal criticism of state leadership.

See Also:

Judge dismisses Trump’s bid to block release of his tax returns

abc30

A federal judge on Thursday cleared the way for Manhattan’s top prosecutor to get President Donald Trump’s tax returns, rejecting a last-ditch attempt by his lawyers to block a subpoena issued to his accounting firm. Trump’s lawyers immediately appealed U.S. District Judge Victor Marrero’s decision to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals.

House passes bill to reverse changes blamed for mail delays

abc30

With heated debate over mail delays, the House approved legislation in a rare Saturday session that would reverse recent changes in U.S. Postal Service operations and send $25 billion to shore up the agency ahead of the November election.

WATCH: Postmaster General DeJoy Testifies In House Oversight Hearing

VPR

Postmaster General Louis DeJoy defended his management of the U.S. Postal Service to the House on Monday amid concerns that his cost-cutting measures have jeopardized the agency’s ability to serve Americans. The hearing of the House Oversight Committee is underway now. Watch the hearing live.

Before coronavirus failures, Trump struggled to slow drug overdoses

Los Angeles Times

It was cast as a signature initiative for President Trump’s new administration — bold action to combat an epidemic of drug addiction, which claimed some 64,000 lives the year Trump was elected, many in the small towns and rural areas key to his victory.

57 percent of Republicans say coronavirus death toll is ‘acceptable’

The Hill

A majority of Republicans said that the number of coronavirus deaths in the U.S. — now topping 176,000, according to data from Johns Hopkins University — is “acceptable,” according to a poll released Sunday.

See Also:

GOP leader: ‘There is no place for QAnon in the Republican Party’

The Hill

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) has denounced the QAnon conspiracy theory, becoming the highest-ranking congressional Republican to publicly condemn the theory.

See Also:

How Trump Has Changed the Republicans

Wall Street Journal

For almost four decades, the conservative movement was defined by one man, Ronald Reagan, and his movement, the Reagan Revolution. Reagan was an unlikely revolutionary figure, a modestly successful actor with a self-effacing style and no intellectual pretensions.

AP FACT CHECK: Dems on minimum wage and poverty

AP News

Americans tuned into the Democratic National Convention were told Thursday that the higher minimum wage favored by presidential candidate Joe Biden would lift all full-time workers out of poverty. That’s not what $15 an hour is likely to do.

OPINION: The Democrats Miss the Meaning

Wall Street Journal

To be fair in critiquing certain public events you have to be like a judge in the Olympics and factor in degree of difficulty. No one had ever done a Zoom convention before, so no one knew how to do it. Should there be a host each night? Should it be an earnest actress? Does that make us look shallow? Do we want to look shallow?

Commentary: TechTank Podcast Episode 2: How has COVID-19 transformed work, education and healthcare? 

Brookings

As the pandemic spring has turned into the pandemic summer—and with no sign of abating once fall arrives—Americans are beginning to grapple with how the disease will change daily life forever. Across the country, empty streets and empty office towers don’t just mean a change in how we work—entire communities have relocated to new places.

Coronavirus Trackers:

Coronavirus (COVID-19) in California

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:

Elections 2020:

Postmaster says ballots No. 1 priority, but details no plan

abc30

Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, pressed by senators over mail delivery disruptions, said Friday he was unaware of changes that sparked a public uproar, but his responses raised fresh questions about how the Postal Service will ensure timely delivery of ballots for the November election.

See Also:

Trump delivered on some big 2016 promises, but others unmet

Los Angeles Times

He’s broken his pledge never to take a vacation or play golf for pleasure. His plan to update the nation’s infrastructure has become a running punchline and he’s dropped his threat to throw Army deserter Bowe Bergdahl out of a plane without a parachute.

Trump will use California to drive home his message: Democrats will wreck America

San Francisco Chronicle

President Trump faces many challenges as the Republican National Convention starts Monday: a pandemic that has killed more than 175,000 Americans, an economy in free fall, high unemployment, and a blossoming racial justice movement firmly opposed to him.

Men and women in the U.S. continue to differ in voter turnout rate, party identification

PEW

A century after the 19th Amendment gave women the right to vote, about half of U.S. adults (49%) – including 52% of men and 46% of women – say granting women the right to vote has been the most important milestone in advancing the position of women in the country, relative to other notable events and achievements, according to a recent Pew Research Center survey.

A Resource for State Preelection Polling

PEW

Post-mortem analysis of the 2016 election found that a failure to adjust for overrepresentation of college graduates was among the reasons many state-level polls underestimated support for Donald Trump. Voters who graduated from a four-year college are more likely to answer surveys than other adults and, in recent years, they are also more likely to support a Democrat for president.

More than 500,000 mail ballots were rejected in the primaries. That could make the difference in battleground states this fall.

Washington Post

More than 534,000 mail ballots were rejected during primaries across 23 states this year — nearly a quarter in key battlegrounds for the fall — illustrating how missed delivery deadlines, inadvertent mistakes and uneven enforcement of the rules could disenfranchise voters and affect the outcome of the presidential election.

Trump’s suggestion of deploying law enforcement officials to monitor polls raises specter of voting intimidation

Washington Post

More than 30 years ago, a Republican Party program that dispatched off-duty police officers to patrol polling places in heavily Black and Latino neighborhoods in New Jersey triggered accusations of voter intimidation, resulting in a federal agreement that restricted for decades how the national GOP could observe voting.

The pandemic is creating a new crop of political candidates: Unemployed workers

Washington Post

For Kelly Johnson, the decision to run for political office came to her suddenly, in April. The 48-year-old from Dunedin, Fla., had been furloughed from her job as a restaurant manager and after many frustrating weeks waiting for unemployment benefits, she decided to run for a Florida House of Representatives seat, with no political experience, to fix the broken unemployment system she had just experienced firsthand.

Facebook Braces Itself for Trump to Cast Doubt on Election Results

New York Times

Facebook spent years preparing to ward off any tampering on its site ahead of November’s presidential election. Now the social network is getting ready in case President Trump interferes once the vote is over.

Biden is already forming a government. Here’s what his Cabinet could look like.

Politico

Sherrod Brown, the progressive senator from Ohio, says he’s talking with the Biden campaign about “where he needs to look and who he needs to look at” as he begins to form a potential administration. Other people in positions of power, both inside and outside government, are engaged in similar conversations.

See Also:

5 Questions Ahead Of The Republican National Convention

NPR

Since the Democrats wrapped up their glitch-free virtual convention, now it’s Republicans’ turn. The four-day event, taking place amid the coronavirus pandemic and as tropical storm systems — yes, two — are set to hit the Gulf Coast, begins Monday morning with a roll call and official renomination of President Trump as the Republican nominee and Vice President Pence as his running mate.

See Also:

EDITORIAL: California doesn’t need another rent control ballot measure. Vote no on Proposition 21

Fresno Bee

California has the second-highest rents in the nation, just behind Hawaii. California’s median rent as of 2016 was $1,297 per month. Median rental costs in the Bay Area and coastal Southern California are even higher.

Editorial: How Kamala Harris has grown as a political leader

Los Angeles Times

When she was San Francisco district attorney, Kamala Harris literally wrote the book on criminal justice reform. Or one of them, at least. Amid a societal debate on whether it was a better policy to be tough on crime or soft on crime, Harris published “Smart on Crime,” less a manifesto than a collection of essays that hammered at the failure of a generation to curb criminal recidivism.

Other:

McClatchy files plan to close out bankruptcy case, prepares to emerge under new owner

Sacramento Bee

McClatchy Co. filed a plan with the bankruptcy court Friday that outlines how the local news company that was controlled by its founding family for 163 years will be officially dissolved at a Sept. 23 hearing.

Most Americans Think Social Media Sites Censor Political Viewpoints

PEW

Republicans are far more likely than Democrats to say major tech companies favor the views of liberals over conservatives. At the same time, partisans differ on whether social media companies should flag inaccurate information on their platforms.

New study confirms that female-led countries fared better against coronavirus

The Hill

This year, world leaders have largely been measured by their responses to the coronavirus pandemic. Soon after the outbreak began to quickly spread, a theory emerged that female leaders had been reacting exceptionally well to the pandemic, keeping infection levels low in their country and coming up with inventive ways to keep their citizens safe and well-informed. 

Progressives Have a ‘Trickle Down’ Problem

The Dispatch

In George Bernard Shaw’s Back to Methuselah, the serpent says to Eve in the Garden of Eden: “You see things; and you say, ‘Why?’ But I dream things that never were; and I say, ‘Why not?’”

The Sleight-of-Hand Convention

Washington Free Beacon

Joe Biden delivered the best speech in a half-century political career on Thursday night. It was interesting to contrast his delivery with Kamala Harris’s 24 hours earlier. Both the presidential and vice-presidential nominee spoke to an empty hall. 

The Grand Old Meltdown

Politico

Earlier this month, while speaking via Zoom to a promising group of politically inclined high school students, I was met with an abrupt line of inquiry. “I’m sorry, but I still don’t understand,” said one young man, his pitch a blend of curiosity and exasperation. “What do Republicans believe? What does it mean to be a Republican?”

Another Virus Is Spreading

National Review

Laura Loomer, a conspiracy theorist who has promoted religious bigotry, won a House primary election in Florida on Tuesday with 42.5 percent of the vote. Loomer has “zero chance” of winning in November in an overwhelmingly Democratic district that includes West Palm Beach, but her primary victory is still a troubling sign that the virus of conspiracism is spreading in the body politic, and few Republicans in positions of power show signs that they’re interested in doing much to stop it.

OPINION: Even before coronavirus, American political conventions were little more than TV shows

Fresno Bee

Television networks first broadcast political conventions for a mass audience in 1948. Production values were practically non-existent: grainy black and white

California Forum: Young people of color need California to take action on structural racism and inequity

Sacramento Bee

In the midst of a pandemic that is devastating California’s communities, particularly Black and brown communities, 23-year-old Tanness Walker of South Los Angeles is working two jobs to pay school fees and help her mom.

Commentary: Disinformation as a wicked problem: Why we need co-reulatory frameworks

Brookings

As the harmful effects of disinformation and other online problems on individuals and societies become increasingly apparent, governments are under pressure to act. Initial attempts at self-regulation via mechanisms such as voluntary codes of conduct have not yielded the desired results, leading policymakers to turn increasingly to top-down regulation. This approach is destined to fail.

MADDY INSTITUTE PUBLIC POLICY PROGRAMMING

Sunday, August 30, at 10 a.m. on ABC30 – Maddy Report: “Policing the Police” – Guests: Laurel Rosenhall with CALmatters, Ron Lawrence with California Police Chiefs Association and Alice Hoffman with California Chapter – NCAAP. Host: Maddy Institute Executive Director, Mark Keppler.

Sunday, August 30, at 10 a.m. on Newstalk 580AM/105.9FM (KMJ) – Maddy Report – Valley Views Edition: “Police Use of Deadly Force: Valley Perspectives”  – Guests: Clovis Police Chief Curt Fleming and Sandra Celedon is the Pres. & CEO of Fresno Building Health Communities. Host: Maddy Institute Executive Director, Mark Keppler.

AGRICULTURE/FOOD

Fresno’s Prima Wawona voluntarily recalls peaches due to national salmonella scare

Fresno Bee

Peaches from a central Valley packing house are being voluntarily recalled because of a possible link to a salmonella outbreak that has left dozens of people ill. Fresno-based Prima Wawona said Saturday in a news release that it had voluntarily issued a recall for bulk and loose peaches distributed and sold June 1 through Aug. 3, along with bagged Wawona and Wawona Organic peaches distributed and sold June 1 through Aug. 19.

Farmworkers continue harvesting in unhealthy air quality, extreme heat

abc30

You can see, smell and even feel the smoke in the Central Valley skies from surrounding wildfires, but farm work continues. “The last week, week and a half have been a really brutal week to be a farmworker,” said United Farm Workers spokesperson Elizabeth Strater.

See Also:

Extreme heat killing livestock in Fresno, Tulare, Kings counties, local emergency declared

abc30

Tulare, Kings and Fresno counties have proclaimed a local emergency to address the number of livestock deaths resulting from the extreme heat. The proclamation enables local livestock owners to work with county health and agriculture officials to determine appropriate alternative measures for the safe and orderly disposal of livestock carcasses.

See Also:

Panama-Buena Vista announces meal service plan

Bakersfield Californian

The Panama-Buena Vista Union School District has announced its plans for providing breakfast and lunch to enrolled students beginning Monday. The meals will be served from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday through Friday. Meals will be charged based on free and reduced price eligibility, the district said.

Coronavirus outbreak at Livingston Foster Farms plant reaches 200 cases, 2 deaths, mayor says

Merced Sun-Star

The Foster Farms facility in Livingston has had an outbreak of more than 200 infections in recent weeks, including at least two deaths, according to Mayor Gurpal Samra. Officials with Foster Farms would not confirm the number of cases or deaths at the Livingston facility in Merced County.

The Fall Of Cannabis Industry Titans Is Not Surprising – It’s Natural

Forbes

In the infamous words of Freddie Mercury, “another one bites the dust.” In the early days of legal cannabis – a short six or seven years ago – investors came to our firm for guidance. They were proud to boast of their status as “medical cannabis investors.” But I was always left wondering what they really meant by that designation. 

CRIMINAL JUSTICE/FIRE/PUBLIC SAFETY

Crime:

DUI patrol to be conducted through Labor Day

Porterville Recorder

The Porterville Police Department will have additional officers on patrol, beginning today and lasting through Labor Day weekend, through September 7 looking for suspected impaired drivers. The increased effort to address impaired driving is part of a national enforcement campaign, Driver Sober or Get Pulled Over.

Public Safety:

Blue Lives Matter as hundreds march in support of law enforcement

Fresno Bee

An estimated 500 area residents marched in Law Enforcement Support Walk from City Hall to the Fresno County Courthouse. The event, with rallies at beginning and end, was put on by local community and business members.

Locals fear possibility of losing Uber and Lyft, citing DUI concerns

Bakersfield Californian

Amid the uncertain future of Uber and Lyft operations in the state, local officials and professionals working on behalf of DUI victims and offenders weighed in on the possibility of a ride-hailing vacuum.

Public officials move to muzzle violent outbursts by anti-maskers

Los Angeles Times

Leading public health authorities all but beg people to wear them. Local, state and federal government officials are imploring, and in two-thirds of states, mandating, citizens to don them in public. Even the most mask-averse potential “role model,” President Trump, has intermittently begun sporting one.

Fire: 

Update: Fire near Giant Sequoia National Monument has doubled in size

Fresno Bee

A lightning-caused wildfire southeast of Visalia has now doubled in size, burning 400 acres near the Giant Sequoia National Monument. According to the U.S. Forest Service, six crews of 20 firefighters walked into the Castle Fire, burning in the Golden Trout Wilderness on Friday, but were unable to stop the spread due to steep rocky terrain, fire behavior and winds.

See Also:

Hills Fire in Fresno County was caused by lightning strike, CAL FIRE says

abc30

The Hills Fire burning in Western Fresno County was caused by a lightning strike, CAL FIRE officials said on Friday. The blaze is burning in the area of Highway 33 and Sutter Avenue, south of Coalinga. It has consumed 1,900 acres and is 45% contained. CAL FIRE said firefighters were gaining some control of the wildfire.

Merced County issues evacuation warning about massive NorCal wildfire

abc30

The Merced County Sheriff’s Office has issued an evacuation warning for some areas that may be threatened by a massive wildfire blazing out of control in northern California. The wildfire is made up of a cluster of 20 separate lightning-sparked fires called the SCU Lightning complex threatening about 1,400 structures in rugged terrain with dense brush.

See Also:

New wildfire burns 5,000 acres in Tulare County, voluntary evacuations issued

abc30

Voluntary evacuation orders were issued as a new wildfire burns east of the Giant Sequoia National Monument in Tulare County. The Castle Fire was sparked by lightning on Friday and has burned approximately 5,000 acres.

Update: Moccasin Fire in Tuolumne County continues to spread

Sierra Star

The Moccasin Fire had reached over 1,700 acres and “hundreds of homes” are threatened according to the Tuolumne County Sheriff’s Department Facebook page late Thursday evening.

To Manage Wildfire, California Looks To What Tribes Have Known All Along

VPR

On a cool February morning, around 60 people gathered in the Sierra Nevada foothills to take part in a ceremony that, for many decades, was banned. Men and women from Native Americans tribes around Northern California stood in a circle, alongside university students and locals from around the town of Mariposa.

California Battalion Chief On The Challenge Of Fighting Wildfires During A Heat Wave

VPR

California will be under a state of emergency this weekend, as more than 500 fires rage across the state. At least five people have died, and as of Friday morning, nearly 600,000 acres were burning in the eight largest fire complexes in the state. This all comes as the state is confronting a record-breaking heat wave. In Death Valley, temperatures reached a scorching 130 degrees earlier this week.

‘The Worst Is Not Behind Us’: California Wildfires Continue To Burn

VPR

Hundreds of buildings have been destroyed, close to a million acres of land have been scorched and at least six people have died in one of the worst series of wildfires in California’s history. More than 13,700 firefighters are battling nearly two dozen major fires throughout the state, fire officials said Saturday. Five broad areas of the state are on fire, and the largest blazes remain mostly uncontained.

See Also:

Wildfires are an annual California nightmare now. Will they only get worse?

San Francisco Chronicle

Nearly three years after a swarm of Wine Country wildfires devastated California, another explosion of flames is making clear that the state’s efforts to fight the crisis may be no match for the worsening conditions fueling it.

See Also:

Pandemic Precautions Are Protecting Wildfire Fighters — So Far

PEW

District Chief Paul Duarte’s team, the first to reach the Pine Gulch fire as it began spreading across western Colorado about three weeks ago, put months of planning to the test as they prepared to battle their first major wildfire under pandemic conditions.

Another wildfire upends grape harvest in Sonoma, Napa counties

Press Democrat

The 2020 North Coast wine grape harvest only started three weeks ago. Already it is one for the record books with extreme heat, rain and wildfires to confound growers, in the midst of a pandemic the likes of which this country has not seen in more than 100 years.

ECONOMY/JOBS

Economy:

Salon Operators at Breaking Point

Clovis RoundUp

On August 17, marching down the streets from Bullard to Pollasky in hot and humid hundred-degree weather in the afternoon; salon owners, hairstylists, and even clients walked together in a peaceful protest in hopes that their voices would be heard.

Lemoore offers small business assistance grant

Hanford Sentinel

At its meeting Tuesday, the Lemoore City Council approved a notice of availability of funds to help small businesses in the city. The city of Lemoore is set to receive $337,000 of Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) funding, with $150,000 of that money going towards small businesses that have suffered significant negative impacts due to COVID-19 shutdown orders.

Amazon unveils distribution center, begins mass hiring

Bakersfield Californian

Politicians gushed and a company official crowed but it was the little blue robots that stole the show Thursday as e-commerce giant Amazon pulled back the veil on the massive distribution center it has been working on in Oildale for close to two years.

S&P 500 ticks higher to record, powered again by tech stocks

Los Angeles Times

The S&P 500 ticked higher to close at another all-time high Friday, powered by strength for technology stocks and a couple of reports on the U.S. economy that were better than expected.

Snapshot of the California Economy: July 2020

Legislative Analyst’s Office

The COVID-19 pandemic has reshaped the California economy. Over the last several months, the state has experienced abrupt and dramatic swings in economic activity. While a variety of data is available to track developments in the state economy, drawing clear conclusions from these disparate data points can be difficult.

Under Trump’s Watch, America’s National Debt Has Increased by $6.6 Trillion

Newsweek

Amid partisan arguments over how much federal aid should be approved to help ease the financial crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic, the U.S. national debt has increased by $6.6 trillion under President Donald Trump.

See Also:

Many Companies Planned to Reopen Offices After Labor Day. With Coronavirus Still Around, They’re Rethinking That.

Wall Street Journal

This summer, executives at health-care-technology firm Epic Systems announced a plan: Most of the 9,500 employees at its 1,000-acre campus in Wisconsin would be expected back in the office in September.

Emails show businesses held sway over state reopening plans

AP News

As South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster prepared to announce the end of a coronavirus stay-at-home order, his top staff received an email from the state health department.

Jobs:

Modest summer job gains in Fresno region not enough to erase COVID-19 damage to employment

Fresno Bee

When the COVID-19 pandemic struck California and the central San Joaquin Valley, it triggered stay-at-home orders and a large-scale closure of some business sectors as a means to slow the spread of the virus.

Extra $300 weekly unemployment benefit approved for California, but timetable is uncertain

Fresno Bee

California will be able to pay millions of jobless residents an extra $300 a week, the state’s unemployment agency said Saturday, but there’s no estimate of when people will see that money. The state’s Employment Development Department said its application for funding the program has been approved by the federal government.

See Also:

Valley Jobless Rates Improve In July

Business Journal

Central Valley jobless rates improved in July, according to the latest data from the state Employment Development Department, though industries such as leisure and hospitality continued to shed jobs. Fresno County’s unemployment rate for July was 13.5%, down from a revised 14.5% in June and well above 7.2% this time a year ago.

See Also:

Kern’s unemployment rate improves to 16.5%

Bakersfield Californian

Kern County’s unemployment rate dropped again in July, ending the month more than a point and a half below its seasonally unadjusted peak of 18.1 percent in May. The state Employment Development Department released data Friday showing the county’s jobless rate in July, 16.5 percent, was nearly double its level one year before.

See Also:

California state workers affected by fires may be eligible for paid time off

Sacramento Bee

California state workers affected by the wildfires may be eligible to take paid time off, the state Human Resources Department announced this week. Gov. Gavin Newsom’s emergency order related to fires and extreme weather conditions qualifies some workers for administrative time off, CalHR Department Director Eraina Ortega said in a Tuesday email to department HR officers.

Why are Black and Latino advocacy groups backing Uber, Lyft in California labor law fight?

Sacramento Bee

Latino and Black advocacy groups are front-and-center in an expensive campaign challenging a new California labor law that demands employers provide benefits for more workers.

Democrats divided: Newsom’s family-leave plan faces resistance from his own party

CalMatters

It doesn’t sound like an idea that would generate much controversy in a statehouse dominated by Democrats: Should more California workers be assured they can return to their jobs if they take time off to care for a sick family member or new baby?

California Employment Report for July 2020

California Center for Jobs & the Economy

California’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate again eased, going from 14.9% in June to 13.3% in July.  The unadjusted rate—the more relevant measure given the extent to which seasonal factors have been overwhelmed by the economic closures—went from 15.1% to 13.7%.

What American Workers Can Expect After The 2020 Presidential Election

Forbes

In case you haven’t noticed, there’s a big election taking place in a few months. The presidential election is getting a lot of attention and for good reason. But what does a Joe Biden or Donald Trump win mean for U.S. workers?

EDUCATION

K-12:

Christian private school sets up defense fund to fight Fresno County COVID-19 orders

Fresno Bee

Signaling an intention to fight, Immanuel Schools on Friday launched a legal defense fund to help fuel its efforts to keep students in classrooms, despite health department orders to shut down its campus.

Fresno-area schools find ways around California’s COVID-19 watch list. Can they do that?

Fresno Bee

As several private schools open up their campuses under the guise of day camps, local health departments have found their hands tied, even though schools on the state’s coronavirus watchlist have been ordered to remain closed.

Will a Fresno court force this private Christian school to close? Here’s the latest

Fresno Bee

Fresno County authorities on Thursday filed an injunction to force Immanuel Schools to close, more than a week after the private Christian school in Reedley flouted emergency government orders by bringing students and teachers back to campus.

Fresno’s Learning Curve: Navigating Education Access in a Pandemic

Fresno Bee

Education has changed for the foreseeable future due to COVID-19. When schools first shuttered in March, many people hoped the virus would be contained by summer. But that hasn’t happened, and distance learning is now continuing into the fall.

How Fresno Unified parents are dealing with challenges of remote learning

abc30

Back to school looks very different for the Spencers this fall. “Instead of back to school clothes shopping, we did back to school shopping for things like a ring light or a school board for my kindergartener so she has a school space,” says Shelly Spencer.

As COVID numbers decline, waiver could reopen some TUSD schools

Turlock Journal

Turlock Unified School District is keeping an eye on coronavirus data in Stanislaus County in hopes that numbers will improve enough to reopen its elementary campuses via an extensive waiver process.

County health issues statement on schools as day camps

Porterville Recorder

Tulare County Public Health issued a statement on Friday its aware of local schools operating as day camps to provide instruction to children on-site under California Department of Public Health guidelines. Among the schools who have chosen to operate as a day camp is Visalia’s Central Valley Christian High School.

Patterson school district putting up broadband towers to give all kids free internet

Modesto Bee

Patterson Joint Unified School District, which this summer pushed back the starting date of its school year to Sept. 8 in hopes the COVID-19 outbreak would be under control and it could provide in-person instruction, will launch with distance learning and provide free internet service for all students.

Students in Stanislaus County could be headed back to class soon. Here’s how.

Modesto Bee

Stanislaus County is inviting school districts to apply for waivers so that elementary schools can reopen for classroom instruction even as the county remains under state monitoring as a coronavirus hot spot in California.

Teachers’ Concerns Mounting as the School Year Kicks Off

EdNote

Schools and districts find themselves in an increasingly complex situation as the school year starts. The debate over whether to reopen schools — and how — has continued throughout the summer garnering national attention. COVID-19 outbreaks in schools that opened their doors have only amplified the conversation.

CDC updates school guidelines for Covid-19 pandemic

CNN

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated its school guidance Friday. The update adds more details to existing guidelines that will better inform administrators’ decisions about opening schools and limit risk, according to CDC Director Dr. Robert Redfield.

Commentary: A Democratic win could mean big changes for education

AEI

As Joe Biden accepts the Democratic nomination, his party is well-positioned for the fall. Indeed, it’s possible—even likely—that Democrats will claim unified control of the White House and Congress. As the Democratic National Convention wraps, it’s a good time to take a look at just what a big Democratic win might mean for education.

Higher Ed:

Check out what’s happening at UC Merced: 2020 campus expansion completed

Fresno Bee

UC Merced’s 2020 project has been completed. The campus expansion, which cost a billion dollars, allows the California university to add more students with space for housing, classrooms, recreation and more.

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Can Fresno State afford to take advantage of new eligibility relief granted by NCAA?

Fresno Bee

The NCAA on Friday approved legislation to provide an extra year of eligibility to all fall sport student-athletes impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, a seemingly easy call that could prove to be a severe burden for Fresno State and many other FBS athletics departments.

University president promotes diversity, inclusion in virtual address

Turlock Journal

Stanislaus State President Ellen Junn delivered her fifth Fall Welcome Address on Wednesday as students, faculty and staff gear up for the start of school next week, but the annual event saw the university leader give her words of wisdom to a computer screen rather than a packed hall.

Visualizing CSUB: What will fall 2020 look like

The Runner Online

CSU Bakersfield’s faculty and staff are actively working to find the safest protocols to navigate the upcoming fall 2020 amid a global pandemic. At this time, CSUB has released a wide range of information surrounding COVID-19.  

COLLEGE NOTEBOOK: CSUB, BC gear up for 2020-21 academic year

Bakersfield Californian

With Cal State Bakersfield and Bakersfield College kicking off the 2020-21 academic year on Monday, here are some highlights from each school entering the new year.

Prop. 209’s affirmative action ban drove down Black and Latino UC enrollment and wages, study finds

Los Angeles Times

California’s ban on affirmative action has significantly harmed Black and Latino students by reducing their enrollment across University of California campuses, lowering their graduation rates and driving down subsequent wages, a new UC Berkeley study has found.

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Apprenticeships:

ENVIRONMENT/ENERGY

Environment:

Relief from smoky skies and bad air may be on its way. Here’s what experts predict

Fresno Bee

A storm front from the Pacific Northwest is expected to arrive next weekend, bringing some relief from the central San Joaquin Valley’s smoky skies, suffocating air quality and triple-digit heat.

See Also:

Wildfires Hit California’s Redwoods And Condors, But There’s Still Hope

VPR

At 3 a.m. on Friday morning, biologist Kelly Sorenson was awake, nervously watching the live webcam feed of a California condor nest on the Big Sur coast. He could see a 5-month-old chick, still unable to fly, as the flames of the Dolan Fire came into view.

How bad is the air quality? Here’s how to tell

Sacramento Bee

The air quality index is the United States’ way of reporting air quality. Here’s what each level means.

Trump administration said to be blocking Pebble Mine in Alaska

Sacramento Bee

The Trump administration is planning to block the controversial Pebble Mine in southwestern Alaska that’s recently drawn opposition from powerful Republicans, according to a person familiar with the matter.

A collision of crises: Central Valley suffers searing heat, smoke and virus hot spots

CalMatters

As ash drifted down from the fires burning through Solano County, a woman sweating under the smoke-reddened sun dug through her car, searching for an adapter for her husband’s oxygen machine. 

Preserving Trees Becomes Big Business, Driven by Emissions Rules

Wall Street Journal

For much of human history, the way to make money from a tree was to chop it down. Now, with companies rushing to offset their carbon emissions, there is value in leaving them standing. The good news for trees is that the going rate for intact forests has become competitive with what mills pay for logs in corners of Alaska and Appalachia, the Adirondacks and up toward Acadia. 

Editorial: California has the cure for the plastic plague. Let’s use it

Los Angeles Times

Long before the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19 first jumped to humans, the world was dealing with another plague threatening human health and well-being: plastic trash.

Energy:

California is rushing to add solar power. Did recent blackouts just shade our green future?

Fresno Bee

They sit on oceanfront property in Southern California, a fleet of aging gas-fired power plants that not only pollute the air but also kill sea lions and other marine life. They’re also capable of powering up to 2.8 million homes.

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Bloom Energy, HP execs push California bill that would require diverse boards 

Silicon Valley Business Journal

Leaders from Bloom Energy and HP Inc. joined a panel Wednesday to voice support for Assembly Bill 979, which would require public companies in California to add nonwhite members to their boards.

Fast facts about U.S. views on oil and gas production as White House moves to open Alaska refuge to drilling

PEW

The Trump administration has finalized plans to open the 19-million-acre Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska to oil and gas drilling for the first time. The decision caps decades of efforts by oil and gas companies and some Alaska leaders to allow drilling in the wilderness area, even as environmental activists warn that allowing it could threaten polar bears and other wildlife.

Why California Keeps Having Blackouts

Wall Street Journal

When rolling blackouts darkened parts of California this month, Frank Wolak, an economics professor and energy-markets expert at Stanford University, had a painful sense of déjà vu.

The lights went out. Now California might let these gas plants stay open

yahoo!news

State officials are poised to decide whether four gas-fired power plants along the Southern California coast should keep running past 2020, in the first major energy decision for Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration after this month’s blackouts.

Commentary: ‘Mad Max’ in California? Energy crisis is avoidable

CalMatters

While California’s version of “Mad Max” is unlikely to happen any time soon, the state is experiencing the worst blackouts since the energy crisis of the early 2000s – and there is little reprieve on the horizon. 

HEALTH/HUMAN SERVICES

Health:

Fresno County adds to its deadliest COVID-19 month with 21 new fatalities

Fresno Bee

State health officials reported 21 new coronavirus deaths in Fresno County on Friday, overtaking Tulare County for most in the central San Joaquin Valley since the pandemic started in March. It’s been a grim August in the central San Joaquin Valley.

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Do this to protect from California’s triple threat of wildfires, COVID-19 and flu season

Fresno Bee

The coronavirus pandemic and poor air quality from wildfires burning all over the state have burdened Fresno’s delicate healthcare system. Now, Fresno’s public health officials are urging residents to get their flu shots to prevent additional strain on the system.

2nd Fresno County child dies from apparent COVID-19 complications, officials say

abc30

Another Fresno County child has died from apparent coronavirus complications, the public health department reported. The department’s mortality review from Monday says a child between the ages of 1-17 died from the virus. The report was updated hours after the health department released their weekly update, and showed an additional 7 deaths.

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Double trouble: Health experts urge residents to get flu shot amid COVID-19 pandemic

abc30

The flu season is quickly approaching. As pharmacies and healthcare offices receive their flu shot shipments, Dr. Rais Vohra with the Fresno County Health Department says people need to get vaccinated now more than ever to avoid further impacting the health system.

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Latino Life: More Latinos in California are dying of COVID-19

abc30

Latinos are dying of COVID-19 at higher rates than other groups. Latino Life takes a closer look at some of the factors leading to these higher numbers. With more than 50,000 cases of COVID-19 in the Central Valley, many families are feeling the impact physically, financially and emotionally.

Taft husband, wife recover from frightening bout with coronavirus

Bakersfield Californian

As he sat in the cab of his truck, Robin Adkins was in desperate need for some sort of comfort from the fever and the pain that had a grip on his body, making it difficult to even breathe. It was almost midnight, and the married father of two turned the air conditioning on full blast and leaned his head back.

Coronavirus death, nursing home outbreak in Calaveras County, officials announce

Modesto Bee

One person died, and two children have been infected with COVID-19 in Calaveras County, officials announced Friday night. The county also announced a coronavirus outbreak among residents at Avalon Health Care in San Andreas. According to the California Department of Health, there has been at least one death at the facility.

The Air Is Full Of Dangerous Wildfire Smoke And Viral Particles. What’s The Best Protection For Your Health?

Capital Public Radio

If you don’t need to be outside this week, don’t be. Smoke from wildfires across the state carries tiny particles that can damage the lungs, especially for those with existing respiratory conditions. 

See Also:

FDA authorizes plasma treatment despite scientists’ objections

Politico

TThe Food and Drug Administration issued an emergency authorization for blood plasma as a coronavirus treatment, the agency and President Donald Trump announced Sunday — one day after Trump attacked the drug regulator for moving too slowly to back the treatment.

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Commentary: Amid COVID-19, don’t ignore the links between poor air quality and public health

Brookings

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to surge in the United States, with deaths surpassing 169,000 and “red zones” emerging in 21 states, preliminary research suggests that people living in communities with significant exposure to air pollutants have an increased risk of hospitalization or even death if exposed to COVID-19.

Human Services:

As more hospitals merge, California eyes stronger oversight

Bakersfield Californian

Attorney General Xavier Becerra wants the power to block hospital mergers that he says would limit competition and drive up prices, setting up a fight in the state Legislature this week over the future of health care delivery in the nation’s most populous state.

Fresno American Indian Health Project Reports Increased Demand For Services During COVID-19

VPR

While reports show that the COVID-19 pandemic disproportionately affects communities of color, gaps in data have made it difficult to quantify the impact of the virus on indigenous populations. To get a better sense of how Native Americans in the Valley are faring during the pandemic, Valley Edition Host Kathleen Schock spoke with Selina De La Peña, CEO of the Fresno American Indian Health Project.

UC Davis offers coronavirus vaccine trial. Here’s how many will get it and how it works

Sacramento Bee

UC Davis Health began administering the first injections Thursday in clinical trials for a potential COVID-19 vaccine. West Sacramento resident Lucas Solano was one of 1,500 area residents vying for 200 slots.

Editorial: How the Trump administration is undermining science by pandering to abortion opponents

Los Angeles Times

The use of fetal tissue has long been invaluable in scientific research on numerous fronts. Significant work on Alzheimer’s disease, spinal cord injury, kidney failure and Parkinson’s disease has all been aided by the use of fetal tissue. Cells from fetuses have been used to develop vaccines for rubella, rabies and other serious diseases.

IMMIGRATION

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

Los Angeles 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.

Key findings about U.S. immigrants

PEW

The United States has more immigrants than any other country in the world. Today, more than 40 million people living in the U.S. were born in another country, accounting for about one-fifth of the world’s migrants. The population of immigrants is also very diverse, with just about every country in the world represented among U.S. immigrants.

See Also:

LAND USE/HOUSING

Land Use:

Fires have closed these 29 California parks

Los Angeles Times

This week’s eruption of wildfires has closed 29 state parks and partially closed five others, blackening tens of thousands of acres and extensively damaging the oldest existing state park, Big Basin Redwoods north of Santa Cruz.

Valley Voices: One glimpse from Yosemite’s Tunnel View puts COVID-19 pandemic in a right perspective

Fresno Bee

One of the world’s most iconic views is the spectacular scene from Tunnel View showing the glory of Yosemite Valley: Half Dome, El Capitan, waterfalls, forest, and a rushing Merced River. But what does this landscape mean?

Editorial: Tired of pay-to-play corruption? Take L.A. politicians out of development decisions

Los Angeles Times

It’s no secret that real estate development in L.A. is ripe for pay-to-play political corruption. For too long, the city’s outdated land-use rules have been treated as mere suggestions.

Housing:

There is $3.5 million to come in phase two of Fresno Retention Grant. Phase one left renters feeling frustrated.

Fresno Bee

Fresno families are unable to get through the lines to apply for the Retention Grant, leaving them desperate for help. City Councilmember Esmeralda Soria says the next round could look different.

Should Fresno housing board edit its minutes? This national group has an opinion

Fresno Bee

The American Civil Liberties Union has stepped into the controversy surrounding the Fresno Housing Authority’s plans to edit the minutes of a summer board meeting. In a letter to the board, the ACLU of Northern California warns that if the Housing Authority carries through with its plans, it could lead to “unlawfully suppressing the voices of community members by deleting selected comments from its written public record.”

Fresno’s housing market is hot. From bidding wars to COVID-19, here’s what you need to know

Fresno Bee

Rene Gonzalez, 28, is remaining hopeful of becoming a first-time homeowner in the midst of a pandemic. He and his family have been shopping for two months and seen 10 homes, including three they fell in love with.

City of Fresno to inspect rental properties online during pandemic

abc30

After a successful trial run, the city of Fresno is changing the way rental properties are inspected. About 55% of property within the city is leased and subject to random inspections. But due to COVID-19, code enforcement officials are no longer touring homes and apartments in person.

Bakersfield, Kern County look to provide millions in rent relief with ‘wave’ of evictions looming

Bakersfield Californian

As a wave of evictions threatens to sweep over Bakersfield and Kern County, local leaders are preparing to devote millions in CARES Act funds to rental assistance. Local advocates, however, worry the funds may not be enough to prevent many who have lost income from the coronavirus pandemic from ending up on the streets.

Another coronavirus inequity: Those who can afford to stay in place and those who must move

Los Angeles Times

Ivan Mirabelli cruised through Westwood Hills, past manicured lawn, big houses and scattered laborers keeping his well-off neighborhood’s appearance up, even in a pandemic. Besides short walks and a few outdoor meetups, Mirabelli said he’s holed up at home. His job in finance — typically travel heavy, but now fully online — gives him that flexibility.

They’re Making the Rent. Is It Costing Their Future?

New York Times

They’ve made it with government checks and family help. They’ve made it with savings and odd jobs. They’ve made it with church charity, nonprofit rescue funds, GoFundMe campaigns. One way or another, through five months of economic dislocation, the nation’s tenants have for the most part made their rent.

Trump is going to war on low-income housing in suburbs. He once embraced it.

Politico

President Donald Trump is on a mission to save the suburbs, warning Americans that Joe Biden would bring chaos to their communities by promoting affordable housing.

See Also:

Low rates and heavy buyer demand send US home sales surging

AP News

Spurred by ultra-low mortgage rates, home buyers rushed last month to snap up a limited supply of existing houses, causing the pace of purchases to jump by a record-high 24.7%. The July surge in sales reported Friday by the National Association of Realtors marked the second straight month of accelerating home purchases.

Commentary: Rent control is a disincentive to build affordable housing

CalMatters

The primary path to the middle class for American families is through property ownership. However, for many African Americans, Latinos and other minorities, the opportunity has been out of reach because of discriminatory housing laws and economic inequality. 

PUBLIC FINANCES

More Americans oppose than favor the government providing a universal basic income for all adult citizens

PEW

A narrow majority of U.S. adults (54%) say they would oppose the federal government providing a guaranteed income – sometimes called a universal basic income (UBI) – of about $1,000 per month for all adult citizens, whether or not they work; 45% favor the proposal.

Column: California is too dependent on the rich. Now isn’t the time for another millionaires’ tax

Los Angeles Times

Democratic legislators want California’s richest taxpayers to “pay their fair share.” But by any objective measurement, they already do — plus a bunch. We’re talking about state taxes, not federal. The richest Americans arguably should pay a fairer share of federal taxes. President Trump and the then-Republican Congress lowered federal income tax rates in 2017, and the beneficiaries were primarily the wealthy and corporations.

EDITORIAL: California wealth tax proposal would apply to non-residents

Las Vegas Review-Journal

Nevada’s economic development team has its greatest ally in an unlikely place: Sacramento. Two weeks ago, a California lawmaker — with the help of the state’s teacher unions — came up with a doozy, creatively expanding the typical soak-the-rich agenda that dominates the Golden State. Assemblyman Rob Bonta, an Oakland Democrat, has proposed a new wealth tax that would seize money from well-off residents — even years after they’ve left the state in self-defense.

TRANSPORTATION

Kern County In Depth: Funding California’s High Speed Rail project

KGET

2020 has been an unusual year, making one controversial issue — high speed rail — fall by the wayside. But this year’s presidential election could be a make or break factor for California’s High Speed Rail project. With the two major party candidates on different sides of funding for major infrstructure projects like HSR, federal funding could also hang in the balance.

Coronavirus FAQ: So Do Lots Of People Get COVID-19 From Flying?

VPR

Air travel has seldom looked the way it does right now. International aviation is operating just 2% to 4% of its normal number of flights. And plane tickets are selling for dirt-cheap — like a famed $6 ride from Newark, N.J., to Fort Myers, Fla., earlier this year.

New rules at California DMV: Expect a temperature check and COVID-19 screening

Sacramento Bee

Visits to California Department of Motor Vehicles offices will include temperature checks and COVID-19 screening questions starting Thursday, the DMV announced. Customers and employees who record a temperature of 100.4 degrees or higher on an infrared thermometer will be turned away and their appointments rescheduled, according to the release.

ROBERT PRICE: Also likely at stake in the presidential election: the future of California high-speed rail

Bakersfield Californian

When you cast your vote this fall, whether by precinct-issued black-tip marker or, assuming some of them remain, U.S. postal drop box, you won’t merely be grading the progress of that whole great-again thing. You’ll also be participating in a referendum on California high-speed rail.

WATER

California’s Delta tunnel project inches forward – and just got a $15.9 billion price tag

Fresno Bee

When Gov. Gavin Newsom downsized the Delta tunnels water project last year, the idea was to save money and try to appease at least some of the project’s critics. Yet the project remains controversial — and still figures to be costly.

See Also:

“Xtra”

How does coronavirus spread at a concert? Germans do a test

Fresno Bee

Germany held a pop concert Saturday to see how those attending would spread coronavirus. German researchers studying COVID-19 packed part of a Leipzig arena with volunteers, collecting data in a “real life” simulation of a pop concert with strict health and safety controls.

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The Kenneth L. Maddy Institute 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.

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