Local/Regional:
10 Most Fun Places to Live if You Love the Outdoors
US News Real Estate
When asked to picture America’s great outdoors, most people will conjure images of the expansive national parks or the craggy Pacific coastline, or the jagged Rocky Mountains that act as Denver’s backdrop or the arid desert that surrounds Phoenix. Surprise — it’s the Fresno metro area that is Number 1.
U.S. News ranks Fresno State nation’s top public university in graduation rate performance
Fresno State News
California State University, Fresno was singled out as the nation’s best public university in graduation rate performance in U.S. News and World Report’s 2017 Best College rankings issued today.
State:
California’s State Budget: The Enacted 2017–18 Budget
Public Policy Institute of California
Just the facts.
Walters: California politicians lured by easy money, but somebody must eventually pay
CALmatters
Politicians are habitually lured by easy money, which is defined as money they can spend without directly taxing their constituents, but somebody eventually has to pay.
Los Angeles Times
California Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de Léon has been coy about his future political plans, but not bashful when it comes to raising money for a future campaign.
See who lobbied California’s failed universal health care bill
Sacramento Bee
From rehab centers to burger joints, more than 100 businesses, unions, trade groups and other entities weighed in on California’s universal healthcare legislation during the first half of 2017, according to new state lobbying disclosures.
Republicans are targeting California Democrats over single-payer healthcare
Los Angeles Times
Democrats are widely expected to make Republican incumbents’ efforts to overturn the Affordable Care Act a major issue in the 2018. Now Republicans are going after challengers for some Democrats’ support of a single-payer healthcare system.
Democrats searching for vets to lead them out of the wilderness
San Francisco Chronicle
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is actively recruiting veterans to run for Congress next year, and their national security backgrounds can be attractive to independent voters. Among the first-time vet candidates running in California is retired Navy SEAL Josh Butner, who is challenging incumbent Rep. Duncan Hunter in a very Republican Southern California district.
The problem isn’t Josh Newman, it’s recalls
Sacramento Bee
You might recall that California voters can recall incumbent lawmakers if they so desire. It’s what brought Arnold Schwarzenegger to the state Capitol, broom in hand. It may deliver a new state senator in the Southland.
Is Antonio Adopting the Old GOP Fishhook Strategy?
Fox and Hounds Daily
For those who remember the Republican “fish hook” strategy for winning statewide races three and four decades ago you can see a similarity to Antonio Villaraigoisa’s potential roadmap to capture the governorship: string together a strong showing through Central Valley counties and hook up through San Diego and Orange Counties to his home county of Los Angeles. Such a plan could offset the expected strength rival and former San Francisco mayor, Gavin Newsom, has in the Bay Area.
National:
Reps. Costa, Nunes, Valadao asked to save Social Security
Fresno Bee
More than a dozen people stood outside Rep. Jim Costa’s downtown Fresno office Tuesday, praising the congressman for continuing to protect Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security on the anniversaries of the programs being signed into law.
Why Democrats Around the Country Should Be Focused on California Pacific Standard
With control of the House of Representatives up for grabs, and as many as six Republican Congressional seats in the state deemed competitive, California will once again be in the national political spotlight next fall.
Los Angeles Times
This is Essential Politics, our daily look at California political and government news. Here’s what we’re watching right now
Jimmy Panetta says he won’t seek Senate seat if Dianne Feinstein retires
The Salinas Californian
As a child, Jimmy Panetta gave tours of the U.S. Capitol when Californians dropped by his father’s congressional office, negotiating the underground labyrinths without a map.
The US launches a test missile off of California to show it can ‘defend against attacks’
Los Angeles Times
An unarmed intercontinental ballistic missile was launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base early Wednesday to test the weapon’s reliability to “defend against attacks on the United States and its allies,” the Air Force said.
EDITORIALS
Community Voices: We’re imposing civil penalties against illegal pot shops
The Bakersfield Californian
Last year, while I was running for a seat on the Bakersfield City Council, I heard a lot of concerns from voters about the growing number of illegal marijuana dispensaries in various parts of Ward 2.
Our View: No Brown Act violation, but a valuable lesson
Bakersfield Californian
California’s open meetings law, the Ralph M. Brown Act, serves a vital community interest: It guarantees the public’s right to attend and participate in the meetings of local legislative bodies and prohibits the so-called rolling quorum that elected officials could otherwise use to reach a private or secret consensus.
Privacy hits the dust: Data-collecting vacuum cleaners
Bakersfield Californian
Privacy advocates cried in protest after a report that the maker of the Roomba, a robotic vacuum cleaner, will sell maps of customers’ homes to third parties. Investors, on the other hand, shouted buy orders for the company’s stock.
Katehi’s pay isn’t California’s biggest faculty salary outrage
Sacramento Bee
To obsess on Katehi’s salary is to miss a far more consequential faculty pay outrage. Hers is just one paycheck, after all. Over at the Cal State system, the 10.5 percent raise being shelled out over three years to the 26,000 members of the California Faculty Association is effectively costing each and every returning student an extra $270 a year in tuition.
Legislature, don’t mess with California’s water umpire
Los Angeles Times
As California water becomes an increasingly precious and contentious resource, the state needs an umpire with the power to enforce laws against illegal diversions and protect the rights of the public and others with enforceable claims to state water. That decisionmaker must be both muscular and fair.
Trump throws his weight behind a terrible immigration bill
San Francisco Chronicle
On the campaign trail, President Trump spoke frequently about what he believed were the damaging effects of immigration for the American economy and way of life. Now he’s thrown his support to a bill from two Republican U.S. senators, Tom Cotton of Arkansas and David Perdue of Georgia, that would slash legal immigration to half of its current level and dramatically reshape the kinds of immigrants accepted into the U.S.
Editorial: Covered California still works — now let’s get behind bipartisan reforms in Congress
San Jose Mercury News
Americans need to rally behind Republican Sen. Lamar Alexander’s bipartisan efforts to stabilize the health insurance industry by repairing, not repealing the Affordable Care Act
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AGRICULTURE/FOOD
California farms produce a lot of food – but what and how much might surprise you
Orange County Register
California’s 77,500 farms produce more than 400 commodities, and two-thirds of the nation’s fruits and nuts. About one-quarter of what California produces is exported around the world. Here are some more facts and figures about California agriculture.
Monsanto Emails Raise Issue of Influencing Research on Roundup Weed Killer
NYTimes.com
Documents released Tuesday in a lawsuit against Monsanto raised new questions about the company’s efforts to influence the news media and scientific research and revealed internal debate over the safety of its highest-profile product, the weed killer Roundup. The active ingredient in Roundup, glyphosate, is the most common weed killer in the world and is used by farmers on row crops and by home gardeners. While Roundup’s relative safety has been upheld by most regulators, a case in federal court in San Francisco continues to raise questions about the company’s practices and the product itself.
Legal marijuana in Visalia? It won’t ever get my vote
Fresno Bee
Although medical marijuana was legalized in California in 1996, the Visalia City Council chose to not allow medical marijuana dispensaries within city limits. Now, with the passage of Proposition 64, which 55% Tulare County voters opposed, California has moved to legalize the recreational use of marijuana.
A marijuana company has bought a California ghost town to turn it into a pot-tourism destination
Business Insider
In 1905, the covered wagons and cattle ranchers came through Nipton, California, on the edge of the Mojave Desert. Then the California Gold Rush sent miners into the desert town. And in 2017, the legal marijuana “green rush” arrived in Nipton.
After legalizing weed, California’s black market could remain huge
CalMatters
Legalizing marijuana, California voters were told last year, would create a “safe, legal and comprehensive system” allowing adults to consume the drug while keeping it out of the hands of children. Marijuana would be sold in highly regulated stores, the Proposition 64 campaign promised, and California would gain new tax revenue by bringing the cannabis marketplace “out into the open.”
CRIMINAL JUSTICE/PUBLIC SAFETY
Crime:
Kern DA Drops Charges Against Female Teen Mistaken For Male Suspect
VPR | NPR
The Kern County District Attorney is dismissing the charges filed against a black teenage woman who was mistaken for a black adult male suspect by Bakersfield Police.
Los Angeles Times
This week, California Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerra revised rules for how police officers in the state will have to track data aimed at preventing racial profiling
Addressing mass incarceration with evidence-based reform
Brookings Institution
Drug offenders make up 50% of the prison population and are key to criminal justice reforms
Despite Backlog of Rape Kits, California’s Not Requiring They Be Tested or Tallied
KQED/ CALmatters
After a man held a knife to her throat, forced her into her car and repeatedly raped her, Helena Lazaro underwent a painful and humiliating medical forensic examination. The 17-year-old wanted her attacker caught.
Bail: A fight to remove the price tag
Capitol Weekly
Bail is supposed to make sure that a defendant returns for the court date, although critics say bail merely punishes people for being poor.
Legislation is moving through the Capitol to try to resolve this issue, but it is fiercely opposed by the bail agents and bounty hunters who make their living assuring the courts that skittish defendants will show up.
This Merced County agency used a new law to take guns from an owner
Merced Sun-Star
California courts ordered people to temporarily give up possession of their firearms 86 times last year, including once in Merced County.
Next Steps in Implementing California Marijuana Law
Public Policy Institute of California
Despite uncertainty at the federal level, California is making steady progress toward creating a system to regulate the legal use of marijuana. In many ways, the most interesting activity in marijuana policy is taking place at the local level, as counties and towns wrestle with how to define the role of the industry in their communities.
ECONOMY / JOBS
Economy:
Fewer Californians used food stamps in 2016 and 2017 as economy improved
Fresno Bee
For 10 years, the number of California residents on food stamps increased, ultimately doubling to more than 4.4 million by late 2015. That trend has reversed in the last year, thanks largely to an improving economy and low unemployment. About 400,000 fewer Californians take food stamps today than during late 2015, according to the latest state and federal data.
Many Fresnans buy with a credit card but are slow to pay it off. Is that you, too?
Fresno Bee
Using that credit card a bit too loosely? Having to charge even items like groceries just to get through the month? In either case, if you’re not paying off your outstanding balance as fast as you’d hope, you’re not alone.
Almost half of American households are unable to save for emergencies
Marketplace
Every year, the nonprofit advocacy group Prosperity Now issues a scorecard on the prosperity of Americans by looking at factors like opportunities to get higher-paying jobs and the ability to save and to build wealth. While the latest survey shows a decrease in poverty, it found that one in four jobs in America are still low-wage, and that the American dream is still out of reach for many.
Cap-and-trade deal will save Valley from harsh economy
Modesto Bee
I was sent to Sacramento to give rural California a seat at the table and to effectively do the business of the state. It was in that spirit I decided to support Assembly Bill 398, which reforms and extends the cap-and-trade program for a decade, while reducing taxes, fees and regulations by more than $16 billion dollars.
Push To Regulate Next Generation Wireless Tech Hits Fresno, Sacramento
Valley Public Radio
Most smartphone users are used to an immediate internet connection in their pocket, thanks to improved phones and carrier coverage. But increasing use of data and unlimited data plans mean wireless carriers are struggling to meet the demand for a faster, better connection. To address this issue, the next generation of wireless technology has state and local lawmakers at odds.
Jobs:
Facebook workforce diversity inches up
San Jose Mercury News
Facebook’s workforce is slightly more ethnically diverse this year, but Hispanic and black employees still make up a small percentage of the tech firm’s U.S. staff.
Older people dying on job at higher rate than all workers
PBS NewsHour
Older people are dying on the job at a higher rate than workers overall, even as the rate of workplace fatalities decreases, according to an Associated Press analysis of federal statistics.
EDUCATION
K-12:
Los Angeles Times
More than 30 community organizations and advocates are ramping up their efforts to reverse a California housing rule that they say uproots the children of migrant farmworkers from their schools twice a year, causing them to fall behind and often drop out.
Watchdog agency’s new CEO warns of impact of dwindling school revenue
EdSource
Michael Fine is the new CEO of the Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team, perhaps the most important education agency Californians may never have heard of — unless their school district has been in financial peril. Better known by its acronym, FCMAT monitors the financial health of school districts, investigates and, together with county offices of education, manages districts when they’re in trouble.
Higher Ed:
See which California schools made Princeton Review’s Best Colleges list –
SFGate.com
Two Valley universities — Univ of the Pacific and Cal State Univ. Stanislaus — made the list.
California’s 114 community colleges add up to a crucial part of solving economic insecurity
CAFWD
The issue of economic insecurity is a huge impediment for millions of Californians who want to achieve the California Dream. Eighteen million Californians live in or near poverty—and something must be done to reduce that number and expand our state’s middle class. The California Economic Summit has launched a public discussion on the issue—called Elevate CA which is recruiting Californians who are similarly concerned. For California Community Colleges Chancellor Eloy Ortiz Oakley, this is an issue near and dear. As a product of, and now leader of, the community colleges—he thinks they are part of the solution.
Is College Worth it? What Graduates Say
Public Policy Institute of California
As college registration deadlines approach, thousands of Californians are making important decisions to invest in their education and long-term career prospects. The vast majority of parents (85%) hope their child earns at least a bachelor’s degree, according to the PPIC Statewide Survey. But how do graduates see it? And how well-informed are their decisions?
Los Angeles Times
UC Irvine, under fire for rescinding nearly 500 admission offers two months before the start of fall term, announced Wednesday that it will reinstate all 290 students whose offers were withdrawn for failing to meet deadlines and other requirements for transcripts and test scores.
How the Trump administration’s potential affirmative action crackdown could affect California’s colleges
The Mercury News
In a move apparently aimed at schools with admissions programs that give underrepresented minorities, like black and Latino students, a boost over other students with similar applications, the Trump administration is preparing to investigate and possibly sue universities that intentionally discriminate against white people.
Justice Department denies broad move against college affirmative action
PBS NewsHour
The Justice Department said Wednesday it had no broad plans to investigate whether college and university admission programs discriminate against students based on race, seeking to defray worries that a job posting signaled an effort to reverse course on affirmative action.
ENVIRONMENT/ENERGY
Environment:
Are new-tech trucks ready to replace diesel, keep California’s pollution-fighting promise?
inland valley daily bulletin
The greatest single source of Valley air pollution is dirty burning diesel equipment. What are they doing in Southern California to eliminate dirty-burning diesel equipment by 2035?
Los Angeles Times
California is confronting the limits of its power to save federal environmental protections as Congress and the Trump administration take aim at a landmark law the state has relied on for decades to clean the air of noxious smog.
‘America is fiddling around’: Jerry Brown says Trump is fueling California’s climate push
Washington Post
When President Trump withdrew the United States from the Paris climate agreement, it stunned the world. But it also had a less predictable effect: turning California Gov. Jerry Brown (D) into Trump’s antithesis and furthering his own climate-crusading agenda.
Energy:
Automakers want Trump to broker a deal that increases fuel economy
Washington Post
You’ve probably heard the old chestnut, “Be careful what you wish for, because you just might get it.” Automakers have come face-to-face with the wisdom of that phrase in recent months, and now that they’ve (sorta) gotten what they wanted, they’re asking President Trump to step in and make things right by setting higher goals for fuel economy.
HEALTH/HUMAN SERVICES
California, 16 other states pledge to defend Obamacare subsidies if Trump drops out of lawsuit
Sacramento Bee
Now that California, 16 other states and the District of Columbia have been given legal standing in a critical court appeal, California Attorney General Xavier Becerra said Wednesday they will fight to preserve the federal funds that underpin their Obamacare health exchanges if the Trump administration bows out of the lawsuit.
Feinstein “Deeply Concerned” with Anthem Rollback of Coverage
KQED
California Senator Diane Feinstein said Wednesday that she was “deeply concerned” by Anthem Blue Cross’s decision to reduce individual health plan coverage for some 150,000 Californians. “I’m unhappy, at first blush, and at second blush, I don’t understand it,” she said in an interview with KQED.
Los Angeles Times
California Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerra, newly empowered to defend Affordable Care Act subsidies in court, accused President Trump on Wednesday of “extortionist tactics” by threatening to undermine the healthcare law.
Politifact CA: Did Gavin Newsom get his facts right on universal health care?
Politifact CA
As Republicans in Washington debate the future of Obamacare, an entirely different conversation has played out in California about creating a universal health care system that covers everyone regardless of their ability to pay.
Senator announces bipartisan health care hearing
CNNPolitics.com
Several Republican and Democrat lawmakers agree that Congress needs to prevent a collapse of the health insurance market, which could hurt millions of consumers — and that concern has opened up some bipartisan dialogue.
Americans Die Younger Despite Spending the Most on Health Care
Bloomberg
The U.S., which spends the most on health care, bucks that trend. Compared to the 35 countries in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, which promotes policies to improve social and economic well-being, the U.S. life expectancy of 78.8 years ranks 27th. It has the fourth highest infant mortality rate in the OECD, the sixth highest maternal mortality rate and the ninth highest likelihood of dying at a younger age from a host of ailments, including cardiovascular disease and cancer.
Why American Health Care Is So Much Worse Than Europe’s
The Atlantic
The Commonwealth Fund recently released an evaluation of what is ailing the American healthcare system. The U.S. performed the worst of 11 industrialized nations and all of this while spending more on healthcare. We are literally spending twice as much as the average industrialized country while providing poorer health care.
Second try at patient notification bill fails in Sacramento
89.3 KPCC
For the second year in a row, a bill that would have required doctors placed on probation for certain offenses to notify their patients has died in the state legislature.
IMMIGRATION
How Trump-backed bill on legal immigration could affect California
San Francisco Chronicle
A bill backed by President Trump that would sharply reduce the number of immigrants who could legally enter the U.S. raised questions in California over possible effects on families, demographics and key sectors of the economy.
See also:
· How a Trump-endorsed overhaul would dramatically change U.S. immigration PBS NewsHour
Trump plan to cut legal immigration doesn’t uphold family values, California leaders say
Sacramento Bee
From U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris to state Attorney General Xavier Becerra, California’s Democratic political leaders were quick to condemn President Donald Trump’s newly announced plan to slash legal immigration to the U.S., described as a dramatic overhaul to national immigration policy.
See also:
· Today: ‘Give Me Your English-Speaking, Skilled Workers Yearning …’ Los Angeles Times
Farmworker visa reforms necessary to address Valley labor issues
Fresno Bee
For decades, immigration reform has been a top concern for many in the United States. Like many Americans, especially those in the Valley, I believe reforming our nation’s immigration system is of critical importance.
ICE agents asked to leave CA labor offices
Sacramento Bee
California’s top labor law enforcer wants federal immigration agents to stay away from offices where state investigators weigh claims about underpaid employees and workplace retaliation.
See also:
· Immigration agents showed up at labor dispute proceedings. California wants to kick them out Los Angeles Times
· MAP: Where ICE Detains Immigrants The California Report – KQED News.
Brookings Institution
As the federal government issues requests for proposals to build the wall, several economists from the University of California San Diego are publishing important findings on what’s really happening with immigration across the U.S.-Mexico border, and asking whether spending on a wall is the best way to solve any existing immigration crisis
LAND USE/HOUSING
Land Use:
Fresno has more than its share of beer, wine and liquor stores
The Fresno Bee
Among California’s 10 largest cities, Fresno has the highest concentration of retail stores licensed by the state to sell beer, wine and liquor – more stores per 10,000 residents than Los Angeles, San Diego, San Jose or San Francisco, and more than the statewide average, a Fresno Bee analysis shows. The number of licensees exceeds what state law typically allows in a community.
Workshop focuses on ideas for invigorating east Stockton
Stockton Record
Speaking to an audience of more than 30 people this week at Fair Oaks, visiting consultant and urban development strategist Michele Reeves had some advice for those who would like to enliven Main Street. Reeves, who is based in Portland, Oregon, said that making Main Street and its storefronts more visually appealing would be a step toward transforming the neighborhood into a destination rather than simply a well-traveled artery through the east Stockton.
Housing:
Housing Negotiations Move Ahead Over Legislative Recess
Capital Public Radio News
After years of inaction, the political will may finally exist to address California’s sky-high housing costs.
California lawmakers are on summer recess right now, but while they’re away, Gov. Jerry Brown and Democratic legislative leaders are putting the finishing touches on a package of bills to address the state’s housing crisis.
Democrats and Republicans see different solutions to California housing crisis
Fox and Hounds Daily
Before the recent legislative recess, California Democratic leaders and Gov. Jerry Brown announced their intention to tackle one of the state’s biggest crises: housing affordability. It’s the rare instance where virtually everyone in the Capitol at least is in agreement about the scope of the problem, even though there’s far less agreement on solutions.
Westly: Don’t let California’s laws and NIMBYism keep you from being able to afford a new home
Modesto Bee
A recent McKinsey report showed that from 2009 to 2014, California added 308 housing units for every 1,000 new residents – half the rate of New York. As a result, housing costs have increased at nearly 2.5 times the national average, and almost half of renters – including the poor and young Californians starting families – spend more than 35 percent of their incomes on housing. Average rents of $2,936 in San Jose and $3,809 in San Francisco are driving away the young workers that new family businesses need to thrive and cities need to stay vibrant. Though California is in desperate need of housing, more than two-thirds of coastal communities have adopted growth-limiting measures. This needs to change. There are three concrete steps we can take to provide the housing California needs.
Where rent control battles are emerging in California
Sacramento Bee
California’s rent control movement, strongest in the late 1970s and early 1980s, is again gaining steam as the state faces an extreme housing shortage that has led to skyrocketing rents and rampant tenant displacement. State officials call it an unprecedented crisis, exacerbated by the erosion of state and federal funding for low-income housing development.
PUBLIC FINANCES
Cash dash: Inside a nerve-rattling trip to pay pot taxes
AP
Jerred Kiloh’s eyes narrowed as he checked his mirror again. The black Chevy SUV with tinted windows was still behind him. It had been hanging off Kiloh’s bumper ever since he nosed out of the parking lot behind his medical-marijuana dispensary with $40,131.88 in cash in the trunk of his hatchback.
Many banks won’t have anything to do with legal pot business
AP
Billions of dollars are expected to flow through California’s legitimate marijuana industry next year when recreational pot becomes legal, but most of those businesses won’t be able to use banks.
TurboTax Change Costs California Charitable Funds
Capital Public Radio
A small change this year to the tax filing software TurboTax likely cost some California charitable funds more than half of their usual proceeds. Programs to combat breast cancer, protect endangered species and fund Special Olympics were just a few that took a financial hit this past year.
TRANSPORTATION
Bridge for high-speed rail opens in Fresno
The Fresno Bee
It’s about eight months later than originally expected, but the California High-Speed Rail Authority is finally ready to open the new Tuolumne Street railroad overcrossingin downtown Fresno.
Federal court avoids big issue for California bullet train
Sacramento Bee
A federal appeals court on Wednesday refused to weigh in on a thorny issue that could complicate California’s plans for a $64 billion bullet train between Los Angeles and San Francisco.
High-speed rail backers lose another round in court
Los Angeles Times
California’s high-speed rail backers suffered a legal setback Wednesday when a U.S. appeals court dismissed as merely advisory a federal board’s decision declaring the project immune from the state’s environmental laws. Maura Dolan in the Los Angeles Times
High-Speed Rail Launches New Interactive Website Focused on Construction Activities
California HSRA
The California High-Speed Rail Authority (Authority) has launched BuildHSR.com, a new interactive website offering quick and easy access to essential information about the 119-miles of construction underway in the Central Valley.
A beloved Gold Country covered bridge is teetering. Here’s the $3 million plan to save it
Sacramento Bee
One of California’s most distinctive bridges, the historic but tottering Bridgeport Covered Bridge in the Nevada County foothills, is about to be saved, thanks to lobbying efforts by local bridge fans and state parks department officials.
Why Building More Freeways Makes Traffic Worse, Not Better
PublicCEO
Why is it that cities cannot build enough capacity to solve the problem? The answer may lie in two factors: the price of housing, and the pricing of congestion.
WATER
In California, Quest For Clean Drinking Water Often Delayed By Paperwork
Valley Public Radio
Drive through the pomegranate and pistachio orchards between highways 41 and 99 and you may stumble upon Valley Teen Ranch, a cluster of residential homes where juvenile offenders come to be rehabilitated.
Erin Brockovich weighs in on California’s removal of limits on chemical made famous in movie
Sacramento Bee
Boxed in by a court ruling, California water regulators have agreed to to eliminate the ceiling on the amount of hexavalent chromium – the toxic chemical made famous in the movie “Erin Brockovich” – that’s allowed in the state’s drinking water supplies.
California faces flash flood threat in south, heat in north
Bakersfield Californian
Monsoonal moisture streaming across Southern California triggered thunderstorms and flash flood watches and warnings again Wednesday while much of the northern half of the state baked in high heat.
$15 Million Claim Filed For Damages From Oroville Dam Spillway Incident
Capital Public Radio
The operators of a Walnut farm in Butte County say flooding from the Oroville Dam emergency in February cost them $15 million due to damaged trees, equipment, and buildings. The growers have filed a claim with the State of California.
“Xtra”
Old Town Clovis Art Hop – Every Friday
Play Fresno
Join us for Old Town Clovis Art Hop every Friday night during Farmers Market (until Sept. 29th)! With more than 50 artists who rotate each evening, this is a great opportunity to support our local artists. There is a wide variety of crafters, photographers, artists, authors & more! You’ll find the artists lining 4th Street at Woodworth Avenue
50th Annual Fiesta Days in Frazier Park
Kerngoldenempire.com
JJ Garcia and Brian Part sit down with Maddie Janssen to discuss the 50th Annual Fiesta Days in Frazier Park.
Seniors snap up US national park passes before price hike
San Francisco Chronicle
Seniors are snapping up so many lifetime passes good for U.S. national parks and other recreation areas ahead of a steep price increase later this month that some government agencies have run out and started issuing vouchers.
Tom Skelton picks his top 5 blind icons
The List
The character comedian chooses his favourite VIPs (Visually Impaired People) throughout history