POLICY & POLITICS
How deadly is I-5 in summer? A report on dangerous highways has answers
Los Angeles Times
California road-trippers, now you have one more reason to be wary while driving on Interstate 5. And U.S. 101 and California 99.
North SJ Valley:
Modesto Chamber CEO out after 2 months in job, reasons behind her departure disputed
Modesto Bee
Modesto Chamber of Commerce CEO-President Cindy Marks is no longer with the organization after just a couple of months on the job, and the reasons behind her departure are in dispute.
Congressman Josh Harder discusses gun control
Modesto Bee
Congressman Josh Harder, D-Turlock, discusses gun control with The Bee’s Editorial Board on Monday, Aug. 5, 2019, following a weekend in which two mass shootings left more than 20 people dead in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio.
See also:
● EDITORIAL: Rep. Josh Harder on guns, racism and impeachment. And what he really thinks of Trump Modesto Bee
U.C. Merced’s Chancellor Talks About a New Chapter
New York Times
One thing is becoming increasingly clear: U.C. Merced, the system’s first new campus to open since 1965, will play a crucial role in educating young, Latino Californians, who have been historically underrepresented at the university.
From trash to treasure: Years of work on Tuolumne River in Modesto have paid off
Modesto Bee
Now in its sixth year, Operation 9-2-99 cleanups have cleared more than 400 tons of debris, Guptill said, including between 1,200 and 1,300 shopping carts and about the same number of tires. One January day last year alone, between four and five tons of refuse was hauled from homeless encampments on the banks of Dry Creek in Moose Park.
EDITORIAL: $3 million loss? Let’s put students — not money — first in Modesto charter decision
Modesto Bee
The proposal for a new charter school in Modesto serving mostly immigrant and refugee students from throughout Stanislaus County should be approved because it represents those students’ best opportunity to succeed.
Central SJ Valley:
Fresno Mayor vetoes policy that would end raises for Fresno employees who already quit
Fresno Bee
Mayor Lee Brand on Monday struck down a new amendment from the Fresno City Council meant to bring greater transparency to pay raises for high-ranking city employees after they’ve submitted their resignation.
Warszawski: Who is ‘attacking’ Jerry Dyer in 2020 Fresno mayoral race? Could it be … Satan?
Fresno Bee
Writing to the rank-and-file officers of the Fresno Police Department, the 18-year chief explained his decision to enter the 2020 mayoral race rather than ease into retirement while touching on fundraising and his “One Fresno” campaign theme.
Proposed Censure Includes Anger Management for Trustee Slatic
GV Wire
A proposed censure of Fresno Unified School District trustee Terry Slatic would remove him from committee leaderships and bar him from representing the district at public events until he completes a district-approved anger management program.
Tulare’s Connie Conway lands USDA job
Visalia Times-Delta
Tulare politician Connie Conway’s deep GOP connections have paid off: The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced on Monday she was appointed as the new state executive director for the USDA Farm Service Agency.
South SJ Valley:
After Horrific Losses, Bakersfield Moms May Push For Public Safety Tax
VPR
The mothers hope to improve and fund public safety in Kern County, potentially by pushing for a sales tax on the ballot. If the women decide to move forward with the tax initiative they will need to collect 13,000 signatures to qualify for the March 2020 ballot.
Hard Rock casino could ease county’s water worries, officials say
Bakersfield Californian
As the Tejon Tribe casino makes its way through the regulatory process, concerns have been raised over the impact the complex will have on the county’s groundwater.
State:
Shape California’s Future – Extended Deadline to Aug. 19
California State Auditor
Today, the California State Auditor reported an uptick in applications by eligible individuals interested in serving on the next 14-member Citizens Redistricting Commission. To date, more than 13,735 applications have been submitted. The Commission is tasked with redrawing Congressional, State Senate, State Assembly, and State Board of Equalization districts.
See also:
● California stretches applicant deadline to draw political districts—pool’s too white, too male CALmatters
● Redistricting commission extends deadline as diversity of applicants lags San Francisco Chronicle
● The Citizen’s Redistricting Commission: Open for Business Public Policy Institute of California
What is a ‘California Indian tribe’? How a proposed law unearthed a decades-old wound
Fresno Bee
When ancestral remains found during building projects or held by government agencies are returned to a Redding-area tribe in a process called repatriation, members hold a formal ceremony to rebury the findings.
4 sue to block California tax return law aimed at Trump
Bakersfield Californian
Four California voters have sued to block a new state law aimed at forcing Republican President Donald Trump to release his income tax returns.
See also:
● California sued over new law targeting Trump’s tax returns ahead of 2020 election Sacramento Bee
● California Faces Second Challenge to Presidential Tax Return Law Bloomberg
● What’s Trump hiding? Newsom was right to insist presidential candidates release their tax returns CALmatters
Despite California’s travel ban, lawmakers find ways to visit states with ‘anti-LGBTQ’ laws
Los Angeles Times
Three years after the California Legislature banned taxpayer-financed travel to states it saw as discriminating against LGBTQ people, lawmakers and university athletic teams are still visiting the boycotted states and finding other ways to pay for their trips.
Mathews: The Ugly Lessons of California’s Longest-Serving Federal Judge
Fox&Hounds
What the obituaries missed was Real’s routinely awful treatment of people in his courtroom, and a decision-making style so rushed and lawless that he was routinely reversed by higher courts.
Conservative Activist Carl DeMaio announces challenge for Rep. Duncan Hunter’s congressional seat
San Diego Union-Tribune
Hunter, who resides in Alpine, is scheduled to go on trial Sept. 10 on 60 criminal counts, including charges that he used $250,000 in campaign funds for family bills, vacations, alleged affairs and a list of other personal expenses.
EDITORIAL: California’s insurance commissioner faces ethics questions
San Francisco Chronicle
Politicians are condemned for taking potentially compromising contributions often enough to have developed standard responses — among them, blaming one’s incompetent campaign treasurer. The trouble for state Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara is that he served as his own campaign treasurer.
Federal:
Los Angeles Times
The Department of Homeland Security, which is charged with identifying threats and preventing domestic terrorism, has sought to redirect resources away from countering anti-government, far-right and white supremacist groups.
See also:
● Donald Trump doesn’t think white nationalism is on the rise. Data show otherwise PolitiFact
If Our Economy Is So Great, Why Did The Fed Vote To Juice It?
NPR
Last week, policymakers at the Federal Reserve voted to bring interest rates down. Down! That’s despite a decade of economic growth, record low unemployment, solid corporate profits, and a good stock market.
See also:
● America Needs an Independent Fed Wall Street Journal
● Former Fed Leaders Plea for Central Bank’s Political Independence Wall Street Journal
● EDITORIAL: The Very Political Fed Wall Street Journal
Trump’s Judges Are Largely White and Male: His Impact By The Numbers
NPR
In all, around 70% of Trump’s judicial appointees are white men. Dozens of those nominees have refused to answer whether they support the Supreme Court’s holding in Brown v. Board of Education, the 1954 opinion that said racial segregation of public schools is unconstitutional.
GOP taxed church parking to help pay for big tax cut. Now pastors want it rolled back
Sacramento Bee
Your pastor’s reserved church parking space is now subject to a federal tax, and Congress is trying to get rid of it. Repeal is moving ahead on Capitol Hill, and lawmakers are taking important steps to get rid of what’s called the church parking tax.
Opinion: The Democrats’ impeachment conundrum
The Hill
There is a compelling case that President Donald Trump committed impeachable offenses. The stylistic shortcomings of the special counsel’s congressional testimony and questions from dozens of members doesn’t change the underlying charges in the Mueller report.
Elections 2020:
Fact check: Is Joe Biden right that Kamala Harris failed to act on school segregation?
Sacramento Bee
Harris had accused Biden of opposing busing during the first debate. On Wednesday night, she was on the receiving end of an attack from Biden about school segregation. Two things Biden said were incorrect.
Is The Field Too Big For Kamala Harris?
FiveThirtyEight
Not every voter has to love you. But they should all at least like you. Usually, this is accomplished by adopting policy positions that represent a rough average of the voters in your party — and which are also fairly closely aligned with the views of party elites who can influence the nomination process.
Fox: Steyer Strategy Has a Plus Side
Fox&Hounds
Many pundits decreed that Steyer, a California billionaire activist, jumped into the presidential contest too late. But that strategy could pay off if Steyer manages to make the next debates while the forest of candidates is cleared of dead wood.
Opinion: When Biden Was Tough on Crime
Wall Street Journal
How do we judge policy decisions made in the past? As a chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Mr. Biden was an architect of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994.
Voter Access Matters in 2020, and These Lawmakers Know It
Pew Research
In some states, Republican-led legislatures restricted voting access in ways that experts say would disproportionately affect Democratic voters. In more states, however, Democratic-led legislatures opened access in ways that could help that same voting bloc.
Other:
GateHouse Media owner to acquire USA TODAY owner Gannett
Visalia Times-Delta
GateHouse Media’s owner and Gannett have agreed to merge in a deal aimed at cutting overlapping costs and enabling the combined company to pursue a digital transformation as the media industry grapples with the disruptive forces of online news, social media and smartphones. (Stockton Record impacted.)
See also:
● Gannett, the Owner of USA Today, Is About to Get a Whole Lot Bigger New York Times
● America’s two largest newspaper chains are joining forces. Will it save either? Washington Post
States Battle Big Tech Over Data Privacy Laws
Pew Research
Discomfort over the collection and sale of personal data led to a flurry of consumer data privacy bills in 2019, as state legislatures vied to follow California’s lead in giving users more control of personal information.
Judges to hear appeal in lawsuit over John Steinbeck works
AP News
Another chapter is set to play out this week in a decades-old family dispute over control of the classic works by author John Steinbeck.
MADDY INSTITUTE PUBLIC POLICY PROGRAMMING
Sunday, August 11, at 10 a.m. on ABC30 – Maddy Report: “Assessing State Policies on Climate Change” – Guest: Ross Brown – LAO. Host: Maddy Institute Executive Director, Mark Keppler.
Sunday, August 11, at 10 a.m. on Newstalk 580AM/105.9FM (KMJ) –Maddy Report – Valley Views Edition: “Climate Change Generally and Air Pollution Locally” – Guests: Will Barrett, Director of Advocacy, Clean Air for the American Lung Association in California and Samir Sheikh, Executive Director of the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District. Host: Maddy Institute Executive Director, Mark Keppler.
Sunday, August 11, at 7:30 a.m. on UniMas 61 (KTTF) – El Informe Maddy: “Agua en el Valle de San Joaquin: Un reporte de PPIC” – Invitados: Alvar Escriva-Bou, investigador del PPIC. Presentado Por: Coordinadora del Programa del Maddy Institute, Maria Jeans.
AGRICULTURE/FOOD
Latest move in US-China trade war could impact Valley farmers
abc30
China is stepping away from all U.S. farm product imports as a trade war heats up between the world’s two largest economies.
Fresno is ground (beef) zero for McDonald’s new Quarter Pounder
Business Journal
From supplying eggs, to beef patties, to fresh, never-frozen patties to a possibly meatless beyond — the relationship between Cargill Meat Solutions and McDonald’s has evolved over the decades, and so are the products they create together.
New website allows people to own farmland without all the hard work
abc30
A South Valley farmer wants to help others own a piece of a farm, without all the work. FarmFundr is a crowdfunding website that allows people to invest in agriculture.
Tulare’s Connie Conway lands USDA job
Visalia Times-Delta
Tulare politician Connie Conway’s deep GOP connections have paid off: The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced on Monday she was appointed as the new state executive director for the USDA Farm Service Agency.
CRIMINAL JUSTICE / FIRE / PUBLIC SAFETY
Crime:
Were existing gun laws enough to prevent Gilroy, El Paso and Dayton shootings?
Fresno Bee
Rep. Devin Nunes, a California congressman, said Sunday that America doesn’t need new gun regulation laws to prevent mass shootings. Instead, he said, the nation’s existing laws are sufficient.
See also:
● California lawmaker brings back $25 gun tax plan after multiple mass shootings Fresno Bee
● Would Dianne Feinstein’s assault weapons ban stop future mass shootings? Fresno Bee
● El Paso deaths climb to 22 as mayor prepares for Trump visit Fresno Bee
● Trump suggests red flag laws, but gun rights advocates dislike the original abc30
● Mass shootings raise level of anxiety, hyper-vigilance for locals Bakersfield Californian
● In wake of mass shootings, California considers new ways to fight violent extremism Bakersfield Californian
● Trump wants to take guns from people in crisis. Will ‘extreme risk protection’ laws work? Sacramento Bee
● ‘Hate Has No Place’ In America, Trump Says After El Paso And Dayton Shootings Capital Public Radio
● How The U.S. Compares With Other Countries In Deaths From Gun Violence Capital Public Radio
● How California got tough on guns CALmatters
● ‘We were safe until he started talking’: El Paso residents respond to President Trump Los Angeles Times
● For Latinos, El Paso is a devastating new low in a Trump era Los Angeles Times
● Trump blames internet, video games and mental illness — not guns — for mass shootings Los Angeles Times
● No link between video games and violence, studies have shown Los Angeles Times
● Politicians Again Blame Video Games for Shootings, Despite Evidence New York Times
● Experts: Mental illness not main driver of mass shootings AP News
● Trump Confronts Violence—and a Bitter National Divide Wall Street Journal
● Trump attacks Obama for statement on shootings Politico
● Foreign countries are warning their citizens about U.S. travel after mass shootings Los Angeles Times
● Mass shootings give gun control cause new strength — for now San Francisco Chronicle
● Shootings seem like terror but unlikely to be charged that way San Francisco Chronicle
● Gun Control Groups, Having Given Up on Trump, Look to 2020 New York Times
● Gun-Rights Lobby Faces Challenges on and Off the Hill Wall Street Journal
● Republicans Fear ‘Extinction in the Suburbs’ Over Gun Control Bloomberg
● Data Source: Firearms Tracing System Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives
● Using Social Media to Prevent Mass Shootings Faces Challenges Wall Street Journal
● How do you solve a problem like 8chan? Politico
● After shootings, tech companies assess role in online hate speech San Francisco Chronicle
● Gun violence in America: A true national security threat Brookings
● More mass shootings than days this year in U.S., report says CBS
● El Paso & Dayton Mass Shootings: Donald Trump Right to Call for Red-Flag Laws National Review
● Two Days, Two Cities, Two Massacres New York Times
● Trump mass shooting response: Quick death penalty proposed Miami Herald
● Opinion: Nearly all mass shooters have 4 things in common Los Angeles Times
● EDITORIAL: Evil is the root of gun violence in America. Let’s find a way to root it out Sierra Star
● EDITORIAL: Trump’s cynical response to mass shootings falls far short of what’s needed to protect the U.S. Los Angeles Times
● EDITORIAL: Cloudflare’s right choice to ban an online refuge for terrorism San Francisco Chronicle
● EDITORIAL: Politics and the Shooters Wall Street Journal
Kamala Harris wants answers about understaffed California prison. She isn’t getting them
Fresno Bee
California Sen. Kamala Harris sent a stern letter to the Department of Justice this summer raising questions about a hot and under-staffed federal prison in the San Joaquin Valley with a chronically broken air conditioning system.
Public Safety:
California ammo check law blocked 100 sales in first month
Fresno Bee
California’s new ammunition background check law in its first month stopped more than 100 people from buying bullets illegally, officials said late Monday as they struggled to deter more of the mass shootings that have roiled California and other states over the last week.
See also:
● California Gov. Gavin Newsom calls for national background checks to buy ammunition Fresno Bee
● California ammo background check law blocked 100-plus sales last month. Is it making the state safer? Los Angeles Times
● Why are most shooters male? Newsom says gender must be part of national gun control discussion Politico
After Horrific Losses, Bakersfield Moms May Push For Public Safety Tax
VPR
The mothers hope to improve and fund public safety in Kern County, potentially by pushing for a sales tax on the ballot. If the women decide to move forward with the tax initiative they will need to collect 13,000 signatures to qualify for the March 2020 ballot.
Five puppies were raised by California prison inmates. Now they’re certified service dogs.
Sacramento Bee
The program may reduce recidivism in inmate populations, according to a 2019 report by the American Correctional Association. And any of Mule Creek’s 4,000-plus male inmates on good behavior can be selected to participate — even murderers.
Fire:
Fire restrictions hit Sequoia, Kings Canyon
Visalia Times-Delta
Skyrocketing temperatures, late-season rains and an abundance of dead trees and brush have created tinderbox in the foothills of Tulare County.
When It Comes to Wildfire Solutions, Relocating Communities Is a Tough Sell
KQED
They call it “managed retreat.” In short, it means getting out of harm’s way, literally moving people and possibly whole communities to higher ground.
Record-High Share of Californians Worried about Climate-Fueled Wildfires
Public Policy Institute of California
A record-high share of Californians (71%) report that they are concerned about wildfires becoming more severe as a result of global warming. Concern over climate-fueled wildfires is significantly higher than concern about other potential global-warming impacts.
ECONOMY / JOBS
Economy:
S&P 500 plunges in worst loss of year as trade war escalates
Fresno Bee
U.S. stocks plunged to their worst loss of the year Monday and investors around the world scrambled to sell on worries about how much President Donald Trump’s worsening trade war will damage the global economy.
See also:
● China’s yuan falls further to US dollar amid trade war fears Fresno Bee
● Stocks plunge on Wall Street as US-China trade war escalates abc30
● Stock Markets Take Another Hit As The Trade War With China Heats Up Capital Public Radio
● U.S. labels China a ‘currency manipulator’ as stocks fall and trade war worsens Los Angeles Times
● Asian stocks follow Wall Street lower as trade war worsens San Francisco Chronicle
● Treasury Dept. designates China a ‘currency manipulator,’ a major escalation of the trade war Washington Post
● U.S. Designates China as Currency Manipulator Wall Street Journal
● Trump is increasingly relying on himself — not his aides — in trade war with China Washington Post
● Wall Street just chalked up its worst day of 2019. Here’s who won, who lost and why. Washington Post
● EDITORIAL: Trade War Becomes Currency War Wall Street Journal
Jobs:
Target hiring for multiple positions at stores across the Valley
abc30
Target locations across the Valley are looking to hire new associates in the upcoming weeks. According to the company’s website, as many as 50 positions at Fresno, Clovis, Tulare and Visalia locations. The company says it offers wages starting at $13 an hour.
California AB 5 – How Significant Could One Bill Be?
Littler
In this podcast, the speakers explain how AB 5 – if enacted in its current form – could dramatically alter the legal landscape of California’s employment classification law.
EDUCATION
K-12:
New elementary school opens its doors in Visalia
abc30
A new elementary school in Visalia opened its doors getting ready to welcome students for their first day of school. Parents, principals and students came together at the new Denton Elementary School campus on Monday for the official ribbon cutting.
Proposed Censure Includes Anger Management for Trustee Slatic
GV Wire
A proposed censure of Fresno Unified School District trustee Terry Slatic would remove him from committee leaderships and bar him from representing the district at public events until he completes a district-approved anger management program.
SUSD juniors can apply to join innovator program
Stockton Record
Current high school juniors across Stockton Unified who want to be the next wave of leaders can take part of a diverse youth corps to become change agents within their own communities.
Here’s where you can get school supplies just in time for back to school
Bakersfield Californian
School is just around the corner, and with a new school year comes the need to buy new backpacks, pencils, notebooks and other supplies. With that said, the Bakersfield community is here to help.
Bulletproof Backpacks in Demand for Back-to-School Shopping
New York Times
A growing number of companies are marketing them to parents who are desperate to protect their children from gunmen.
Opinion: Toddlers Don’t Have to Go to School
Wall Street Journal
Young children are exuberant; they play and explore, wiggling their way through childhood. Standardized curriculum frameworks and frequent testing pressure children to sit still, pay attention and achieve academically before they may be developmentally ready to do so.
EDITORIAL: $3 million loss? Let’s put students — not money — first in Modesto charter decision
Modesto Bee
The proposal for a new charter school in Modesto serving mostly immigrant and refugee students from throughout Stanislaus County should be approved because it represents those students’ best opportunity to succeed.
Higher Ed:
U.C. Merced’s Chancellor Talks About a New Chapter
New York Times
One thing is becoming increasingly clear: U.C. Merced, the system’s first new campus to open since 1965, will play a crucial role in educating young, Latino Californians, who have been historically underrepresented at the university.
Why California needs to institute a ‘student borrower bill of rights’
Los Angeles Times
Several million Californians have education debt to pay off but too often get tripped up by a terribly complex repayment system and shoddy treatment by loan servicers.
Opinion: ‘Bias Teams’ Welcome the Class of 1984
Wall Street Journal
Hundreds of American colleges have “bias-response teams” or similar mechanism for students or faculty to report bias incidents. These systems enforce political correctness and turn campuses into miniature surveillance states.
ENVIRONMENT/ ENERGY
Environment:
The biggest recycling store chain in California just closed its doors. Here’s why.
Fresno Bee
The largest bottle and can recycling center chain in California, rePlanet, shut its doors Monday, terminating its entire workforce and creating a massive gap in recycling availability in the state.
Locals feared dead eagle was shot, but necropsy solves mystery, Calif. officials say
Sacramento Bee
A bald eagle was found dead last month in Milpitas, California — and locals who loved the young raptor and its family feared something sinister.
July confirmed as hottest month recorded
CNN
July 2019 has replaced July 2016 as the hottest month on record, with meteorologists saying that global temperatures marginally exceeded the previous record.
Record-High Share of Californians Worried about Climate-Fueled Wildfires
Public Policy Institute of California
A record-high share of Californians (71%) report that they are concerned about wildfires becoming more severe as a result of global warming. Concern over climate-fueled wildfires is significantly higher than concern about other potential global-warming impacts.
Energy:
Give Up Your Gas Stove To Save The Planet? Banning Gas Is The Next Climate Push
Capital Public Radio
As more cities and states try to cut carbon emissions, natural gas is becoming a target. The city of Berkeley, Calif., just became the first to ban it in new homes, but it may not be the last.
Energy Department wants to build nuclear test reactor
Los Angeles Times
A new nuclear test reactor is needed as part of an effort to revamp the nation’s fading nuclear power industry by developing safer fuel and power plants, the U.S. Department of Energy said Monday.
To Counteract Trump on Climate, States Set Clean Energy Targets
Pew Research
Democratic state lawmakers passed a wave of bills this year they hope will reduce greenhouse gas emissions and combat climate change, even as the Trump administration moves in the opposite direction.
Opinion: If You Want ‘Renewable Energy,’ Get Ready to Dig
Wall Street Journal
A single electric-car battery weighs about 1,000 pounds. Fabricating one requires digging up, moving and processing more than 500,000 pounds of raw materials somewhere on the planet.
HEALTH/HUMAN SERVICES
Health:
FUSD host free immunization clinics ahead of school year
abc30
For many kids, the school year will start back up in the next couple of weeks. Fresno Unified School District is hosting free immunization clinics to ensure all their students are ready and healthy to head back to school.
Modesto neighborhood sprayed for mosquito that can spread Zika virus
Modesto Bee
A mosquito that can spread Zika virus is now a confirmed resident of Stanislaus County and will require annual monitoring and a commitment of resources to keep it in check.
More teens are vaping now than ever. Let’s stop talking tough and start regulating
Sacramento Bee
The National Institute on Drug Abuse reported in December that the percentage of high school seniors who admitted to vaping during the previous 12 months had shot up to 37.3 percent, nearly 10 percentage points higher than just a year before.
Human Services:
Why drug companies, hospitals are spending big at state Capitol – and what it means for you
Fresno Bee
Drug companies, hospitals and dialysis companies spent millions of dollars in the first half of the year fighting bills that would have hurt their bottom lines, according to lobbying reports filed last week.
CA hospitals asking lawmakers to scale back costly earthquake standards
abc30
California hospitals are asking lawmakers to scale back some earthquake standards that could cost billions and force them to close.
See also:
● California Hospitals Question 2030 Earthquake Standards Capital Public Radio
For Cash-Strapped Older Adults, A Costly Wait For Medicare
Capital Public Radio
Medicare covers nearly all seniors in California – only 1.4% of those 65 and older in the state lack health insurance, according to a study conducted by UC Berkeley looking at the years 2015 to 2017. But nearly 9% of Californians ages 50 to 64 are uninsured.
Brookings
One particular issue that has garnered attention in recent months is surprise out-of-network billing, where consumers receive very large bills for out-of-network care even though they did not intend to select an out-of-network health care provider.
IMMIGRATION
Trump referred to immigrant ‘invasion’ in 2,000 Facebook ads, analysis reveals
The Guardian
Donald Trump blamed the internet and social media for the “racist hate” displayed by the suspect in the El Paso massacre, but his own re-election campaign has characterized immigration as an “invasion” in more than 2,000 Facebook ads this year.
LAND USE/HOUSING
Land Use:
Marie Callender’s is closing 19 locations. See which Valley locations are among them
Fresno Bee
Both the Marie Callender’s Restaurant & Bakery locations in Fresno have closed. The location at Cedar and Shaw avenues, and the other one on Blackstone Avenue, across the street from River Park, were both closed Monday morning.
See also:
● Modesto’s Marie Callender’s restaurant closes abruptly; customers, employees shocked Modesto Bee
● Local Marie Callender’s Restaurant on Oswell permanently closed Bakersfield Californian
The Economist
There is a revolution happening in European cities: one of calm streets, squares and parks. Europe is edging towards making post-car cities a reality.
Housing:
Insurance Companies in California Work Hard to Avoid Public Hearings Over Rate Hikes
Voice of San Diego
Imagine that your insurance company doubles what you must pay to protect your home. Imagine that a small group of people know this might happen, but they have little intention of making sure you know. That’s actually how it works in California – the state with the most highly regulated insurance market in the country.
EDITORIAL: In the midst of California’s housing crisis, construction slows and lawmakers stall
Los Angeles Times
At a time when California desperately needs to be building a lot more housing to ease the statewide shortage that is driving up prices and fueling homelessness, the pace of residential construction is going down instead of up.
PUBLIC FINANCES
More than 1,000 public pensions in California are so big they exceed IRS limits
Sacramento Bee
Last year McDougal’s pension was about $337,000 — nearly a third more than the federal maximum for public pensions. The excess portion comes out of his former employer’s annual budget instead of the state’s public retirement system.
Budget Decider: Making choices that impact millions
CALmatters
California lawmakers have passed a $215 billion budget filled with progressive eye-catchers. But what if you had the awesome power to tax and spend, charting a new course for California?
TRANSPORTATION
Amtrak plans new bus service from Madera. Here’s what it means for train passengers
Sierra Star
A new Amtrak Thruway bus service is being planned to connect Madera’s Amtrak station to San Jose starting in the spring of 2020.
The Economist
There is a revolution happening in European cities: one of calm streets, squares and parks. Europe is edging towards making post-car cities a reality.
How deadly is I-5 in summer? A report on dangerous highways has answers
Los Angeles Times
California road-trippers, now you have one more reason to be wary while driving on Interstate 5. And U.S. 101 and California 99.
Former DMV employee sentenced for fraudulently upgrading licenses
Fresno Bee
A former Department of Motor Vehicles employee has been sentenced for granting commercial licenses to drivers who did not pass their tests, according to the Tulare County District Attorney’s Office.
For Pedestrian and Biking Projects, Some Progress in Latest Highway Bill
Route Fifty
Pedestrian and bicycling infrastructure would get a big boost in the Senate’s latest transportation funding plan, increasing by 40 percent to $1.2 billion per year.
WATER
From trash to treasure: Years of work on Tuolumne River in Modesto have paid off
Modesto Bee
Now in its sixth year, Operation 9-2-99 cleanups have cleared more than 400 tons of debris, Guptill said, including between 1,200 and 1,300 shopping carts and about the same number of tires. One January day last year alone, between four and five tons of refuse was hauled from homeless encampments on the banks of Dry Creek in Moose Park.
California Releases Roadmap for Water Resources Sustainability
CAFWD
Earlier this month, the Department of Water Resources (DWR) released the California Water Plan Update 2018. Update 2018 outlines state strategies and actions for managing California’s most precious resource in every region of the state.
Hard Rock casino could ease county’s water worries, officials say
Bakersfield Californian
As the Tejon Tribe casino makes its way through the regulatory process, concerns have been raised over the impact the complex will have on the county’s groundwater.
Is Hetch Hetchy worth $100 billion?
San Francisco Chronicle
The fantasy of Hetch Hetchy’s grand return was recently given new dimensions with the release of an economic assessment concluding that the valley represents a sunken treasure trove of tourism revenue.
“Xtra”
Valley Children’s, ABC30 team up for telethon to raise money for patients
abc30
Care comes at a price, which is why Valley Children’s Hospital and ABC30 are partnering together for the Futures Worth Fighting for Telethon.
Party To Make A Difference: CASA’s Summer Fun Street Fair
Sierra News
Join friends and neighbors on Saturday, Aug. 10 from 4 to 9 p.m. for the third year of Mariposa’s Summer Fun Street Fair as the community gathers downtown to make a difference in the lives of local children. You’re almost guaranteed to have a lot of good community fun while doing so.
Reading program ends with a bang
Porterville Recorder
The Porterville Public Library celebrated the end of its summer reading program Saturday evening with a finale spectacular downtown at Centennial Plaza Park.
National Night Out happening Tuesday at Rabobank Convention Center
Bakersfield Californian
The Bakersfield Police Department will host the 36th annual National Night Out from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday at Rabobank Convention Center, 1001 Truxtun Ave. in downtown Bakersfield.