POLICY & POLITICS
North SJ Valley:
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Central SJ Valley:
Newsom visits Fresno: Economy, health, housing issues at forefront of conversation
Fresno Bee
Gov.-elect Gavin Newsom discussed a myriad of key issues Friday with dozens of central San Joaquin Valley leaders and more than 100 community members in a tightly packed town hall meeting in central Fresno.
See also:
● Gavin Newsom visits Fresno, calls for 'fresh start' on High Speed Rail abc30
● Gov.-elect Gavin Newsom drops hints about budget, vows not to ignore the Central Valley Los Angeles Times
Madera Tribune
An overflow crowd of residents, family and well-wishers filled City Hall Council Chambers on Wednesday night to welcome new Council members Santos Garcia and Steve Montes, and cheer the reelection Council Member CeCe Gallegos.
Madera Tribune
Swiftly and without discussion, four of five Madera County supervisors approved a roughly $2,500 salary increase for themselves at their regular meeting Tuesday morning.
OPINION: How Democrats flipped Valadao’s seat and went after Nunes
The Fresno Bee
In Valadao’s district in Kings, Kern, Tulare and Fresno counties, activists from Communities for a New California and Valley Forward contacted over 40,000 voters. They deserve much credit for Democrat T.J. Cox’s narrow victory over Valadao.
South SJ Valley:
Two top leaders in Tulare step down as city council set to meet
Visalia Times Delta
Two long-time Tulare public servants who recently served as interim department heads during tumultuous months announced Friday was their last day.
County Counsel Mark Nations says goodbye to Bakersfield for balmier shores
Bakersfield Californian
After more than 30 years in Kern County’s legal department, County Counsel Mark Nations has moved on. His last day on the job was Friday. He won’t sit idle for long in his semi-retirement.
State:
California’s outdated election scoreboard fuels baseless suspicion as vote count ends
Los Angeles Times
The morning after the Nov. 6 congressional midterm election in California, state, county and media websites reported that 100% of precincts had turned in their results. It was highly misleading.
See also:
● California midterm voter turnout tops 64 percent AP News
● November’s election results will make it harder and more costly to put propositions on the California ballot Los Angeles Times
● Analysis | The Trailer: What we learned from all the 2018 results: The winners, losers, flippers, voters and spenders Washington Post
Los Angeles Times
Rather than take responsibility for their losses, Republicans have seized on a new state law that allows third parties to collect and turn in other people’s mail ballots to explain why they were so badly defeated in California races on Nov. 6.
See also:
● Are Republicans abandoning democracy? Washington Post
Los Angeles Times
Five former political directors of the California Republican Party have called on state GOP leadership to renounce nationalist speech used by President Trump as well as candidates who embrace “messages of hatred, division and rhetoric that divides us by race.”
Federal:
Kamala Harris aide who resigned after harassment case was one of her closest confidantes
Merced Sun-Star
For more than a decade, Larry Wallace was one of Kamala Harris’ closest professional confidantes. That ended abruptly Wednesday, when Wallace resigned after The Sacramento Bee inquired about a $400,000 harassment and retaliation settlement resulting from his time at the Department of Justice.
See also:
● Harris aide resigns after harassment settlement surfaces San Francisco Chronicle
● EDITORIAL: At minimum, Harris should’ve known key staff member was accused of harassment Sacramento Bee
Top House Dems raise prospect of impeachment, jail for Trump
Fresno Bee
Top House Democrats have raised the prospect of impeachment or the real possibility of prison time for President Donald Trump if it's proved that he directed illegal hush-money payments to women, adding to the legal pressure on the president over the Russia investigation and other scandals.
See also:
● Trump directed Cohen to make hush money payments during 2016 campaign: Prosecutors abc30
● Mueller says Trump's ex-campaign chief Paul Manafort lied about Russian contact Hanford Sentinel
● Prosecutors say ex-Trump lawyer Michael Cohen deserves substantial prison time, despite his cooperation Hanford Sentinel
● Whether a president can be prosecuted remains in dispute Sacramento Bee
● Alleged Trump actions would be ‘impeachable’ if proved, says key House Democrat. So now what? Los Angeles Times
● Early on, Trump-Russia obsessives were marginalized; they're prophets now Los Angeles Times
Trump says chief of staff John Kelly will leave at the end of the year
abc30
President Donald Trump announced that his chief of staff, John Kelly, will leave at the end of the year. A replacement will be named, possibly on an interim basis, Trump told reporters Saturday.
See also:
● Trump says Chief of Staff John Kelly will leave job at end of the year Hanford Sentinel
● Pence aide out of running to be Trump’s next chief of staff Stockton Record
● John F. Kelly, hired to bring order to White House, to leave as Trump's chief of staff after bumpy tenure Los Angeles Times
● Trump's pick for chief of staff, Nick Ayers, out of running Los Angeles Times
Trump to nominate William Barr as attorney general, Heather Nauert as UN ambassador
Hanford Sentinel
President Donald Trump says he will nominate William Barr, attorney general under President George H.W. Bush, as his next attorney general. Trump is also nominating State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert to be U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.
See also:
● EDITORIAL: Senate must scrutinize Trump latest picks San Francisco Chronicle
● Appellate court vacancies may be scarce in coming years, limiting Trump’s impact Brookings
U.S. legal action against Huawei executive could backfire in unexpected ways
Los Angeles Times
The arrest of Meng Wanzhou, vice chairwoman of Chinese smartphone giant Huawei, is seen in Beijing as an attack on China designed to block its technological advance. But an unintended result could be to bolster China’s global rise.
‘His word isn’t good’: Dems don’t trust Trump to make shutdown deal
POLITICO
Expectations are low that anything will come of a meeting between Chuck Schumer, Nancy Pelosi and Donald Trump.
● Can Trump cut budget deal with 'Chuck and Nancy' to fund his border wall? Los Angeles Times
Meet the Bottomless Pinocchio, a new rating for a false claim repeated over and over again
Washington Post
President Trump rarely stops repeating false statements in response to fact checks, so 14 of his repeated claims make the initial list.
Other:
A farewell reflection on the 41st chief
Madera Tribune
Last week experienced a national day of mourning for the death of President George Herbert Walker Bush, 94. The former commander in chief died Nov. 30, just seven months after the death of his wife of 73 years, Barbara, in April.
Malevolent soft power, AI, and the threat to democracy
Brookings
While the internet can still mobilize large numbers of people to political action, it can also spew false information about candidates, suppress the vote, and affect the voter rolls and the election machinery of the state.
The Hardest Glass Ceiling in Politics
POLITICO Magazine
Women rarely get to run campaigns, or fill top roles in campaigns. And the women who do work in politics often feel belittled and cut out of the major strategic roles and decisions—even in this, the “Year of the Woman,” with 42 new women elected to the Senate and the House.
CNPA
Following is a list of the new laws that staff has identified as having a potential impact on newspapers that will take effect on Jan. 1, 2019, unless otherwise noted.
Your Apps Know Where You Were Last Night, and They’re Not Keeping It Secret
The New York Time
The millions of dots on the map trace highways, side streets and bike trails — each one following the path of an anonymous cellphone user.
Reporting Norms Are Never Timeless
The Nation
A new history of American newspapers traces today's debates about journalism to shifts in tech and politics 50 years ago.
MADDY INSTITUTE PUBLIC POLICY PROGRAMMING
Sunday, December 16, at 10 a.m. on ABC 30 – Maddy Report: “California’s 2018 Election Results: A Political Tsunami?” – Guests: Mindy Romero, USC Price School of Public Policy; John Myers, LA Times; Laurel Rosenhall, CALmatters; Joel Fox, Fox & Hounds. Host: Maddy Institute Executive Director, Mark Keppler.
Sunday, December 16, at 10 a.m. on Newstalk 580AM/105.9FM (KMJ) – Maddy Report - Valley Views Edition: “November Elections Results: State Blue, Valley Purple” – Guests: Paul Hurley former reporter at Visalia Times-Delta and Mike Dunbar, reporter at Modesto Bee. Host: Maddy Institute Executive Director, Mark Keppler.
Sunday, December 16, at 7:30 a.m. on UniMas 61 (KTTF) – El Informe Maddy: “Los Diez mas Importantes de California” – Guest: Alexei Koseff, Reportero de Sacramento Bee. Host: Maddy Institute Program Coordinator, Maria Jeans
AGRICULTURE/FOOD
Local leader says community program helps the homeless with more than a meal
abc30
On a Sunday morning men at the Fresno Rescue Mission prep the kitchen for meals. But down the street a group of homeless people were being fed by several different groups of good Samaritans.
This is how much in taxes marijuana customers will pay in Modesto
Modesto Bee
The City Council in Modesto, California, has approved a tax rate for cannabis retailers and other marijuana businesses, including distribution, microbusiness, manufacturing, indoor cultivation and testing labs. The first permits could be handed out within weeks from now.
See Also:
● Regulators: Pot Deliveries Can Be Made Throughout California, Even Cities That Ban Cannabis Capital Public Radio
● California advances plan to allow home deliveries of cannabis in cities that ban pot shops Los Angeles Times
● Marijuana Legalization and Crime in California’s Emerald Triangle The Atlantic
New pesticide regulations expected to reduce Kern's crop yield
Bakersfield Californian
Pesticide regulations scheduled to take effect Jan. 1 in Kern County are expected to have a substantial negative impact on local crop production.
EDITORIAL: The GOP’s Food-Stamp Failure
Wall Street Journal
Pat Roberts kills even modest work rules in the farm bill.
CRIMINAL JUSTICE / FIRE / PUBLIC SAFETY
Crime:
Mom on jury duty didn’t have child care. Judge asked what if she ‘got hit by a Mack truck’
Fresno Bee
Christa Pehl Evans left jury duty at the Fresno Superior Courthouse last month feeling humiliated by Judge James Petrucelli, who she alleges had disdain for her job as a stay-at-home mom.
Gunshot trauma affects more than the victims
San Francisco Chronicle
In response to a medical journal article that calls firearm violence “a public health crisis,” the NRA tweeted that “anti-gun doctors to stay in their lane.”
Public Safety:
Los Angeles Times
Restorative justice goes beyond punishment for a transgression. It’s about offenders coming to understand how and why their actions were harmful, and trying to make up for it.
Report that friendly fire killed sergeant adds another layer of tragedy to Thousand Oaks shooting
Los Angeles Times
Forensic analysis revealed that the bullet surgeons pulled from Helus’ heart was shot from a rifle, officials said. The officers were both carrying rifles.
Fire:
Rethinking the present and future of California’s electric utilities
Fresno Bee
California’s two major electric power utilities are on the hot seat as Capitol politicians ponder whether they should be protected from the financial consequences of last month’s killer wildfires.
What caused the Camp Fire? Lawsuit claims PG&E tower failure
Merced Sun-Star
Now a new lawsuit by Camp Fire survivors attempts to pinpoint the cause in the greatest detail yet, focusing on an uninsulated “jumper” cable that lawyers say came into contact with the steel tower and sparked the deadliest blaze in California history.
See also:
● 'It was complete and utter devastation': Bakersfield Fire captains reflect on time at scene of deadly Camp Fire Bakersfield Californian
As wildfires drive insurance premiums up, will homeowners be able to keep up?
Sierra Star
More and more, insurance companies are casting a wary eye on Californians who live in wildfire-prone areas, choosing not to renew policies or drop some homeowners’ coverage altogether.
Butte County moves to stop rogue animal rescue efforts as evacuees return and shelters shut
Sacramento Bee
With more than 1,000 pets still missing or separated from their owners following the Camp Fire, Butte County animal care officials are defending their decision not to allow independent trappers and small, out-of-county volunteer groups to aid in rescue efforts.
See also:
● Camp Fire: Rebuilding could take years because of labor shortage San Francisco Chronicle
Bills Aim To Get Butte County ‘Back On Our Feet’ After Camp Fire
Capital Public Radio
The Camp Fire destroyed homes and lives across Butte County. It also wiped out local governments' ability to pay for basic functions, from repairing roads and water lines to rebuilding classrooms and other basic infrastructure that burned.
Fire-Resistant Is Not Fire-Proof, California Homeowners Discover
Capital Public Radio
California has some of the strictest building codes in the country for homes built in areas with wildfire risk. But recent fires show that even the most fire-resistant homes will burn.
See also:
● Can California learn to love its fires? Los Angeles Times
ECONOMY / JOBS
Economy:
The stock market’s severe drop could be an ominous sign
Stockton Record
So is this it — the end of the decade-long bull market? Or is it the sort of normal, healthy pullback that often follows a strong showing?
Trump's trade war has cost the S&P 10% this year, JP Morgan estimates
CNBC
J. P. Morgan's Marko Kolanovic released his 2019 outlook this morning. He's still overweight equities and underweight bonds, with projected earnings growth of 8 percent for the S&P 500 and a price target for the index of 3,100.
OPINION: How to Get Growth in the Places That Need It Most
Bloomberg
In an age when economic activity is moving relentlessly into big cities and technology hubs, college towns stand out as a bright spot.
Jobs:
Valley company to pay $1.75M after denying help to pregnant, disabled staff, lawsuit says
Fresno Bee
The Family HealthCare Network, located in Visalia, CA, settled a lawsuit Thursday, after the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission alleged discrimination against pregnant and disabled employees.
Randy Ghan, worker rights leader who fortified Valley’s labor council, dies at 67
Fresno Bee
Randy Ghan, a longtime advocate for worker rights in the central San Joaquin Valley and a labor union figure well known to many workers and elected officials, died on Friday. He was 67.
EDUCATION
Video: Modernizing California’s Education Data System
PPIC
California has invested billions of dollars in public education reforms over the past decade, and student outcomes have improved in many areas. But the state can’t answer key questions about student progress because it doesn’t have comprehensive data on important transitions.
K-12:
Merced County cracks down on truancy
abc30
Nearly 6000 students -- that's about how many Merced County school officials say are chronically absent. Some cases are so bad, their parents were recently arrested after their kids missed hundreds of days of school.
Capital Public Radio
So many school districts are having such a hard time delivering the basics of an equal opportunity for an education that one in three statewide has been targeted for special assistance, according to a comprehensive state report card released by the California Department of Education Thursday.
School Where Student With Autism Died Violated State Regulations, Officials Say
Capital Public Radio
The 13-year-old died two days after he was physically restrained by a staff member at a private school that provides special education services to students in California.
Exclusive: Ed Department To Erase Debts Of Teachers, Fix Troubled Grant Program
Capital Public Radio
The Education Department is releasing a plan Sunday to help these teachers who have been wrongly hit with debts, sometimes totaling tens of thousands of dollars, because of a troubled federal grant program.
Los Angeles Times
During her 2017 confirmation hearing, U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos said teachers may need guns, citing an elementary school that had grizzly bears nearby. The comment, understandably, elicited groans. But perhaps DeVos was on to something.
CALmatters
So many school districts are having such a hard time delivering the basics of an equal opportunity for an education that one in three statewide has been targeted for special assistance, according to a comprehensive state report card released by the California Department of Education Thursday.
This high school aviation program aims to stave off the pilot shortage
PBS NewsHour
The new curriculum aims to instill in young people a love of flying, which has somewhat waned in American culture for a variety of reasons, and could be key to driving more skilled workers into the field.
Higher Ed:
Application Window Open Wonderful Public Service Graduate Fellowship
The Maddy Institute
Applications for two $56,000 Fellowships Due Friday, February 22nd, 2019. Through the generosity of The Wonderful Company, San Joaquin Valley students will have the opportunity to become the next generation of Valley leaders through The Wonderful Public Service Graduate Fellowship. The Maddy Institute will award two $56,000 Fellowships to Valley students who are accepted into a nationally ranked, qualified graduate program in the fall of 2019.
Craig School to name Trading Room in memory of R. Stephen Heinrichs
Campus News Fresno State
In a week when international geopolitical tensions have roiled U.S. stock markets, causing a drop of more than 3% for three of the four major indices, students in one special room on the Fresno State campus have watched these economic developments closely.
Students support the First Amendment, but favor some limits to free speech
Fresno State Institute for Media and Public Trust
A national study of high school students suggests that their views of protected speech are evolving. The survey by the Knight Foundation is the eighth in a series of polls commissioned over the past 12 years.
Apprenticeships:
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ENVIRONMENT/ ENERGY
Environment:
Chuck Schumer: No deal on infrastructure without addressing climate change
Washington Post
Now that Democrats will soon control one branch of Congress, President Trump is again signaling that infrastructure could be an area of compromise. We agree, but if the president wanted to earn Democratic support in the Senate, any infrastructure bill would have to include policies and funding that help transition our country to a clean-energy economy and mitigate the risks the United States already faces from climate change.
See also:
● Trump administration resists global climate efforts at home and overseas Washington Post
● Climate change: Where we are in seven charts and what you can do to help BBC News
● Former Defense Secretary Compares Climate Change To Nuclear War Forbes
● More bad news on the global warming front Brookings
Energy:
Trump's pursuit of 'American energy dominance' threatens the entire planet
Los Angeles Times
Trump's policy brings the U.S. into a small and increasingly isolated club of autocratic regimes intent on maintaining a global commitment to fossil fuels.
HEALTH/HUMAN SERVICES
Health:
Insulin Quest: When Lifesaving Drugs Are Out of Reach
WSJ
Nearly one in 10 Americans has diabetes. But because of rising insulin prices many of them struggle to afford the drugs they need and some diabetics ration their dosage.
Human Services:
Kaiser Permanente mental health clinicians plan 5-day strike
abc30
Thousands of Kaiser Permanente mental health clinicians across California will walk off the job during a five-day strike starting Monday, calling for the HMO to increase staffing and resources for mental health services.
See also:
● Kaiser mental health workers to strike for 5 days San Francisco Chronicle
Walgreens partners with FedEx to launch next-day delivery service
abc30
Walgreens pharmacy has announced it's launching a next-day drug delivery service. The drugstore will partner with FedEx for Walgreens Express.
A violent patient shattered his roommate's eye socket, costing Kaweah Delta a $52k state fine
Visalia Times Delta
A 70-year-old patient at Kaweah Delta Medical Center had his eye socket shattered in an attack by a roommate who hospital officials knew to be violent and schizophrenic, according to a state oversight agency report.
Local seniors upset about health insurance letters. Here’s what you need to know.
Modesto Bee
Stanislaus County has a healthy amount of competition between health plans offering services for seniors in the Medicare program. Perhaps one downside were letters sent a week ago to members of the CareMore Medical Advantage plan, which stirred confusion as Medicare’s fall enrollment period drew to a close Friday.
See also:
● Public Health Should Be as Reliable as Our Highways Roll Call
● Choosing a Health Plan Should Not Be Like Playing ‘Battleship’ Roll Call
CALmatters
California could create its own mandate or subsidies—or both—to keep up to a million people from going without health insurance, now that the Trump administration has canceled the penalty for people who forego coverage.
Dignity Health providing $339K to nonprofits
Bakersfield Californian
The recipients are Alpha House, Hoffmann Hospice, ARC, St. Vincent de Paul, Catholic Charities, the Bakersfield Pregnancy Center, New Advances for People with Disabilities and the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.
PolitiFact statements about Health Care
PolitiFact
In the 2016 election, Republicans and their presidential nominee Donald Trump vowed to repeal and replace Obamacare, the landmark federal health care law passed by Democrats in 2010. They very nearly did it. But after the bill stalled in the Senate, no comprehensive package emerged.
See also:
● Care With a Side of Comfort Promises Big Savings in Health Costs Roll Call
The White House Can Help Foster Kids
Wall Street Journal
Enforce existing laws from the 1990s that require quick placement and bar racial discrimination.
Supreme Court declines to review rulings that blocked efforts to end Planned Parenthood funding
Washington Post
The U.S. Supreme Court declined Monday to review lower court decisions that blocked efforts in two states to cut off public funding for Planned Parenthood, refusing for now to get involved in state battles over abortion rights.
IMMIGRATION
Why 150,000 doctors, others wrote to oppose Trump’s proposed change in immigration rule
Sacramento Bee
More than 150,000 doctors, health care organizations and others have flooded the Federal Register with comments condemning a Trump administration plan that would make it harder for immigrants to maintain their legal residency status if they seek federal assistance for food, health care or housing.
See Also:
● Proposed Changes to Immigration Rules Would Cost California Jobs, Harm Public Health UCLA Fielding School of Public Health
Speak out against Trump’s new plan to deny green cards
San Francisco Chronicle
For immigrant communities in the Bay Area and around the country, the past two years have been a time of extraordinary fear and real danger. Now, the Trump administration wants to make matters even worse.
LAND USE/HOUSING
Land Use:
A botanist criticized Tejon Ranch. So he got kicked out — along with 10,000 of his friends
Los Angeles Times
To fend off lawsuits over its plans to build a new city in the rugged countryside northwest of Los Angeles, Tejon Ranch Co. made a landmark concession to environmentalists.
Housing:
‘We have a homeless emergency.’ Fresno seeks state funds to address crisis
Fresno Bee
The council voted Thursday to declare a shelter crisis and apply for one-time funding from the state’s Homeless Emergency Aid Program.
Housing in the Central Valley is changing. But not necessarily for the better.
Fresno Bee
The Central Valley is slowly becoming a society of renters. New numbers from the U.S. Census Bureau show that many counties have seen double-digit growth in renter-occupied households and only modest gains in homeownership — if not single-digit declines since 2011.
Officials look to underneath Ninth Street Bridge as new home for Beard Brook homeless
Modesto Bee
Modesto and Stanislaus County are proposing a new spot for the homeless encampment that has taken root at Beard Brook Park.
Government policies are turning Fresno into a bedroom community for Bay Area
Fresno Bee
The Bay Area’s housing crisis is the chief culprit in making the San Joaquin Valley a mere bedroom community with limited commercial base. Litigation pending in Fresno Superior Court highlights causes and potential solutions.
EDITORIAL: Just say no to more Southern California sprawl
Los Angeles Times
On Tuesday, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors will decide whether to green-light the controversial Centennial development, a 19,000-home mini-city to be built at Tejon Ranch in a remote valley off the Grapevine.
PUBLIC FINANCES
Jerry Brown’s Last Stand On Pension Reform
Capital Public Radio
The California Supreme Court is weighing a key legal precedent that could restore the generous pension formulas Brown worked so hard to tighten.
EDITORIAL: California’s golden pension rights need fixing San Francisco Chronicle
Los Angeles Times
The new two-year legislative session wasn’t even one day old when Democrats introduced bills to spend countless billions of tax dollars. However, Gov.-elect Gavin Newsom spoke the language of fiscal conservatism last week as the Legislature met to organize.
Some state Democrats want to spend from surplus — Ting, Newsom more cautious San Francisco Chronicle
TRANSPORTATION
Gavin Newsom calls for 'fresh start' on High Speed Rail
abc30
California's next governor visited the Valley to meet with influential leaders and spent Friday in Fresno. The Governor Elect's visit to Fresno comes as the future of the massive high speed rail project is in doubt. Gavin Newsom told us he wants to see the project completed.
See Also:
● OPINION: The Audit of the High Speed Rail Authority Reveals the Project Must be Stopped Fox&Hounds
They tried to make intersection near Riverbank safer. Collisions now higher than ever
Modesto Bee
The intersection where Stanislaus County Deputy Tony Hinostroza died in a crash last month had undergone upgrades two years ago.
Study: Road traffic accidents are the leading cause of death for children, young people
abc30
The World Health Organization says road traffic accidents are now the leading cause of death for children and young people around the world.
Electronic vehicle charging stations coming to Lemoore
Hanford Sentinel
The Lemoore City Council met Tuesday and approved both a change in location for an electronic vehicle charging station and a new mural.
They tried to make intersection near Riverbank safer. Collisions now higher than ever
Modesto Bee
The intersection where Stanislaus County Deputy Tony Hinostroza died in a crash last month had undergone upgrades two years ago as a result of a previous tragedy. But the number of crashes there has increased dramatically since then, according to data from the California Highway Patrol.
Company surprises Bakersfield by dropping 200 electric scooters on city streets overnight
Bakersfield Californian
Electric scooters, the latest form of disruptive transportation technology, have arrived in Bakersfield. Bird, the leading e-scooter company, scattered about 200 rentable scooters on city sidewalks overnight Thursday and was officially in business on Friday morning.
Electric cars are a dumb target if Trump wants to hurt GM
Los Angeles Times
President Trump, looking for a way to strike back at GM for planning to mothball four U.S. factories that employ thousands of autoworkers, is threatening to take away a tax credit that has helped consumers buy electric vehicles.
The quick, cheap future of transportation: Lime scoots around the globe
San Francisco Chronicle
His green-framed sunglasses perched on his head, Toby Sun balanced on one green-Nike-clad foot on an electric scooter parked inside a downtown San Francisco office and proudly proclaimed its virtues.
Needed: Someone brave enough to stop California's crazy train
Washington Examiner
In 2008, California voters took a fateful vote to borrow money and build a $40 billion high-speed rail system that was supposed to connect San Francisco to San Diego by 2022.
WATER
Delta tunnels won’t get green light before Gov. Brown leaves office. What will Gavin Newsom do?
Fresno Bee
In a potentially significant setback for Gov. Jerry Brown’s Delta tunnels project, state officials Friday backed off from seeking approval from the Delta Stewardship Council, an obscure California agency that needed to sign off on the controversial plan to build two huge tunnels under the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, the hub of California’s water delivery network
See also:
● Big setback for Gov. Brown’s twin tunnels delta water project San Francisco Chronicle
Kern proposes walking away from groundwater management role it previously embraced
Bakersfield Californian
County government is considering pulling out of a coalition of local water agencies after failing to secure blanket immunity from lawsuits that could arise from efforts to rein in local groundwater pumping.
Sierra snowpack well above average after California storms
Sacramento Bee
Back-to-back California storms blanket the Sierra Nevada in snow, more than twice the snowpack level compared to this time last year, with winter still nearly two weeks away.
EDITORIAL: River plan vote is meant to help fish, but it will dramatically hurt Valley farming
Fresno Bee
The California Water Resources Control Board will vote on requiring 40 to 50 percent of key rivers to flow unimpaired to the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta for the sake of salmon.
See also:
● EDITORIAL: We’d prefer a deal, but we’re ready to fight Merced Sun-Star
“Xtra”
Christmas parade done the Fresno way. With Santa, elves and even a tricked out lowrider
Fresno Bee
With Fresno once referred to as "The City of Tomorrow," the city's Downtown Fresno Partnership recalled that idea for their theme "Future Christmas" at this year's Christmas parade. It was the 89th annual downtown Fresno Christmas Parade.
See also:
● Thousands attend the 89th annual Downtown Fresno Christmas Parade abc30
In CLOVIS-OPOLY, there is no jail. But there is a House of JuJu. Which one’s better?
Fresno Bee
CLOVIS-OPOLY, a Monopoly-like board game that features popular Clovis locations as properties, is being sold at a couple of Walmarts in Clovis.
Drivers pulled over by Madera police get sweet surprise
abc30
Instead of a traffic ticket, some drivers received a gift card and well wishes from officers last week. The Madera Police department partnered with Camerena Health to spread a little holiday cheer.
The most rewarding thing one can do
Madera Tribune
Why do you think there are so many service organizations in this country? It is because the single most rewarding thing a person can do in his or her life is to be of service to someone else. Satisfaction does not come from receiving. It comes from giving.
Goats bring fun element to yoga sessions
Bakersfield Californian
It can be hard to concentrate on doing exercises when you have a goat in your face, but people that came out on Saturday for goat yoga sessions didn’t seem to mind. In fact, the animals were the stars of the show.
Downtown-centric website launched
Hanford Sentinel
Local community organizer Nate Odom launched this week HanfordEvents.com, a website dedicated to keeping Hanford residents up-to-date on local events.