Political Stories
Top stories
Dan Walters: California has 5 would-be governors – The 2016 political campaign season has scarcely begun, so of course it’s time to begin noodling about 2018 – and particularly the governorship that Jerry Brown will finally relinquish. Five Democrats – all middle-aged men, interestingly – are emitting varying levels of vibration about running. Walters column in Sacramento Bee
Obama’s budget plan serves California some familiar fare – California has a lot to chew over in the Obama administration’s final budget proposal, from money for a downtown Sacramento streetcar line to expansion of public lands in the Sierra Nevada mountains. The $4.1 trillion spending plan offers familiar funding levels for border control, Central Valley levees, Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta restoration and military base improvements. McClatchy Newspapers article
Gov. Brown
Wrecking ball for part of California Capitol on the table — Gov. Jerry Brown’s downtown renovation plan includes the possible tear-down of part of the state Capitol, officials said Tuesday, as the Legislature’s nonpartisan fiscal analyst raised concerns with the administration’s overall building proposal. Sacramento Bee article
Sacramento Bee: Speak up, governor – Is Coastal Commission’s action OK? — So speak up, governor. Do you really think that what’s going on in your name at the Coastal Commission is OK? Sacramento Bee editorial
Statewide politics/Ballot Measures
John Chiang ‘strongly leaning towards running’ for governor — In August, the state treasurer told the Los Angeles Times he was “contemplating” a run for governor. Three months later, Chiang was “very interested,” according to Capitol Weekly. And on Tuesday, at a California Business Roundtable event, Chiang offered this incremental inch forward: “I am strongly leaning towards running.” Sacramento Bee article
Exit of California Senate candidate could help ailing GOP – The sudden withdrawal of one of the Republican candidates in California’s U.S. Senate race could help a party that’s been battered in recent statewide elections, although Democrats remain favorites to hold the seat now occupied by Sen. Barbara Boxer. In this case, subtraction could be a plus for the GOP. AP article
Keep an eye on election IE’s with new search tool — Voters trying to follow the torrent of unlimited outside spending during this year’s California campaigns now have an easier-to-use alternative to the state’s unwieldy Cal-Access system: an enhanced search tool launched Tuesday. Sacramento Bee article
Immigration
ICE agents won’t be going onto LA public school campuses — Immigration agents won’t be allowed onto the campuses of the Los Angeles Unified School District to look for undocumented students, the school board promised with a unanimous vote Tuesday. LA Times article
San Bernardino Shootings
FBI director says investigators unable to unlock San Bernardino shooter’s phone content — FBI Director James Comey said on Tuesday that federal investigators have still been unable to access the contents of a cellphone belonging to one of the killers in the Dec. 2 shootings in San Bernardino, California, due to encryption technology. Reuters article; LA Times article
Other areas
Jodi Remke: California’s landmark campaign finance law needs an update – The chairwoman of California’s Fair Political Practices Commission writes, “An updated Political Reform Act will encourage participation in the political process by reducing the complexity and costs of seeking office. It will improve compliance and eliminate the excuse of the law being too complicated. It will increase public understanding and transparency to promote trust in the system. And it will strengthen accountability of public officials and advance our enforcement efforts.” Remke op-ed in Sacramento Bee
Greg Glassman: Legislature bows down to Big Soda – The CEO and founder of CrossFit writes, “In the war against Big Soda, these organizations have taken the initial steps that should have been taken by the Senate Health Committee. But SB 203 is just one battle. It’s time to start a new trend line: one that doesn’t indicate rising obesity and diabetes rates but decreasing rates of sugar-driven illness.” Glassman op-ed in Sacramento Bee
Joel Fox: Political struggle over PUC reforms — The California Public Utilities Commission rightly faces questions about its effectiveness and responsibilities, but in the end the issue of reforms will come down to a question of power—the political kind. Fox in Fox & Hounds
With New Hampshire results, Trump is a serious contender, and Kasich is back in the game — With a commanding victory Tuesday in the New Hampshire primary, billionaire Donald Trump — the nightmare of the GOP establishment — has stamped himself as a serious contender for the Republican presidential nomination. The question now is which candidate, or two, will be strong enough to stop him. LA Times article
Sanders routs Clinton in New Hampshire — The decisive New Hampshire victory for Sanders — with most votes counted, he was taking about 60% — came as exit polls showed his message connecting with large portions of the state’s electorate, particularly young voters and independents, reflecting an appeal that has spread beyond the liberal college-town activists who dominated the crowds at his early rallies. LA Times article
California Government Today:
News Stories
Top Stories
Kern supervisors approve another round of painful cuts – Kern County supervisors decided to spread the budget pain around Tuesday to deal with an expected $55 million hole in funding for next fiscal year. Cuts won’t happen now. What supervisors approved was only an initial plan to kick off the months of work that will lead to drafting a final budget document in August. Bakersfield Californian article
California farmers reap record sales in record drought — A new state report shows California farmers reaping record sales despite the epic drought, thriving even as city-dwellers have been forced to conserve water, household wells have run dry and fish have
died. AP article
Jobs and the Economy
Consultant to help Madera County study fire tax – Madera County supervisors voted Tuesday to hire an election consultant to determine whether to move forward with a public-safety sales tax increase that will spend a majority of money on additional firefighters. Fresno Bee article
Stockton to consider 26 percent water rate hike – City water officials are about to propose a significant rate increase, in part because residents have saved so much water during the historic drought. A plan to be vetted by a City Council committee on Thursday calls for an average 26 percent rate hike starting in July, followed by a 5.5 percent increase the following year and 3 percent for three years after that. Stockton Record article
Modesto weighs spending $60,000 for retail and market study – The city could spend as much as $60,000 for a consulting firm to study the retail opportunities in downtown, along Sisk Road and in east Modesto. Modesto Bee article
Fresno County supervisors OK sale of old juvenile hall – Fresno County’s old juvenile hall has a price, but it’s unclear whether anyone will want to shell out more than $4 million to buy it and neighboring offices near downtown Fresno. Fresno Bee article
Californians find affordability in Stockton, Tracy – Stockton and Tracy were among the least expensive cities in California, but are still respectively 12 percent and 24 percent more expensive than the average of 273 U.S. communities in the 2015 cost of living index from the Council for Community and Economic Research. Stockton Record article
Oil producer with big local presence faces hard times – Times are tough for many oil companies lately, but they’re especially difficult for Linn Energy LLC, the Houston company that acquired Bakersfield-based Berry Petroleum Co. in 2013 and maintains a big presence in Kern County. Bakersfield Californian article
Stung by low oil prices, companies face a reckoning on debts – While crude prices have dropped more than 70 percent over the last 20 months, a reckoning in the nation’s vast oil industry has only just begun. Until recently, companies were able to ride out the slump using hedges to sell their oil for higher than the low market prices. In recent months, however, most of those hedges expired, leaving a number of oil companies low on cash and unable to pay their debt. New York Times article
Fresno gas prices remain low due to ample supplies – February is normally a time of year when gasoline prices start to rise as demand goes up and oil companies conduct scheduled maintenance at refineries. But that is not happening this year, says AAA of Northern California. Instead, gas prices are holding steady due to high oil inventories and continued strong production, the AAA noted Tuesday in its latest report. Fresno Bee article
Why do Merced drivers pay more for gas? – Gouging by oil companies could be one reason Merced County drivers and others in California pay as much as 77 cents more for a gallon of regular gas than motorists elsewhere in the nation, a state government panel was told Monday. Merced Sun-Star article
Why one consumer advocate blames a mysterious ship for helping keep California gas prices high — There’s an unusual new entry to the long list of reasons why Californians spent the last year paying significantly more for gasoline than other U.S. drivers: a mystery ship. LA Times article
Small-business optimism falls to nearly 2-year low amid signs of slowing growth – Optimism about the economy by U.S. small-business owners slipped last month to a nearly two-year low as concerns about slowing growth led to projections for fewer sales, according to survey results released Tuesday. LA Times article
Fresno County supervisors reject $50,000 raise for retirement chief – Fresno County supervisors on Tuesday overruled the county’s retirement board by rejecting big raises for its top administrators. The retirement board is required to seek supervisors’ approval for raises. The retirement board voted to raise administrator Donald Kendig’s annual salary from $150,000 to $200,000 because it’s well below those of peer administrators in other counties. Fresno Bee article
Challenges await Stanislaus County, Monteith cautions – In his State of the County speech Tuesday, Board of Supervisors Chairman Dick Monteith depicted a Stanislaus County that’s recovering well and restoring public safety positions that were lost amid the recession. Modesto Bee article
Bay Area housing squeeze: Millennials hurt the worst — Even millennial techies with good jobs are feeling pessimistic about their housing prospects. In fact, close to 75 percent of Bay Area millennials anticipate moving out of their current homes or apartments in the next five years — though only 24 percent expect to be able to afford the new place they desire. San Jose Mercury News article
California solar industry job growth reaches record levels – California led a record-breaking year for solar power in 2015 that included the addition of more than 20,000 new jobs within the state — more than half of the positions the industry created nationwide, according to a new report. LA Times article; KQED report
Former Yosemite superintendent speaks out on name change controversy – What does this say about the commercialization of our national parks, and specifically the way Yosemite is run? And how much political influence do concessions companies wield? Robert Binnewies knows about these issues firsthand. KVPR report
CalPERS makes huge New York real estate deal – CalPERS has completed one of the biggest real estate investments in its history, purchasing a New York office tower for $1.9 billion. The big pension fund confirmed Tuesday it has bought the 50-story Manhattan office building, saying the deal is emblematic of its focus in recent years on purchasing real estate properties that are already generating revenues. Sacramento Bee article
Cash home sales down in Fresno in October 2015 – Not as many folks shelled out cash to buy a home in Fresno late last year, according to new data from CoreLogic. The real estate information firm reported that the cash sales share in Fresno for October was 22.9 percent, a 1.6 percent decrease compared with October 2014. Fresno’s cash sales share was lower than the 33.9 percent national rate. The Business Journal article
CalPERS loses key court decision in lawsuit over long-term care – Plaintiffs, 1. CalPERS, 0. A court fight over a massive two-year rate hike on some CalPERS long-term care policies drew a step closer to reality with a recent court ruling that one case can represent 133,000 people who purchased plans. Sacramento Bee article
Sacramento City Council approves pot tax ballot initiative – Voters in California’s capital city will decide on whether to use tax dollars from marijuana cultivation as a fiscal elixir to pay for services for kids at risk. Sacramento Bee article
Made with love: student-created company excels from Fresno — A class assignment and a wife’s complaint combined to spark an idea that has turned Fresno State senior Tyler Turk’s entrepreneurial dream into a reality. Date in a Crate is a monthly subscription box that costs $15 and is filled with themed date-night items and activities that are focused on strengthening relationships between couples. Fresno Bee article
Gov. Brown requests federal disaster aid for California crabbers — Gov. Jerry Brown asked the Obama Administration on Tuesday to declare California’s crab fishery a federal disaster, a move that could free up money for those whose livelihoods have been harmed by the closure of the state’s crabbing season. San Francisco Chronicle article
Art Pulaski: Pacific trade pact is terrible for U.S. workers – The executive secretary-treasurer of the California Labor Federation writes, “The legacy of America’s broken trade policy is shuttered factories, outsourced jobs and a widening gap between the wealthy and everyone else. It doesn’t have to be this way. It’s time for Congress to take a stand in support of working people instead of kowtowing to corporate lobbyists. For the sake of our future, Congress must reject the TPP.” Pulaski op-ed in Sacramento Bee
Agriculture/Water/Drought
Where’s El Nino? Climate experts say more rain on the way – The glorious weather was welcomed, but as the sun continues to shine this week, many in drought-stricken California are beginning to ask, “Where’s El Niño?” “El Nino is still here,” Bay Area meteorologist Jan Null said. “We typically see some warm weather in February. There’s all this panic that I’m hearing. This is just one of those periodic nice spells that we typically get in the middle of winter.” San Francisco Chronicle article
California drought adds $2 billion in electricity costs – It’s one of the lesser known costs of California’s drought: the drying-up of the state’s normally abundant cheap hydroelectric power. A hydro shortage has raised California’s electricity costs by a combined $2 billion the past four years, according to a report released Tuesday by the Pacific Institute, a water policy think tank based in Oakland. Sacramento Bee article
Tulare’s World Ag Expo showcases tech (high and low), veteran farmer, great food – Huge crowds ambled through the 49th annual World Ag Expo in Tulare on opening day Tuesday, checking out everything a farmer might need from high-tech software to low-tech flagpoles. Fresno Bee article; Visalia Times-Delta article; KQED report
Solar power in play at World Ag Expo — Several solar companies were at World Ag Expo on Tuesday offering packages sized for everyone from the suburban homeowner to mega-dairy operators. With solar-friendly policies in place that make it easier to justify the cost, the industry is poised to continue its growth in Kings County homes, businesses and farms. Hanford Sentinel article
Farmers say they’re getting a bad rap over water – For some farmers attending this week’s World Ag Expo in Tulare, concerns about how farmers are being portrayed in the battle over water is a concern, as some say they’re being painted as the bad guys in all of this. Visalia Times-Delta article
When it comes to saving water, Southern Californians are tapped out – or are they? – Nearly 9 in 10 respondents say they strongly or somewhat agree that “I’ve already cut back on water use at my home as much as I can” and “There’s not much more I can do to save water,” according to a recent survey commissioned by the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California. LA Times article
Winter brings shift in attitudes about water – If there was one overriding theme to last year’s World Ag Expo it was water, with California farmers and ranchers clamoring to see the latest technology available to stretch the precious resource. Visalia Times-Delta article
Cotton sheet conspiracy brought down by DNA testing — Americans come into contact with cotton every day. It’s a staple we use for clothing, food products and even cosmetics. But not all cotton is of equal quality. In fact many times higher grade cotton products have been laced with inferior fiber. FM89’s Ezra David Romero reports on how the cotton industry is fighting back. KVPR report
Ted Sheely: Regulators shouldn’t deprive farmers of a safe pesticide – The farmer near Lemoore writes, “Farmers in California have it tough these days. Despite recent rainfall, we continue to suffer through one of the worst droughts in history. Now state regulators are trying to deny us the right to use one of the best and safest products in the world to protect our crops.” Sheely op-ed in Sacramento Bee
Lois Henry: If simple facts don’t make your case, maybe you don’t have one — A couple of separate, but kind of related, efforts to tar the long-running Chevron-Cawelo water program popped up on the Internet recently. My initial reaction was to ignore them. But, like cockroaches, they started multiplying on social media so I felt obliged to haul out the Raid. Again. Henry column in Bakersfield Californian
Kern supervisors create groundwater agency for Indian Wells Valley — Kern County supervisors approved the creation of a ground water sustainability agency in the Indian Wells Valley on Tuesday. They did it over the objection of attorneys for private mutual water agencies and the agricultural growers who own them. Bakersfield Californian article
Criminal Justice/Prisons
California corrections chief aims to change prison culture – California’s new corrections chief plans to add training on diversity and leadership for prison employees and to examine what has been effective in other states to change employees’ attitudes as he tries to alter a culture that often pits prison guards against inmates and outsiders. AP article
Fresno police test the limits of privacy versus crime fighting – How much privacy would you be willing to hand over to a police department in exchange for a promise of increased safety? Some say the Fresno Police Department is testing the very limits of that question with their Real Time Crime Center. Technology can help, but does it also have its limits? KVPR report
Another two of Fresno’s most-wanted suspects arrested – Michael Mitchell, the man police Chief Jerry Dyer calls “the most dangerous criminal in Fresno,” was taken into custody Tuesday afternoon after he was spotted by an undercover officer in the Tower District. Fresno Bee article
‘Café con los Policias’: Stockton police reach out to Latino community — The Stockton Police Department on Tuesday held one of its “Coffee with the Police” events, which are intended to connect officers with the community, but this time the department focused on reaching out to Latinos. Stockton Record article
Stockton Record: Slow pace of police hiring – Here we are in the infant stages of 2016, and the staffing gains made by the Stockton Police Department certainly are not where taxpayers were told they would be during the campaign. Stockton Record article
Merced County begins process in jail renovations – The Merced County Board of Supervisors took steps Tuesday to move forward with the renovation project for the John Latorraca Correctional Center. Merced Sun-Star article
Law requiring sex offenders to be identified on their passports is challenged – A civil rights group has filed a suit challenging a law that will require sex offenders to be identified on their passports. LA Times article
Father arrested after son takes loaded handgun into Natomas High classroom — The father of a Natomas High School student who allegedly brought a loaded gun to school Tuesday morning has been arrested, Sacramento police said. Sacramento Bee article
Teens as young as 14 rescued from sexual exploitation during Super Bowl, FBI says — Seven teenagers, some as young as 14 years old, were rescued from forced prostitution in the San Francisco Bay Area during Super Bowl week, authorities announced Tuesday. LA Times article
Education
African American supporters, teachers rally before Modesto City Schools meeting – Lime green T-shirts filled the usually blue and gold grounds of Gregori High as a rally joining irate teachers and about 500 outraged community members marched before the Modesto City Schools board meeting. Modesto Bee article
Fresno schools aim to ‘change the narrative’ for black students — The event, which included hundreds of students from across Fresno County, focused on obstacles faced by young black people and aimed to “change the narrative” of their lives, by fighting institutional racism and stereotypes. Fresno Bee article
California officials to help students at shuttered Marinello beauty school – Representatives of the California Department of Consumer Affairs’ Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education on Wednesday will visit the closed Sacramento County campus of Marinello Schools of Beauty, meeting with students and advising them of their options. Sacramento Bee article
Chowchilla schools speak out on arrest of campus police officer — Chowchilla Elementary School officials on Tuesday said the police officer accused of forcible rape and of having sex with a minor will not return to work on campus “regardless of the investigation’s outcome.” Merced Sun-Star article
Union files complaint in USC faculty election — Union officials alleged on Tuesday that USC officials interfered with attempts to organize non-tenure-track faculty by promising them better working conditions and implying that employees would lose rights if they unionized. LA Times article
Transgender issue roils high school — A transgender student who changes in a boys’ locker room at Rancho Bernardo High School has triggered a dispute over a two-year-old state law that seeks to accommodate such students. San Diego Union-Tribune article
LA teachers union seeks to raise dues as it fights a charter school push — This week the union asked its 32,000 members — down from 45,000 in 2008 — to raise their dues by nearly a third, to about $1000 per member annually, and also to allow UTLA to pass on to members any future increases in dues owed to state and national parent unions. LA Times article
Energy/Environment
Supreme Court deals blow to Obama by putting his climate change rules on hold – The Supreme Court dealt a surprising setback to President Obama on Tuesday by putting his climate change policy on hold while a coalition of coal producers and Republican-led states challenge its legality. LA Times article; AP article; New York Times article
California is likely to be stormier with climate change – The types of storms that have been bringing heavy snow and rain to the West this winter, triggering landslides and floods while easing stubborn droughts, are likely to become stronger and more frequent, according to the results of a conclusive new study. KQED report
Sacramento levee repairs are in President’s proposed budget – Thirty-two-million dollars for Sacramento levees is in President Obama’s budget request for the next fiscal year and in the Army Corps of Engineers’ work plan for this year. The President’s budget request would allow the corps to begin the federal portion of the Natomas Levee Improvement Project. Capital Public Radio report
PG&E seeks to expand solar power — Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) has launched a new program in an effort to promote the use of solar energy. The Solar Choice program extends the option for 100 percent solar power to customers regardless of whether or not they intend to install rooftop solar panels on their homes or businesses. These customers can purchase half or all of their electric power from solar farms located in Northern and Central California. Hanford Sentinel article
Aliso Canyon gas leak could be ‘controlled’ in several days – The leaking gas well in Aliso Canyon could be plugged in the next several days, the Southern California Gas Co. said Tuesday. LA Times article
California regulators increase gas well inspections after Aliso Canyon leak — State oil and gas regulators have approved temporary regulationsgoverning underground gas storage, a stopgap measure aimed at improving oversight of fields like the one in north Los Angeles County, where a massive methane leak has been spewing for months. KQED report
Health/Human Services
8 states, including California, had a big drop in the number of people without health insurance — Eight states, including California, saw a significant drop last year in the number of residents going without health insurance, according to a government report out Tuesday that has implications for the presidential campaign. AP article
State’s Medi-Cal bill for undocumented children could go up – The cost of providing full Medi-Cal benefits to undocumented immigrant children in California could be significantly more than the state’s health care agency has projected, according to experts and advocates. KQED report
Russell Judd: Kern Medical Center is fighting to decrease cases of SUID – The CEO at Kern Medical writes, “Kern County is experiencing a serious problem with above-national-average numbers in one tragic category — Sudden Unexpected Infant Death, or SUID. The statistics are shocking and have served as a wake-up call for those of us at Kern Medical Center.” Judd op-ed in Bakersfield Californian
House passes bill focused on mental health of female veterans — Under a House bill passed Tuesday, the Department of Veterans Affairs would have to look closely at whether its mental health and suicide prevention programs meet the needs of the growing number of female veterans. LA Times article
Transportation
United Airlines cancels service between Bakersfield, Houston – A decline in oil-related business travel has prompted United Airlines to end flights between Bakersfield and Houston in early April, five years after the service launched. Local travel agents say the last flight from Bakersfield to Houston will be April 4. Bakersfield Californian article
Three airlines file bids for Visalia air service – Three airlines have filed notice with the DOT that they would like to take over the contract to offer regular flights to other California cities from Visalia. The city has been asked to respond to the bids by Feb. 25. Visalia Times-Delta article
Sacramento streetcar plan gets boost from feds – Sacramento’s plan to bring streetcars back to downtown appears to be back on track after stalling out last year. The project got a kickstart Tuesday morning when federal officials stated renewed willingness to contribute $75 million to build the proposed 3.3-mile rail line linking key sites in West Sacramento and Sacramento. The funding notation is in the Obama administration’s proposed budget. Sacramento Bee article
BART admits 77 percent of train cameras are fake or don’t work — Fewer than a quarter of what appear to be surveillance cameras inside BART train cars are real and functional, transit agency officials said Tuesday. San Francisco Chronicle article
Bay Area’s new ‘Lexus lanes’ will require a new FasTrak — Having two people in your car, or a low-emissions decal, won’t be enough to get you into the new carpool lane on Interstate 580. By the end of the month, when the I-580 Express Lanes are expected to open, carpoolers who want to keep getting a free ride in the fast lane will need a special new FasTrak toll tag, known as “FasTrak Flex.” San Francisco Chronicle article
Other areas
Foreman fears grand jury not taken seriously, calls for greater diversity – The foreman of the San Joaquin County civil grand jury is worried that the work his 19-member panel undertakes each year is not being taken seriously by various governing agencies. He’s also concerned there’s a lack of diversity on the jury. Stockton Record article
San Francisco syringe scourge: City deploying rapid needle-disposal team — Drug users drop hundreds of used syringes around the Civic Center and U.N. Plaza every day. They pile up in the gutters outside the Asian Art Museum, around the farmers’ market and even in the Main Library’s bathrooms. And the government agencies, organizations and businesses sharing the spaces have never coordinated to clean up the improperly discarded needles — until now. A three-person, rapid-response syringe clean team is being formed to help tackle the issue of improperly disposed needles. San Francisco Chronicle article
Valley Editorial Roundup
Fresno Bee – Chipotle deserves another chance.
Sacramento Bee – There’s no room in new arena for Kings-sized drama; So speak up, governor. Do you really think that what’s going on in your name at the Coastal Commission is OK?
Stockton Record – Here we are in the infant stages of 2016, and the staffing gains made by the Stockton Police Department certainly are not where taxpayers were told they would be during the campaign.
Maddy Events
Sunday, Feb. 14, at 10 a.m. on ABC 30 – Maddy Report: “Californian’s View of State Regulation and the Environment: Too Much, Too Little or Just Right?” – Guests: Public Policy Institute of California analyst Dean Bonner. Host: Maddy Institute Executive Director Mark Keppler.
Sunday, Feb. 14, at 10 a.m. on Newstalk 580 (KMJ) – Maddy Report-Valley Views Edition: “Adapting to Climate Change: Implications for the Valley” – Guests:John Capitman, executive director of the Central Valley Health Policy Institute, and Seyed Sadredin, executive director of the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District. Host: Maddy Institute Executive Director Mark Keppler.
Sunday, Feb. 14, at 7 a.m. on Fresno Univision 21 (KFTV)– El Informe Maddy Report: “Clean Energy Alternatives” – Guest: Margarita Fernandez – Chief of Public Affairs, Office of the California State Auditor. Host: Maddy Institute Executive Deputy Director Ana Melendez.
The Maddy Report airs throughout California on The Cal Channel. Check http://www.calchannel.com to find the Cal Channel and schedule in your area. You also can view previous Maddy Report programs in their entirety at http://www.maddyinstitute.org/policy-analysis/the-maddy-report-tv.
Community Events
- Fresno State President Joseph Castro and other university officials will hold a Community Conversation in the West Hills Community College conference facility, 555 College Ave., Lemoore on Tuesday, March 1, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.Seating for this free event is limited, so RSVPs should be made by February 26 at www.fresnostate.edu/presidentrsvpusing the code “Lemooreforum.”
- The International Green Industry Hall of Fame will hold its sixth annual conference and induction ceremony at Buchanan High School in Clovis on March 9. Registration information is available here.
Interactive
Next 10: UPDATED California budget challenge – For the first time in a decade, California’s budget is largely in balance. However, the state has outstanding debts of $28 million, not counting long-term pension and retiree health care costs. Budget choices affect us all. Take the Challenge and decide how much should be spent on programs and where the money should come from. Next 10 California Budget Challenge
Next 10: Federal budget challenge — The Federal Budget Challenge is based on The Concord Coalition’s Principles and Priorities budget exercise, which has been used in numerous town hall meetings across the country by members of Congress from both parties, as well as in hundreds of high school and college classrooms. Next 10 Federal Budget challenge at www.federalbudgetchallenge.org.
Next 10: California Water Challenge – As our state faces some of the most severe drought conditions in its history, Next 10 wants to issue a new challenge to Californians: can you create a plan to make sure there’s enough water for everyone? Next 10 California Water Challenge
LEGISLATORS’ VOTING RECORDS: How often has a California legislator broken party ranks, abstained or switched sides? The Sacramento Bee has a database of the voting records of every member of the state Senate and Assembly. Enter a lawmaker’s last and first names to see how he or she voted, or enter a bill number to see how every legislator voted on it. Check it out at this link. http://www.sacbee.com/votingrecord/
More Information
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Maddy Institute Updates List of San Joaquin Valley Elected Officials – The Maddy Institute has updated its list of San Joaquin Valley elected officials. The list is available here.
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