Maddy Institute – February 26, 2018

26Feb

TOP POLITICAL STORIES

Local/Regional Politics:

Valley students show support for Florida school shooting victims

ABC30

Two of the victims killed last week at the high school in Florida were members of the marching band. Months before the murders, the high school concert band in Kingsburg learned they will be rehearsing with Stoneman Douglas’ students at a music festival in New York City next week. Once Kingsburg high students heard about the massacre they say it felt surreal but they wasted no time in making sure the band they have been paired to perform with knows they’re standing with them.

· March for Our Lives Fresno: School safety not a ‘red’ or a ‘blue’ issue Fresno Bee

· We’re combat veterans. We’re with the Florida kids Modesto Bee

· Ghost guns and bump stocks – ban both Modesto Bee

· Enforce gun laws before launching new ones Fresno Bee

Devin Nunes on the memo, school shootings, Valley water

Fresno Bee

For more than a year, Rep. Devin Nunes’ name has been plastered across media reports and bandied about by politicians, activists, top law enforcement officials and the president of the United States. The Tulare Republican, who is chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, became one of the most visible members of Congress with his involvement in a House investigation into alleged Russian interference with the 2016 election.

· Devin Nunes Tells Fox News the ‘Whole Russia Fiasco’ Shows That the ‘Media Is Dead’ Mediaite

· Democratic memo discredits Nunes, tantalizes on dossier corroboration The Washington Post

· What we learned from the Democratic response to the Nunes memo — and what we didn’t The Washington Post

· Trump calls Fox News to blast Democrats and repeat his call for armed teachers — and praise Nunes Los Angeles Times

· Fresno Prosecutor Hopes to Defy Odds, Take Down Devin Nunes The California Report – KQED News

Orth: Election Day puts democracy into action

Fresno Bee

June 5 and the days leading up to it are very important days for democracy. The results of all eligible voted ballots returned before and including Tuesday, June 5 will determine who will serve as elected officials for Fresno County.

County of Kern loses MALDEF lawsuit, will likely be required to redraw political lines

Bakersfield Californian

The County of Kern has lost the MALDEF lawsuit in U.S. District Court in a ruling that could throw into turmoil the placement of political boundaries across the county. The Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, which filed the lawsuit in April 2016, had alleged that the supervisorial district boundaries drawn by the Kern County Board of Supervisors in 2011 were drawn illegally, in violation of the U.S. Voting Rights Act.

· Judge: Kern County’s redistricting diluted Latino vote The Fresno Bee

Fresno law enforcement officials doubt president will tell ICE agents to leave California

Fresno Bee

President Donald Trump’s comments that he is considering pulling U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers from California prompted similar reactions from law enforcement officials in Fresno – they don’t think he really means it. The president made his comments Thursday at a White House meeting of local and state officials about school safety and gun violence. The administration is targeting the MS-13 gang, Trump said, but “has been getting no help from the state of California.”

Smith: More evidence about why downtown matters

Bakersfield.com

I recently attended the Downtown Business Association’s State of the Downtown breakfast at the Marriott. I was lucky to make it in time to catch the keynote speaker, an impressive out-of-town consultant. Hired expert Kristin Lowell came from Sacramento and laid out guidelines for the organization’s Property-Based Business Improvement District plan.

New bill could offer loans to combat student homelessness

The Collegian

Assemblywoman Anna Caballero spoke at a news conference at Fresno State last week to introduce Assembly Bill 2784, which aims to combat homelessness among college students.

Valley Children’s crafts solution to the area’s pediatric needs

Visalia Times-Delta

In an effort to reach more children, Valley Children’s Healthcare is looking to expand and Visalia is its top prospect. Last year, 17,853 children from Tulare County were seen a total of 44,599 times at all of the Valley Children’s location, hospital officials said. The number of visits was up roughly 5,000 from the year before.

Tulare’s Hospital’s forensic lab to reopen Monday

Visalia Times-Delta

Mineral King Lab, Tulare Local Healthcare District’s forensic laboratory, will reopen on Monday. Services at the county’s lone toxicology lab were ended following the closure of Tulare Regional Medical Center last fall.

East Porterville residents now have safe, reliable water

ABC30

In East Porterville, water is no longer a luxury. A limited supply held in tanks have been replaced by permanent underground lines. For years, families in the unincorporated community had to carefully budget their resources. It began at the start of California’s five-year drought when hundreds of residential wells became dry and contaminated.

$55-million grant helps create jobs in Central Valley

ABC30

The tax bill passed by Congress late last year included money for grants as part of the New Markets Tax Credit Program. A lot in Selma just off of highways 43 and 99 will soon be home to a new health center. It is just one project funded by a $55-million grant from New Markets Tax Credit. TJ Cox is the president of the Central Valley NMTC Fund, he says five-million dollars of the grant will go toward the new facility in Selma that will provide medical, dental and eye care.

California Water Agency Officials Charged With Burying Hazardous Waste And Corruption

The Two-Way | NPR

Council hires Manfredi to consult on governance

Madera Tribune

The Madera City Council Wednesday night voted to hire Ron Manfredi of Madera to consult with interim City Administrator Steve Frazier and the Council about an audit of the enterprise fund, a management compensation study and recruitment for a permanent city administrator. Manfredi is a former assistant city administrator for Madera and is the former city manager of Kerman. He also served as a longtime member of the State Center Community College Board of Trustees.

Council receptive to developer’s plan

Hanford Sentinel

The city is one step closer to getting more rooftops, and a proposed development will be like nothing Hanford has ever seen. During the Hanford City Council meeting on Tuesday, a public hearing was held to discuss a planned unit development that was previously denied by the Planning Commission.

State Politics:

California Gubernatorial Candidates Engage With 100 Days To Primary Vote

capradio.org

The California Democratic Party convention wrapped up today — exactly 100 days before the June 5 primary. That’s when the top two gubernatorial finishers — regardless of political party — will advance to the November general election. And the Democratic candidates brought their campaigns to the state’s convention in San Diego this weekend to test their messages and jockey for position.

· After facing hecklers for his union policy, Villaraigosa picks up United Farm Workers endorsement Los Angeles Times

· California Democrats Don’t Endorse in Governor’s Race KQED

California Today: 4 Takeaways From the State’s Democratic Convention

New York Times

The annual California Democratic Convention is typically filled with passion and drama, though its influence is debatable. Attendees tend to be activists who don’t necessarily represent a cross-section of Democrats or the state. Keeping that in mind, here are a few of our takeaways from this weekend’s session in San Diego.

· Dianne Feinstein denied Democratic endorsement in her sixth California Senate race Fresno Bee

· California Democratic Party won’t endorse Dianne Feinstein Merced Sun-Star

· California Democrats snub of party icon Dianne Feinstein could be a speed bump, or a signal Los Angeles Times

· California Democratic Party offers no endorsements in US Senate or governor’s races Los Angeles Times

· None of the Democrats running for California attorney general won the party’s endorsement KQED

· California Democrats agree they have too many candidates for Congress. What to do about them is the problem Los Angeles Times

· Nancy Pelosi is the most conservative candidate in her 2018 raceSacramento Bee

· Senator who resigned after sexual harassment scandal seeks re-election without party support Sacramento Bee

· Rent control supporters are all over the California Democratic conventionCALmatters

· What do California Democrats stand for? The Sacramento Bee

· Democrats fear California crack-up Politico

· Liberals fight for the soul of the California Democratic Party Sacramento Bee

Statewide Candidates Get Very Mixed Responses From Organized Labor

KQED News

Organized labor has long been the backbone of the political left, but at this weekend’s California Democratic Party convention in San Diego union members made clear to candidates that in their view not all Democrats are created equal. The Labor Caucus meeting Friday night was a big draw for politicians hoping to gain influential union support and win convention delegates critical to securing the party’s official endorsement.

Court case could ‘financially cripple’ California unions

Sacramento Bee

Thirteen years ago, California’s teacher union went toe-to-toe with the state’s movie star governor and crushed him at the ballot box, funding almost half of the $121 million campaign that swamped his proposals to revamp tenure and restrict government spending.

· What Janus v. AFSCME could mean for California OCRegister

· How today’s big Supreme Court case on public-sector unions could lead to a fiscal crisis Washington Post

· Hiltzik: The right wing’s 40-year attack on unions is coming to the Supreme Court, and this time it could win Los Angeles Times

· Janus v. AFSCME: Supreme Court Could Correct a Poor Prior DecisionNational Review

· Supreme Court could cripple public unions in run-up to 2018 midtermsPolitico

· Supreme Court to hear arguments on “fair-share” union dues Marketplace

· Senators Warn Union Case Risks Supreme Court’s Reputation Roll Call

· Behind a Key Anti-Labor Case, a Web of Conservative Donors The New York Times

All of PolitiFact California’s fact checks on gun violence

PolitiFact California

Claims about gun violence, some true and some distorted, have flooded the national debate following the Florida shooting that left 17 dead at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on Feb. 14, 2018. PolitiFact and its affiliates, including PolitiFact California, have been sorting fact from fiction for years and explaining answers to key questions in the debate. That’s led to dozens of fact checks and articles on guns and safety, following both this tragedy and other mass shootings.

· Rep. DeSaulnier to Introduce Bill to Fund Gun Violence Research KQED

Skelton: Why we need bail reform: California shouldn’t be requiring a payment for freedom

Los Angeles Times

California is moving toward ending its unjust pretrial bail system, a four-decade effort begun by Governor Jerry Brown when he was governor the first time

Myers: There’s no firm rule for punishing a California lawmaker’s bad behavior

Los Angeles Times

The California Legislature has a 49-page set of rules that govern all kinds of activity under the state Capitol dome: when to introduce bills, whether to cover the expenses of committee staff members, the power to draw the boundaries of fish and wildlife districts. What you won’t find is an explanation of the behavior that can get a member of the Assembly or Senate reprimanded or, even worse, kicked out.

See also:

· Walters: Three legislators down, how many to go? Fresno Bee

· CA women lawmakers aim to increase numbers amid #MeToo moment The Sacramento Bee

· Former California Senate Staffer Says She Was Fired After Reporting Rape By Colleague Capital Public Radio News

California research project timed to elevate education in fall elections, inform next governor

EdSource

A compendium of three dozen new studies on California education, involving dozens of researchers, will be released in June, in time to help shape the debate in state elections in November and the next governor’s approach to education. At least that’s the organizers’ intent. “Getting Down to Facts II,” as the massive project is called, will take multiple looks at how well the 2013 Local Control Funding Formula is working to make school financing more equitable and raise student achievement.

Only 7 Percent Of Californians Lack Health Insurance, National Study Says

capradio.org

A new study indicates that almost 29 million Americans lack health insurance — a big improvement compared to nearly 49 million in 2010. Californians are better covered than most of the nation. Texas comes in last, with 20 percent having no health insurance, according to the latest findings by the National Center for Health Statistics. In California, that number is 7 percent.

Atkins: California’s budget looks to be bright

Pomerado News

Hello to the readers of the Rancho Bernardo News Journal and Poway News Chieftain. I wish you all a healthful and happy 2018. California’s economy continues to be strong, and that’s reflected in the 2018-19 state budget that Gov. Jerry Brown proposed last month. The governor’s finance team estimates that the budget will benefit from a surplus of $6.1 billion this year. However, I know all too well how quickly a surplus can turn into a deficit, so we must proceed carefully.

Sardine-like train rides suggest Californians like the rails

San Francisco Chronicle

Podcast: Willie Brown on Power at the Capitol, the Mayoral Election, and His Newspaper Column

KQED

Listen to Willie Brown on Power at the Capitol, the Mayoral Election, and His Newspaper Column from Political Breakdown.

Federal Politics:

The Latest: Democrats offer own memo on Russia probe

Merced Sun-Star

The Latest on the Democratic memo that aims to counter GOP allegations that the FBI abused government surveillance powers in its investigation into Russian election interference.

· Takeaways From the House Intelligence Democrats’ Memo Lawfare

· Democratic Rebuttal to GOP Memo: What You Need To Know Newsweek

· Drip, drip, drip and Donald Trump: Why his fans are hooked no matter whatFresno Bee

‘I am not going to stop…until we get these AR-15’s off of the streets,’ Feinstein says

The Sacramento Bee

Sen. Dianne Feinstein told thousands of California Democratic delegates and elected officials Saturday that she will aggressively pursue legislation banning assault rifles in the wake of this month’s Florida school shooting that left 17 people dead, including teenage students. “I am not going to stop, ladies and gentlemen, until we get these AR-15s off of the streets and out of the hands of people who would use them to kill others,” Feinstein said.

· Did the 1994 Assault Weapons Ban Work? FactCheck.org

· How many assault rifles are in the US? We don’t know The Fresno Bee

· Parkland Shooting ‘Hoax’ Latest in Right’s Dishonesty Epidemic National Review

· Gun Control, Parkland’s Teenage Victims & NRA: An Embarrassing SpectacleNational Review

· Martelle: Televised meetings over school shootings are cathartic, but change nothing Los Angeles Times

· The gun debate in Congress: From concealed-carry to the assault weapons ban Politico

· Condoleezza Rice calls for ‘conversation’ on gun rights ‘in the modern world’TheHill

· Australia’s Gun Laws Are Not a Model for America The New York Times

· Switzerland gun laws: Why the country has almost no gun deaths Business Insider

· Opinion: Something is deadly wrong in this country The Washington Post

· Robinson: Trump and the GOP won’t act on gun control. So let’s kick them out. The Washington Post

· Bump stock, automatic weapon and shotgun: Unraveling commonly used gun terms and phrases ABC30

· Poll: Support for stricter gun laws rises to highest level in decades TheHill

Supreme Court rejects Trump over ‘Dreamers’ immigrants

Reuters

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday dealt a setback to President Donald Trump, requiring his administration to maintain protections he has sought to end for hundreds of thousands of immigrants brought illegally into the United States as children.

· Supreme Court extends relief for ‘Dreamers,’ refuses to rule now on Trump immigration plan The Fresno Bee

· Supreme Court rejects administration appeal over immigration ABC 30

A quick political guide to what’s next for the ‘Dreamers’

Los Angeles Times

Congress and the White House haven’t been able to agree on a plan to give legal status to millions of people brought to the country illegally as children, and the clock is ticking.

California gas tax repeal fight gets an unlikely player — Trump

CNBC

Californians love their cars but these days they’re feeling more pain at the pump due in part to increased state excise taxes on gasoline. Drivers in California already pay the highest average for gasoline after Hawaii, and the Golden State has the second-highest gas taxes after Pennsylvania when combining state, local and federal gas taxes, according to GasBuddy.

Other:

Poll: People feel better about economy, not country

Stockton Record

52 percent of Americans polled say they think the country’s direction has worsened over the last year, and only 28 percent are optimistic that things will get better in the year to come.

MADDY INSTITUTE PUBLIC POLICY PROGRAMMING

Sunday, March 4, at 10 a.m. on ABC 30 – Maddy Report: Charter Schools –Pre-empted for Oscar programming.

Sunday, March 4, at 10 a.m. on Newstalk 580AM/105.9FM (KMJ) – Maddy Report: “California’s Future” – Guests: PPIC Experts: Eric McGee, Shannon McConville, Caroline Danielson, Alvar Escriva-Bou, Sarah Bohn, Paul Warren, Magnus Lofstrom and Brandon Martin. Host: Maddy Institute Executive Director, Mark Keppler.

Sunday, March 4, at 7:30 a.m. on UniMas 61 (KTTF) – El Informe Maddy:State Auditor Report on Charter Schools – Guest: Margarita Fernandez, PIO State Auditor’s Office. Host: Maddy Institute Program Coordinator, Maria Jeans.

Support the Maddy Daily HERE.

Thank you!

Topics in More Detail…

AGRICULTURE/FOOD

Tribes cut out of California pot market might grow their own

Fresno Bee

American Indian tribes that say they have been cut out of California’s legal marijuana market have raised the possibility of going their own way by establishing pot businesses outside the state-regulated system that is less than two months old.

Two from Madera chosen for Almond Leadership Program

Madera Tribune

This group of 18 future leaders represents nearly every aspect of the almond industry — from growers and pest control advisors to food safety specialists and grant writers. With the help of mentors, participants will spend the next year preparing to become leaders within their communities and the California almond industry.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE / FIRE / PUBLIC SAFETY

For stories on ”mass shootings and gun control,” See: “Top Stories – Local, State and Federal Politics,” above

Crime:

National Prison Rate Continues to Decline Amid Sentencing, Re-Entry Reforms

Pew Charitable Trusts

After peaking in 2008, the nation’s imprisonment rate fell 11 percent over eight years, reaching its lowest level since 1997, according to an analysis of new federal statistics by The Pew Charitable Trusts. The decline from 2015-16 was 2 percent, much of which was due to a drop in the number of federal prisoners. The rate at which black adults are imprisoned fell 4 percent from 2015-16 and has declined 29 percent over the past decade. The ongoing decrease in imprisonment has occurred alongside long-term reductions in crime. Since 2008, the combined national violent and property crime rate dropped 23 percent, Pew’s analysis shows.

Skelton: Why we need bail reform: California shouldn’t be requiring a payment for freedom

Los Angeles Times

California is moving toward ending its unjust pretrial bail system, a four-decade effort begun by Gov. Jerry Brown when he was governor the first time. Brown actually started crusading for bail reform before most current Californians were born.

Public Safety:

Why it might take five years to put in a stoplight to keep Los Banos students safe

Merced Sun-Star

It’s a busy, uncontrolled intersection frequently crossed by students on their way to and from Los Banos High School. City leaders say while, so far at least, major tragedy has been avoided, without a new stoplight the clock is ticking dangerously.

Lemoore PD gets new trauma kits

Hanford Sentinel

In the event of a major injury or trauma, minutes can be what stands between life and death. Many times a police officer is the first on scene at an accident, and to help officers better assist those injured Leprino Foods donated $4,500 to the Lemoore Police Officer’s Association (LPOA) so that Lemoore officers would have trauma kits for each officer.

California agents are on the hunt for targeted guns

Washington Post

By the time Senior Special Agent Sam Richardson’s team rolled up to the small house on Lark Ellen Avenue in a cool twilight, it had little to show for several hours of work. The stops in San Dimas and Covina: no luck. At the gray house on a corner in Pomona, yes, Nohemi Page was home with her infant. But the four pistols registered in her name — guns that felony convictions in California now rendered illegal for her to possess — were long gone.

ECONOMY / JOBS

Economy:

Report: California outpacing the nation in economic growth, but that’s not the whole story

Pasadena Star News

California is outpacing the nation in economic growth, but its momentum has slowed, according to a report released Tuesday. The Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp.’s Economic Forecast & Industry Outlook shows that California’s economy grew at a rate of 2.5 percent last year, slightly beating the nation’s annual growth of 2.4 percent. That number fell short of the 3.3 percent year-over-year growth the Golden State saw in 2016 and the 4 percent growth that occurred the previous two years.

Economists Take Dim View of a Range of Trump Policies in Survey

Bloomberg

A National Association for Business Economics survey of 211 members showed a majority expects the recent tax legislation to boost expansion this year by a quarter to three-quarters of a percentage point. Another question showed that 43 percent see a positive impact on the economy from the administration’s regulatory actions, yet another 40 percent said the effects would be positive in the near term and negative in the longer run.

A new and uncharted economic territory

Marketplace

Low unemployment rates, $1.5 trillion in tax cuts, a positive presidential economic report — it looks like the economy is entering uncharted waters. Or at least according to the Fed it is. We break it down with Yahoo Finance’s Dion Rabouin, who joins us to talk about this week’s economic and business news. Jerome Powell will be on the Hill next week for his first testimony as chair of the Fed, so we talk about what to expect. Also: Confidence is high amid tax and regulation cuts, but will that sugar high wear off? Former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers sure seems to think so.

What do stock market fluctuations mean for the economy?

Brookings

Stock market prices as measured by the S&P 500 reached an all-time peak on January 26. Less than two weeks after the peak, stock prices plunged more than 10 percent, erasing about $2.6 trillion of wealth. For purposes of comparison, the drop in stock market values represented a bit less than one-seventh of last year’s GDP. It is natural to wonder about the impact of such a large wealth loss on the economy.

Jobs:

$55-million grant helps create jobs in Central Valley

ABC30

Linking classroom and career creates upward mobility & a better workforce

CAFWD

The California economy is humming. Unemployment is at historic lows, even in many parts of the state often left behind in good times. But even this silver lining has a cloud. Parts of the Bay Area and Southern California are beyond full employment, which means some California regions are creating more jobs than the labor force can support.

Looking for a cool place to work?

Sacramento Bee

Want to work somewhere cutting-edge and cool? As the economy rebounds, more Sacramento businesses are investing in employee-friendly workplaces, where stylish architecture and some surprising amenities create an environment they say encourages productivity.

Hidden cost of housing: How a shortage of construction workers is making our crisis worse

The Mercury News

As the Bay Area scrambles to find housing for its growing population, developers are running into another kind of shortage: There aren’t enough construction workers to build the homes the region needs.

EDUCATION

Sanger reformer comes to help MUSD

Madera Tribune

Madera Unified School District is concerned about the report cards it has been receiving from the State Department of Education, and it is throwing itself wholeheartedly into a drive to deliver quality education for its students. To help make that effort pay off, a series of strategic planning sessions are being conducted, and the district has called on W. Richard Smith to lend a hand.

Public interviews for school board set

Madera Tribune

Madera Unified School District trustees are set to fill the vacancy on the school board, which was created by the resignation of Maria Velarde-Crist.

K-12:

Is Brown’s school finance reform paying off?

The Bakersfield Californian

As he introduced his final state budget in January, Gov. Jerry Brown faced sharp questions from reporters about the effectiveness of his landmark overhaul of public school finance. His Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF), which went into effect five years ago, provides more money to school districts with large numbers of poor and/or “English learner” students on the assumption that it will close the much-lamented “achievement gap” in learning.

Report: Despite decrease in school suspensions, black students are still disciplined more than peers

Bakersfield Californian

While suspensions have decreased across the state since 2011 as school districts rework their disciplinary approaches, male black students continue to be suspended and expelled at higher rates than their peers, according to a new analysis published this week by researchers from San Diego State and UCLA.

California research project timed to elevate education in fall elections, inform next governor

EdSource

Higher Ed:

Could free, in-school SAT option level the playing field?

The Mercury News

The SAT may be an important hurdle in the college admissions process, but until recently it was one that many students in the Long Beach Unified School District weren’t clearing. Fewer than half of 11th graders in the working-class district were even attempting the test.

Colleges offer micro grants to get cash-strapped students across finish line

EdSource

More schools are adding a focus on aiding students who are near graduation but might not make it without some extra money — often relatively modest amounts — beyond traditional financial aid.

Apprenticeships:

California Needs Career and Technical Education

Fox & Hounds

Californians eagerly await Congressional implementation of President Trump’s recently released infrastructure proposal, a $1.5 trillion plan to rebuild our country’s neglected bridges, dams, schools, highways, streets and public transit. Even with funding, a lack of skilled construction workers presents a serious barrier to success.

ENVIRONMENT/ ENERGY

Environment:

Cutbacks, policy shifts pummel morale at EPA office in SF

San Francisco Chronicle

Lynda Deschambault knew her career at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency had taken a hard turn in July when, she said, her supervisor told her during a performance review to “be as invisible as possible.” The next month, she took early retirement.

On Climate Change, Local Governments Tell Different Stories in the Courtroom and on Wall Street

Fox&Hounds

By 2050, because of climate change, Oakland officials insist that the city faces dealing with “100-year” type floods every two years—or maybe it won’t have those floods. Apparently, that forecast all depends on who city officials are talking to–whether you are an energy company being sued by the City of Oakland demanding money because of the dangers climate change supposedly bring or you are an investor interested in buying an Oakland municipal bond. In the latter case, Oakland officials attest that the city is unable to predict the impact of climate change or flooding.

Greenhouse gas emissions rose again in 2016

Umweltbundesamt

In 2016, German emissions reached a total of 909.4 million metric tonnes CO2 equivalent. This amounts to 2.6 million tonnes more than in 2015 and represents the second increase in successive years. Such are the results of calculations recently submitted to the EU by the German Environment Agency (UBA). Emissions from the transport sector have risen once again and, at 166.8 million metric tonnes, again exceed the levels of 1990. The lion’s share of these emissions is accounted for by road traffic, which rose by 3.7 million metric tonnes. The reason for this is that ever larger quantities of goods are being moved by road.

Energy:

Clean energy policies like cap and trade a boon for region’s businesses

OCRegister

After one of the biggest and most destructive wildfire seasons that brought the Santa Ana winds to national headlines, Californians are coming to terms with year-round fire season as the new normal.

When Will Renewables Become The Dominant Source Of Energy? It May Be Sooner Than You Think

Forbes

As the amount of renewable energy in global electricity networks continues to surge, a new question arises – when will renewables become the dominant source of energy? A new report, the Lloyd’s Register 2018 Technology Radar, examines this issue and also looks at which technologies are likely to have the biggest impact in different countries and what are the key drivers and barriers to success.

BP: Demand for oil could peak by late 2030s

CNN

The world’s thirst for oil may finally be quenched. Global demand for crude is likely to “plateau” during the late 2030s, mostly because of the rise of electric cars and trucks, BP predicted Tuesday in its annual outlook. BP thinks 320 million electric vehicles will be on the road by 2040, compared with about 2 million in 2016. The company thinks electrics will hit a tipping point and really take off after 2035.

Plan to expand California electricity grid powers up for third time in as many years

The San Diego Union-Tribune

For the third time in three years, California energy officials are working to expand governance of the electric power grid to become a regional function covering as many as 14 states. Opponents of the plan, which would fundamentally rewrite how electricity is managed across most of the West, are once again steeling for a fight.

HEALTH/HUMAN SERVICES

Health:

Valley Children’s crafts solution to the area’s pediatric needs

Visalia Times-Delta

Low enrollment for Valley Fever drug trial

Hanford Sentinel

More than one year after House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy secured $5 million in federal funding to launch a five-year clinical trial of a drug used to treat valley fever, health providers are struggling to enroll patients.

Only 7 Percent Of Californians Lack Health Insurance, National Study Says

capradio.org

Trump administration unveils alternative to Obamacare

CNN

Americans will soon have one more alternative to Obamacare, thanks to the Trump administration. Officials Tuesday proposed regulations that will make it easier to obtain coverage through short-term health insurance plans — which don’t have to adhere to the Affordable Care Act’s consumer protections — by allowing insurers to sell policies that last just under a year. The new rules stem from an executive order President Donald Trump signed in October aimed at boosting competition, giving consumers more choices and lowering premiums.

· Dems fume as Trump pushes low-cost, ObamaCare alternative health plansFox News

Shocking Aetna report demonstrates why California needs single-payer reform

OCRegister

Reports that Aetna’s former Southern California medical director admitted he never looked at patient records before denying a patient critical care reveals an inconvenient truth about our dysfunctional healthcare system — that’s how the insurance system is set up to run, and it won’t change until we delink health care from profiteering.

Bercerra: Why Supreme Court case critical to future health of California

The San Diego Union-Tribune

We all win when working people have a voice in decisions that affect them. Through collective bargaining, workers have a say in issues that matter to their families, including wages, health and safety and paid sick days and health care benefits. I learned this lesson as a young man growing up in a union household. It is reinforced every day I go to work as a state official.

Healthcare Spending to Reach $5.7 Trillion by 2026

The American Spectator

Profligacy never had it so good. But for how long? “National healthcare spending trends are unsustainable in the long term,” President Donald Trump’s budget acknowledges. An article published earlier this month in the medical policy journal Health Affairs buttresses this simple point. Medical inflation stands to outpace both economic growth and actual inflation. Our spending — government, individual, business, etc. — on healthcare, projected to increase 5.5 percent annually over the next nine years, pushes the total to $5.7 trillion a year by 2026.

Human Services:

He sexually harassed co-worker in Iowa. Why did California medical board take action?

Modesto Bee

The Medical Board of California has placed a local physician on seven years’ probation over a sexual harassment allegation in Iowa.The disciplinary action against Dr. Foad Elahi, a pain management specialist, took effect Thursday. Elahi has a practice in Manteca and until recently was medical director of the HealthSouth Rehabilitation Hospital at Coffee Road and Mable Avenue in Modesto.

IMMIGRATION

For stories on “Dreamers” See: “Top Stories – Federl Politics,” above

Fresno law enforcement officials doubt president will tell ICE agents to leave California

Fresno Bee

· Donald Trump at CPAC gives misleading impression about immigration, MS-13 PolitiFact

· ‘We won’t be bullied’: California Democrats react to Trump’s immigration threats Los Angeles Times

· Visits by federal immigration authorities are spooking California businesses and workers Los Angeles Times

Is America a ‘Nation of Immigrants’? Immigration Agency Says No

The New York Times

The federal agency that issues green cards and grants citizenship to people from foreign countries has stopped characterizing the United States as “a nation of immigrants.” The director of United States Citizenship and Immigration Services informed employees in a letter on Thursday that its mission statement had been revised to “guide us in the years ahead.”

LAND USE/HOUSING

Land Use:

Smith: More evidence about why downtown matters

Bakersfield.com

Shopping center rising in northeast Modesto; opposition has endured

Modesto Bee

Work is underway on a northeast Modesto shopping center that has faced legal challenges and opposition from some residents in a nearby neighborhood. The Marketplace shopping center is being built on 18 acres at the southwest corner of Sylvan Avenue and Oakdale Road and will be anchored by a Save Mart grocery store.

A new waterslide resort headed to Manteca?

Modesto Bee

Fourteen years after the venerable Manteca Waterslides closed, a new waterslide resort is headed to the city. Manteca’s Planning Commission is set this week to hold a public hearing on an agreement with Great Wolf Resorts. The company runs 12 indoor water parks in the United States and California.

Housing:

Hidden cost of housing: How a shortage of construction workers is making our crisis worse

The Mercury News

Ignore rising mortgage rates. Job market will show what’s next for California housing!

OCRegister

Should real estate watchers — from professionals to homeowners — think rising mortgage rates will kill the housing market? As a common logic goes, pricier financing translates to fewer qualified buyers … and those folks who can pass a lender’s muster will have less cash to spend thanks to higher mortgage rates. A double-whammy for housing?

Sales of New Homes in U.S. Fall to Lowest Level Since August

Bloomberg

U.S. sales of new homes unexpectedly fell in January to the lowest level since August as borrowing costs rose and winter weather depressed demand, according to government data released Monday.

PUBLIC FINANCES

‘This is not normal’: Glitches mar new tax law

Politico

The glitches in the new tax law are starting to pile up. One inadvertently denies restaurants, retailers and others generous new write-offs for things like remodeling. Another would allow wealthy money managers to sidestep a crackdown on lucrative tax breaks that allows them to pay lower taxes on some of their income than ordinary wage earners.

California should stop picking winners and losers with corporate tax credits

OCRegister

California lawmakers should heed the advice of the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office and allow the failed California Competes tax credit program to lapse. Since 2013, California has doled out hundreds of million of dollars in tax credits to select companies in a bid to make the state more economically competitive. From the start of the program through the end of the 2017-18 fiscal year, it is estimated that $780 million in tax credits will have been provided to select businesses.

Business group wants state Supreme Court to scrap California rule

Bond Buyer

The California Business Roundtable filed an amicus brief with the state Supreme Court urging the court to reject the California Rule, a series of rulings that have prevented the state and its local governments from enacting pension reforms. The roundtable, an organization that represents the senior leaders of the state’s largest employers, filed the friend of the court brief Friday in the pension reform case of Cal Fire Local 2881 v. the California State Employees’ Retirement System and the State of California.

TRANSPORTATION

A look at transportation safety rules sidelined under Trump

Merced Sun-Star

President Donald Trump says his administration has ended more unnecessary regulations than any previous administration. In response to his orders, the Transportation Department has withdrawn, repealed, delayed or put on the back burner at least a dozen significant safety rules, according to an Associated Press review of the department’s regulatory actions over the past year.

DMV to give driverless cars the green light

ABC30

You’ve probably seen them around the Bay Area: cars covered in cameras and sensors that are the test vehicles for the autonomous cars of the future. But in a little over a month, you could start to see something else: those same vehicles, with no one behind the wheel. The California DMV is expecting to receive state approval on new rules that would let autonomous car companies take the human safety driver out of the driver’s seat, and also apply for permits to take passengers.

As traffic jams increase, so does telecommuting

The Mercury News

Telecommuting one day a week is better than adding more lanes on freeways. But here’s a surprise. California is the No. 1 state for telecommuting. Here are some numbers from a 2015 study on telecommuting compared to 2007.

Even as California embraces electric vehicles, pickup trucks still rule its roads

CNBC

California, easily the biggest market in the United States for electric-vehicle sales, is still very much in love with the pickup truck. In fact, data from the California New Car Dealers Association shows the Ford F-Series pickup outsold all pure electric vehicles combined in 2017. Californians bought 53,549 electric vehicles last year compared with 55,249 F-Series. In fact, full-size pickups outsold electric vehicles by a 3-1 ratio last year in California.

Watch Out, Airlines. High Speed Rail Now Rivals Flying on Key Routes

Bloomberg

Across Asia and Europe, high-speed rail is providing a competitive alternative to air travel on the same routes, in terms of price and the all-important barometer of time. Put that together with the environmental benefits that flow from not burning jet fuel, and staying on the ground begins to make more sense for travelers who would otherwise trudge to the airport.

Mathews: Losing my children to California’s overcrowded train

Bakersfield Californian

If California’s train deniers are right — that no one ever rides trains here, that Californians prefer to drive or fly, and that high-speed rail is a boondoggle that won’t attract riders — then how do you explain my wife’s public humiliation? Recently, our family was on Amtrak from San Diego to L.A., when an announcement came over the sound system: “Mrs. Mathews, we have two of your children here in the café car. Mrs. Mathews, you should never let your children walk unaccompanied on an Amtrak train.”

WATER

Armona looks to grow with new and improved water system

ABC30

Steve Bowles bought his home in Armona a few years ago because he likes the water there. He’s lived in Lemoore and Hanford, but he says their water just doesn’t compare. “The quality was just better to me,” Bowles said. And since the completion of a multi-million dollar well and water treatment plant, Bowles says the tint he used to see is gone-so is the arsenic. “We need fresh water, we need drinkable water,” Bowles said. “It’s a good thing to stay on top of that.”

Chowchilla upgrading 2 wells, drilling another

Madera Tribune

Chowchilla is taking steps to improve its water system and make sure an adequate supply of water is always available for the city. Public Works Director Jason Rogers and contract city engineer Jerry Jones reported to the City Council that two of the city’s wells, No. 5A and No. 11, are not operating at peak efficiency and are in need of repairs and upgrade.

Much-needed Sierra Nevada snowfall on the way! But a Miracle March? Not so fast.

California Weather Blog

The 2017-2018 “rainy season” has been a pretty unusual one over much of California. The season to date has been nearly the driest on record to date over much of Southern California, and conditions have also become increasingly dry across the north as the season has progressed.

Walters: The next big front in California’s water war

The Mercury News

After one year of torrential respite, drought may have returned to California, and with it, a renewal of the state’s perpetual conflict over water management. State and federal water systems have told farmers not to expect more than a fifth of their paper allocations, the state Water Resources Control Board is weighing a new regime of mandatory conservation, and supporters of more reservoirs are complaining about the glacial pace of spending $2.7 billion set aside in a water bond for more storage.

California Water Agency Officials Charged With Burying Hazardous Waste And Corruption

The Two-Way | NPR

California’s attorney general has charged five former and current employees of the Panoche Water District in central California with felonies, including using public funds for personal items and illegally burying barrels of hazardous waste. The Department of Toxic Substances Control at California’s Environmental Protection Agency says it found 86 drums, each holding between 35 and 55 gallons of “chlorine, caustic soda, iron chloride and a mixture of used antifreeze, used solvents, and used oil.”

Opinion: Infrastructure Bill Shouldn’t Ignore Our Aging Water Systems

Roll Call

Safe drinking water is the bedrock of public health. On that score, America is failing. From lead poisoning in Flint, Michigan, to toxic levels of arsenic found in Texas, over the past decade tens of millions of Americans have likely been exposed to dangerously unsafe water.

“Xtra”

The Mammoth Orange, artifact of an era, to get new life at a fossil museum

Fresno Bee

A large, round and still-orange reminder of America’s fabled love of the open road sits outside a fossil museum in central California where the community is making plans to restore it. The Mammoth Orange hamburger stand – shaped like a giant orange – was a fixture on Highway 99 near Highway 152 at a place called Fairmead. It closed about 10 years ago.

A Lost, Final Huell Howser Episode Has Been Discovered

Los Angeles Magazine

Huell Howser might have more in common with Tupac than we ever knew. In life, both were enthusiastic chroniclers of California life and, we now learn, both left behind unfinished tapes to be discovered and turned into posthumous releases. When Howser passed away in 2013, he was working on a final episode of his series, California’s Gold. That unfinished project has been uncovered, completed, and will finally screen for the first time.

EDITORIALS

Fresno’s adored Audra gets star billing; copycat terror threats frighten Valley

Fresno Bee

Thumbs up to Fresno’s Broadway baby Audra McDonald . Fresno Unified School District is planning to name the theater at the Roosevelt School of the Arts after her, its most famous alumna. She has been performing for adoring Valley audiences since she was a child, as a member of the Good Company Players.

Our view: Will demand for change rise above cha-ching of change?

Stockton Record

The mass shootings come with increasingly regularity. Think about that, increasing regularity. Since 2009, there have been at least a dozen mass shootings that garnered national attention. Those incidents alone account for at least 280 people dead.

Finally, there’s an opportunity to help Modesto’s homeless

Modesto Bee

Homelessness is a crisis in California. This week, the mayors of the state’s 11 biggest cities asked the state for $2 billion to confront it. Homeless in Modesto and Stanislaus County is part of that crisis. But here, we have a very real opportunity to make a difference and quickly. And we have all the tools we need to do it.

Look past Trump’s false choices on gun controls

Mercury News

In the aftermath of the Parkland, Fla., school massacre, the nation should look past President Trump and the gun lobby’s false narrative of competing alternatives. Making the country safer doesn’t require keeping guns out of the hands of the mentally ill rather than banning assault weapons. It requires doing both, and recognizing the latter is a much bigger issue.

Finally, a start to curb sexual harassment in the Legislature

San Francisco Chronicle

In December, Sacramento lawmakers cleaned up their act by ordering an outside look at sex harassment claims against their peers in the Legislature, including state Sen. Tony Mendoza. Now they have the results: a damning catalog of his sleazy conduct that produced his angry decision to quit.

Test yourself with our new free game: PolitiTruth

Think you can tell the difference between True and False?

Do you really know what is fake news?

Support the Maddy Daily HERE.

Thank you!

Maddy Institute Updated List of San Joaquin Valley Elected Officials HERE.

The Kenneth L. Maddy Institute at California State University, Fresno was established to honor the legacy of one of California’s most principled and effective legislative leaders of the last half of the 20th Century by engaging, preparing and inspiring a new generation of governmental leaders for the 21st Century. Its mission is to inspire citizen participation, elevate government performance, provide non-partisan analysis and assist in providing solutions for public policy issues important to the region, state and nation.

This document is to be used for informational purposes only. Unless specifically noted, The Maddy Institute at California State University, Fresno does not officially endorse or support views that may be expressed in the document. If you want to print a story, please do so now before the link expires. 

To Subscribe or Unsubscribe: mjeans@csufresno.edu