February 27, 2020

27Feb

POLICY & POLITICS

 

$56,000 Wonderful Public Service Graduate Fellowships

Deadline TOMORROW!  (Feb. 28)

The Maddy Institute

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. This program helps students obtain an advanced degree from a top graduate program, return home, and apply what they have learned to help make the Valley a better place.

 

North SJ Valley:

 

Applications being accepted for San Joaquin County boards, commissions and committees

Stockton Record

The San Joaquin County Board of Supervisors is seeking members to serve on several boards, commissions and committees.

 

California wants to kill every one of these swamp rats by 2025. Congress is ready to help

Merced Sun-Star

A California Democrat trying to eradicate invasive swamp rats from his state highly recommends using an animal carcass to get action in a typically deadlocked Congress.

 

Central SJ Valley:

 

California lawmakers order audit of Fresno sheriff, others over spending and jail conditions

Sacramento Bee

Citing a series of jail deaths in Fresno County and faltering local oversight across the state, lawmakers have directed the California auditor’s office to review how sheriffs manage their county jails.

 

About 2,000 Fresno County ballots have been rejected for the March primary. Here’s why

Fresno Bee

Some 2,000 ballots — roughly .42% of registered voters — have been rejected so far in Fresno County because of a disparity in signatures, the County Clerk’s Office confirmed Wednesday.

 

Calwa Park fire forces voting center move. Here’s where to cast your ballot Tuesday

Fresno Bee

A fire that burned part of the recreation center at Calwa Park on Saturday is forcing Tuesday’s voting center to be moved, according to the County of Fresno Administrative Office. An alternate voting center will open Tuesday at Cedar Courts, 4430 E. Hamilton Ave. in Fresno.

 

Why the 2020 census is so important to Fresno schools — and its students

Fresno Bee

During the last census, almost 1 million children under 5 were not counted including about 210,000 Californians, according to a report by the U.S Census Bureau. School officials say undercounting in the census plays a role in overcrowding classrooms.

 

FUSD offers teacher academy for aspiring teachers

abc30

A Fresno Unified program is providing a pathway for students right back to the classroom. For over 20 years, Teacher Academy has introduced students to careers in education.

 

EDITORIAL: Congressman Jim Costa is at ‘the top of his game.’ Voters should give him a new term

Fresno Bee

Democrats hold a nearly 20-percentage point advantage over Republicans in party registration in California’s 16th Congressional District. It has been solidly under Jim Costa’s control since it was formed in 2012.

 

Group asks Congress to investigate how Devin Nunes is paying for his lawsuits

Fresno Bee

A nonpartisan watchdog group filed an ethics complaint against Rep. Devin Nunes Wednesday, calling for a congressional investigation into how the California Republican is paying for his lawsuits against media companies and critics.

See also:

 

South SJ Valley:

 

Top Kern County election official out with Election Day less than a week away

Bakersfield Californian

The woman described as the “operational chief” of the Kern County Elections Division is no longer working for the county. The news became public less than a week before Election Day, although few details were available Wednesday.

 

County vows new oil review after court defeat

Bakersfield Californian

Instead of backing down, Kern County government plans to take another run at the oil-and-gas environmental review struck down on appeal Tuesday in a major setback for local petroleum production.

See also:

 

Proposal would allow oil companies keep injecting wastewater into Kern County aquifers

Desert Sun

California regulators are negotiating an agreement with two major oil companies that would allow them to keep injecting millions of gallons of wastewater into potential drinking water and irrigation supplies in the Central Valley for three years. 

 

Kern County begins using homeless individuals for highway cleanup

Bakersfield Californian

A program in which homeless individuals will clean up state highways in rural Kern County kicked off Wednesday.

 

State:

 

Governor: Coronavirus changing “by the hour” in California

CalMatters

In a state with more patients and more in quarantine than any other, many questions remain unanswered as coronavirus develops in California.

 

Homelessness tops Gavin Newsom’s agenda. So why is his housing department understaffed?

Sacramento Bee

Gov. Gavin Newsom’s ambitious plans to build houses and reduce homelessness in California depend on a state department that is understaffed, lacking permanent leaders and struggling to adjust to change, according to documents and interviews.

See also:

 

Newsom is promising a database to track homeless people statewide. It won’t be that easy

Los Angeles Times

“Because you can’t manage what you don’t measure,” Gov. Gavin Newsom said in his State of the State address last week that California “will establish a unified homelessness data system to capture accurate, local information.”

 

California governor seeks overhaul of child care programs

Hanford Sentinel

Gov. Gavin Newsom wants to consolidate the state's confusing array of child care programs that are run by multiple state agencies to make getting the services easier for for low-income parents of young kids.

 

California’s new labor law is a work in progress. Here’s how lawmakers could change it

Sacramento Bee

The California Legislature is considering nearly three dozen bills to clean up or repeal the landmark gig economy law signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom just months ago.

 

EDITORIAL: Physical fitness tests may make some students feel bad, but that’s no reason to stop doing them

Los Angeles Times

Physical education in California schools could use an overhaul. Despite the requirement that students engage in regular physical activity during each school week, the fitness of the state’s students isn’t improving.

 

Federal:

 

Trump urges calm even as US reports worrisome new virus case

Fresno Bee

President Donald Trump declared Wednesday that a widespread U.S. outbreak of the new respiratory virus sweeping the globe isn't inevitable even as top health authorities at his side warned Americans that more infections are coming.

See also:

 

Trump Campaign Sues New York Times Over Opinion Piece

Wall Street Journal

President Trump’s campaign filed a libel lawsuit against the New York Times, accusing it of knowingly publishing false and defamatory statements in an opinion piece on the 2016 election and Russia.

 

Elections 2020:

 

Fresno-area schools are asking voters for a lot of money. Here’s what you need to know

Fresno Bee

Six different Fresno-area school districts are asking voters to approve local bond funding, and there’s a statewide school bond on the ballot, too. Want to know how much you could pay, if voters support a bond in Fresno, Clovis and Central district schools? Ed Lab has you covered.

See also:

 

Goodbye Polling Place, Hello Vote Center. More California Counties Moving To Voter's Choice Model.

Capital Public Radio

More counties in California are moving away from neighborhood polling precincts during the March 3 primary in favor of vote centers, an expanding election model designed to boost voter participation.

See also:

 

Demystifying California's Upcoming March 3 Primary

Capital Public Radio

As California’s March 3 primary approaches, there is confusion about two things: in some counties, polling places are moving to new voting centers and people registered as “no party preference” will have to re-register with a party to vote.

 

After embarrassing losses in 2018, GOP is targeting these California House seats in November

Los Angeles Times

Republicans are mounting an aggressive campaign to win back some of the seven California congressional seats they lost in 2018, a repudiation that turned the GOP into an endangered species in the state.

See also:

 

California Primary Election 2020: Where Do Candidates Stand On The Issues?

KPBS

We asked state, county and citywide candidates running for public office this year where they stand on some of the most contentious issues ranging from immigration to student debt and universal healthcare.

 

Just what is it about Bernie Sanders that young voters love?

Los Angeles Times

For younger voters, their formative years have primed them to embrace more radical politics. Sanders may come across as angry. But young voters consider the problems at hand and figure, why shouldn’t he be?

See also:

 

‘He Hasn’t Been Here’: Why Joe Biden Lags in Super Tuesday States

New York Times

Joseph R. Biden Jr. is counting on a victory in South Carolina to revive his candidacy. But a daunting challenge awaits next week in states where he has limited resources.

 

For a historic high court pick, Dems must think outside box

Porterville Recorder

Joe Biden is dangling a history-making promise shortly before South Carolina's presidential primary on Saturday, the first 2020 contest featuring a majority black electorate. Elect him president, Biden says, and he might nominate the first black woman to the Supreme Court.

 

It’s Facebook vs. the Bloomberg Campaign vs. the Internet

New York Times

The Bloomberg campaign is putting out more memes on private Instagram accounts — and running faster than Facebook can keep up.

 

Texas looms large as Super Tuesday bonanza for Democrats

Fresno Bee

Bernie Sanders packed a rodeo arena in Dallas. Mike Bloomberg has spent more than $13.5 million on television ads around Houston alone. And neither Joe Biden nor Elizabeth Warren can afford big losses. For a change, Texas matters in picking a presidential nominee.

 

Swinging the Vote?

The Markup

For political causes and candidates, who get a significant amount of their donations through email, having their messages diverted into less-visible tabs or spam can have profound effects.

 

Six ways the demand for government reform will shape the 2020 election

Brookings

Unless Democrats offer a credible government reform agenda to match their inventory of new programs, the rebuilders may conclude that Trump is the safer choice. This is the rebuilder’s dilemma in 2020.

 

Other:

 

With An Election On The Horizon, Older Adults Get Help Spotting Fake News

NPR

A recent study suggests these classes could be increasingly important. Researchers at Princeton and New York universities found that Facebook users 65 and over posted seven times as many articles from fake news websites, compared with adults under 29.

 

Want a job in journalism? The Fresno Bee and Fresnoland Lab are now hiring

Fresno Bee

McClatchy is building a team of journalists to uncover important stories and solutions at the intersection of housing, development, land use and water in the central San Joaquin Valley. We believe that what neighborhood or community you live in has a dramatic effect on your quality of life -- and that past, present, and future policies matter greatly.

 

 

MADDY INSTITUTE PUBLIC POLICY PROGRAMMING

 

Sunday, March 1, at 10 a.m. on ABC30 – Maddy Report: California Latinos: An Economic Analysis - Guests: Mindy Romero, Director of California Civic Engagement Project, Price School of Public Policy at USC. Host: Maddy Institute Executive Director, Mark Keppler.

 

Sunday, March 1, at 10 a.m. on Newstalk 580AM/105.9FM (KMJ) – Maddy Report - Valley Views Edition: Poverty and the Economic Situation of California Latinos? - Guests: Sarah Bohn, Public Policy Institute of California and Mindy Romero, Director of USC Price School of Public School. Host: Maddy Institute Executive Director, Mark Keppler.

 

Sunday, March 1, at 7:30 a.m. on UniMas 61 (KTTF) – El Informe Maddy: Immigration: Opportunities for New Businesses in the Valley - Guests: Dora Westerlund, CEO - The Fresno Area Hispanic Foundation; Yeru Olivares, CFO -  The Fresno Area Hispanic Foundation, Yolanda Garcia, Owner - YO'MAMMAS!; Robert Zapata, Opportunity Fund. Host: Maddy Institute Program Coordinator, Maria Jeans.

 

AGRICULTURE/FOOD

 

Tractor Tech of the Future

abc30

What happens when you combine a tractor with a Tesla? As the automobile industry is turning its head to climate conscience consumers, the Agriculture industry is beginning to do the same.

 

FDA, CDC link Jimmy John’s sprouts to sixth E. coli outbreak

Fresno Bee

After five being tied to five foodborne illness outbreaks, four of them E. coli, in the last seven years, the FDA upbraided Jimmy John’s for a track record of receiving and selling “adulterated fresh produce, specifically clover sprouts and cucumbers.”

 

CRIMINAL JUSTICE / FIRE / PUBLIC SAFETY

 

Crime:

 

'It's About Time': House Approves Historic Bill Making Lynching A Federal Crime

Capital Public Radio

The Emmett Till Antilynching Act was overwhelmingly approved on a bipartisan vote. "It's never too late to repudiate evil," Rep. Bobby Rush said.

 

‘Up to no good’: Modesto police looking for boys who emptied city fire extinguishers

Modesto Bee

Modesto Police are looking for at least seven juveniles who were captured on surveillance cameras emptying fire extinguishers at Modesto Centre Plaza.

 

Public Safety:

 

Dating violence is common. Turlock teens teach legislators, peers about prevention

Modesto Bee

“HARRT is designed to be a youth-led adolescent relationship abuse prevention program,” said Holly Grace Currie, the youth services manager at Haven Women’s Center. Seven area high schools have HARRT programs, and about 250 students participated in 2018.

 

How many mass shootings might have been prevented by stronger gun laws?

Los Angeles Times

After each mass shooting in America, lawmakers debate a familiar menu of gun control polices. Yet no major reforms have passed Congress since 1994 — and the killings continue. On Wednesday, for instance, multiple people were shot dead at the Molson Coors corporate complex in Milwaukee.

 

After accident they warned about, sisters of mentally ill man blame the state — and beg governor to act

CalMatters

An audit of Lanterman-Petris-Short is due out later this spring, and could suggest a possible path forward for the state.

 

Fire:

 

‘A Huge Legacy’: Firefighter Figueroa remembered on Tuesday

Porterville Recorder

It was a day for grief and sorrow on Tuesday as Porterville Fire Captain Ramon “Ray” Figueroa was laid to rest at the North Kern Cemetery in Delano.

 

US forest chief: 'Tough choices' to fund wildfire prevention

Porterville Recorder

The U.S. Forest Service has been working with states and other partners to treat more acres every year in hopes of reducing the threat of catastrophic wildfire, but Forest Chief Vicki Christiansen acknowledged that a budget proposal for the next fiscal year reflects “tough choices and trade-offs” that could mean no funding for some programs.

 

Prescribed Burns Resume in Miami Creek-Lone Sequoia Area

Sierra News

The Bass Lake Ranger District announced Wednesday that fire officials plan to resume burning today in the Miami Creek-Lone Sequoia prescribed treatment unit.

 

California wildfire victims fear coming last in PG&E payout

Stockton Record

A $13.5 billion settlement between victims of California’s catastrophic wildfires and the utility blamed for causing them was supposed to bring some peace and hope to people still reeling from the devastation.

 

FEMA wants billions for helping after California wildfires. Victims plead with judge to stop them

Sacramento Bee

PG&E Corp. and lawyers for wildfire victims Wednesday urged a bankruptcy judge Wednesday to reject FEMA’s demand for a $3.9 billion reimbursement from the troubled utility, saying the government’s claim could undermine a carefully crafted plan to compensate victims and exit bankruptcy.

See also:

 

ECONOMY / JOBS

 

Economy:

 

Yellen Says Coronavirus Could Throw U.S. Economy Into Recession

Bloomberg

Former Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said depending on how widely the coronavirus spreads, the economic impact could have a significant impact on Europe and veer the U.S. toward a recession.

See also:

 

Fresno bank branch focuses on loans to women

Business Journal

Grameen America focuses on providing low-income women microloans to help establish or expand their businesses.

 

Jobs:

 

Want a job in journalism? The Fresno Bee and Fresnoland Lab are now hiring

Fresno Bee

McClatchy is building a team of journalists to uncover important stories and solutions at the intersection of housing, development, land use and water in the central San Joaquin Valley. We believe that what neighborhood or community you live in has a dramatic effect on your quality of life -- and that past, present, and future policies matter greatly.

 

BC's Business and Entrepreneurial Career Expo set for April 22

Bakersfield Californian

Bakersfield College is hosting its annual Business and Entrepreneurial Career Expo where employers will share part-time and full-time job opportunities, internships and mentorships with students.

 

Labor unions flex their muscle in fight with California cannabis industry

Los Angeles Times

California’s largest marijuana association is in a bind after powerful labor unions accused the organization of distributing an anti-union document and asked Democratic politicians to “refrain from engaging with” the group in a display of organized labor’s immense political muscle at the state Capitol.

 

California’s new labor law is a work in progress. Here’s how lawmakers could change it

Sacramento Bee

The California Legislature is considering nearly three dozen bills to clean up or repeal the landmark gig economy law signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom just months ago.

 

Best-Performing Cities 2020: Where America’s Jobs Are Created and Sustained

Milken Institute

The Milken Institute’s Best-Performing Cities series has tracked the economic performance of US metros for two decades using job, wage and salary, and high-tech gross domestic product (GDP) indicators.

 

Study: Employment Among LA County Residents Experiencing Homelessness

California Policy Lab at UCLA

The California Policy Lab found that a majority (74%) of people who enrolled to receive homeless services in Los Angeles between 2010 and 2018 had worked in California before enrolling for services.

 

EDUCATION

 

K-12:

 

Why the 2020 census is so important to Fresno schools — and its students

Fresno Bee

During the last census, almost 1 million children under 5 were not counted including about 210,000 Californians, according to a report by the U.S Census Bureau. School officials say undercounting in the census plays a role in overcrowding classrooms.

 

FUSD offers teacher academy for aspiring teachers

abc30

A Fresno Unified program is providing a pathway for students right back to the classroom. For over 20 years, Teacher Academy has introduced students to careers in education.

 

California governor seeks overhaul of child care programs

Hanford Sentinel

Gov. Gavin Newsom wants to consolidate the state's confusing array of child care programs that are run by multiple state agencies to make getting the services easier for for low-income parents of young kids.

 

EDITORIAL: Physical fitness tests may make some students feel bad, but that’s no reason to stop doing them

Los Angeles Times

Physical education in California schools could use an overhaul. Despite the requirement that students engage in regular physical activity during each school week, the fitness of the state’s students isn’t improving.

 

Higher Ed:

 

CSU Cited for Successful Efforts to Close California Degree Gap

CSU

In 2019, the CSU's 23 campuses conferred a record number of bachelor's degrees (107,319)—the second consecutive year with more than 100,000 baccalaureate degrees awarded.

 

CSUB to host free RecycleMainia event on Saturday

Bakersfield Now

Cal State Bakersfield and several local organizations will host RecycleMania on Saturday. The event invites anyone looking to shred any unwanted documents and recycle any old electronics for free.

 

With $5.49 billion haul, UCLA rivals private colleges in fundraising — it’s part of a trend

Los Angeles Times

UCLA has raised $5.49 billion in one of the nation’s most successful public university fundraising campaigns, as an “arms race” heats up throughout the country for private philanthropy to offset state funding shortfalls.

 

Lawsuit challenges OPT program, potentially impacting international students

Daily Bruin

A lawsuit threatens the future of a post-graduate work program for international students, potentially impacting those hoping to study in the United States.

 

ENVIRONMENT/ ENERGY

 

Environment:

 

A trillion trees not enough to fix climate crisis, critics say

Merced Sun-Star

A trillion trees is a lot, but would be woefully inadequate to address the global warming crisis, according to Democrats and climate scientists who said Republican backers of a tree-planting plan are using it to distract attention from the need to phase out fossil fuel use.

 

Lawsuit in California targets plastics pollution from Coca-Cola, Pepsi and other companies

Los Angeles Times

Escalating a campaign to make corporations responsible for the waste they produce, an environmental group filed suit Wednesday against some of the world's biggest food, beverage and consumer goods companies in a California court, arguing they should be held responsible for plastic packaging that is fouling the state's oceans, rivers and streams.

 

Better Late Than Never? Big Companies Scramble To Make Lofty Climate Promises

NPR

More companies are disclosing their carbon emissions, and more of those companies have emissions reductions targets, according to the global nonprofit CDP (formerly the Carbon Disclosure Project).

 

Opinion: California’s a climate leader? These six proposals show how much more we have to do

Los Angeles Times

Since the 2013 onset of the cap-and-trade program, the centerpiece of the state’s policies, greenhouse gas emissions from oil and gas sources have actually increased — by 3.5%, according to a ProPublica investigation.

 

Opinion: California’s recycling collapse is about to hit home

CalMatters

As if the ongoing homelessness crisis isn’t enough, California is facing another emergency—a recycling crisis—and it’s about to get far worse if a department of state government has its way.

 

Energy:

 

Proposal would allow oil companies keep injecting wastewater into Kern County aquifers

Desert Sun

California regulators are negotiating an agreement with two major oil companies that would allow them to keep injecting millions of gallons of wastewater into potential drinking water and irrigation supplies in the Central Valley for three years. 

 

HEALTH/HUMAN SERVICES

 

Health:

 

First U.S. coronavirus case of unknown origin confirmed in Northern California, CDC says

Fresno Bee

Officials with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed the nation’s first coronavirus case of unknown origin Wednesday in Northern California in the latest sign of the virus’ rapid spread.

See also:

 

About 40% of US adults are obese, government survey finds

Fresno Bee

About 4 in 10 American adults are obese, and nearly 1 in 10 is severely so, government researchers said Thursday.

 

Human Services:

 

The Golden State’s Mixed Record On Lung Cancer

California Healthline

California has the third-lowest rate of new lung cancer cases in U.S., but the state performs poorly in treating and screening for the disease, according to the American Lung Association's most recent "State of Lung Cancer" report.

 

IMMIGRATION

 

Court sides with Trump in ‘sanctuary cities’ grant fight

Fresno Bee

The Trump administration can withhold millions of dollars in law enforcement grants to force states to cooperate with U.S. immigration enforcement, a federal appeals court in New York ruled Wednesday in a decision that conflicted with three other federal appeals courts.

See also:

 

Interior official: Border wall helps environment, sacred sites

Merced Sun-Star

An Interior Department official defended the Trump administration's construction of the border wall between the U.S. and Mexico as an environmental good, arguing that erecting that barrier will help at-risk plants, animals and Native American cultural sites from damage even as lawsuits allege otherwise.

See also:

 

Green card share for skilled Indian immigrants drops as application share rises, report says

San Jose Mercury

While a fierce debate rages over a U.S. Senate bill to scrap per-country green card limits — with opponents claiming it would give unfair advantage to Indian citizens — the share of green cards going to skilled Indian workers has dropped, according to a new report.

 

LAND USE/HOUSING

 

Land Use:

 

Valley Receives Historic Investment for New Community Parks & Improvements

Hanford Sentinel

On Feb. 27, Assemblymember Rudy Salas (D-Bakersfield) applauds the California State Parks award of over $13 million in new grants to create parks in the Central Valley.

See also:

 

Hampton Inn and Suites coming to Porterville in 2021

Porterville Recorder

Even though it will be in direct competition with the Holiday Inn, a Hampton Inn and Suites by Hilton will be constructed at the 2.6-acre lot just to the east and of the Holiday Inn on Highway 190. The hotel will be the third one in that area as it will also join the Best Western Porterville Inn.

 

Planning Commission to Review Proposed New Cell Tower in Oakhurst

Sierra News

At its upcoming monthly meeting next week (March 3), the Madera County Planning Commission will review a request for a conditional use permit (CUP) that, if approved, will allow a local company to construct a new, 149-foot-tall “monopole” cell tower in Oakhurst.

 

Legacy of racist ‘redlining’ lingers in Sacramento neighborhoods. How this costs the city

Sacramento Bee

Although there has been a steady increase in minority home ownership and integration throughout the country, particularly in Sacramento, the effects of redlining nevertheless remain. Fifty years later, many black families are left behind when it comes to getting home loans across the country.

 

Housing:

 

New building in central Fresno to help low-income families

abc30

Old buildings are coming down, and dirt is turning at the corner of McKinley and Blackstone. Next year, a new development with 88 housing units will welcome families.

 

Homelessness tops Gavin Newsom’s agenda. So why is his housing department understaffed?

Sacramento Bee

Gov. Gavin Newsom’s ambitious plans to build houses and reduce homelessness in California depend on a state department that is understaffed, lacking permanent leaders and struggling to adjust to change, according to documents and interviews.

See also:

 

Newsom is promising a database to track homeless people statewide. It won’t be that easy

Los Angeles Times

“Because you can’t manage what you don’t measure,” Gov. Gavin Newsom said in his State of the State address last week that California “will establish a unified homelessness data system to capture accurate, local information.”

 

PUBLIC FINANCES

 

Lansner: Are California property taxes too low?

San Jose Mercury

Are California property taxes too low? Voters are being peppered with that question this year. Ballots are filled with propositions seeking, in one way or another, to increase property tax collections.

 

TRANSPORTATION

 

New clean-air locomotives debut in the San Joaquin Valley

Fresno Bee

San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District and the San Joaquin Valley Railroad unveiled clean-air locomotives designed to help reduce emissions in disadvantaged communities at a ribbon-cutting ceremony Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2020, in Exeter.

See also:

 

California gas prices might rise due to Carson oil refinery fire

Los Angeles Times

California motorists may see gasoline prices rise modestly as a result of the fire that erupted at the Marathon Petroleum refinery in Carson on Tuesday night.

 

Rancho Cordova is getting a new ‘iconic’ pedestrian and bike bridge over Highway 50

Sacramento Bee

Earlier this month, Rancho Cordova City Council approved a $3.1 million contract to hire a designer for a planned pedestrian and bike bridge crossing Highway 50. The new bridge along Zinfandel Drive is aimed at improving safety for workers crossing the major freeway that cuts through one of Sacramento County’s busiest employment cores.

 

WATER

 

Westlands receives 15% initial water allocation

Hanford Sentinel

The Bureau of Reclamation announced Wednesday the initial 2020 water supply allocation for Central Valley Project water service contractors, and the relatively dry year so far isn’t leaving much to work with.

See also:

 

Nearly 25% of California in ‘moderate drought’ status, federal monitor says

Sacramento Bee

Hours before California water officials measure the Sierra snowpack for the third time in 2020, the latest data released by a consortium of federal agencies says almost one-quarter of California’s land area is now in “moderate drought” status, including essentially all of Sacramento County.

 

Feds order reservoir drained, cite California earthquake risk

Visalia Times Delta

Amid the threat of another California drought, federal regulators have ordered that a large reservoir south of San Jose be drained because of concerns that its dam may collapse in an earthquake, leading to a massive release of water that could flood much of Silicon Valley.

See also:

 

Walters: Climate change and water supply

CalMatters

California, as everyone knows, receives virtually all of its precipitation during a few fall and winter months and in 2019, some early rain and snow storms promised a bountiful water year.

 

California has a new plan to deal with climate change, sea level rise

San Francisco Chronicle

A sweeping blueprint for how state agencies should handle ocean warming lays out plans to restore coastal wetlands, prepare for sea level rise, monitor algal blooms, remove microplastics, and protect whales and sea turtles.

 

“Xtra”

 

February ArtHop Celebrates Clovis' 108th Anniversary

Clovis Roundup

The free family-friendly event gave the community the chance to celebrate the 108 years since the City of Clovis was incorporated and learn about the city’s heritage.

 

Spring Into the Clovis Botanical Garden

Clovis Roundup

Located at 945 N. Clovis Avenue, between Alluvial and Nees, this three-acre water-wise garden is composed of plants and landscapes that are native to our region and thrive in our Mediterranean climate.

 

Fresno-Clovis Prayer Breakfast fills the Fresno Convention Center with over 2,700

Fresno Bee

Said by an organizer to be the largest prayer event of its kind outside of Washington D.C., over 2,700 gathered Wednesday at the Fresno Convention Center to pray for the city’s elected leaders and appointed officials.

 

Fresno Chaffee Zoo welcomes new giraffe to African exhibit

abc30

The Fresno Chaffee Zoo has welcomed a new giraffe to their African Adventure exhibit. Fenny is a two-year-old Masai giraffe that came from The Wilds safari park in Ohio.

 

Stockdale Post Office to hold passport fair in April

Bakersfield Californian

The Stockdale Post Office will be holding a passport fair on April 26 to help Bakersfield residents and those in surrounding areas obtain a U.S. passport, according to a news release.

 

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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.

 

 

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