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TOP POLITICAL STORIES
Local/Regional Politics:
Why Devin Nunes doesn’t worry about reelection The Sacramento Bee People watching the fight over House Intelligence matters between Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Tulare, and Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Burbank, might think they’s from different planets. Not quite, but you’d never know they’re from the same state. Here are some numbers and percentages, gleaned from the California Target Book data See also: · Trump tweets support for Devin Nunes The Fresno Bee · Nunes memo twists James Comey’s words on Steele dossier PolitiFact · Devin Nunes tried to discredit the FBI. Instead, he proved it’s onto something. Washington Post
One year after $502M bond, Bakersfield College offers long-term plan to transform campusThe Bakersfield Californian After a year of inaction and little to show taxpayers after they passed a $502 million bond measure for facilities improvements at the Kern Community College District, Bakersfield College officials unveiled a seven-year plan Monday that would transform the hilltop campus and create a new center in Arvin.
‘Promise kept’: Bakersfield College unveils plans for long-awaited college center in ArvinThe Bakersfield Californian After years of advocating, Arvin residents celebrated Monday as Bakersfield College officials unveiled plans to construct a long-awaited college center in the rural farming community. The center is planned as a 20,000-square-foot one-building campus that will include classrooms, faculty offices, support services and administrative offices. Lamont residents turn out in force to urge trustees to build hometown high school campus Bakersfield Californian A Kern High School District board meeting turned heated Monday when more than 200 Lamont residents loaded onto school buses and traveled to Bakersfield, accusing trustees of ignoring their community for not building a campus in their town after months of continued lobbying.The outpouring of support is the most overwhelming public showing since Lamont residents began advocating for a campus months ago. Community leaders say a campus is essential as students from Lamont must travel to Arvin High, which has experienced growing enrollment.
Judge David Lampe rules for Tastries Bakery, owner Cathy Miller can continue to refuse to make same-sex wedding cakesThe Bakersfield Californian On Monday Kern County Superior Court Judge David Lampe rule that owner Cathy Miller can continue to refuse to make wedding cakes for same sex couples. All this hazy air is making us sick; why isn’t air district protecting us? Modesto Bee For several weeks in late December and early January, the Central Valley experienced one of its worst air pollution episodes in decades – shrouding the region in harmful haze and driving even the healthiest among us to stay indoors.
Valley fever ‘silent epidemic’ inspires state-national agencies to join forces Fresno Bee Valley fever in Kern County has been one of the most significant public health concerns in the last generation and we are committed to the fight against it. Every year, the number of people afflicted by Valley fever grows exponentially. The coalition against the disease continues to grow.
Getting patient care in the Valley gets easier ABC30 Valley Children’s Hospital is growing with a focus on patient care. Valley Children’s CEO, Todd Suntrapak, says plans are now coming to life. “About five or six years ago our board gave direction that we would be within 30 minutes or 30 miles of every family in the Valley.” In Bakersfield, the Eagle Oaks Speciality Care Center is coming together. The 52,000 square foot facility will have Valley Children’s subspecialists in Kern County, so those patients can be seen closer to home.
Mayor picks fight with TRMC after open meeting violation Visalia Times-Delta Tulare hospital officials violated the Brown Act when they failed to notify various media outlets and their own board member of a special meeting held at the end of January. Interim CEO Larry Blitz is responsible for notifying the public and media outlets of all meetings, including special meetings, like the one held last week to denounce Assemblyman Devon Mathis. He didn’t do so.
State Politics:
Trump or Brown: Who’s done better, economically speaking? Daily News Who gets credit, or criticism, for economic performance is always a topic for hearty debate. In recent weeks, we’ve heard self-congratulatory platitudes from President Donald Trump and Gov. Jerry Brown for upbeat performances in the business climates they oversee. Now in a typical economic upswing, that would seem normal.
Sen. Bates: Another view of the governor’s ‘State of the State’ Orange County Register Gov. Jerry Brown recently delivered his final “State of the State” address to the Legislature. Whether you agree or disagree with his policies, he will leave a deep legacy of public service in our state that will be felt for decades to come.
California gubernatorial front-runner addresses past scandal POLITICO Democrat Gavin Newsom, the front-runner in California’s governor’s race, said Monday that he “learned an enormous amount” from his past admission of sexual transgressions while mayor of San Francisco more than a decade ago, saying, “I applaud women for coming forward” in as part of the #MeToo movement.
Nurses — backed by Newsom — ramp up fight for universal health care Capitol Weekly The California Nurses Association is still committed to pushing through its controversial universal health care bill despite stiff opposition from the Democratic Assembly Speaker and medical professional organizations. The union has a strong ally in front-runner gubernatorial candidate Gavin Newsom, who says that a single-payer system as proposed in Senate Bill 562 is the best way to provide health care to all. The bill, which was approved last year by the Senate, would replace the current private insurance system with one government-run health care system.
Universal health care unlikely to pass in CA, says Atkins The Sacramento Bee The infamous image of the California grizzly bear stabbed with a butcher knife inscribed with the last name of Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon may have done more than blow up the Twittersphere last year. The chances of reviving the Legislature’s universal health care bill don’t look good this year, said Sen. Toni Atkins, the incoming Senate leader and a co-author of Senate Bill 562.
California Democrat’s blueprint for the election: ‘Go left’ The Mercury News For those who think California politics is on the far-left fringe of the national spectrum, stand by. The next election season, already well underway here, will showcase a younger generation of Democrats that is more liberal and personally invested in standing up to President Donald Trump’s Washington than those leaving office.
Supporters of California’s gas tax increase are ready to fight a ballot measure to repeal it The Mercury News And they thought passage was the hard part. Almost a year after Democratic leaders and a coalition of business, local government and labor interests lobbied furiously to get a massive road-repair bill through the state Legislature, the same alliance is ready to defend a 12-cent-per-gallon increase in California’s gas tax that’s key to the bill’s aim of raising more than $50 billion over 10 years.
Los Angeles Times A proposed November 2018 ballot initiative to increase property taxes on commercial land could add $6 billion to $10 billion to state coffers annually, according to a report by the state’s nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office. See also: · LAO Report: Taxation of commercial property. Legislative Analyst’s Office
GOP governor hopefuls could build bridge on immigration, not wall San Francisco Chronicle You’d think the Republican candidates for governor would be perfect for building a bridge to sanity during the upcoming immigration fight in Congress. Just by their position of running to lead the nation’s largest, most diverse state, they could have some influence over the debate unfolding in Washington.
Key Schwarzenegger aide nabbed in ethics probe Sacramento Bee Susan Kennedy, a former aide to Govs. Gray Davis and Arnold Schwarzenegger, has agreed to pay a $32,500 fine from the state ethics watchdog for failing to register as a lobbyist while advocating for Lyft and a Southern California water company.
FCC fines Cesar Chavez Foundation over promotions on its radio stations Los Angeles Times The Federal Communications Commission has levied a record fine against two farmworker radio stations in California and Arizona for overstepping restrictions against commercial advertising. The Cesar Chavez Foundation, a nonprofit social service affiliate of the United Farm Workers union, agreed to a $115,000 fine and a one-year moratorium on new underwriting from for-profit sponsors on the two stations, the FCC said Thursday.
After years of delay, California Legislature approves whistle-blower protections for its own staff Los Angeles Times A bill to extend whistle-blower protections to Capitol staffers that had been repeatedly shelved in previous years cleared the Legislature on Monday and is headed to Gov. Jerry Brown’s desk. The legislation by Assemblywoman Melissa Melendez (R-Lake Elsinore) would protect legislative employees who report legal or ethical violations, including sexual harassment, by fellow staff or lawmakers. See also: · California legislative staff get whistleblower protections 89.3 KPCC
Rural California is getting short end of the stick Sacramento Bee California politicians pay plenty of lip service to bridging the widening gap between the richer coast and poorer inland. If they mean what they say and want to back up their words with action, the agenda of Rural County Representatives of California is a pretty good place to start.
Don’t let San Onofre probe end until we know all the facts Modesto Bee One of California’s most complex and unusual financial/political/legal conflicts was settled last week, but the deal left a couple of mysteries. The two Southern California utilities that own the now-shuttered San Onofre nuclear power plant agreed to modify a 2014 Public Utilities Commission decree that saddled their customers with two-thirds of $4.7 billion in decommissioning costs. Instead, the costs will be split 50-50, saving the ratepayers $775 million.
Trump’s push for new offshore drilling is likely to run aground in California San Francisco Chronicle The Trump administration’s effort to dramatically expand federal offshore oil production has reignited a battle with California that dates back nearly 50 years. On January 28, 1969, a blowout from Union Oil’s Platform A spilled more than 3.2 million gallons of oil into the Santa Barbara Channel. The disaster was a seminal event that helped create the modern environmental movement, and it forever changed the political and legal landscape for offshore oil development in California. No new oil leases have been approved off the California coast since 1984.
Court of Appeal Upholds Strict Regulatory Review Mandate Fox and Hounds Daily State agencies must take seriously the requirement to conduct a timely, accurate economic analysis of major regulations, according to a recently-released opinion by the 5th District Court of Appeal.
CA120: A strong voter turnout? Maybe Capitol Weekly The 2018 primary election is right around the corner. And with stories of higher turnout and a Democratic wave in states like Virginia and Alabama, many political consultants and observers are expecting to see some higher turnout in California this June, with a potentially strong Democratic and Latino surge. It is easy to see how this is becoming common wisdom. There are more candidates running for competitive congressional seats than ever before. Fundraising has been through the roof.
Federal Politics:
Committee Votes to Release Democratic Rebuttal to GOP Russia Memo New York Times The House Intelligence Committee voted unanimously on Monday to make public a classified Democratic memorandum rebutting Republican claims that the F.B.I. and the Justice Department had abused their powers to wiretap a former Trump campaign official, setting up a possible clash with President Trump. See also: · Sen. Kamala Harris says firing Robert Mueller still seen as a ‘red line’ in the Senate Washington Times
Target Book: Key Congressional races in California Politico Between 2012 and 2016, a total of 66 Democratic candidates ran for the 14 out of 53 California House seats held by Republican incumbents, raising $17.3 million for their campaigns along the way. This year alone, 69 Democrats have filed with the FEC and are currently running for those same seats. Before the first ballot has even been printed, those candidates have collected $22.8 million, raising more in a single year than all the Democratic candidates running in those districts raised in the previous six years combined. See also: False claim GOP tax plan “nothing more than a middle-class tax increase” PolitiFact Like many California Democrats, Assemblyman Phil Ting is no fan of the Republican tax plan signed by President Donald Trump. He has likened it to a tax giveaway for big corporations.
Other:
PolitiFact These days, it isn’t just that Republicans are from Mars and Democrats are from Venus. Increasingly, politicians on either side are cherry-picking evidence to support their version of reality. What is cherry-picking? It’s the tactic of harnessing an incomplete and unrepresentative set of evidence to misleadingly make a broader argument. These days, politicians use the tactic to appeal directly to their base while dropping the pretense that they are reaching out to anyone on the other side.
Trump backers sharing the most “junk news,” British researchers find The Modesto Bee Backers of President Donald Trump are sharing more “junk” political news – ideologically extreme, conspiratorial, sensationalist and phony information – over Twitter and Facebook than all other groups combined, significantly magnifying the polarization in the American electorate, according to an analysis by British researchers.
Cities, states ban bump stocks after push stalls in Congress AP In the immediate aftermath of the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history, there was a fevered pitch to ban bump stocks, the device that allowed the shooter’s semi-automatic rifles to mimic the rapid fire of machine guns. With that push stalled at the federal level, a handful of states and some cities are moving ahead with bans of their own.
How Voters With Disabilities Are Blocked From the Ballot Box Pew Charitable Trust | Stateline For decades, Kathy Hoell has struggled to vote. Poll workers have told the 62-year-old Nebraskan, who uses a powered wheelchair and has a brain injury that causes her to speak in a strained and raspy voice, that she isn’t smart enough to cast a ballot. They have led her to stairs she couldn’t climb and prevented her from using an accessible voting machine because they hadn’t powered it on. Topics in More Detail… AGRICULTURE/FOOD
‘In the Fields of the North’ reveals the reality of migrant farm workers Los Angeles Times “I don’t claim to be an unbiased observer,” writes activist and photographer David Bacon, who has documented migrant farmworkers in California’s breadbasket for 30 years. “I am on the side of immigrant workers and unions in the United States and share their struggle for rights and a decent life.” His book, “In the Fields of the North / En los campos del norte,” combines black and white portraiture with interviews and oral histories of his subjects to reveal the reality of laborers.
Cannabis legalization revives nearly defunct California pot ID Card Santa Rosa Press Democrat California’s new recreational cannabis marketplace is reviving interest in a little-known document created 15 years ago to give medicinal pot users something to show law enforcement: a state-issued medical marijuana identification card. Marijuana’s legalization for all adults 21 and older was effective Jan. 1, and is creating a new demand for the IDs because cardholders don’t have to pay sales or use taxes at dispensaries — which can run between 7 and 10 percent plus the state’s 3 percent sales tax.
CRIMINAL JUSTICE / FIRE / PUBLIC SAFETY
Crime:
Bakersfield Californian As she left work Dec. 1, a hospital employee saw someone she took for a transient sitting on a curb just outside the door, a dog next to him. She also noticed the rifle the man was sitting on. “Oh don’t worry, this is to protect my mom,” he told her. She ran back inside and yelled there was a man with a gun. At first, she said, hospital staff didn’t believe her. But soon there came the sound of gunshots, and screaming.Those are among the details contained in 360 pages of redacted reports filed in court by Bakersfield police describing the terrifying moments when a gunman entered Bakersfield Heart Hospital.
Police: Immigration Policies Making It Harder to Catch Criminals PublicCEO Local police officers say current federal immigration policies are making it harder to fight crime in immigrant communities, according to a new survey. About 40 percent of the 232 law enforcement officials who responded to a recent national survey said they believe that federal immigration policies had affected their relationships with immigrant communities in 2017 compared to 2016, and 71 percent said because immigrants face barriers to engaging with law enforcement, officers were less able to hold criminals accountable.
Public Safety:
California steps in to oversee police reform after Trump administration pulls out Sacramento Bee California’s top lawyer announced Monday he will monitor reforms at the San Francisco Police Department, replacing recently ended federal oversight and crafting a new path for state officials to become law enforcement watchdogs after the Trump administration last year drastically cut federal investigations of troubled agencies. See Also: · California steps in after Trump ends city police oversight San Francisco Chronicle
After Deadly Mudslides In California, Residents Are Trying To Plan For Next Time NPR Mudslides and debris flow in Southern California killed more than 20 people in January. Public safety officials say people in flow-prone areas throughout the western U.S. need to spend more time preparing for the possibility of these natural disasters.
ECONOMY / JOBS
Economy:
Dow Plunges 1,175, The Biggest Point Drop In History The stock market went on a wild ride again on Monday, with the Dow Jones industrial average closing down 1,175 points, its worst point drop in history. The Dow closed down 4.6 percent and turned negative for the year. At one point Monday afternoon, the Dow was down 1,579 points — the largest intraday point drop in the history of the index. See also: · Stock Markets: Dow Up Briefly After Sharp Drop At The Open NPR · White House, after Wall St. drop, says Trump focused on ‘economic fundamentals’ Reuters President Lyndon B. Johnson’s War on Poverty got some things right and has had some important successes. But it got at least one thing very wrong—a mistake still haunting us today. You don’t have to be a constitutional lawyer—I am not—to know that certain rights, such as freedom of speech and religion, are protected by federal authority through explicit language in the Constitution. Minimum income and health care, in contrast, are not constitutional rights, and they do not enjoy the same kind of protection. Some people believe they should be, but they aren’t.
Jobs: Los Angeles Times California Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerra joined a coalition Monday to oppose a U.S. Department of Labor proposal governing tips, arguing the new rules could result in workers losing billions of dollars each year.
EDUCATION
K-12:
Concerned over YUSD? 4 meetings to attend Sierra Star As rumors fly and the community anxiously awaits decisions by the board, the next few days may offer some resolution or temporary calm – through the efforts of Madera County Office of Education, concerned parents, the principal of Yosemite High School and the Yosemite Unified School District Board itself.
Lamont residents turn out in force to urge trustees to build hometown high school campusThe Bakersfield Californian A Kern High School District board meeting turned heated Monday when more than 200 Lamont residents loaded onto school buses and traveled to Bakersfield, accusing trustees of ignoring their community for not building a campus in their town after months of continued lobbying.
This Merced County superintendent is moving to a new district, MCOE says Merced Sun-Star An award-winning superintendent in Merced County is taking the top administrator’s spot in Gustine Unified School District, according to a news release. Bryan Ballenger, 42, will leave the superintendent position in Ballico-Cressey School District for the same job in the Gustine district, the Merced County Office of Education said in a news release. He begins in Gustine in March.
Higher Ed:
‘Promise kept’: Bakersfield College unveils plans for long-awaited college center in ArvinThe Bakersfield Californian After years of advocating, Arvin residents celebrated Monday as Bakersfield College officials unveiled plans to construct a long-awaited college center in the rural farming community. The center is planned as a 20,000-square-foot one-building campus that will include classrooms, faculty offices, support services and administrative offices.
One year after $502M bond, Bakersfield College offers long-term plan to transform campusThe Bakersfield Californian After a year of inaction and little to show taxpayers after they passed a $502 million bond measure for facilities improvements at the Kern Community College District, Bakersfield College officials unveiled a seven-year plan Monday that would transform the hilltop campus and create a new center in Arvin.
Building knowledge to improve degree completion in community colleges Brookings Social policy research is littered with examples of small programs that show tremendous success when initially implemented, but cannot be replicated. The story of the City University of New York’s (CUNY’s) Accelerated Study in Associate Programs (ASAP) – and the work that MDRC has done with CUNY to adapt, replicate and evaluate this program – is an excellent counterexample.
UC Berkeley spent $4 million for free speech event security San Francisco Chronicle The University of California, Berkeley spent almost $4 million on security for a month of free speech events last year when the famously liberal campus became a flashpoint for the country’s political divisions.
ENVIRONMENT/ ENERGY
Environment:
All this hazy air is making us sick; why isn’t air district protecting us? Modesto Bee For several weeks in late December and early January, the Central Valley experienced one of its worst air pollution episodes in decades – shrouding the region in harmful haze and driving even the healthiest among us to stay indoors.
Future forest health needs fire to fight fireSacramento Bee California’s strides toward cleaner air can quickly go up in smoke during one big wildfire. The constant threat of wildfire calls for a radical shift in attitudes toward forest management, not just to save homes and lives but the state’s overall air and water quality. That conclusion spurred the state’s Little Hoover Commission to recommend a coordinated effort to rethink how California cares for its forests.
Is an iconic bird of California heading for its last dance? Sacramento Bee A pair of Western grebes floats across Clear Lake, nodding and bobbing their stylish black-and-white necks in an elaborate time-honored ritual. Suddenly they rise in unison out of the water, rushing across the lake surface in an aquatic pas de deux. The courtship dance of the Western grebe is one of nature’s most eloquent displays. Today it faces an uncertain future.
Could oil firms be forced to pay for climate change? California cities hope so CALmatters The Bay Area city of Richmond recently made an unlikely move that got the attention of its largest employer and taxpayer, Chevron. It followed other municipalities and counties across California that have filed lawsuits against oil companies, alleging that the energy giants knowingly contributed to climate change and should begin paying for it. Literally.
Latest count finds sharp decline in monarch butterflies wintering in California SFGate California’s most regal insect is in trouble. A winter count found the population of monarch butterflies is at its lowest since 2012, despite survey-takers visiting twice as many sites this year. Energy:
California gas prices are on the rise ABC30 Suppliers are blaming the increase on crude oil costs and the state’s higher taxes. However, motorists can still find gas under $3. According to Gas Buddy, the Fast-Trip in Northeast Fresno is selling gas for $2.81 a gallon and in Visalia, the 7-11 on Lovers Lane has gas for $2.85. In the North Valley, you can get fuel for $2.92 a gallon at the Merced Costco. But experts predict gas could reach $4 a gallon before the summer.
The Forgotten Renewable: Geothermal Energy Production Heats Up NPR Three and a half hours east of Los Angeles lies the Salton Sea, a manmade oasis in the heart of the Mojave Desert. It was created in 1905, when a canal broke and the Colorado River flooded the desert for more than a year. The Sea became a tourist hotspot in the 1950’s, perfect for swimming, boating, and kayaking. But now, people are coming here looking for something else.
HEALTH/HUMAN SERVICES
Health:
Valley fever ‘silent epidemic’ inspires state-national agencies to join forces Fresno Bee Valley fever in Kern County has been one of the most significant public health concerns in the last generation and we are committed to the fight against it. Every year, the number of people afflicted by Valley fever grows exponentially. The coalition against the disease continues to grow.
Getting patient care in the Valley gets easier ABC30 Valley Children’s Hospital is growing with a focus on patient care. Valley Children’s CEO, Todd Suntrapak, says plans are now coming to life. “About five or six years ago our board gave direction that we would be within 30 minutes or 30 miles of every family in the Valley.” In Bakersfield, the Eagle Oaks Speciality Care Center is coming together. The 52,000 square foot facility will have Valley Children’s subspecialists in Kern County, so those patients can be seen closer to home.
All this hazy air is making us sick; why isn’t air district protecting us? Modesto Bee For several weeks in late December and early January, the Central Valley experienced one of its worst air pollution episodes in decades – shrouding the region in harmful haze and driving even the healthiest among us to stay indoors.
Opioid abuse in California has a new adversary Sacramento Bee California lawmakers are opening a new front in their war on opiate abuse. The state had 1,925 opioid-linked overdose deaths in 2016, and thousands of emergency room visits. As documented by The Sacramento Bee’s Claudia Buck last year, the number of babies born affected by drugs has nearly doubled over seven years to more than 3,630 in 2015, according to data from state public health officials.
Universal health care unlikely to pass in CA, says Atkins The Sacramento Bee The infamous image of the California grizzly bear stabbed with a butcher knife inscribed with the last name of Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon may have done more than blow up the Twittersphere last year. The chances of reviving the Legislature’s universal health care bill don’t look good this year, said Sen. Toni Atkins, the incoming Senate leader and a co-author of Senate Bill 562. See also: · Opinion: Single-payer provides best cure for California health care The Mercury News · Nurses — backed by Newsom — ramp up fight for universal health care Capitol Weekly
SB562 puts newly expanded health care in California at risk San Francisco Chronicle For the past 15 years, I have worked as a nurse practitioner at a community-based clinic, specializing in the care of chronically ill low-income patients. I have seen firsthand how the expansion of coverage under the Affordable Care Act has saved thousands of lives and provided access to medical care for people who previously had none.
Could oil firms be forced to pay for climate change? California cities hope so CALmatters The Bay Area city of Richmond recently made an unlikely move that got the attention of its largest employer and taxpayer, Chevron. It followed other municipalities and counties across California that have filed lawsuits against oil companies, alleging that the energy giants knowingly contributed to climate change and should begin paying for it. Literally.
Human Services:
Is A Statewide Insurance Mandate Next For California? Capital Public Radio Democratic state Sen. Ed Hernandez, chairperson of the Senate Health Committee, said he’s reaching out to consumer groups, health plans and the administration about the possibility of a statewide individual insurance mandate to replace the federal requirement that was eliminated by Republican lawmakers late last year.
New report details nursing homes’ misuse of antipsychotics in California, other states 89.3 KPCC U.S. nursing homes have significantly reduced the use of powerful antipsychotic drugs among their elderly residents, responding to pressure from many directions. Yet advocacy groups insist that overmedication remains a major problem, and want the pressure to intensify.
IMMIGRATION
Immigration agents’ visits are hitting close to home and scaring away workers Fresno Bee At least 40 workers at Bee Sweet Citrus in Fowler lost their jobs after federal immigration agents began checking employee records last week, searching for people who are not legally allowed to work in the United States.
‘Collateral arrests’ by ICE amount to racial profiling, violate immigrants’ rights, lawyers say Los Angeles Times They burst into View Park Automotive in South Los Angeles carrying semi-automatic weapons and wearing vests that simply read “police.” Four men, including Juan Hernandez Cuevas, were handcuffed and taken away. Hernandez, 46, said he had no idea which law enforcement agency had just arrested him — or why — until he arrived at a downtown L.A. processing facility and saw the word “immigration” written on a wall.
Political center key to immigration reform Capitol Weekly Our nation has procrastinated far too long on fixing our broken immigration system. In his State of the Union message, President Trump urged congress to address the issue. This follows efforts by Presidents Clinton, Bush and Obama to tackle the issue, all of which were rebuffed by congress. The framework proposed by President Trump is predictably being criticized by the partisan-pure tribes of congress.
Police: Immigration Policies Making It Harder to Catch Criminals PublicCEO Local police officers say current federal immigration policies are making it harder to fight crime in immigrant communities, according to a new survey. About 40 percent of the 232 law enforcement officials who responded to a recent national survey said they believe that federal immigration policies had affected their relationships with immigrant communities in 2017 compared to 2016, and 71 percent said because immigrants face barriers to engaging with law enforcement, officers were less able to hold criminals accountable.
After Post-Trump Decline, More Central American Children Arriving at U.S. Border Pew Charitable Trust | Stateline After a dramatic drop early last year, the number of Central American children crossing the U.S.-Mexico border illegally has been rising sharply since April.Advocates say the increase is being driven by fears of gang violence at home — fears that outweigh heightened concerns about deportation under the Trump administration.
McCain, Coons immigration bill sparks Trump backlash TheHill A bill aimed at resetting immigration negotiations in the Senate is running into early backlash from President Trump. The bill from Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.) andChristopher Coons (D-Del.), introduced on Monday, pairs a path to citizenship for “dreamers” with border security measures – but does not include funding for a U.S.-Mexico border wall.
LAND USE/HOUSING
Land Use:
NoMad hotel joins crop of boutique inns giving second life to LA’s historic office buildings Los Angeles Times The Bank of Italy once owned one of the finest office buildings in downtown Los Angeles, a 12-story neoclassical monument built in 1923 with towering Doric columns, an ornate, gold-ceilinged lobby and marble floors. By the late 20th century, however, it had fallen into neglect and for several years it was a shuttered eyesore — before reopening in January as the ritzy NoMad hotel, where rooms typically cost more than $400 a night.
Housing:
Housing shortage: New report shows how California cities and counties stack up The Mercury News Nearly all the cities and counties in California — 97.6 percent — are failing to approve the housing needed to keep pace with population growth and will be subject to a new law that aims to fast-track development, according to a report released by the state Thursday.
PUBLIC FINANCES
Congress grapples with immigration, averting funding fight Reuters Legislation to help young “Dreamer” immigrants struggled to gain footing in the U.S. Congress on Monday, as lawmakers prepared to hold a Tuesday vote on a short-term government funding measure to avoid a rerun of January’s three-day partial shutdown.
TRANSPORTATION
California Today: Traffic Is Terrible, but Californians Keep Buying Cars New York Times It is one of those stereotypes about Los Angeles that is actually true: Every Angeleno has wasted time in traffic.
WATER
Does a river run through it? City officials note watershed is ‘extremely dry’The Bakersfield Californian If life was fair — and so was weather — there’s no way Bakersfield would be subjected to another drought year so soon after emerging from one of the worst multiyear dry spells in memory. But barring a Miracle March or a February that somehow turns wondrously wet, the outlook appears grim.
What’s the chance for a ‘normal’ rain year now? Grim, if history is a gauge The Mercury News Hoping for a March Miracle to bail out California’s dry winter? It’s not likely. A review of more than 100 years of rainfall records of major cities in California — including San Jose, Los Angeles, San Diego, Santa Rosa, Redding and Fresno — shows that none have ever finished the rainy season with normal rainfall totals after ending January with the amount of rain they’ve had so far this winter.
House and Senate Lawmakers Look to Boost Water and Sewer Financing Route Fifty States could gain new access to federal funding to provide low-cost loans for water and sewer projects under a pair of companion bills introduced last week on Capitol Hill. Lawmakers described the bipartisan legislation as a way to combine beneficial parts of two existing federally-backed financing programs for drinking water and wastewater infrastructure: state revolving funds and the Water Infrastructure and Innovation Act, or WIFIA.
“Xtra”
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EDITORIALS
California’s great Sierra forests are dying. We all have a stake in saving them Sacramento Bee Given the huge sums California has spent staving off wildfires, curbing greenhouse gas and ensuring clean air and clean water, it is surprising that more attention hasn’t been paid to the one factor those challenges have in common: trees.
Wildfires aren’t all that is killing the Sierra’s forestsModesto Bee Wildfires are costly. They are expensive to extinguish, they destroy billions in property, and the damage they do to our air and water resources is nearly impossible to compute. We can accept those costs and admit they’re only going to get higher as climate change compounds our problems, or we can try to do something about it.
Marijuana is now legal in California. Continuing to punish prior offenders is cruel and unnecessary Los Angeles Times Marijuana is now legal under California law, but hundreds of thousands of Californians have criminal records for possessing or selling the drug when it was still banned. Those records can make it harder for people to get a job, obtain a loan, go to college, rent an apartment or otherwise become productive members of their community — even if their marijuana arrest happened decades ago.
Why is L.A. still backing the wasteful, double-dipping DROP program?Los Angeles Times Nearly two decades ago, when the Los Angeles Police Department was tainted by the Rampart scandal and struggling to attract recruits, city leaders cast about desperately for a way to keep veteran officers from leaving. Their solution was to propose a generous enticement to retirement-age personnel: If they worked an additional five years, they could collect their salary and their pension simultaneously. The salary they could spend right away, but the pension benefits would be paid into a savings account where it would grow 5% per year until they finally left the job.
Trump should release Democrats’ memoSan Francisco Chronicle President Trump, dishing out vitriol, insults and “alternative facts,” has gone on the offensive to claim a partisan-hued memo from Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee “totally vindicates” him in what he once again called the “Russian witch hunt.” |