Maddy Institute – July 2, 2020

02Jul

POLICY & POLITICS

North SJ Valley:

Coronavirus update: Stanislaus has first under-50 death; Tips for safe Fourth

Modesto Bee

Stanislaus County reported two deaths Tuesday, raising its total to 44. One of them was someone 18 to 49 years old, the first time a county resident under 50 has died. His or her exact age was not disclosed.

Closed again: Stanislaus among counties ordered to shut down restaurants, bars, more

Modesto Bee

California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Wednesday called on 19 counties, including Stanislaus, to shut down restaurants for on-site dining and other indoor activities before the Fourth of July weekend.

EDITORIAL: Note to Stanislaus County leaders: Try leading next time

Modesto Bee

Monday’s abdication of responsibility by Stanislaus County leaders in the coronavirus crisis is appalling. Given a chance to lead, Stanislaus officials said they prefer to follow.

San Joaquin Co among counties order to close restaurants, tasting rooms & more

Stockton Record

San Joaquin County is one of 19 counties that have been ordered to shutdown indoor operations of certain businesses due to mitigate the “alarming rate” of spread of COVID-19 since California began its reopening process in May.

Central SJ Valley:

Fresno mayor announces new search for police chief

Fresno Bee

Fresno Mayor Lee Brand during his final State of the City address Tuesday evening announced he will again launch the search for a new police chief. Brand said the search will begin July 1, and Mayor-elect Jerry Dyer will work with him.

Latinos shot by police at high rates locally. Fresno police say they don’t discriminate

Fresno Bee

The video of a police officer pressing down on the neck of an unarmed Black man for nearly nine minutes brought Roger Centeno to tears. It hit too close to home for the 56-year-old Fresno man.

Still climbing: COVID-19 cases top 5,000 in Fresno County, 13,000 in Valley

Fresno Bee

Almost 200 new confirmed coronavirus cases were reported Tuesday in Fresno County, pushing the county over the 5,000-case mark and launching the central San Joaquin Valley to more than 13,000 since the first COVID-19 cases were reported less than four months ago.

● Fresno-area’s spike pushes COVID-19 high on June’s causes of death list. See where it standsFresno Bee

● Tulare County seeing large increase in COVID cases among younger people abc30

● COVID-19: Tulare County announces another 100-plus spike in cases, 2 deaths Visalia Times Delta

‘Tragic’ July may be ahead if residents ignore COVID-19 mask, distance pleas, doctor warns

Fresno Bee

The doctor in charge of Fresno County’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic issued one of his most direct pleas to date to residents Tuesday as the novel coronavirus continues to spread throughout the community: “Get a mask and start using it.”

● ‘July Is Going to Be Very Tragic,’ Says Fresno County Health Officer GV Wire

● A User’s Guide To Masks: What’s Best At Protecting Others (And Yourself) VPR

City Of Fresno Passes Budget, But Will Reconsider It In 90 Days

VPR
The Fresno City Council voted Tuesday to approve its billion dollar budget, just in time for the July 1 deadline. However, it will have to be reconsidered in three months. Fresno Mayor Lee Brand proposed the council pass a continuing resolution that would keep city expenses at the same level as last year, at least for 90 days.

Fresno-area restaurants must halt indoor dining. Under Newsom’s order, what’s allowed?

Fresno Bee

Restaurants in Fresno, Merced, Kings and Tulare counties must stop indoor dining and offer only patio dining, takeout and delivery. And local restaurant owners are not happy about it.

● Optimism turns to frustration as Fresno’s indoor entertainment venues prepare to close againabc30

South SJ Valley:

Kern County leads state in highest homicide rate for third straight year

Bakersfield Californian

Kern County experienced the highest homicide rate in California in 2019, the third straight year it’s claimed the No. 1 spot, according to a state report. There were 9.2 homicides per 100,000 residents in Kern last year.

Key allies raise concerns over Measure N funding

Bakersfield Californian

A key ally of Measure N has raised concerns over the city of Bakersfield’s spending, questioning the continued support of the measure if the city’s pattern continues.

Gov: Kern must stop indoor activity in restaurants, bars, theaters for at least 3 weeks

Bakersfield Californian

Kern County is one of 19 in California that’s being ordered to curtail indoor activities in restaurants, bars, movie theaters, family entertainment centers, zoos and museums for at lest the next three weeks, Gov. Gavin Newsom said Wednesday during his daily briefing.

McCarthy to offer bill withholding funds from states that don’t protect statues

The Hill

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) said on Thursday he plans to introduce legislation withholding federal funding for states and cities that don’t enforce laws protecting statues and monuments.

State:

‘It is our behaviors that are leading to these numbers;’ Newsom announces increase in COVID-19 positive rate

Fresno Bee

At a press conference on June 24, 2020, California Governor Gavin Newsom said California’s COVID-19 positive rate is increasing as the state reopens. He also said young people are not doing enough to reduce the spread of the virus.

● Newsom to ‘tighten things up’ as coronavirus cases rise KBAK

● How Success Against the Coronavirus Turned to Crisis in California Wall Street Journal

● How California went from model student to pandemic problem child Politico

Newsom orders 19 California counties to shut down indoor dining, bars again

Fresno Bee

In a major rollback, California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Wednesday directed 19 counties, including Sac and LA, to shut down restaurants for indoor dining before the Fourth of July weekend.

● Virus spike prompts big California about face on reopenings Bakersfield Californian

● Restaurants, Movie Theaters, Wineries And More Must Stop Indoor Operations In 19 California Counties Capital Public Radio

● California officials halt indoor dining as coronavirus surges LA Times

● Restaurant dining rooms, wineries, card rooms to close for at least three weeks in 19 California counties LA Times

● Newsom orders new shutdown of restaurants, other indoor business in 19 California counties San Francisco Chronicle

Governor outlines coronavirus guidelines for Fourth of July weekend

Sac Bee

California Governor Gavin Newsom outlined coronavirus guidelines for Fourth of July weekend at a press conference on July 1, 2020. The state will close state beach parking facilities in Southern California and the Bay Area.

Federal:

Despite warnings, US wasn’t prepared with masks for coronavirus. Now it’s too late

Visalia Times Delta

Six months into the nation’s battle with the coronavirus, doctors and nurses still face a dearth of supplies as coronavirus cases rise nationwide.

● National mask mandate would avert 5% GDP loss: Goldman Sachs The Hill

Trump Calls Bounty Report A ‘Hoax’ Despite Admin’s Briefing Of Congress

VPR
President Trump said Wednesday that reports of Russia paying bounties to Taliban-linked fighters to kill U.S. troops and coalition forces in Afghanistan is a hoax, even as his administration continues to brief members of Congress on the matter.

● Opinion: Welcome to the United States of ‘Idiocracy’ Wash Post

COVID-19 deaths in the U.S. may be 28% higher than official count, study estimates

LA Times

As if the death toll of COVID-19 weren’t bad enough, a new study estimates that the true number of U.S. fatalities linked to the pandemic is up to 28% higher than the official tally. That means that for every 3.5 known victims of COVID-19, another American lost his or her life as a result of the coronavirus outbreak.

As shaken cities and states pull back from reopening, Fauci sounds alarm on surging virus

Wash Post

Staggered by the resurgent novel coronavirus, cities and states are reinstituting restrictions on bars, pools and large gatherings days ahead of July 4 celebrations as the top U.S. infectious-disease expert warned Tuesday that the pandemic is out of control in some places and soon could reach 100,000 cases a day.

● Single-day US coronavirus infections top 50,000 for first time The Hill

● When Will We Have a Covid-19 Vaccine? Fauci Says One Not Enough Bloomberg

● New MIT study says actual number of coronavirus cases is 12 times higher than reported — with 50 % more deaths The Hill

● Fauci Says U.S. Risks ‘Even Greater Outbreak’ as Current Spikes Are ‘Worst’ We’ve Ever SeenNewsweek

● Opinion: The Left’s Coronavirus Narrative Is a Myth National Review

McConnell: House infrastructure bill going nowhere in Senate

The Hill

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said on Wednesday that an infrastructure bill set to get a vote in the House will not be taken up in the Senate.

Coronavirus Trackers:

Coronavirus (COVID-19) in California

Covid19.ca.gov

COVID-19 is a new illness that can affect your lungs and airways. It’s caused by a virus called coronavirus.

● Coronavirus (COVID-19) CDC

● Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) Pandemic – WHO

● John Hopkins University & Medicine John Hopkins University

● Tracking coronavirus in California LA Times

● Coronavirus Tracker San Francisco Chronicle

● Coronavirus in the U.S.: Latest Map and Case Count NY Times

● How many coronavirus cases have been reported in each U.S. state? Politico

● Coronavirus Daily NPR

● Coronavirus tracked: the latest figures as the pandemic spreads Financial Times

● Coronavirus in California by the numbers CalMatters

Elections 2020:

Here are the 12 propositions on California’s November ballot

LA Times

California’s November election will feature 12 statewide ballot measures, dominated by an effort to repeal a ban on the consideration of race and gender in hiring and admissions decisions as well as complex rules on property taxation and criminal justice.

‘It is historic’: Women of color dominate Joe Biden’s list for vice president

LA Times

As Joe Biden weighs potential running mates, he has been asked repeatedly about the women he is considering. The Democrat has responded repeatedly that multiple women of color are on his list.

Will Sanders’ backers get behind Biden? Key endorsement vote will be a sign

San Francisco Chronicle

Joe Biden will find out Thursday if he wins the endorsement of the liberal online hub MoveOn, a sign — if he gets it — that he is inching closer to winning over progressive voters who remain skeptical about him.

● Poll: Biden leads Trump by 12 points nationally The Hill

● Poll: Biden maintains double-digit lead over Trump Politico

Trump’s white evangelical approval slips, Pew finds, but 82% still likely to vote for him

Wash Post

As cases of the novel coronavirus rise and protests have erupted over racial injustice across the nation, President Trump’s approval rating has dropped among his base of white evangelicals, though the vast majority still plan to vote for him, a new survey shows.

● Trump Attacks a Suburban Housing Program. Critics See a Play for White Votes. NY Times

● Opinion: Trump & Conservatives: What Reelection Loss Would Mean National Review

Billionaires are spending more on political contributions, here are the 3 biggest spenders

CNBC
Political contributions from billionaires soared from $32 million in 2010 to $611 million in 2018, according to a study from Americans for Tax Fairness and The Institute for Policy Studies.

GOP Candidates Open To QAnon Conspiracy Theory Advance In Congressional Races

NPR

It’s hard to know what’s most notable about the Colorado Republican primary upset that ousted Rep. Scott Tipton on Tuesday night. It could be her openness to the QAnon conspiracy theory.

3 things you can do right now to make voting easier and help avoid an election catastrophe in November

Business Insider

Make your plan to vote now, request your ballot as soon as possible if you plan to vote by mail, and volunteer at the polls if you can do.

Other:

Opinion: Broadband for All

Project Syndicate

By driving a large share of work and education online, the COVID-19 pandemic has likely triggered a permanent change in many economic sectors. That makes closing the digital divide and ensuring universal Internet access more urgent than ever.

For athletes, decision to opt out is fraught with health concerns and pull of social activism

Wash Post
Major League Baseball, the NBA, WNBA, MLS and NHL have plans to resume activities in July, and players must weigh several factors.

Nation is diversifying even faster than predicted, according to new census data

Brookings

The new estimates show that nearly four of 10 Americans identify with a race or ethnic group other than white, and suggest that the 2010 to 2020 decade will be the first in the nation’s history in which the white population declined in numbers.

Opinion: Divided America Is No Match for Covid-19

Bloomberg

Laying all the blame for the U.S.’s disastrous performance against the coronavirus at the feet of the Trump administration has always been too easy.

AGRICULTURE/FOOD

State orders recall of raw milk sold west of Modesto for second time in 15 months

Modesto Bee

It is the second time in about 15 months that Valley Milk Simply Bottled has been found to have Campylobacter jejuni during routine testing at the dairy farm, the California Department of Food and Agriculture said.

CA Winegrape Growers Expected to Suffer $437 Million in Lost Sales

California Ag Network

California wine grape growers could suffer at least $437 million in lost sales from this year’s grape harvest due to COVID-19 related economic disruptions. Increased sales of wine at off-premise retailers will not offset lost wine sales via on-premise channels and direct from wineries to consumers through wine clubs and tasting rooms.

Fresno company acquires product line from global behemoth

Business Journal

Vie-Del Co., one of the largest and the oldest grape processors in the U.S., has announced it intends to acquire Constellation Brands U.S. Operations, Inc. (CBUSO) grape concentrate and high-color concentrate business.

Fresno Co Dept of Ag Distributes Nearly One Million Masks For Farm Workers

VPR
As COVID-19 cases in the San Joaquin Valley continue to climb, the Fresno County Department of Agriculture recently secured nearly one million masks to help protect the county’s agricultural workers.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE/FIRE/PUBLIC SAFETY

Crime:

BPD assistant chief placed on leave following allegations of ‘workplace violence’

Bakersfield Californian

Assistant Police Chief Joe Mullins has been placed on paid administrative leave following an internal complaint regarding “workplace violence” and a request by a Bakersfield Police Department employee for criminal and administrative investigations.

Latinos shot by police at high rates locally. Fresno police say they don’t discriminate

Fresno Bee

The video of a police officer pressing down on the neck of an unarmed Black man for nearly nine minutes brought Roger Centeno to tears. It hit too close to home for the 56-year-old Fresno man.

Kern County leads state in highest homicide rate for third straight year

Bakersfield Californian

Modesto park vandalized with pro-Nazi graffiti

Modesto Bee

Neighbors of Muir Park in central Modesto encountered an ugly sight there Wednesday: swastikas and Nazi messages spray-painted on a wall and a structure.

Report: Thousands of U.S. judges who broke laws, oaths remained on the bench

Reuters

Judges have made racist statements, lied to state officials and forced defendants to languish in jail without a lawyer – and then returned to the bench, sometimes with little more than a rebuke from the state agencies overseeing their conduct.

Deadliest Mass Shootings Are Often Preceded by Violence at Home

Bloomberg

An analysis of 749 mass shootings over the past six years found that about 60% were either domestic violence attacks or committed by men with histories of domestic violence.

Opinion: Gun Sales Spike, FBI Background Checks Set New Record

National Review

Background checks for gun sales spiked again in June, setting a new record for the highest number of checks in one month as nationwide protests, riots and the coronavirus pandemic continued to increase safety concerns for many.

Public Safety:

California officials blasted for prison coronavirus outbreak

Fresno Bee

California lawmakers harshly criticized state corrections officials’ “failure of leadership” Wednesday, saying they botched their handling of the coronavirus pandemic by inadvertently transferring infected inmates to a virus-free prison, triggering the state’s worst prison outbreak.

● OPINION: COVID-19 forces Californians to confront the overcrowded prisons in our back yardsModesto Bee

De-certifying ‘bad apple’ police officers + Police chiefs back chokehold ban + Holding police accountable

Sac Bee

In the midst of nationwide protests against police brutality, California lawmakers are poised to consider a pair of police reform bills.

Fire:

How a PG&E Contractor With a Sketchy Past Made Millions After Calif’s Deadliest Fire

ProPublica

PG&E overlooked a contractor’s involvement in illicit dumping before hiring it to clean up after the Camp Fire, the deadliest wildfire in California history. PG&E later accused the vendor of fraud for bribing employees and overcharging for services.

ECONOMY/JOBS

Economy:

Fresno Co bars are ordered closed, but confusion persists. Here’s why some are open

Fresno Bee

Two days after bars in Fresno County were ordered closed, confusion was spreading over just which bars that applied to and if the county would enforce it. On Sunday, Gov. Gavin Newsom ordered bars closed in seven counties, including Fresno, Tulare and Kings in the central San Joaquin Valley, due to the rising number of COVID-19 cases.

Fresno businesses fear going out of business if California is shut down again

abc30

Stronger stay-at-home restrictions could be coming, leaving many business owners that just reopened on edge. Henry Acosta of Henry’s Salon says he’s doing everything right.

Senate extends coronavirus relief program for small businesses

LA Times

Democrats drove a temporary extension of a popular subsidy program for small businesses through the GOP-controlled Senate late Tuesday, an unexpected development that came as spikes in coronavirus cases in many states are causing renewed shutdowns of bars and other businesses.

Stocks rise as Wall Street heads for a third straight gain

LA Times

Stocks are drifting higher in Wednesday morning trading on Wall Street, putting the market on track for its third gain in a row. The S&P 500 was up 0.5%, coming on the heels of a whiplash start to the year where its worst quarterly performance since 2008 gave way to its best quarter since 1998.

Fed officials raised concerns in June that U.S. could enter a much worse recession later this year if coronavirus cases continued to surge

Wash Post

Fed Chair Jerome H. Powell has repeatedly said that the path out of this recession, which began in February, will depend on containing the virus and giving Americans the confidence to resume normal working and spending habits.

USMCA Takes Effect but North American Trade Tensions Remain

Wall Street Journal

The U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement kicks in Wednesday, but the culmination of years of negotiations won’t necessarily mean the end of trade tensions among the three North American nations.

Jobs:

Calif’s undocumented workers are receiving millions in coronavirus aid. Will it help?

Modesto Bee

California had approved more than 100,000 applications from undocumented workers seeking relief aid during the coronavirus pandemic as of Wednesday morning, and distributed over $40 million, an official said.

Family Leave Job Protections Expanded In Bill Backed By Newsom

Capital Public Radio

California led the nation when, in 2004, it became the first state to give private-sector workers six weeks off with partial pay to care for a new baby or sick family member. But unlike other states that followed, California never required that many employers guarantee workers their jobs back after taking paid family leave — leading millions of Californians to pay into a system they could get fired for using.

Are you worried about being called back to work during the pandemic?

LA Times

As workplaces reopen amid the COVID-19 pandemic, we want to hear from readers. Have you been called back to your workplace after being unemployed or working from home? What are your concerns? Share your experiences with us by answering the questions below.

Uber and Lyft say regulator can’t make drivers employees

San Francisco Chronicle

Uber and Lyft may be headed for a showdown with the California agency that regulates them. The San Francisco ride-hailing companies, along with two smaller ride services for children called HopSkipDrive and Zum, on Tuesday filed papers challenging the authority of the California Public Utilities Commission to determine that their drivers are employees.

Pay cuts are becoming a defining feature of the coronavirus recession

Wash Post

At least 4 million private-sector workers have had their pay cut during the pandemic, according to data provided to The Wash Post by economists who worked on a labor market analysis for the University of Chicago’s Becker Friedman Institute.

U.S. Jobless Rate Fell to 11.1% in June

Wall Street Journal

The jobless rate fell to 11.1% in June as the U.S. regained 4.8 million jobs, continuing a labor market rebound from the economic shock caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

● The June jobs numbers were good — in part because they predate the new coronavirus surgeWash Post

● How Companies Fleeced American Workers Out of Wages and Benefits Bloomberg

● Jobs report June 2020: Jobs increase by 4.8 million, unemployment rate at 11.1% CNBC

● Hiring Surged In June With 4.8 Million Jobs Added Before New Spike In Infections VPR

● Opinion: Despite June gains, U.S. job market is still in very bad shape. A fiscal time bomb is coming. Wash Post

EDUCATION

K-12:

Fresno teachers scramble to make distance learning work

Fresno Bee

Thousands of Fresno Unified School District teachers whose work life changed drastically on March 13, 2020, when the district shut down schools to help slow the spread of COVID-19, moved classes exclusively online. School work was not mandatory.

Longtime Fresno Catholic school closes for good after 67 years.

Fresno Bee

Just as the Our Lady of Victory Catholic School staff said goodbye to students in May, many others did the same Tuesday to the beloved central Fresno school that operated for the past 67 years.

Rosedale Union School District plans to give families choice of preferred instruction model in fall

Bakersfield Californian

The Rosedale Union School District plans to reopen schools with an in-person instructional model beginning Aug. 13, but will give parents a choice on whether to send their children to school.

What California’s budget deal means for K-12 schools

CalMatters

California’s new budget provides enough funding for schools to pivot to hybrid learning when they reopen this fall. But school officials fear Sac’s decision to delay cuts could throw districts into the fiscal abyss later.

Walters: It’s time to enforce law and help at-risk kids

CalMatters

California’s law to improve the educations of poor and English-learner students is not being enforced by state officials.

Anti-Blackness and the way forward for K-12 schooling

Brookings

I found that counties with higher levels of racial bias had larger Black-white test score disparities, a pattern driven by decreased achievement of Black students rather than increased achievement of white students.

Higher Ed:

As Pandemic Rages On, Some Fresno State Nursing Grads Forced To Return To School

VPR
As coronavirus cases are surging, so are reports of depression, anxiety, and substance abuse. But even as mental health professionals are needed more than ever, those who graduated from one Fresno State nursing program are being told to return to school.

A peek into the new normal for Fresno State football during COVID-19 pandemic

Fresno Bee

Fresno State does not know when it will be able to bring its football players and other fall and winter sport student-athletes back to campus. It’s still waiting for word from the California State University system and state officials to move forward, and it could be a while. But even then, the best plans at any point are subject to change.

Should Fresno State remove Gandhi statue? Growing student movement pushing for change

Fresno Bee

Despite a growing movement asking Fresno State leaders to remove a Mahatma Gandhi bust from the Peace Garden because of the Indian activist’s prejudiced views, President Joseph I. Castro has refused, according to the university.

CHSU celebrates opening of new medical school in Clovis

Clovis Roundup

California Health Sciences University celebrated the opening of its College of Osteopathic Medicine, the Valley’s new medical school, in a ribbon cutting ceremony via a video on Facebook Tuesday morning.

Opinion: Universities Sowing the Seeds of Their Own Obsolescence

National Review

Universities are certainly teaching our youth to be confident, loud, and self-righteous. But the media blitz during these last several weeks of protests, riots, and looting also revealed a generation that is poorly educated and yet petulant and self-assured without justification.

ENVIRONMENT/ENERGY

Environment:

How mountain lions have benefited from the coronavirus lockdown

LA Daily News

California’s mountain lions are key beneficiaries of the coronavirus pandemic, with lighter-than-usual traffic resulting in a 58% reduction in the state’s lion roadkill in the 10 weeks following stay-at-home orders, according to a report released Thursday, June 25.

Secretary’s Speaker Series: “What Can We Learn from Our Past to Move Toward an Equitable Future”

California Natural Resources Agency

Join us for an important conversation that traces the history of systemic and institutional racism and how it translates into today’s workplaces, institutions and general daily life.

Energy:

Want jobs and clean energy? This overlooked technology could deliver both

LA Times

Sunrise Powerlink carves a twisting path through the deserts and mountains of Southern California, skirting the U.S.-Mexico border and cutting through a national forest on its 117-mile path from the rural Imperial Valley to urban San Diego County.

State Accelerates Transition to Zero-Emission Vehicles With New Truck Rules

California Energy Markets

The California Air Resources Board at its June 25 meeting adopted a new policy designed to support and speed up the production of zero-emission medium- and heavy-duty trucks.

HEALTH/HUMAN SERVICES

Health:

Still climbing: COVID-19 cases top 5,000 in Fresno County, 13,000 in Valley

Fresno Bee

● Fresno-area’s spike pushes COVID-19 high on June’s causes of death list. See where it standsFresno Bee

● Tulare County seeing large increase in COVID cases among younger people abc30

● COVID-19: Tulare County announces another 100-plus spike in cases, 2 deaths Visalia Times Delta

● Lake Elsinore man dies of COVID-19 caught at barbecue Sac Bee

As Cases Spike, California Pauses Multimillion-Dollar Testing Expansion

California Healthline

In April, Gov. Gavin Newsom launched a multimillion-dollar state initiative to bring COVID-19 testing to the people and places with the least access: rural towns and disadvantaged inner-city neighborhoods.

Why Latinx People Are Hospitalized From COVID-19 At Four Times The Rate Of Whites

VPR
As COVID-19 continues to sweep the nation, Latinx people are among those who are being hit the hardest. “I would equate what we’ve seen with the Latino population as kind of the perfect storm,” said Dr. Joseph Betancourt, the vice president and chief equity and inclusion officer at Massachusetts General Hospital, in an interview with NPR’s Morning Edition.

‘Cries for help’: Drug overdoses are soaring during the coronavirus pandemic

Wash Post

Data obtained by The Wash Post from a real-time tracker of drug-related emergency calls and interviews with coroners suggest that overdoses have not just increased since the pandemic began but are accelerating as it persists.

Now you can see the relationship between reopening policies and COVID-19 cases

LA Times

Florida. South Carolina. Arizona. Nevada. In these and other states across America, the number of new COVID-19 cases is growing at an alarming rate, and there is no indication that the coronavirus that causes it will slow down anytime soon.

Human Services:

Harvard scientists: California needs to double testing to contain coronavirus surge

San Francisco Chronicle

California must increase the daily testing it’s currently conducting more than twofold to control the worsening spread of coronavirus, according to new estimates released this week by the Harvard Global Health Institute.

Inside Moderna: The Covid Vaccine Front-Runner With No Track Record and an Unsparing CEO

Wash Post

The upstart hasn’t yet developed an approved drug, its chief can be excoriating and until recently investors were disillusioned. A breakthrough coronavirus vaccine could come in trials starting this month.

Shedding more light on hospital bills, part I

AEI

Last week, federal district court judge Carl Nichols handed the Trump administration a rare legal victory in its continuing efforts to change the Affordable Care Act (ACA) through newer rulemaking and regulatory revisions.

IMMIGRATION

Immigration judges in lawsuit say US government muzzles them

Fresno Bee

Immigration judges said in a lawsuit filed Wednesday against the U.S. Department of Justice that they are being muzzled by the Trump administration, marking the latest confrontation between the judges and the federal government.

Judge deals setback to key Trump policy limiting asylum

Fresno Bee

A federal judge has knocked down a cornerstone border policy of the Trump administration that denies asylum to people who travel through other countries to reach the U.S.-Mexico border without first seeking protection in those countries.

‘You Can Either Be A Survivor Or Die’: COVID-19 Cases Surge In ICE Detention

VPR

Shakira Najera Chilel feels like she’s faced death before. As a transgender woman, she dealt with violence and harassment back home in Guatemala and on her journey through Mexico to seek asylum in the U.S. She arrived last year and has been detained at the Eloy Detention Center in Arizona ever since.

For first time, more want increased immigration instead of decrease: Gallup

The Hill

This is the first time in the pollster’s decades of tracking the country’s thoughts on immigration that more people would favor more immigration compared to those who want to see less.

Drive-Through Naturalizations Make New U.S. Citizens In The COVID-19 Era

VPR

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services put together a series of naturalization drive-throughs, where prospective citizens could take the final step toward citizenship, all without leaving their cars.

LAND USE/HOUSING

Land Use:

Which California beaches are closed for Fourth of July weekend? Here’s your guide

Fresno Bee

If you had beach plans in Southern California or the Bay Area this Fourth of July weekend, you may want to consider changing them. Gov. Gavin Newsom on Wednesday announced that, due to the rising number of COVID-19 cases, the state will close several SoCal beaches and closing the parking facilities in several Southern California and Bay Area counties.

5 campgrounds you can walk into this crowded Fourth of July weekend

San Francisco Chronicle

The outdoor vacation outlook for Fourth of July Weekend provides a preview for the rest of summer: The best opportunities are at off-the grid, first-come-first-serve campsites and at lakes in remote national forests.

Housing:

Fresno’s first wave of rent and mortgage assistance is available. Here’s how to apply

Fresno Bee

The city of Fresno is offering the first wave of $5 million in grants to help people stay in their homes if they’ve been hurt financially by the coronavirus. Co-sponsored by Councilmembers Esmeralda Soria, Miguel Arias and Luis Chavez, the program offers grants of $1,500 to individuals and $3,000 for families.

● Need Help With Rent Because of COVID? Fresno Grants Available GV Wire

Half a billion in half a year: The ticking clock on California’s newest homeless plan

Modesto Bee

“We need a new approach,” Gov. Gavin Newsom said in February when he dedicated his State of the State address to California’s worsening homelessness crisis. Now we have one: acquiring $600 million of hotel properties before the federal funding clock, which controls the vast majority of acquisition funding, runs out in six months.

Affordable housing can cost $1 million in Calif. Coronavirus could make it worse

LA Times

At $1.1 million per apartment, the Pearl is the priciest affordable housing project in the state and, likely, the country. It also serves as an alarming example of how political, economic and bureaucratic forces have converged to drive up the cost of such housing at a time when growing numbers of Californians need it.

Black families pay significantly higher property taxes

Wash Post

State by state, neighborhood by neighborhood, black families pay 13 % more in property taxes each year than a white family would in the same situation, a massive new data analysis shows.

PUBLIC FINANCES

With California’s single-use bag ban back, you’ll be paying for grocery sacks again

Mercury News

Get ready to pack your own reusable bags again, or pay for 10 cents for store bags when you go shopping, if you aren’t already. Gov. Gavin Newsom’s April 22 suspension of the state’s single-use bag ban expired June 22, and stores are eliminating their interim free-bag policies.

TRANSPORTATION

Willow Widening Project Completion Prompts Donation to Local Organization

Clovis Roundup

The City of Clovis along with the Fresno County Transportation Authority (FCTA) announced this morning, July 1, the completion of the Willow Avenue Project, which widened the northbound lanes from Shepherd Avenue to Copper Avenue in north Clovis.

Gas prices going up as additional California tax goes into effect

abc30

California drivers will see the prices at the pump go up on Wednesday as another round of tax increases for gasoline goes into effect. Drivers can expect to pay three more cents a gallon due to SB1, which was signed into law by former Governor Brown to fix aging roadways and infrastructure.

In unusual deal, U.S. Treasury to acquire 30 % of trucking company in exchange for $700 million loan

Wash Post

The Treasury Department announced Wednesday that it will loan $700 million to a trucking firm that ships military equipment, in exchange for having U.S. taxpayers acquire an almost 30 % stake in the company.

WATER

U.S. House Passes H.R. 2 – Moving Forward Act

ACWA

The $1.5 trillion infrastructure package, which includes over $70 billion for water infrastructure, will be conveyed to the Senate for consideration after the July recess.

Temperance Flat Dam on indefinite hold after report shows it doesn’t pencil out for water users

SJV Water

An investment analysis that looked at how much it would cost water users to build and operate the proposed Temperance Flat Dam northeast of Fresno without government funding was finished earlier this year and quietly passed among water districts, which just as quietly asked the federal government to shelve work on the project.

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Looking for Fresno-area Fourth of July firework shows? You’ll likely be disappointed

Fresno Bee

Celebrating Fourth of July in 2020 will be different, to say the least. For some it will be downright disappointing. As the coronavirus pandemic continues its spread through the central San Joaquin Valley, most of the long-running community fireworks displays have been canceled.

Remember When | July: Loggers Jamboree always a big event in North Fork, but it’s off this year

Sierra Star

J. F. Martin reports that the church boat which he operates free on Sunday mornings to take campers and others to Sunday school and church services at the Little Church in the Pines carried 55 on a recent Sunday morning, and 40 the next week.

Celebrating July 4th? Here are tips for a coronavirus-safer holiday

Modesto Bee

Every year Fourth of July brings up worries about firework injuries, heat-related illnesses and drownings. This year, add fears of COVID-19 to the mix. Gatherings on Memorial Day led to a surge of COVID-19 cases about 14 days later, which has continued, and even with the protests, most of those cases were traced to private gatherings.