TOP POLITICAL STORIES​​​​​​​
Â
Local/Regional:
Breaking: Detwiler Fire grows to 70,000 acres, is 10% contained
The Fresno Bee
Firefighters continued their battle overnight to try and tame a raging inferno about two miles east of Lake McClure in Mariposa County, which grew to 15,500 acres and 5% containment early Tuesday.
See also:
- Can Mariposa be saved from fire?  The Fresno Bee
- Can Mariposa be saved from fire? Here’s what fire crews are doing to protect the town  Sierra Star
- Bootjack Residents Brace For Detwiler Fire Evacuations  Valley Public Radio
- “Extreme and aggressive” California wildfire doubles in size, forces thousands to evacuate CBS News
- State of emergency declared as wildfire threatens homes near Yosemite  CBS News
- California wildfires near Yosemite as FEMA funds are authorized for fight  Washington Post
Kings County CAO Larry Spikes to retire
Hanford Sentinel
After 36 years with the county, Kings County Administrative Officer Larry Spikes has told the Board of Supervisors July 6 that he would retire by year’s end. Spikes has been CAO with the county for 24 years.
State:
Summer recess – and a trip or two – ahead for California Legislature
Sacramento Bee
They’ve got cap and trade settled and a whole slew of demanding bills either killed or pressed out onto either chamber floor. Now, lawmakers have a month long break before the Legislature reconvenes from summer recess on Aug. 21.
Gubernatorial hopeful Antonio Villaraigosa makes stop in Stockton
Stockton Record
Antonio Villaraigosa, invited by the San Joaquin County Hispanic Chamber of Commerce to be the keynote speaker…
What’s Delaine Eastin thinking? The long-shot candidate for governor explains
LA Times
Accusing Sacramento’s political power barons of neglecting California schoolkids, former state schools chief Delaine Eastin jumped into the 2018 governor’s race in the fall vowing to shove the issue of education to the forefront of the campaign.
Republican David Hadley drops out of California governor’s race two weeks after entering
Los Angeles Times
Former GOP state lawmaker David Hadley announced Wednesday he is dropping out of the gubernatorial race two weeks after he jumped in.
GOP candidates for governor don’t scare Democrats
Sacramento Bee
Not that the current crop of Republicans who hope to be California’s next governor are a bunch of duds, but there’s an argument to made for leaving this crop on the vine for further ripening. The four hopefuls are all green, first-time statewide candidates.
Morain: Assembly Republican leader gets hit for voting with Democrats
Sacramento Bee
Mayes dared a mighty thing on Monday by crossing the party lines and voting with Democrats to extend the cap-and-trade program. In the view of partisans, Mayes had committed a terrible sin, though he’s convinced he was right. Californians believe the climate is changing and want politicians to work together. Under cap and trade, industry can use the markets to achieve greenhouse gas reductions. That’s a conservative concept, he noted.
Payback for climate deal: Conservative activist accuses Assembly GOP leader Chad Mayes of affair
The Mercury News
Two days after Assembly Republican leader Chad Mayes supported California Democrats in renewing a key climate change policy, he’s facing calls to step down and accusations of having an extramarital affair with his predecessor.
Â
Is California ready for the big one?
Sacramento Bee
With the summer recess tantalizingly upon them, California legislators have a limited window of opportunity to clear a short list of bills out of committee today. Although final votes don’t need to be cast until after the Legislature reconvenes Aug. 21, several bills risk death if they’re unable to leave their policy committees this week.
National:
CBO: 32 million more would be uninsured under proposed health law repeal
Fresno Bee
The Congressional Budget Office estimates that the Republican bill erasing but not replacing much of President Barack Obama’s health care law would mean an additional 32 million uninsured people by 2026.   The report from Congress’ nonpartisan budget analyst says the measure would cause average premiums for people buying their own health insurance to double by 2026.
See also:
- CBO: Senate repeal would leave 32 million more uninsured  Politico.com
- Senate ‘repeal only’ bill would leave 32 million more uninsured, CBO says Politico
Senate Democrats Open To Bipartisan Health Talks — After Repeal Fails
Politico.com
Even the five Democratic senators facing re-election battles next year in states President Donald Trump turned bright red are showing no interest in making deals before Republicans abandon their attempt to push through repeal with a bare majority.
LA Times
Brown’s hardball messages, his willingness to compromise and personal dealings with lawmakers were persuasive enough for him to win arguably his biggest legislative victory as governor.  It was a model of how to finesse controversial bills through a Legislature. And it stood in stark contrast to the bumbling we’ve been watching in the White House and Congress, most notably the failed, humiliating efforts on healthcare.
Gov. Jerry Brown Shows President Trump The Upside Of Experience
Los Angeles Times
The Republican failure to repeal and replace Obamacare repudiated the core argument of President Trump’s campaign: that old-fashioned politics was passĂ©.
California’s Top Elections Official Continues To Balk At Request From Trump’s Voter Panel
Capital Public Radio News
President Trump said on Wednesday that states such as California that won’t agree to share data with his commission on voter fraud must be worried about what the results will show.
Â
Pants On Fire for Trump’s claim about ‘serious voter fraud’ in California
PolitiFact California
Trump’s voter fraud panel met today. Our fact check on Trump’s claim about ‘serious voter fraud’ in California
Walters: Democrats hurt by gerrymandered congressional districts, but not in California
Fresno Bee (blog)
Belatedly – and only after they had lost control of Congress to Republicans – the national Democratic Party grasped the impact of how state legislatures redraw congressional districts after each decennial census.
Democratic challengers nipping at heels of California GOP Congress members in fundraising
San Jose Mercury News
Democratic challengers to Republican members of Congress are reporting strong fundraising totals in a bevy of California races that could tip the balance of the House of Representatives.
EDITORIALS
California must make cap-and-trade work. Or it’s just another tax.
Fresno Bee
The legislation sent a message across the country and world. No state has done more than California to curtail greenhouse gas emissions. Now that all the huzzahs are dispensed with, however, they all need to turn to the work at hand. There’s plenty of it ahead.
Our View: Know about alternatives to PACE financing
Bakersfield Californian
File the U.S. Department of Energy’s PACE program under the heading Good Ideas With a Fatal Flaw. The government-administered financing program, designed to help homeowners pay for home energy upgrades, has a lot of satisfied customers in Kern County and across the country. But it also has had a few remorseful ones — enough for both the Kern County and City of Bakersfield governments to have seriously weighed the program’s benefits and drawbacks. Other jurisdictions around the country have done the same, and some have suspended it.
Don’t overlook disabled voters
Sacramento Bee
California election officials need to do more outreach to disabled voters, says Disability Rights California
Legislators should vote to help sustain Caltrain
San Francisco Chronicle
Anyone who doubts the value of supporting a venerable commuter train system between San Jose and San Francisco should spend a little time on Highway 101. Actually, anyone who manages to spend just a little time on Highway 101, where traffic quagmires are routine, should consider himself or herself lucky.
|
|
AGRICULTURE/FOOD
Wake up and smell the coffee milk. Modesto dairy offers cold-brew with a twist
Modesto Bee
A Modesto dairy has joined the cold-brewed coffee craze with a milky twist. Nutcher Milk Co. has been bottling and selling its product in a variety of flavors since 2015. This summer the company launched its latest with an eye on the booming coffee market.
Â
More marijuana growers than Starbucks stores? That could be Sacramento’s futureÂ
Sacramento Bee
Someday soon, more businesses could grow marijuana in the city of Sacramento than there are Starbucks and McDonald’s restaurants combined. More than 100 businesses are seeking special permits from the city to run indoor marijuana growing operations.
Â
California is working to avoid a shortage of legalized marijuana, state pot czar says
Los Angeles Times
With Nevada suffering a shortage of legalized marijuana, California’s state pot czar said Wednesday that efforts are being made in her state to make sure sufficient licenses go to farmers, testers and distributors to supply retailers.
California doesn’t have an official state fruit, but it does have four official state nuts
Los Angeles Times
The quest to learn more about the why the almond, pecan, walnut and pistachio were each officially declared California’s state nut led down an interesting path.
CRIMINAL JUSTICE/PUBLIC SAFETY
Public welcome at event focused on violence prevention
Stockton Record
The public will have a chance Thursday morning to learn about the Stockton community’s efforts to reduce violent…
Marijuana dispensaries are not magnets for crime, study says. Here’s why.
The Cannifornian
Conventional wisdom says marijuana dispensaries make neighborhoods less safe, but a new study from UC Irvine suggests the conventional wisdom is wrong and that crime increases after cities move to close pot shops.
EDUCATION
Â
K-12:
Â
Multiracial adolescents show no test score gap with whites
Brookings institution
What the test scores of multi-racial students can tell us about race gaps in academic achievement brook.gs/2tjwGfj
The importance of the first five years: Katharine Stevens’ testimony on Capitol Hill
AEI
Less than 2% of state expenditures on the care and education of children is directed to their foundational years. bit.ly/2ubjCYv
Mobile classroom brings education to the hardest-to-reach studentsÂ
EdSource
Five Keys, a San Francisco-based charter organization, now has a mobile classroom to help with its mission of helping students earn their high school diplomas or pass the general education development (GED) exam, after they’ve dropped out of traditional high schools.
Higher Ed:
Â
Need for social mobility drives revival of California’s community college workforce training
CAFWD
Need for more social mobility drives revival of California’s community college workforce training
Now for the hard part: translating new vision for community colleges into student success
EdSource
The stakes for the California community colleges — and California — are exceptionally high. The system serves 60 percent of all undergraduates in California — nearly three times the number enrolled in the University of California and California State University combined. One in 5 of the community college students in the U.S. attend one of the system’s 114 campuses, so what happens there has national implications as well.
Community college board approves new goals for increasing graduation rates
EdSource
California’s governing body overseeing the state’s 114 community colleges voted unanimously today to approve a new set of goals and commitments aimed at significantly increasing the transfer and degree-completion rates of community college students.
A quick look at revenue sources, demographics
Community College Daily
State funding comprises 31.3 percent of community college revenues, according to a new community college fact sheetfrom the American Association of Community Colleges. That’s a slight bump up from 29.8 percent reported in AACC’s 2016 fact sheet. Federal funding represents slightly less of revenues at 13.5 percent, compared to 14.1 percent reported last year.
ENVIRONMENT/ENERGY
Environment:
Detwiler Fire causes air quality alert to be issued
Fresno Bee
A health alert issued for the central San Joaquin Valley will remain in place until the Detwiler Fire is contained, the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District said Wednesday.
California’s cap-and-trade program is costly, controversial. But how does it work?
Sacramento Bee
Californians pay more for gasoline – and food, cement and other goods – to finance the state’s fight against climate change. They’ll continue doing so at least through 2030,thanks to a landmark bill extends California’s cap-and-trade program for another decade. Gov. Jerry Brown was able to push the bill through the Legislature late Monday.
Â
California’s cap-and-trade program is costly, controversial. But how does it work?
Sacramento Bee
First launched in late 2012, Cap and Trade is a market-based mechanism designed to discourage industrial companies from spewing greenhouse gases, while allowing them a fair amount of flexibility in how they comply with the state’s climate change regulations. It’s also very complicated, and has critics on both the left and the right.
Los Angeles Times
How peculiar are the politics of climate change in California? Just look at this week’s vote on cap and trade, which saw a Republican former grape farmer from Modesto and a Democratic former math teacher from Bell Gardens aligned against a mild-mannered Santa Cruz liberal and a provocative anti-tax crusader from Huntington Beach.
Business tax breaks help boost California cap-and-trade plan
Sacramento Bee
Gov. Jerry Brown and legislative leaders managed to extend California’s cap-and-trade law thanks in part to tax breaks that benefit businesses and agriculture, which helped bring support from Republicans and moderate Democrats.
Â
California gas tax, cap-and-trade votes could hurt Democrats
The Sacramento Bee
As the victories mount, however, so do questions about whether the termed-out governor is putting Democrats representing marginal districts in a difficult spot come next year’s elections.
California’s economy will suffer plenty from climate change. But at least it’s not Florida
Sacramento Bee
Higher crime rates and electric bills. Crops and laborers wilting in the sun. A new study says California’s economy is going to lose billions of dollars a year to climate change.
But hey, it will be a picnic compared to states like Florida and Texas.
What California’s big vote on climate change policies means for you
Los Angeles Times
The only system of its kind in the country, it’s designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from facilities such as oil refineries, food processors and power plants. The program faced expiration by 2020, but lawmakers voted Monday to extend it until 2030.
Energy:
Bakersfield City Council ends PACE loan program
The Bakersfield Californian
The supporters came out strong. So did the opponents. But in the end, a clearly conflicted Bakersfield City Council voted to end the controversial Property Assessed Clean Energy program, commonly known as PACE.
As state clears gas field to reopen, governor calls for it to closeÂ
KPCC
Two state agencies cleared the Aliso Canyon gas storage field to resume operations on Wednesday, while the same afternoon Governor Jerry Brown called for it to eventually close. It’s an odd juxtaposition of different state entities acting simultaneously on the controversial gas storage field, where a well ruptured in late 2015 and drove thousands of people from their homes.   KPCC
HEALTH/HUMAN SERVICES
Â
Bakersfield.com
An 80-year-old dementia patient fell from his bed and died at Valley Convalescent Hospital in February, something a state public health investigation determined this month came as a direct result of poor care at that facility.
Â
Kaiser and state officials reach settlement agreement over deficiencies in mental health careÂ
Santa Rosa Press
Kaiser Permanente and the California Department of Managed Health Care announced this week a settlement agreement aimed at resolving “deficiencies” in the HMO’s oversight and access to its mental health services, DMHC officials said.
Entitlements Spin out of Control, Economic Death Spiral
National Review
Few noticed the latest double-barreled dose of bad budgetary news. But anyone who cares about the long-term economic health of the country should be paying careful attention.
IMMIGRATION
Another View: SB 54 isn’t what some think it is
The Bakersfield Californian
In his July 18 Community Voices article, “Salas’ vote can help end a cycle of repression,” Randy Villegas gave the people of Kern County another dishonest portrayal of Senate Bill 54.  He started with, “Senate Bill 54 would prohibit state and local law enforcement agencies, including school police and security departments, from using resources to investigate, interrogate, detain, detect, or arrest persons for immigration enforcement purposes.”
JOBS AND THE ECONOMY
Â
Another minimum wage increase on track in CaliforniaÂ
Sacramento Bee
Barring a surprise sag in the state’s employment picture, California’s hourly minimum wage will increase as scheduled on Jan. 1.
CalBiz
Get your Small Business Funded by the California Government. Grants, Loans and Financial Assistance May Be Available californiabizfunding.org
Shifting the debate on paid family leave from ‘whether’ to ‘how’
AEI
How do we design paid parental leave policies to work for both employees and businesses?
LAND USE/HOUSING
Fresno slum housing rehabbed after city takes over
Fresno Bee
The city’s new war against housing blight scored its first victory when one of the worst apartment complexes in Fresno, taken over from a slumlord, was repaired from top to bottom and put on the market for sale.
PUBLIC FINANCES
     Â
Runner: Tax board reform will hurt California taxpayers
Sacramento Bee
The governor and legislative leaders achieved their goal of dismantling the nation’s only elected tax board. They claimed it was necessary to improve service for taxpayers while streamlining state government.
Â
Who Pays More in Taxes? U.S. vs. Europe, Developed Countries
Money
As the Republicans in Washington prepare to dig into the coming round of budget negotiations, their top priorities will include an systemic overhaul for U.S. taxes, which President Trump has characterized as “just about the highest in the world.”  But how much do Americans really pay compared with other nations? It may be less than you think.
TRANSPORTATION
Major Turlock intersection to close for more than a month
The Modesto Bee
North Golden State Boulevard and Fulkerth Road/West Hawkeye Avenue will close the week of July 31, according to a press release from the city.
California truckers would get fewer breaks under new law
The Mercury News
Truckers rolling down California’s highways are entitled to take more breaks than drivers in most of America. But that would change if a congressional attempt to override the state’s work rules succeeds — which union officials and truck drivers say would make the state’s highways more dangerous.
Coastal California Highway Section Reopens After Landslide
U.S. News & World Report
A section of coastal highway in California has reopened after crews were able to clear debris left by a landslide. The landslide on Highway 1 south of Big Sur and Pfeiffer Canyon was cleared on Tuesday, reopening 35 miles (56 kilometers) of roadway between another massive landslide in Mud Creek and a downed bridge to the north. Access remains only via Nacimiento-Fergusson Road.
WATER
What is this TCP and why is it going to raise Bakersfield city water rates?
Several Bakersfield residents have asked questions about 1,2,3 trichloropropane, or TCP, and its connection to city water rate increases. The rates were revealed at the city’s water board meeting Wednesday, but the three-phase increases will be presented to the full City Council at its 5:15 p.m. meeting July 19.
‘An invisible crisis’: Toxic stress is helping to shorten life spans in many Kern County communities
People who live in Oildale, Kern River Valley and Taft — three impoverished, majority-white communities — have the highest premature death rates across Kern County, dying four to 17 years sooner than those in other parts of Bakersfield. Residents in those three communities have an average life expectancy of between 68 and 72 years old — roughly eight to 10 years less than the national average, according to data analyzed by the Virginia Commonwealth University’s Center for Human Needs. It’s on par with life expectancies in less-developed countries like Iraq, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan.
City to notify more than 46000 water customers of rate increases
The Bakersfield Californian
The Bakersfield City Council unanimously voted to begin the process to increase water rates by 41 percent over the next two years in addition to tackling several ther items Wednesday.
Supervisors float two Kern River safety ideas: More signs and charging for rescues
Bakersfield.com
Two more victims of the Kern River, missing for weeks, were identified Wednesday, bringing the total number of deaths in the Kern River this year to 10.
New CA DWR director leads Sonoma County Water
Sacramento Bee
A longtime Sonoma County water manager and environmental advocate is in line to lead the state Department of Water Resources, Gov. Jerry Brown announced on Wednesday. Brown appointed Grant Davis, the general manager of the Sonoma County Water Agency, to be the next director of the state water department.
Oroville dam repairs would benefit from multibillion-dollar ballot measure
Sacramento Bee
With California’s drought fresh on voters’ minds, a longtime water activist is asking their approval for a veritable wish list of water and other environmental projects costing billions – from fixing Oroville Dam’s cratered spillway to improving the watershed of the Tijuana River.
GOP push to shift state water policy away from conservation
San Francisco Chronicle
With a friend in the White House and their party in control of both chambers of Congress, House Republicans have embarked on their most ambitious effort yet to change the way water flows in California.
 “Xtra”
Â
See the 12 highest-rated California state parks with family camping
Sacramento Bee
It’s prime camping time in California, with thousands of residents taking their families to state parks every weekend.
California has a reputation for great camping at its state parks. But some parks rise above others, at least in the collective opinion of those who visit.
These Latino Artists and Entrepreneurs Are Transforming Fresno, California
NBC News
Fresno is slowly transforming its image, and its love for the arts has been a big part of its makeover.