03Jul

POLICY & POLITICS

Valley:

Congressman Jeff Denham denied entry to California detention facility for children under age 14
Sacramento Bee

Rep. Jeff Denham, who faces one of the nation's most competitive re-election battles this year, said he made the journey to the center to see conditions for himself as Congress considers immigration legislation and confronts the outcry over separated families.
See also:

● Immigration debate looms large in California Republican's re-election bid CNN

McCarthy ramps up efforts to claim speakership

Bakersfield Californian

House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., has tapped Nick Bouknight to direct his political operation as he turns his attention to nailing down the House speakership, the Washington Examiner reported Friday.

Devin Nunes calls on key task force to grill 10 Obama-era State, White House officials tied to surveillance abuse investigation

Washington Examiner

House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes, R-Calif., wrote a letter to fellow GOP chairmen on Monday encouraging their joint task force to interview 10 people who served in the White House or State Department under the Obama administration relevant to the panel's investigation of potential surveillance abuse during the 2016 election.

Wonderful Community Grants - Sanger/Del Rey Outreach Event July 3rd, 8:30am

Wonderful Community Grants

The Wonderful Company is investing $600,000 to help grow a beautiful world. We’re launching this initiative in Central Valley communities, inviting area nonprofits to apply for grants between $5,000–$50,000.

State:

Gov. John Cox? He’ll need gas — and maybe immigration — to beat Newsom

Mercury News

Cox’s path to California’s governor’s mansion relies on unforeseen events and what-ifs that are highly unlikely at best, say academic observers in sizing up Cox’s Nov. 6 matchup with Democratic Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom in the state’s gubernatorial race.

Time to memorize the initiative numbers on your November ballot

Sacramento Bee

California Secretary of State Alex Padilla assigned proposition numbers to 12 ballot measures that will go before voters in November. Here's a breakdown of what will be on your ballot.

● Expands Requirement for Supermajority Approval to Enact New Revenue Measures. Initiative Constitutional Amendment. Legislative Analyst’s Office

● Fox: Weaponizing the Initiative Process Fox & Hounds

● Mathews: Initiative Reform Is Working – To Aid Extortion Fox & Hounds

● EDITORIAL: California initiatives tempered, not tamed San Francisco Chronicle

California high court: Yelp can’t be ordered to remove posts

AP News

Online review site Yelp.com cannot be ordered to remove posts against a San Francisco law firm that a judge determined were defamatory, a divided California Supreme Court ruled Monday in a closely watched case that internet companies had warned could be used to silence online speech.

Big tech is going after California's new privacy law

Washington Post

Tech industry lobbyists representing giants like Google, Uber, Amazon and Facebook are pushing for changes to the recently passed California Consumer Privacy Act, which contains the country’s strongest data privacy protections and could significantly change the way they do business.

Federal:

3 Senators Introduce Bipartisan Bill to Make Lynching a Federal Hate Crime

CNS News

Senators Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), Tim Scott (R-S.C.), and Cory Booker (D-N.J.) have introduced a bill that would make lynching a federal hate crime punishable by a sentence of up to life in prison.

Judge Amy Coney Barrett, a potential Supreme Court nominee, has defended overturning precedents

Los Angeles Times

Judge Amy Coney Barrett, one of President Trump’s top candidates for the soon-to-be-open Supreme Court seat, has been unusually frank in her support for overturning precedents that are not in line with the Constitution.

● One Republican senator has the power to defeat Trump's Supreme Court nominee Washington Post

● The Abortion Scare Campaign Wall Street Journal

● The one Trump Supreme Court pick who makes too much sense Washington Post

● Trump Meets With Four Potential Supreme Court Nominees Wall Street Journal

● Chief Justice Roberts Moves to Man in the Middle on the Supreme Court Wall Street Journal

The House Blue Wave Is Alive and Well

Roll Call

Often, a healthy dose of common sense is more useful than a single misleading public opinion survey. In fact, there is an abundance of evidence that Democratic House prospects are as good as they have been for months and the House is still very likely to flip.

● The Progressives Who Don’t Hate Trump Wall Street Journal

Opinion: Keep the focus on Trump’s cruelty and incompetence

Washington Post

President Trump is professing great confidence that overreaching progressive criticism of his cruel and disastrously executed immigration agenda will prove devastating to Democratic chances in the midterm elections.

Other:

A long tradition: Americans behaving badly to each other

Modesto Bee

One of the more serious problems with America’s current fixation on instant gratification is its indulgence in instant outrage fueled by a general cultural coarsening and enabled by social media.

Put the damn paper out: Why the newsroom is a bedrock of American democracy

Brookings

Following the attack on the Capital Gazette in Annapolis last week, veteran journalist Jonathan Rauch explains why he believes the newsroom is one of the most important institutions of American life.

Stories From Experts About the Impact of Digital Life

Pew Research Center

While many technology experts and scholars have concerns about the social, political and economic fallout from the spread of digital activities, they also tend to report that their own experience of digital life has been positive.

Facebook’s disclosures under scrutiny as federal agencies join probe of tech giant’s role in sharing data with Cambridge Analytica

Washington Post

A federal investigation into Facebook’s sharing of data with political consultancy Cambridge Analytica has broadened to focus on the actions and statements of the tech giant and now involves multiple agencies, including the Securities and Exchange Commission.

See also:

● Facebook Faces Broadened Federal Investigations Over Data and Privacy New York Times

● Tech’s ‘Dirty Secret’: The App Developers Sifting Through Your Gmail Wall Street Journal

● SEC, FBI Question Facebook Over User Data Wall Street Journal

Record-Low Number Say They’re ‘Extremely Proud’ to Be American

National Review

Just 47 percent of Americans say they are “extremely proud” of their citizenship, according to a new poll from Gallup — the first time that number has dipped below 50 percent in the 18 years Gallup has been asking the question.

See also:

● If Faith in Democracy Ebbs, Danger Rises Wall Street Journal

The Declaration of Independence Was More Radical Than Any of the Men Who Signed It

National Review

For most of human history, the strong ruled over the weak. Enter the United States.

EDITORIAL: Mexico’s new president won’t be as patient as the last
San Francisco Chronicle

Like President Trump, Mexico’s next leader is a populist known for decrying the political and media establishment, giving an opponent an insulting nickname, and enduring accusations of Kremlin sponsorship.

● Rocky under Trump, U.S.-Mexico relations will be tested under new president Lopez Obrador Los Angeles Times

● Five challenges that lie ahead for Mexico's next president Los Angeles Times

● Vote Resets U.S.-Mexico Relations on Trade Wall Street Journal

MADDY INSTITUTE PUBLIC POLICY PROGRAMMING

Sunday, July 8, at 10 a.m. on ABC 30 – Maddy Report: “Fighting Fire with Fire: Rethinking Forest Management” – Guest: Pedro Nava, Chair of California Little Hoover Commission. Host: Maddy Institute Executive Director, Mark Keppler.

Sunday, July 8, at 10 a.m. on Newstalk 580AM/105.9FM (KMJ) – Maddy Report - Valley Views Edition: “How Prepared is California for Natural Disaster, Generally and Forest Fires, in Particular?” – Guests: Christina Curry, Cal OES Deputy Director of Planning, Preparedness and Prevention and Pedro Nava, Chair of California Little Hoover Commission. Host: Maddy Institute Executive Director, Mark Keppler.

Sunday, July 8, at 7:30 a.m. on UniMas 61 (KTTF) – El Informe Maddy: “Fighting Fire with Fire: Rethinking Forest Management” – Guest: Little Hoover Commission Representative, Julissa Delgado. Host: Maddy Institute Program Coordinator, Maria Jeans.

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AGRICULTURE/FOOD

Valley Farmers Have A New Crop: Carbon

Valley Public Radio

A new program funded by the state's cap-and-trade initative aims to help farmers add cover crops to their fields, with the idea that more carbon will be stored in the soil in the form of organic matter. It's part of the state's effort to fight climate change.

Farm labor contractor fined over late wages

Los Angeles Times

A Coachella Valley farm labor contractor was ordered to pay nearly $647,000 in back wages Monday to more than 1,300 farm workers who did not receive their final paychecks on time.

Listen: New Immigration Policies Threaten California Farm Workers

KQED

Host John Sepulvado brings us stories from the U.S.-Mexico border, beginning with how the Trump administration's immigration policies are putting a dent in California's agricultural labor force.

5 ways California wins with the Senate's 2018 Farm Bill

ABC

California, as the nation's agricultural leader, stands to benefit from the passage of the Farm Bill. Here are five “wins” California received when the Senate passed their version of the 2018 Farm Bill.

Trade Fight Threatens Farm Belt Businesses

Wall Street Journal
Many farmers, who depend on shipments overseas for one-fifth of the goods they produce, say they are anxious.

Share of Kids Facing Food Insecurity Still Above Pre-Recession Levels

Route Fifty

In 23 states, the share of children living in households that had inadequate access to food was higher in recent years than it was just before the Great Recession, according to new research.

Struggling Farmers Turn Excess Milk Into Cheese And Yogurt For The Hungry

Valley Public Radio

To combat waste and help feed hungry people, Philabundance is rescuing perfectly good milk that was going to be dumped to make cheese and yogurt for families in need. In the process, it helps farmers.

Is your favorite dispensary out of marijuana? Blame this new state regulation

Sacramento Bee

A newly-enacted state ordinance regulating cannabis products has forced multiple area dispensaries to close while others make do with a limited selection. Sunday marked the end of California dispensaries' grace period before new restrictions on THC limits, packaging and

labeling took effect.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE / FIRE / PUBLIC SAFETY

Crime:

Bottled water tab at a California prison has hit $46,000 a month

Sacramento Bee

California's corrections department is spending $46,000 a month to buy bottled water for inmates and staff at a prison in Tracy where it opened a state-of-the-art water treatment plant eight years ago.

Bill Tightening Police Use of Force Rules Passes Committee

Public CEO

California legislators moved a step closer last week to tightening the rules governing police use of force. In the face of staunch opposition from law enforcement groups, the Senate Public Safety Committee voted 5-1 in favor of Assembly Bill 931 on June 19.

Dismantling California At-Risk Inmate Housing Brings Hurdles

Capital Public Radio

Special California prisons intended to protect gang informants, disgraced cops and child molesters have become so violent, gang-riddled and crowded that officials are dismantling what's become the United States' largest protective custody program.

Study after study shows ex-prisoners would be better off without intense supervision

Brookings

Jennifer Doleac discusses a cost-effective and research-backed solution for breaking the vicious cycle of incarceration in the United States.

The power of data in deploying criminal justice resources
CA FWD
Riverside County DA's data-driven teamwork helps make informed budget decisions with limited resources.

Public Safety:

Stockton To Get San Joaquin County’s First Law Enforcement Helicopter

Capital Public Radio

California's new state budget gives the city of Stockton a new law enforcement helicopter — the first in San Joaquin County.

Feces, blood, syringes at California Capitol: Workers unprepared for clean up, OSHA says
Sacramento Bee

California safety inspectors have issued nine citations and fined the Department of General Services for failing to adequately prepare groundskeepers asked to clean up needles and fecal matter in Capitol Park.

California Judiciary Reveals $645K Tab for Judge Misconduct Claims

The Recorder

Most of the agreements provided by council lawyers are heavily redacted. None of them names the accuser, and only a handful identify the accused. The agreements often include confidentiality clauses.

Fire:

County Fire continues to grow, now at least 60,000 acres
Sacramento Bee

The County Fire in Northern California continues to gain ground, having grown to 60,000 acres by 6:54 p.m. Monday, up from a reported size of 44,500 acres Monday morning, according to Cal Fire.
See also:

● As County Fire rages, what's the risk from breathing? Here's air quality info for the region Merced Sun-Star

● Raging fires shroud Valley in smoke Stockton Record

● County Fire continues to grow, now at least 60,000 acres Santa Rosa Press Democrat

● Listen: County Fire Burned 60,000 Acres, But Few Have Been Evacuated KQED

● California wildfire threatens 700 buildings Washington Post

● ‘The New Normal’: Wildfires Roar Across the West, Again New York Times

● EDITORIAL: California is burning. Maybe it’s time to ban fireworks on the Fourth of July Sacramento Bee

Bakersfield promotes Galagaza to fire chief

Bakersfield Californian

The Bakersfield Fire Department is in new hands. On Monday, the city held a promotion ceremony for Anthony Galagaza, who was promoted from battalion chief to fire chief.

Gov. Jerry Brown, California lawmakers announce plans to address growing wildfire problem

Los Angeles Times

Gov. Jerry Brown and legislative leaders on Monday announced plans to improve disaster preparedness and develop policies to better deal with the wildfires that are plaguing California, citing the historic fires that hit the state last year.

California lawmakers may change utility wildfire liability

AP News

California lawmakers may make it easier for utilities to reduce liability for wildfire damage as the state braces for more severe blazes in the face of climate change.

California Is Running Out of Inmates to Fight Its Fires

The Atlantic
They’ve helped combat the flames since World War II. But with more—and more intense—fire seasons still ahead, a series of prison reforms have cut their ranks.

ECONOMY / JOBS

Economy:

'Not all machines are evil,' and other thoughts on California's changing economy
Sacramento Bee

Even with unemployment low, our readers have worries about the future of California's economy. We asked the California Influencers how the state can prepare for an economic future in which so many of our jobs will be lost to technology.

Trump stands firm on trade, even as foreign tariffs begin kicking in

Washington Post

President Trump defiantly stood by his tariffs on Sunday as Canada hit back hard, Mexico elected a new leader who seems prepared to confront him, and the European Union issued a scathing condemnation of his policy as “in effect, a tax on the American people.”

● Waiting for Trump to shrink the trade deficit? Don’t hold your breath AEI

● The weekly trade merry-go-round: Trump wants to withdraw from the World Trade Organization AEI

● Pants on Fire: Larry Kudlow wrong about deficits falling rapidly under Donald Trump PolitiFact

● Vote Resets U.S.-Mexico Relations on Trade Wall Street Journal

Political Miscalculations and Bad Policy Threaten NAFTA Renegotiations

National Review

American trade policy has been schizophrenic in 2018. Adapting the trade agreement to the 21st century is a good idea, but the administration is poised to botch its execution.

How Long Can the Trump Bump Last?

Wall Street Journal

Americans are buying more boats and manufacturing more of just about everything.

‘A way of monetizing poor people’: How private equity firms make money offering loans to cash-strapped Americans

Washington Post

Mass-mailing checks to strangers might seem like risky business, but Mariner Finance enables some of the nation’s wealthiest investors and investment funds to make money offering high-interest loans to cash-strapped Americans.

Morgan Stanley, Goldman Got Help From Fed on Stress Tests

Wall Street Journal

Federal Reserve officials told Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Morgan Stanley that they were about to flunk a portion of the annual stress tests but offered them a deal to avoid an outright fail and continue paying billions to shareholders.

EDITORIAL: Your Credit Card Will Pay for the Next Recession

New York Times

The Fed is picking our pockets because, to prevent the economy from overheating, it is legally required to keep inflation in check by raising rates. But the task has been made more urgent by the Republicans’ $1.5 trillion tax giveaway to the wealthy and corporations, which effectively threw gasoline onto a very hot barbecue.

Jobs:

Stanley: The truck-driver shortage is getting worse, and everyone loses in the most likely outcome

Business Insider

The truck-driver shortage is getting worse, and everyone loses in the most likely outcome.

Walters: Supreme Court decision could hit unions hard

CALmatters

For years, the conservative majority had indicated that it wanted to overturn a previous decision that allowed unions to collect so-called “agency fees” from non-members in states, such as California, that sanctioned the practice.

EDUCATION

K-12:

Teacher Performance and Accountability Incentives

National Bureau of Economic Research

Our estimates indicate that teacher effort and ability both raise current and future test scores, with ability having stronger effects. These estimates feed into a framework for comparing the cost-effectiveness of alternative education policies.

Need to rethink tying high-school diploma to college course requirements

EdSource

The new mantra for high schools is college and career readiness. The response across the state is to require all high school graduates to meet a single measure of college readiness based on the eligibility requirements for the California State University

Higher Ed:

California Attorney General charges one of the nation’s largest student loan servicers for violating state laws

EdSource

California Attorney General Xavier Becerra filed a lawsuit on Friday against Navient Corporation, one of the nation’s largest student loan companies, for alleged misconduct in servicing loans for California borrowers, including false advertising and other practices.

Trump Administration to Rescind Obama-Era Guidelines on Race in College Admissions

Wall Street Journal

The Trump administration is planning to rescind Obama-era guidelines that encourage the use of race in college admissions to promote diverse educational settings, according to two people familiar with the plans.

Podcast: How to get students to finish college – Part 1

AEI

This episode of the AEI Events Podcast is the first of two episodes featuring a bipartisan research symposium on college completion hosted by Frederick M. Hess of AEI and Lanae Erickson Hatalsky of Third Way.

ENVIRONMENT/ ENERGY

Pruitt aides reveal new details of his spending and management at EPA

Washington Post

Two of Scott Pruitt’s top aides provided fresh details to congressional investigators in recent days about some of his most controversial spending and management decisions, including his push to find a six-figure job for his wife at a politically connected group, enlist staffers in performing personal tasks and seek high-end travel despite aides’ objections.

Senate GOP seeks overhaul of Endangered Species Act

The Hill

Senate Republicans are embarking on an ambitious effort to overhaul the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The GOP contends that its goal is not to weaken protections, but to take advantage of the experience of state regulators.

HEALTH/HUMAN SERVICES

Health:

Healthcare groups want California voters to tax soda

Los Angeles Times

Major healthcare groups announced Monday that they will pursue a statewide soda tax initiative on the 2020 ballot to pay for public health programs.

First Drug Using Cannabis Compound Gets Federal Approval, But Will California Docs Be Able To Prescribe It?

Capital Public Radio

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration just approved the first-ever drug containing cannabidiol, also known as CBD. I’s now approved to treat two rare forms of childhood-onset epilepsy — Lennox-Gastaut syndrome and Dravet syndrome.

Treatment for Opioid Abuse Grows, but Many on Medicaid Don't Receive It

U.S. News

Approval of the drug buprenorphine led to a rise in the number of Medicaid patients getting medication to treat opioid addiction. But the rates were lower among poor, black and Hispanic patients, a new study says.

Test for HPV more accurate than Pap smear at detecting cancerous cervical changes, study says

Washington Post

A test for HPV detects pre-cancerous changes of the cervix earlier and more accurately than the Pap smear, according to a large clinical trial published Tuesday.

Opinion: How to build a better, safer, more welcoming hospital

San Francisco Chronicle

Based on our studies and those of others, we are advocates for using evidence-based design to benefit hospital patients, staff and patients’ families.

Finally, Some Answers on the Effects of Medicaid Expansion
New York Times

Research suggests that access to care has greatly improved, and that quality of care has generally improved.

Human Services:

Medicare issuing new, more secure cards, prompting scams

Bakersfield Californian

California residents on Medicare should expect to receive new, more secure insurance cards in the mail by the end of summer, and be on the lookout for potential scams.

Palliative Sedation, an End-of-Life Practice That Is Legal Everywhere

Pew Charitable Trusts

Under palliative sedation, a doctor gives a terminally ill patient enough sedatives to induce unconsciousness. The goal is to reduce or eliminate suffering, but in many cases the patient dies without regaining consciousness.

Univ. of Wisconsin debuts first-of-its kind neighborhood map to guide medical decision-making

University of Wisconsin-Madison

Socio-economic factors can affect health in surprising ways. A new map of neighborhood disadvantage may help better address that kind of problem while boosting research into the social factors that shape health.

LA Hospital to Pay $550K in Homeless Patient Dumping Case

U.S. News

A Los Angeles hospital suspected of dumping hundreds of homeless patients at bus and train stations instead of shelters has agreed to pay a $550,000 legal settlement.

How Private Equity Keeps States Invested in Medical Billing Practices They’ve Banned
Bloomberg

The link between private equity and pension funds means states are inadvertently cashing in on practices they’ve set out to stop.

IMMIGRATION

Government finally confirms that child separations due to ‘zero tolerance’ policy have ended

PBS

Nearly two weeks after President Donald Trump signed an executive order reversing his family separation policy at the border – part of his “zero tolerance” approach to immigration – the Department of Health and Human Services confirmed that such separations have stopped.

● Tens of Thousands of Californians Protest Immigration Policy KQED

● EDITORIAL: The Trump administration must fix the mess it’s made of family separation San Francisco Chronicle

White House lashes out at Kamala Harris, Elizabeth Warren

Politico

Erupting at growing criticism of its hardline immigration policies, the Trump administration on Monday ripped into Democratic Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Kamala Harris, unleashing the White House’s official Twitter account to accuse Harris of “supporting the animals of MS-13.”

● White House Official Twitter Account Attacks Kamala Harris With False Claim About Her Support For ‘Animals’ MS-13 Newsweek

Do Democrats Really Want to Enforce Immigration Laws?

National Review

The first reason we should be wary of Democrats’ calling to “abolish ICE” in the context of protests against the family-separation policy is that ICE is only one agency out of four playing a role in the policy.

See also:

● Democrats Weigh Politics of Calls to Eliminate ICE Wall Street Journal

● EDITORIAL: If ICE is going to lock up immigration violators, it needs to do so in safe and clean facilities Los Angeles Times

Why the GOP Might Face More Humiliation on Immigration

New York Magazine

With the dismal failure of two House Republican immigration bills in the last couple of weeks (bills that were doomed in the Senate in any event), there’s a sense that the Great Immigration Debate of 2018 in the GOP is over.

Opinion: Chickenpox shows how unprepared we are at the border

The Hill

It’s been more than a week since a detainee at Victorville — a prison complex in California being used by Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) — was diagnosed with chickenpox.

LAND USE/HOUSING

Land Use:

Costco’s Clovis warehouse set to relocate

Clovis Roundup

At a June 28 meeting, the Clovis Planning Commission approved Costco’s plans for the new warehouse, gas station and tire center.

Housing:

Low-income housing gets $16 million state investment

Business Journal

A planned mixed-use affordable housing development in central Fresno is getting a $16 million investment from the state of California. The California Strategic Growth Council has awarded money from the state Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities Program to help fund the mixed-use housing development at 1501 N. Blackstone Ave.

Millennial Buyers Face Tough Housing Market

Pew Charitable Trusts

Millennials are starting to follow in the footsteps of earlier generations and buy suburban houses after fueling a boom in city apartments.

National Housing Market Indicators release for Q1 2018

AEI

The national home purchase market remained strong in 2018: Q1. This came despite a 7.3% year-over-year jump in FHFA’s national house price index during the first quarter of 2018.

PUBLIC FINANCES

Overview of State Bond Debt

Legislative Analyst’s Office

Bonds are a way that governments and companies borrow money. The state government uses bonds primarily to pay for infrastructure projects.

Podcast: Ticking Debt Bomb

Roll Call

The Congressional Budget Office recently issued an alarming report on the nation's debt outlook, which CQ senior budget reporter Paul M. Krawzak says should worry millennials.

Salters: When did taxpayer protections become an abomination?

Bakersfield Californian

I never considered that requiring elected legislators to approve taxes and fees devised by unelected bureaucrats to be an “abomination.” But that’s the exact language Gov. Jerry Brown used to refer to the Tax Fairness, Transparency and Accountability Act of 2018 when he signed Assembly Bill 1838 last Thursday.

TRANSPORTATION

State revs up the plan to build high-speed-rail system faster by focusing on the Valley
Fresno Bee

California's beleaguered high-speed rail agency, mired in delays in property acquisition and construction in the Valley and environmental clearances elsewhere in the state, hopes to pick up the pace of its work in the coming year.

Valley could get regional passenger rail. Tulare County Association of Governments has plan

Air Quality Matters

If all the stars align, a new, additional passenger rail service in the Valley could be up and running possibly as early as 2028, if all goes according to plan.

How Driverless Cars Are Going to Change Cities
Wall Street Journal

Self-driving cars could mean better public transit, more green space and less congestion. But also: more urban sprawl and greater inequality.

Podcast: Is hyperloop the future of transportation?
AEI
On this episode of the AEI Events Podcast, AEI cohosts a discussion with the Hyperloop Advanced Research Partnership (HARP) on the role of hyperloop in the future of transportation.

Stanley: The truck-driver shortage is getting worse, and everyone loses in the most likely outcome

Business Insider

The truck-driver shortage is getting worse, and everyone loses in the most likely outcome.

WATER

As Modesto rain year ends, there remains gratitude for the very wet 2016-17 season
Modesto Bee

With the Modesto Irrigation District's rainfall season — July 1 to June 30 — at its end, district and farming officials indicated they're feeling OK about the water picture. Especially since they're still feeling the benefits of the very wet 2016-17 year.

Meet the New Entity in Charge of California’s Water Tunnels Project

News Deeply
The local water agencies that stand to benefit from California’s WaterFix tunnels project have formed a new joint powers authority to oversee construction. Here’s a look at how that will work.

New Groundwater Woes, and Regulations, in California Wine Country

KQED

California's premier wine-growing region has been targeted for more regulation under the state’s new groundwater law, likely resulting in new fees and limits on water extraction for the industry.

“Xtra”

Want to celebrate America? Modesto, surrounding communities prepare to have a blast
Modesto Bee

Bombs will burst in the air over John Thurman Field on Tuesday night, the biggest fireworks show of the year for the club and the only pyrotechnic Independence Day blast for Modesto.

Running, swimming, eating – and fireworks, of course! Independence Day celebrations

Fresno Bee

Independence Day community events scheduled in the central San Joaquin Valley from June 30-July 4.

Need your firework fix? Here's a list of where to go in Tulare County

Visalia Times-Delta

There are plenty of choices to celebrate 4th of July in the Valley. From watching fireworks to taking a refreshing swim or enjoying food and beverages, events are scheduled across Tulare County.

Where to celebrate the 4th of July and watch fireworks in Kern County

23ABC

Celebrate the Fourth of July right here in Kern County!

30 NorCal 4th of July events your whole family will love

KCRA 3

From Sacramento to Lake Tahoe, there's something for everyone on America's birthday.

Find parking and a good spot to see the fireworks

Record Searchlight

Regardless of your preferences and budget, there are cherry spots to see the fireworks and park your car for Redding's Freedom Festival on Wednesday.

Cosplayers brave the heat to celebrate nerdiness

Hanford Sentinel

Pop culture enthusiasts, cosplayers and comic fans braved the over-100-degree heat Sunday for the return of the Hanford-Visalia Comic Con.

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

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

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