POLICY & POLITICS
North SJ Valley:
Protests over death of George Floyd reach Modesto; police leaders reassure community
Modesto Bee
As Modestans joined people around the country in demonstrating against the death of George Floyd while in police custody, Stanislaus County law enforcement leaders reassured residents that they found the actions of the officer involved abhorrent.
See Also:
● Large crowd marches in Merced, protesting police killing of George Floyd Merced Sun-Star
● See demonstration in Modesto over George Floyd death Modesto Bee
● Crowd estimated at more than 500 marches in Modesto to protest death in police custody Modesto Bee
●
Turlock council to decide sales tax ballot measure details, budget cuts
Modesto Bee
The Turlock City Council on Wednesday decided to pursue putting a sales tax measure on the November ballot. Officials must determine the tax rate, duration and ballot language by June 23, which is also the deadline to approve the budget for the upcoming fiscal year, City Manager Toby Wells said.
Central SJ Valley:
Fresno protest stays loud and peaceful for most of the night. Then, there were arrests
Fresno Bee
What started as a peaceful protest Saturday night in Fresno ended in three arrests just before the gathering dispersed around midnight. Fresno police detained three young men for vandalism after multiple windows were smashed at a Les Schwab Tire Center near the intersection of Blackstone and Ashlan.
See Also:
● Black Lives Matter Protest brings hundreds of peaceful protesters to the streets Hanford Sentinel
● ‘This has to stop.’ Hundred-plus rally in Fresno to protest George Floyd killing Fresno Bee
● Protest at Fresno City Hall of George Floyd killing tops 2,000 Fresno Bee
● Hundreds of marchers demonstrate against racial injustice Fresno Bee
● Protesters gather in northeast Fresno at River Park Fresno Bee
● Hundreds gather at northeast Fresno church in solidarity with national protests Fresno Bee
● Protests, vigils over death of George Floyd ramping up in Fresno Fresno Bee
● ‘You don’t do that to human beings’ Protesters gather in Fresno in wake of police killing of George Floyd Fresno Bee
● Justice for George Floyd: Protesters take to the streets of Visalia Visalia Times Delta
● George Floyd protests in Fresno: Hundreds gather for demonstrations across city abc30
● Justice for George Floyd: Protesters take to the streets of Visalia as some violence breaks outVisalia Times Delta
● A Fresno Crowd Of 3,000 Protests Peacefully In Solidarity with George Floyd, Black Lives MatterVPR
Cornerstone Church to defy state, exceed 100-person limit despite Supreme Court ruling
Fresno Bee
Pastor Jim Franklin said Cornerstone Church in Fresno would be open for two services Sunday at 25% capacity, inviting up to 350 people in defiance of state-imposed limits that were upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court.
See also:
● Cornerstone Church Pastor Says He Will Defy State Rules To Limit Attendance VPR
● Churches grapple with reopening during pandemic Visalia Times Delta
● EDITORIAL: It will take more than faith, hope and prayers to keep churchgoers safe from COVID-19 Fresno Bee
South SJ Valley:
Lemoore City Council meets Tuesday
Hanford Sentinel
The Lemoore City Council is scheduled to meet Tuesday to hold a public hearing on a proposed project in the city. The hearing is in regards to a 362-lot subdivision project proposed by Lennar Homes on the west side of Lemoore.
City says Measure N priorities still on target despite economic downturn
Bakersfield Calif.n
Despite the economic downturn due to the coronavirus, many Measure N projects remain on schedule. After revenue projections for the next fiscal year, which begins in July, were rapidly scaled back to account for the economic crisis, the city has submitted a revised Measure N budget proposal to the Public Safety and Vital Services Oversight Committee for approval.
Kern County to consider distributing $20 million to cities for coronavirus relief
Bakersfield Calif.n
Kern County supervisors will consider a proposal allocating $20 million in federal funding to various cities throughout the county.
No arrests made during primarily peaceful protest Saturday night in Downtown Bakersfield
KGET 17
A group of as many as 200 people protested Saturday in Downtown Bakersfield for a second night of protests over the death of George Floyd.
State:
Newsom, Steinberg react to protests and street violence: ‘Wrong and unacceptable’
Fresno Bee
In a Saturday morning tweet, Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg emphatically decried the violence that took place at the end of a long and otherwise peaceful protest in south Sacramento Friday night, saying any kind of violence is “wrong and unacceptable.”
See Also:
● Nine officers injured, two protesters arrested at Sacramento George Floyd demonstrationSacramento Bee
● Grief, Outrage Over George Floyd Spreads Further Capital Public Radio
● Calif. state government closing offices Monday because of protest Sacramento Bee
● Protesters take to downtown streets for second night in Bakersfield Bakersfield Calif.n
● Peaceful protests give way to weekend violence CALmatters
● Protests, mayhem continue, lead to more Calif. curfews Public CEO
● Opinion: As 2020 is showing us, America only truly loves black people when it’s convenientSacramento Bee
● EDITORIAL: George Floyd’s murder requires action. How can Sacramento turn protest into progress? Sacramento Bee
Local govt’s are deciders for counties moving further in Phase 3 of reopening, Newsom says
abc30
Calif.’s Gov. Gavin Newsom will hold daily briefings on the state’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
See Also:
● ‘Counties Decide’: Local Gov’ts In Driver’s Seat As Calif. Businesses Reopen, Newsom Says Capital Public Radio
● Is Calif. reopening too quickly? Newsom explains the state’s strategy for slowing coronavirus while boosting economy Los Angeles Times
Newsom’s budget cuts would hit Californians most vulnerable to coronavirus
Los Angeles Times
Shirley Madden, 83, relies on a caregiver and her two grown daughters to remain living at home — and not in a nursing home. Her daughters, 55-year-old Carrie and 60-year-old Kristy Madden, both use wheelchairs and need a second caregiver to help them navigate their own daily lives.
Supreme Court Rejects Church’s Challenge To Calif.’s Coronavirus Rules
Capital Public Radio
The Supreme Court has rejected a Calif. church’s attempt to overturn the state’s coronavirus restrictions on in-person religious services. In a 5-4 decision issued late Friday, Chief Justice John Roberts sided with the court’s liberal bloc in upholding the state’s right to impose limits on congregations in order to slow the spread of COVID-19.
See Also:
● CDC Quickly Changed Its Guidance On Limiting Choirs At Religious Services NPR
● Supreme Court votes 5-4 to let Gov. Newsom restrict attendance at religious services San Francisco Chronicle
● Supreme Court, in rare late-night ruling, says Calif. may enforce certain restrictions on religious gatherings Washington Post
Recession freezes ambitious agenda
CALmatters
The state’s economy was booming, generating many extra billions of dollars in tax revenues and Jerry Brown, who had been something of a skinflint as governor, had been succeeded by Gavin Newsom, who had ambitious plans to expand state-financed benefits.
High-profile measure to amend Prop 13 qualifies for November ballot
CALmatters
One of Calif.’s highest-profile ballot initiatives qualified for the November ballot Friday, just a week after another prominent measure did the same.
See also:
● Prop 13 treats all Calif. property taxes the same. Voters could change that in 2020 Los Angeles Times
“Every day, I’m humbled by what I don’t know about this virus.”
Calif. Sunday
A conversation with Gavin Newsom
Editorial: Calif. needs its own Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
Los Angeles Times
No time is a good time for financial fraud and abuse, but consumers are particularly vulnerable when the economy is sagging, money is tight and jobs are scarce. Like, say, now.
Editorial: Calif.’s rush to reopen is a dangerous experiment. Don’t be a COVID-19 guinea pig
Sacramento Bee
Please don’t be fooled by the sudden wave of reopening restaurants, stores and salons around Sacramento.
Federal:
Trump berates governors as ‘weak’ in handling of George Floyd protests, urges them to use force
Washington Post
President Trump berated the nation’s governors on a conference call, describing them as “weak” in the face of growing racial unrest and urged them to try to “dominate” unruly protests, according to three people on the call who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the private conversation.
See also:
● Trump took shelter in White House bunker as protests raged AP
● Trump Pushes Governors to Get Tough on Violent Protesters Wall Street Journal
● Trump tells ‘weak’ governors to ‘dominate’ streets amid protests TheHill
● Trump Demands a Crackdown in a Tirade to Governors New York Times
Trump’s domestic policy chief says W.H. ‘working through’ proposals to unify country
Politico
“This president and his focus on bringing safety and security and prosperity to America has never been more laser-focused,” Brooke Rollins said.
See also:
· Editorial: ‘Chaos or community?’ Dr. King asked. Trump is pushing us toward chaos Los Angeles Times
● The History Behind ‘When The Looting Starts, The Shooting Starts’ NPR
Trump asserts his power over Republicans
TheHill
President Trump is strengthening his grip on the Republican Party as they head into the heat of an election season that Democrats want to make a referendum on Trump and his handling of the coronavirus crisis.
Recruitment misses and money woes undermine GOP chances of reclaiming House
Washington Post
When Republican Mike Garcia won a Southern Calif. special election in May — reclaiming a district Democrats had flipped only 18 months prior — he gave the House GOP its most encouraging piece of political news since President Trump was sworn into office.
CDC chief defends failure to spot early coronavirus spread in U.S.
Washington Post
Robert R. Redfield says diagnostic testing would have made little difference, describing it like ‘looking for a needle in a haystack’.
Fact Check: CNBC’s Joe Kernen wrong about US per capita COVID-19 deaths
PolitiFact
CNBC’s Joe Kernen wrong about US per capita COVID-19 deaths
Section 230, the internet free speech law Trump wants to change, explained
VOX
The pillar of internet free speech is Trump’s latest target.
See also:
● As Virus Toll Preoccupies U.S., Rivals Test Limits of American Power NYTimes
● When are readers likely to believe a fact-check? Brookings
● Why Facts Don’t Change Our Minds The New Yorker
● Democratic AGs Denounce Trump Social Media Order PEW
● Editorial: The Twitter Fairness Doctrine Wall Street Journal
● Fast facts on how Americans view social media companies Pew Research Center
Opinion: From Hamilton to Trump: The Dueling Nature of Pandemic Politics
Newsweek
If Alexander Hamilton were to take a time machine to the year 2020, he would find it oddly familiar. The atmosphere of panic is the same. The practice of self-quarantine is the same. By extraordinary coincidence, the drugs are even similar. Donald Trump’s ballyhooed remedy, hydroxychloroquine, is a synthetic form of Hamilton’s quinine.
Coronavirus Trackers:
Coronavirus (COVID-19) in Calif.
COVID-19 is a new illness that can affect your lungs and airways. It’s caused by a virus called coronavirus.
See also:
● Calif. Department of Public Health
● Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) Pandemic – WHO
● John Hopkins University & Medicine John Hopkins University
● Tracking coronavirus in Calif. Los Angeles Times
● Coronavirus Tracker San Francisco Chronicle
● Coronavirus in the U.S.: Latest Map and Case Count New York 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 Calif. by the numbers CalMatters
Elections 2020:
Older black voters have a 2020 dream: huge turnout, new president
Los Angeles Times
When Alester Pryor thinks about what’s at stake in the 2020 presidential election, her mind drifts to the March on Washington in 1963 and the sight of her mother wiping away tears of pride and pain as they waited for Martin Luther King Jr. to give his “I Have a Dream” speech.
News Analysis: A study in contrast: Trump, Biden respond to Minneapolis crisis
Los Angeles Times
President Trump saw burning buildings and decided to light another match. Joe Biden said he would bring a hose, then fix the foundations once the fire was out.
See also:
● Biden leads Trump in Post-ABC poll as president’s coronavirus rating slips Washington Post
● Trauma and gaffes crash Biden’s VP selection process POLITICO
Voting by Mail to Face Biggest Test Since Pandemic Started
Wall Street Journal
The seven states holding primaries and Washington, D.C., encouraged residents to vote by mail, and they are expecting a surge of mailed ballots.
See also:
● Need A Witness For Your Mail-In Ballot? New Pandemic Lawsuits Challenge Old Rules VPR
Kamala Harris’s Record
Politifact
Kamala Harris’ record as she is being vetted as a possible VP candidate.
Opinion: The Vice President Choice Everyone is Missing (Susan Rice)
The Atlantic
Former NSA Susan Rice has a powerful backer and an array of experiences that complement Biden’s.
Other:
Price: How to explain the art of democracy to a teen (and the rest of us)
Bakersfield Calif.n
We interrupt this pandemic, and these street demonstrations, and this tragicomic political theater of the absurd, to bring you this announcement.
The Battle Between The Masked And The Masked-Nots Unveils Political Rifts
VPR
It has become a political and cultural flashpoint, drawing a clear divide between the “masked” and the “masked-nots.” The disdain runs between the consciously unmasked president of the United States and his deliberately mask-donning Democratic rival, all the way on down to those crossing paths — and often crossing each other — in the cereal aisle of the grocery store.
See also:
● Grocery Workers Fear Confrontations Over Mask Rules Time
● Why do some people refuse to wear masks? Defiance, misguided thinking San Francisco Chronicle
● Opinion: Mask rage: Should we be forced to wear a mask to protect ourselves? Don’t fight it, wear it Sacramento Bee
Schwarzenegger: The America I Love Needs to Do Better
The Atlantic
Patriotism isn’t just the blind love of our flag. It is the work we do to improve our country for every American.
See also:
● Obama: How to Make this Moment the Turning Point for Real Change Medium
● Gripped by disease, unemployment and outrage at the police, America plunges into crisisWashington Post
● Section 230, the internet free speech law Trump wants to change, explained
● VOX
● The pillar of internet free speech is Trump’s latest target.
Opinion: The ‘Liberal Leaning’ Media Has Passed Its Tipping Point
Wall Street Journal
A return to balance would be commercially unviable. The best solution may be an honest embrace of bias.
AGRICULTURE/FOOD
Fresno buys produce from 30 farmers, donates it to nonprofits
abc30
Jet Mouachongkao has farmed green beans for close to ten years, but his restaurant base was wiped out when the pandemic left much of the state sheltering in place. On Friday, he was one of 30 farmers who traded in their crops for checks.
Madera Tribune
When the trucks rolled out of the Pine Street headquarters of Madera Unified’s Child Nutrition Department on Tuesday, May 26, one of them had a special delivery. It carried the one millionth meal that the district has delivered to Madera’s students since schools were closed on March 13 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
CityServe and Bakersfield car dealership team up for food drive
Bakersfield Calif.n
It wasn’t the largest fundraiser that CityServe has been a part of, but every bit of reaching out to the community helps. On Friday, the faith-based organization partnered with Bakersfield Chrysler Jeep Fiat for a drive-up food drive where nonperishable food could be dropped off.
New supermarket aims to fill neighborhood void
Bakersfield Calif.n
Neighbors had good reason to celebrate when in early 2003 a FoodMaxx grocery store opened at the southwest corner of Union and Calif. avenues. As southeast Bakersfield’s first new supermarket in many years, the project was a big accomplishment by city officials working with a local developer in response to requests by residents.
U.S. food prices see a historic jump and are likely to stay high
Los Angeles Times
As if trips to the grocery store weren’t nerve-racking enough, U.S. shoppers lately have seen the costs of meat, eggs and even potatoes soar as the coronavirus has disrupted processing plants and distribution networks.
CRIMINAL JUSTICE/FIRE/PUBLIC SAFETY
Crime:
3 protesters arrested in connection to vandalism of Fresno tire shop
abc30
Fresno police arrested three protesters who vandalized a Les Schwab Tire Center in central Fresno. Officers arrested the demonstrators just after 11 p.m. Saturday night on Blackstone near Ashlan. Investigators believed these suspects participated in a nearby protest before attacking the auto shop.
See Also:
● Fresno protest peaceful until 3 arrested for vandalism Fresno Bee
● Sacramento police disperse looters, large crowd after protests downtown over Floyd killingSacramento Bee
● Police Fire Rubber Bullets, Arrest 18 As Looters Damage Businesses After Saturday George Floyd Protests In Sacramento Capital Public Radio
● Opinion: Demand Accountability, Don’t Romanticize Rioting National Review
Jeep runs over women who were protesting in Visalia
Fresno Bee
A car struck two women in the middle of the road during a protest for George Floyd in Visalia, CA. Video of the incident shows a blue Jeep in traffic then accelerating directly toward two women on the street.
See also:
● Visalia police, Fresno State investigate incident at Black Lives Matter march Visalia Times
● Three Injured By Cars At Weekend Protests Against Police Violence In Bakersfield, Visalia VPR
George Floyd’s Arresting Officer Charged With 3rd-Degree Murder, Manslaughter
VPR
Derek Chauvin, a former Minneapolis police officer involved in George Floyd’s death on Monday, has been charged with third-degree murder and manslaughter. Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman announced the charges Friday, shortly after Chauvin was taken into custody by the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.
How black, white Americans differ in views of criminal justice system
Pew Research Center
Black Americans are far more likely than whites to say the nation’s criminal justice system is racially biased and that its treatment of minorities is a serious national problem.
Will small-business owners go to jail for breaking coronavirus rules? We’ll find out
Los Angeles Times
As the coronavirus pandemic swept through Southern Calif. in late March, police officers visited Janet Tavakoli’s Sherman Oaks beauty supply emporium. She agreed to comply with
city rules and shut it down.
Public Safety:
Calif. needs to protect its prison staff and inmates during COVID-19 pandemic
CALmatters
As we learn more about COVID-19 daily, it is increasingly clear that impacts are largest for individuals with health risks, the economically disadvantaged and people of color. Prisons concentrate these vulnerabilities in a single institution. And institutions with concentrated vulnerabilities put us all at risk.
See also:
● COVID-19 outbreak spreads in Avenal State Prison, over 300 more inmates test positive since Thursday abc30
Pandemic Complicates Upcoming Disaster Season
PEW
Instead of carrying out large-scale relief operations, states may find themselves coordinating an ad hoc, patchwork system of existing local resources.
Fire:
Coronavirus Heightens Calif.’s Wildfire Threat
Wall Street Journal
Firefighting agencies across the West plan for social-distancing and quarantined crews as the pandemic hinders preventive measures like controlled burns.
ECONOMY/JOBS
Economy:
Several Target stores to remain open after scheduled closures
abc30
Several Target stores in the Bay Area that were scheduled to be closed on Sunday amid possible protests over the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis will apparently remain open.
South Valley business helping local non-profit stay afloat during pandemic
abc30
A South Valley business is helping a local non-profit continue its work during the pandemic. The Source in Visalia serves the LGBT+ community throughout Tulare and Kings counties.
Dine-in restaurants can submit plans to reopen
Porterville Recorder
When Tulare County received the OK from the state to move ahead to “Stage 2.5” of the state’s plan for reopening businesses, it paved the way for dine-in restaurants to offer dine-in services.
Small Rural Businesses Fight for Bailout Aid
PEW
“When a business closes, the entire town feels it.
Washington Post
Nearly 6 in 10 Americans say the coronavirus outbreak has exacted a severe economic toll on their communities, but a majority of a divided country still says controlling the virus’s spread is more important than trying to restart the economy, according to a Washington Post-ABC News poll.
Jobs:
Amazon may accelerate local hiring within weeks
Bakersfield Calif.n
Amazon expects to start hiring soon to fill the bulk of the jobs being created at a four-story distribution center nearing completion just north of Meadows Field Airport.
Workers Without College Degrees Face Unprecedented Job Losses
PPIC
Job losses during the COVID-19 crisis, which already far exceed those of the Great Recession, have been especially large among less-educated workers.
Single Mothers Hit Hard by Job Losses
PEW
Single mothers in some parts of the country have fared especially poorly. In New England, 28% of single mothers lost their jobs, and the percentage in some Southern and Western states was 27%.
COVID-19 Doesn’t Need Lockdowns to Destroy Jobs: The Effect of Local Outbreaks in Korea
National Bureau of Economic Research
Unlike most countries, Korea did not implement a lockdown in its battle against COVID-19, instead successfully relying on testing and contact tracing.
IRS Rule Shift Lets Workers Make Benefits Changes Midyear — If Their Employer Agrees
VPR
The economic upheaval and social disruption caused by the coronavirus pandemic have upended the assumptions that many people made last fall about which insurance plan to sign up for or how much of their pretax wages to sock away in flexible spending accounts devoted to health care or dependent care.
Commentary: Newsom’s executive order on workers’ comp for COVID does more harm than good
CALmatters
Calif. is projecting the largest budget deficit in state history. This is due partially to increased expenses incurred during the COVID-19 pandemic, but also from substantially reduced economic activity.
4 tips from a campus expert on working remotely in the current climate
Fresno State News
The idea of work-life balance and technology has changed dramatically since Dr. Julie Olson-Buchanan, interim dean of the Craig School of Business, began research in the area roughly 15 years ago.
See also:
· Therapists see burnout rising locally as people work from home Bakersfield Calif.n
EDUCATION
K-12:
Reopening Fresno-area schools could force big changes on students, teachers — and parents
Fresno Bee
Nobody knows what classrooms will look like during a global pandemic, and Fresno-area school districts have been grappling with how to follow COVID-19 social distancing guidelines during class, lunch, bus rides, and recess.
Selma teachers slam ‘slash-and-burn’ staff cuts that they say will hurt students
Fresno Bee
Teachers say the district should only make classroom and staff cuts as a last resort.
School leaders weigh in on how return to campuses will look for Modesto-area students
Modesto Bee
Modesto City Schools asking families to complete survey on needs, wants.
See also:
● Opinion: The case for reopening schools this fall Washington Post
Schools issue warning: Coronavirus testing and tracing are needed before campuses reopen
Los Angeles Times
Raising the possibility that campuses won’t reopen in the fall, leaders of the state’s two largest K-12 school systems on Friday demanded that public health authorities, not school districts, take the lead on setting up coronavirus testing and contact tracing of students and employees.
Coronavirus Is Creating A Financial Crisis For American Schools
NPR
With the nation’s attention still fixed on the COVID-19 health crisis, school leaders are warning of a financial meltdown that could devastate many districts and set back an entire generation of students.
Higher Ed:
Bakersfield Calif.n
It’s a tale of two cities: Bakersfield vs. anywhere else. Ulysis Baal, a 2019 UCLA graduate, spent four years in Calif.’s entertainment hub. But after graduation, he decided to return to the Central Valley.
UC Merced’s Incoming Chancellor On The University’s Future
VPR
The UC Board of Regents announced last week that Juan Sánchez Muñoz will become UC Merced’s fourth chancellor. As a UC alum and first-generation student, he has a lot in common with the university’s student body. He currently serves as president of the University of Houston-Downtown, and was still in Texas when Valley Edition Host Kathleen Schock spoke with him about assuming leadership during a pandemic.
Californians socked away more money for college at the start of pandemic. Will it continue?
Sacramento Bee
The first five months of 2020 have featured record numbers: jobless claims, market crashes and — perhaps counterintuitively — college savings.
Editorial: The UC regents’ risky bet on a custom admissions test
Los Angeles Times
The thunderous snap you heard last week was the sound of hundreds of thousands of No. 2 pencils breaking. The University of Calif. Board of Regents voted May 21 to ditch the SAT and ACT tests for college admission, at least for most uses.
Colleges Face Student Lawsuits Seeking Refunds After Coronavirus Closures
VPR
Columbia, Brown, Penn, Purdue — universities with hallowed traditions, proud alumni and another thing in common: Right now they’re being sued by disgruntled students. The students claim that when campuses shut down amid the coronavirus pandemic, they should have been entitled to more of their money back. And the list of institutions facing such challenges is growing, including private institutions and entire public systems in Calif., Florida, North Carolina and Arizona.
Tuition Capping and Freezing: Rain Check for Future Price Increases or Durable Policy Solution?
EdNote
Last month, we released a 50-State Comparison of tuition-setting policies showing that, in the majority of states, legislatures grant authority to individual or system-level boards to set tuition for public higher education.
Picking A College For The Fall? Here’s How To Decide For An Unknown Future
NPR
May 1st is historically the deadline for college-bound students to decide which college they’ll be attending. This year, with so much uncertainty about what college will actually look like in the fall, about 400 institutions have pushed back this deadline to June.
A ‘gap year’ will just increase the gap in your higher education
CALmatters
In the midst of this pandemic, college-age students and their families are considering what to do next fall. The most interesting question posed to me is: should I take a “gap year”?
ENVIRONMENT/ENERGY
Environment:
Desert mystery: Why have pronghorn antelope returned to Death Valley?
Los Angeles Times
More than a century after railroads, ranchers and hunters vanquished their ancestors, pronghorn antelope are returning to this unforgiving expanse of desert along the Calif.-Nevada
Dispatches from Yosemite: Alone with the bears and beauty
AP
The glacier-carved valleys of Yosemite National Park have been closed to the public for nearly three months and a few dozen lucky kids have had it mostly to themselves.
It’s time to fix Calif cap-and-trade – again
CALmatters
Revenues from Calif.’s quarterly cap-and-trade auction collapsed this week for the second time in four years.
border.
Climate Change And Deforestation Mean Earth’s Trees Are Younger and Shorter
VPR
The forests of today will not be the forests of tomorrow. Rising temperatures, deforestation, development and climate-induced disasters are transforming the very makeup of the Earth’s forests, new research published in the journal Science finds.
Energy:
Aera retreats from coastal project
Bakersfield Calif.n
In another sign of the challenges racking Kern’s signature industry, a Bakersfield oil producer says tough market conditions and uncertainty on permitting matters have persuaded it to walk away from a project in northern Santa Barbara County that it had worked on for about six years.
PG&E could become a nonprofit someday under Calif. bill
San Francisco Chronicle
Calif. lawmakers may still create a path to overhaul PG&E Corp.’s structure even though the company is poised to remain an investor-owned business after its expected emergence from bankruptcy this year.
HEALTH/HUMAN SERVICES
Health:
Calif. coronavirus milestone: 100,000 cases. ‘It hasn’t ended’
Public CEO
The number of coronavirus infections in Calif. surpassed 100,000 Wednesday, marking a milestone that comes as the state is rapidly reopening its economy. Calif. is the fourth state to surpass 100,000 confirmed cases.
See also:
● After 100,000 coronavirus cases, it’s clearer where Calif.ns are getting infected Mercury News
● Pandemic’s overall death toll in U.S. likely surpassed 100,000 weeks ago, state-by-state analysis finds Washington Post
As Fresno hospitals resume a normal flow, concern about COVID-19 surge grows
Fresno Bee
Hospitals in Fresno County and the central San Joaquin Valley are slowly ramping up a return to a more normal flow of medical services to the region. But a continuing increase in hospitalizations and new cases of coronavirus still have the potential to put hospitals under stress to handle a sudden surge.
See Also:
● Fresno County adds 29 cases to coronavirus count Fresno Bee
● Many in Fresno area, not just elderly, at risk for COVID-19 Fresno Bee
● Coronavirus claims 3 more lives in Fresno County, 4 in Tulare County Fresno Bee
● Coronavirus: Deaths, recoveries up in Tulare County as new cases plateau Visalia Times Delta
● 1,844 cases, 84 deaths in Tulare County Porterville Recorder
● Coronavirus confirmed at Merced County nursing facility, Foster Farms ranch, officials say Merced Sun-Star
● Coronavirus update: Positive cases move past 700; Seniors get Medicare extension Modesto Bee
● 28% of U.S. adults say they know someone diagnosed with COVID-19 Pew Research Center
Fresno County is urging residents to get tested for COVID-19
abc30
Calif. is now ranked 23rd in the nation for COVID-19 testing, up four spots from last week, according to data collected by ABC 30 and other ABC owned TV stations. CVS adding 91 drive-thru sites, statewide, could drastically improve the ranking.
See also:
● Little Progress Made In Trump’s Plan For Private Retailers To Test For Coronavirus VPR
● Access to Coronavirus Testing Can Depend on Who You Know Wall Street Journal
Can wind spread coronavirus? What about salt water? What to know before beach trip
Fresno Bee
Scientists still don’t know all the answers.
See also:
● Is It Safe To Go To The Beach? Camp? Eat Out? Here’s How To Evaluate The Risks NPR
Do people at huge protests risk catching coronavirus? Here’s what to know
Sacramento Bee
Already fighting a global coronavirus pandemic, the United States now faces massive protests over the in-custody death of George Floyd in Minnesota. Could the two converge? Absolutely, say public health officials, unless protesters wear face masks and practice social distancing, CNN reports.
See also:
● Experts: Protests pose coronavirus risk Fresno Bee
● Experts fear new wave of coronavirus cases following protests TheHill
● Over 4,000 dead in Calif, will protests cause surge? Fresno Bee
So Where Did the Virus Come From?
Wall Street Journal
Research into the origins of the new coronavirus raises questions about how it became so infectious in human beings.
Eli Lilly Begins Testing Covid-19 Drug Derived From Blood of Survivor
Wall Street Journal
The drugmaker will first test the therapy in hospitalized patients, and hopes to eventually assess whether it could also prevent infections.
Human Services:
Valley Children’s Hospital receives largest single estate gift ever
Sierra Star
The estate of LeRoy A. Giannini, one of the San Joaquin Valley’s pioneering farmers, has donated $9 million to Valley Children’s Hospital, the largest single estate gift in its history.
See also:
● Valley Children’s Hospital receives largest single estate gift ever Fresno Bee
Modesto-area medical practices in survival mode after loss of patients, lack of aid
Modesto Bee
People aren’t going to their doctors out of fear of COVID-19, jeopardizing their health and the financial sustainability of the practices
Medicare beneficiaries in Stanislaus County given a few more weeks to make changes
Modesto Bee
The federal government is allowing extra time for seniors who weren’t able to sign up for or make changes to Medicare benefits because of the coronavirus outbreak. The closure of Social Security Administration offices kept some people from making enrollment changes in the Medicare program during the normal January to March period.
Nursing home coronavirus testing remains scattershot, despite being a Newsom priority
Los Angeles Times
Like many Calif.ns, Dr. Peter Beilenson has watched in anguish as the coronavirus has devastated elder care homes. As of last week, COVID-19 had killed about 2,000 residents and more than 60 employees of these facilities, accounting for more than half of Calif.’s mortality from the pandemic.
KQED
With many people staying home in recent months, counties that haven’t yet built their contact-tracing teams to pandemic levels have generally been able to manage caseloads. Each new person who tests positive for COVID-19 has been in contact with an average of four or five people while infectious — usually family members and neighbors — according to local health officials. But as counties begin allowing businesses to reopen, a person’s average contacts will go up to 40, necessitating a larger team to identify and call them.
COVID-19 Hits Black Communities Particularly Hard
PEW
In all but one of the 16 states, black victims made up a higher percentage of COVID-19 deaths than their percentage of the overall population.
Anthony Fauci on Covid-19 reopenings, vaccines, and moving at ‘warp speed’
STAT
Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases, has seen the photos of bars packed with mask-less patrons. He was not impressed.
IMMIGRATION
Immunocompromised Calif. prisoner could be detained by ICE. He worries about COVID-19
Sacramento Bee
A man who was recently granted parole faces the risk of being transferred to an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility and eventually deported. He is immunocompromised and worries about contracting the coronavirus.
LAND USE/HOUSING
Land Use:
Council takes up downtown Modesto vision: 1,550 new homes, walkable streets and more
Modesto Bee
A master plan for downtown Modesto – adding multi-story housing and other urban touches to the district – could take its first step toward approval Monday, June 1. The City Council’s Economic Development Committee will discuss the 20-year vision in a 2 p.m. meeting to be conducted remotely because of COVID-19.
These parks, campsites are reopening across Northern Calif. this weekend
San Francisco Chronicle
The delayed summer roll-out for parks, beaches, campgrounds and mountain lakes is starting to get going. This weekend, Northern Calif. will see the reopening of three state parks in the Bay Area as well as Lassen Volcanic National Park in the state’s far north.
Dispatches from Yosemite: Alone with the bears and beauty
Porterville Recorder
The glacier-carved valleys of Yosemite National Park have been closed to the public for nearly three months and a few dozen lucky kids have had it mostly to themselves. Locked down amid cascading waterfalls and giant sequoias, the kids and their families have passed afternoons hiking empty trails, rafting in the river and walking with wildlife now thriving in the near absence of humans.
Housing:
Homeless have a home as Housing Authority converts Modesto motel into apartments
Modesto Bee
Shawn and Andrea Smith and their 6-year-old son were among the first people Thursday to start moving in to Kansas House, the former 103-room Modesto budget motel being converted into permanent supportive housing for homeless people.
Newsom allows extension of local eviction moratoriums in Calif. through July 28
San Francisco Chronicle
Evictions could be halted for two more months in Calif. under a new executive order signed Friday by Gov. Gavin Newsom amid the ongoing coronavirus crisis.
Trump vetoes bill to scrap rule that makes loan forgiveness harder
Washington Post
President Trump on Friday vetoed a bipartisan resolution to overturn a policy that makes it tougher for students who say they were defrauded by colleges to have their federal education loans canceled.
PUBLIC FINANCES
Voters could change Calif.’s landmark property tax law after measure qualifies for ballot
Sacramento Bee
Calif. voters this November will likely see an initiative that would undo part of a landmark law that has capped property tax increases for decades. The so-called “split-roll” initiative would change how Calif. taxes properties, retaining a limit on tax increases for residential properties but allowing new assessments of commercial sites worth more than $3 million.
See also:
· LAO: Split Role & Taxation of commercial property. [Ballot] LAO
· Walters: A conflict 42 years in the making CalMatters
Good news about your coronavirus stimulus money: It doesn’t count as income or an asset
Los Angeles Times
The relief payments do not count as income or as an asset. The money is excluded from the recipient’s resources for 12 months.
Newsom’s budget cuts would hit most vulnerable to coronavirus
Los Angeles Times
Calif. Gov. Gavin Newsom has proposed sweeping budget cuts to safety-net healthcare programs ― including Medi-Cal, Calif.’s Medicaid program for low-income people ― just as enrollment is projected to spike because of record job losses related to the pandemic.
Cities’ Next Coronavirus Dilemma: Cut Essential Services or Take On More Debt
Wall Street Journal
Shutdowns dry up local revenues, leaving leaders with no good options to keep cities running
Calif. state workers could get raises, avoid furloughs under Senate budget plan
Sacramento Bee
Calif. state workers could avoid pay cuts or even get raises this year under a Senate budget proposal that rejects Gov. Gavin Newsom’s plan to reduce their pay. Under the Senate plan, released Thursday, the state would dig deeper into reserves and expand borrowing to address a projected $54 billion deficit instead of cutting as deeply as Newsom proposed
‘You just got a letter out of the blue’: Calif. state workers surprised by reassignments
Sacramento Bee
Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration moved quickly to place Calif. state employees in positions as coronavirus contact tracers after his call for volunteers failed to come up with enough of them.
CALmatters
Given the precipitous drop in economic activity caused by the coronavirus pandemic, as well as the increase in demands on state resources, Calif. now finds itself in a budget crisis, despite having built up a $20 billion reserve.
Opinion: Fiscal policy for COVID-19 and beyond
Brookings
Border closings, confinement, and other social distancing measures to retard the spread of COVID-19 have brought the global economy to a near standstill.
TRANSPORTATION
EDITORIAL: Democrats Bite the Bullet Train
Wall Street Journal
The coronavirus may finally kill Jerry Brown’s boondoggle to nowhere.
ACE awarded $20M grant to keep trains running
Stockton Record
The public agency that operates the Altamont Corridor Express rail service for workers commuting from the Valley to the Bay Area has been awarded a $20 million federal grant to continue train service during the COVID-19 public health emergency.
As Lockdown Orders Lift, Can Cities Prevent A Traffic Catastrophe?
NPR
Over the past few months, cities have had to deal with tremendous challenges — fighting a pandemic, preserving essential services, protecting their own workers, coping with devastating budget cuts.
Warszawski: During pandemic, this Fresno bike shop proved why it is essential to the neighborhood
Fresno Bee
The man in his 50s appears to be homeless. He wheels his old cruiser bike, with duct tape holding the saddle together, through the front door of Dave Street Customs, a bike shop in the Chinatown section of downtown Fresno.
WATER
U.S. EPA Reaches Settlement to Clean Up Groundwater Contamination at Southern Calif. Superfund Site
Calif. Water News Daily
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has reached a $6,521,025 settlement with 145 parties to clean up contaminated groundwater at the Omega Chemical Corporation Superfund Site in Whittier, Calif..
“Xtra”
Dolores Huerta to raise money for Central Valley families in need during pandemic
Fresno Bee
Civil rights icon Dolores Huerta says immigrant families most in need in the Central Valley during the coronavirus pandemic are being left behind. Farmworkers, for example, she said are essential workers, yet they were sort of “ignored from the beginning.”
Bob Bennett, longtime Fresno State baseball coach, passes away
Fresno Bee
Bob Bennett, one of the pillars of the baseball program at Fresno State and winningest coaches in NCAA Division I baseball history, passed away on Sunday.
Tachi Palace Casino Resort reopens with new safety measures
Hanford Sentinel
When the doors at Tachi Palace Casino Resort opened at 9 a.m. on Thursday, a little sense of normality came back to Lemoore. “It has been an exciting day,” Michael Olujic, General Manager of Tachi Palace Casino Resort, said. “We miss our guests and it was nice to see so many come out and support because they missed us as well.”
Fourth of July fireworks at Bass Lake canceled
Sierra Star
The annual Fourth of July fireworks show at Bass Lake has been canceled, according to a Facebook post from the Bass Lake Chamber of Commerce. The chamber’s post said the event will surely return in 2021.
Coronavirus claims a beloved annual Christmas tradition in the Central Valley
Modesto Bee
The ongoing coronavirus pandemic has canceled a treasured part of many Central Valley residents’ annual Christmas tradition. Hughson-based Duarte Nursery will not hold its annual poinsettia sale for the holiday season this year because of the COVID-19 outbreak.