TOP POLITICAL STORIES
What Will Happen to California After Trump’s Exit From Paris Accord?
KQED
As President Trump announced the U.S. would leave the Paris climate accord, California’s political leaders quickly declared that the state would step up on the international stage.
Fact-checking Donald Trump’s statement withdrawing from the Paris climate agreement
PoliFact
President Donald Trump announced that the United States will withdraw from the Paris accord on climate change. All but two countries signed the agreement. But Trump said the deal puts the United States at a disadvantage.
Gov. Brown Denounces Trump’s ‘Insane Move’ on Paris Accord
KQED
Gov. Jerry Brown called President Trump’s decision to withdraw the U.S. from the Paris climate accord an “insane move” and said “California will resist because his effort is misguided.”
Defying Trump, California forms climate alliance with 2 states
SF Chronicle
Moving quickly to fill a climate leadership vacuum opened by President Trump, the governors of California, New York and Washington on Thursday announced a new alliance of states dedicated to fighting global warming and urged others to join them.
Feinstein says Trump decision on climate accord means surrendering world leadership
| Fresno Bee |
U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, California’s senior Democrat from San Francisco, told a Fresno audience Thursday that President Trump’s decision to withdraw from the Paris climate accord was “a huge and reckless choice” that will diminish America’s global …
Sen. Feinstein praises Fresno efforts to fight human trafficking | The …
| Fresno Bee |
Sen. Dianne Feinstein said collaboration between Fresno law enforcement and community groups to combat human trafficking is “as good as it gets anywhere.
With Democrats divided, Assembly rejects a plan to extend California’s cap-and-trade program
Los Angeles Times
An effort to extend the life of California’s landmark climate change program failed in the last hour of a long Assembly session on Thursday, a sign of how the program’s fate has divided Democratic lawmakers.
Nunes says California needs new direction
| Visalia Times-Delta |
He and Congressman David Valadao have been encouraging water districts and agriculture groups to speak with their senators explaining how much they depend on getting the legislation passed to have an adequate water supply.
California bills: What’s advanced this week
| The Mercury News |
SACRAMENTO – The California Assembly and Senate are voting on hundreds of bills this week before Friday’s deadline to pass measure out of their houses of origin.
Legislation to overhaul bail reform in California hits a hurdle in state Assembly
| Los Angeles Times |
… U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris said she’s not giving “any consideration” to running for president in 2020. … I’ve got to stay focused,” said Harris, a Democrat who was elected to the Senate in November after serving as California’s attorney general …
| Los Angeles Times |
Almost seven months after California voters imposed new transparency rules for the Legislature, a long simmering debate over the meaning of those rules could put the ultimate fate of dozens of bills in jeopardy.
Here’s why California officials want $450 million to upgrade elections technology
Los Angeles Daly News
Imagine using a dial-up modem for internet and VHS for entertainment in 2017. California elections officials say they face a similar situation with the technology used for a bedrock function of democracy. It’s why Secretary of State Alex Padilla supports a bill to raise $450 million through bonds to upgrade elections technology in California’s 58 counties.
CA Assembly won’t renew contract with Eric Holder | The …
| Sacramento Bee |
The California Assembly will not renew its contract with Covington and Burling, the law firm of former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder who Democratic …
California Assembly to drop $25000 monthly contract with Eric Holder’s firm
| The Mercury News |
SACRAMENTO – Former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder’s firm – hired in January to advise the Legislature on immigration, the environment and other matters relating to the California “Resistance” to the Trump administration – will no longer be …
California Senate Approves Third Gender Option For State IDs …
| CBS Sacramento |
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) – California senators have passed a bill to add a third gender option on state IDs for people who do not identify as either male or …
Calif. Assembly Speaker Rendon Announces Coastal Commission Appointments for June 1, 2017
| California Newswire |
SACRAMENTO, Calif. /California Newswire/ – Calif. Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon (D-Lakewood) today announced he has appointed Chula Vista City Councilmember Steve Padilla to the California Coastal Commission and reappointed Commissioner …
Bakersfield Planning Commission delays decision on East Hills Mall
| The Bakersfield Californian |
Any change in East Hills Mall’s layout or design currently requires the approval of both the Planning Commission and City Council. City staff are recommending the Planning Commission pass a combination of the C-2 and PCD, which would require the …
Treasurer John Chiang emphasizes resume in governor’s race
Los Angeles Times
Treasurer John Chiang acknowledged Thursday that he is not the flashiest candidate in California’s gubernatorial campaign, but said he thinks voters will respond to his record shepherding the state’s finances.
Sen. Kamala Harris tours SoCal sites she says are threatened by Trump
| KABC-TV |
Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., is on a three-day tour of sites in the Los Angeles area that she says are threatened by President Donald Trump’s budget and the Republican health care bill.
Devin Nunes Is Criticized for Keeping Subpoena Power in Russia Inquiry
| New York Times |
The chairman, Representative Devin Nunes of California, on Wednesday also issued three subpoenas to law enforcement and intelligence agencies seeking information about the so-called unmasking of associates of President Trump whose identities were …
Devin Nunes didn’t really recuse himself. What does it mean for the House Russia investigation?
Los Angeles Times
In early April and after weeks of pressure from Democrats, House Select Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes announced he would step away from leading his committee’s investigation into alleged Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.
Warren urges resistance, sidesteps 2020 talk at California event
Politico
Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren delivered a fiery call to political action to hundreds of women activists in San Francisco, urging progressives to invest their energy in resisting the Trump administration.
EDITORIALS
The world goes Californian as Trump turns back on climate
Fresno Bee
To die for Estonia? Weakened deterrence invites instability
Bakersfield Californian
So what if, in his speech last week to NATO, Donald Trump didn’t explicitly reaffirm the provision that an attack on one is an attack on all?…
California must stand against Trump’s plan
Merced Sun-Star/Modesto Bee
Perhaps Donald Trump thinks he’s being clever about his plans to take America out of the Paris Climate Accord; teasing reporters, putting out hints through surrogates, pretending there is something that might change his paranoid mind when it comes to climate change. We’re not fooled.
|
|
AGRICULTURE/FOOD
Sen. Dianne Feinstein visits the Valley to talk water and ag
| yourcentralvalley.com |
Senator Dianne Feinstein made a trip to the Valley Thursday to talk Ag and water. She started her day at Terranova Ranch, where she met local farmer Don Cameron.
Desired for their labor, rejected as neighbors. Farmworkers in California face hostile communities
| Los Angeles Times |
So does the housing problem for temporary guest workers in towns and cities along California’s coastal agricultural belt. Increasingly fond of locally grown produce, Californians are far less enthusiastic about locally housed farmworkers. They have …
Efforts grow to preserve farmland across the West
| Capital Press |
California also uses conservation easements and farming advocates are trying to regain state funding for the Williamson Act, a program under which the state compensated counties for much of the property tax revenue lost when they gave farmers and …
The peach crop in the South is the pits. What does it mean for the Valley?
| Fresno Bee |
Southerners may scoff at the idea of eating a California peach, but this year they may not have a choice. The region’s crop was decimated by a one-two punch from Mother Nature. A devastating freeze coupled with warmer than normal winter wrecked the …
Report: Hit by wet weather, processing tomato crop expected to shrink
| Fresno Business Journal |
California tomato processors have contracted for nearly 12 million tons of tomatoes, down nearly 6 percent from last year. California tomato processors have reported contracts for 11.8 million tons of processing tomatoes for 2017 – a 5.8 percent …
The Latest: Marijuana ‘sanctuary’ bill passes Assembly
| Sacramento Bee |
The state Assembly voted Thursday to shield Californians complying with state cannabis regulations like those legally operating a shop selling pot from being detained, reported or arrested by state or local police. The bill by Assemblyman Reggie Jones …
CRIMINAL JUSTICE/PUBLIC SAFETY
California lawmakers advance bill to reform bail system
| 89.3 KPCC |
On March 8, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors ordered a comprehensive review of the county’s bail system. In the Senate, Hertzberg said the current system disproportionately hurts poor defendants.
Do you recognize this face? FBI creates 3-D image of dead woman dumped in rural area
| Fresno Bee |
Kings County sheriff’s detectives are still trying to identify a dead woman whose body was dumped in a remote area two years ago, several months after her death.
Guilty plea from former Stanislaus official in death threats case
| Sacramento Bee |
Karen Mathews Davis, former clerk-recorder of Stanislaus County, pleaded guilty Thursday to lying to federal agents investigating death threats she had sent to herself when she was a congressional candidate three years ago.
California police will not release security camera footage of border …
| The Mercury News |
ARCADIA – Investigators say they have reviewed video footage taken from a Gold Line train and businesses near the scene of the shooting Friday night of two …
California could be a ‘sanctuary state’ from federal pot laws, thanks …
| Los Angeles Times |
California moves closer to becoming a “sanctuary state” where local and state police will not assist federal enforcement of marijuana laws.
Retired CHP police dogs could get retirement plan | The …
| Sacramento Bee |
The Assembly’s proposed budget includes $100000 to provide retirement plans for California Highway Patrol police dogs. A committee analysis said the dogs, …
Mother doubts police version of son’s 2016 shooting death
| Stockton Record |
Since the fatal shooting involved a peace officer, a protocol investigation was started involving Stockton police, the Sheriff’s Office, the county District Attorney’s Office and the California Department of Justice. Bradley’s family said they have not …
Renters from hell turn Madera home into marijuana farm
| Fresno Bee |
Ryan Pontecorvo, a special agent supervisor for the California Department of Justice, and the Madera narcotics task force, identified the tender as Jose Leon Ramirez, 63, a Mexican national.
Reports reveal new details on violence involving suspected gang members from Atwater
| Merced Sun-Star |
California Department of Justice investigators worked with local law enforcement agencies for months conducting surveillance and intercepting phone calls, text messages and social media communications from Guthrie and his associates.
Prison lifer’s journey inspires KQED documentary
| San Francisco Chronicle |
But Mutch had a much bigger story to tell, and his long journey through the California criminal justice system became the basis for KQED News’ first feature-length, digital documentary, “The Trials of Marvin Mutch” – which is part-profile, part …
Feinstein: ‘Human trafficking is totally bad. It’s totally illegal. It ruins people’s lives’
| Fresno Bee |
Stopping human trafficking has been a concern of the senator’s for some time, and she said the opportunity to hear from law enforcement officials and community leaders at the meeting in Fresno will be helpful in crafting legislation to address the …
EDUCATION
Gov. Brown wises up and restores CTE funding
| Fresno Bee |
In his 2017-2018 state budget, Brown proposed to completely eliminate funding for career technical education (CTE) programs, such as FFA.
California lawmakers assault fake news
| Central Valley Business Times |
Mr. Dodd’s bill would empower the California Board of Education’s Instructional Quality Commission to develop a model framework necessary for incorporating media literacy into school curriculums.
By correctly spelling ‘marocain,’ California girl becomes bee queen
| Washington Post |
Back and forth they went, Rohan Rajeev and Ananya Vinay. Some of the words they spelled: Heiligenschein. Durchkomponiert. Sceloporus.
Children go to school to learn math and science — not how to duck gunfire
| OCRegister |
In 2015, California recognized that civilians should not bring guns into primary and secondary schools by enacting legislation which generally prohibits carrying a firearm into a public or private K-12 school. But, there is still a loophole in the law …
20 sexual assault cases open at California school district
| The Bakersfield Californian |
(AP) – A school district in California has 20 open investigations into student-involved sexual assault or harassment cases.
What does DeVos really plan for America’s schools?
| Sacramento Bee |
Since President Donald Trump named you as his Secretary of Education and since your Senate confirmation hearing, you have appeared in public several times.
Parsing public health and logistics concerns behind CA bill requiring schools to start no earlier than 8:30 am
| 89.3 KPCC |
Senate bill 328, introduced by Senator Portanino (D-La Cañada Flintridge), aims to make it easier for teenagers to get a full night’s sleep, by requiring public California middle and high schools to start classes no earlier than 8:30 a.m. The bill was …
New report says California is flunking out in producing enough educated adults for the workforce
| Los Angeles Times |
… California needs 1.7 million more adults with college credentials by 2025 to meet the state’s workforce needs. To reach that goal, 60% of adults need to finish a college program – a four-year degree from the University of California or Cal State …
California law spurs reforms after suicide cluster
| EdSource |
The California Department of Education released a model youth suicide prevention policy this month that calls for schools to create strategies to encourage students to talk about depression and stress.
Your Bug Collection May Be Breaking The Law In California
| CBS Sacramento |
It would also affect kids K-12. Students collecting grubs for school science projects, Kimsey said would also need a permit.
Calif. Assembly Approves McCarty Legislation to Ban For-Profit Charter Schools in California – AB406
| California Newswire |
SACRAMENTO, Calif. /California Newswire/ – The California State Assembly has approved AB 406 by Assemblymember Kevin McCarty (D-Sacramento), which would prohibit for-profit corporations from managing and operating charter schools in the state.
California community colleges try to boost graduation rates
| WHQR |
“Their experience turns into a six- and seven-year experience,” said Eloy Ortiz Oakley, chancellor of the California community college system.
ENERGY/ENVIRONMENT
Gov. Jerry Brown on the Paris climate change accord: ‘Trump is AWOL but California is on the field, ready for battle’
| Los Angeles Times |
Ahead of President Trump’s announcement that the U.S. would pull out of the Paris climate change accord, California Gov. Jerry Brown told The Times such a move would be “unfortunate possible even tragic.” …
Essential California: Guess who’s leading America’s environmental movement
| Los Angeles Times |
Farm workers in California are confronting hostility, and trouble finding housing – at a time when growers need them more than ever.
Trump budget would slash funding for EPA Superfund cleanups, beach monitoring
| 89.3 KPCC |
She said EPA funding for local environmental protection is critical and often overlooked in California, where elected officials brag about having environmental laws that are often stricter than federal standards.
Stop starving California’s recycling program
| Los Angeles Times |
It’s inherently unsustainable, victimized by its own success; the revenue the state relies on to support it – the deposits consumers pay on bottled goods – goes down as the recycling rate goes up.
‘Though flawed, the climate accord can be fixed,’ says California Republican Rep. Ed Royce
| Los Angeles Times |
California state senators passed a package of housing legislation Thursday, a bid to spend more on low-income housing as well as make it easier for developers to build. The two marquee measures – Senate Bill 35 from Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) …
Climate change threatens Joshua trees
| Hanford Sentinel |
That’s because the species shows signs of flagging in the ever warmer heat of the Mojave Desert. The plants, actually huge lilies and cousins of the far more common yuccas whose flowers dot much of California during the spring, depend on ground water …
California State Senator Doubles Down On Efforts To Fight Climate Change
| NPR |
NPR’s Robert Siegel talks with California’s Senate President pro Tempore Kevin de Leon about his reactions to Trump’s decision on the Paris climate accord. The Democrat has worked on legislation that would insulate California from federal environmental …
Congressman Kevin McCarthy releases statement on Trump’s Paris climate deal decision
| KERO 23ABC News |
“The American energy renaissance has been good for our country and the world. It created American jobs, freed the United States and our allies from OPEC price controls, and helped to reduce emissions at the same time.
Climate change and bail-reform bills fall short in California Assembly
| The Mercury News |
SACRAMENTO – Late Thursday night, the California Assembly voted down two closely watched proposals – one to extend the state’s signature cap-and-trade program, while incorporating local air quality, and another to overhaul the bail-bonds system.
California Senate Unanimously Approves Tom Berryhill’s Bill to Help Fight Deadly Forest Fires
| Sierra Sun Times |
Drought, bark beetle, and other stresses have led to massive tree die-offs in California’s forests. The tree mortality crisis worsens wildfire risk across whole regions of the state and presents life safety risks from falling trees in many forested …
Air board to hand city $9.5M
| Porterville Recorder |
“This exciting project in Porterville delivers fully on the promise of California’s efforts to fight climate change,” said CARB board member Alex Sherriffs, M.D.
FINANCES
SB 562 Will Kill Jobs and Bankrupt California
| Fox and Hounds Daily |
“There is no realistic funding mechanism to support SB562, especially given all the existing spending obligations the state must honor, including education, transportation and infrastructure.
Single-payer healthcare plan advances in California Senate — without a way to pay its $400-billion tab
| Los Angeles Times |
A proposal to adopt a single-payer healthcare system for California took an initial step forward Thursday when the state Senate approved a bare-bones bill that lacks a method for paying the $400-billion cost of the plan.
| Fox and Hounds Daily |
Working through all the numbers, complications and uncertainties of a single payer plan will take time—more time than the legislature has before making a final vote on the single-payer health care proposal in this legislative session.
The Unserious Left Reveals Itself on Single-Payer
| Fox and Hounds Daily |
Health care is a serious subject. Single-payer health systems provide a serious model for how to get the public the health care it needs.
PPIC Poll on Health Care: Californians Most Oppose House Bill, Favor Single-Payer Plan—Unless It Raises Taxes
| Sierra Sun Times |
Asked about the effect of increased federal immigration enforcement, about half of Californians (49%) say it will have a negative impact on businesses, jobs, and the economy in their part of California. Fewer say it will have a positive impact (24%) or …
Single Payer Economics: One Health Plan, Two New Taxes, Three Ways to Save
| KQED |
The analysis was produced by a team of economists at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, and paid for by the California Nurses Association, a key leader in the movement to establish a universal health care system in California. Supporters of a …
HEALTH/HUMAN SERVICES
Government-run universal health care wins vote in California Senate
| Sacramento Bee |
The California Nurses Association commissioned the university to examine ways to pay for the program. Cost has been an insurmountable road block for similar attempts to create a universal health care system in California in the past.
Senate Republican Leader Bates Responds to UM-Amherst Study on Government-Run Health Care Proposal
Senate Republicans
SACRAMENTO – Senate Republican Leader Patricia Bates (R-Laguna Niguel) today issued the following statement in response to a report produced by the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, which was financed by those who want government-run health care through Senate Bill 562(link is external).
Walters: Californians like universal care, unless they’re taxed
Sacramento Bee
A new poll indicates that most Californians support changing the state’s immense, insurance-based medical care system to one in which the state provides universal coverage.
State Assembly unanimously approves Rudy Salas’ bill to improve valley fever reporting
| The Bakersfield Californian |
Additionally, the Assembly Budget Committee has included $6 million in the Assembly budget proposal to be spent over the next three years to fund the workgroup and for educational outreach. If Gov. Jerry Brown approves it in the budget, it will be the …
11 Things the Health Care Sector Must Do to Improve Cybersecurity
Harvard Business Review
No industry or sector is immune to hacking. That reality was made painfully clear in mid-May, when a cyberattacker using WannaCry ransomware crippled health care institutions and many other kinds of organizations around the world.
California’s foster children need more legal funding under
| San Francisco Chronicle |
The Judicial Council had requested a $33.1 million funding increase, and the Legislature has acknowledged that this full amount is what’s actually necessary.
Loss of Maternity Care and Mental Health Coverage Would Burden Those in Greatest Need
Commonwealth News
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) required most individual and small-group health insurers to cover 10 “essential health benefits,” including outpatient services such as office visits, hospitalization, emergency department visits, prescription drugs, and other specific types of care.
Fitzgerald: The man who wanted no help
| Stockton Record |
“The people around her just finally gave up.” Said McCormick: “It’s so sad. It’s still getting to me. It gets to me every day.
How many people have taken advantage of California’s assisted death law?
| Sacramento Bee |
Few California politics stories in recent years were bigger, or more intensely personal, than the legalization of assisted death.
Group: 504 sought life-ending drugs under new California law
| ABC News |
At least 504 terminally ill Californians have requested a prescription for life-ending drugs since a state law allowing doctor-assisted deaths went into effect in June 2016, marking the first publicly released data on how the practice is playing out in …
IMMIGRATION
California could be a ‘sanctuary state’ from federal pot laws, thanks to razor-thin vote
| Los Angeles Times |
California moved a step closer Thursday to becoming a “sanctuary state” where local and state police would not assist federal enforcement of marijuana laws. The state Assembly approved a bill Thursday barring state and local law enforcement officers, …
When ICE agents show up at work, what should the boss do?
| 89.3 KPCC |
The state Assembly has approved a bill that would require California employers to ask federalimmigration agents for a warrant before allowing them into the workplace.
Why state needs to follow Sacramento’s lead on immigrants
| Sacramento Bee |
California is home to one of every four immigrants in America. When many are facing threats of deportation, California has a responsibility to uphold the constitutional due process. That is why I am encouraging our Legislature to pass Senate Bill 6.
Los Angeles Times
The company tapped by the federal government to provide interpreters in immigration court wrongly classified employees as independent contractors and fired those who spoke out, the National Labor Relations Board said in a complaint issued Wednesday
JOBS AND THE ECONOMY
California ranked 8th best state for jobs
| ABC10 |
The financial and data site compared all 50 states across two key dimensions, job market and economic environment. Within the two main factors, researchers looked at elements including job opportunity, job security, state nondiscriminatory laws and …
SB 562 Will Kill Jobs and Bankrupt California
| Fox and Hounds Daily |
Instituting a massive new regulatory scheme in the health care sector will have a devastating impact on job growth and sends a definitive signal to businesses in California that a majority in this Legislature is committed to regulating every aspect of …
Industry Job-Training Bill Passes California Assembly
| Deadline |
“These job-training programs help train our youth and ease them in their transition into employment in the entertainment industry,” said Thom Davis, 2nd Vice President of IATSE, who noted that the state’s film tax credit “has increased union membership …
65% fail latest California Bar Exam
| San Francisco Business Times |
California’s famously difficult bar exam is facing pressure from the state’s law schools to lower its passing score, after only 35 percent of test takers passed the most recent test in February, the Wall Street Journal reports.
LAND USE/HOUSING
California Senate passes package of bills aiming to address housing crisis
| Los Angeles Times |
Republican senators opposed the bill as a threat to the state’s finances. “We don’t have the money to pay for it,” Sen. Tom Berryhill (R-Modesto) said. “If we cut every single program and expense from the state budget and redirected that money to this …
Bill creates blueprint for more housing construction
| The San Diego Union-Tribune |
… would know all of the conditions for development, including traffic mitigation measures, parking requirements, design review standards, and any environmental review and mitigation required under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA …
As a big deadline looms in the Legislature, there’s a new debate over Proposition 54’s transparency rule
| Los Angeles Times |
California state senators passed a package of housing legislation Thursday, a bid to spend more on low-income housing as well as make it easier for developers to build. The two marquee measures – Senate Bill 35 from Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) …
State pays taxes for 82 homeowners who can’t afford it
| The San Diego Union-Tribune |
The smallest single payment made by the California State Controller’s Office was $159 in Siskiyou County and the largest was $20,852 in Alameda County.
Haddad, Witte Assume Leadership of USC Lusk Center Advisory Board
| Los Angeles Business Journal |
“Working together, we hope to facilitate conversations to address the many challenges facing California real estate, whether it be smart land use planning, responsible urban development, or effective policies to increase the availability of critically …
TRANSPORTATION
6 things to know about the high-speed rail project
| KCRA Sacramento |
“We won’t do that everywhere, obviously, but trains will go as fast as 220 mph, which is right at the leading edge of what’s being done anywhere in the world,” Morales said.
Smart rail regulations benefit California consumers
| OCRegister |
By 1980, the entire industry was on the brink of bankruptcy, and consumers were forced to absorb higher prices. But since then, regulatory reform has paved the way for a booming rail industry, which has produced major benefits for California consumers ..
California gasoline prices holding steady
| Central Valley Business Times |
After gasoline price averages climbed over $3 a gallon last week in many areas of the state, they are holding steady at their highest levels of the year so far, according to price surveys Friday.
Driving Californians Out of Their Cars
| Fox and Hounds Daily |
Whether these improvements can survive the Scylla of climate policy and the Charybdis of CEQA will be a test of political will for California leaders. After many years of mostly theoretical debate over the direction of California under ambitious …
US judge lets investor diesel lawsuit against Daimler proceed
| Reuters |
WASHINGTON A federal judge in California will allow a U.S. investor class action lawsuit against Daimler AG (DAIGn.DE) and several senior executives to proceed over allegations the company did not disclose excess emissions.
Sinkhole in Madera County is repaired, county officials say
| Fresno Bee |
Madera County officials say the sinkhole near Oakhurst that closed Road 427 near Yosemite High School for two days was to reopen at 5 p.m.
Clovis drivers, rejoice: Willow Avenue bottleneck to get long-awaited widening
| Fresno Bee |
The center line of Willow Avenue separates the cities of Clovis and Fresno. To pay for the $240,000 project, the city got grant funding from Measure C and federal programs to ease congestion and help air quality.
CHP offers driver safety classes for teens, senior citizens
| Sacramento Bee |
The California Highway Patrol is offering driver safety education classes for drivers at both ends of the age spectrum. On June 13 and 27, the North Sacramento CHP area office will offer a free Start Smart class for teenage drivers and their parents or …
Noise and traffic worries emerge at a public meeting days before AES starts construction on its new HB power plant
| Los Angeles Times |
The California Energy Commission authorized the license for the new plant in April. It is expected to be completed by March 1, 2020.
Mendocino County Adds New Electric-Vehicle Charging Stations Just In Time For Summer Adventures
| Forbes |
National Trails Day is June 3rd, and Mendocino County, in northern California, is upping the ante on its longstanding commitment to environmental sustainability by opening the second of a planned 14 electric-vehicle (EV) charging stations, in …
WATER
California’s Jerry Brown: Water Tunnel Shows ‘I Want To Get [Stuff] Done’
NPR
Calif. Gov. Jerry Brown and U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announced a new $23.7 billion proposal that would build a twin tunnel system to carry water from the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta over to the southern part of the state.
Experts: Lack of warning at California dam raises alarm
| ABC News |
FILE – In this Feb. 28, 2017, file photo, construction crews clear rocks away from Oroville Dam’s crippled spillway in Oroville, Calif.
Turlock Groundwater Basin Association seeks public input
| The Turlock Journal |
According to the Department of Water Resources, California’sgroundwater provides approximately 30 to 46 percent of the state’s total water supply, depending on wet or dry years.
Commentary: Desalination will not solve California’s water woes
| The Mercury News |
More specifically, we cannot rely on ocean desalination to meaningfully reduce the stress on freshwater ecosystems, particularly the Bay Delta and its tributaries, the heart of California’s water supply. Part of this is just due to the numbers. We …
Prepare for a deluge as Delta begins boiling over
Sacramento Bee
Jerry Brown was sounding a little like an eccentric uncle-governor the other day as he muttered about Spaceship Earth, how he got the Moonbeam moniker, and, yes, the need to recycle human waste into water.
Rivers are running so fast and cold, even the pros need help this year
| Fresno Bee | – 14 hours ago |
|
The Fresno County Sheriff’s Office has closed the Kings River to boating, canoeing, kayaking, swimming and floating because the river is at its highest level in years.
Enough stalling. Now’s the time to improve recreation along San Joaquin River
| Fresno Bee (blog) |
“It’s very clear that this is going to be a nice, big, contiguous regional gathering place for people who like the outdoors,” Melinda Marks, executive director of the San Joaquin River Conservancy, said in September 2003, when the purchase was finalized.
“Xtra”
Payday lenders, charging 460%, aren’t subject to California’s usury law
| Los Angeles Times |
It’s a question I get asked a lot: If California’s usury law says a personal loan can’t have an annual interest rate of more than 10%, how do payday lenders get away with interest rates topping 400%?
California lawmakers take a (small) first step to doing away with Daylight Saving Time
| Los Angeles Times |
Lawmakers in the state Assembly approved an effort on Thursday that could end with Californiavoters scrapping the biannual tradition of moving their clocks ahead or behind by an hour.
Commentary: Proud of work by staff
| Porterville Recorder |
On May 20, the California Newspaper Publisher’s Association (CNPA) announced the results of its 2017 Better Newspaper contest and The Recorder did very well.