13Mar

POLICY & POLITICS

Deadline THIS FRIDAY

Wonderful Public Service Graduate Fellowship

Applications for two $56,000 Fellowships

Due Friday, March 15^th, 2019.

Scathing Report, Air District’s Emissions Banking Program Faces Scrutiny

VPR

For decades, industries that pollute have been able to trade emissions reductions under a San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District program. It’s like a bank: If a company installs a new technology that reduces its pollution the company can earn what’s called emission reduction credits.

The Challenges of Changing Land Use in the San Joaquin Valley

PPIC
Implementing the state’s Sustainable Groundwater Management Act—which requires overdrafted groundwater basins to achieve balance between supply and demand by the 2040s—could require taking at least 500,000 acres of irrigated cropland out of production in the San Joaquin Valley.

North SJ Valley:

Merced city firefighters look to improve paramedic services

abc30

In an emergency, seconds matter. That’s why the Merced City firefighters are looking into new ways they can help save lives. Chief Billy Alcorn says the plan is still in the early stages, but they’re looking into possibly getting more certified paramedics into the department.

Central SJ Valley:

Fresno County will have a new election system in 2020

Fresno Bee

The Fresno County Board of Supervisors voted 3-1, with Supervisor Brian Pacheco opposed, on Tuesday to adopt the election system laid out by the California Voter’s Choice Act. The county will move from a precinct model to voting centers for the March 2020 presidential primary election.

● Ready To Vote On Weekends? Fresno County Board Adopts Voter’s Choice Act Elections Model VPR

● California counties slow to sign on to all-mail elections San Francisco Chronicle

Arambula charged with child abuse, takes leave from California Assembly

Fresno Bee

Assemblyman Joaquin Arambula, D-Fresno, has taken a voluntary leave of absence from the California State Assembly following the Fresno County District Attorney’s office decision to charge him with misdemeanor child abuse.

● Arambula: Politics May Be Factor In Child Abuse Charge The Business Journal

● California Assemblyman Joaquin Arambula charged with child cruelty Los Angeles Times

● California Assemblyman Steps Aside, Denies Child Cruelty Capital Public Radio

Fresno council must assure airport project delivers jobs to those needing them most

Fresno Bee

The Fresno City Council potentially made the correct decision when it voted unanimously to support a project labor agreement that mandates the use of local workers from underrepresented communities and minority-owned businesses for the expansion of Fresno Yosemite International airport.

South SJ Valley:

Supervisors approve 18% raises for entry-level deputies

Bakersfield Californian

The Kern County Board of Supervisors unanimously voted to increase entry-level sheriff’s deputy pay by 18.5 percent at a meeting Tuesday in an attempt to stop deputies from leaving the Sheriff’s Office at high rates.

Faraday Future hindered by furloughs, lawsuits

Hanford Sentinel

While the New Year started on a positive note, electric car startup Faraday Future continues to struggle financially. While company officials said in December that they hoped to have funding issues solved within two or three months, it looks like that will not happen.

State:

Heated debate over Real ID numbers at California legislative hearing

Fresno Bee

California’s Department of Motor Vehicles told lawmakers on Tuesday that it expects a substantial increase in customers coming in, potentially paving the way for longer wait times.

Trump and California reach rare agreement: Stop changing our clocks twice a year

Fresno Bee

A majority of Californians agree with President Donald Trump that the existing practice of clock-switching for Daylight Saving Time should be ended. Voters agreed to let the Legislature set the time instead.

Did Newsom call Trump one of the smartest people he’s ever met? “That’s not what I said.”

Merced Sun-Star

California Gov. Gavin Newsom has said some nice things about President Donald Trump, but he says he didn’t call him “one of the smartest people he’s ever met,” as Trump claimed while talking to CPAC.

Who is Afraid of Judicial Review?

Fox & Hound

Prosecutors are protecting the state’s Constitution and institutions. In our system of government, the Legislature is not vested with absolute power to change the law. In fact, judicial review has been a cornerstone of our system since 1803.

Inside the Capitol: California News and Analysis

CALmatters

Where to find news about how the California Capitol works—the players, the policies that affect how state government affects you.

Peak California

A Medium Corporation

California is hard to beat. There are richer places with worse weather, there are (a few) nicer climates with worse economies, but it’s really hard to find any place on planet earth that’s nicer to live in and to work in. There’s a consensus among smart people that the Bay Area is the place to be, and they relocate accordingly.

Federal:

Speaker Pelosi opposes impeaching Trump as too divisive: ‘He’s just not worth it’

abc30

In a Washington Post interview released Monday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she was against impeachment of President Donald Trump, saying he is “just not worth it.”

● Democrats: Pelosi wasn’t closing door on impeachment San Francisco Chronicle

Court case centers on Native American kids in foster care

Sacramento Bee

A federal law that has drawn attention in recent years for giving preference to Native American families in foster care and adoption proceedings involving Native American kids is facing a major legal challenge.

White House, GOP senators negotiating a deal to avert defeat on emergency order

Washington Post

White House is privately negotiating with Senate Republicans who want to rein in the emergency powers of President Trump and his successors — which could lead to the surprise defeat of a Democratic resolution rejecting Trump’s emergency declaration at the border.

Trump seeks $4.7 trillion budget with domestic cuts, $8.6 billion in wall funding

Washington Post

President Trump proposed a $4.7 trillion budget plan Monday that stands as a sharp challenge to Congress and the Democrats trying to unseat him in 2020, the first act in a multi-front struggle over the role of government that threatens to consume Washington for the next 18 months.

What Trump proposed in his 2020 budget

Washington Post

The Trump administration released its 2020 budget request on Monday, proposing major cuts to federal government spending. While the cuts are unlikely to become reality — Congress has rejected many of Trump’s previous requests — the budget is an important signal of the administration’s priorities and suggests a major funding fight in October.

· The bottom line: Presidential budgets are called aspirational for good reason

· EDITORIAL: Trump’s budget priorities are, unsurprisingly, disheartening Los Angeles Times

· Trump Lauded Farmers, Medicare and AIDS Programs. Then Came His Budget Knife. New York Times

Democrats Introduce Dreamers Bill, Reigniting a Debate

Wall Street Journal

Democrats on Tuesday introduced a bill providing permanent legal status and a path to citizenship for hundreds of thousands of young immigrants who came to the country illegally as children, but the bill is unlikely to move beyond the House of Representatives.

Poll: Majority still opposes Trump emergency declaration

Politico

The poll shows that Trump has failed to build support for his declaration in the face of congressional opposition; the results are essentially unchanged since he signed an order to reallocate military funds toward construction of a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. Only 38 percent of voters support the declaration, the poll shows, down 1 percentage point from three weeks ago.

Elections 2020:

Cory Booker’s supporters think he’s ‘Obama 2.0’. Is that what Dems want?

Sacramento Bee

For Cory Booker’s supporters, his message of love and unity evokes the hope-and-change era of Barack Obama. But for progressives eager to take down President Donald Trump at all costs, the approach feels outdated.

Why Bernie Sanders thinks he can win California this time

San Francisco Chronicle

In 2016, the Vermont independent senator had the challenge of introducing himself to Democratic voters outside his home territory.

Other:

MADDY INSTITUTE PUBLIC POLICY PROGRAMMING

Sunday, March 17, at 5 p.m. on ABC 30 – Maddy Report: “The Valley’s New State Senators: Return of the Valleycrats” – Guests: State Sen. Anna Caballero (D-Salinas), State Sen. Melissa Hurtado (D-Sanger), and State Sen. Andreas Borgeas (R- Fresno). Host: Maddy Institute Executive Director, Mark Keppler.

Sunday, March 17, at 10 a.m. on Newstalk 580AM/105.9FM (KMJ) –Maddy Report – Valley Views Edition: “Voters and Legislators: The Midterm’s New Faces”– Guests: State Sen. Anna Caballero (D-Salinas); State Sen. Melissa Hurtado (D-Sanger); State Sen. Andreas Borgeas (R- Fresno); Mindy Romero, USC Price School of Public Policy; John Myers, LA Times; and Secretary of State, Alex Padilla. Host: Maddy Institute Executive Director, Mark Keppler.

Sunday, March 17, at 7:30 a.m. on UniMas 61 (KTTF) – El Informe Maddy: “PPIC Water” – Guest: Alvar Escriva-Bou, investigador del PPIC. Host: Maddy Institute Program Coordinator, Maria Jeans.

AGRICULTURE/FOOD

Roundup cancer claims could come down to the weight of a feather

Los Angeles Times

A lawyer representing a man who says Bayer’s Roundup weed killer caused his cancer urged jurors to imagine the scales of justice ever so slightly tilted in his favor, as if weighted by a feather, and said that would be enough to advance his trial to the next and final phase.

Trump budget proposes steep subsidy cuts to farmers as they grapple with crisis

Reuters

President Donald Trump’s 2020 budget on Monday proposed a 15 percent cut for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, calling its subsidies to farmers “overly generous” at a time when they are going through the worst crisis in decades because of depressed commodity prices and Trump’s trade tariffs.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE / FIRE / PUBLIC SAFETY

Crime:

Gov. Gavin Newsom to stop death penalty in California, giving reprieves to 737 death row inmates

Fresno Bee

Gov. Gavin Newsom is putting a moratorium on the death penalty in California, sparing the lives of more than 700 death-row inmates. Newsom plans to sign an executive order Wednesday morning granting reprieves to all 737 Californians awaiting executions – a quarter of the country’s death row inmates.

● California governor to freeze death penalty Visalia Times Delta

● Gov. Newsom To Impose Death Penalty Moratorium In California Capital Public Radio

● Gov. Gavin Newsom to block California death row executions, close San Quentin execution chamber Los Angeles Times

● Gov. Gavin Newsom’s opposition to the death penalty appears destined for a test Los Angeles Times

● Gov. Newsom to order halt to California’s death penalty San Francisco Chronicle

● Governor Planning to Announce Executive Action to Halt Use of Death Penalty NBC

● California’s new governor putting moratorium on executions AP

Rap Sheets Haunt Former Inmates. California May Change That.

New York Times

Under a bill now making its way through the California State Legislature, millions of people in the state who have misdemeanor or lower-level felony records could be spared those problems: their criminal records would automatically be sealed from public view once they completed prison or jail sentences.

California police report almost no racial profiling

AP
California’s first-in-the-nation attempt to track racial profiling complaints against police produced numbers so unrealistically small that the board overseeing the tally wants departments to make changes to encourage more people to come forward.

Public Safety:

Merced city firefighters look to improve paramedic services

abc30

Stockton police, community leaders participate in ‘Healing the Harm’ online broadcast

Stockton Record

Police leaders were joined Tuesday morning by two community activists during a live coast-to-coast online broadcast sharing their efforts and insights into building back the critical trust between law enforcement and the public that is a vital component of creating a safer, less violent city for every resident.

Supervisors approve 18.5% raises for entry-level deputies

Bakersfield Californian

Sacramento police watchdog urges mayor, City Council to support stricter use-of-force policy

Sacramento Bee

The Sacramento Community Police Review Commission approved a motion Monday night that urges Mayor Darrell Steinberg and the City Council to support Assembly Bill 392, the revived police use-of-force bill that would restrict when officers can use deadly force, and craft its own city policy mirroring the bill.

See also:

● Newsom getting involved in police use-of-force bills San Francisco Chronicle

● EDITORIAL: Police won’t obey transparency law. Why trust them on deadly force reform? Sacramento Bee

Visual Report: Trump’s budget proposal trades butter for guns

Roll Call

The administration proposed a $1.31 trillion discretionary spending budget for fiscal year 2020, with sizeable increases in Defense and Homeland Security accounts, including another $8.6 billion to expand the southern border wall.

EDITORIAL: Mayor Brand must make sure Fresno residents will help find the city’s next police chief

Fresno Bee

Fresno Mayor Lee Brand will soon face the most important decision of his first term — hiring the next police chief. Current Chief Jerry Dyer will end his 40-year career with the Fresno Police Department on Oct. 16 — a date that was finalized at the end of last week.

Fire:

These forests in the West might start vanishing entirely after wildfires, study says

Fresno Bee

Ponderosa pine and Douglas firs in low-elevation Western US forests have a hard time regrowing after wildfires because climate change makes land drier and less ripe for tree growth, a new study finds.

No criminal charges against PG&E for string of Bay Area wildfires in 2017

Fresno Bee

Officials in four north bay counties, including Sonoma and Napa, announced on Tuesday they will not file criminal charges against Pacific Gas & Electric for power line equipment failures that triggered a series of wildfires in 2017.

Overtime pay soared at Cal Fire as record wildfires burned across state

Sierra Star

Wildfire overtime increased Cal Fire’s payroll by $91 million last year, a sharp increase from what was already an expensive year before it, underscoring the budget challenge the state may face if major fires are now the norm.

ECONOMY / JOBS

Economy:

Fresno County earned $400,000 from Captain Marvel’s Shaver Lake scenes

abc30

Captain Marvel’s Brie Larson and nearly 250 cast and crew came to shoot scenes in Shaver Lake for almost three weeks. Captain Marvel’s production generated more than $400,000 for Fresno County. Nearly half of that money was spent on hotels.

Social Media, Politics Pose Risks, Opportunities For Business

The Business Journal

In fact, even as the political climate gets more and more divided, the president and CEO of Der Manouel Insurance Group continues to not only talk every morning on KMJ Radio, but also voice his opinions on Twitter. For him, it’s not just a way to get his views out — it’s a form of catharsis towards the issues that frustrate him the most.

Faraday Future hindered by furloughs, lawsuits

Hanford Sentinel

Banking executive offers upbeat preview of Kern County Economic Summit

Bakersfield Californian

Continued growth in the national economy, combined with consumer trends like e-commerce and healthy eating, favor a prosperous 2019 for all four of Kern’s major private industries, a regional banking executive said in remarks previewing Wednesday’s county economic summit.

WH official: US, China in ‘final weeks’ of trade talks

AP
The top U.S. trade negotiator suggests that the U.S. and China are nearing an agreement that would end their trade conflict, but wouldn’t commit to a specific time frame.

Jobs:

Fresno council must assure airport project delivers jobs to those needing them most

Fresno Bee

California jobs outlook: slowdown ahead

San Jose Mercury News

California’s job market will continue to grow over the next year or so, but at a pace more sluggish than recent years, according to a closely watched economic prediction that was released Wednesday.

Wanted: 20 Valley Entrepreneurs Hungry For ‘sba Mba’

The Business Journal

The SBA’s Fresno District Office is looking for 20 local entrepreneurs who are ready to grow their companies with the Emerging Leaders program. The seven month “SBA MBA” starting next month allows entrepreneurs work in their business while we help them also work on their business, learning the skills needed to make their companies more successful.

California state workers in L.A., SF should be paid more, new report finds

Merced Sun-Star

California state government could give geographic pay incentives for public employees in expensive cities like San Francisco and Los Angeles, according to recommendations from SEIU Local 1000 and Cal HR.

Uber to pay $20 million to some California, Massachusetts in gig-work case

San Francisco Chronicle

Cleaning house as it revs up for a Wall Street debut, Uber has reached a settlement with some drivers who sought to be reclassified as employees in a long-running lawsuit.

Commentary: Pension Reform, In the Wake of the Supreme Court’s Landmark Cal Fire Decision, Is the Glass Half Empty or Half Full?

Public CEO

On March 4, the California Supreme Court delivered its long awaited opinion in Cal Fire, which holds that the Legislature’s elimination of the “air time” benefit – the ability to buy up to five years of service credit not based on time worked – did not infringe upon the vested rights of current employees who cannot buy air time after the passage of PEPRA.

U.S. Dept of Labor releases overtime update proposal

U.S. Department of Labor

Under currently enforced law, employees with a salary below $455 per week ($23,660 annually) must be paid overtime if they work more than 40 hours per week. Workers making at least this salary level may be eligible for overtime based on their job duties. This salary level was set in 2004.

EDUCATION

K-12:

Fourth Ripon student has cancer. Parents demand removal of cell tower from school

Modesto Bee

The Ripon Unified School District said it is talking with a telecommunications company about moving a cellular phone tower from Weston Elementary School because of a public uproar over cancer cases at the campus.

VUSD trustee: PBIS is broken, not worth fixing

Visalia Times Delta

Controversy over Visalia Unified School District’s discipline model has catapulted teachers, students, parents and administrators into the national spotlight. Right along with them is Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports, PBIS.

Tri-fold poster board. Check. Wires connected to potato. Check.

Bakersfield Californian

Many scientific questions were explored by hundreds of fourth- through 12th-grade students at the 31st annual Kern County Science Fair held Tuesday at Rabobank Convention Center.

California can’t afford to skimp on computer science education

CALmatters

Computer science is an essential 21st Century skill for college, careers and civic participation. Yet many California students lack access to meaningful opportunities to learn computer science.

Schwarzenegger ‘mad as hell’ about Trump’s proposed cuts to after-school programs

Politico

Former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger says he’s “mad as hell” and will push back hard against a proposal in Trump’s fiscal 2020 budget to cut nearly $1.3 billion in funding for after-school programs critical to millions of kids and their working parents — including 150,000 kids in California alone.

Higher Ed:

Deadline THIS FRIDAY: Wonderful Public Service Graduate Fellowship

The Maddy Institute

Applications for two $56,000 Fellowships Due Friday, March 15^th, 2019. Through the generosity of The Wonderful Company, San Joaquin Valley students will have the opportunity to become the next generation of Valley leaders through The Wonderful Public Service Graduate Fellowship. The Maddy Institute will award two $56,000 Fellowships to Valley students who are accepted into a nationally ranked, qualified graduate program in the fall of 2019.

How the college admission scandal that hit Hollywood and Stanford got its start in Sacramento

Fresno Bee

A coast-to-coast college admissions scandal that sucked in two Hollywood movie stars, the sailing coach at Stanford and dozens of others had its origins with an over-reaching college-prep consultant who got his start advising anxious high school kids in Sacramento.

● ‘The system is rigged’ feels real when the rich cheat to get their kids into top colleges Los Angeles Times

● In the college admissions game, even the legal kind, money has always mattered San Francisco Chronicle

● FBI accuses wealthy parents, including celebrities, in college-entrance bribery scheme Washington Post

● How USC’s ‘side door’ allowed unqualified prospective students to gain admission Los Angeles Times

● 3 USC coaches, Associate AD indicted in college admissions scandal; Donna Heinel, Jovan Vavic fired Orange County Register

● EDITORIAL: The college admissions process was scandalous long before we learned about celebrity bribes Los Angeles Times

● EDITORIAL: A pay-to-play college admissions scam exposes serious lack of controls San Francisco Chronicle

Trump Proposes To End Student Loan Forgiveness Program

Forbes

The White House released Trump’s 2020 budget proposal, which contains important implications for higher education and student loans. The budget includes $64.0 billion in funding for the U.S. Department of Education, a $7.1 billion, or 10%, decrease compared to the 2019 funding.

ENVIRONMENT/ ENERGY

Environment:

Following Scathing Report, Air District’s Emissions Banking Program Faces Scrutiny

VPR

Funding Available For Projects On National Forest And Nearby Lands

Sierra News

The Fresno/Madera County Resource Advisory Committee (RAC) is seeking applications for projects that would enhance forest ecosystems or restore and improve land health and water quality on the Sierra National Forest and other nearby lands.

Scientists were bracing for a butterfly collapse. Now they’re everywhere

Los Angeles Times

Those black-and-orange insects that seem to be everywhere you look in Southern California aren’t monarchs and they aren’t moths. They are called Painted Ladies, and these butterflies are migrating by the millions across the state.

Destruction from sea level rise in California could exceed worst wildfires and earthquakes, new research shows

Los Angeles Times

A team of U.S. Geological Survey scientists concluded that even a modest amount of sea level rise — often dismissed as a creeping, slow-moving disaster — could overwhelm communities when a storm hits at the same time.

Passage of public lands act suggests way forward on Green New Deal

San Francisco Chronicle

President Trump and his administration got out of the way of a bipartisan public lands and conservation bill that passed the Senate and House by overwhelming majorities: 92 to 8 in the Senate and 363 to 62 in the House.

Energy:

PG&E’s next CEO could be leader of Tennessee Valley Authority

Los Angeles Times

The person to lead California utility giant PG&E Corp. out of the biggest utility bankruptcy in U.S. history may be Bill Johnson, the outgoing chief of the Tennessee Valley Authority, a federally operated utility.

HEALTH/HUMAN SERVICES

Health:

FDA approves 1st immunotherapy drug to treat breast cancer

abc30

Swiss drugmaker Roche’s Tecentriq was OK’d Friday for treating advanced triple-negative breast cancer, which accounts for about 15 percent of cases. It’s to be given with chemotherapy, the standard treatment.

Nation’s cancer chief appointed acting FDA commissioner

Washington Post

National Cancer Institute Director Norman “Ned” Sharpless will become acting commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said Tuesday.

Human Services:

Kaiser invests $3 million to end homelessness in Fresno, 14 other communities

Fresno Bee

Kaiser Permanente announced Monday that it will invest $3 million over the next three years in an effort to end chronic homelessness in the Fresno area and 14 other communities around the United States.

New Tulare Emergency Department Treats 10,000th Patient

The Business Journal

The news was announced via press release from Adventist Health, which took over administration of the hospital last year. Despite feeling under the weather, the 10,000th patient, Doreen Lacey, joined some of the ED staff that treated her for a photo.

Valley Residents Rally For Better Treatment

abc30

Central Valley residents by the thousands converged on the California Capitol Wednesday demanding the same level of services and support that lawmakers give to coastal and urban communities.

Doctor says Legislature’s prescription sends message: ‘We’ll fix you for complaining’

Sacramento Bee

Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill Monday that will give doctors, pharmacists and the California Department of Justice more time to implement new security measures for prescriptions of controlled substances such as opioid pain medications.

The Lifespan of a Lie

A Medium Corporation

It was a defining moment in what has become perhaps the best-known psychology study of all time. Whether you learned about Philip Zimbardo’s famous “Stanford Prison Experiment” in an introductory psych class or just absorbed it from the cultural ether, you’ve probably heard the basic story.

WATCH: HHS Secretary Azar defends proposed cuts to Medicare hospital payments

PBS News

Democrats are accusing President Donald Trump of going back on his campaign promise to protect Medicare after he introduced a 2020 budget that calls for steep cuts in Medicare payments to hospitals.

Fate of Native Children May Hinge on U.S. Adoption Case

PEW
A case before a federal appeals court this week could upend an historic adoption law meant to combat centuries of brutal discrimination against American Indians and keep their children with families and tribal communities.

How does measuring poverty and welfare affect American Indian children?

Brookings

For one group of children in particular, American Indians and Alaska Natives, exceedingly high poverty rates have had profound impacts on community wellbeing and long-term cohesiveness. Given the best available data, from the U.S. Census data, child poverty rates among American Indians and Alaska Natives have consistently exceeded 40% for almost the past 30 years.

IMMIGRATION

Trump, 2020 election among top reasons to seek citizenship, say some new U.S. citizens in Fresno

Fresno Bee

Immigrants participating in the naturalization ceremony Tuesday, March 12, at the Fresno, California, Convention Center say voting in the 2020 presidential election a reason for wanting to become a US citizen.

Trump administration moves to close offices for international asylum and refugee cases

Los Angeles Times

The Trump administration took another step Tuesday to cut back services to people seeking to legally enter the U.S. and focus instead on a ballooning backlog of immigration cases, announcing that U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services would close all its international offices.

Trump Administration Seeks To Close International Immigration Offices

Capital Public Radio

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is in “preliminary discussions” to shutter 23 field offices around the world to save millions. Critics say it will exacerbate a processing bottleneck.

Trump administration preparing to close international immigration offices

Washington Post

The Trump administration is preparing to shutter all international offices of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, a move that could slow the processing of family visa applications, foreign adoptions and citizenship petitions from members of the military stationed abroad.

LAND USE/HOUSING

Land Use:

Empty for five years, former Orchard Supply building getting a business new to Merced

Merced Sun-Star

The site of the former Orchard Supply Hardware store on Olive Avenue near the Merced Mall will be the future home of Planet Fitness and some small retail business. The empty space has been vacant since 2014.

New Visalia museum planned for downtown historic district

Visalia Times-Delta

This week, after several months of meetings, Ernie Crotty says they will meet with city planning staff for the first time to gauge what hurdles they may expect if the idea moves forward.

The Challenges of Changing Land Use in the San Joaquin Valley

Housing:

Governor Newsom’s housing crisis funds get bipartisan push-back

abc30

It’s a proposal designed to combat the housing cost crisis. Governor Gavin Newsom announced $750 million in support for cities to help plan and zone for new housing.

Kaiser invests $3 million to end homelessness in Fresno, 14 other communities

Fresno Bee

PUBLIC FINANCES

Is California Becoming Unaffordable?

Fox & Hound

The unaffordability of trying to just make a living in the State of California has increasingly become an unpleasant fact of life for all but the richest Californians.

California isn’t the worst place to be poor on Tax Day. It’s not the best, either. Here’s why

Sacramento Bee

California low-income earners don’t have the worst tax burden in the United States, but they also don’t have the lowest taxes either. Poor people have a moderate burden compared to other states. Here’s how states rank.

GOP introduces plan to massively cut Social Security

Yahoo!

On Thursday, Rep. Sam Johnson, a Republican from Texas and chair of the Social Security subcommittee, introduced legislation to significantly cut Social Security.

TRANSPORTATION

Baker Street train station might soon be ready for its next life

Bakersfield Californian

The Union Pacific Railroad has finally broken ground on a new train depot in east Bakersfield, a turn of events that frees us to speculate on what could or should become of the historic old one, built in 1889 by the defunct Southern Pacific.

DMV anticipates ‘summer surge,’ as millions still don’t have Real IDs

Sacramento Bee

Kathleen Webb, the DMV’s acting director., said Tuesday that she expects a “summer surge” as travelers realize they will need a federally mandated Real ID card. Starting Oct. 1, 2020, people across the country will need the special card to board airplanes and enter other federal facilities, unless they bring a passport.

U.S. Lawmakers Call To Ground The Boeing 737 Max 8. FAA Says ‘No’ For Now

Capital Public Radio

Sens. Warren, Cruz and Romney among lawmakers who want the FAA to ground Boeing’s series of jets involved in recent crashes. About a dozen other countries already have.

● EDITORIAL: FAA should ground Boeing plane involved in two recent crashes San Francisco Chronicle

● Boeing 737 MAX: The Latest Example of a Passive DOT Wall Street Journal

● Boeing Close to Issuing Safety Warning on 737 Max Bloomberg

● FAA doubles down on decision not to ground the Boeing 737 Max, as counterparts around the world have done Washington Post

WATER

Warming trend brings concerns of a melting snowpack

abc30

After above average rain and snowfall in February, the sun is starting to shine more in the month of March with warmer temperatures.

Hillview Water users in eastern Madera County now have clean water, but it could come at a cost

Sierra Star

Clean water is here for Hillview Water Company customers in eastern Madera County, an announcement that has been more than 20 years in the making.

Officials pass blame on Strathmore flooding

Visalia Times Delta

Strathmore is no stranger to flooding. A similar incident occurred 7 years ago. The water peaked at a depth of about a foot — compared to 3 feet on Friday. Water officials attribute the severity of the most recent flood to a combination of heavy rainfall and the failure of a siphon plug at Frazier Creek.

MWD vote moves Colorado River drought plan forward

Los Angeles Times

The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California on Tuesday sealed California’s participation in a landmark Colorado River drought management plan, agreeing to shoulder more of the state’s future delivery cuts to prevent Lake Mead from falling to dangerously low levels.

Walter: Trumpies rightfully reduced Oroville Dam aid

CALmatters

Thus, when the Trump administration declared last week that it would not reimburse California for $306 million of the $1.1 billion cost of responding to the near-failure of the Oroville Dam two years ago, many saw it as just another front in the Sacramento-Washington feud.

“Xtra”

The most “Fresno foods” ever: From tacos to figs. Do you agree?

Fresno Bee

Fresno, California, is a place to eat, both at restaurants and for homemade recipes. Menus include Mexican tacos, Asian pho, Me n Eds pizza, Fresno State corn, tri tip, raisins and other fruits and vegetables.

Public donations sought for Fresno City Hall memorial honoring those who died in combat

Fresno Bee

Fresno, CA council members and the mayor announced plans to build a veterans memorial at city hall for Fresnans who died in combat. They are seeking donations to fund the project.

He is one of the ‘greatest songwriters of all time.’ He’s coming to Warnors Theatre

Fresno Bee

Here’s another concert announcement from Warnors Theatre – singer songwriter Jackson Browne will be at the theater Aug. 18 as part of a run of West Coast tour dates that includes a three-night residency at The Venetian in Las Vegas.

This new Clovis restaurant serves steak and pancakes on a board – and it wants you to share

Fresno Bee

The Local, a new restaurant in Old Town Clovis serves these boards, which are shareable platters of cheeses, meats, grilled bread, veggies, crackers – one even has a 32-ounce steak with bone marrow butter designed for sharing.

Veteran volunteers reviving history at Castle Air Museum

abc30

A group of veterans is working to restore history at Castle Air Museum by refurbishing military aircraft to their former glory, and they’re hoping the next generation will take it on too.

Museum planned for downtown historic district

Visalia Times Delta

Visalia was founded 167 years ago and is the oldest community in the San Joaquin Valley. It’s surprising to some that the city doesn’t have a museum dedicated to its rich history. Visalia Heritage Inc. may have an answer.

Bald eagle lays 2 eggs in a snowy Southern California nest, and you can watch it live

Merced Sun-Star

A bald eagle has laid two eggs in the Big Bear Lake area of Southern California, the National Forest Service said. Here’s how to watch an online live stream of the nest in the San Bernardino National Forest.

Larry Cowger named Grand Marshal for 105th Clovis Rodeo

Clovis Roundup

According to the Clovis Rodeo Association, “Cowger began his 31-year career with the State of California in 1969 as a firefighter with the Mid Valley Fire Protection District at the Caruthers fairgrounds…He traveled throughout the state, was an instructor at the Fire Academy in Amador County, and retired in 2000 as a Battalion Chief in Madera County.”

Jeannie Burton, longtime county fair executive, has died

Bakersfield Californian

Longtime Kern County Fair assistant manager Jeannie Burton died Sunday, Fair CEO Mike Olcott confirmed Tuesday. She was a month shy of her 76th birthday.

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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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