March 19, 2018

19Mar

TOP POLITICAL STORIES​​​​​​​

 

Local/Regional Politics:

 

Press Release – “Big 5 Reception” to Benefit The Maddy Institute and

The Beverly Sacramento Legislative Intern Scholar Program

The Maddy Institute

On Monday, March 19th, 2018, The Maddy Institute will be hosting its annual“Big 5 Reception”, with Governor Jerry Brown and the California Legislative Leadership in a private event at the California Museum in Sacramento, that raises funds for The Maddy Institute, including its Bob Beverly Sacramento Legislative Intern Scholarship Program that provides students paid legislative internships at the State Capitol.  Willie Brown former Speaker of the Assembly and Mayor of San Francisco will be Master of Ceremonies.

 

**NOTE: This event is open to invited guests and credentialed media only. Media interested in attending must RSVP to Mark Keppler at 559-278-1133 ormkeppler@csufresno.edu.

 

The Russia Investigations: What Does Devin Nunes Know?

NPR

The chairman of the House intelligence committee, Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif., enjoys access not only to a huge breadth of information from America’s spy agencies but also to some of their deepest secrets. He doesn’t need to rely on press reports. At the same time, he is an ally of President Trump, a supporter of House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis. — to whom he owes his chairmanship — and a politician with strong conservative views.

 

Denham among eight running for Congressional seat. How do they all stack up?

Modesto Bee

Political drama is thick in this year’s race for the 10th Congressional District, where a host of challengers eager to unseat Rep. Jeff Denham think they smell blood in the water.

 

5 things to know about California’s crucial House races

Los Angeles Times

There are fewer than 80 days until the California midterm primaries that might set up Democrats to reclaim control of the House. The contests in California are essential for the party, which has based its strategy on winning at least a few of the Republican-held districts in the state that backed Hillary Clinton for president.

 

Democrats consider attacking their own California candidates to win back Congress

Sacramento Bee

The filing deadline for California’s June primary has passed, but Democrats and their affiliated groups aren’t done trying to shape the field of candidates running to unseat Republican members of Congress.

 

Price: Should we be skeptical of KBAK anchors’ corporate-dictated message?

Bakersfield Californian

Quick! Name the most influential conservative-leaning media company in America. If you said Fox, you’re right, of course. But you get extra credit if you knew that the Sinclair Broadcast Group, the largest owner of local news stations in the country, is right there in the mix — and is by some measures considerably more consequential.

 

Study questions value of Amazon tax breaks

Fresno Bee

Amazon’s new fulfillment center under construction in southwest Fresno will employ 1,500 workers when it opens this year. The company’s decision last summer to locate the center in Fresno came only after the city affirmed a package of economic incentives that will be worth up to $30 million over the next 30 years.

 

Judge orders city to give Dylan Noble family lawyers full report about the shooting

Fresno Bee

A federal magistrate has ordered the city of Fresno to give lawyers for the family of Dylan Noble, who was shot and killed by police, an unredacted copy of a report about the incident prepared by the city’s Office of Independent Review.

 

After $32,500 lawsuit, Madera County vows to keep ICE away from jail

Fresno Bee

After being sued by the American Civil Liberties Union, Madera County officials are vowing to distance their local jail from federal immigration agencies. The county and the ACLU reached a settlement last month following allegations that Madera County’s board of supervisors violated open meeting laws last year by taking action in closed session to increase law enforcement’s cooperation withImmigration and Customs Enforcement.

 

Human trafficking conference scheduled for Tuesday in Clovis

Fresno Bee

The Central Valley’s 9th Annual Conference on Human Trafficking on Tuesday will present workshops and speakers aimed at ending modern day slavery, according to the Fresno Economic Opportunities Commission. Held at the Clovis Veteran’s Memorial District at 808 4th St., the theme of this year’s conference is “Restoring Hope.” The conference will run from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and tickets are sold out, according to Brown Paper Tickets.

 

Stanislaus County budget adds copter fixes, cybersecurity

Modesto Bee

A Stanislaus County government refreshed by a surge in revenue upped appropriations by $19 million in midyear budget adjustments this month. In one of the spending items, county officials will take action to improve cybersecurity after a ransomware attack in December disabled hundreds of computers in county Behavioral Health and Recovery Services.

 

Stanislaus deputy DA announces plans to seek top position in Merced County

Modesto Bee

For the first time since taking office in 2006, Merced County District Attorney Larry Morse II faces a challenger in his bid for re-election. Kimberly Helms Lewis, a 47-year-old veteran attorney and prosecutor and current deputy district attorney in Stanislaus County, has filed to run against Morse in the June 5 primary.

 

Outdoor recreation lovers find kayaking, hiking and more at Modesto RecFest

Modesto Bee

Hundreds of people showed up Saturday at Tuolumne River Regional Park’s Gateway Parcel for Modesto RecFest, a celebration of all things outdoors that can happen just south of downtown.

 

Westside Rail Trail just right, right now

Modesto Bee

Those of us who love hiking in the nearby Sierra mountain range are always on the lookout for good springtime hikes at lower elevations which are neither snowbound nor muddy tracks. Last weekend we discovered just such agem, the Westside Rail Trail in the Stanislaus National Forest, which starts right on the outskirts of Tuolumne City.

 

Born in a garage, The Shire builds a downtown arts space

Modesto Bee

When internationally known community-development expert Peter Kageyama spoke at the State of Downtown at the start of this month, he sang the praises of The Shire art space as “important stuff … a small thing with an outsize impact.”The Shire Community Space did start small – in the 25-by-30-foot garage of an Oak-shire Avenue home shared by roommates Theo Souza and Andrew Cardoza.

 

Delano residents to protest closure of National Guard Armory for public events

Bakersfield Californian

Residents of Delano plan to protest a decision to close the public event hall in the city’s National Guard Armory building.

 

Price: Our editors didn’t do their research on rifles

Bakersfield Californian

Regarding David J. Whalen’s March 12 community column, “Just who or what was that ‘well-regulated militia’ of the Second Amendment?”: Apparently, the editors at The Californian did not do their due diligence in fact checking. I will only deal with the issue of firearms and not that of militias.

 

Kern County supervisors to kick off 2040 General Plan process on Tuesday

Bakersfield Californian

Over the next two years, the County of Kern will draft a comprehensive map for how the county will craft its future. On Tuesday afternoon, county supervisors will be presented with a work plan that will guide how the county plans to draft the 2040 Kern County General Plan. The county plans to coordinate with the City of Bakersfield and incorporate the city’s general plan update into the larger county document. Kern County Planning Director Lorelei Oviatt said the plan is a bit overdue.

 

Sheriff Youngblood disputes enforcement study that claims Prop. 47 not responsible for uptick in crime

Bakersfield Californian

Proposition 47 is not — as has been claimed by law enforcement — responsible for increased crime throughout California, a recent study by UC Irvine suggests. Prop. 47, also known as The Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Act, was passed by voters in 2014. Among other things, it reclassified many nonviolent crimes from felonies to misdemeanors, meaning many offenders who previously would have been sentenced to prison would instead serve a much-reduced sentence in county jail.

 

In revitalized downtown, neglected and troubled pockets remain

Bakersfield Californian

Many agree that Bakersfield’s downtown arts and business district has been experiencing a surge of development and entrepreneurial spirit. In a downtown that has seen its share of troubles, this jolt of energy and optimism has city officials and area residents using words like “renaissance” and “rebirth.” But between the blossoms, ugly thorns remain.

 

Modesto backs homeless shelter plan, but mayor raises questions

The Modesto Bee

Modesto leaders are backing a proposal to open a temporary, 60-bed homeless shelter and day center near downtown, which could open as soon as June and be in place for as long as three years until a permanent facility with more services opens.

 

Modesto will pay to settle firefighters’ lawsuit on overtime

Modesto Bee

Modesto owes some of its firefighters $100,086 to settle a lawsuit that alleges the city did not correctly calculate their overtimepay. Modesto also owes the firefighters’ law firm $43,415 and spent $29,148 through January on its own legal costs, bringing the city’s total expense to more than $172,000. City spokesman Thomas Reeves said Modesto expects its final legal costs to increase slightly.

 

Another new leader chosen for Miracle Mile after initial hire lasted barely a week

Stockton Record

For the second time in a month, the Miracle Mile Improvement District has a new executive director.Jaime Watts, former head of the now-disbanded Downtown Lodi Business Partnership, began her new job on the Miracle Mile on Monday, replacing Karin Moss, who barely lasted a week in February.

 

Measure M funds ‘breathing new life into’ city services

Stockton Record

A library and recreation sales tax that went into effect almost a year ago is “breathing new life into” the city’s Community Services Department. John Alita, the department’s director, said there is a tangible sense of excitement in his division and in the community.

 

Fresno Council’s Chavez targets Ventura corridor for incentives

The Business Journal

A few years ago, when Fresno was in the throes of the Great Recession, the Ventura/Kings County Corridor was on the verge of becoming a blighted area. Back then, the more than four-mile stretch along Ventra Avenue and Kings Canyon Road between First Street and Clovis Avenue had about a 30 percent vacancy rate among its various businesses.

 

California Cities Ranked Happiest In U.S.

La Jolla, CA Patch

Where did Valley cities rank?

 

State Politics:

 

The Last Days of Jerry Brown

The California Sunday Magazine

He hangs his jacket on the back of his chair and takes a seat in a spare two-room suite with postcard views of City Hall and the Bay Bridge, a panorama marred only by a windowpane with its tint peeling off. “I’m sorry about the window,” he says. “It’s an emblem of my frugality.”

 

California to get first female and first LGBT Senate leader

Washington Post

San Diego Sen. Toni Atkins will make history Wednesday when she becomes the first woman and first lesbian to hold the California Senate’s top job. A former Assembly speaker, Atkins is taking over the post of Senate president pro tem from fellow Democrat Kevin de Leon as the chamber gears up for election season and faces a number of thorny challenges, including a reckoning over sexual misconduct, a loss of the Democratic supermajority and an icy relationship with the state Assembly.

 

California’s free-for-all primary election rules could surprise everyone in 2018 … again

Los Angeles Times

California may appear to Democrats as an electoral oasis, a sea of newly turned-blue political maps that could quench their thirst for control of the U.S. House of Representatives. Or the oasis could be nothing more than a mirage, disappearing in the haze of the state’s unbridled primary election rules. In places whereantipathy for President Trump is now sky-high, a poor showing by Democrats on election day would be stunning.

 

Villaraigosa and his campaigns have benefited from groups that critics say prey upon the poor, people of color

Los Angeles Times

Antonio Villaraigosa has staked his candidacy for governor on his roots, telling voters he “grew up in a home rich in love, but limited in opportunity” while positioning himself as a voice for low-income families and people of color left behind in California’s economic recovery. His rivals, however, are trying to spin the narrative, arguing that the former Los Angeles mayor has benefited from the largesse of companies and industries that prey upon some of the state’s most vulnerable residents.

 

How Newsom backers helped pay for an anti-Newsom ad

San Francisco Chronicle

An independent political action committee paid for an ad slamming Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom partly with money from groups that are backing his run for governor. Welcome to the wild ways of campaign money, circa 2018.

 

Myers: Stashing cash for a rainy day isn’t as easy as it sounds for California government

Los Angeles Times

Few ballot measures have ever been more resoundingly embraced by Californians than Proposition 2, the 2014 constitutional amendment championed by Gov. Jerry Brown requiring that more state tax money be put aside for rough economic times. But there’s some surprising analysis now being shared inside the state Capitol: The proposition that won 69% of the vote could have the surprising effect of limiting how much cash gets stockpiled for easing the budget cutbacks inevitable in the next recession

 

California studies ideas to lower costs of health care as Obamacare unravels

Fresno Bee

Obamacare is beginning to unravel, and California can’t create its own replacement – at least not yet. So health care advocates and lawmakers are working on a piecemeal approach. They want to offer a public insurance option to compete with private companies. They want to increase subsidies for those buying insurance through Obama-care. They want to cover most undocumented immigrants. They want to lower prescription drug costs.

 

California lawmakers want to bring back local redevelopment agencies

The Mercury News

Amid a deepening housing crisis, a coalition of California lawmakers is trying to revive one of the casualties of the Great Recession: local redevelopment agencies that provided roughly $1 billion annually for affordable housing. A bill by Assemblyman David Chiu, D-San Francisco, would allow cities and counties to establish similar agencies to boost affordable housing stock, improve public transit and reduce climate-warming carbon emissions.

 

Before he died last week, this man changed how we vote in California. Do you know him?

Sacramento Bee

Some giants are never fully recognized for their greatness during their lives. Joaquin Avila, an influential voting rights lawyer who died from cancer complications at 69 last week, was such a giant. Avila’s work broke down barriers that were keeping Latinos and others away from ballot boxes across California and Texas. Born and raised in Compton by parents who were Mexican immigrants, he went on to attend some of the nation’s most prestigious universities, but never lost his working-class humility and his will to help others.

 

In California’s rural, conservative north, there are big dreams for cleaving the state

Los Angeles Times

The two young, blond women in figure-flattering ball gowns hoisted whiskey and shotguns. An auctioneer rattled off bids. Above the stage in the banquet hall hung a green flag for the 51st state of Jefferson, with its pair of Xs called a “double-cross” representing a sense of rural abandonment.

 

New California bill would give big state funding boost to affordable housing

Los Angeles Times

A Bay Area legislator is unveiling new legislation to provide major state funding for cities and counties to finance low-income housing, transit and other infrastructure. Assembly Bill 3037 from Assemblyman David Chiu (D-San Francisco) would re-create a version of a program known as redevelopment that set aside billions of dollars in property taxes each year for local economic development and affordable housing.

 

Setting the Record Straight on CalPERS and SB 400

Fox & Hounds

As California continues to grapple with pension reform, it’s important to keep the record straight on how the state got into this mess. A major reason was the pension spiking of nearly 20 years ago, specifically Senate Bill 400 of 1999, by state Sen. Deborah Ortiz, D-Sacramento, which retroactively increased pensions 50 percent for California Highway Patrol officers. That began a stampede of similar increases across California for other peace officers, firefighters and public employees in state and local governments. The argument often was made that the benefit had to be granted or local workers would shift to more generous neighboring governments that already had goosed their pensions.

 

Walters: How pension costs clobbered one small city

CALmatters

When Santa Cruz, a picturesque and funky coastal city, first started to feel the pinch of rising retirement costs for city workers, it took several steps to limit the fiscal pain. As recommended by the League of Cities and other authorities, Santa Cruz issued a bond to pay down its rising pension liabilities, set aside funds to cover increasing demands from the California Public Employees Retirement System (CalPERS), shifted some employees into lower-benefit pension plans and made sure that its workers paid significant portions of pension costs.

 

CalPERS retirees are suddenly worried about their pensions. What happened?

Sacramento Bee

Call it the Loyalton effect. CalPERS’ decision in late 2016 to slash pensions for four retirees from the tiny mountain town startled the state’s public workers so much that their confidence in the $354 billion fund began to plunge to its lowest level in five years.

 

3 big questions for the man in the middle of California’s high-speed rail storm

Silicon Valley Business Journal

California High-Speed Rail Authority chair Dan Richard paused this week in the middle of that to speak with the Silicon Valley Business Journal. Here are three issues he addressed, with the following interview edited for length and clarity.

 

Commentary: An Opportunity to Better Combat Poverty in California Shouldn’t be Hurried

PublicCEO

While the new federal tax law is often criticized for benefiting the wealthy, one significant provision is designed to encourage community and economic development where it is needed most. “Opportunity Zones have the potential to be the largest infusion of private capital into disadvantaged communities in decades,” said CA Fwd Co-Chair Lenny Mendonca, who details the zones in an upcoming commentary with Laura Tyson, the former chair of the President’s Council of Economic Advisers.

 

California bill offers phony solution to ‘fake’ news problem

OCRegister

A new California bill targeting internet “bots” — short for robots that post retweets or do other automatic tasks on the worldwide web — sounds like a simple way to deal with the sometimes irksome automated accounts that can spread misinformation in the guise of media campaigns. But the legislation could wreak havoc on the internet, where around 52 percent of all traffic is generated in some way or another in this bot-based manner.

 

Lawmakers Weigh Pros And Cons Of Mandatory Screening For Postpartum Depression

NPR

Lawmakers in California will begin debate next month on a bill that would require doctors to screen new moms for mental health problems — once while they’re pregnant and again, after they give birth. But a lot of doctors don’t like the idea. Many obstetricians and pediatricians say they are are afraid to screen new moms for depression and anxiety.

 

Walters: Do as we say, not as we do

CALmatters

The sexual harassment scandal that’s enveloped the Capitol exposes an unsavory aspect of the building’s culture that had been hidden for decades. It’s also exposed another, equally unseemly trait – the Legislature’s routine exemption of itself from laws it imposes on everyone else.

 

California becomes new cradle of states’ rights

Modesto Bee

To people in the rest of the U.S., California can seem like a foreign country. From Donald Trump’s perspective, the feeling may not be purely cultural. California is pursuing a range of policies designed to thwart the president’s initiatives. Those include blocking offshore drilling that Trump wants to enable; preventing the softening of Obama-era miles-per-gallon standards; and contradicting Trump’s immigration policies with sanctuary laws (a topic I wrote about earlier this week).

 

Federal Politics:

 

Inside California’s War on Trump

The New Yorker

Early this month, Attorney General Jeff Sessions declared war on the State of California. At least that’s the way many opponents of the Trump Administration saw it.

See also:

·       Sessions suing California is the latest battle in a centuries-old war for power over immigration San Francisco Chronicle

·       Undocumented immigrants get posts in California as Trump administration cracks down Sacramento Bee

 

Trump should tour Central Valley farm fields — and leave his immigration agents at home

Los Angeles Times

Hard-liners who want to deport all immigrants living here illegally should visit a California farm at harvest. In fact, that’s especially a good idea for President Trump. The president might learn a thing or two about undocumented farmworkers and the urgent need for comprehensive immigration reform by watching, for example, peach picking on a sweltering summer day in the San Joaquin Valley.

 

GOP pushes for ‘phase two’ of tax cuts

TheHill

Republicans are increasingly talking about “phase two” of tax cuts — including a permanent extension of the new law’s individual tax cuts — in an effort to highlight their signature legislative accomplishment and force Democrats to take tough votes.  While Republicans could struggle to pass another tax bill this year, conservatives said that an effort to cement the new individual rates would be both smart policy and smart politics.

 

2018: Democrats prepared to pick favorites in CA primaries

The Sacramento Bee

The filing deadline for California’s June primary has passed, but Democrats and their affiliated groups aren’t done trying to shape the field of candidates running to unseat Republican members of Congress.

 

Nancy Pelosi Wants to Lead. House Democratic Candidates Aren’t So Sure.

The New York Times

A few hours after Conor Lamb, the Pennsylvania Democrat, claimed victory in a House race with a vow to oppose his party’s leader, Nancy Pelosi, the once-and-perhaps-future speaker was explaining to a group of female congressional candidates why she did not retire after 2016. She intended to do so after Hillary Clinton won, Ms. Pelosi recalled Wednesday at a Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee reception here. But she stayed to ensure Washington had at least one woman in power.

 

Opinion: The coming shellacking

National Review

The tocsin of doom that sounded this week in Pennsylvania’s 18th Congressional District could hardly have been more clear in its meaning: This November the GOP is headed for a mega-shellacking with a side order of drubbing sauce. The fault for this lies almost solely with President Trump.

 

Does California abortion law protect women or force clinics to deliver message they abhor? Supreme Court to decide. The Washington Post

 

Other:

 

 

Facebook’s Role in Data Misuse Sets Off Storms on Two Continents

The New York Times

Facebook on Sunday faced a backlash about how it protects user data, as American and British lawmakers demanded that it explain how a political data firm with links to President Trump’s 2016 campaign was able to harvest private information from more than 50 million Facebook profiles without the social network’s alerting users.

See also:

●      Cambridge Analytica Leak Triggers Demand for Tougher U.K. Data Watchdog Bloomberg

●     Report: Cambridge Analytica trying to block exposé by U.K.’s Channel 4 CBS News

●     Exploiting Facebook data to influence voters? That’s a feature, not a bug, of the social network Los Angeles Times

 

AP: Widespread action on gun control in the states unlikely

AP

The campaign for tighter gun laws that inspired unprecedented student walkouts across the country faces an uphill climb in a majority of states, an Associated Press review of gun legislation found. The AP survey of bill activity in state legislatures before and after the high school shooting in Parkland, Florida, provides a reality check on the ambitions of the “Enough is Enough” movement.

See also:

●     Gallup: Most U.S. teachers oppose guns in schools UPI.com

●     To Prevent Suicides and School Shootings, More States Embrace Anonymous Tip Lines Pew Charitable Trust | Stateline

●     Should Doctors Play A Role In Preventing Gun Violence?capradio.org

●     Mass Shootings: Definitions and Trends RAND

●     Restricting Access to Firearms Among Individuals at Risk for or Convicted of Domestic Violence or Violent Crime RAND

●     The Relationship Between Firearm Availability and Suicide RAND

●     Opinion: Why has Congress blocked gun violence research?Modesto Bee

 

Don’t deny the link between poverty and single parenthood

Washington Post

Anyone who has raised children knows that it’s a messy, trial-and-error process, with an emphasis on “error.” It’s hard enough to do well with two parents, a reasonably stable and sane marriage and a reliable income. When there’s only one parent with a meager income, the burdens mount and feed on themselves. That’s one reason the growth of single-parent households is rightly regarded as a cause of poverty. Or so I thought.

 

Vogl: Trust fall: ‘I long for the day when we hold ropes for each other’

Fresno Bee

A 1980 photo shows me rappelling down a rock, harness intact, hands free. This is called a “trust fall,” just one of the Outward Bound activities preparing me and others to become Peace Corps volunteers in Lesotho, Southern Africa.

 

 

MADDY INSTITUTE PUBLIC POLICY PROGRAMMING  

 

Sunday, March 25, at 10 a.m. on ABC 30 – Maddy Report: Reducing Recidivism: Do Prisoner Rehabilitation Programs Actually Work?​ – Guest: Jonathan Peterson, California Legislative Office. Host: Maddy Institute Executive Director, Mark Keppler.

 

Sunday, March 25, at 10 a.m. on Newstalk 580AM/105.9FM (KMJ) –Maddy Report ​ – Valley Views Edition​ “Project Rebound: Breaking the Cycle of Crime” – Guests: CSU Fresno Profesor Emma Hughes, Project Rebound Director Jennifer Leahy, and Project Rebound Rebound Arnold Trevino. Host: Maddy Institute Executive Director, Mark Keppler. 

 

Sunday, March 25, at 7:30 a.m. on UniMas 61 (KTTF) – Informe Maddy:Concealed Weapons Permits  Guest: Margarita Fernandez, PIO State Auditor’s Office. Host: Maddy Institute Program Coordinator, Maria Jeans.

 

 

Support the Maddy Daily HERE.

 

 

Thank you!

 

 

Topics in More Detail…

 

AGRICULTURE/FOOD

 

Democrats Put Farm Bill Talks on Hold

Roll Call

For those tracking the farm bill, the top question this week is whether the House Agriculture Committee chairman and ranking member can reopen talks that stalled last week, after Democrats balked at possible cuts to the food stamp program.Rep. Collin C. Peterson, the top committee Democrat, said Thursday he would heed his colleagues’ request that he stop negotiations until Chairman K. Michael Conaway gives members the text of the proposed farm bill, along with Congressional Budget Office cost estimates and impact assessments.

 

Beef industry locks horns with multiple challengers

Fresno Bee

Climate change campaigners are coming for your burger business. So are mushroom growers, Silicon Valley investors and the billionaire Bill Gates. All are collaborating with food companies, restaurants and chefs to promote alternatives to pure-beef hamburgers. It is a whopper of a market. Americans eat an estimated 10 billion hamburgers a year. But the cattle industry is not going down without a fight. It is working to highlight studies that U.S. livestock operations are “the most environmentally friendly of any in the world.”

 

California’s ‘outlaw’ marijuana culture faces a harsh reckoning: Legal weed

The Washington Post

Business is stalling as marijuana’s dark cash economy comes into the light, pushed by the state’s legalization of the drug earlier this year.

 

In California, Learning How Marijuana Is an Unlikely Divider

New York Times

My reporting beat at The Times is Northern California, so when I drove into Compton, outside of Los Angeles, it was unfamiliar territory. Jim Wilson, the San Francisco bureau photographer, and I had flown down to report a story about the different approaches cities were taking to marijuana legalization. Previously, I had reported on the industrialization of marijuana in California; a community of ethnic Hmong farmers; and the reluctance of cannabis growers to come out of the shadows after legalization — only around 10 percent have signed up for a license.

 

CRIMINAL JUSTICE​ ​/​ ​FIRE​ ​/​ ​PUBLIC SAFETY

 

For stories on  ”gun control,” See: “Top Stories – Other Politics,” above

 

Crime:

 

More money, bail reform on California chief justice’s list

Sacramento Bee

California’s court system and judges play a big part in the conversation on bail reform. It’s a good bet California Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye will bring up the subject when she addresses the Legislature today as part of her annual State of the Judiciary address.

 

Efforts to clear California’s rape kit testing backlog fall short

San Francisco Chronicle

The case of an Antioch man accused of murder who evaded capture while a rape kit implicating him years earlier sat on a shelf has caught the attention of lawmakers and activists. But chances are, he’s not the only one. The untested rape kit in Berkeley was one of 1,900 overlooked in Alameda County alone when it was examined in 2014, six years after the rape occurred. But how many are there statewide now?

 

SLO County Jail death | Video: Deputies watch as Holland died

The Tribune

After releasing an inmate who’d been bound naked in a restraint chair for 46 hours, sheriff’s deputies at the San Luis Obispo County Jail watched as the man writhed on the floor, lost consciousness and later died, video obtained by The Tribune shows. The footage contradicts county officials’ version of events leading to the death of inmate Andrew Holland in January 2017.

 

Public Safety:

 

More than 60 deaths in fires, floods exposes weaknesses in California’s emergency planning

Los Angeles Times

A reckoning on public preparedness long in the making is underway in California after a year that saw unprecedented death, destruction and loss from disasters set off by extreme weather.

 

Fire:

 

California schools affected by wildfire to get $2M in federal aid

UPI.com

U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos announced on Friday that California schools harmed by devastating wildfires in October will receive $2 million to help with recovery. DeVos said the new federal aid to the California Department of Education will fund portable classrooms, substitute teachers, mental health services, transportation for displaced students and substitute bus drivers.

 

Tulare County Firefighters Turn to Technology to Help Save Lives and Property

PublicCEO

When we think of firefighting equipment, heavy hoses and axes quickly come to mind. In Tulare County, the Fire Department has added a new tool to its firefighting arsenal: a specialized app that provides valuable and necessary data to crews before they head out to a location, assisting them in saving lives and property.

 

ECONOMY / JOBS

 

Economy:

 

Self-help strategies are crucial to economic development

The Bakersfield Californian

I recently visited my sister who lives in a small town in Pennsylvania. As my husband and I entered the downtown area, we were enchanted by the small boutiques, cafes and coffee shops. Exploring one afternoon, we spotted parking in an easy-to-access lot and enjoyed a delicious lunch of salad wraps at a healthy fast food restaurant with a cool urban forest vibe.

 

Testimony: Safety Net Plays Key Role in Reducing Poverty

Public Policy Institute of California

Poverty is high in California, and it has not improved as much as the economy has in recent years. In fact, California’s poverty rate is highest in country, according to our estimates.

 

Commentary: An Opportunity to Better Combat Poverty in California Shouldn’t be Hurried

PublicCEO

While the new federal tax law is often criticized for benefiting the wealthy, one significant provision is designed to encourage community and economic development where it is needed most. “Opportunity Zones have the potential to be the largest infusion of private capital into disadvantaged communities in decades,” said CA Fwd Co-Chair Lenny Mendonca, who details the zones in an upcoming commentary with Laura Tyson, the former chair of the President’s Council of Economic Advisers.

 

40 top economists unanimously agree: Steel and aluminum tariffs will not make America great

AEI

A panel of 40 economists at some of America’s top universities (MIT, Harvard, Yale, Chicago, Princeton, Stanford and UC-Berkeley) were asked in a survey conducted by the Initiative on Global Markets (Chicago Booth School of Business) if they agree or disagree that the statement “imposing new US tariffs on steel and aluminum will improve Americans’ welfare.”

 

Getting things wrong

AEI

The President’s proposal to levy a 25 percent tax on steel imports and a ten percent tax on aluminum is exceptionally ill advised because restricting free trade is likely to damage the economy and undermine the nation’s long term security despite claims to the opposite.

 

Jobs:

 

Robots break new ground in construction industry

AP

As a teenager working for his dad’s construction business, Noah Ready-Campbell dreamed that robots could take over the dirty, tedious parts of his job, such as digging and leveling soil for building projects. Now the former Google engineer is turning that dream into a reality with Built Robotics, a startup that’s developing technology to allow bulldozers, excavators and other construction vehicles to operate themselves.

 

EDUCATION

 

K-12:

 

Should students miss school because of ‘distracting’ haircuts?

Fresno Bee

The Fresno Unified School District will review its dress code policies next week following two recent instances of students being pulled out of class for their hairstyles.

 

Liberty experiences Every 15 Minutes

Madera Tribune

By almost 10 a.m., the heartbeat stopped. Over the system came a report of a two-car collision right outside campus. Two vehicles were involved in a head-on collision and five Liberty High School students were involved and there were injuries.  The collision was staged was staged under the Every 15 Minutes Program which demonstrates to high school students the impact drinking and driving has on friends, families and their community.

 

Porterville students get a reality check with financial education simulation

Visalia Times-Delta

Mawson, along with more than 150 of her peers, then had to purchase items such as a car, home, groceries, child care, clothing and other necessities, all within their budget. Students were each given an iPad to track their monthly budget and to pay for items.

For Mawson and her peers, it was a reality check. 

 

Gallup: Most U.S. teachers oppose guns in schools

UPI.com

According to the poll, 73 percent of teachers said they are against the idea. The survey also showed 58 percent said carrying guns in schools would make schools less safe. Eighteen percent said they would be willing to carry a gun in school buildings.

 

To Prevent Suicides and School Shootings, More States Embrace Anonymous Tip Lines

Pew Charitable Trust | Stateline

After a teenage gunman killed 17 people at a Parkland, Florida, high school last month, schools across the country were hit by a wave of copycat threats. In Colorado, at least two high school students were arrested based on information sent to the state anonymous tip line and mobile app, known as Safe2Tell. “They had a list, they had weapons, they knew exactly what they wanted to do,” said Colorado Attorney General Cynthia Coffman, whose office administers the program.

 

The Fight Over Teacher Salaries: A Look At The Numbers

NPR Ed

The teachers strike in West Virginia may have ended last week when Gov. Jim Justice signed a law giving educators a 5 percent pay increase, but the fight in other states is just warming up. “You can make anywhere from $5,000 to $20,000 more by driving 15 minutes across the state line,” said Dale Lee, president of the West Virginia Education Association. “We’re having trouble keeping and attracting young teachers.”

 

The barriers that make charter schools inaccessible to disadvantaged families

Brookings

Charter schools have the potential to expand families’ tuition-free options, closing the gap in school choices between wealthier and poorer families. However, they only expand families’ options if they are genuinely accessible—not just technically available. An assortment of barriers can get in the way.

 

Higher Ed:

 

College enrollment surges among low-income students

AEI

The Greek philosopher Heraclitus once observed that nothing is permanent, except change. Such classical wisdom is once again evident in a recent release of datafrom the National Center for Education Statistics on the college enrollment patterns of recent high school graduates. Since 1975, when recordkeeping began, a student’s chance of enrolling in college rose reliably with his family’s income. No longer. Low-income students now enroll in college at a higher rate than their middle-income peers.

 

Free College Tuition: Bad Deal for Students, Taxpayers

National Review

The “free college” movement, fueled to a large degree by Bernie Sanders during his 2016 presidential bid, is a response to concerns about increasing college-tuition rates, concomitant stagnation in state and federal grants, and a corresponding student-loan debt load that has ballooned to roughly $1.4 trillion.

 

Record Numbers of College Students Are Seeking Treatment for Depression and Anxiety — But Schools Can’t Keep Up

Time

 

ENVIRONMENT/ ENERGY

 

Environment:

 

Deal to cut Oceano Dunes air pollution

Fresno Bee

State Parks and the county Air Pollution Control District agreed to a landmark settlement this week that officials say would reduce air pollution from Oceano Dunes State Vehicular Recreation Area by about 30 percent by 2023 and cause some off-road riding areas tobe closed this year.

 

Energy:

 

The Board of Equalization got the last laugh on a gas tax increase

OCRegister

In a normal universe, the rejection of a gas tax increase by a state agency would be based primarily on policy grounds. But in a strange mix of wonkish tax policy, political turf fighting and revenge, California drivers will be spared — temporarily — from a 4 cent per gallon tax increase on gasoline.

 

Tsunamis of innovation are shaking the energy industry

Brookings

Tsunamis of innovation, anxiety, and opportunity are now washing over the world’s energy system. New technologies have transformed the global markets for oil and gas. The United States is on track to become the world’s largest oil producer within a decade, as my Brookings colleague Samantha Gross has analyzed. Meanwhile, countries from Russia to Saudi Arabia—that used to have the problem of finding ways to spend huge amounts of cash earned from oil exports—are now learning to be a lot more frugal.

 

HEALTH/HUMAN SERVICES

 

Health:

 

California studies ideas to lower costs of health care as Obamacare unravels

Fresno Bee

Obamacare is beginning to unravel, and California can’t create its own replacement – at least not yet. So health care advocates and lawmakers are working on a piecemeal approach. They want to offer a public insurance option to compete with private companies. They want to increase subsidies for those buying insurance through Obama-care. They want to cover most undocumented immigrants. They want to lower prescription drug costs.

 

Use of HIV-prevention drug grows, but lags among nonwhites

Stockton Record

Eric Russell, 24, recently joined a health support group for young Latino and black gay men, where he learned about the HIV-prevention pill known as PrEP. He resisted the medication at first, convinced he didn’t need it and fearful that taking it would stigmatize him.

 

‘Do it for your kids’: Responding to poor outcomes, life expectancies, officials urge adults to make healthier choices

Bakersfield Californian

Kern County ranks toward the bottom of the state and the worst in the San Joaquin Valley for poor health outcomes — but it has been making progress when it comes to a few key measures, according to a report published by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation this week.

 

Fewer foreign doctors are coming to study in the United States, report shows

Los Angeles Times

Fearing he would die if he stayed, Mohamed fled the civil war in his home country of Syria, heading to Saudi Arabia where he spent six years working as a physician. While there, Mohamed worked toward his goal of coming to the United States to train. He aced the U.S. exams required of all physicians and scored an interview with a New York hospital. Officials there were so impressed that they offered Mohamed a spot in their residency program that day.

 

California’s single-payer health care proposal is a disaster

OCRegister

Senate Bill 562, the single-payer health care proposal passed by the California state Senate in the summer of 2017, and never heard by the California Assembly, is a recipe for the collapse of health care in California. The scheme would produce deficits that could make the unfunded governmental pension liabilities look like child’s play.

 

California’s growing mental health and homelessness crisis

OCRegister

California is facing a growing mental health and homelessness crisis throughout the state.Let’s start by looking at some troubling statistics from the California Health Care Foundation, which estimates that “nearly 1 in 6 California adults has a mental health need, and 1 in 20 suffers from a serious mental illness that makes it difficult to carry out major life activities.”

 

Are There Risks From Secondhand Marijuana Smoke? Early Science Says Yes

NPR

 

Human Services:

 

As massage parlors proliferate, agencies launch efforts to thwart prostitution and root out human trafficking

Bakersfield Californian

The meeting took place in an out-of-the-way coffee shop just after 9 p.m. — an hour before massage parlors in Kern County are required to close. Sources had tipped off the three men — one faith leader in the community and two of his parishioners — that massage clients were being propositioned for sex at a west-side parlor. Neighbors had heard screaming. Others witnessed a naked man running out of the parlor’s back door to his truck for his wallet. It was time to investigate.

 

IMMIGRATION

 

After $32,500 lawsuit, Madera County vows to keep ICE from jail

Fresno Bee

After being sued by the American Civil Liberties Union, Madera County officials are vowing to distance their local jail from federal immigration agencies.

 

ICE arrests 115 in large San Diego immigration sweep

Los Angeles Times

Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers working out of the San Diego field office arrested 115 people over a large, three-day operation that ended Thursday, officials said. Though the field office covers both San Diego and Imperial counties, all but seven of the arrests were in San Diego County.

 

LAND USE/HOUSING

 

Land Use:

 

Study questions value of Amazon tax breaks

Fresno Bee

Amazon’s new fulfillment center under construction in southwest Fresno will employ 1,500 workers when it opens this year. The company’s decision last summer to locate the center in Fresno came only after the city affirmed a package of economic incentives that will be worth up to $30 million over the next 30 years.

 

In revitalized downtown, neglected and troubled pockets remain

Bakersfield Californian

Many agree that Bakersfield’s downtown arts and business district has been experiencing a surge of development and entrepreneurial spirit. In a downtown that has seen its share of troubles, this jolt of energy and optimism has city officials and area residents using words like “renaissance” and “rebirth.”

 

Born in a garage, The Shire builds a downtown arts space

Modesto Bee

The Shire Community Space did start small – in the 25-by-30-foot garage of an Oak-shire Avenue home shared by roommates Theo Souza and Andrew Cardoza. There, in November 2015, the nearly lifelong friends built a stage, set up lightingand created a venue for events including concerts, film screenings, art shows and maker workshops.

 

Kern County supervisors to kick off 2040 General Plan process on Tuesday

Bakersfield Californian

Over the next two years, the County of Kern will draft a comprehensive map for how the county will craft its future. On Tuesday afternoon, county supervisors will be presented with a work plan that will guide how the county plans to draft the 2040 Kern County General Plan. The county plans to coordinate with the City of Bakersfield and incorporate the city’s general plan update into the larger county document. Kern County Planning Director Lorelei Oviatt said the plan is a bit overdue.

 

What should replace Toys R Us and Babies R Us in Modesto?

Modesto Bee

The 47,00-square-foot-store has been a staple for families and Black Friday shoppers ever since. The Babies R Us opened its 35,500 square feet store at 3500 Sisk Road in January 2000.

 

Fresno Council’s Chavez targets Ventura corridor for incentives

The Business Journal

A few years ago, when Fresno was in the throes of the Great Recession, the Ventura/Kings County Corridor was on the verge of becoming a blighted area. Back then, the more than four-mile stretch along Ventra Avenue and Kings Canyon Road between First Street and Clovis Avenue had about a 30 percent vacancy rate among its various businesses.

 

Housing:

 

Seasonally adjusted, US housing starts fall 7% after earlier surge

Fresno Bee

The Commerce Department said Friday that housing starts last month were at a seasonally adjusted annual pace of 1.24 million, a decline that was anticipated after construction surged in January to 1.33 million. February’s slowdown in construction came from a 28 percent plunge in starts for multifamily buildings. Groundbreakings for single-family houses actually rose 2.9 percent.

 

Modesto backs homeless shelter plan, but mayor raises questions

The Modesto Bee

Modesto leaders are backing a proposal to open a temporary, 60-bed homeless shelter and day center near downtown, which could open as soon as June and be in place for as long as three years until a permanent facility with more services opens.

 

PUBLIC FINANCES

 

Myers: Stashing cash for a rainy day isn’t as easy as it sounds for California government

Los Angeles Times

Few ballot measures have ever been more resoundingly embraced by Californians than Proposition 2, the 2014 constitutional amendment championed by Gov. Jerry Brown requiring that more state tax money be put aside for rough economic times. But there’s some surprising analysis now being shared inside the state Capitol: The proposition that won 69% of the vote could have the surprising effect of limiting how much cash gets stockpiled for easing the budget cutbacks inevitable in the next recession.

 

Stanislaus County budget adds copter fixes, cybersecurity

Modesto Bee

A Stanislaus County government refreshed by a surge in revenue upped appropriations by $19 million in midyear budget adjustments this month. In one of the spending items, county officials will take action to improve cybersecurity after a ransomware attack in December disabled hundreds of computers in county Behavioral Health and Recovery Services. County leaders had recognized the need for the security position last May and planned to include it in next year’s budget, but now there’s no time to waste in beefing up security.

 

CalPERS retirees are suddenly worried about their pensions. What happened?

Sacramento Bee

Call it the Loyalton effect. CalPERS’ decision in late 2016 to slash pensions for four retirees from the tiny mountain town startled the state’s public workers so much that their confidence in the $354 billion fund began to plunge to its lowest level in five years.

See also:

·       Walters: How pension costs clobbered one small city  CALmatters

·       Setting the Record Straight on CalPERS and SB 400  Fox & Hounds

 

CalSavers Californians a chance at a more secure retirement

OCRegister

We are in the midst of a silver tsunami that will wash nearly half of all working Californians onto the rocky shore of economic hardship. Our current retirement security problem could soon become a humanitarian crisis — if we fail to act.

 

Trump complains about California taxes, but in SF, he’s got a sweet deal

San Francisco Chronicle

“I have great property in California,” President Trump said during his visit to the state last week. But he added, “The taxes are way, way out of whack.” Or maybe not. One of Trump’s properties is the famous Bank of America building in San Francisco. The Trump Organization owns a 30 percent stake of 555 California St. The other 70 percent is held by Vornado Realty Trust, a real estate investment trust that bought out Trump’s former Hong Kong business partners in 2007.

 

TRANSPORTATION

 

A Bold, Divisive Plan to Wean Californians From Cars

The New York Times

It’s an audacious proposal to get Californians out of their cars: a bill in the State Legislature that would allow eight-story buildings near major transit stops, even if local communities object. The idea is to foster taller, more compact residential neighborhoods that wean people from long, gas-guzzling commutes, reducing greenhouse-gas emissions.

See also:

·       Can Californians Drive Less? New York Times

 

Laws Aren’t Stopping Phone Addicts Behind the Wheel

Bloomberg

Safety regulators still have no idea just how deadly the combination of mobile phones and cars can be, but mounting evidence paints a grim picture. The latest disconcerting data come from a massive study by Zendrive, a San Francisco-based startup that tracks phone use for automobile insurers and ride-hailing fleets. Of the 2.3 million drivers it monitored over 5.6 billion miles, some 12 percent were characterized as mobile-phone addicts—calling, texting or scrolling through apps three times more than the average driver.

 

Westside Rail Trail just right, right now

Modesto Bee

Those of us who love hiking in the nearby Sierra mountain range are always on the lookout for good springtime hikes at lower elevations which are neither snowbound nor muddy tracks. Last weekend we discovered just such agem, the Westside Rail Trail in the Stanislaus National Forest, which starts right on the outskirts of Tuolumne City. This trail rapidly yields not only great views, but an absolutely level path on the long abandoned rail line which winds along the ridge above the North Fork of the Tuolumne River.

 

Roadshow: Effort to repeal gas tax hike enters final push

The Mercury News

Ever since the Arab oil embargo of 1973, I have favored raising the gas tax to $2 a gallon. There are many advantages: more funds for road improvements, for effective public transit and fuel-efficient cars plus far lower carbon emissions and dramatically fewer lives lost. I can’t believe anyone is whining about California’s 12-cent a gallon increase in our state gas tax.

 

3 big questions for the man in the middle of California’s high-speed rail storm

Silicon Valley Business Journal

California High-Speed Rail Authority chair Dan Richard paused this week in the middle of that to speak with the Silicon Valley Business Journal. Here are three issues he addressed, with the following interview edited for length and clarity.

See also:

·       California’s high-speed gravy train is running on emptyOCRegister

 

WATER

 

Valley growers hopeful storms will keep water flowing in the spring and summer

ABC30

The longer the clouds that bring rains and especially snow linger, the more hopeful Valley farmers are becoming. “It was obviously a very dry December, January, and February; March is kind of being that savior right now, that hopefully, we are going to be able to have some snow in the Sierra Nevada to get us through that spring and summer,” said Ryan Jacobson from the Fresno County Farm Bureau.

 

Making Los Angeles completely water self-sufficient won’t be easy or cheap. But it can be done

Los Angeles Times

Despite another hot and dry year with less than four inches of rain in the Los Angeles area, we are back to our water-wasting ways. Two years ago, Californians were using 24% less water compared with 2013. This year, we’re hardly conserving at all — just 1%. Clearly, our earlier successes were more behavioral than structural.

 

Securing access to clean, safe water for all of California with Prop. 68

OCRegister

In the last decade, California has experienced a historically volatile water supply as we swung from years of record drought to periods of intense flooding that have critically strained our infrastructure. At the same time, more than one million Californians lack access to clean drinking water and families in some disadvantaged communities are unable to trust their taps.

 

“Xtra”

 

Athletes go for the gold during Visalia’s Senior Games

Visalia Times-Delta

Ping-pong balls clicked against paddles at lightning speed as players tried to keep their eye on the prize — gold. On Saturday, dozens competed in Visalia Parks and Recreation 2018 Senior Games. The two-week competition is the only one of its kind in the Central Valley, officials said. “The Visalia Senior Games provide excellent opportunities for seniors who seek a competitive environment along with the camaraderie of other athletes,” said Jeannie Greenwood, Visalia Parks and Recreation director.

 

Dine for a good cause this spring

Bakersfield Californian

Bakersfield is no stranger to combining fundraisers and food. As we’ve said before, the community’s giving heart is as big as its insatiable appetite. Tickets ($10) are limited, available at eventbrite.com.

 

Westside Rail Trail just right, right now

Modesto Bee

Those of us who love hiking in the nearby Sierra mountain range are always on the lookout for good springtime hikes at lower elevations which are neither snowbound nor muddy tracks. Last weekend we discovered just such agem, the Westside Rail Trail in the Stanislaus National Forest, which starts right on the outskirts of Tuolumne City. This trail rapidly yields not only great views, but an absolutely level path on the long abandoned rail line which winds along the ridge above the North Fork of the Tuolumne River.

 

Outdoor recreation lovers find kayaking, hiking and more at Modesto RecFest

Modesto Bee

Hundreds of people showed up Saturday at Tuolumne River Regional Park’s Gateway Parcel for Modesto RecFest, a celebration of all things outdoors that can happen just south of downtown. Hikers, bicyclists, kayakers, disc golfers and kite fliers all enjoyed a cool yet sunny morning during the festival. The event, spearheaded by the Tuolumne River Regional Trust, also offered clinics, free equipment, music and vendor booths offering information on clubs tied to enjoying the outdoors in Stanislaus County.

 

EDITORIALS

 

Thumbs up, thumbs down

Fresno Bee

Thumbs up to the State Center Community College District for its decision to purchase a downtown landmark to house its headquarters. There is so much good about its purchase of the former Guarantee Savings building, it’s hard to list it all. The move will first enable Fresno City College to build a new math and science building, then create 325 additional parking places on campus.

 

Our view: This time, perhaps, the young voices will be heard

Stockton Record

The 1960s was a decade of protests: civil rights, anti-Vietnam War, students rights and women’s rights among others. Students and other young people often were the ones supporting those actions. And there is a growing act of protests rising, once again fueled by young people.

 

California’s unspent mental health funds are an outrage

The Mercury News

Californians should  be outraged by a recent state auditor’s report showing that counties have failed to spend $2.5 billion in taxpayer money that is intended to help the mentally ill. So much for the 2004 promise to voters that the Proposition 63 tax on millionaires would keep the mentally ill “off the streets, out of the hospital and out of jail.”

 

Medical tourists, undocumented immigrants and ballooning costs: California’s path to single payer is rocky

Los Angeles Times

After state Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon (D-Paramount) pulled the plug last year on a fast-moving but half-baked Senate bill to guarantee premium-free health insurance to all Californians, the nurses union that sponsored the legislation called it a “cowardly act” and threatened to push for a recall election.

 

Pension rules must change to keep California solvent

OCRegister

So long as there has been since 1947 an apparently incontrovertible fact of life known as the California Rule, if only that rule had to do with guaranteed unclogged highways and easy beach access under clear blue conditions for all citizens of our state.

 

 

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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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