March 5, 2018

05Mar

TOP POLITICAL STORIES​​​​​​​

 

Local/Regional Politics:

 

Deadline Fast Approaching  Wonderful Public Service Graduate Fellowship – Applications for two $56,000 Fellowships Due Friday, March 16th, 2018

The Maddy Institute

Through the generosity of The Wonderful Company, San Joaquin Valley students will have the opportunity to become the next generation of Valley leaders throughThe Wonderful Public Service Graduate Fellowship. This program helps students obtain an advanced degree from a top graduate program, return home, and apply what they have learned to help make the Valley a better place.

 

Central Valley poor could gain from Trump tax bill

The Sacramento Bee

Gov. Jerry Brown made no secret about his disdain for the federal tax bill Republican lawmakers passed in December. That won’t stop him from using one of its provisions to open economic development opportunities in lower-income neighborhoods around California.

 

T.J. Cox to run against Rep. David Valadao, sources say

The Fresno Bee

Emilio Huerta is out of the race against Rep. David Valadao and Fresno engineer T.J. Cox is rumored to be in the running. Sources have confirmed to The Bee that Cox is expected to announce his candidacy next week, possibly on Tuesday, to run for a Democratic seat in the 21st Congressional District.

See Also:

●     The only Democrat running against one vulnerable California Republican just dropped out The San Diego Union-Tribune

●     Emilio Huerta drops out of congressional race against David Valadao Fresno Bee

 

Devin Nunes’s Portuguese Background, Farming, Committee Chairman

National Review

The tumultuous presidency of Donald Trump catapulted the once-little-known congressman into the harshest glares of the Washington spotlight, and his critics contend that he’s comically underqualified for his role and the moment. House Minority leader Nancy Pelosi dismisses Nunes as “a stooge of the White House.”

 

Nunes responds to Colbert segment: ‘Conservatives in this country are under attack’

TheHill

Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) fired back at late-night host Stephen Colbert on Saturday after Colbert filmed a segment on Capitol Hill mocking Nunes over his recently released intelligence memo, saying the segment showed conservatives “are under attack.” “Well, I think this is the danger that we have in this country, this is an example of it,” Nunes, the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, told Fox News’s Neil Cavuto.

 

Billboard attacking McCarthy organized and funded by DC man’s PAC

KBAK

A new billboard is up in Bakersfield, but it isn’t trying to get you to buy anything. This billboard is trying to take support away from Rep. Kevin McCarthy, the majority leader who hails from Bakersfield. The bumper sticker-style advertisement is adorned with a cartoon caricature of McCarthy on the left and the message, “Mighty Majority Leader? Nope. Bootlicking Trump Minion? Yep,” on the right.

 

School districts put focus on safety plans

Stockton Record

In the wake of a deadly school shooting in Parkland, Florida, school districts in San Joaquin County and the state have taken a look into safety plans to ensure they are prepared as possible should the worst happen. “If there is an active shooter on campus, every second counts,” Stockton Unified Acting Superintendent Dan Wright said. “If we are able to shave one to two minutes on our response time, that keeps us safer.”

See also:

·       Clovis Unified warns about threatening schools Fresno Bee

·       Local schools gird for student walkout over gun violence Sacramento Bee

·       LA officials push for new focus on school safety after Parkland Los Angeles Times

 

It’s not Yosemite, it’s the surgery: the rise of medical tourism in Fresno

Fresno Bee

Fresno County has long been a destination for tourists who come for sporting events, to get a closer look at how food is grown or who stop here on the way to Yosemite and other nearby national parks.  But now tourists are coming here because they developed surgical complications while trying to lose weight.

 

Prasad: With so few doctors, San Joaquin Valley being left behind

Modesto Bee

Health care disparities have already left the Northern San Joaquin Valley behind. The UC San Francisco primary-care workforce report showed an average of 71 primary care doctors per 100,000 population across all of California in 2015. But in the San Joaquin Valley, there are only 45 primary care doctors for every 100,000 residents.

 

Leadership shakeup at Emanuel Medical Center in Turlock

Modesto Bee

Employees and staff at Emanuel Medical Center in Turlock were informed Friday that Chief Executive Officer Sue Micheletti and Chief Nursing Officer Sony Sidhu are no longer with the hospital. Warren Kirk, top executive of the Northern California Group of Tenet Healthcare Corp., announced the leadership changes in a memo distributed at the Turlock hospital.

 

Supervisors to get Tulare hospital criminal investigation update

Visalia Times-Delta

The investigation into the former Tulare hospital managers continues and the bill for the Tulare County District Attorney’s Office is rising.

 

Warszawski: River Parkway clearly needs help

Fresno Bee

The River West Fresno Open Space Area, part of the long-envisioned San Joaquin River Parkway, encompasses about 400 acres of undeveloped river bottom land north of Fresno and west of Highway 41.

 

Residents sue city over industrial site in their neighborhood

Fresno Bee

Residents worried about a proposed industrial park in their southwest Fresno neighborhood are asking a judge to overturn the city council’s January approval of a development permit for the project.

 

Chukchansi tribe’s money manager rolled the dice – and lost $10 million

Fresno Bee

The Picayune Rancheria of Chukchansi Indians near Oakhurst lost $10 million in about one month when risky investments by a money manager lost value, a detailed letter to tribal members says. The value of the investment portfolio managed by Blue Sky Capital Management tumbled from $19.6 million at the end of December to $9.3 million in early February.

 

Visalia, Tulare educators push for literacy development

Visalia Times-Delta

This week, more than 30,000 Tulare County students cracked open a book duringRead Across America week, a program sponsored by the National Education Association.

 

Tulare County faces challenges combating homelessness

Visalia Times-Delta

Tucked away along St. John’s River, Jeff Thomas lives with his dogs in a well-kept encampment. He set up this particular place just before Christmas, but Thomas has been on the streets of Visalia for nearly two decades. He is one of the dozens living along the St. John’s, which stretches through northern Tulare County.

 

Sheriff Margaret Mims in the running for a fourth term

Clovis Roundup

When Margaret Mims was elected the first female Fresno County Sheriff in 2006, she didn’t know her historic leadership would continue for 12 years. Now, Mims hopes voters will give her four more to finish some of the major projects she’s started.

 

Complaint against San Joaquin Co sheriff could change state coroner system

Modesto Bee

Shortly after forensic pathologist Susan Parson filed a gender harassment complaint last summer against the Sheriff-Coroner’s Office in San Joaquin County, the sheriff called her in for a meeting. She knew it would not be pleasant. She didn’t know it could end up changing the way California treats its dead, turning a private and painful period of her life into a public call for ending the combined roles of sheriff and coroner, a system currently used widely only in this state, Nevada and Montana.

See also:

·       California re-examines handling of dead after complaint against San Joaquin sheriff The Sacramento Bee

 

Coalinga’s Mayor Addresses Rumors About Sales Tax Measure Failure

KMJ

Coalinga’s Mayor speaks out about the sales tax measure that failed due to swing votes by Coalinga State Hospital patients. In November, a one-cent tax hike to prevent the loss of public safety jobs and services in the city of Coalinga was voted down by Coalinga State Hospital patients.

 

Marijuana? Not in Riverbank, petitions say

Modesto Bee

Marijuana opponents made good on a promise to challenge the City Council’s approval of a second recreational weed dispensary.

 

As immigration agents step up enforcement, could farm labor suffer?

Bakersfield Californian

Local farmers are apprehensive about what impacts recent immigration enforcement activity would have on labor throughout the region. Some predict a chilling effect that could discourage workers from heading to the fields and others brushing off recent detainments, saying they pale in comparison to what occurred under the Obama Administration.

See also:

·       ICE arrests at least 2 in Fresno County during operation  The Fresno Bee

·       ICE raid rumors spark panic across Stockton Stockton Record

·       As immigration agents step up enforcement, could farm labor suffer?Bakersfield Californian

·       Police, sheriffs departments respond to stepped-up immigration enforcement actions The Bakersfield Californian

·       At least two dozen Kern County farmworkers arrested in latest immigration sweep across California Los Angeles Times

·       ICE official: Stepped-up enforcement is ‘direct reaction’ to sanctuary state law, and it’s going to continue for ‘foreseeable future’ Bakersfield Californian

·       California farmers’ objections could kill conservative immigration billModesto Bee

 

State Politics:

 

Jerry Brown—the Man Who Wasn’t There

Fox and Hounds Daily

When California Democrats held their convention in San Diego, there was a conspicuous absentee—Governor Jerry Brown.  Not only wasn’t he physically present, he was barely mentioned from the speaker’s podium.  The party’s activists and aspiring politicians were clearly ready to move on.

 

Newsom Claims S.F. Street Cred on Single-Payer Issue

The California Report – KQED News

As the race for governor heats up, support for a government-run single-payer health care system is becoming a kind of litmus test for Democrats — and no candidate has embraced the idea more closely than Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom.

See also:

·       Single-payer healthcare in California? Why advocates are playing the long game

·       CALmatters

·       California nurses union leader RoseAnn DeMoro retiring, but remains ‘on call’San Francisco Chronicle

·       Progressive Democrats leading charge to steer California party to left San Francisco Chronicle

 

Mathews: Governor’s race isn’t just Newsom and Villaraigosa – it’s SF vs. LA

Fresno Bee

Which city – San Francisco or Los Angeles – do you love to hate more? This is shaping up to be California’s question for 2018. Each of the top contenders for governor is a former mayor of one those cities, and each embodies certain grievances about his hometown. And backers of both candidates are playing to these resentments.

 

Late entrant to California’s gubernatorial race makes her case to young women

Los Angeles Times

In one of her first public appearances since launching her campaign for California governor, Amanda Renteria encouraged a group of more than 100 young women to engage in politics and spoke about her experience as a Latina with political ambitions.

 

Walters: Primary system makes handicapping the governorship game complicated

Fresno Bee

So far, electing a new governor of California has resembled a game of musical chairs more than a horse race. Every fortnight, it seems, brings the announcement of a new candidate and/or a new opt-out, and every change in the lineup alters the odds of who will survive June’s top-two primary and win the right to duke it out in November.

 

Mendoza’s gone, but Capitol culture still an open question for de León’s US Senate race

Sacramento Bee

Before announcing the resignation of his former housemate, California Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de León delivered a speech on the Senate floor describing the upper house as a leader against sexual harassment under his command.

See also:

·       Sexual harassment could stop special treatment for some lawmakers’ records Sacramento Bee

 

Corruption scandals haven’t curbed lavish gift-giving to California lawmakers

Los Angeles Times

Special interests have continued to shower California legislators with hundreds of thousands of dollars in freebies, including foreign travel, golf games and concert tickets, as efforts to rein in gifts to elected state officials after a series of corruption scandals have stalled.

One bill captures two unseemly Capitol traits

Sacramento Bee

When the Legislature passed – and Gov. Jerry Brown signed – Assembly Bill 1687two years ago, they exhibited two of the Capitol’s more unseemly traits. The legislation, aimed directly at IMDb, a company that maintains databases of actors and other entertainment information, forbade it and similar firms from publishing the ages of performers if they wanted to keep them secret.

 

Tax bill could prompt development in poor neighborhoods

Sacramento Bee

More than 800 of California’s poorest neighborhoods could see new development thanks to tax breaks included in last year’s federal tax bill. A little-noted provision of the federal tax overhaul passed in December allows investors to avoid paying taxes on all or part of their capital gains from investments in areas designated as “opportunity zones.” The goal is to spur development in areas that have traditionally been overlooked, though some critics worry it could turn into windfall for developers in gentrifying neighborhoods.

See Also:

·       California To Designate ‘Opportunity Zones’ To Spur Investment In Low-Income Communities Capital Public Radio News

 

New California law won’t allow illegal immigrants to vote

The Mercury News

Immigrants living in the U.S. illegally will not automatically be registered to vote in California come April. At issue is a California law taking effect in April that will automatically register people to vote when they get a driver’s license or ID card or update their address with the Department of Motor Vehicles.

See also:

●     California Dreamers March Ahead of Monday’s DACA Deadline KMJ

 

How the home of Reagan turned into the Trump resistance

The Mercury News

With more than two dozen lawsuits against the federal administration and new laws designed to thwart federal immigration actions and environmental rollbacks, California has squarely established itself as the Democratic resistance to President Donald Trump.

 

California attorney general foes spar in AP interviews

The Sacramento Bee

California Attorney General Xavier Becerra has become the face of the state’s resistance to President Donald Trump, challenging the Republican administration’s policies nearly four dozen times in court and providing the kind of meat-and-potatoes opposition that Democratic activists say they want.

 

 

States mull ‘sanctuary’ status for marijuana businesses

San Francisco Chronicle

Taking a cue from the fight over immigration, some states that have legalized marijuana are considering providing so-called sanctuary status for licensed pot businesses, hoping to protect the fledgling industry from a shift in federal enforcement policy.

 

Federal Politics:

 

As Trump Talks Tariffs, Here’s What You Need To Know

Forbes

President Donald Trump has announced that he would impose tariffs on imported steel and aluminum. Speaking with industry officials, Trump said, “We’re going to rebuild our steel industry. We’re going to rebuild our aluminum industry.” He continued, “The U.S. hasn’t been treated fairly. Next week, we’ll be imposing tariffs on steel imports and aluminum imports.”

See also:

·       With surprise tariffs, Trump rolls the dice with the US economy CNBC

·       Trump will move this week on steel, aluminum tariffs, aides say, dismissing warnings of trade war Los Angeles Times

●     Trump Tariffs Hurt Steel and Aluminum Users and Consumers National Review

●     President Trump’s predecessors learned about steel tariffs the hard way AEI

●     Jeffery Sachs: Trump’s tariff move shows he flunked economics CNN

●     Commerce Secretary Lectures Global Markets on ‘Overreaction’ Roll Call

●     GOP fears midterm backlash from Trump’s tariffs  Politico

 

After Brief Split, Trump and N.R.A. Appear to Reconcile

The New York Times

President Trump’s staff tried to be reassuring. Stop focusing, they told jittery allies, on the sound bites from the White House Cabinet Room earlier this week when Mr. Trump appeared to embrace longstanding conservative taboos like gun confiscation and comprehensive background checks.

 

California Democrats demanding defiance weigh Feinstein’s reelection bid

Washington Post

California Democrats may have spurned Sen. Dianne Feinstein at their party convention, but Republicans are willing to listen to her. Count President Trump among them

See also

·       Opinion: Time’s Up for DiFi? Not If Democrats Are Smart Roll Call

 

10 years after financial crisis, Senate prepares to roll back banking rules

Washington Post

The Senate is preparing to scale back the sweeping banking regulations passed after the 2008 financial crisis, with more than a dozen Democrats ready to give Republicans the votes they need to weaken one of President Barack Obama’s largest legislative achievements.

 

California farmers aim to kill conservative immigration bill

Fresno Bee

House conservatives’ effort to enact a controversial immigration bill has met a quiet but fierce foe: California farmers. Their opposition to farm labor provisions in the legislation – and their sway with influential California Republicans – are a big part of the reason the House is unlikely to move forward with an immigration bill this year.

 

Janus Decision:

·       California unions planning next steps if Janus ruling goes against them San Francisco Chronicle

·       How unions can survive a Supreme Court defeat Fresno Bee

 

California’s members of Congress are worth at least $439 million

The San Diego Union-Tribune

Come January, California will lose the distinction of being home to the richest man in Congress. More than a third of the lawmakers in the state’s congressional delegation are millionaires, and Rep. Darrell Issa’s wealth dwarfs them all.

 

Other:

 

Gun Policy in America: An Overview

RAND

In addition to their many uses, guns have symbolic, cultural, and economic importance in the United States. Many Americans value the traditions of hunting, sport shooting, and collecting guns and appreciate the security and protection that they can provide. Many regions rely on hunting as an important driver of the tourism economy, and the wider gun industry employs hundreds of thousands of Americans, including instructors and shooting range operators; hunting equipment suppliers; and manufacturers, distributors, and retailers of firearms and ammunition.

See also:  

●     Opinion: After Parkland, a Call to Action for Foundations The Chronicle of Philanthropy

●     Common-sense gun rules will work Modesto Bee

●     Push to Lower Voting Age After Parkland Shooting Misguided National Review

●     Hundreds of New State Gun Laws: Most Expand Access Pew Charitable Trusts | Stateline

●     The NRA used to be a bipartisan campaign contributor, but that changed in 1994. Here’s why. Los Angeles Times

●     NPR Poll: After Parkland, Number of Americans Who Want Gun Restrictions Grows Capradio.org

●     NRA has backed most state gun laws passed since Sandy Hook PBS NewsHour

●     National Rifle Assn: All Recipients OpenSecrets

●     Navarrette: America’s not-so-great gun debate Fresno Bee

Alice Rivlin: In defense of centrists

Brookings

In a recent New York Times column, Paul Krugman rightly charges Republicans with hypocrisy for espousing fiscal responsibility while adding trillions to the national debt, but adds “my anger isn’t mostly directed at Republicans; it’s directed at their enablers, professional centrists…” I rise to the defense of the centrists.

 

The Perils of Truth Decay: Q&A with Three RAND Leaders

RAND

“Truthiness” was still a punchline when Merriam-Webster named it the word of the year in 2006. Comedian Stephen Colbert had coined the term as an eye-roll at the march of bias and opinion over facts. There’s less to laugh at now: the Oxford word of the year for 2016 was “post-truth.” At RAND, that slipping grasp on the facts—”Truth Decay”—has become a research priority. A new RAND report—Truth Decay: An Initial Exploration of the Diminishing Role of Facts and Analysis in American Public Life by political scientist Jennifer Kavanagh and RAND’s president and CEO, Michael D. Rich—identifies the social, psychological, and historical foundations of the problem and sets out a research agenda to address it.

 

 

 

MADDY INSTITUTE PUBLIC POLICY PROGRAMMING  

 

Sunday, March 11, at 10 a.m. on ABC 30 – Maddy Report: Charter Schools– Guest: State Auditor Elaine Howle. Host: Maddy Institute Executive Director, Mark Keppler.

 

Sunday, March 11, at 10 a.m. on Newstalk 580AM/105.9FM (KMJ) –Maddy Report: “Are Education Reforms & Charter Schools the Answer?” –Guests: California State Auditor Elaine Howle, Laura Hill with the Public Policy Institute of California, & Dan Walters with CalMatters. Host: Maddy Institute Executive Director, Mark Keppler. 

 

Sunday, March 11, at 7:30 a.m. on UniMas 61 (KTTF) – Informe Maddy:Governor’s Brown’s Last Budget: Caution Despite Surplus  Guests: Edgar Cabral, Analista Oficina de Analisis Legislativo y Alexei Koseff, Sacramento Bee. Host: Maddy Institute Program Coordinator, Maria Jeans.

 

 

Support the Maddy Daily HERE.

Thank you!

 

 

Topics in More Detail…

 

AGRICULTURE/FOOD

 

For stories on “immigration and farm labor,” See: “Top Stories: Local Politics” above

 

To feed the nation, California farmers must adapt to a warming climate, study says

Fresno Bee

Heat waves, droughts and floods are climate trends that will force California farmers to change some practices — including what they grow — to continue producing yields that historically have fed people nationwide, a new study by the University of California says.

See also:

·       From Almonds To Rice, Climate Change Could Slash California Crop Yields By 2050 NPR

 

Valley farmers concerned about late season cold snap

ABC30

Cloudy skies and rain from this week’s storm are a welcome sight for most growers in the Central Valley. But a late February cold snap put a chill on certain crops. The deputy ag commissioner in Fresno County says his office relies on growers to contact them to report damage. After that, they look at the percentage of loss and use the last year’s crop report to determine the value.

 

Farms and bees may take a hit after recent storms

Abc30.com

Ryan Jacobsen with the Fresno County Farm Bureau says recent rain and freezing temperatures have had a major impact on crops. He says there are probably going to be fewer peaches, plums, and nectarines this year. He also said the bee industry is taking a big hit.

 

Judge weighs science behind Monsanto Roundup cancer claim

AP

Claims that the active ingredient in the widely used weed killer Roundup can cause cancer have been evaluated by international agencies, U.S. and foreign regulators and the product’s manufacturer – agribusiness giant Monsanto. Now, a federal judge in San Francisco will conduct his own review during an unusual set of court hearings scheduled to start Monday.

 

Defeat of Pesticide Bill Highlights Ag Industry’s Campaign Donations

KQED

Agricultural industry groups opposed to legislation that would have increased fines for violating California’s pesticide regulations contributed more than $340,000 to members of the Assembly in the two years before the body rejected the measure in late January.

 

Can the digital revolution transform agriculture?

Brookings

The world talks a lot about the digital revolution, but few connect it to the coming agriculture revolution, especially in Africa. Digital solutions have huge potential for helping farmers boost productivity and connect to financial tools and markets around the world.

 

Trade war could spark food fight, California growers fear

Los Angeles Times

Steel and aluminum may be the intended quarry of a trade war that President Trump has said would be “good” for the U.S. economy, but the casualties of the conflict could be food, agricultural economists warn. China, the European Union, Mexico, Canada and other trading partners have sent strong signals that they may retaliate if Trump succeeds in imposing stiff tariffs on imports of steel and aluminum.

 

CRIMINAL JUSTICE / FIRE / PUBLIC SAFETY

 

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

 

Crime:

 

How a list of 23 crimes now dominates California’s debate over prison punishment

Los Angeles Times

California has a long history of mixing crime and punishment with raw politics. But outrage doesn’t always translate into coherent policy, and unintended consequences can spark even more public anger. With that in mind, consider the last two years of debate over what should, and should not, be a “violent” crime.

 

Public Safety:

 

Despite what Trump says, local cops are holding their own

OCRegister

Southland cops who have played a big part in lessening the threat of criminal gangs over the last two decades are shaking their heads — once again — over remarks by President Trump. The detectives and street officers who have made former gang strongholds safe for the citizenry — one cited the MacArthur Park neighborhood by noting, “Look, now we can walk our dogs,” in an interview with the Los Angeles Times — say they’re puzzled about the recent comments the president made just as he plans his first trip to California since taking office.

Fire:

 

In Napa Valley, the scars of the October wildfires are hard to spot

Washington Post

It’s Saturday night in Napa, and First Street is quiet. But the shiny new Archer Hotel, which opened in November, is teeming with wine lovers. At Charlie Palmer Steak, the hotel restaurant that spills into the lobby like a carelessly poured sample of cabernet, chef Jeff Russell sends out plates of Wagyu beef, foie gras, crab salad, citrus-infused salmon and ... well, you get the idea ... to hungry oenophiles fresh from winery visits or the Premiere Napa Valley auction.

 

ECONOMY / JOBS

 

For stories on ”Tariffs and Trade Wars,” See: “Top Stories – Federal Politics,” above

 

Economy:

 

Carl Icahn, former Trump adviser, recently dumped millions in steel-related stocks

The Washington Post

President Trump’s decision Thursday to impose crippling tariffs on the imports of steel and aluminum took many by surprise — particularly investors, as the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed the day’s trading down more than 400 points, or 1.7 percent, at 24,608. But one billionaire investor and former Trump adviser, Carl Icahn, was seemingly unvexed, having dumped a million shares tied to the steel industry a week before the president announced 25 percent tariffs for foreign-made steel.

 

Jobs:

 

New program matches job training with a company to work for

ABC30

A program in Fresno County is helping people get off welfare and find work. Sally Valenzuela spends her days at Central Valley Auto Glass answering phones and working, but a year ago, she was without a home and at a low point. “I didn’t want to be on assistance, so I asked what is it that I could do and the help was there, they offered me the program,” said Sally Valenzuela, Central Valley Auto Glass office manager.

 

A proposal for protecting low-income workers from monopsony and collusion

Brookings

New evidence that labor markets are being rendered uncompetitive by large employers suggests that the time has come to strengthen legal protections for workers. Labor market collusion or monopsonization—the exercise of employer market power in labor markets—may contribute to wage stagnation, rising inequality, and declining productivity in the American economy, trends which have hit low-income workers especially hard.

 

Why Workers Are Losing to Capitalists

Bloomberg

Back in April, I wrote about one of the most troubling mysteries in economics, the falling labor share. Less of the income the economy produces is going to people who work, and more is going to people who own things.

 

EDUCATION

 

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

 

K-12:

 

MUSD school board fills vacancy

Madera Tribune

Madera Unified School District trustees moved Tuesday night to fill the vacancy on the school board by appointing Philip Huerta to serve the remainder of the term of former trustee Maria Velarde-Crist who resigned in January to take a job as a school principal.

 

BCSD is making local funding program pay off for us

The Bakersfield Californian

When he introduced his final budget proposal, Gov. Jerry Brown faced questions, uncertainty and criticism over his plan to fully fund the Local Control Funding Formula several years ahead of schedule. Enacted in 2013, LCFF changed the way the state allocates funding for K-12 education. It provides more money for districts with high populations of English learner and low-income students.

 

Visalia, Tulare educators push for literacy development

Visalia Times-Delta

This week, more than 30,000 Tulare County students cracked open a book duringRead Across America week, a program sponsored by the National Education Association.

 

Speaking Spanish may have gotten Palo Verde superintendent fired

Visalia Times-Delta

A popular principal/superintendent at a county school near Tulare won’t have his contract extended after being placed on paid administrative leave. The announcement was made Wednesday night following a lengthy closed session discussion by the Palo Verde School board members. Ernie Flores, who’s also the district’s superintendent at Palo Verde School, will start his administrative leave on Friday.

 

Fear, absenteeism, falling grades among impacts of immigration crackdown, study finds

EdSource

Immigration crackdowns are having a widespread harmful impact on children’s academic performance, school attendance and classroom behavior, not just among immigrant children but native-born students as well, according to a new nationalsurvey of educators.

 

Higher Ed:

 

Postpone sweeping changes to Cal State classes, national faculty group says

89.3 KPCC

The American Association of University Professors has joined California State University faculty in their criticism of sweeping changes to classes ordered last year by Chancellor Tim White. “[W]e urge you to hold the executive orders in abeyance, as requested by [CSU’s Academic Senate], and to allow the faculty to exercise primary responsibility in the curricular decisions implicated by the executive orders,” said AAUP Associate Secretary Hans-Joerg Tiede in a letter sent last week to White.

 

ENVIRONMENT/ ENERGY

 

Environment:

 

Judge weighs science behind Monsanto Roundup cancer claim

AP

Claims that the active ingredient in the widely used weed killer Roundup can cause cancer have been evaluated by international agencies, U.S. and foreign regulators and the product’s manufacturer – agribusiness giant Monsanto. Now, a federal judge in San Francisco will conduct his own review during an unusual set of court hearings scheduled to start Monday.

 

Defeat of Pesticide Bill Highlights Ag Industry’s Campaign Donations

KQED

Agricultural industry groups opposed to legislation that would have increased fines for violating California’s pesticide regulations contributed more than $340,000 to members of the Assembly in the two years before the body rejected the measure in late January.

.

Energy:

 

What alternatives to fossil fuels can support our leisurely lifestyle?

OCRegister

Unless you’re living in a time warp of the horse and buggy days, when humans were friendlier to the environment, but limited to travel as far as they could walk or as far as their horse would take them, you’re stuck reminiscing on those good-old emission free days without fossil fuels when lives were dirty, smelly, difficult – and short.

 

Get Ready For The Battery Revolution

Forbes

Moore’s law states that processing power will double every two years. While more of a prediction than a principle, Moore’s law has guided the technology industry to extraordinary growth.

 

HEALTH/HUMAN SERVICES

 

Health:

 

The rise of medical tourism in Fresno

Fresno Bee

Fresno County has long been a destination for tourists who come for sporting events, to get a closer look at how food is grown or who stop here on the way to Yosemite and other nearby national parks. But now tourists are coming here because they developed surgical complications while trying to lose weight.

 

Leadership shakeup at Emanuel Medical Center in Turlock

Modesto Bee

Employees and staff at Emanuel Medical Center in Turlock were informed Friday that Chief Executive Officer Sue Micheletti and Chief Nursing Officer Sony Sidhu are no longer with the hospital. Warren Kirk, top executive of the Northern California Group of Tenet Healthcare Corp., announced the leadership changes in a memo distributed at the Turlock hospital.

 

Prasad: With so few doctors, San Joaquin Valley being left behind

Modesto Bee

Health care disparities have already left the Northern San Joaquin Valley behind. The UC San Francisco primary-care workforce report showed an average of 71 primary care doctors per 100,000 population across all of California in 2015. But in the San Joaquin Valley, there are only 45 primary care doctors for every 100,000 residents.

 

Single-payer healthcare in California? Why advocates are playing the long game

CALmatters

By many measures the rambunctious campaign for a single-payer health care system in California appears to be floundering. A bill that would replace the existing health care system with a new one run by a single payer—specifically, the state government—and paid for with taxpayer money remains parked in the Assembly, with no sign of moving ahead.

 

They used to get free or low-cost marijuana to help with their cancer. Not anymore

Sacramento Bee

The Wo/Men’s Alliance for Medical Marijuana survived a raid by federal agents and other existential threats while providing free and low-cost cannabis to seriously ill patients. In operation for the past three decades, the Santa Cruz-based collective is the oldest example of a compassionate care” program in the nation. Now, the program and others like it could be forced to close due to an unlikely reason: legalization.

 

1 in 5 Californians would skip on health insurance without tax penalty, survey finds

Sacramento Bee

Without the threat of a tax penalty, one in five Californians would not have signed up for health insurance this year, Harvard University researchers discovered as a part of a survey released Thursday. One in five equates to roughly 378,000 state residents, said Dr. John Hsu, an associate professor of health care policy at Harvard Medical School, and perhaps not surprisingly, many in that group were people expected to use the health care system least because of their good health.

 

Judge weighs science behind Monsanto Roundup cancer claim

AP

Claims that the active ingredient in the widely used weed killer Roundup can cause cancer have been evaluated by international agencies, U.S. and foreign regulators and the product’s manufacturer – agribusiness giant Monsanto. Now, a federal judge in San Francisco will conduct his own review during an unusual set of court hearings scheduled to start Monday.

 

Case of the $21-million Medicaid patient shows how drug prices soar for rare diseases

Los Angeles Times

The child is well-known in the halls where state bureaucrats oversee healthcare for millions of Californians — not by name, but by a number: $21 million. His medications alone cost state taxpayers that much in a single year, not including other healthcare. The boy, whose identity has not been released, was California’s most expensive Medicaid patient in recent years. His case was singled out in a tweetlast year by the state’s top healthcare official to highlight the public insurance program’s extraordinary obligations as a backstop for low-income patients.

 

Opinion: Doctors Are Drowning in Data Entry as Health IT Policy Lags

Roll Call

There is no doubt that information technology has revolutionized the way we treat patients in the United States.

Electronic health records are widespread, and people can schedule a doctor’s appointment on a smartphone app. But with this renaissance in technology has come growing pains, as our regulatory framework has struggled to keep pace with private sector advances.

 

IMMIGRATION

 

For stories on “Immigration Enforcement” See: “Top Stories – Local Politics,” above

 

California farmers aim to kill conservative immigration bill

Fresno Bee

House conservatives’ effort to enact a controversial immigration bill has met a quiet but fierce foe: California farmers. Their opposition to farm labor provisions in the legislation – and their sway with influential California Republicans – are a big part of the reason the House is unlikely to move forward with an immigration bill this year.

 

DACA’s future rests with Congress, courts

Fresno Bee

The Supreme Court’s refusal to let the administration leapfrog appeals courts means that DACA stays for at least a few months and perhaps until well after midterm elections. In September, the administration said it was ending DACA, calling it an abuse of executive power, but gave Congress until March 5 to develop a legislative fix.

 

Tijuana shelters brace for influx of Trump administration deportees

The Mercury News

When deportees from California are unceremoniously deposited at a dusty traffic circle just across the border here, their first destination is often the same: an airy dormitory in Tijuana’s hills with a sweeping view of the sprawling city below.

 

Questions Surround Trump’s First Border Wall Contract

KPBS

A tiny Nebraska startup awarded the first border wall construction project under President Donald Trump is the offshoot of a construction firm that was sued repeatedly for failing to pay subcontractors and accused in a 2016 government audit of shady billing practices.

 

LAND USE/HOUSING

 

Land Use:

 

Residents sue Fresno over industrial park

Fresno Bee

Residents worried about a proposed industrial park in their southwest Fresno neighborhood are asking a judge to overturn the city council’s January approval of a development permit for the project.

 

Shop owners coming together to form Bakersfield Antique District

Bakersfield.com

There are around a dozen antique stores between Chester Avenue and Mill Creek Park, but owners say many people — tourists, but also some locals — don’t know that they exist. To help mitigate that, the stores have begun to band together in an effort to create a Bakersfield Antique District.

 

Jolly Kone on Wible Road closes for the Centennial Corridor project

The Bakersfield Californian

The Jolly Kone located at 800 Wible Road permanently closed Thursday. Kasey Choi, the owner of the establishment along with the Jolly Kone at 924 34th St., confirmed the news to The Californian Friday. Choi said the drive-in was shut down after the city of Bakersfield bought it through eminent domain as the city prepares to move forward with the Centennial Corridor project, a multi-million dollar project that plans to connect Highway 58 to the Westside Parkway.

 

After years of cleanups, project aims to transform Modesto’s Gateway Parcel

Modesto Bee

For years volunteers have labored to remove the trash and debris in Tuolumne River Regional Park only to have to come back and do it again. But there is a change coming this summer. Modesto is leading a $3 million phase two project in the park’s Gateway Parcel, which is bordered by the river and Highway 99 on the west and Dry Creek on the east. The money comes from grants and other state funding dedicated to recreation projects, said Jason Ortega, the city’s parks project coordinator and the phase two project manager.

 

Housing:

 

Tulare County faces challenges combating homelessness

Visalia Times-Delta

Tucked away along St. John’s River, Jeff Thomas lives with his dogs in a well-kept encampment. He set up this particular place just before Christmas, but Thomas has been on the streets of Visalia for nearly two decades. He is one of the dozens living along the St. John’s, which stretches through northern Tulare County.

 

California gears up for a battle over single-family zoning near transit

The Mercury News

Taking aim at climate change, highway gridlock and soaring housing costs, a California lawmaker has ignited a red-hot debate with a proposal that would force cities to allow more apartments and condominiums to be built a short walk from train stations and bus stops.

 

Hardest place to find empty housing? California!

OCRegister

Looking for housing in California — to buy or rent — means having the fewest choices in the nation. A curious stat from the U.S. Census Bureau tracks empty residences, whether those units are rentals or ownership properties. Basically, “gross vacancy rate” is a proportional measure of how many places are available in a geographic area.

See also:

·       Who’s really to blame for OC’s housing affordability crisis?  OCRegister

 

PUBLIC FINANCES

 

Garcetti, council members ignored 2016 report finding waste, flaws in police and fire retirement program

Los Angeles Times

Mayor Eric Garcetti and leaders of the Los Angeles City Council ignored a report urging them to eliminate, or drastically amend, a controversial program that pays veteran cops and firefighters their salaries and pensions simultaneously for up to five years.

 

TRANSPORTATION

 

State may tear down major Sacramento bridges to build bigger ones for mega-trucks

Sacramento Bee

Flush with new gas tax funds, state officials are exploring what could be the biggest Sacramento freeway redo in modern times – tearing down and replacing the twin freeway bridges that carry Interstate 5 over the American River.

 

WATER

 

Welcome snow slows California’s plunge back to drought

Fresno Bee

Welcome snowdrifts await California’s water managers on their late-winter survey of the Sierra Nevada snowpack. California water officials are trooping into the mountains Monday for the latest regular manual measurements of the year’s snowfall.

See also:

·       Study: Snowpack has declined dramatically across US West AP News

 

What, if anything, is lost in building one delta tunnel instead of two?

Los Angeles Times

Two tunnels, one or none? The question continues to swirl around plans to perform major surgery on the sickly heart of California’s water system. Confronted with a shortage of funding, state officials announced last month that they would move ahead with the construction of one giant water tunnel under the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta rather than two.

 

Temperance Flat Dam Too Expensive

Fresno Bee

Why would taxpayers invest $2.6 billion to increase our water supply .1 percent when there are significantly cheaper methods to increase it by 10 percent? That’s what the Bureau of Reclamation (BR) recommends by proposing to build the Temperance Flat Dam (TFD), costing $2.6 billion ($121 million annually for operation).

 

Trump directs EPA to begin dismantling clean water rule

Los Angeles Times

President Trump stepped up his attack on federal environmental protections Tuesday, issuing an order directing his administration to begin the long process of rolling back sweeping clean water rules that were enacted by his predecessor.

See also:

·       EPA chief’s clean-water rollback shaped by secrecy, luxury travel and handpicked audiences Los Angeles Times

 

 “Xtra”

 

Fox to air Fresno gardens

Fresno Bee

One of Fresno’s most unique — some would say bizarre — landmarks will get national attention on a Fox network reality show. Forestiere Underground Gardens is the subject of a new episode of “Strange Inheritance” on Fox Business Network. Show host Jamie Colby tours the subterranean digs and talks to the descendants of Baldassare Forestiere, who spent four decades of the early 20th century carving out the place.

 

Gallo Center to offer intensive training to aspiring performers

Modesto Bee

The Gallo Center for the Arts wants to make Broadway dreams come true for the region’s aspiring performing artists — and it’s been selected as one of only nine North American locales for an intensive training program to help.

 

Sun-Star reporters take top journalism honors at Fresno State’s Gruner Awards

Merced Sun-Star

The Merced Sun-Star team of Rob Parsons and Monica Velez was honored in the 30th annual George F. Gruner journalism awards for its coverage of a party at a Merced hookah lounge that got out of control.  The awards, for work produced in 2017, were announced Thursday night at a reception at the Fresno Art Museum.

 

Bee’s teen pregnancy series honored with Gruner Public Service award

Fresno Bee

Fresno Bee reporter Mackenzie Mays was honored for her public service coverage of teen pregnancy in the 30th annual George F. Gruner journalism awards. Four others from The Bee – Rory Appleton, Carmen George, Marek Warszawski and Gail Marshall – won first-place prizes. The awards for work produced in 2017 were announced Thursday night at a reception at the Fresno Art Museum.

 

Women to be honored for their leadership, service

Modesto Bee

Sixteen women who have made a mark through their service to the greater Modesto region will be honored at a dinner March 10. Each year the Stanislaus County Commission for Women singles out the Outstanding Women of the area, those who have demonstrated exemplary service to the community.

 

Women’s organization gives away 20K books for underserved kids

Bakersfield Californian

Children from low-income families who may not own or read many books will soon be able to take some home. The Bakersfield chapter of the nationwide organization Pi Beta Phi Fraternity for Women held a giveaway of 20,000 children’s books on Saturday. Around 300 teachers, community organizations and others who serve kids from underserved areas got to pick out which books they wanted for their students.

 

KCOG hands out 17 community awards

Bakersfield Californian

The Kern Council of Governments held its annual Regional Awards Program event on Thursday, recognizing 17 people or programs for their contributions to the community. The event was held at the Seven Oaks Country Club, 2000 Grand Lakes Ave. Here’s a breakdown of all the award-winners:

  

EDITORIALS

 

A toxic solution to Westlands lawsuit

San Francisco Chronicle

The arrests of five employees of a tiny Central Valley water district last month exposed a huge problem in efforts to keep toxic agricultural runoff from polluting a major California river and San Francisco Bay. That is, the purported solution — treating the toxic water on site — doesn’t work. Without effective treatment, there is no way Congress should approve an already questionable $375 million settlement between the federal government and the politically powerful Westlands Water District.

 

Thumbs up, thumbs down: March Match Up fund feeds students

Fresno Bee

Thumbs up to Fresno accounting firm Moss Adams LLP, which has promised to match, dollar-for-dollar, every monetary gift up to $25,000 given through March 31 to Fresno State’s March Match Up. The campaign goal is to raise $100,000 for the Student Cupboard., a food pantry that provides free food and hygiene products to Fresno State’s students.

 

Schools become battlegrounds; lawmaker reluctance is not OK

Modesto Bee

In school districts throughout our nation, including Turlock Unified, our 24-year-old first-grade teachers straight out of college are having exceptionally courageous conversations with their 6-year-old students. Those conversations include: “What are you supposed to do when someone comes through our classroom door with an assault rifle intending to slaughter us all?”

 

Separating children and parents at the border is cruel and unnecessary

Los Angeles Times

The Trump administration has shown that it’s willing — eager, actually — to go to great lengths to limit illegal immigration into the United States, from building a multi-billion-dollar border wall with Mexico to escalated roundups that grab those living here without permission even if they have no criminal record and are longtime, productive members of their communities. Now the administration’s cold-hearted approach to enforcement has crossed the line into abject inhumanity: the forced separation of children from parents as they fight for legal permission to remain in the country.

 

The best way to win a trade war is to not start one

Los Angeles Times

A day after his comments about imposing stiff tariffs on imported steel and aluminum caused the stock market to plummet, President Trump took to Twitter on Friday morning to calm investors. “When a country (USA) is losing many billions of dollars on trade with virtually every country it does business with, trade wars are good, and easy to win,” the president counseled.

 

 

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

 

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

                                                     

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