POLICY & POLITICS
Event TODAY: Cannabis Education Seminars presents: “The Future of Cannabis in the Central Valley”
Cannabis Education Seminars
“The Future of Cannabis in the Central Valley” live webinar provides a forum for local and state regulators and business leaders to discuss the cannabis industry in the Central Valley. This virtual panel will be held today at 1:30 PM, moderated by Mark Keppler from The Maddy Report, a weekly public affairs TV program covering how State and Federal policy and politics impact Calif. and the San Joaquin Valley.
North SJ Valley:
Merced County churches prepare to reopen for worship as coronavirus cases rise to 273
Merced Sun-Star
For the first time in months, Merced County churches are opening their doors with state approval following the governor’s Monday announcement that churches statewide may resume in-person religious services with modifications.
See also:.
● Opinion: Why wouldn’t Americans fight over religious services too? Fresno Bee
Modesto faces budget shortfall due to coronavirus. Here’s what could be cut
Modesto Bee
Modesto could reduce watering at many of its parks from twice to once a week from spring through fall, do away with 14 police officer and seven firefighters positions — which now are vacant — and slash the roughly $2.2 million the Police Department spends annually on overtime by nearly 40 percent.
Coronavirus update: Stanislaus deaths unchanged; Drop in ER cases concerning
Modesto Bee
Deaths in Stanislaus County remained at 28 as of Monday. A total of 659 people in the county have tested positive for the virus. Another 10,183 tested negative. The number of people hospitalized at some point is at 111, and 495 are presumed to be recovered.
See also:
● Cases of COVID-19 grow, but deaths stay flat in Stanislaus County turlock Journal
Ted Howze (CD 10) lost GOP leader’s 2020 endorsement. Does he have a chance in November?
Modesto Bee
Ted Howze’s chances of election in November are now “impossible,” some Republicans concede, after national GOP groups and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy pulled their endorsements from the Calif. congressional candidate.
Central SJ Valley:
Coronavirus updates: Tulare County reports 4 deaths; Tachi Palace casino reopening this week
Fresno Bee
More than 400 new coronavirus cases (and five deaths) were reported in the central San Joaquin Valley over the Memorial Day weekend, though several counties did not issue updates until Tuesday, due to the holiday.
Churches must limit service to 100, Calif. says. But Fresno pastors say that’s not enough
Fresno Bee
Leaders from a couple of Fresno’s largest churches on Tuesday asked for special permission to allow large gatherings during the coronavirus pandemic, but they failed to get the support of the Fresno County Board of Supervisors.
See also:.
● Opinion: Why wouldn’t Americans fight over religious services too? Fresno Bee
Fresno Supervisors Approve Resolution to Delay Vehicle Miles Traveled Law
GV Wire
The Fresno County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a resolution Tuesday backing a two-year delay on implementing a controversial law taking effect July 1.
Gov. Newsom: Barbershops, hair salons can reopen — but not in Tulare County
Visalia Times Delta
Calif. Gov. Gavin Newsom said Tuesday that barbershops and hair salons can reopen immediately in counties that have been cleared to move faster on lifting coronavirus restrictions.
See also:
● Tulare County COVID-19 update: 130 new cases, four new deaths Visalia Times Delta
● Coronavirus update: 1,771 cases, 79 deaths in county Porterville Recorder
Judge moves Devin Nunes’ Washington Post lawsuit. It’s his second court setback in one week
Fresno Bee
A Virginia judge overseeing a pair of Rep. Devin Nunes’ lawsuits against news organizations handed the Calif. Republican two setbacks in one week, granting motions by The Washington Post and CNN to move the cases to other jurisdictions.
See also:
● Federal judge kicks Nunes’ CNN, Washington Post lawsuits off of Virginia’s ‘rocket docket’ Visalia Times Delta
South SJ Valley:
Five new COVID-19 cases reported Tuesday
Bakersfield Californian
Five new cases of COVID-19 were reported Tuesday by Kern County officials, bringing total local cases to 1,886. No new deaths were reported; that total still stands at 29.
Kern County health officials: Churches may reopen
Bakersfield Californian
Kern County public health officials have given local houses of worship the OK to restart in-person services under guidelines issued by the state Monday, but it was unclear by Tuesday afternoon how many would do so right away.
Kevin McCarthy asks Dems to pull FISA bill
Politico
The measure, which would renew expired surveillance tools, is facing last-minute opposition from President Trump.
State:
Calif. Assembly to meet in rare committee to talk budget
Stockton Record
The Calif. Assembly is set to hold an extraordinary session Tuesday to question Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration about its plan to fill an estimated $54.3 billion budget deficit created by the effects of the new coronavirus.
See also:
● Calif. seniors are worried about these cuts in Gavin Newsom’s new budget. Here’s why Sacramento Bee
● Calif. lawmakers pushing back on Gavin Newsom’s pandemic spending plans San Francisco Chronicle
● Assembly Gives Lukewarm Response to Newsom’s Budget Proposal KQED
● Assembly to Newsom: Don’t count on feds to rescue Calif. from deep budget cuts CALMatters
● Revised budget puts older Calif.ns, communities at risk CALMatters
● Assembly Hearing on Budget Deficit KCRA Sacramento
Calif.’s Prop 13 ballot fight intensifies with coronavirus pandemic
San Francisco Chronicle
A proposed change to Calif.’s sacrosanct Proposition 13 that seeks to raise $12 billion annually for schools and local government was already primed to be one of the hottest battles on the November ballot before the coronavirus pandemic hit.
Latest In COVID-19, Easing Stay-At-Home Orders In Calif.
Capital Public Radio
Calif. eased more stay-at-home restrictions yesterday afternoon. The state is allowing houses of worship to reopen with specific modifications and is changing other guidelines statewide.
See also:
● Gov. Newsom: Barbershops, hair salons can reopen in 47 CA counties starting today abc30
● Churches now allowed to have in-person services with limitations Porterville Recorder
● Turlock hair stylists embrace re-opening, despite restrictions Turlock Journal
● Calif. allows some reopening of hair salons, barbershops Stockton Record
● Time to get a haircut in most of Calif. – but you’ll need a mask Merced Sun-Star
● Goodbye mullet: Calif. allows hair salons to reopen Modesto Bee
● Hair Salons, Barber Shops Can Reopen In Most Calif. Counties Capital Public Radio
● Coronavirus updates: Newsom, Calif. health officials share reopening guidelines Sacramento Bee
● Hair salons, barbershops can reopen now, in Stage 3 of Newsom’s plan Los Angeles Times
● Coronavirus ‘silent spreaders’ become a bigger risk as Calif. reopens Los Angeles Times
● Barbershops, hair salons get OK to reopen in much of Calif. San Francisco Chronicle
● Kern County barbershops and hair salons can now reopen Bakersfield Calif.n
● Newsom issues plan for places of worship in Calif. to reopen at limited capacity San Francisco Chronicle
Santa Clara county public health officer bemoans Calif.’s accelerated reopening
SF Gate
As Calif. Gov. Gavin Newsom and state officials work to roll back the state’s shelter-in-place order in the face of mounting economic damage, the architect of the nation’s first stay-at-home order is voicing her concerns.
See also:
● Calif.’s coronavirus testing ground: Is this the kind of place that’s ready to reopen for business? San Jose Mercury
● What you need to know today about the virus outbreak Modesto Bee
● 12 things to know today about coronavirus TheHill
Conservatives turn to SF lawyer to fight coronavirus orders
Politico
Conservatives from Washington to the West Coast have anointed attorney Harmeet Dhillon as their go-to legal warrior in the culture wars of the Covid-19 pandemic. And they don’t even seem to mind that she’s from San Francisco.
Federal:
House Republicans Move to Block Proxy Voting
Wall Street Journal
Lawmakers were set to begin new method starting Wednesday; GOP to sue in federal court.
Democratic unity starts to crack in coronavirus liability reform fight
TheHill
A group of moderate Senate Democrats say they are open to considering liability protection for businesses in the next round of coronavirus relief legislation, a crack in Democratic unity that gives Republicans and the White House some leverage.
Trump Team Killed Rule Designed To Protect Health Workers From Pandemic Like COVID-19
VPR
When President Trump took office in 2017, his team stopped work on new federal regulations that would have forced the health care industry to prepare for an airborne infectious disease pandemic such as COVID-19. That decision is documented in federal records reviewed by NPR.
EDITORIAL: A Presidential Smear
Wall Street Journal
Trump imitates the Steele dossier in attacks on Joe Scarborough.
Los Angeles Times
This week, the United States is set to pass another sorrowful milestone in the coronavirus pandemic: 100,000 dead from COVID-19. It bears repeating: One hundred thousand Americans dead since the first known coronavirus death in the U.S. in February. It’s a staggering figure, the equivalent of a Vacaville, Calif., or a Tuscaloosa, Ala., wiped out in just three months.
Coronavirus Trackers:
Coronavirus (COVID-19) in Calif.
COVID-19 is a new illness that can affect your lungs and airways. It’s caused by a virus called coronavirus.
See also:
● Calif. Department of Public Health
● Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) Pandemic – WHO
● John Hopkins University & Medicine John Hopkins University
● Tracking coronavirus in Calif. Los Angeles Times
● Coronavirus Tracker San Francisco Chronicle
● Coronavirus in the U.S.: Latest Map and Case Count New York Times
● How many coronavirus cases have been reported in each U.S. state? Politico
● Coronavirus Daily NPR
● Coronavirus tracked: the latest figures as the pandemic spreads Financial Times
● Coronavirus in Calif. by the numbers CalMatters
Elections 2020:
Republicans join in fight to overturn Calif. Gov. Gavin Newsom’s mail-in ballot order
Sacramento Bee
The Republican National committee has joined in the effort to overturn Calif. Gov. Gavin Newsom’s executive order that every voter receive a mail-in ballot for the November general election, filing a lawsuit that seeks a temporary restraining order and asks that the order be tossed out.
See also:
● Fact Check: Will Calif.’s vote-by-mail order really lead to election fraud? Sacramento Bee
● Fact check: Trump falsely claims Calif. is sending mail-in ballots to undocumented immigrants CNNPolitics
● Trump targets Calif. in latest attack on mail-in voting Los Angeles Times
● Trump pushes aggressive GOP campaign against Calif. mail voting San Francisco Chronicle
● Conservatives turn to SF lawyer to fight coronavirus orders Politico
● Opinion: Voting by mail helps the GOP. Calif.’s special election proved that. Washington Post
● Does voting by mail lead to higher turnout in red, blue and purple states? PolitiFact
● EDITORIAL: Calif. GOP’s attack on Newsom’s vote-by-mail effort exposes the party’s moral rot Sacramento Bee
Biden calls Trump a ‘fool’ for mocking masks during pandemic
Modesto Bee
Joe Biden said Tuesday that wearing a mask in public to combat the spread of the coronavirus is a sign of leadership and called President Donald Trump a “fool” who was “stoking deaths” for suggesting otherwise.
See also:
● Trump’s mockery of wearing masks divides Republicans Washington Post
● AFL-CIO, country’s largest coalition of labor unions, endorses Joe Biden for president Washington Post
● Biden beating Biden? Social media users misquote Biden, manufacture gaffe PolitiFact
● Biden’s Middle-Class Tax Pledge National Review
● Biden calls Trump a ‘fool’ for mocking masks during pandemic KBAK
Democrats plot a counterattack on disinformation in hopes of taking back the White House
Los Angeles Times
As conservative conspiracy theories and “deep fake” videos race through the internet, defying the fact-checkers and bruising political candidates, Curtis Hougland is trying to fight back by borrowing from the playbook of his adversaries.
Other:
In a first, Twitter adds fact-check warnings to Trump tweets
Modesto Bee
For the first time, Twitter has flagged some of President Donald Trump’s tweets with a fact-check warning. On Tuesday, Twitter added a warning phrase to two Trump tweets that called mail-in ballots “fraudulent” and predicted that “mail boxes will be robbed,” among other things.
See also:
● Twitter labels Trump’s tweets with a fact-check for the first time Washington Post
● Twitter Adds Fact-Checking Warning to Trump Tweet Wall Street Journal
● In a first, Twitter adds ‘get the facts’ warning to Trump tweets PBS
● Trump campaign accuses Twitter of ‘political bias’ after it fact-checks president’s tweets TheHill
● Trump threatens social media companies after Twitter adds fact-checking labels to tweets CBS News
● Trump threatens social media outlets with regulation, closure after fact check added to tweet TheHill
● Trump Threatens To Shut Down Social Media After Twitter Adds Warning NPR
● Opinion Twitter Must Cleanse the Trump Stain New York Times
Internal Facebook report found algorithms drove people apart: report
TheHill
Facebook executives ignored information from an internal report that found the social media site’s algorithm cultivated tribal behavior and political divisiveness, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Who is spreading COVID-19 misinformation and why
ABC News
Many different groups and individuals spread false information.
See also:
● Social Media Usage Is At An All-Time High. That Could Mean A Nightmare For Democracy NPR
Privacy and the 4 categories of information technology
AEI
Understanding information technology and the values it affects can help policymakers fashion rules that empower people to protect themselves and that protect people directly if necessary.
Is COVID-19 creating a race for retirement?
AEI
It appears that the pandemic is leading many who have lost work to simply retire earlier than they had intended.
Can the Postal Service Survive the Pandemic?
New York Times
What the virus could mean for America’s favorite government agency.
MADDY INSTITUTE PUBLIC POLICY PROGRAMMING
Sunday, May 31, at 10 a.m. on ABC30 – Maddy Report: Fighting Fire with Fire: Rethinking Forest Management – Guests: Chair of Calif. Little Hoover Commission< pedro Nava. Host: Maddy Institute Executive Director, Mark Keppler.
Sunday, May 31, at 10 a.m. on Newstalk 580AM/105.9FM (KMJ) – Maddy Report – Valley Views Edition: How Prepared is Calif. for Natural Disaster, Generally and Forest Fires, in Particular? – Guests: Christina Curry, Cal OES Deputy Director of Planning, Preparedness and Prevention and Pedro Nava, Chair of Calif. Little Hoover Commissions. Host: Maddy Institute Executive Director, Mark Keppler.
Sunday, May 31, at 7:30 a.m. on UniMas 61 (KTTF) – El Informe Maddy: Medi-Cal: miles de millones para pagos cuestionables – Guest: Margarita Fernandez, Jefe de Relaciones Publicas de las Oficina de la Auditora Estatal. Host: Maddy Institute Program Coordinator, Maria Jeans.
AGRICULTURE/FOOD
More farmers markets are reopening in Fresno area. Here’s what to know before you go
Fresno Bee
Two more farmers markets – in downtown Fresno and at Manchester Center – have reopened in recent weeks. Just which farmers markets are open has been a smidge confusing lately as some shut down when the coronavirus first hit. Those markets have reopened and several seasonal markets are reopening for their usual spring and summertime run.
Potato farmers seek changes to USDA’s COVID-19 payments
Roll Call
The National Potato Council urged its members to apply this week for COVID-19 aid while it works to increase Agriculture Department payments to potato growers and tries to sell Congress on a plan to buy $300 million of surplus spuds.
KHSD offers free summer meals for children
KGET 17
The Kern High School District is providing free summer meals to children ages 2-18 beginning on Monday June 1, through Thursday July 9.
Opinion: Food safety comes first for Modesto, Stanislaus farmers
Modesto Bee
Thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, hand sanitizers and bleach wipes are now a part of our daily lives. Everyone understands that we need access to chemicals that kill the germs and viruses that can kill us.
Want to eat at a restaurant? Here’s who’s open – or when they will be – in Fresno area
Fresno Bee
After nine weeks of shuttered dining rooms, Fresno County restaurants have been given the green light by the state to reopen for sit-down service. It will be limited, of course, with people six feet apart and all sorts of other safety precautions due to the coronavirus pandemic.
See also:
● Hide the silverware: Plastic forks rule as restaurants reopen Politico
CRIMINAL JUSTICE/FIRE/PUBLIC SAFETY
Crime:
Low Crime Numbers Leveling off Under Shelter-in-Place
PPIC
While crime rates continue to be low in major Calif. cities, some crimes—such as burglaries and car theft—have gone up.
Supreme Court refuses for now to block release of prisoners due to COVID-19
Los Angeles Times
The Supreme Court on Tuesday turned down an appeal from Trump administration lawyers who sought to preemptively block the release of any inmates from an Ohio prison who were at high risk for COVID-19. Over dissents from three conservatives, the court said it would not intervene for now.
Newsom proposes closing youth prisons as crime drops, coronavirus drains budget
Public CEO
Under Gov. Gavin Newsom’s recently proposed budget, the juvenile custody population will be zero in about three years, after the remaining three prisons and one prison camp stop admitting youths in January.
Public Safety:
As inmate deaths and infections rise, Chino, Avenal prisons will test all employees for coronavirus
Los Angeles Times
The state corrections agency has implemented mandatory testing of all employees at the Calif. Institution for Men in Chino as the number of inmates who have died after contracting COVID-19 there has risen to nine and the total number of inmates testing positive has grown to 635.
See also:
● Kern County continues to ramp up testing effort Kern Sol News
● All employees to be tested at Southern Calif. prison hit by COVID-19 outbreak
● Modesto Bee
Calif. jail population plummets during pandemic. Could this lead to long-term change?
Sacramento Bee
Calif.’s long history of altering its criminal justice system — from requiring life in prison for third-strike offenders to reducing the punishment for hundreds of crimes — is having another moment that could dramatically alter how the state locks people up.
AEI
How do we protect children who have been trapped for months in homes with adults (not just their parents, but abusive boyfriends, for instance) who may have addiction or other mental health problems?
Fire:
PG&E nears end of bankruptcy amid persisting safety worries
Bakersfield Calif.n
Pacific Gas & Electric limped into bankruptcy vilified for its long-running neglect of a crumbling electrical grid that ignited a succession of horrific Northern Calif. wildfires.
ECONOMY/JOBS
Economy:
As Calif. reopens, a silent coronavirus threat looms
Los Angeles Times
Since the coronavirus crisis began, officials have been concerned about “silent spreaders,” people who have the virus but do not show symptoms. They could be strolling along Ocean Front Walk or marching up a hiking trial and look perfectly healthy — but still pass along the virus that causes COVID-19 to others.
Get ready to rumble: Insurance claims expected to be tested in court
Business Journal
The fight over who should foot the bill for lost business because of shelter-in-place orders is making its way through the courts.
Hair looking shaggy? Fresno and other Valley counties will open salons soon
Fresno Bee
Most counties in the central San Joaquin Valley can soon let their barbershops and salons open after clearance Tuesday from Gov. Gavin Newsom. Forty-seven of the 58 counties in the state have “self-attested” that they have adequate supplies and protocols to reopen more quickly than the rest of the state while still mitigating spread of the coronavirus that causes COVID-19.
See also:
● Fresno’s Fashion Fair mall reopens. Here are the shopping rules and what it looks like Fresno Bee
● Gov. Newsom: Barbershops, hair salons can reopen in 47 CA counties starting today abc30
● Businesses from retail to salons opening in state Porterville Recorder
● Hair salons are reopening in Stanislaus County. Guidelines call for face coverings Modesto Bee
● Update: These Stanislaus County restaurants reopen dine-in service after coronavirus shutdown Modesto Bee
● Calif. allows many more retail stores to reopen Los Angeles Times
Here’s how to get a small business loan and free masks from Fresno
Fresno Bee
Small businesses in Fresno can apply for loans up to $10,000 in relief money related to the coronavirus pandemic. The second wave of COVID-19 relief dollars for the Save Our Small Business program is available to businesses of 25 or fewer employees if they apply by 11:59 p.m. on June 5.
See also:
● City of Fresno donating 14,000 face masks to small businesses opening this week abc30
● Small-Business Owners Speak About Surviving the COVID-19 Pandemic RAND
● Fresno, Napa, Sacramento, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Solano, Sonoma, and Ventura Counties Receive Variances to Push Further into Stage 2 Reopening, Allow Dining-in at Restaurants, In-Store Retail, and Other Businesses Atkinson, Andelson, Loya, Ruud & Romo
Tulare County slowly reopens its economy, some businesses remain shuttered
Visalia Times Delta
It’s been nearly 70 days since Gov. Gavin Newsom mandated nonessential businesses to reduce services or completely shutter due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Coronavirus Shut Down the ‘Experience Economy.’ Can It Come Back?
New York Times
Large-scale gatherings are on hold for the foreseeable future. That is taking a toll on the live events industry and society at large.
See also:
· Disneyland and other Calif. theme parks can reopen in Stage 3, state says Orange County Register
Walters: The SF-LA economic gap is growing wider
CalMatters
Even before COVID-19 rocked Calif., there were stark economic differences between the state’s two major metropolitan regions — the San Francisco Bay Area and Los Angeles County-centered Southern Calif. — and the pandemic will widen the gap even more.
The Fed Boldly Saves Markets. Now It’s Worrying About Main Street Business
Bloomberg
The Federal Reserve’s next front in the battle to support the U.S. economy is to prevent millions of American small businesses from becoming the Achilles heel of the recovery.
Stocks rise as recovery hopes overshadow coronavirus worries
Los Angeles Times
Stocks on Wall Street closed higher Tuesday, driving the Standard & Poor’s 500 index and Dow Jones industrial average to their highest levels in nearly three months as optimism over the reopening of the economy overshadowed lingering worries about the coronavirus pandemic.
See also:
● Stocks rise on Wall Street, but US braces for 100,000 deaths Modesto Bee
● Consumer confidence stabilized in May on reopening optimism Los Angeles Times
Jobs:
Calif. independent contractors struggle for unemployment help amid coronavirus
Los Angeles Times
Two weeks after other states started sending checks, Calif. on Tuesday began accepting unemployment benefit claims from millions of independent contractors, gig workers and the self-employed, but many said ongoing glitches on the state’s overtaxed website prevented them from filing applications.
See also:
● Unemployed because of coronavirus lockdown? Extra benefits are on the way in Calif. Sacramento Bee
● Job hunting is never easy. But finding work amid coronavirus is ‘a whole new world’ Los Angeles Times
● Gig workers are now eligible for special unemployment benefits. But many won’t get them Los Angeles Times
● For Many, $600 Jobless Benefit Makes It Hard To Return To Work NPR
Many laid-off workers face first deadlines to qualify for health insurance
Los Angeles Times
Many laid-off workers who lost health insurance in the coronavirus shutdown soon face the first deadlines to qualify for fallback coverage under the Affordable Care Act.
How to make ends meet if the coronavirus shutdown has reduced your income
Los Angeles Times
You may have a few options for making ends meet during this trying time. The first is mortgage forbearance. If you have a federally backed mortgage and have been affected by the pandemic, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act gives you the right to forbearance for nearly a year if you request it.
Cal/OSHA sees 30% increase in complaints about workplace safety due to pandemic
San Francisco Chronicle
As of Friday, Cal/OSHA received more than 2,300 coronavirus-related complaints since Feb. 1. State regulators have responded to about 1,900 of those issues, resolving more than 900 complaints remotely.
What Role Should Employers Play in Testing Workers?
New York Times
Amazon and other companies are planning to test workers for the coronavirus. But there is little federal guidance, and some fear it could lead to a false sense of security.
Employers Hunt for Protective Gear Before Opening
PEW
Earlier this month, Indiana launched an exchange for businesses with fewer than 150 employees to receive free bundles of nonmedical-grade face masks, hand sanitizer, and face shields.
See also:
● Opinion: Asians don’t have privilege of going maskless Los Angeles Times
EDUCATION
K-12:
Virtual special education meetings popular in some districts, but a major hurdle in others
EdSource
In the wake of a federal order for schools to keep providing special education during school closures, one of the trickiest parts of those services — mandatory parent meetings — has proven to be an unexpected boon in some districts but almost impossible in others.
See also:
· ‘On this platform I’m now contained in a little box.’ Teacher misses classroom learning Sacramento Bee
Delano high schools to hold scaled-down in-person graduations
Bakersfield Calif.n
The Delano Joint Union High School District board of trustees voted Tuesday to approve scaled-down graduation ceremonies for its three high schools later this summer.
1 in 5 teachers unlikely to return if school reopens in the fall: USA Today poll
TheHill
One in 5 U.S. teachers say they are unlikely to return to in-person instruction if schools reopen in the fall, a USA Today–Ipsos poll released Tuesday found.
Higher Ed:
UC Davis grad exhibition moves online to showcase student projects during coronavirus
Sacramento Bee
Higher education’s shifting dynamics amid the coronavirus pandemic have affected commencement ceremonies, postgraduate plans and celebratory get-togethers. But for the University of Calif. in Davis, a re-envisioned platform hopes to put a spotlight on student success.
New podcast: Inside CSU’s online fall semester
Inside Higher Ed
The Calif. State University system announced on May 12 that its fall term would be mostly online. The system was the first major U.S. university to make this move, and the announcement set off a flurry of news media coverage and debate among policy makers and college leaders. Tim White, Cal State’s chancellor, takes us inside this decision during the episode.
BC Athletic Director Sandi Taylor announces retirement
Bakersfield Calif.n
Sandi Taylor’s final months as Bakersfield College Athletic Director didn’t exactly go as planned. Taylor’s time at the school began in 1990, when she was hired as the Renegades’ softball coach.
ENVIRONMENT/ENERGY
Environment:
Capital Public Radio
Calif.’s triple-digit heat is back — and new research shows residents in the state’s most underserved neighborhoods suffer the most when the mercury rises.
Energy:
Big Oil loses appeal to stop climate lawsuits from going to court in Calif.
Los Angeles Times
Big Oil lost a pair of court battles Tuesday that could lead to trials in lawsuits by Calif. cities and counties seeking damages for the impact of climate change.
PG&E to launch five energy storage projects totalling 423MW in Calif.
Energy Live News
American energy utility Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) intends to build five energy storage projects in San Francisco by August 2021. The company has requested approval for the lithium-ion battery projects, totalling 423MW, from the Calif. Public Utilities Commission (CPUC).
Clean Energy Has Taken a Hit During COVID-19
PEW
Many state officials think investments in clean energy could play a huge part in the country’s economic recovery.
PG&E nears end of bankruptcy amid persisting safety worries
AP
Pacific Gas & Electric limped into bankruptcy vilified for its long-running neglect of a crumbling electrical grid that ignited a succession of horrific Northern Calif. wildfires.
HEALTH/HUMAN SERVICES
Health:
Dr. Fauci: Second coronavirus wave is ‘not inevitable’ in the fall
Business Insider
Dr. Anthony Fauci seems more optimistic regarding the chances of a “second wave” of COVID-19 hitting the US by the fall.
How Summer Weather Could Impact The Spread Of COVID-19
Capital Public Radio
Warm weather may have a significant impact on the spread of COVID-19. That’s according to new ongoing research from six institutions across the country, including Harvard University.
See also:
● Calif. Coronavirus Updates: Summer Heat Could Slow Or Change Coronavirus Spread Capital Public Radio
● Summer hot temperatures may not change COVID-19 spread Fresno Bee
Dangerous blood clots pose a perplexing coronavirus threat
Business Journal
First came a high fever, drenching sweats and muscle aches. Then, almost a month later, a weird numbness that spread down the right side of her body.
A third of Americans now show signs of clinical anxiety or depression
Washington Post
A third of Americans are showing signs of clinical anxiety or depression, Census Bureau data shows, the most definitive and alarming sign yet of thepsychological toll exacted by the coronavirus pandemic.
Valley Voices: COVID-19 should not keep children from wellness, necessary visits to pediatricians
Fresno Bee
As if the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) hasn’t changed enough in our daily lives — from losing a job, working from home, figuring out your child’s online classroom assignments … if you even have access to a computer, and social distancing — parents are caught between messages about “Keep your kids home” and “Keep up with your kids’ health needs.”
Human Services:
Cooling centers to open in Fresno tomorrow, city officials say
abc30
As temperatures across the Valley are forecasted to break 105 degrees this week, the city of Fresno pushed Calif. to allow for cooling centers to open amid the coronavirus pandemic to help residents find relief from the extreme heat.
Nursing homes open to visitors in Europe. Here’s why Calif. won’t do the same
Sacramento Bee
Marilee Flannery has only seen her husband, Steve, twice in the past two months. Both times were fleeting conversations over video on her phone. He’s at a locked-down Citrus Heights memory care facility for those with Alzheimer’s and dementia.
See also:
● Staff Shortages at Nursing Homes Worsen PEW
● We need to get creative to protect nursing home residents during a pandemic. Here’s how Pennsylvania Capital-Star
Most Medicare enrollees could get insulin for $35 a month
ABC News
The Trump administration says most people with Medicare will have access to prescription plans next year that limit their copays for insulin to a maximum of $35 a month
Medicaid providers increasingly frustrated by delays in COVID-19 funding
TheHill
Health care providers that primarily treat the poor, children and people with disabilities are getting left out of the COVID-19 aid being issued by the Trump administration, frustrating advocates who worry about the future of the Medicaid safety net.
EDITORIAL: How coronavirus is revealing the problems with ‘fast science’
Los Angeles Times
Garlic and sesame oil will not, we repeat, will not safeguard you from the new coronavirus, unless the garlic keeps others at a safe distance. Nor is bathing in bleacha good idea.
IMMIGRATION
New Calif. Relief Program for Undocumented Overwhelmed By Demand
VPR
Calif.’s first-of-its-kind effort to get cash aid into the hands of undocumented workers affected by the coronavirus got off to a bumpy start over the past week. Across the state, tens of thousands of immigrants calling to apply encountered busy signals, crashed phone lines and frustration.
Less gratitude, please. How COVID-19 reveals the need for migration reform
Brookings
“Migrant essential workers were key to our economies and societies before the pandemic and are likely to become even more essential in the recovery to sustain our weakened economies and exhausted societies.” Though immigrants are on the frontlines fighting against COVID-19, Marta Foresti writes that the pandemic will likely make it harder to advocate for global migration reform.
LAND USE/HOUSING
Land Use:
Rural Destinations ‘Ready to Reopen’ But Fear Virus
PEW
Since the beginning of March, the pandemic has resulted in more than $157 billion in losses for the U.S. travel industry, according to an analysis by Tourism Economics.
Yosemite National Park Plans to Reopen, But It’s Not Going to Be the Same. Here’s What We Know
KQED
Yosemite National Park officials have drafted a plan to reopen as early as June. The famous Sierra Nevada landmark, which drew 4.4 million visitors last year, has been closed since March 20 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
American cities saw uneven growth last decade, new census data show
Brookings
America’s cities experienced a surge in population growth in the early 2010s, but suburbs appear to be making a comeback. Using new census estimates, William Frey analyzes city-suburb growth trends across U.S. metro areas and explains what they can tell us about the future of the nation’s cities.
Housing:
Getting coronavirus mortgage relief is confusing. Here’s how to make it easier
Los Angeles Times
Since the coronavirus pandemic shut down much of the United States economy, homeowners have flooded their mortgage companies with pleas for help. According to the Mortgage Bankers Assn., there are now 3.5 million mortgages in so-called forbearance programs, which allow borrowers to delay payments or make partial payments for a time while their financial situation improves.
See also:
● Homeowners who can’t make mortgage payments get a new deferral option Los Angeles Times
● You can skip mortgage payments for up to a year. Many fear what comes after that Los Angeles Times
Collaborative developing project to house vulnerable homeless in local hotel
Bakersfield Calif.
The Bakersfield-Kern Regional Homeless Collaborative is hopeful about leasing hotel space to temporarily house homeless individuals most vulnerable to COVID-19 mortality, according to the governing board chair with the collaborative.
Will Calif. Guarantee Housing as a Right? Here’s How the Pandemic Is Shaping the Debate
KQED
Calif.’s housing crisis is driving state lawmakers to think big. One question they’re considering: How can the Golden State guarantee housing as a right? This week, state legislators looked at two different approaches that tackle the legal right to housing and how the coronavirus pandemic is shaping the debate.
PUBLIC FINANCES
CalPERS reviewing improper personal trades an employee made as markets swung in March
Sacramento Bee
The Calif. Public Employees’ Retirement System is reviewing a batch of improper personal trades an employee made two months ago, according to the fund.
Don’t throw away your junk mail. It might be your stimulus money on a debit card
Sacramento Bee
The Internal Revenue Service is mailing debit cards loaded with coronavirus stimulus funds to millions of Americans, but some are confusing them for junk mail and scams. About four million Economic Impact Payment cards are being sent instead of checks to people who don’t have bank account info shared with the IRS, McClatchy News reported.
See also:
● IRS tax refund delay complaints leave some wondering if stimulus checks have caused more issues abc30
● CSUB business webinar will focus on stimulus loan forgiveness Bakersfield Calif.n
Calif. Budget & Policy Center
The share of Calif. corporate income paid in state taxes declined by more than half during the past three decades. In the early 1980s, corporations that reported profits in Calif. paid more than 9.5% of this income in state corporation taxes.
State workers could be reassigned for coronavirus work if volunteer drive comes up short
Sacramento Bee
Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration expects more state workers to volunteer for contact tracing assignments, and if they don’t, the state has the authority to reassign them to the work, according to an administration spokeswoman.
Calif. state unions have three weeks to negotiate pay cuts. Can they avoid furloughs?
Sacramento Bee
Calif.’s state worker unions are weighing furloughs against more creative ways to trim payroll in sped-up negotiations with Gov.
TRANSPORTATION
DMV provides extension on driver license expirations
Porterville Recorder
The Calif. Department of Motor Vehicles has extended expiration dates for driver licenses. Extensions require no action by the driver. DMV has also alerted Calif. law enforcement about the extensions.
See also:
● Calif. DMV reopening dozens more offices — but your visit will look different Sacramento Bee
Calif. bullet train could end up needing subsidies, despite promises to voters
Los Angeles TImes
When Calif. voters approved bonds in 2008 to build a bullet train across much of the state, a ballot measure promised them that future passenger service would not require operating subsidies. State officials asserted over the next decade that their system would attract so many millions of riders that it would actually turn a profit. Now it is debatable whether those promises will be met.
Amtrak requests additional $1.5B in federal funding for coronavirus relief
UPI
Passenger railroad service Amtrak on Tuesday asked Congress for an additional $1.5 billion in federal funds to help it maintain operations amid the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
See also:
● Amtrak Prepares to Cut 20% of Workforce Wall Street Journal
● Amtrak sees service cuts without an additional $1.48 billion for 2021 Roll Call
WATER
Lawsuit Challenges Federal Water Contracts That Imperil Delta, Fish, Wildlife
Calif. Water News Daily
Last week three environmental groups sued the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation to dispute the award of permanent federal water contracts to water users supplied by the Central Valley Project.
“Xtra”
Central Calif. fishing report for week of May 27-June 3: Most spots are open
Fresno Bee
San Francisco Bay halibut on fire, Chris Smith of the Pacific Dream reported. Golden Gate salmon limits possible, Trent Slate of Bite Me Charters said. Striped bass from the Monterey Bay shorelines solid, Mickey Clements of Coyote Bait and Tackle reported.
Tachi Palace Casino Resort to begin reopening on Thursday with safety measures
abc30
Tachi Palace Casino Resort officials say they will be reopening their doors on Thursday, with numerous safety measures in place. Officials say those measures will include infrared cameras to determine the body temperatures of guests and staff. Everyone inside the building will also be required to wear masks.
Six Flags plans to reopen in June. Here’s what to know about new coronavirus safety rules
Sacramento Bee
Amid the possible reopening of two of its Northern Calif. theme parks, Six Flags released guidelines aimed at reducing the spread of the coronavirus inside its chain of amusement and water parks.
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