May 6, 2019

06May

POLICY & POLITICS

“Big 5 Reception” Celebrating the 20th Anniversary of The Maddy Institute

The Maddy Institute

Today, Monday, May 6th, The Maddy Institute will be hosting its annual “Big 5 Reception”, with Governor Gavin Newsom and the California Legislative Leadership in a private event at the California Museum in Sacramento to help celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Legislature’s unanimous vote to create the non-partisan Maddy Institute.

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North SJ Valley:

Modesto’s own assessment after employee’s death finds shortfalls in city safety efforts

Modesto Bee

After a city worker was killed on the job last year, Modesto looked at how well it was following its workplace safety program. A review found many shortcomings and that worker safety needs to be a higher priority for top management.

This is how Stanislaus County can empower voters and save money

Modesto Bee

Stanislaus County is in danger of missing out on an opportunity to improve its elections and save hundreds of thousands of dollars. If our County Supervisors don’t act soon, this opportunity will be lost.

Central SJ Valley:

7-year-old daughter of Joaquin Arambula takes stand against her father

abc30

Prosecutors said the lawmaker went too far in disciplining his daughter, while defense attorneys said it’s a changing story by a smart, savvy attention-seeking child.

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Democrats said they want to unseat Devin Nunes. They don’t have a candidate

Merced Sun-Star

Democrats and Republicans have made it clear where the congressional battlegrounds are in California for 2020, and nearly all nine contested seats have multiple declared challengers trying to unseat incumbents.

Lawsuit challenges Fresno County Employees Retirement Association election result

abc30

When Fresno County employees retire, they draw benefits from the Fresno County Employees Retirement Association.  A nine-member board oversees the money, including four elected board members.

South SJ Valley:

Ward to resign from City Council Tuesday night

Porterville Recorder

Vice Mayor Brian Ward will be resigning next Tuesday evening at the Porterville City Council meeting. Ward has served the city as a Council member since June of 2008, and has been re-elected for two terms since.

New trial date expected this week in Kern County Supervisor Leticia Perez case

Bakersfield Californian

Kern County Supervisor Leticia Perez is expected to be going to court soon on charges of using her position for financial gain.

State:

How Powerful Lawmakers Are Killing California Bills—Without A Peep

Capital Public Radio

Democrats who lead legislative committees are using a powerful new tool to kill bills before they even get a vote. The trick? Simply doing nothing.

California Renews Bid To Get Presidential Candidates’ Taxes

Capital Public Radio

The California Legislature is trying again to force presidential candidates to publicly disclose their tax returns.

Diana Dooley: The Years with Jerry Brown

Capitol Weekly

Diana Dooley began work with Jerry Brown as a specialist in state worker salaries. In her time working during all four of Brown’s terms as governor, she was his lobbyist, a cabinet secretary and chief of staff. Something of a pioneer, she was often the first woman to hold her positions in the then-male dominated world of politics in Sacramento.

Political power should be decided in elections — not rigged census surveys

Los Angeles Times

If California residents are undercounted, the state could lose billions in federal funding and at least one House seat, outcomes the Trump administration would welcome.

California lawmakers again protect the loophole of unlimited political cash

Los Angeles Times

A committee killed Senate Bill 401 on a bipartisan vote. It was the fifth attempt since 2004 to stop what observers say is a campaign money maneuver that California voters unknowingly blessed through a ballot proposition in 2000.

Newsom wants companies collecting personal data to share the wealth with Californians

Los Angeles Times

With a legislative battle underway in California over a landmark 2018 law that allows consumers to control what online personal data companies collect about them and sell, Gov. Gavin Newsom and state lawmakers have started work on another ambitious pursuit: putting a financial value on that information.

Legislators test Newsom, school layoffs, mind-bending hemp rules

CALmatters

With Gov. Gavin Newsom in charge, Assembly Democrats backed by organized labor are renewing their push for legislation that would allow unions to organize child care workers, CALmatters’ Ben Christopher reports.

EDITORIAL: Welcome to California, the Stagnation State

San Francisco Chronicle

California is getting the growth many of its residents want: approximately none. Last year’s population increase was the paltriest on record, a low point that can’t be separated from an unrelenting housing shortage.

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Federal:

Trump turnaround on Mueller testimony angers Democrats

Fresno Bee

President Donald Trump’s turnabout on whether the special counsel should appear before Congress — “Bob Mueller should not testify,” he tweeted — has sparked criticism from Democratic lawmakers eager to question the author of the report on Russia’s election interference.

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Mnuchin Juggles Day Job Alongside Shielding Trump’s Tax Returns

Bloomberg

Steven Mnuchin’s job as Treasury secretary is to protect the value of the dollar. Now, he’s also protecting the most sought-after documents in America: President Donald Trump’s tax returns.

Voter Approval Rising for Trump’s Handling of the Economy

Wall Street Journal

A new poll shows President Trump making headway with select groups of Americans who disapprove of his job performance but are willing to credit him for a bustling economy, revealing a block of voters that his re-election campaign is likely to target in the coming months.

House Panel to Vote on Holding Barr in Contempt

Wall Street Journal

The House Judiciary Committee said it would vote Wednesday on whether to hold Attorney General William Barr in contempt, escalating a dispute with the Trump administration after Mr. Barr missed a congressional deadline to turn over an unredacted version of special counsel Robert Mueller’s report.

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Elections 2020:

‘Everybody counts.’ Julián Castro says he won’t forget Central Valley in presidential bid

Fresno Bee

While most Democratic presidential candidates are visiting San Diego, Los Angeles and San Francisco, Julián Castro said he wanted to be the first to visit Fresno.

Biden’s strength fueled by perception of his electability

Fresno Bee

Twenty of his rivals have lined up to run for president, believing the race for the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination was wide open. But one week after launching his campaign, former Vice President Joe Biden is threatening to prove them wrong.

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Sanders calls for breaking up big agriculture monopolies

Fresno Bee

Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders on Sunday proposed a sweeping agriculture and rural investment plan to break up big agriculture monopolies and shift farm subsidies toward small family farmers.

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Fellow candidate stands up for Mayor Pete after homophobic protesters heckle him

abc30

Presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg was heckled by protesters at an event in Texas Friday night, but one of his fellow Democratic challengers was happy to immediately come to his defense.

Democratic Presidential Candidate Jay Inslee Brings Aggressive Climate Change Message To Sacramento

Capital Public Radio

Washington governor and Democratic presidential hopeful Jay Inslee spoke to a crowd in West Sacramento on Saturday, underscoring the need for bold action on climate change and outlining his ambitious climate proposal.

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Spike in young voters could be bad news for Trump in 2020

San Francisco Chronicle

Young voters turned out in huge numbers for the 2018 midterm elections, which could be bad news for President Trump and GOP hopefuls next year.

Political power should be decided in elections — not rigged census surveys

Los Angeles Times

Gov. Gavin Newsom and California Democrats are determined to beat President Trump next year — not only on the ballot, but also in the census count. There’s widespread suspicion that Trump is gaming the decennial census in an effort to reduce California’s political clout and federal funding.

Sen. Cory Booker Rolls Out Gun-Control Proposal

Wall Street Journal

Democratic presidential candidate Cory Booker is proposing an aggressive approach to curb the flow of guns in the U.S., including strict new federal requirements for firearm ownership.

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Pelosi Warns Democrats: Stay in the Center or Trump May Contest Election Results

New York Times

Speaker Nancy Pelosi does not believe President Trump can be removed through impeachment — the only way to do it, she said this week, is to defeat him in 2020 by a margin so “big” he cannot challenge the legitimacy of a Democratic victory.

Will Donald Trump Really Be Kept Off 2020 Ballots in California, Other States, If He Doesn’t Release His Tax Returns?
Newsweek

This week, the California Senate voted 27-10 on a measure that would require anyone appearing on the state’s presidential primary ballot to make five years’ worth of income tax returns available to the public.

CADEM’s presidential panoply — GARCETTI GREEN play angers LABOR — more GIG ECONOMY drama — BETO pitches climate plan in YOSEMITE — JANZ back in the ring?

Politico

The California Democratic Party is going to host an A-list of presidential contenders as party faithful gather to select a new chair and plot a course into 2020’s tumultuous waters.

The record-setting 2020 Democratic primary field: What you need to know

PolitiFact

The calendar may say 2019, but the 2020 Democratic primary is already in full swing. The party currently has 22 (soon expected to be 23) candidates officially running, with others possibly in the wings — a field that’s enormous by historical standards.

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Elizabeth Warren says she warned about the financial crisis before it happened. That’s True

PolitiFact

Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren warned about the financial crisis of the 2000s before it happened, she claimed during a CNN town hall where she pitched herself as the best option for president in the 2020 election.

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Hickenlooper: I’m Running to Save Capitalism

Wall Street Journal

Dramatic income inequality has driven voters to support influential leaders in both political parties who advocate changes to our economic system that would ultimately destroy capitalism.

OPINION: American democracy is broken. We must demand 2020 candidates commit to a fix

The Guardian

The important question is not how you get elected, but what your fundamental commitment is if you are elected. Money from Pacs and lobbyists is actually among the most moderate, and least polarizing of the money in American politics today.

Other:

The true history behind Cinco de Mayo

abc30

It’s a festive day commonly celebrated with Mexican food, drinks and culture. But do you know the true history of Cinco de Mayo?

Americans haven’t yet welcomed robots into their homes

San Francisco Chronicle

Many startups have tried to create a robot that Americans would welcome into their homes, but so far the only success has come for Roomba and similar robotic vacuum cleaners.

In News Industry, a Stark Divide Between Haves and Have-Nots

Wall Street Journal

Local newspapers are failing to make the digital transition larger players did — and are in danger of vanishing.

Why Facebook’s Bans Warrant Concern

National Review

Facebook’s speech rules were already vague and malleable. This means a person can potentially face social-media bans even if they comply with every syllable of the company’s speech rules on the company’s platform.

AGRICULTURE/FOOD

Turlock farmers market, once pushed out of Main Street spot, returns. Did customers?

Modesto Bee

The shade, the strollers and the smiles were all back as the Turlock Certified Farmers Market returned to its downtown roots Saturday after three seasons away.

Cannabis, hemp on Hanford City Council agenda

Hanford Sentinel

The first public hearing on the agenda is regarding an interim zoning/urgency ordinance for the city that restricts the commercial cultivation and manufacturing of industrial hemp (CBD) products in all zones.

Seafood Without The Sea: Will Lab-Grown Fish Hook Consumers?

Capital Public Radio

The seafood industry has some well-publicized problems: from overfishing to contaminants that make their way into fish. Now, a handful of startups aim to offer a “clean” alternative grown from cells.

A joint is cheap in California, but marijuana costs even less in these states

Sacramento Bee

California might not be the cheapest place to score a joint, but the price of green in the Golden State falls well below the national average.

Move over, Napa. Paso Robles wines could be ‘next blockbuster hit,’ magazine says

The Tribune

A recent story in Robb Report hails Paso Robles as “one of the state’s best sources for Bordeaux-style wine,” rivaling those produced by the region’s northern neighbor, Napa.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE / FIRE / PUBLIC SAFETY

Crime:

More people than ever are dying in California jails. Fresno County has the sharpest increase

Fresno Bee

The increase in violence and death in Fresno started soon after the state was ordered in 2011 by the U.S. Supreme Court to reduce its prison population. That’s when California officials approved sweeping reforms called “realignment”.

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Attorney General Xavier Becerra launches sex abuse audit for all Catholic dioceses in California

Fresno Bee

California Attorney General Xavier Becerra will audit all 12 of California’s Roman Catholic dioceses – including the Diocese of Sacramento – on their reporting procedures in sex abuse cases.

Latino Life: Not All Survivors of Crime Come Forward

abc30

Some survivors of violent crime are afraid to come forward but there is help available. According to Centro La Familia’s Executive Director, Margarita Rocha, some survivors are dropping out of life sustaining services in Fresno County due to their immigration status.

Prison officials did not intentionally mislead judge on inmate psychiatric care, report finds

Sacramento Bee

State corrections officials used flawed decision-making and produced inaccurate data on how frequently inmates receive psychiatric care but did not intentionally attempt to mislead a federal judge overseeing how prisoners are treated inside California’s prisons, a new report has found.

Overdoses in prisons up 113% in three years — nearly 1,000 incidents in 2018

San Francisco Chronicle

Nearly 1,000 men and women in California prisons overdosed last year and required emergency medical attention in what officials acknowledge is part of an alarming spike in opioid use by those behind bars, according to records obtained by The Chronicle.

L.A. Archdiocese’s handling of sex abuse cases under investigation by attorney general

Los Angeles Times

The state attorney general’s office will review how the Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles handled sexual abuse allegations over the last two decades in a probe that victims advocates say could send shock waves through the religious institution.

Public Safety:

What should Fresno’s next police chief know? Residents have a lot to share

Fresno Bee

Southwest Fresno residents hope the next police chief will prioritize the most vulnerable populations in the city — the homeless and children.

Fire:

Fires push utility-PUC kabuki dance to absurd levels

Madera Tribune

For the last few decades, California’s largest utilities and the state’s Public Utilities Commission have conducted an elaborate kabuki-style dance every two or three years, whenever the utilities applied for general rate increases.

PG&E shut-off plan to prevent fires troubles vulnerable customers

San Francisco Chronicle

PG&E has dramatically expanded its plans to turn off power lines during dangerously dry and windy weather. Any of the company’s electric customers could be in the dark now — a concerning prospect for disabled people who need power for medical reasons and other vulnerable communities.

Six months after the Camp Fire, a devastated community looks to rebuild

San Francisco Chronicle

As the six-month anniversary of the Camp Fire approaches, many of the town’s 27,000 residents are seeking to reclaim their lives and their community.

ECONOMY / JOBS

Economy:

Trump threatens to hike tariffs on $200B of Chinese imports

Fresno Bee

President Donald Trump raised pressure on China on Sunday, threatening to hike tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods in a tweet that sent financial markets swooning.

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Store closures point to accelerating retail changes

Bakersfield Californian

The number of U.S. store closures announced so far this year has already surpassed 2018’s year-end total, according to global data-tracking and advisory firm Coresight Research.

Where’s California’s middle class? Influencers say income disparity must be addressed

Sacramento Bee

We used to have a middle class in California. But years of economic and technological upheaval have created an unmet demand for new job skills required for high-paying jobs, which has led to tremendous growth in income disparity among state workers.

When The Next Recession Hits, Will California Be Able To Count On Washington?

Capital Public Radio

California isn’t as prepared as it may seem for the next recession. And when the next pullback hits, the state may have to fight off red ink without a historically crucial ally: Washington, D.C.

Newsom wants companies collecting personal data to share the wealth with Californians

Los Angeles Times

The concept has been discussed in Silicon Valley for years as a way to tackle growing income inequality.

California’s vexing poverty puzzle

CALmatters

Two other pertinent data points: A third of Californians are enrolled in Medi-Cal, the state-federal system of health care for the poor, and 60 percent of California’s K-12 students are deemed at risk of academic failure due to poverty, lack of English skills or both.

IPOs bring tax jackpot for California; can lawmakers resist?

Washington Post

Uber and Airbnb are among at least six California-based companies valued at more than $1 billion expected to go public this year, creating a new class of millionaires and billionaires and a welcome quandary for the state’s budget writers.

Jobs:

Education and employee empowerment are key to improving California’s job market

Fresno Bee

California is the fifth-largest economy in the world. We are leaders in technology, sciences, services, arts, agriculture, shipping and logistics, and we are renowned for our diverse talent pool. But we face significant headwinds when it comes to economic mobility.

Uber and Lyft drivers plan strikes in major cities to protest pay

abc30

Ride share drivers are planning coordinated protests against Uber, Lyft, and other companies later this week, to draw attention to their push for higher wages.

California janitors may get labor law protections in wake of federal court decision

Los Angeles Times

In a decision opening yet another front in the battle over how to classify workers, a federal appeals court Thursday ruled that an international franchiser could be forced to treat its California janitors as employees rather than independent contractors.

‘Natural hair’ bill could change workplace standards

abc30

A California bill could soon be loosening standards at work for what could be considered “appropriate hair.” Which means being allowed to wear your hair naturally, something that still, even in 2019, poses problems, especially for African Americans.

Gig economy workers deserve basic protections that come with employee status

CALmatters

Recognizing the disastrous nature of this trend to California workers and our economy, the California Supreme Court issued a landmark decision in the Dynamex Operations West case last year that set up a simple A-B-C test employers must use to determine if a worker is an employee or an independent contractor.

How difficult is it to find a job?

Brookings

The U.S. labor market has been steadily improving for years: the unemployment rate has been falling for nearly a decade to rates not seen since the late 1960s, and we’ve seen the longest streak of private sector job creation on record.

New name, same bad ideas: Democrats introduce union wish list

The Hill

The stated purpose of the legislation is “to strengthen protections for employees engaged in collective bargaining,” but the result would be less freedom and fewer jobs for workers. It would, however, increase the union share of the workforce and increase union coffers.

Why Wages Are Finally Rising, 10 Years After the Recession

New York Times

Other measures diverge on the exact timing and rate of increase, but not on the basic trend: Wage growth, long stuck in neutral, has at last found a higher gear. “It turns out we just had to wait a few years for the labor market to get tighter.”

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OPINION: Blue and White Collars Don’t Fit Every Job

Wall Street Journal

Now headlines blare “Joe Biden Makes Appeal to Blue-Collar Workers.” But is that a unified voting class anymore?

EDUCATION

K-12:

Valley students interested in construction get real world experience from local company

abc30

High school students from across the Central Valley were welcomed to Harris Construction to see a number of demonstrations and participate in several exercises.

BCSD announces principal for new elementary school

Bakersfield Californian

The Bakersfield City School District has announced a principal for the new Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary School. The district said Rachelle Montoya, who has recently worked as the director of curriculum and instruction for the district, will serve as principal of the school starting July 1.

Higher Ed:

Fresno State hopes to fill teacher shortage with conference for students

abc30

There’s a teacher shortage in the Valley, and Donna Glassman-Sommer, the executive director of the California Center on Teaching Careers, says there are a variety of reasons why.

Business Technology Center students continue to succeed

Hanford Sentinel

Dozens of students attending the Business Technology Center (BTC) program offered through the Kings County Office of Education. BTC is a one-stop center that provides a program designed to prepare students for office employment.

Making their case

Porterville Recorder

Porterville College is in the process of vetting the final candidates Ulises D. Velasco and Claudia Laurido-Habib for the office of President. There was a forum on Tuesday, April 30, for faculty and the public to hear from each candidate.

‘Do They Kick Out Pregnant People?’ Navigating College With Kids

NPR

Of course, what Parks didn’t know, is that nearly 4 million college students are doing this right now — that’s about a fifth of all undergraduates.

Teachers Begin To See Unfair Student Loans Disappear

NPR

In exchange for agreeing to work in low-income schools, aspiring teachers could get federal Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education (TEACH) Grants from the department to help pay their way through college.

Apprenticeships:

The Evolution of Career and Technical Education: 1982–2013

AEI

Career and technical education (CTE) is one of the most popular education policy issues today, both across the states and at the federal level. State legislatures passed 85 CTE-related bills, only five of which were vetoed, in 2018.

ENVIRONMENT/ ENERGY

Environment:

Threatened California frog, made famous by author Mark Twain, returns to Yosemite Valley

Fresno Bee

An amphibian fungus and population of non-native predatory bullfrogs were part of wiping them out in this High Sierra wonderland. Now they’re back – and thriving.

Pollution doesn’t care about your politics. Here’s how to stop this killer threat

Sacramento Bee

As a former California governor and a former president of the California State Senate, we know pollution is a threat we must address head-on.

A swarm of small earthquakes strikes Pacific Ocean off Northern California coast

Fresno Bee

At least five small earthquakes rattled the Pacific Ocean southwest of Eureka off the Northern California coastline Saturday and Sunday, the U.S. Geological Survey reports.

One million species face extinction, U.N. report says. And humans will suffer as a result.

Washington Post

Up to 1 million plant and animal species are on the verge of extinction, with alarming implications for human survival, according to a United Nations report released Monday.

The college perspective on climate change

Axios

America’s youngest voters are more worried about climate change, more supportive of big government and more likely to identify as Democrats than older generations.

HEALTH/HUMAN SERVICES

Health:

Fresno County taking measures to prevent measles cases in wake of California outbreaks

Fresno Bee

As California deals with the spread of measles, Fresno County officials reported Friday they haven’t had any confirmed cases this year. But local officials are staying busy with testing suspected cases and preparing for a potential outbreak.

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Medical Cannabis Patients Could Use The Drug At Hospitals Under New California Bill

Capital Public Radio

State doctors can’t prescribe cannabis, but a new bill could allow patients with medical cards to use their own cannabis while in the hospital.

Is the high cost of insulin keeping diabetics from taking their medicine?

PolitiFact

High prescription drug prices are fast becoming a leading political topic, with medications like insulin emerging as a poster child for the issue.

Black moms are dying at higher rates; Kamala Harris, Elizabeth Warren call for change

abcNews

On the campaign trail, 2020 presidential hopefuls, Sen. Kamala Harris and Sen. Elizabeth Warren, are highlighting the disproportionately high rates of pregnancy-related deaths among black women — an issue health care providers and lawmakers increasingly are flagging as a crisis.

Health Firms Are Looking at Personal Data

Wall Street Journal

Health plans are gathering more than just medical data on members. With the help of data-analytics companies, they are now making use of information such as how much people earn, how often they travel and even if they have a pet.

Human Services:

Health insurance deductibles soar, leaving Americans with unaffordable bills

Los Angeles Times

Soaring deductibles and medical bills are pushing millions of American families to the breaking point, fueling an affordability crisis that is pulling in middle-class households with health insurance as well as the poor and uninsured.

Breakdown: California’s mental health system, explained

CALmatters

Evidence of its consequences can be found in our jails and prisons, our hospitals and clinics, our schools and colleges. The problem touches those living in comfortable middle class suburbs, remote rural towns, and on the streets of the state’s biggest cities.

EDITORIAL: Medi-Cal benefits were cut in the Great Recession. It’s time to restore them

Los Angeles Times

When the last recession plunged the state government into a multibillion-dollar hole, California lawmakers were forced to cut deeply into numerous valuable programs just to make ends meet.

OPINION: The Burdens of BernieCare

Wall Street Journal

So the Congressional Budget Office provided a public service last week by describing, albeit in thick and cautious bureaucratese, what it would really take to float BernieCare.

IMMIGRATION

President Trump announces former Obama-era border chief will lead ICE

abc30

President Donald Trump announced Sunday that former Obama-era border chief Mark Morgan will lead U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, filling an important role in the Trump administration as it seeks to curb immigration at the Southern border and tighten border security.

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Former White House chief of staff joins unaccompanied migrant children shelter board

abc30

Former White House chief of staff John Kelly has joined the board of directors for a company that operates shelters for undocumented migrant children.

Feinstein calls on Border Patrol to review pursuit tactics after L.A. Times-ProPublica investigation

Los Angeles Times

Sen. Dianne Feinstein on Friday called on the U.S. Border Patrol to review its actions during high-speed car chases, weeks after an investigation by ProPublica and the Los Angeles Times found the agency’s pursuit tactics and policies were long out of date and had grown increasingly deadly in recent years.

Administration Backs Plan for More Visas for Seasonal Workers

Wall Street Journal

The Trump administration is moving ahead to allow an additional 30,000 seasonal workers to return to the U.S. this summer, a higher-than-expected number that reflects internal tensions in the White House’s approach to legal immigration.

LAND USE/HOUSING

Land Use:

One of downtown Modesto’s most unique buildings is becoming a high-end steakhouse

Modesto Bee

The building is one of the more striking structures in downtown Modesto. What to expect for the new high-end steakhouse planned inside.

Housing:

Sacramento home prices are creeping up again. See how your neighborhood did

Sacramento Bee

The home sales market this spring is not the booming business it once was in the Golden State. But new sales data comes as a relief: The market did not turn into the collapsing house of cards some feared it would.

Rent control firebrand has no regrets

CALmatters

Weinstein, whose organization spent more than $20 million on a failed initiative last November to expand rent control throughout California, saw a state lawmaker’s effort to do the same fail to attract enough support to even receive a vote.

Yes, millions of families spend the bulk of income on housing

PolitiFact

In 2016, households that spend over half of their total income in housing included about 11 million renters (out of 43.76 million renting households) and 7.5 million owners (out of 75 million owning households) nationwide, according to the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University.

PUBLIC FINANCES

Taking from the rich and giving it to you: Democrats have ‘Robin Hood’ tax plans this year

Merced Sun-Star

Democratic presidential candidates Kamala Harris and Cory Booker are touting Robin Hood tax plans that would raise fees on the wealthy to boost incomes of the poor and middle class. California Gov. Gavin Newsom has one, too, and his proposal might actually become law.

IPOs bring tax jackpot for California; can lawmakers resist?

Bakersfield Californian

Uber and Airbnb are among at least six California-based companies valued at more than $1 billion expected to go public this year, creating a new class of millionaires and billionaires and a welcome quandary for the state’s budget writers.

Taxpayers footed a $1,000 bar tab at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago. That’s just for starters

Los Angeles Times

All modern U.S. presidents travel. In fact, we want them to. A national leader who lives in a bunker — even as well-appointed a bunker as the White House — is a leader too isolated from the world. And the current president does a lot of traveling.

California’s pension debt is harming teachers and students now—and it’s going to get worse

Brookings

The rates are not rising because benefits are improving—in fact, the benefit formula for new teachers today is much less generous than for teachers hired prior to 2013—but because the California State Teachers’ Retirement System (CalSTRS) has amassed substantial debt.

April 2019: Personal Income Tax Tracker

LAO

This post includes two figures that track the state’s progress in meeting the administration’s January 2019 projection for April personal income tax receipts. We also discuss the extent to which April collections made up for the shortfall in January.

Five myths about federal debt

Brookings

Despite a strong economy, the U.S. budget deficit recently rose by nearly 40 percent year over year, largely because of the tax cuts passed in 2017 and the spending deal approved in 2018.

TRANSPORTATION

Bullet train has 4 route options around one California town as foes plan court appeal

Fresno Bee

It’s been seven years since the California High-Speed Rail Authority approved its proposed bullet-train route between Fresno and Merced – except for a stretch of about 20 miles through or around the city of Chowchilla that was carved out for more study.

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Boeing didn’t tell airlines that safety alert wasn’t on

Fresno Bee

Boeing said Sunday that it discovered after airlines had been flying its 737 Max plane for several months that a safety alert in the cockpit was not working as intended, yet it didn’t disclose that fact to airlines or federal regulators until after one of the planes crashed.

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E-scooter rentals could get a test run in Modesto. What you need to know

Modesto Bee

Wednesday, the City Council’s economic development committee recommended a pilot scooter program with Lime, a company with shared scooters or electric-assist bikes in more than 100 cities.

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Average US price of gas spikes 5 cents per gallon to $2.97

Bakersfield Californian

The average U.S. price of regular-grade gasoline jumped 5 cents a gallon (3.8 liters) over the past two weeks, to $2.97. Industry analyst Trilby Lundberg of the Lundberg Survey says Sunday that gas prices have spiked 66 cents since early January.

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WATER

New database shows drinking water sources in 43 states (including California) contain potentially unsafe chemical levels

Fresno Bee

More than 610 drinking water sources in 43 states contain potentially unsafe levels of chemical compounds that have been linked to birth defects, cancers, infertility, and reduced immune responses in children.

Lemoore to decide on emergency well repair

Hanford Sentinel

The Lemoore City Council is set to meet Tuesday to discuss repairs on one of the city’s wells and to hold a public hearing on abatement of public nuisances.

To prevent water shortages, California must embrace desalination

Sacramento Bee

In one key respect, California is lagging behind many other parts of the world. Climate change is causing drought and water shortages everywhere, but California has been slow to adopt a solution that over 120 countries are using: desalination.

Testimony: Water Supply and Quality Challenges in the San Joaquin Valley

Public Policy Institute of California

The San Joaquin Valley produces more than half of California’s agricultural output. Irrigated farming is the region’s main economic driver and predomi­nant water user.

EDITORIAL: State has a chance to give hydropower its long overdue green energy title

Modesto Bee

Hydropower is electricity generated when water falls from one level to another in a dam, pushing turbines before flowing on out into a river. It’s simply carbon-free energy from gravity, about as green as you can get.

EDITORIAL: The delta twin tunnels project is dead

San Francisco Chronicle

The governor is moving ahead with a single tunnel and a more collaborative approach to water in California. Thankfully.

“Xtra”

Fans from beyond the Valley come to Fresno for Grizzly Fest

abc30

The place to be in the Fresno this weekend? Woodward Park for Grizzly Fest, which has now grown well beyond the Valley.  “It’s national now,” said attendee Mike Tarango. “It’s not just Fresno, it’s not just California, it’s national.”

Local Hiking Trails Featured In Library Presentation

Sierra News

Local adventurer, author and photographer Tony Krizan has spent more than 30 years hiking in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. On Saturday, May 11, he’ll share his personal experiences hiking along local area trails in a slide show presentation.

This year’s Relay for Life of Bakersfield raises over half a million dollars

Bakersfield Californian

With almost 1,600 participants making up 126 teams, the 28th annual Relay for Life of Bakersfield event raised $556,468.18 — and counting as the fiscal year ends Aug. 31, for the American Cancer Society.

An opera in Spanglish? This and more are coming to Modesto thanks to a $20,000 grant

Modesto Bee

A $20,000 grant will help Opera Modesto stage three works based on famous novels — in English, Spanish and the hybrid known as Spanglish.

Trail named for late west Modesto leader now has monument in her honor, too

Modesto Bee

A monument now graces the Helen White Memorial Trail, thanking donors toward the 2014 completion of this half-mile path in west Modesto.

Yosemite Permits Aren’t Making Half Dome Safer

Outside

The hope behind Yosemite’s Half Dome permit system was that it would lead to fewer hiker accidents and deaths. But since the park began issuing permits in 2010, the number of incidents per person has effectively doubled.

‘Taking it to the Streets’ festival set for September

Outside

The City of Clovis is in the early stages of organizing its annual urban design and food festival. The free, one-of-a-kind event is designed to celebrate a mixture of amateur art, urban design, and local food in the Centennial Plaza area of Old Town Clovis.