November 15, 2016

15Nov

Political Stories – Top stories

CD 21: Big Valadao win could discourage future challenges — Will the third win be a charm for Congressman David Valadao? Valadao, R-Hanford, is on pace to capture his most impressive victory in California’s 21st Congressional District race. And that could make Democrats leery about taking another tilt his seat, at least until new district lines are put into action in 2022. Bakersfield Californian article

Gavin Newsom favored for California governor, followed by two Republicans, including Fresno Mayor Swearengin — California Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom is the early favorite to succeed fellow Democrat Jerry Brown in the 2018 gubernatorial race, as the state’s second-in-command holds large advantages among Democrats and independents, according to a new Field Poll. Newsom, leading with support from 23 percent of registered voters, is followed by a pair of rising Republicans: San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer (16 percent) and outgoing Fresno Mayor Ashley Swearengin (11 percent). Sacramento Bee article; San Jose Mercury News article; Dan Walters column in Sacramento Bee

 

Valley politics – Elections office working to verify signatures, sort ballots – Employees with the Merced County Elections Office are working long hours this week to verify and sort mail-in ballots from last week’s election.  Merced Sun-Star article

Arambula, now in state Assembly, calls up skills from former career to save a life — On Saturday night, at a Poverello House gala fundraiser at TorNino’s on North Blackstone Avenue, freshman Assemblyman Joaquin Arambula had to quickly revert to his previous career – medical doctor. The Fresno Democrat had to perform the Heimlich maneuver on a fellow diner who was choking. Fresno Bee article

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Statewide politics/Ballot Measures

Democrat Kamala Harris will soon join a Republican-controlled Senate.  Here’s where she sees common ground – Newly elected U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris said she’s already been in contact with her West Coast colleagues about banding together to implement Democratic priorities in the political era of President-elect Donald Trump. LA Times article

Sacramento Bee: California’s next attorney general will need to need skill to lead nationally – Gov. Brown, a former attorney general and the son of an attorney general, understands the importance of the post. He surely understands that whoever he nominates must have the legal and political chops not just to represent California, but to take a leadership role nationally in confronting Trump administration policies that are likely to be anathema to California’s interests. Sacramento Bee editorial

Immigration

The potentially severe consequences of Trump’s deportation plans – In an interview aired Sunday, Donald Trump told “60 Minutes” correspondent Lesley Stahl that he would deport as many as 3 million undocumented immigrants after he takes office next year. It remains to be seen whether the president-elect will fulfill this pledge, and if he does, how quickly he would seek to do so. In any case, two new analyses confirm that deportations could have severe consequences for the American economy. Washington Post article

Sanctuary cities face a moment of truth amid Trump’s war on illegal immigration – Scores of communities across California and the nation over the last decade have declared themselves “sanctuary cities,” a politically potent if largely symbolic designation aimed at expressing solidarity and granting protection for immigrants in this country illegally. LA Times article

State Senate leader to immigrants after Trump’s deportation promise: California ‘stands squarely behind you’ – After President-elect Donald Trump, in an interview on CBS’ “60 Minutes,” promised to deport 2 million to 3 million immigrants in the country illegally who “have criminal records,” the leader of California’s state Senate called for Trump to walk back his statement. LA Times article

Defiant San Francisco vows to remain sanctuary city — A large crowd cheered Monday as San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee vowed that the city will remain a sanctuary for immigrants, gays and lesbians, and religious minorities despite the election of a president who strikes fear into many of those communities. AP article

No immigration role for LAPD under Trump, chief says — Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck says President-elect Donald Trump’s vows to deport millions after taking office will not affect his department’s long-standing policy of staying out of immigration issues. AP article; LA Times article

Other areas

Sacramento watchdog group threatens to sue city, councilman — Local government watchdog group Eye on Sacramento fired back Monday at Councilman Jay Schenirer, saying his demands to see its membership and donor list amounted to retaliation against the group’s criticism of City Hall. The group also threatened to sue Schenirer and the city if the demands don’t stop. Sacramento Bee article

Presidential Politics

Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy defends Trump’s right to pick Bannon as White House strategist while California Democrats say he’s a racist – House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Bakersfield, is defending Donald Trump’s right to choose right-wing media provocateur Steve Bannon as chief White House strategist while California Democrats said the pick puts racism at the top level of U.S. power. McClatchy Newspapers article

House Majority Leader on Nancy Pelosi: ‘As long as she’s leader we’ll keep the majority’ – Speaking with reporters Monday, House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy said House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) should stay in leadership because it benefits Republicans. LA Times article

Latina educator to advise Trump transition team — A Bakersfield school trustee will have a seat at the table with President-elect Donald Trump’s transition team Wednesday. Lillian Tafoya, president pro-tem of the Bakersfield City School District Board of Education, will participate in a day of roundtable discussions advising Trump’s team on educational concerns before he takes office. Bakersfield Californian article

California agriculture industry optimistic about Trump ag policy – From almonds to dairy products California exports 20 percent of what it produces. Federal trade policy has a huge impact on state agricultural exports. Despite many unknowns, one AG industry leader has an optimistic outlook about what a Trump administration would do on trade. Capital Public Radio report

Muslim leaders in Modesto area urge Trump to do good – Muslim leaders in Modesto and Manteca heard the painful words Donald Trump spoke about their faith over the past year. Now that Trump has won the presidency, they urge their members and the greater community to give him a chance to do good. Modesto Bee article

First day of Trump’s presidency could begin a rollback of LGBTQ rights – Three thousand miles away from her wife and kids, alone in a Miami hotel room, Kate Kendell is processing Donald Trump’s presidential win. “I’m feeling a sense of foreboding, a feeling much bigger and large spread than anything I’ve ever seen in my 20 to 25-plus years of fighting for equality,” says Kendell, executive director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights, headquartered in San Francisco. KQED report

Tom Fife: Been waiting more than a year for this: I told you so — I predict President Donald John Trump will become one of America’s greatest presidents. History will say of Trump that even as he worked tirelessly to save America, he was always on time and under budget. God bless Donald J. Trump and God bless America. Fife column in Visalia Times-Delta

Joe Altschule: The Trump presidency – could be trouble ahead — I remain concerned about his ignorance of important foreign policy issues, his lack of experience dealing with how our economy actually works, his apparent lack of curiosity on a quite broad range of matters, his lack of any constitutional knowledge, his lack of any government or military experience, but I am especially concerned and worried about who Donald Trump really is. Altschule column in Visalia Times-Delta

Vandalism in Tulare County targets Trump — On Monday, Tulare County park employees were greeted with bold red graffiti written on the wall of a bathroom in the east portion of Culter Park, just northeast of Visalia. On the wall were the words, “[Expletive text] Trump” it was covered by the word “Love”. Vandals also wrote “Viva Mexico” and “Chapo 2016”. Visalia Times-Delta article

News Stories – Top Stories

Poverty nothing new for Fresno County. But fresh report ranks just how poor for kids – Fresno County has more children living in communities of concentrated poverty than anywhere else in California. About 40 percent of Fresno County children live in poverty, according to a Children Now report being released Tuesday. The report tracks child welfare and well-being in part by the number of children who are not living in communities of concentrated poverty. That number is 53 percent in Fresno County, ranking it dead last in the state. Fresno Bee article

Once-bankrupt Stockton projecting heavy reserves — The city projects it will complete its first full fiscal year out of bankruptcy with an available ending balance of $62.5 million, nearly $22 million more than originally was projected in Stockton’s approved 2015-16 general fund budget. Stockton Record article

Cal State trustees could raise tuition by $270, and hundreds of students plan to disrupt their meeting — Hundreds of student protesters plan to disrupt a meeting of the Cal State Board of Trustees in Long Beach on Tuesday over a controversial proposal to increase tuition for the first time in six years. LA Times article

Jobs and the Economy

Report: Opportunities needed for San Joaquin County youth – Improving education, providing more after-school opportunities and collaborating with a variety of community organizations are just some of the priorities identified by the San Joaquin County Children and Youth Task Force this week.  Stockton Record article

Report: Median sales prices of Bakersfield homes climbs in October, declines expected — The median sale price of a single-family home in Bakersfield was $226,000 in October, a month-over-month increase by $11,000 or 5 percent, according to appraiser Gary Crabtree’s latest monthly real estate report. The median pending price, though, was down to $219,000, as the market moved into the “off peak” season, the preliminary report out Monday said. Bakersfield Californian article

Fresno’s BCT Consulting acquires two Bay Area tech firms – Fresno-based BCT Consulting has acquired two Bay Area tech firms in a deal valued in the “less than $5 million dollar range.” That’s the word of CEO Eric Rawn, who made the announcement at a morning press conference with local officials including council member Steve Brandau and Fresno’s Mayor-elect Lee Brand. The Business Journal article; Fresno Bee article

Geisha Williams named first female CEO at PG&E – PG&E on Monday named Geisha Williams as its new chief executive officer, the first woman to head the utility giant.  San Jose Mercury News article

Wells Fargo Center, Sacramento’s tallest building, sold for $175.6 million — The 30-story Wells Fargo Center, the tallest building in Sacramento and located near the recently opened Golden 1 Center, has been sold to an as-yet unnamed buyer for $175.6 million. Sacramento Bee article

Petitions and lawsuits – Elk Grove casino, mall plan under fire — Opponents of a $400 million Indian casino planned for the edge of Elk Grove are gathering signatures to try to override a City Council vote to facilitate it. City leaders hope the casino will jump-start the long-stalled outlet mall planned for the site along Highway 99. Regal Cinemas is suing the mall developer, Howard Hughes Corp. over repeated delays in construction. Sacramento Bee article

How Riverside County reached ‘functional zero’ veteran homelessness — Homelessness continues to be a huge problem in Southern California, but Riverside County says that they’ve managed to reach “functional zero” veteran homelessness. As the 10th most populous county in the country, it’s the largest county to hit this benchmark, Lynne Brockmeier with the Riverside University Health System’s Behavioral Health Housing Crisis Response Team told KPCC. KPCC report

Agriculture/Water/Drought

Delta tunnels: A steady trickle of progress – Gov. Jerry Brown’s massive Delta tunnels project is moving forward through a series of state and federal environmental reviews. But it still faces an array of major hurdles including public opposition, financing and approvals by state water contractors. Capitol Weekly article

Future look for the Delta? — In a follow-up report published today, those same experts with the San Francisco Estuary Institute say there is still hope of bringing back at least a portion of the largest estuary on the west coast of the Americas. Stockton Record article

Will Sacramento finally lift its ban on artificial turf? — Now that the state has cleared the way, the Sacramento City Council will again consider finalizing an artificial turf ordinance that would lift a longtime ban on faux grass in front yards. Sacramento Bee article

GMO crops headed for ban in Sonoma County — Sonoma County voters appear to have banned genetically modified crops in unincorporated areas of the county, approving Measure M by a margin of 56-44 percent in unofficial results. KQED report

Criminal Justice/Prisons

Detectives ask public to help in investigation into slain deputy – Stanislaus County sheriff’s investigators on Monday morning asked for the public’s help on finding out everything David Machado did and where he was before he allegedly shot and killed deputy Dennis Wallace Sunday morning. Modesto Bee article

Modesto Bee: Murder extinguishes a bright light – Some people live in the light. They help when asked, they volunteer, they protect those who cannot protect themself. They shine among us. Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Deputy Dennis Wallace was one of those. Modesto Bee editorial

Friends say suspect in fatal shooting of deputy had turned paranoid, desperate – In the days before the murder of a Stanislaus County Sheriff’s deputy, suspect David Machado went to the Ceres mobile home park where he formerly lived to ask an old friend for money, his car, or a ride out of town. Paranoid and in an apparent drug-induced psychosis, he told the friend people were out to get him and that he needed to lay low; there was no way he was going back to jail. Modesto Bee article

Officers going to an attempted car theft knew the suspect was probably an alleged cop killer — Even before they got into their squad cars to respond to a call about a man trying desperately to break into a car, a Lindsay police sergeant and a CHP officer knew he fit the description of the suspect in the slaying of a Stanislaus County sheriff’s deputy. Fresno Bee article

Jeff Jardine: Blue lives, blue ribbons unite Hughson residents after deputy’s death — Under most circumstances, the term “blue ribbon” is a good thing. It means somebody won something. In Hughson, however, the blue ribbons you’ll find all over town represent a most devastating loss. They mean Hughson residents are mourning slain Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Deputy Dennis Wallace, a man they called their “hero.” But blue also means they support his comrades in law enforcement. Jardine column in Modesto Bee

Rival gangs fire more than 50 bullets at each other in Stockton – killing an innocent bystander – There was the crackle of gunfire, a pause, and then more shots. Then came an eerie, nighttime silence. Following a furious gun battle between rival gangs in a Stockton, Calif., neighborhood Friday night, only one person was struck – an innocent, 57-year-old father who was talking on the phone in his home before he was killed. LA Times article

Police Commission, LAPD, community to tackle a longstanding, thorny issue: Racial profiling – On Tuesday, Los Angeles police commissioners are expected to hear from department brass, including their comments on a 143-page report, prepared for the meeting, which looks at how the LAPD and other agencies investigate allegations of biased policing and try to strengthen relationships with residents. LA Times article

LAPD union complains there were too few officers to handle demonstrations, blasts mayor’s support of protests – The union that represents Los Angeles’ rank-and-file officers complained Monday that the city’s police department did not adequately prepare to handle thousands of protesters who swarmed downtown Los Angeles after Donald Trump’s election day victory, and union officials also blasted Mayor Eric Garcetti’s support of the demonstrators. LA Times article

San Diego still struggling with police vacancies —  San Diego continues to struggle with a shortage of police officers despite recent compensation increases and new recruiting strategies. San Diego Union-Tribune article

Education

Panama secures $7 million grant to transform impoverished school — The Panama-Buena Vista Union School District secured a $7 million grant this week to transform one of southwest Bakersfield’s poorest schools into a STEAM Academy that administrators say will be revolutionary.  Bakersfield Californian article

Bilingual education vote in California another shift from bitter 1990s conflict – The overwhelming approval by California voters to end restrictions on bilingual education in its public schools marks another significant shift from the political expressions of racial and ethnic resentments that swirled across California’s multiethnic landscape during the 1990s. EdSource article

Student trustee serves as bridge to Manteca Unified — There could be a million other things Sophia Gunzon would rather be doing on this particular Tuesday night in early October. Finishing homework, starting a new series on Netflix or practicing her tennis swing are only a few options. But there she is, doing her best to keep up with Manteca Unified School District trustees on a discussion with the Business Services department on budgeting, skimming through a textbook-sized report. Stockton Record article

Hate group targets UC Davis with propaganda fliers — Fliers directing students to a white supremacist web site greeted professors and students at UC Davis Monday. Sacramento Bee article

Energy/Environment

California expected to top quarter-million EVs this month — California expects to top a total of a 250,000 plug-in electric vehicles sold this month. That’s a lot of juice. San Jose Mercury News article

Health/Human Services 

New FDA decision may mean fewer birth defects in San Joaquin Valley – If you look at the nutrition label on a loaf of bread, you may come across folic acid or folate. It’s a vitamin that, in pregnant women, has been shown to reduce debilitating and sometimes fatal birth defects. For decades, folic acid has been added to some foods, but not others. Now, a new FDA decision to expand those foods could bring the vitamin to more people in the San Joaquin Valley. KVPR report

More Californians are becoming body donors for medical research – While some parts of the country have reported shortages of body donors, the UC body-donation program has seen “modest but consistent” increases statewide, roughly 3 percent a year in the past decade, said Brandi Schmitt, executive director of the University of California’s Anatomical Donation Program, which covers five medical school campuses in Irvine, Los Angeles, Sacramento, San Diego and San Francisco. Sacramento Bee article

Valley residents warned about Zika risk during holiday travels – Californians traveling to Mexico and other Latin American countries for the holidays should protect themselves from mosquito bites, state health officials say. Fresno Bee article

Land Use/Housing

Councilmen attack slum housing issue, but does their solution go far enough? — Fresno City Councilmen Steve Brandau and Clint Olivier announced Monday a resolution addressing substandard housing – their solution to a problem Mayor Ashley Swearengin has vowed to fix before she leaves office at year’s end. Fresno Bee article; The Business Journal article

More homes in northeast Clovis? Council has different idea for open land — The Clovis City Council unveiled plans Monday night for a massive industrial park in the northeast along Highway 168. The plan is similar to a proposal floated 10 years ago that eventually stalled after the recession hit. It was revived two years ago and returned Monday night to the council, where members supported moving the plan forward. Fresno Bee article

Transportation

Tech distractions blamed for rise in traffic fatalities — Highway deaths have surged in the last two years, and experts put much of the blame on in-car use of smartphones and dashboard apps. New York Times article

Other areas

Stockton solider dies in blast – A soldier with Stockton ties was one of two killed in an explosion at a United States airbase in Afghanistan on Saturday. Sgt. John W. Perry and Pfc. Tyler R. Iubelt of Tamaroa, Illinois, died from their injuries after an attack by an apparent suicide bomber at the Bagram Airfield after 5:30 a.m. local time. Stockton Record article

Merced tabs former interim as new fire chief — Merced has pegged a former interim fire chief for the permanent job, the city announced on Monday. Michael Wilkinson has served as the interim fire chief and fire marshal in the past two years. He takes over the full-time position on Nov. 21, the city announced on Monday. Merced Sun-Star article

Foon Rhee: How should Shirey be judged as Sacramento city manager? — John Shirey, who ends more than five years as Sacramento’s city manager this week, can claim quite a few accomplishments and has laid the foundation for many more ahead. But his tenure is ending – and being tarnished – by the firestorm over the fatal police shooting of Joseph Mann. Rhee column in Sacramento Bee

Valley Editorial Roundup

Fresno Bee – Some people live in the light. They help when asked, they volunteer, they protect those who cannot protect themself. They shine among us. Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Deputy Dennis Wallace was one of those.

Modesto Bee – Some people live in the light. They help when asked, they volunteer, they protect those who cannot protect themself. They shine among us. Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Deputy Dennis Wallace was one of those.

Sacramento Bee –- Some people live in the light. They help when asked, they volunteer, they protect those who cannot protect themself. They shine among us. Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Deputy Dennis Wallace was one of those; California’s next attorney general will need the skill to lead nationally.

Stockton Record – Cheers and jeers: Voter turnout was decent overall, more senseless deaths and other issues.