TOP POLITICAL STORIES
Local/Regional Politics:
The Maddy Institute
Are you dismayed by the decline in civil discourse?
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Maddy Associates Luncheon with Democratic Candidate for Governor Delaine Eastin
The Maddy Institute
On Tuesday, November 28, 2017, The Maddy Institute will be hostingDemocratic Candidate for Governor Delaine Eastin. Business and Community leaders have been invited to attend this private event in Fresno, CA.
Gerawan Farming loses in state Supreme Court
Fresno Bee
The California State Supreme Court on Monday ruled against Gerawan Farming’s attempts to dismantle the state’s process for settling employment contract disputes. Gerawan, one of the largest tree fruit farmers in the nation and based in Fresno County, has been locked in a battle with the United Farm Workers for four years over a union agreement with its workers. The dispute has lead to numerous lawsuits, a failed attempt to kick the union out and several findings of unfair labor practices by the California Agricultural Labor Relations Board.
See also:
· California Farmworker Union Wins Battle To Ensure Contracts CBS Sacramento
· California Supreme Court rules for farmworkers, and upholds binding mediation Los Angeles Times
· California Farm Plans To Appeal Pro-Labor Ruling AP
Madera County board censures district attorney for alleged harassment. He says he won’t resign
Fresno Bee
Madera County supervisors voted unanimously Monday to censure District Attorney David Linn for alleged “workplace harassment, discrimination and abuse.” During a rare censure hearing, Linn told supervisors he won’t resign, and denied the allegations made against him in a report prepared by a Fresno attorney hired to investigate complaints about him. The board waived attorney-client privilege and released a copy of the report. A redacted copy of the report was made public after supervisors voted.
When will Tulare hospital reopen?
Visalia Delta-Times
The Tulare Regional Medical Center Board of Directors will get an update on when the hospital may reopen during their meeting on Wednesday. Kevin Northcraft, the board’s president, said Tulare hospital Interim CEO Larry Blitz will provide the latest on getting the hospital open, including a timeline that must be approved by state health officials.
Autopsy Doctor Quits, Alleges Sheriff Interfered in Death Probes
The California Report | KQED News
A forensic pathologist who conducts autopsies for San Joaquin County resigned Monday, claiming she was denied the independence to do her job. In the resignation letter, obtained by KQED, Dr. Susan Parson wrote that she accepted a job offer in San Joaquin County last year for a chance to work with its chief forensic pathologist, Dr. Bennet Omalu, famous for his discovery of chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE, a degenerative brain disease that has been detected after death in some football players. Omalu’s story is chronicled in the movie “Concussion,” starring Will Smith.
Breeden cleared of FPPC violation
Ridgecrest Daily Independent
The California Fair Political Practices Commission has decided not to pursue any action against Mayor Peggy Breeden, citing insufficient evidence to support a finding of a violation of the political reform act in her vote to withdraw the city from the Property Assessed Clean Energy Program.
Request for emergency audit of bullet-train project is denied by Legislature leadership
Los Angeles Times
A request for an emergency audit of the $64-billion California bullet train project was turned down Monday by Assemblyman Al Muratsuchi, the Torrance Democrat who chairs the joint audit committee. In a letter to Assemblyman Jim Patterson (D-Fresno), who requested the audit, Muratsuchi said the request would deny the legislature and public an opportunity to review and discuss the issue in public.
State Politics:
Assemblyman Raul Bocanegra resigns amid sexual misconduct allegations
Sacramento Bee
Facing mounting allegations of sexual misconduct, Assemblyman Raul Bocanegra on Monday announced that he would resign immediately rather than serve out the remaining nine months of his term. In a statement posted to his Facebook page, the Los Angeles Democrat said he would not wait for the outcome of a legislative investigation into the allegations to resign.
See also:
· California assemblyman resigns amid numerous accusations of sexual misconduct San Jose Mercury News
· Sexual harassment allegations lead to one state legislator’s immediate resignation Los Angeles Times
· L.A. Assemblyman Quits, But Denies Sexual Harassment Claims The California Report – KQED News
· Tony Mendoza loses committee posts as Senate investigates sex harassment complaint Sacramento Bee
· State Sen. Tony Mendoza booted from leadership posts pending sexual harassment investigation Los Angeles Times
· California Assembly to open hearings on sexual harassment in LegislatureSan Francisco Chronicle
Walters: Brown’s WaterFix project could go down the drain
CALmatters
The decades-long political struggle over fixing the bottleneck in California’s immense north-south water system is nearing a climax—and it’s not looking good for Gov. Jerry Brown’s long-sought solution. The State Water Project, initiated nearly 60 years ago by Brown’s late father, Pat, impounds Feather River water behind Oroville Dam and sends it southward down the Feather and Sacramento rivers into the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. Huge pumps at the south edge of the Delta suck water into the California Aqueduct, which transports it as far south as San Diego.
California’s history works against just about every candidate for governor
San Francisco Chronicle
Sometimes the best way to gaze into the future is to look back at the past. The 2018 governor’s election may be one of those times.
Sacramento mayor endorses Gavin Newsom for California governor
Los Angeles Times
Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg on Monday endorsed Democratic Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom for governor, calling him a deep political thinker and praising his two terms as San Francisco’s “bold, innovative mayor.” Steinberg, a former state Senate president, praised Newsom’s business background and commitment to helping California workers transition to the new economy, including his support for education and training programs.
California Could Lose $2.7 Billion in Kids’ Health Funding – and There’s No Backup Plan
KQED
Nearly two months after Congress missed its deadline to renew funding for the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), California is just a few weeks away from exhausting its reserves, and doesn’t yet have a plan to replace the $2.7 billion in federal support it stands to lose. “The reason that there’s no plan B is that there’s no good options,” said Anthony Wright, executive director of the advocacy group Health Access.
California Realtors launch ballot drive to expand Prop. 13 for senior homeowners
Orange County Register
An overhaul of Proposition 13, California’s landmark tax-control measure, could go before state voters next year under a plan adopted last month by the California Association of Realtors. The trade group is launching a signature drive to put a new proposition on the November 2018 ballot that would expand tax breaks for homeowners age 55 and older or those who are disabled.
Wiener plans to reintroduce bill to extend California nightlife
San Francisco Chronicle
State Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, is making another effort to extend California’s nightlife past the current 2 a.m. cutoff.
Federal Politics:
DACA fix fades as Congress focuses on budget, taxes
Sacramento Bee
With prospects dimming for a deal this year to prevent young undocumented immigrants from deportation, California business leaders and other sympathetic groups are planning a massive push over the next few weeks to force the issue to the top of Washington’s agenda.
Other:
Fox: National Park Fees, State Gas Taxes and the AG’s Policy Choices
Fox & Hounds
California Attorney General Xavier Becerra wants to keep national park fees down so poor people can afford entry in their vehicles. However, the gas tax repeal effort, which critics say he disfavors based on the title and summaries he authored on repeal initiatives, might keep drivers from even reaching the parks because of the increased cost of gas.
So which media outlet is the most/least truthful?
PunditFact
This scorecard shows the ratings for statements made on air by CNN personalities and their pundit guests. Rulings do not include statements made on air by politicians or paid spokespeople.
PunditFact
This scorecard shows the ratings for statements made on air by Fox, Fox News and Fox Business personalities and their pundit guests. Rulings do not include statements made on air by politicians or paid spokespeople.
PunditFact
This scorecard shows the ratings for statements made on air by MSNBC and NBC personalities and their pundit guests. Rulings do not include statements made on air by politicians or paid spokespeople.
PunditFact
This scorecard shows the ratings for statements made on air by CBS personalities and their pundit guests. Rulings do not include statements made on air by politicians or paid spokespeople.
Our personalities are shaped by the climate we grew up in, new study says
The Washington Post
Take two children with similar backgrounds. Both are boys. They’re raised in families with the same socioeconomic status. They live in similar-looking neighborhoods and have the same access to education and health care. The only difference is that one of the boys grows up in San Diego, where it’s comfortably warm most of the year and the average high temperature is about 70 degrees. The other is in Marquette, Mich., which is significantly colder. The average high there is just 50 degrees.
Topics in More Detail…
EDITORIALS
California’s legislators must end secrecy over sexual harassment cases
Sacramento Bee
Californians can’t hold legislators accountable for sexual harassment – and taxpayer-funded settlements – until they know what happened. And they don’t.
San Francisco Chronicle
Three Republican defections could kill the tax bill being considered by the Senate this week, and three times that many GOP senators have yet to commit to the legislation. On one side of the men and …
Los Angeles Times
Democratic leaders spoke out against the GOP tax plan on Monday, arguing it would disproportionately harm Californians, benefit the wealthy and impact the state’s infrastructure and affordable housing.
The one sure loser of the Consumer Financial
San Francisco Chronicle
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has descended into a messy succession scandal, as Washington’s dysfunction continues to consume nearly every government agency.
Sooner or later, Trump will own the CFPB
Los Angeles Times
After the subprime mortgage fiasco triggered the deepest downturn since the Great Depression, Congress pushed through a slew of new regulations designed to prevent the country from being waylaid again by heedless risk-taking and profiteering by the financial industry. For the typical American borrower…
San Jose police on a good track toward progressive policing
San Jose Mercury News
Police Chief Eddie Garcia is raising the bar for policing in San Jose. He has improved communication with the city’s diverse neighborhoods, instituted training to calm potentially violent situations and improved policies to deal with the use of force. The San Jose Police Officers Association has stepped up as well. Officers collaborate on policy changes and have applied independently for…
AGRICULTURE/FOOD
Gerawan Farming loses in state Supreme Court
Fresno Bee
The California State Supreme Court on Monday ruled against Gerawan Farming’s attempts to dismantle the state’s process for settling employment contract disputes. Gerawan, one of the largest tree fruit farmers in the nation and based in Fresno County, has been locked in a battle with the United Farm Workers for four years over a union agreement with its workers. The dispute has lead to numerous lawsuits, a failed attempt to kick the union out and several findings of unfair labor practices by the California Agricultural Labor Relations Board.
See also:
· California Farmworker Union Wins Battle To Ensure Contracts CBS Sacramento
· California Supreme Court rules for farmworkers, and upholds binding mediation Los Angeles Times
· California Farm Plans To Appeal Pro-Labor Ruling AP
LA Debates Restricting Cannabis Businesses Near Parks, Schools
KQED | California Report
With just over a month to go before recreational cannabis becomes legal in California, the City of Los Angeles is preparing to establish new rules for regulating sellers, growers and users. Marijuana businesses could not be too close to schools or parks, and existing medical marijuana dispensaries would get priority for licensing, under a set of provisions heading to the Los Angeles City Council on Tuesday.
CRIMINAL JUSTICE / FIRE / PUBLIC SAFETY
Crime:
Parole violations are driving prison’s revolving door
San Francisco Chronicle
These high rates of incarceration are in part driven by reimprisonment of formerly incarcerated individuals, known as recidivism. More than half of people who are released from prison in a given year in the United States will return within five years, a phenomenon that has come to be known as prison’s “revolving door.”
Public Safety:
Gun Violence:
· Senate order bans all firearms from public gallery San Francisco Chronicle
· ‘Ghost Guns,’ Homemade and Untraceable, Face Growing Scrutiny The New York Times
Fire:
ABC30
The legislation is prompted by utilities’ ongoing efforts to recover costs in wildfires not covered by insurance by passing them along to ratepayers. A bill authored by Senators Jerry Hill, Mike McGuire, and Scott Wiener and Assembly Members Marc Levine and Jim Wood will be introduced when the legislature reconvenes January 3.
Fire Retardant Use Explodes as Worries About Water, Wildlife Grow
KQED
Chemical fire retardants are considered a vital wildland firefighting tool, helping to slow the spread of flames while ground crews move into position. But as their use increases, the harmful side effects of these chemicals are coming under increasing scrutiny.
ECONOMY / JOBS
2018’s new laws: California businesses brace for changes
Orange County Register
A slew of new laws that address unpaid parental leave, new hiring restrictions and other workplace issues will have an impact on California businesses in the coming year. The California Chamber of Commerce has released a list of the laws that are scheduled to take effect in 2018 or beyond. Some are far-reaching, while others make small changes to portions of existing laws or may affect employers only in specific industries.
EDUCATION
K-12:
Weak high school prep, poor counseling keep most California 9th-graders from a college degree
EdSource
Despite calls for more students to earn a college degree, a new study says most California 9th- graders will never achieve it. While nearly two-thirds of today’s ninth graders are expected to enter a two or four-year college, a combination of weak high school preparation, poor counseling, and unclear direction at the college level will keep 70 percent from reaching the baccalaureate finish line, the Public Policy Institute of California report concludes.
See also:
· Report: Only 30% of California’s ninth-graders will graduate from college San Jose Mercury News.
· California’s High School Graduation Requirements Public Policy Institute of California | Just the Facts
· Improving College Pathways in California Public Policy Institute of California
State board’s next challenge: how to measure school climate, the heartbeat of a school
EdSource
Busloads of high school students and parents from organizations statewide have trekked to State Board of Education meetings for two years, clamoring for changes they believe will improve school climate. In moving testimony, students described schools where they feel disconnected, misunderstood and often under-challenged. “If you are serious about closing the achievement gap, and bringing equity to our most vulnerable students, don’t continue to neglect school climate,” Armon Matthews, a junior at Oakland High School, testified this month to the board. Matthews is a student leader with Californians for Justice, an Oakland-based nonprofit that has led a school climate campaign under the Twitter hashtag #SchoolClimateIsTheHeart.
Higher Ed:
Education Roundup: Geology students present at national conferences
Bakersfield Californian
Nearly two dozen Cal State Bakersfield geology students, faculty, alumni and dual-credit high school teachers presented research at two separate national conferences last month. In Houston, Texas, an undergraduate and alumnus presented at the AfricaArray Diversity Forum, which sets out to improve the seismic network in Africa to help mitigate earthquake disasters from mining, which claims scores of lives every year in South Africa.
The Gender Gap in College Education
The Atlantic
Across socioeconomic classes, women are increasingly enrolling and completing postsecondary education, while, even as opportunities for people without a college education shrink, men’s rates of graduation remain relatively stagnant. In 2015, the most recent year for which data is available, 72.5 percent of females who had recently graduated high school were enrolled in a two-year or four-year college, compared to 65.8 percent of men.
ENVIRONMENT/ ENERGY
Environment:
State’s Progress on 1.5 Million Zero Emission Vehicles by 2025
Center for Jobs and the Economy
The latest new vehicle sales data from California New Car Dealers Association shows Californians remain on track to exceed 2 million new light vehicle purchases in 2017, although sales are beginning to ease from comparable levels a year ago. Key findings from the data:
Energy:
Keystone spills larger than company predicted before it was built
TheHill
Spills from the Keystone pipeline, including one in South Dakota this month, have exceeded the amount predicted by its developer before the pipeline began operating, Reuters reported Monday. According to documents reviewed by Reuters, TransCanada Corp. and a risk management company told regulators they estimated the risk of a Keystone leak of more than 50 barrels of oil was “not more than once every seven to 11 years over the entire length of the pipeline in the United States.”
HEALTH/HUMAN SERVICES
Health:
Extreme marijuana use linked to vomiting syndrome
Sacramento Bee
For 17 years, Chalfonte LeNee Queen suffered periodic episodes of violent retching and abdominal pain that would knock her off her feet for days, sometimes leaving her writhing on the floor in pain.
Human Services:
Community Briefs: 50-bed rehab facility coming to east Bakersfield
Bakersfield Californian
Plans for the Vibra Healthcare Rehabilitation Hospital, a 50-bed facility coming to Bakersfield by 2020, will be unveiled next week, developers announced. The hospital will be part of the Rio Bravo Medical Campus, located about one mile east of Bakersfield Country Club. It will house technologies available to rehabilitate and treat specific diagnoses, including stroke, amputation, multiple trauma, pulmonary rehab, wound care, spinal cord injuries and arthritis, among others.
Number Of California Patients Fighting Insurance Denials Is Up, Cases Nearly Triple. Why?
Nancy Fellmeth keeps a 5-inch binder of insurance paperwork in her Northern California living room. Documents about her adult son’s autism treatment poke out from the sides. Some are denial letters from her insurance company, others are grievances she’s filed. All of them are stressing her out. “Here it says that it’s been found not medically necessary, and they give you all of these reasons,” she said. She’s been going back and forth with Blue Shield since April, when the company said it would pay for fewer hours of her son Chris Fellmeth’s applied behavioral analysis, or ABA. It’s a therapy that teaches communication and life skills through a step-by-step reward system.
Diabetes hits hard as California spends billions on treatment, little on prevention
CALmatters
A teenage girl walks the hardscrabble streets of Richmond, a Bay Area city, rapping about the challenges of drugs, violence—and diabetes. Here, she says, big dreams are “coated in sugar,” and innocence is “corrupted with Coke bottles and Ho Ho cupcakes.” She’s performing in a video by a local youth group that counts diabetes, a national epidemic that has hit California hard, as one of the killers in her neighborhood. The disease, which is spreading and driving up health costs, now afflicts more than half the state’s adults, especially people of color and the poor.
Repealing the individual mandate would do substantial harm
Brookings Institute
The tax legislation reported by the Senate Finance Committee last week included repeal of the individual mandate, which was created by the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and requires individuals to obtain health insurance coverage or pay a penalty. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has estimated that this proposal would cause large reductions in insurance coverage, reaching 13 million people in the long run.
IMMIGRATION
San Gabriel attorney admits to multimillion-dollar immigration fraud scheme
Los Angeles Times
A San Gabriel-based attorney pleaded guilty Monday to an immigration fraud scheme that generated more than $50 million in profits by selling temporary green cards to foreign investors. Victoria Chan pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit visa fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud and international money laundering. U.S.District Judge Cormac Carney is scheduled to sentence her July 9. Chan’s plea deal calls for a sentence of 27 to 33 months in federal prison.
LAND USE/HOUSING
California has 5 of the top 10 worst cities for renters in the U.S.
Merced Sun-Star
Do you think you pay too much rent? You might be right if you live in California, according to a new report. Five of the top 10 worst major U.S. cities for renters are in California, according to an Apartment List survey that compares rent to income. Renters who pay 30 percent or more of their income for housing are considered cost-burdened, and the report ranks cities by their percentage of cost-burdened renters.
Local officials blast tax bill as harmful to affordable housing
The San Diego Union-Tribune
Elected officials and affordable housing advocates united Monday to urge voters to tell their federal representatives to oppose a congressional bill they said would devastate financing for affordable rental housing. The House passed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act on Nov. 16 on a 227-207 vote, with support from no Democrats and all but 13 Republicans. Rep. Darrell Issa voted against it and Rep. Duncan Hunter was for it.
PUBLIC FINANCES
California Asks Pot Dispensaries To Pay Taxes Before Getting Seller’s Permit
Capital Public Radio
Taxes on California’s cannabis industry could top a billion dollars a few years from now. But along the way, the state is looking to bring in gray-area operators who haven’t been paying taxes, and get them to square up.
David Crane: Jerry Brown Steps Up For Citizens
Medium
California Governor Jerry Brown has filed a legal brief with the state’s Supreme Court arguing that pensions for government employees should work no differently than pensions for non-government employees. Students, citizens, taxpayers and future government employees would be better off if the court agrees.
As Congress returns to tackle taxes, CBO report predicts GOP plan would hammer poorest Americans
PBS NewsHour
Congress returns from Thanksgiving to face an extreme to-do list for next month, including funding the government and voting on a tax plan. That comes on the heels of a public apology by Sen. Al Franken after allegations of groping women, and the decision by Rep. John Conyers to temporarily step down from the Judiciary Committee. Lisa Desjardins joins William Brangham to take a closer look at the tax plan.
See also:
· Krugman: Biggest Tax Scam in History The New York Times
· Will Tax Reform Boost Economic Growth? National Review
· US tax reform: the return of trickle-down economics Financial Times
TRANSPORTATION
Bakersfield Californian
The Kern County Grand Jury issued a report Monday urging the Kern County Airports Department to improve some of the smaller county-owned airfields and to push for development of Meadows Field, Bakersfield’s commercial airport. Kern County operates seven airports across Kern County including Meadows Field, Taft, Wasco, Lost Hills, Buttonwillow, Kern Valley Airport and Poso/Famoso Airport. Meadows Field is the only commercial airport in the Kern County stable, with flights to San Francisco, Denver and Phoenix.
California regulators hope new rules will spur more bike lanes, housing near transit
Los Angeles Times
Bike lanes, mixed-use residential and commercial construction near transit and other development projects might get easier to build in California after regulators on Monday released a long-awaited overhaul of the state’s environmental law.
WATER
Walters: Brown’s WaterFix project could go down the drain
CALmatters
The decades-long political struggle over fixing the bottleneck in California’s immense north-south water system is nearing a climax—and it’s not looking good for Gov. Jerry Brown’s long-sought solution. The State Water Project, initiated nearly 60 years ago by Brown’s late father, Pat, impounds Feather River water behind Oroville Dam and sends it southward down the Feather and Sacramento rivers into the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. Huge pumps at the south edge of the Delta suck water into the California Aqueduct, which transports it as far south as San Diego.
Fire Retardant Use Explodes as Worries About Water, Wildlife Grow
KQED
Chemical fire retardants are considered a vital wildland firefighting tool, helping to slow the spread of flames while ground crews move into position. But as their use increases, the harmful side effects of these chemicals are coming under increasing scrutiny.
Feds Ask State to Explain Cracks in New Oroville Spillway Concrete
KQED | California Report
Federal regulators have asked the officials who operate Oroville Dam — and who are in charge of the $500 million-plus effort to rebuild and reinforce the facility’s compromised spillways — to explain small cracks that have appeared in recently rebuilt sections of the dam’s massive concrete flood-control chute. In a previously undisclosed October letter, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission told the state Department of Water Resources to document the extent of tiny cracks that have showed up in some of the spillway’s brand-new concrete slabs. FERC also asked DWR what, if any, steps might be required to address the issue.
Supreme Court won’t hear California water agencies’ appeal in tribe’s groundwater case
Desert Sun
The U.S. Supreme Court announced Monday that it will not hear an appeal by California water agencies in the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians’ landmark lawsuit asserting rights to groundwater beneath the tribe’s reservation.
“Xtra”
Popular Bass Lake flume off-limits hikers
Fresno Bee
An old water flume near the south end of Bass Lake is the private property of the Pacific Gas & Electric Co., and it’s posted in places with “no trespassing” signs. But that’s doing little to discourage hikers from walking the dirt path along the flume – or from the steel catwalks atop the structure. Browns Ditch is so popular with hikers that it’s listed on an array of hiking and trail websites as an easy-to-navigate route through the Sierra National Forest near Bass Lake. But PG&E doesn’t want people walking on the trail or the flume. “The safety of the public and our employees is our top priority,” said Denny Boyles, a spokesman for the utility. “That’s why PG&E has been raising public awareness that walking along flumes is not only dangerous, it is also not allowed and should not be done.”