TOP POLITICAL STORIES
Local/Regional Politics:
The Maddy Institute
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Fresno County among worst in California for equality
Fresno Bee
In Fresno County, the disparities among people of different races – from job security to housing quality – are among the most staggering in the state. The diverse county is the eighth “most racially disparate” in California based on a new report that measures quality of life according to economic opportunity, education, crime and justice, housing and other indicators.
MALDEF lawsuit challenging Kern County’s political lines goes to trial in December
Bakersfield Californian
A lawsuit that could throw the political makeup of the Kern County Board of Supervisors into turmoil goes to trial early next month. The Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund sued Kern County in 2016 over the county’s 2011 redistricting plan, claiming that it violated the Federal Voting Rights Act. Attorneys for MALDEF claim that supervisors drew a new political map for themselves that purposefully split up a number of Latino-population cities and communities in northern Kern County.
Is fireplace culture seeing a shift amid valley’s air woes?
When longtime Bakersfield resident Tim Stonelake wants to start a fire in his home hearth, he relies on just one kind of fuel: natural gas. Same goes for regulatory affairs consultant Christine Zimmerman, who has avoided burning wood for years out of concern for her family’s health and the health of her neighbors.
KCCD, college leaders at odds over proposed policy manual that would shift power to district
Bakersfield Californian
A draft set of board policies that would determine how the Kern Community College District operates drew ire from faculty members and college leaders Tuesday after many said it would sap power from individual colleges in favor of centralizing authority to the district office.
Request for emergency audit of bullet-train project is denied by Legislature leadership
LA 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.
California Farm Plans To Appeal Pro-Labor Ruling
One of the nation’s largest fruit farms says it plans to appeal a ruling by the California Supreme Court that boosted organized farm labor in the state.
State Politics:
Sexual harassment hearings come as California Capitol is roiled by accusations and a resignation
Los Angeles Times
Sexual harassment allegations continued to roil the California political landscape Monday, as one Democratic legislator announced his immediate resignation and another was stripped of key posts by his colleagues. The dramatic developments set the stage for the first legislative examination of the issue since it engulfed the state Capitol six weeks ago. The focus on sexual harassment began with an open letter from more than 140 women denouncing a “pervasive” culture of misconduct in state government. The missive did not identify any legislators or others accused of misbehavior.
See also:
· Sexual harassment rampant at CA Capitol, lawmakers told The Sacramento Bee
· Lawmakers Sharply Critical of Assembly Harassment Policies | California News US News
· California Legislature’s handling of sexual harassment complaints blasted at hearing San Jose Mercury News
· Victims denounce a failing system for reporting sexual harassment at the California Capitol Los Angeles Times
· Taxpayers shouldn’t have to pay for Capitol harassment settlements, assemblyman says LA Times
· Capitol Staffers: Sexual Harassment Training ‘A Joke’ Capital Public Radio
Gov. Brown takes a bold stand on pensions
Sacramento Bee
It can be liberating for a politician to see the finish line and not have to worry about the next election. Gov. Jerry Brown – about to start the final year of his second four-year term – is using that freedom to confront the issue of pensions and, in the process, take on public employee unions, among California’s best-financed and most powerful political players. That’s good for taxpayers and for the financial stability of the state and local governments.
See also:
· Walters: Brown, with nothing to lose, defies unions on pensions CALmatters
· Stopping the Runaway Pension Train PublicCEO
Will Sacramento bars stay open until 4 am? They have that option if bill passes
Sacramento Bee
Citing nightlife as important for the economy and culture in California, a state senator is again proposing a bill to extend business hours at bars and nightclubs. State Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, on Tuesday introduced a bill for next year that would allow, but not require, six cities to keep establishments open and serve alcohol until 4 a.m., two hours later than currently allowed statewide.
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. Regulators say the proposed changes, which modify rules under the California Environmental Quality Act or CEQA, will help the state meet its ambitious goals to combat climate change. That law requires developers to disclose and minimize a project’s impact on the environment.
Strapped stem cell agency eyes tough options
Capitol Weekly
Facing the likelihood of a slow and withering death, the California stem cell agency is edging gingerly forward on a path of “cuts” and risky fund-raising in hopes that its research results will soon generate voter support for more billions of dollars.
Federal Politics:
Trump’s erratic deal-making style leaves both parties’ lawmakers distrustful
Los Angeles Times
President Trump, the self-professed deal-maker, once again has dealt a setback to a bipartisan legislative deal — this time with potentially significant consequences: the threat of a government shutdown.
Budget Committee Approves Tax Overhaul
Roll Call
Amid loud protest, the Senate Budget Committee passed Tuesday the tax overhaul reconciliation bill after two holdouts changed course. Sen. Bob Corker, one of the late holdouts voted yes. The Tennessee Republican cited an agreement in principle with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Senate Finance Committee leaders on a “trigger” mechanism that would increase taxes if estimated growth projections do not materialize. “We’ve got an outline of an agreement at every level that matters in the Senate to make it happen,” Corker said.
See also:
· Senate committee advances tax plan as GOP continues hunt for floor votes POLITICO
· How the Senate tax bill affects rich and poor, in three charts PBS NewsHour
· What the Tax Bill Would Look Like for 25,000 Middle-Class Families The New York Times
California Could Lose $2.7 Billion in Kids’ Health Funding – and There’s No Backup Plan
The California Report – KQED News
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. CHIP provides Medi-Cal coverage for children whose parents make too much to qualify for the program. The cutoff point is 266 percent of the federal poverty level, or about $65,000 for a family of four.
See also:
· What happens if Congress doesn’t fund the health insurance used by almost 2 million kids and pregnant women in California? Los Angeles Times
Unless Congress comes to an agreement fast, federal funding for a program that provides health insurance to 2 million California children and pregnant women will run out around the end of the year. After that, California could be on the hook for hundreds of millions of dollars because the state is required to offer the insurance even if the federal funds don’t show up.
The Internet Is Dying. Repealing Net Neutrality Hastens That Death.
The New York Times
The freewheeling internet has been dying a slow death — and a vote next month by the Federal Communications Commission to undo net neutrality would be the final pillow in its face. Net neutrality is intended to prevent companies that provide internet service from offering preferential treatment to certain content over their lines. The rules prevent, for instance, AT&T from charging a fee to companies that want to stream high-definition videos to people.
Other:
Fitzgerald: Empire Theatre lawsuits: Conspiracy or comeuppance?
Stockton Record
Today: The Unlawful Covert Plan. That’s the colorful name, capital letters and all, that a new lawsuit gives to an alleged conspiracy hatched by city of Stockton officials to seize the Empire Theatre complex.
Father Greg Boyle: How to bridge the gap between ‘us’ and ‘them’
Los Angeles Times
America has rarely seen more division, polarization and disunion than at this moment. And yet our best selves long for connection. Deep down, we know that separation is an illusion, that there is no us and them, just us. We want to remember that we belong to each other, no matter how we voted a year ago. Sometimes, college professors make their students read my book about Homeboy Industries, “Tattoos on the Heart,” against their will. (I’m not complaining.) Gonzaga University, in Spokane, Wash., strong-armed its entire freshman class into it a few years ago, and then invited me to speak and asked that I bring along two of the gang members I work with.
Topics in More Detail…
EDITORIALS
How to make a difference with maximum impact
Fresno Bee
Charitable giving is not just for the rich, but for everyone who wants to make a difference, according to Matthew Jendian of Fresno State’s humanics department.
Shine more light on harassment taking place in Sacramento
Modesto Bee
Californians can’t hold legislators accountable for sexual harassment – and taxpayer-funded settlements – until they know what happened. And they don’t.
Why sexual harassment persists in the Capitol: They don’t ask and don’t want to be told
Sacramento Bee
California Assembly delves into #MeToo allegations of sexual harassment by women who work in the Capitol. Reasons for failures start to become clear.
Children’s health care could blow hole in California’s budget
San Francisco Chronicle
The Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) usually flies under the radar, but this year it’s about to blow a massive hole in California’s budget. CHIP provides Medi-Cal coverage for children whose parents don’t have health insurance through their jobs but make too much money to qualify for the state’s low-income health insurance program.
Gun thefts feed violent crime, but inane federal laws make it hard to confront the problem
Los Angeles Times
American gun owners reported losing more than 237,000 firearms to thieves last year, according to federal stolen-property statistics obtained by The Trace, a nonprofit journalism site. That’s a whopping 68% increase over a decade earlier. Yet the key word in that sentence is “reported,” because an unknown number of gun owners never inform police that their weapons have been taken.
Trump’s offensive remarks can’t be brushed off
San Francisco Chronicle
Nearly every day, President Trump spouts off on random topics: NFL kneel-downs, the stock market surge or his feud with media networks not named Fox.
AGRICULTURE/FOOD
Teen with Shafter roots working on Apple Watch app to prevent heat illness in farmworkers
Bakersfield Californian
A high school senior from La Cañada with roots in Kern County politics and the farmworker community hopes to put Apple Watches in the hands of Central Valley laborers next summer. The watches, she hopes, will help protect them from heat stroke. Faith Florez has come up with an idea for an Apple app – called Calor — that would use the watch’s data gathering, notification and communications tools to track heat exhaustion indicators as farmworkers labor in Kern County’s baking summer heat.
Local Farmers Struggle to Compete Against Online Meal Kit Services
KQED
There is now a host of companies that will send meals and produce to your doorstep with just the click of a button. But with all the new options, fewer people are ordering boxes of fruits and vegetables straight from farmers like Paul Underhill.
California Asks Pot Dispensaries To Pay Taxes Before Getting Seller’s Permit
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.
CRIMINAL JUSTICE / FIRE / PUBLIC SAFETY
Crime:
Police: Visalia armed robbers targeted five locations overnight
Visalia Delta-Times
A string of armed robberies landed two Tulare County men behind bars Tuesday morning, police said. The men targeted five businesses across Visalia and Tulare and stole cash and cigars from each location. The robberies started before dawn in Visalia. Just before 3:45 a.m., Fernando Gonzalez, 21, entered Flyers gas station on Mooney Boulevard with a handgun and demanded cash from the teller. He then fled to a getaway vehicle parked outside, police said.
Lawmakers back bill to combat ‘revenge porn’
Fresno Bee
A group of bipartisan lawmakers introduced legislation Tuesday to combat online sexual exploitation, just a week after the leak on social media of an explicit photo of a Republican congressman from Texas. The legislation would create federal criminal liability for “revenge porn,” already forbidden in most states but not in federal law.
Public Safety:
To break the cycle of children sold for sex, the legal system is trying something new
Fresno Bee
Defense attorney Kristin Maxwell remembers when a client came to her Fresno office shortly after being discharged from a hospital. The teenage girl had been beaten, raped and dumped in a neighboring county. Police found her unconscious, lying naked in an alley. “There are some parts of the body that bruise easily, and some that don’t,” said Maxwell, who’s worked in the Fresno County Public Defender’soffice for 11 years. “Looking at her, you knew she had been through it. She had been beaten really badly.”
Human trafficking: New court seeks to end child sex trade
The Fresno Bee
A meeting of legal leaders and advocates Tuesday announced that the new juvenile trafficking court will open on Jan. 19. The group also heard a presentation about the trafficking court’s online dashboard, modeled after the one currently in use in Fresno County drug courts.
Is the Trump Effect Keeping California Gun Sales Lower?
KQED
Gun trend experts say the modest sales in response to a mass shooting are a sign that gun enthusiasts are less worried about gun control measures with Trump and Republicans dominating the federal government. The spikes following the Orlando and San Bernardino shootings occurred while Democrat Barack Obama was in the White House.
Fire:
California regulators to decide who pays SoCal wildfire costs
San Francisco Chronicle
California regulators on Thursday may finally decide whether an electric utility sued over wildfire damage can pass those costs on to its customers. But the long-running and closely watched case — which took on new relevance after October’s deadly Wine Country fires — may not set as much of a precedent as previously expected.
ECONOMY / JOBS
What New Jobs? California Program to Entice Hiring Falls Short
KQED
Four years after Gov. Jerry Brown launched his signature program to boost California jobs by awarding tax credits to the businesses that create them, businesses have left two-thirds of those available credits unclaimed—a sign that most expected jobs have yet to materialize.
Teleworking in the United States
The Conference Board
Has teleworking peaked? Not according to the data.
Supreme Court appears set to limit protections for company whistleblowers
Los Angeles Times
Supreme Court justices on Tuesday sounded ready to bar whistleblowers from suing companies for illegal retaliation under a 2010 law if they’ve only reported wrongdoing internally, and not to the Securities and Exchange Commission. If so, their ruling, due early next year, could strike down part of an SEC rule that interpreted the law as more broadly protecting whistleblowers, including those who disclosed fraud only to other company officials.
EDUCATION
K-12:
New California law expands low-income parents’ access to subsidized child care
EdSource
In an effort to remove obstacles for Californians trying to succeed in the labor market, a new law could make access to child care easier for low-income parents taking classes to learn English or complete high school.
Amid Attacks, Teachers Weigh Their Safety Against Student Privacy
Pew Charitable Trusts
The cellphone video is shocking: A high school student shoves a teacher, then hits him face-on and is still hurling punches, his peers giggling along, as the man tumbles backward onto the floor. The August attack at a Milwaukee high school went viral and had officials in Wisconsin wondering how they can protect teachers against classroom violence.
Report: Only 30% of ninth-graders will graduate from college
Mercury News
Although more than 90 percent of the nation’s ninth graders expect to graduate from college, a report released Monday estimates that only 30 percent of California’s high school freshmen will actually earn a bachelor’s degree.
Higher Ed:
KCCD, college leaders at odds over proposed policy manual that would shift power to district
Bakersfield Californian
A draft set of board policies that would determine how the Kern Community College District operates drew ire from faculty members and college leaders Tuesday after many said it would sap power from individual colleges in favor of centralizing authority to the district office. During a two hour study session Tuesday that at times turned heated, Bakersfield College officials spoke out against the 251-page draft board policy manual, which has been labored over for two years by a committee, district leaders and an outside consultant, which the district paid roughly $30,000.
California Today: Graduate Students Fear Tax Increase
New York Times
A Navy veteran, expectant father and nuclear engineering graduate student at the University of California, Berkeley would see his taxes increase by $4,247. Another graduate student at Berkeley, a mother of two who is studying jurisprudence and social policy, would see her federal taxes increase by $1,647.
House GOP to Propose Sweeping Changes to Higher Education
WSJ
The Republican-controlled U.S. House of Representatives this week will propose sweeping legislation that aims to change where Americans go to college, how they pay for it, what they study, and how their success—or failure—affects the institutions they attend.
ENVIRONMENT/ ENERGY
Environment:
How a bankruptcy filing shielded a big coal company from California’s climate-change lawsuits
Los Angeles Times
Peabody Energy, the nation’s largest private-sector coal company, joined several of its fellow coal producers in bankruptcy in 2016. Its main goal was to wriggle out from under more than $10 billion in debt it had incurred to expand, even as demand was sharply falling. But its bankruptcy filing has provided a collateral benefit: Peabody has been ruled immune from a lawsuit brought by three California jurisdictions blaming it and dozens of other fossil fuel companies for a sea level rise related to climate change.
Energy:
Officials warn of possible natural gas shortage this winter
KPCC
A natural gas pipeline that exploded last month in the desert east of Barstow has put the Los Angeles region served by Southern California Gas Company at risk of shortages for a second consecutive year, state energy officials said Tuesday.
See also:
· Natural gas supplies could be tight in Southern California this winter, state authorities warn Los Angeles Times
HEALTH/HUMAN SERVICES
Report: Fresno County’s racial equality is among the worst in the state
Fresno Bee
Among the data compiled is a striking difference in Fresno County residents living below the federal poverty rate, meaning their annual income is about $12,000 or less. Thirteen percent of white people in Fresno County are living in poverty, compared to 40 percent of black people and 35 percent of Latinos.
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. “I’ve screamed out for death,” said Queen, 48, who lives in San Diego. “I’ve cried out for my mom who’s been dead for 20 years, mentally not realizing she can’t come to me.”
About 15% of Americans with HIV don’t know they’re infected, CDC report says
Los Angeles Times
Half of the Americans recently diagnosed with HIV had been living with the virus for at least three years without realizing it, missing out on opportunities for early treatment and in some cases spreading it to others, according to a new report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. What’s more, of the 39,720 Americans newly diagnosed with HIV in 2015, one-quarter had been infected for seven years or more without knowing they were ill.
RAND
How prepared is the U.S. health care system to handle the potential caseload when a disease-modifying therapy for Alzheimer’s disease becomes available?
Bay Area Scientists Say Computers Can Develop Cancer Drugs 6 Times Faster
KQED Science
The average time to identify a new cancer drug is six years. Since one of every four deaths in the U.S. is due to cancer, a lot of lives could be saved if that drug development time could be cut down to just a year.
IMMIGRATION
California leaders call for release of detained Cambodian, Vietnamese immigrants
San Jose Mercury News
California leaders are calling on U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to release an estimated 200 Cambodian and Vietnamese immigrants who advocates say were recently detained in the Bay Area and beyond in never-before-seen roundups. Their contributions are particularly critical to California, they argue, the state with the largest Asian-American and Pacific Islander populations, including the largest Cambodian and Vietnamese communities.
Trump’s Tweet Could Raise Odds of Government Shutdown
Roll Call
President Donald Trump raised the odds of a government shutdown next month, tweeting that his differences with Democratic leaders over immigration policy could prevent a deal on a year-end spending package.
LAND USE/HOUSING
Land Use:
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. Regulators say the proposed changes, which modify rules under the California Environmental Quality Act or CEQA, will help the state meet its ambitious goals to combat climate change. That law requires developers to disclose and minimize a project’s impact on the environment.
Housing:
Fox: Homeless Solutions Should Not Target Homeowners
Fox & Hounds
As the search for solutions to the homeless problem continues current property owners and the equity they have in their homes are often cited as targets for funding homelessness relief. What is ignored with these proposed remedies is that homeowners are counting on the equity in their homes to help with retirement or other needs.
PUBLIC FINANCES
Gov. Brown takes a bold stand on pensions
Sacramento Bee
It can be liberating for a politician to see the finish line and not have to worry about the next election. Gov. Jerry Brown – about to start the final year of his second four-year term – is using that freedom to confront the issue of pensions and, in the process, take on public employee unions, among California’s best-financed and most powerful political players. That’s good for taxpayers and for the financial stability of the state and local governments.
See also:
· Walters: Brown, with nothing to lose, defies unions on pensions CALmatters
· Stopping the Runaway Pension Train PublicCEO
Economists have warned us about Trump’s tax plan. Too bad Congress isn’t listening
Sacramento Bee
The most lethal damage to American society embedded in the Republican tax plan now being rushed through Congress is that it will metastasize the cancerous economic inequality that has been eating away at the health and fabric of American democracy over the past four decades. Three years ago, in his monumental work, “Capital in the Twenty-First Century,” the French economist Thomas Piketty warned that “when the rate of return on capital exceeds the rate of growth of output and income, capitalism automatically generates arbitrary and unsustainable inequalities that undermine the meritocratic values on which democratic societies are based.”
TRANSPORTATION
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. Regulators say the proposed changes, which modify rules under the California Environmental Quality Act or CEQA, will help the state meet its ambitious goals to combat climate change. That law requires developers to disclose and minimize a project’s impact on the environment.
WATER
Cracks found in new Oroville Dam spillway, but officials say don’t worry
Sacramento Bee
Hairline cracks have been detected in sections of the newly reconstructed flood-control spillway at Oroville Dam. State and federal officials said they’re confident the cracks don’t pose a safety problem and don’t need to be repaired. However, the state Department of Water Resources, which operates the dam, said it will monitor the concrete surface of the spillway during the rainy season and beyond.
See also:
· Cracks found on Oroville Dam’s new spillway not a concern, state says San Francisco Chronicle
Lawsuit seeks to block California desert water project
AP
Environmental activists sued Tuesday to halt a plan to pump water from beneath the Mojave Desert and sell it to Southern California cities and counties. The lawsuit takes aim at the U.S. Bureau of Land Management for allowing Cadiz Inc. to build a 43-mile pipeline to transfer the water from its desert wells into the Colorado River Aqueduct so it can be sold to water districts.
“Xtra”
Operatic gems to shine at Cal State Bakersfield
The happy and the tragic sides of love are presented this Thursday and Friday at CSUB’s Dore Theatre, as the university’s opera program presents two gems of the baroque opera repertoire.
A look at the Great White Way by way of Ovation Theatre
Broadway is a great distance from Bakersfield but die-hard theater fans don’t need a first-class plane ticket to get the dish on classic shows. A one-night-only event at a local theater is set to deliver the drama and delight of the New York theater district.