30Nov

POLICY & POLITICS

DEADLINE A WEEK AWAY! DEC. 7TH - Qualify For A Scholarship Of Up To $6,000

The Maddy Institute

The Maddy Scholar Intern Program’s goal is to prepare the next generation of political, governmental, business, non-profit leaders for the San Joaquin Valley through internship opportunities in local, state and federal government offices in Washington, D.C., Sacramento and throughout the region.

Application Window Open Wonderful Public Service Graduate Fellowship

The Maddy Institute

Applications for two $56,000 Fellowships Due Friday, February 22nd, 2019

Through the generosity of The Wonderful Company, San Joaquin Valley students will have the opportunity to become the next generation of Valley leaders through The Wonderful Public Service Graduate Fellowship. The Maddy Institute will award two $56,000 Fellowships to Valley students who are accepted into a nationally ranked, qualified graduate program in the fall of 2019.

North SJ Valley:

Trial begins for Merced County supe accused of inappropriate touching

Merced Sun-Star

The woman who accused Merced County Supervisor Rodrigo Espinoza of unwanted touching told a jury Wednesday she felt violated by the person she once thought of as a mentor.

Central SJ Valley:

Tulare council approve legal actions against former city attorney

Visalia Times Delta

Tulare officials are looking to pick a legal fight with the city's former city attorney.

South SJ Valley:

TJ Cox declares victory with 506-vote lead over David Valadao

Visalia Times Delta

TJ Cox has declared himself CA-21's new congressman, with a 506-vote lead following an update from the Kings County election office. Kings County, historically a Valadao stronghold, counted more votes for Cox than the Hanford Republican in its most recent update on Wednesday.

See Also:

● A Surprise Cliffhanger In A Central Valley House Race Capital Public Radio

● Dem rout of CA GOP nearly complete: T.J. Cox claims victory San Francisco Chronicle

Governor appoints attorney Therese M. Foley to Kern County judgeship

Bakersfield Californian

The vacant Kern County judgeship left by the retirement of Gary T. Friedman has been filled. Gov. Jerry Brown on Thursday appointed Therese M. Foley, 67, to replace Friedman with a judgeship in Kern County Superior Court, according to a governor's news release.

Once undocumented, now she's about to take public office

Bakersfield Californian

Once undocumented, now she's about to take public office.

State:

Historic voter turnout in California fueled by anti-Trump sentiment

Fresno Bee

Californians showed up to vote in historic numbers this fall, with the state likely to post its highest turnout for a non-presidential election in nearly four decades.

● CA120: Republicans picked a bad time to stop winning elections Capitol Weekly

● Paul Ryan isn’t saying there was voter fraud in California. But . . . Washington Post

● California Secretary of State Alex Padilla Response to Paul Ryan Comments on CA Elections CA Secretary of State

California’s late votes broke big for Dems. Here’s why GOP was surprised

San Francisco Chronicle

California Dems took advantage of seemingly minor changes in a 2016 law to score their stunningly successful midterm election results, providing a target for GOP unhappiness.

Democrats in control, and already fighting

Modesto Bee

Democrats’ grip on California became even tighter in this month’s elections as the party flipped six or seven of the Republicans’ 14 congressional seats – one district is still too close to call – and gained even stronger majorities in the state Legislature.

How Newsom's big win gives him a mandate on health care

Politico

Riding a blue wave to a margin of victory larger than any first-term California governor has had in nearly 90 years, Gov.-elect Gavin Newsom has a strong mandate to establish the nation's first universal health care system, political strategists and health care advocates say.

California Democratic Party Chairman Resigns Over Misconduct Allegations

Capital Public Radio

California Democratic Party Chairman Eric Bauman announced Thursday that he is resigning amid sexual misconduct allegations, hours after Governor-elect Gavin Newsom called for him to step down.

● California Democrats face a reckoning about the party's culture and procedures after the resignation of their leader Los Angeles Times

● Sexual misconduct allegations force California Dem chair Eric Bauman to resign San Francisco Chronicle

● One lesson from Bauman’s resignation? #MeToo isn’t going away CALmatters

Democrat Garcetti, Eyeing 2020, Faults His Party on Immigration

Bloomberg

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said his fellow Democrats are spending too much time “yelling back” at President Donald Trump over his inflammatory rhetoric on immigration instead of making a case for how immigrants strengthen the country

EDITORIAL: California's right-to-die law needs high court intervention

Los Angeles Times

A Riverside County appeals court upheld California’s right-to-die law this week, ending months of legal limbo after a Superior Court judge invalidated the law in May because he believed it had been improperly enacted.

Federal:

California’s new House members choose sides in Pelosi test

Fresno Bee

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi faces her first test in a bid to return as Speaker of the House, and most of California’s new Democratic House members are backing her.

● Pelosi has work to do to wrap up House speaker’s job San Francisco Chronicle

● Rep. Barbara Lee narrowly defeated in bid for leadership job San Francisco Chronicle

A Democratic victory in 2020 demands a new form of primary

Los Angeles Times

The Democrats are flying high right now, but they’re headed for a crash. Fifteen or 20 or, good God, maybe even 30 of them are lining up to run for president two years hence, and the party — and the American electoral process more generally — has no good way to select a nominee when so many aspirants split the vote.

EDITORIAL: Seizing a car over $225 worth of heroin? The Supreme Court needs to rein in states' forfeiture power

Los Angeles Times

If the federal government can’t engage in grossly disproportionate confiscation of property, neither may the states.

Other:

Could your online review get you sued?

abc30

If you've ever written an online review, you've probably never considered it end up with a lawsuit. 7 On Your Side Investigates examined the dos and don'ts of public reviews after receiving an email from a viewer facing a defamation lawsuit for a 2016 eBay review.

Facebook's Sandberg Asked Staff to Look Into Soros Holdings

Bloomberg

Facebook Inc. Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg told employees to investigate financial dealings by George Soros, the billionaire whocriticized the company at the World Economic Forum in Davos in January.

Representing Is Hard. Online Town Halls Can Help

Roll Call

At the end of the movie “The Candidate,” Robert Redford’s character wins a Senate seat, and then immediately pulls aside his most trusted adviser and asks, “What do we now?” After the divisive election of 2018, we imagine that many newly elected members of Congress are pondering the same question.

Marriott discloses massive data breach affecting up to 500 million guests

Washington Post

Marriott International, one of the largest hotel chains in the world, revealed Friday that its Starwood reservations database had been hacked and that the personal information of up to 500 million guests could have been stolen.

Charles Krauthammer: The enduring miracle of the American Constitution

Washington Post

An excerpt from the forthcoming posthumous book “The Point of It All.”

White liberals dumb themselves down when they speak to black people, a new study contends

Washington Post

Those most well-intentioned toward minorities may be drawing most heavily on stereotypes in relating to them, finds a paper forthcoming in the Journal of Personality and Social

Psychology.

AGRICULTURE/FOOD

Could industrial hemp farming mean billion-dollar green for Central Valley ag?

Fresno Bee

Can San Joaquin Valley farmers and entrepreneurs make industrial hemp agriculture’s next big commodity? Tom Pires and many others hope so.

Repeat outbreaks pressure produce industry to step up safety

Stockton Record

After repeated food poisoning outbreaks linked to romaine lettuce, the produce industry is confronting the failure of its own safety measures in preventing contaminations.

Argentine soybean farmers sow ‘green gold’ to outlast the U.S.-China trade war

Modesto Bee

Excitement is high for Argentina farmers who are looking to bounce back from a dry year and take advantage of new interest from Asia for their soybeans as the US and China fight over trade.

An African American farmer's Central Valley dream

Los Angeles Times

Struck by the poverty of Allensworth, Dennis Hutson bought a 60-acre farm, hired some hands and worked to give this once-thriving town a boost.

Lettuce Try Not to Panic

Wall Street Journal

Will a tragic overreaction topple Caesar and lead to the decline of the romaine empire?

This California Ranch Is the Biggest Olive Oil Producer in the US

Eater

Going from grove to bottle at California OIive Ranch in Corning.

An experiment requiring work for food stamps is a Trump administration model

Washington Post

Wisconsin is expanding the pool of people who must work or train to qualify for food assistance.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE / FIRE / PUBLIC SAFETY

Crime:

Family of hit-and-run victim calls for stiffer penalties

abc30

Is there a loophole in the law that encourages the driver to flee the scene of an accident? The family of hit-and-run-victim Gavin Gladding thinks so. Valley Assembly Member Jim Patterson has taken up the cause and is introducing a new bill.

EDITORIAL: Brown must be more transparent on pardon of former state senator

San Diego Union-Tribune

There’s a long, distasteful tradition in the United States of presidents and governors using pardon powers in their final months in office to do favors for the well-connected.

DOJ distributes another $695 million to Bernie Madoff fraud victims

abc30

The Department of Justice has distributed an additional $695 million to investors who lost money in the largest known Ponzi scheme in the world to date, orchestrated by Bernard "Bernie" Madoff, the agency announced Thursday.

Public Safety:

Safe to travel to Mexico? Valley residents looking for answers that are hard to provide

Fresno Bee

Threats by President Donald Trump to close the border have sparked concerns among San Joaquin Valley families about traveling to Mexico for the holidays as they fear they could end up stranded on their way back.

The off-duty killer: Suicide has become an occupational hazard for police officers

Fresno Bee

Fresno police Officer Al Hernandez holds a piece of paper with names of officers who have died of suicide.

Fire:

Ferguson Fire declared officially out after recent weather

abc30

The Ferguson Fire which started on July 13 is officially out, according to the United States Forest Service. Fire officials say recent weather conditions helped them in declaring the fire completely extinguished.

● Flooding Hits Butte County Area Scarred By Wildfire Capital Public Radio

● Missing Persons List Adds To Confusion After Camp Fire Capital Public Radio

● CalOES Director Describes Wildfire Recovery Efforts In Butte and Ventura Counties Capital Public Radio

● Cal Fire rescuers pull three families from flooded homes near Butte County fire zone Sacramento Bee

● Rain triggers debris flows as storm rolls across fire-scarred regions of California Los Angeles Times

Paradise families sue PG&E over Camp Fire destruction

San Francisco Chronicle

Thirty-five families who suffered losses in the Camp Fire filed suit against PG&E on Thursday, alleging that inadequate maintenance of power equipment was responsible for the blaze.

See Also:

● Regulators back tough PG&E probe after fires San Francisco Chronicle

● PG&E Regulator to Weigh Restructuring Utility After Deadly Fire Bloomberg

● California orders safety upgrades at PG&E amid Camp Fire scrutiny Sacramento Bee

● Authorities End Search Efforts in Paradise, California Wall Street Journal

● Some Paradise Residents Allowed To Return To Properties Next Week Capital Public Radio

● What happens if PG&E goes bankrupt? CALmatters

● 35 families sue PG&E for Camp Fire losses San Jose Mercury News

California senators ask Congress for $9 billion for wildfire recovery

Los Angeles Times

California needs just more than $9 billion in disaster aid to recover from this fall’s wildfires, Sens. Dianne Feinstein and Kamala Harris said in a letter to colleagues Thursday.

● Fast-Tracking Logging On Federal Lands May Not Lessen Wildfire Risk VPR

● To Help Prevent the Next Big Wildfire, Let the Forest Burn New York TImes

Several San Joaquin County brewers are making Resilience Butte County Proud IPA, a beer which will benefit a Camp Fire relief fund

Stockton Record

Chico-based Sierra Nevada Brewing Company announced Nov. 16 that it was brewing a fundraiser beer to help the communities most affected by the fire, which broke out Nov. 8 in Paradise. All proceeds made from the sale of Resilience IPA will go to a Camp Fire relief fund set up by Sierra Nevada at Golden Valley Community Bank Foundation.

ECONOMY / JOBS

Economy:

U.S., Mexico and Canada Sign Pact to Replace Nafta

Wall Street Journal

USMCA, which still requires ratification in all three countries, may face a difficult path in the U.S. Congress.

Millennials are just like their parents — only poorer, Fed study says

Los Angeles Times

Millennials, long presumed to have less interest in the nonstop consumption of goods that underpins the American economy, might not be that different after all, a new study from the Federal Reserve says.

U.S. Consumers Step Up Spending to Start Fourth Quarter

Wall Street Journal

Inflation was subdued, which could take pressure off the Fed to keep raising rates next year.

Jobs:

Balancing act: How does Fresno foster job growth amid environmental concerns?

Fresno Bee

A coalition of neighborhood, environmental and health organizations are asking the city of Fresno leaders to engage community members as the city conducts work on environmental impact reports for the general plan and a south industrial area specific plan.

Workers at most California businesses soon will have retirement plan options

Fresno Bee

CalSavers is a government-sponsored retirement plan that California businesses must offer to workers by 2022. A pilot project launched in December 2018.

● EDITORIAL: CalSavers will help keep retirees out of poverty. So why is a taxpayer group fighting it? Los Angeles Times

Grubhub Trial Judge Leaves Big Labor Question Unresolved Amid 'Dynamex' Dust-up

The Recorder

A San Francisco judge acknowledged a pivotal California Supreme Court decision would affect the outcome of a closely watched labor fight between Grubhub Inc. and a former delivery driver but declined to say whether the decision should be applied retroactively, a key question that gig companies want answered.

EDUCATION

K-12:

Construction on new elementary school in Merced County to start soon, officials say

Merced Sun-Star

School officials expect Los Banos to have a new elementary school ready by the start of school in 2020. The new school is anticipated to cost around $25 million and will be funded by Measure X, passed by Los Banos voters in June, and district facility funds, Superintendent Mark Marshall said.

KHSD sees slight drop in 2018 graduation rates

Bakersfield Californian

The Kern High School District saw its graduation rates dip for the first time in five years, according to new data from the California Department of Education.

Modernizing California’s Education Data System

PPIC

Unlike most other states, California lacks a data system that can follow students from K–12 schools to college and into the workforce. Linking data across sectors would help policymakers and educational leaders promote student success and institutional effectiveness.

Higher Ed:

DEADLINE A WEEK AWAY! DEC. 7TH - Qualify For A Scholarship Of Up To $6,000

The Maddy Institute

Application Window Open Wonderful Public Service Graduate Fellowship

The Maddy Institute

Applications for two $56,000 Fellowships Due Friday, February 22nd, 2019

Journalist Robert Costa underscores the crucial need for Fresno State’s Institute for Media and Public Trust

Fresno State Institute for Media and Public Trust

Washington Post national political reporter Robert Costa, who also hosts “Washington Week” on PBS, says the work that Fresno State’s Institute for Media and Public Trust is doing on media literacy is crucial in building trust in our institutions and creating a better-informed society.

CSUB to host 2nd annual holiday mixer

Bakersfield Californian

Cal State University Bakersfield Alumni to celebrate 2nd Annual Holiday MixerCalifornia State University Bakersfield Alumni Association.

Many University Of California Students Are Still Going Hungry

Laist

The University of California, one of the premiere public university systems in the nation and one that boasts 65 Nobel prize winners, enrolls thousands of students who don't have enough to eat.

In limbo, DACA students look to Congress again for help

EdSource

The imminent Democratic takeover of the House of Representatives is renewing hope that undocumented immigrants who came to the United States as children will get some permanent relief from the ongoing threat of deportation.

‘Tis the Season for College Applications

PPIC

Across the nation, millions of high school seniors are in the process of completing college applications. Friday is the deadline to submit applications for freshmen admission to the fall 2019 term to California’s public universities (the University of California and the California State University); most private colleges have January deadlines. The number of applications this year should be staggering—in California most of all. But the state is having difficulty keeping up with demand.

Parents are borrowing more and more to send their kids to college—and many are struggling to repay

Brookings

A new study from Adam Looney and Vivien Lee finds that parents who borrow from the federal government to fund their children’s education—especially at low-quality institutions—are taking out larger loans, paying them back more slowly, and defaulting altogether at increasing rates.

ENVIRONMENT/ ENERGY

Environment:

Fourth National Climate Assessment

US Global Change Research Program

The National Climate Assessment (NCA) assesses the science of climate change and

variability and its impacts across the United States, now and throughout this century.

EDITORIAL: California talks a good game on land-use and climate change, but it's still a land of SUVs and sprawl

Los Angeles Times

A decade ago, California lawmakers passed a groundbreaking law that was supposed to help fight climate change by curbing urban sprawl.Senate Bill 375 required the state’s 18 regional agencies to plan and design housing and transportation projects so people wouldn’t have to drive as much, cutting the greenhouse gas emissions responsible for global warming.

Energy:

EPA watchdog closes two probes into Scott Pruitt’s conduct, citing his resignation

Washington Post

The agency’s inspector general calls inquiries into his condo rental deal with a lobbyist and job search for his wife ‘inconclusive.’

HEALTH/HUMAN SERVICES

Health:

Suicide rate up 33% in less than 20 years, yet funding lags behind other top killers

Visalia Times Delta

More than 47,000 Americans killed themselves in 2017, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Thursday, contributing to an overall decline in U.S. life expectancy. Since 1999, the suicide rate has climbed 33 percent.

California lawmakers move to ban flavored tobacco

Sacramento Bee

Six California lawmakers will push for a ban on the sale of flavored e-cigarettes, as well as other flavored tobacco products, in order to curb the usage of those products by young people.

276,000 more kids uninsured in Trump's first year in office, researchers find

abc30

Researchers, anti-poverty advocates say it's an unsettling uptick after years of progress. They blame GOP-led efforts that have kept some states from expanding Medicaid.

Trump's Move To Give States More Flexibility Undercuts Obamacare, Critics Say

Capital Public Radio

The Trump administration offered states specific examples Thursday of how they could change the way they implement the Affordable Care Act. Critics say Trump's plan could drive up premiums for many.

Human Services:

Patients have been going 40 miles to an ER, but there’s a plan that could stop that

Fresno Bee

Coalinga Regional Medical Center board has accepted a lease proposal by Coalinga Medical Center LLC/American Advanced Management Group of Modesto, CA, to reopen the hospital in the western Fresno County city.

It took less than $10M to open Tulare hospital

Visalia Times Delta

Tulare hospital's financial situation may not be rosy, but the district’s financial standing is slowly going from red to black. While it will take time to build back the trust, the transition is going smoothly, officials said.

How Newsom's big win gives him a mandate on health care

Politico

IMMIGRATION

The migrant caravan at the U.S., Mexico border is in need of more than just asylum

Fresno Bee

After traveling through Mexico for days, the migrants are stuck at the border waiting to apply for asylum in the U.S. Items in most need include sleeping bags, tents, diapers, hygiene products, cleaning and cooking supplies.

● Hundreds of caravan migrants begin moving to new shelter after Thursday's downpour San Diego Union-Tribune

● EDITORIAL: What does it say about us when we slam shut our doors? Modesto Bee

Newsom says stranded migrants need more help from all levels of government

After meeting with advocates for asylum seekers and visiting an immigration detention center Thursday, Governor-elect Gavin Newsom spoke of the need for greater urgency and support from the state, local and federal governments in addressing the current humanitarian crisis at the border.

Trump administration is preparing to extend troops' stay on the border

Los Angeles Times

Pentagon officials are considering whether to keep U.S. troops along the southwest border an additional 45 days, potentially extending a controversial mission to assist the Border Patrol into next year, U.S. officials said.

LAND USE/HOUSING

Land Use:

Public weighs in on Beard Brook homeless at Modesto City Council meeting

Modesto Bee

Beard Brook Park in Modesto, California and the more than 400 homeless people who live there were the focus of most of the discussion during the public comment period of Tuesday’s Modesto City Council meeting.

Housing:

‘You don’t bulldoze people.’ California highway homeless camps grow dangerous

Merced Sun-Star

All over the state, Caltrans is clearing as many as 40 camps every day along highways and underpasses, aiming to keep roads free of hazards and to clean up sites that can collect trash and hazardous waste. The task sounds straightforward, but the program grew dangerous and expensive as the state’s homeless population swelled since the recession.

Report: Fresno among nation’s top housing markets to watch in 2019

Business Journal

For years, politicians, business people and real estate brokers have touted the Valley as a hot, growing market for homes, as housing prices in other parts of the state have soared.

See also:

● Bakersfield listed as fourth hottest real estate market in nation Bakersfield Californian

● Southern California home sales decline, hitting lowest level in seven years Los Angeles Times

PUBLIC FINANCES

More Pot Revenues May Start Flowing in California

KQED

When voters legalized recreational marijuana in California through Proposition 64, many expected a windfall of tax revenue. That hasn’t quite panned out yet, but some more money could start flowing into the state budget next fiscal year — and the wrangling over how to spend it is already beginning.

TRANSPORTATION

Here’s when Caltrans says Highway 140 will be reopening

Fresno Bee

Highway 140 will be reopened to the public at noon Friday, Caltrans said, after the route was closed Thursday as a preemptive measure against possible mudslides and debris caused by heavy rainfall in Mariposa County.

Is your car rain-ready? A local expert helps you make sure it is

abc30

From wheels to wipers, experts at D & R Automotive in Downtown Fresno say check your vehicle to make sure it's ready for the rain.

State legislator calls for resignation of bullet train chairman

Los Angeles Times

A key Democratic legislator called Thursday for the immediate resignation of the chairman of the California bullet train project, the most powerful reaction yet to a scathing audit of the $77-billion high-speed rail program that is far behind schedule and over budget.

California’s new carpool lane decals: What you need to know

San Francisco Chronicle

Drivers of plug-in vehicles who freely coast through California's carpool lanes may get a shock in January when regulators roll out new rules and new stickers for cars that qualify.

California Gov-elect Gavin Newsom faces pressure to cut $77 billion high-speed rail project after audit

CNBC

A new state audit raises questions about flaws in California's $77 billion high-speed rail project, adding pressure on Gov.-elect Gavin Newsom to consider cutting back the construction of the train or make other major changes.

WATER

Welcome rain comes to the Central Valley

Fresno Bee

Folks in Kerman, Fresno and all around the Central San Joaquin Valley slipped on rain boots and brought along umbrellas as a rainy and windy weather system moved into the area on Thursday.

● Recent storms have many hopeful for deep snowpack in the Sierra this season abc30

● Rain covered Stanislaus County causing flooding Modesto Bee

● More rain, possible, thunderstorms for Kern County Bakersfield Californian

Could this obscure California agency derail Jerry Brown’s Delta tunnels?

Sacramento Bee

As Gov. Jerry Brown leaves office, his controversial Delta tunnels plan is on the ropes.

Droughts, Floods, Failing Dams: What Climate Change Means For Water In The U.S.

VPR

The fourth National Climate Assessment has a whole chapter on water, and one of its conclusions is that human-caused climate change is already affecting water quantity and quality in the U.S.

“Xtra”

New Fresno Baskin-Robbins is the first of its kind in the U.S. Here’s what’s different

Fresno Bee

Fresno is now home to the only Baskin-Robbins in the United States featuring the ice cream retailer’s new concept called “moments.” The store located at Herndon and Milburn avenues includes a new line of novelties.

Fresno County Public Library gives out free aquarium passes to families in need

abc30

A new program at the Fresno County Public Library is taking young readers from the "Shelf to the Shore." It is providing free passes to the Monterey Bay Aquarium -- for families who would not be able to afford it otherwise.

Where to see biblical Christmas story re-enacted live, more events in Modesto region

Modesto Bee

The top five entertainment option in the Modesto, Ca., region from Dec. 14-20.

Take me home! Dogs available for adoption

Bakersfield Californian

These three dogs at Kern County Animal Services are looking for their forever homes. Can you help?

Great things are happening in the Valley.

Valley Cultural Coalition

Here's a list to keep you busy and entertained