October 12, 2017

12Oct

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TOP POLITICAL STORIES​​​​​​​

Local/Regional Politics:

WHAT’S UP WITH THAT: Why does the city prohibit microbreweries?

Bakersfield Californian

Q: Why did the city ever prohibit microbreweries in the downtown area? — Larry Miller

A: Breweries have been historically permitted in the industrially zoned areas of Bakersfield because this type of operation typically produces odors, traffic and increased sewer run-off, which are not usually compatible with more sensitive land uses, like residential and commercial uses.

State Politics:

California Senate Race Tells the Democrats’ Future

Bloomberg

“Democrats are now captive to the party’s left-wing fringe” wrote conservative commentator Ed Rogers in September. Back in 2016, the conservative Washington Examiner editorialized that the Democratic descent into the socialist pit had actually begun years before. While the news media was fussing over “extremism” engulfing the Republican Party, they “ignored the existence of the reciprocal phenomenon — the Democratic Party’s lurch to the left.”

See also:

Will Garcetti run for governor? It’s not an easy question 

Los Angeles Daily News

If running for governor of California were as obvious a next step for a popular mayor of Los Angeles as some might think, Eric Garcetti could have made an announcement this week. Instead, when asked in an appearance Tuesday at the Sacramento Press Club if he’s running for governor in 2018, Garcetti said: “I’m going to take a little bit more time to think about it.”

California secessionists think their path to independence is easier than Catalonia’s

Sacramento Bee

The world has been watching the play-by-play of Catalonia’s bid for independence from Spain, but one group is tuning in more closely than most: California secessionists.

Federal Politics:

Trump promises big tax cuts, but GOP-led Congress is already thinking about scaling back

LA Times

President Trump promised the largest tax cut in history, but as he hit the road Wednesday to promote the plan, Republicans in Congress were quietly discussing scaling back key provisions in an effort to deliver the top White House priority.

See also

Covered California slaps a surcharge on health plans as Trump remains coy on subsidies

Los Angeles Times

California’s health insurance exchange said Wednesday it has ordered insurers to add a surcharge to certain policies next year because the Trump administration has yet to commit to paying a key set of consumer subsidies under the Affordable Care Act.

See also:

Trump’s reversal on public-private partnerships is bad news for California roads

Orange County Register

President Trump’s calls for making massive investments in infrastructure projects across the country were a staple of his 2016 campaign. After taking office, his transportation team highlighted how public-private partnerships could help fund Trump’s proposed $1 trillion worth of infrastructure improvements.

Is Washington bungling the Census?

Politico

For more than 200 years, the federal government has regularly taken an immense survey of American business called the Economic Census. Though not as well-known as the decennial census, the big population count in which enumerators tally Americans house to house, it has been conducted at least every five years since 1905, with a gap only during World War II. Its basic measurements of economic activity, like jobs and revenue, are crucially important to companies, policymakers and anyone trying to track the nation’s economic health.

Other:

In Las Vegas, the casino is always watching — and yet it missed Stephen Paddock

LA Times

The casino hotels on the Las Vegas Strip, with all their glitzy delights, aren’t just palaces of distraction. They’re miniature surveillance states.

See also:

Sinclair is targeting PolitiFact. But you need to know the facts

PolitiFact

The Sinclair Broadcasting Group, the nation’s largest owner of television stations, is attacking PolitiFact for a recent fact-check we published about federal funding related to superstorm Sandy. Sinclair, which has faced criticism for a clear conservative point of view, published a video commentary last week saying we fabricated data related to a fact-check we published on Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas. Cruz claimed, “Two-thirds of the (Sandy disaster relief) bill had nothing to do with Sandy.”

Why does government grow? | reThink Tank

AEI

Why does government always get bigger? AEI’s Benjamin Zycher reviews the many hypotheses explaining why government never seems to shrink, even when officials promise that it will.

EDITORIALS

‘Adult day care’ isn’t enough. We need a law to keep Trump’s hands off nuclear button

Fresno Bee

Donald Trump keeps lobbing warmongering statements. That makes the case for a bill by Rep. Ted Lieu of California to require the president to get congressional authorization for a nuclear first strike.

Wildfires, like drought, grow more intense

Merced Sun-Star

Climate change models have predicted worse fires, droughts, hurricanes; this is no time to cut funding

Wine country fire must force new prevention efforts

Sacramento Bee

California’s iconic wine country, a source of pride and pleasure for so many of us for so long, now must become the focus of an intensive assessment, both of the scope of the devastation and of the cause of the fires that have so far claimed more than 20 lives.

Devastating wine country fire must force a new look at prevention

Sacramento Bee

For the sake of those who perished this week, we must make a greater effort to fight the fires we know will return.

Did PG&E adequately maintain power lines before fires?

San Jose Mercury News

The PUC also shouldn’t be waiting until a disastrous fire to inspect and report on California utilities’ maintenance records

The climate-change fire alarm from Northern California

Los Angeles Times

Big deadly fires are nothing new to California, particularly during fire season when the Santa Ana or Diablo winds blow hot and dry, making tinder out of trees and bushes that have been baking all summer long. But the firestorm now raging through Northern California isn’t the typical wildfire….

Oil industry and ex-legislators find a new way to peddle influence

Sacramento Bee

The oil industry saw the reality that Gov. Jerry Brown was determined to push through legislation to extend cap-and-trade until 2030. The industry, having hired former legislators, worked to mold it.

AGRICULTURE/FOOD

Why the world needs California’s farm exports

Sacramento Bee

I applaud Peter Drekmeier’s courage to speak out about the complex topic of food exports, but the provincial former mayor of Palo Alto seems to know very little (“Exports help state agriculture, but at what cost,” Viewpoints, Oct. 6).

Gov. Brown vetoes effort to regulate Blue Apron, other meal delivery services in California 

Los Angeles Times

Gov. Jerry Brown on Wednesday put the brakes on an effort to further regulate the burgeoning meal subscription business, in which firms deliver to customers original recipes and proportioned ingredients needed to prepare food at home.

City Council approves commercial pot ban

Bakersfield Californian

The Bakersfield City Council approved an ordinance that will ban all commercial cannabis activity in town. In its Oct. 11 meeting, the council voted 5-1 in favor of the ordinance. Councilman Willie Rivera voted against the ban while Councilman Chris Parlier was absent for the vote.

Ban or limit? County planning commission weighs marijuana regulation

Bakersfield Californian

Thursday night the Kern County Planning Commission will take up, for a second time, one of the toughest decisions it will face this year. Should the county ban or allow and regulate the commercial cannabis industry?

CRIMINAL JUSTICE​ ​/​ ​FIRE​ ​/​ ​PUBLIC SAFETY

For stories on Las Vegas mass shooting and ”gun control,” See: “Top Stories – Other,” above 

Crime:

City plans curfew centers to keep kids off mean streets

Fresno Bee

Fresno police will partner with faith-based groups to place juveniles who are out late on weekends into curfew centers where they will be safe, Chief Jerry Dyer said Tuesday.

Local law enforcement could benefit from federal funding

visaliatimesdelta.com

Local law enforcement agencies are expected to receive additional money to ensure the neighborhoods they are sworn to protect are safer.

Gov. Jerry Brown signs legislation to ease punishment, criminal fines for juvenile offenders – LA Times

Gov. Jerry Brown on Wednesday signed nine bills to aid young people facing charges and serving time, a victory for a statewide coalition of criminal justice groups that brought together celebrities and former youth offenders in a push to divert children from a path to prison.

See also:

Regulators demand answers into status of CPUC criminal probe 

San Diego Tribune

Lawyers for the California Public Utilities Commission say they can’t get a straight answer from the state Attorney General’s Office about a long-running corruption investigation into the regulatory agency.

San Bernardino parole program helps its “students” reenter the community successfully

CAFWD

Partnership between state corrections and a university provides services to keep parolees on track

Fire:

Live updates on Wine Country fires: Calistoga evacuated, death toll rises

The Fresno Bee

Wildfires continued to lay siege to huge swaths of Northern California on Wednesday, forcing the evacuations of thousands from iconic wine country towns like Calistoga and destroying thousands of homes and businesses in what Gov. Jerry Brown said was one of the worst fire events in state history.

See also:

Squaw Valley arsonist gets 18 years for string of wildland fires

Fresno Bee

A 70-year-old Squaw Valley man who told authorities he lit a string of wildland fires in east Fresno County for “no reason” was sentenced Wednesday to 18 years in prison.

State prisoners are a ‘valuable resource’ on the front lines of Canyon …

OCRegister

Wearing 60-pound backpacks, a platoon of prisoners marched Wednesday, Oct. 11 along a narrow trail at Santiago Oaks Regional Park in Orange. Then the dozen or so inched their way up a steep hillside blackened by the devastating Canyon Fire 2. The mission for the minimum-security inmates from the Fenner Canyon Conservation Camp in Valyermo was unglamorous. But it’s essential: Extinguish hot spots and clear brush so the blaze won’t kick up again.

ECONOMY / JOBS

Economy:

Poverty in California

Public Policy Institute of California | Just the Facts

Despite improvements, the official poverty rate remains high. According to official poverty statistics, 14.3% of Californians lacked enough resources—about $24,000 per year for a family of four—to meet basic needs in 2016. The rate has declined significantly from 15.3% in 2015, but it is well above the recent low of 12.4% reached in 2007. Moreover, the official poverty line does not account for California’s housing costs or other critical family expenses and resources.

Jobs:

‘We were forced to hire people.’ Investigation focuses on state tax agency’s hiring.

Sacramento Bee

John Calzada wishes he’d never taken the job that placed him directly in between a California tax agency and one of the politicians who was elected to lead it.

EDUCATION

K-12:

Will school board punish Ashjian or chalk it up to freedom of speech?

Fresno Bee

Fresno Unified school board president Brooke Ashjian’s fellow trustees agree that his comments critical of the LGBT community were wrong, but parents, students and activists on Wednesday said that’s not enough.

High Schools cancel games due to poor air quality

Merced Sun-Star

When Los Banos High athletic director Joseph Barcellos arrived at the Western Athletic Conference league meeting in Turlock on Wednesday morning everything looked normal outside.

SD Unified takes first steps to later start times

San Diego Union-Tribune

Trustees in the San Diego Unified School District are open to the idea of starting middle and high school an hour later, but want to bring the issue to the schools.

Conservatives & Union Coalition? Don’t scoff

AEI

The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), which replaces No Child Left Behind, unceremoniously ushers Uncle Sam out of a domestic arena like no legislation since welfare reform two decades ago. How in the world did that happen during the hyper-progressive Obama administration?

Special education in “deep trouble” and still needs reform, says California ed board president

EdSource

Special education in California is in “deep trouble,” exacerbated by outmoded concepts and an extreme shortage of fully-prepared teachers, according to Michael Kirst, president of the California State Board of Education.

Higher Ed:

Five reasons why “downtown universities” matter for economic growth

Brookings Institution

The value of the nation’s higher education system is usually expressed as just that—education. But while the educational mission of America’s colleges and universities is critical, often missed or neglected by local and national policymakers is the value of these institutions to economic growth.

Cal State receives federal grant to prepare more Latinos to become teachers

EdSource

Numerous studies show black and Latino students do better in school when their teachers look like them, but across the country and in California, most teachers are white.

San Bernardino parole program helps its “students” reenter the community successfully

CAFWD

Partnership between state corrections and a university provides services to keep parolees on track

ENVIRONMENT/ ENERGY

Environment:

Valley air quality bad because of Northern California wildfires

Fresno Bee

San Joaquin Valley air pollution officials have issued an air quality alert that extends into Saturday.

High Schools cancel games due to poor air quality

Merced Sun-Star

When Los Banos High athletic director Joseph Barcellos arrived at the Western Athletic Conference league meeting in Turlock on Wednesday morning everything looked normal outside.

More zero-emission vehicles will mean better air quality, Gov. Jerry Brown promises while signing new laws

LA Times

Touting them as a way to further loosen California’s reliance on automobiles powered by fossil fuel, Gov. Jerry Brown signed a dozen laws on Tuesday aimed at boosting the use and sale of zero-emission vehicles.

A key change to a major state environmental law again misses a deadline

LA Times

California lawmakers keep passing bills to ease the burden of environmental lawsuits against big developments. And they keep ignoring the fact that the deadline they set for the end of the litigation is never met.

New refinery safety laws pass, but ban on deadly chemical stalls 

KPCC

Gov. Jerry Brown signed three new laws this week intended to make local refineries safer for their neighbors. But one big change remains elusive, and that’s a ban on refineries using a toxic chemical known as modified hydrofluoric acid.

High Housing Costs, Scarcity Of Skilled Workers Slow Economic Growth

capradio.org

California’s economic growth will continue to expand at a steady rate over the next couple of years. That’s according to the latest forecast from economist Jeff Michael who heads the Center for Business and Policy Research at the University of the Pacific. He says a growing scarcity of skilled workers and extreme housing costs will prevent faster economic growth.

Energy:

Trump’s Energy Strategy, The Nuclear Option, Featuring Jeremy Carl

Hoover Institution

A new administration means a new approach to federal energy approach, in the case of Donald Trump’s presidency, a new look at nuclear energy. Hoover research fellow Jeremy Carl, coauthor of Keeping the Lights on at America’s Nuclear Power Plants, examines the choices available to Trump on clean, green, and fossil energies

HEALTH/HUMAN SERVICES

Valley air quality bad because of Northern California wildfires

Fresno Bee

San Joaquin Valley air pollution officials have issued an air quality alert that extends into Saturday.

Smoke from Northern California wildfires blankets Sacramento with unhealthy smoke

Sacramento Bee

Sacramento Valley and foothills residents awoke Wednesday to the heavy smell of smoke, hazy brown skies and ashes on car windshields – the result of nearly two dozen Northern California wildfires, including the Atlas Fire, which exploded overnight in the hills west of Fairfield.

Looking to protect your lungs from the wildfire smoke? Not all masks are created equal

Sacramento Bee

The nearly two dozen wildfires burning throughout wine country have filled the greater region with smoke

County to get new Human Services call center

Hanford Sentinel

The county is building a new $4 million call center for its Human Services department after the busy agency “outgrew its current facility” says Kings County Supervisor Doug Verboon. ”They just brought in modular buildings recently and are bolting them together – fast-tracking the construction. Verboon expects the new Call Center, which helps residents with their benefits, will be open by year’s end.

Tulare hospital filed for bankrupcy, makes announcement one day ahead of hearing

visaliatimesdelta.com

The Tulare Regional Medical Center Board of Directors announced Wednesday it has filed for Chapter 9 Petition to reorganize its financial affairs.

Legislators, health advocates to address Kern’s ‘deeply entrenched’ inequities

Bakersfield Californian

A cadre of legislators, community leaders and health advocates, including U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris, are meeting in Stockton Thursday to devise a plan for improving economic and health outcomes throughout the often-overlooked San Joaquin Valley. And one region stands out: Kern County.

Community health centers battle for funding 

Capitol Weekly

It’s been nearly two weeks since a crucial deadline passed to continue funding for community health centers, the nonprofit facilities that deliver care to the poor and uninsured in California and across the country. Now, Congress is still squabbling over the details, advocates are still scrambling to get the funding renewed and the centers are starting to plan for the bottom line.

Mobile Clinics Assume Greater Role in Preventive Care

Pew

One afternoon last month, the Family Van stopped at the corner of Washington and Roxbury streets in Boston. The regulars had already formed a line, waiting in the lingering summer heat for the red and green RV to arrive.

IMMIGRATION

Walters: What next for California’s sanctuary defiance? 

CALmatters

So California has declared itself to be a sanctuary for those who have entered the nation illegally.

Here’s how that looming DACA deadline changes the game for California’s vulnerable Republicans

LA Times

For years, Orange County Republicans such as Reps. Ed Royce and Mimi Walters have drawn from a familiar GOP playbook on immigration.

Evacuation shelters will not ask immigration status, Sonoma County sheriff says

Los Angeles Times

Shelters opened for fire evacuees in Sonoma County will not ask anyone’s immigration status, Sheriff Rob Giordano said Wednesday night. “There’s a rumor out there that people are checking immigration status in shelters and that is not true,” he told reporters at a news briefing.

 How “regularising” undocumented immigrants brings benefits

The Economist

ON OCTOBER 8th, the Trump administration issued a set of hardline “immigration principles and policies” that it suggested would be tied to any deal to extend the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) programme, an Obama-era executive initiative that stalled deportation for nearly 800,000 undocumented young people brought to America as children.

LAND USE/HOUSING

Land Use:

Five reasons why “downtown universities” matter for economic growth

Brookings Institution

The value of the nation’s higher education system is usually expressed as just that—education. But while the educational mission of America’s colleges and universities is critical, often missed or neglected by local and national policymakers is the value of these institutions to economic growth.

Housing:

Fresno Councilman Says His No-Camping Ordinance Is Working

KMJ

The author of the City of Fresno’s new no-camping ordinance says the new rule is already making an impact. The “Unhealthy and Hazardous Camping Act” was passed by Fresno City Council in August, after it was proposed by District 2’s Steve Brandau (click here to read more).

High Housing Costs, Scarcity Of Skilled Workers Slow Economic Growth

capradio.org

California’s economic growth will continue to expand at a steady rate over the next couple of years. That’s according to the latest forecast from economist Jeff Michael who heads the Center for Business and Policy Research at the University of the Pacific. He says a growing scarcity of skilled workers and extreme housing costs will prevent faster economic growth.

State efforts to address homelessness

Legislative Analyst’s Office

Multiple State Departments Involved. Various state entities participate in the administration of these programs, including the Departments of Housing and Community Development, Veterans Affairs, Social Services, and Health Care Services, as well as the Office of Emergency Services, California Tax Credit Allocation Committee, and California Housing Finance Agency.

 

Wages rise but rents will still be unaffordable, USC report says 

KPCC

Southern California wages are rising but a new report from University of Southern California shows that’s not going to make rents more affordable in the long run.

PUBLIC FINANCES

For stories on “tax reform” See: “Top Stories – Federal Politics,” above

Council members clash over tax increase proposal

Bakersfield Californian

Bakersfield City Council members had mixed feelings about asking voters to approve a sales tax increase to ease the city’s revenue concerns.

TRANSPORTATION

Autonomous cars without backup drivers could come to California roads before June

San Jose Mercury News

Fully autonomous vehicles — without backup drivers — could be on California public roads by June or earlier, the state’s Department of Motor Vehicles said Wednesday as it unveiled a new version of proposed rules for self-driving cars.

Gas tax hike has Californians paying more for less

San Diego Union-Tribune

We’ve heard it all before. Every time state politicians want more money from you with a tax hike, they promise they will use the money to address something you really want. Unfortunately, just as Lucy always snatches the ball from Charlie Brown, the politicians always end up taking your money and breaking their promises.

Completely driverless cars could hit California roads as early as next June, if not sooner

Washington Post

For some time, people have wondered when completely driverless cars — the kind devoid of human operators — would appear on California roads.

Totally driverless cars could be allowed on California roads by June 2018

Los Angeles Times

Driverless cars — with nobody behind the wheel — could be on California roads and highways by June 2018.

GOP alliances rip over gas tax repeal: Anti-taxers vs. business establishment

CALmatters

Business groups are threatening to wage a pricey campaign to stop California’s Republican officials from trying to repeal a new state gas tax—warning them not to “create new political adversaries.” But the politicians aren’t flinching.

WATER

Monson water service just about ready

visaliatimesdelta.com

The Sultana Community Services District will take over operations and ownership of the newly-completed water well and delivery system in Monson, following approval from county Supervisors.

Rebuilding The Lake Oroville Spillways

capradio.org

In February, a huge hole opened in the Lake Oroville main spillway. The cause of the hole is still undetermined. The ensuing closure of the main gates and use of the emergency spillway for the first time ever caused damage to the hillside, erosion toward the spillway structure and thousands of people to evacuate.

 “Xtra”

Rabo-banking on new additions this season

Bakersfield Californian

As hockey fans gear up for the Condors’ home opener Thursday, there will be something even more exciting than what’s on the ice (no offense to the team) going on at Rabobank Arena. The venue will debut its upgraded video board, new lounge, craft beer bar and new concessions featuring Chinese food, flatbread pizzas and more.

Cal State Bakersfield offers Taste of the Arts | Arts & Theater

Bakersfield Californian

This is a banner weekend for the arts at Bakersfield’s foundations of higher education. As Bakersfield College holds its first Panorama Creative Music Summit, Cal State Bakersfield is celebrating its own music program as well as art and theater at the annual Taste of the Arts on Sunday.