October 4, 2019

04Oct

POLICY & POLITICS


The Maddy Institute Recognized for Innovative Practices in California Higher Education

The Maddy Institute

On Wednesday, October 2, The Maddy Institute was presented with a Focus on Efficiency Award at the 2019 California Higher Education Collaborative (CHEC) Conference at UCLA.


North SJ Valley:


VOLT and MJC programs get $1 million grant. It could mean higher paying jobs for area

Modesto Bee

Almost $1 million in federal grant funds will boost occupational training at the VOLT Institute and Modesto Junior College. The Economic Development Administration approved the $980,750 grant for​​ Opportunity Stanislaus, whose mission is improving economic vitality in Stanislaus County.


Stockton is giving people $500 a month, no strings attached. Here’s how they’re spending it

Sacramento Bee

New data released as part of Stockton’s closely watched universal basic income experiment offer a first glimpse into how an extra $500 a month affects the spending habits and quality of life for those receiving the no-strings-attached funds.

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Central SJ Valley:


Fresno Unified to Voters: How About a $500M Bond Measure? 

GV Wire

After hearing about overwhelming support from voters surveyed about a potential $240 million bond measure, Fresno Unified trustees want to see if voters would be willing to double down — even though the district’s chief financial officer warned against trying for a $500 million bond measure.


What's FUSD Trustee Slatic's Legal Strategy? Filings Provide a Clue.

GV Wire

A Fresno Unified trustee says a restraining order filed against him by a Bullard High School student is frivolous and politically motivated.


Rep. Devin Nunes files $77-million lawsuit, alleging Iowa farm story defamed him

Los Angeles Times

Central Valley Rep. Devin Nunes has filed yet another lawsuit against a major media organization, claiming he was defamed in a magazine story about his family’s Iowa dairy farm.


South SJ Valley:


Gleason isn't running in 2020 but still wants to unify Kern's east and west

Bakersfield Californian

Thirty-five years of service will suffice for Kern County 1st District Supervisor Mick Gleason. It's time, he says, for the grandkids. This week the retired Navy captain and China Lake commanding officer said he won’t be seeking another term in office.


California fines Chevron $2.7 million for surface oil spills at Cymric field in Kern County

Desert Sun

California on Wednesday fined Chevron more than $2.7 million for allowing an oil spill at the Cymric Oil Field in Kern County that lasted 113 days and covered almost an acre of a dry streambed.

See Also:

Lemoore City Council grants permit to first cannabis dispensary

Hanford Sentinel

The city of Lemoore is one step closer to receiving its first cannabis dispensary. The Lemoore City Council granted Valley Pure Lemoore, LLC a regulatory permit and authorized its planning development agreement during the council meeting Tuesday night. 


State:


California boom is ending, Gavin Newsom warns as 2020 budget writing begins

Fresno Bee

California’s longest-ever period of economic growth is slowing, Gov. Gavin Newsom said Thursday, warning that next year’s budget may not be as flush as this year’s. “You’re already seeing the plane land in terms of the the slowdown,” Newsom told reporters. “I think it’s going to reflect in a more sober look at next year’s budget.”

See also:


Gavin Newsom gives California districts more power to block charter schools with new law

Fresno Bee

California school districts will soon have more power to block proposed charter schools under a new law Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Thursday. Newsom, flanked by representatives from both the teachers union and the California Charter Schools Association, described how difficult the negotiations on the bill were.

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Public banks can be formed in California: Newsom signs new law

Los Angeles Times

California cities and counties will be allowed to establish public banks under a controversial bill signed into law Wednesday by Gov. Gavin Newsom, making California only the second U.S. state to allow such institutions.


2019 California Economic Summit Registration Opens

CAFWD

Register for the​​ 2019 California Economic Summit, which will take place in Fresno on November 7-8. The Summit, produced by​​ California Forward, marks the eighth annual gathering of private, public and civic leaders from across California’s diverse regions committed to creating a shared economic agenda to expand prosperity for all.


Federal:


Democrats in districts Trump won in 2016 face little impeachment backlash so far

Los Angeles Times

Peter Plavchan Sr. put on his red Make America Great Again hat Tuesday night and settled into the front row of a town hall meeting with his new congressional representative, Democrat Antonio Delgado, in the rural Hudson Valley.


Feinstein, Harris ask for probe of EPA notice against SF

San Francisco Chronicle

California’s senators have asked the Environmental Protection Agency’s watchdog to investigate whether the agency abused its enforcement powers when it accused San Francisco of improperly dumping waste into the ocean.


A ‘Chilling Message’: Trump Critics See a Deeper Agenda in California Feud

New York Times

President Trump’s political feud with California has spread collateral damage across more than a dozen other states, which have seen their regulatory authority curtailed and their autonomy threatened by a Trump administration intent on weakening the environmental statutes of the country’s most populous state.


Fact check: Schiff’s false claim his committee had not spoken to the whistleblower

Washington Post

Now let’s look at comments by Schiff, who is heading the impeachment inquiry, as reporters probed about the whistleblower before the details of the allegations were revealed.

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Trump ordered removal of ambassador over Biden probe; president calls for China to investigate Bidens 

Washington Post

Trump’s comments to reporters at the White House came as fallout continued Friday from the late-night release of text messages by House investigators, while another key figure, the inspector general of the intelligence community, testified on Capitol Hill behind closed doors.

See also:


Trump’s Story of Hunter Biden’s Chinese Venture Is Full of Holes

Bloomberg

President Donald Trump’s tale of how Hunter Biden flew into Beijing aboard Air Force Two and left a billionaire -- an episode he now wants China to investigate -- isn’t supported by known details about the episode.


Supreme Court to review ruling on Louisiana abortion law

Washington Post

The Supreme Court will review a restrictive Louisiana law that gives the justices the chance to reconsider a recent ruling protecting abortion rights. The court said Friday it would consider whether the 2014 law requiring doctors at abortion clinics to have admitting privileges at nearby hospitals unduly burdens women’s access to abortion.

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Elections 2020:


Sen. Harris pickets with union, rallies Reno students

Bakersfield Californian

Sen. Kamala Harris, D-California, told supporters in the early caucus state of Nevada Thursday she expects impeachment proceedings to move quickly in the House because of growing evidence President Donald Trump has committed crimes against the United States.

See Also:


With Sanders recovering from recent procedure, 100 supporters still come out to CSUB Barnstorm

Bakersfield Californian

Freshman Cal State Bakersfield student Elizabeth Palencia has a strong connection to Democratic nominee hopeful Sen. Bernie Sanders: he's the reason why she switched her major from pre-nursing to political science.

See Also:


Joe Biden falls behind rivals with $15.2-million fundraising haul

Los Angeles Times

Former Vice President Joe Biden collected $15.2 million in political donations over the last quarter, his campaign reported Thursday, a sum that places him behind Democratic rivals whom he has been leading in the polls.

See Also:


Elizabeth Warren tells San Diego crowd she’ll tax the wealthy to help middle class families

San Diego Union-Tribune

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a leading candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination, visited downtown San Diego Thursday night, where an estimated 8,500 people turned out to show their support. 

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Trump Targets Medicare for All in Re-Election Campaign

Wall Street Journal

President Trump attacked Medicare for All on Thursday while laying out his own vision for health care, part of an effort to challenge Democratic presidential candidates proposing a federal system.

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Political ‘deepfake’ videos banned in California before elections

San Francisco Chronicle

Ahead of what is expected to be a contentious election next year, California has made it illegal to distribute deceptively edited videos and audio clips intended to damage a politician’s reputation or deceive someone into voting for or against a candidate.


Political Operatives Are Faking Voter Outrage With Millions Of Made-Up Comments To Benefit The Rich And Powerful

BuzzFeed News

Sarah Reeves sat on her couch in Eugene, Oregon, staring at her laptop screen in furious disbelief. She was reading the website of a government agency, where her mother appeared to have posted a​​ comment​​ weighing in on a bitter policy battle for control of the internet. Something was very wrong.


Mandatory Gun Buybacks Divide 2020 Democrats, Activists

Wall Street Journal

Democratic presidential candidates and gun-control advocates are divided on whether the government should mandate buybacks of assault-style weapons, with some fearing it could jeopardize goals such as broadening background checks.


AGRICULTURE/FOOD


These 3 Central Coast wineries are among the best in the world, magazine says

Fresno Bee

Three Central Coast wineries are among the world’s best, according to Wine & Spirits magazine. Tablas Creek Vineyard in Templeton, Deovlet Wines in San Luis Obispo, and Chanin Wines in Lompoc were all named to the magazine’s​​ 2019 Top 100 Wineries​​ list, alongside wineries from France, Italy, Spain and Australia.


Lemoore City Council grants permit to first cannabis dispensary

Hanford Sentinel

The city of Lemoore is one step closer to receiving its first cannabis dispensary. The Lemoore City Council granted Valley Pure Lemoore, LLC a regulatory permit and authorized its planning development agreement during the council meeting Tuesday night. 


First marijuana dispensary opens in Kern County since ban

Bakersfield Californian

Marijuana is back on the market in Kern County, at least the legal kind. Since a ban by the Board of Supervisors came into full effect in May, all legal sales of the drug were extinguished everywhere in Kern County. But one dispensary in California City quietly opened last Friday, becoming the sole legal storefront in the county.


CRIMINAL JUSTICE / FIRE / PUBLIC SAFETY


Crime:


Man who shot mountain lion in head sentenced to 30 days in jail, California DA says

Modesto Bee

A Southern California man was sentenced to 30 days in jail on Thursday for shooting a mountain lion in the head and killing it, according to prosecutors.


Chief, sheriff offer reasons behind drop in property, other crimes in Stanislaus County

Modesto Bee

Stanislaus County last year experienced a drop in reported crimes, including homicide, rape, robbery, burglary and vehicle theft, according to​​ statistics released by the FBI​​ this week.


Drunk drivers more likely to commit violent gun crimes in California, study finds

Sacramento Bee

Gun buyers in California convicted of driving under the influence are at greater risk of committing a violent crime or a firearm-related offense, a group of researchers at UC Davis found in a broad study that tracks gun purchasers over the span of a decade.


Locked up, left behind

San Francisco Chronicle

Some were as young as 14 or 15 when they were arrested. Society saw them as hardened criminals, prosecutors charged them as adults and judges sent them to jails and prisons, sometimes for decades, in a sweeping crackdown on “superpredator” teenagers who supposedly robbed, raped and killed without conscience.


Vanishing Violence: Youth crime continues historic drop across US

San Francisco Chronicle

Youth crime continues to plummet across the country, with arrests of people under age 18 falling for the 13th straight year and reaching lows not seen in at least six decades, new​​ FBI figures​​ show.


Public Safety:


Gender Profile Of Mass Shootings

KHN
Of the 53 indiscriminate mass shootings in public places nationwide from January 2013 to August 2019, all but three involved only male suspects.


Fire: 


A look back: Visalia and Tulare's most historic fires

Visalia Times Delta

As fire investigators probe the cause of Wednesday's​​ Tesori mansion fire in Tulare, we thought it would be interesting to look back at some other historic blazes in the Visalia and Tulare area. According to​​ Derryl Dumermuth's "A Town Called Tulare,"​​ the city was ravaged by fire three times — in 1875, 1883 and again in 1886 — over 14 years after its 1872 founding. 


PG&E reaches $65 million settlement in record-falsification case

San Francisco Chronicle

Pacific Gas and Electric Co. has agreed to pay $65 million and implement a series of system reforms to settle an​​ investigation from California regulatorswho said the company repeatedly falsified internal records about its underground infrastructure.


California adopts 22 new laws taking aim at wildfire danger

Associated Press

California is adopting nearly two dozen laws aimed at preventing and fighting the devastating wildfires that have charred large swaths of the state in recent years and killed scores of people.

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Sprinklers and gadgets won’t save your home from a wildfire. What your neighbor does might

Los Angeles Times

In wind-driven scenarios, protecting a home hinges on the little things — such as using the right building materials and maintaining a lush, manageable garden — over pricey projects such as sprinklers, Cohen said. Embers should be viewed as a contagion that can spread like an airborne virus.


ECONOMY / JOBS


Economy:


$140 million and counting: Legal bills scrutinized in PG&E bankruptcy

San Francisco Chronicle

Legal bills and other fees arising from PG&E Corp.’s bankruptcy already total an estimated $140 million and the case is on track to rank among the most expensive proceedings of its kind, according to federal officials.


Black household income is rising across the United States

Brookings

Last week’s headlines around the release of new Census Bureau data spotlighted a​​ continued rise in income inequality. The Gini index—a statistical measure of income inequality—rose to its highest recorded level in 50 years, signaling that the distribution of income in the United States is the most uneven it’s been since the Bureau began tracking it in 1967.


U.S. Trade Gap With China Narrows as Exports Hit Five-Month High

Bloomberg

The U.S.'s merchandise trade deficit with China narrowed in August as exports rose to a five-month high, a possible sign of goodwill from the Asian nation as the countries try to resolve their trade war.


U.S. economy added just 136,000 jobs in September, in fresh sign economy is cooling

Washington Post

The U.S. economy added a modest 136,000 jobs in September, sending the unemployment rate to a nearly 50-year low, a mixed bag that some economists said was more evidence that the country could be headed for a slowdown.

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Repeated Recession Scares Are Chipping Away at Investor Confidence

Wall Street Journal

Is this the big one? Poor manufacturing data this week have again amped up the volume on recession talk, and stocks fell sharply. The figures weren’t all bad. And it is possible for bulls to stick with most of their previous views. But the danger is that in a market prepped for the end of the economic cycle, constant recession scares could chip away at confidence and eventually feed back to cause a slowdown.


Jobs:


Adventist looks to rehire outsourced workers

Bakersfield Californian

Adventist Health plans to rehire a number of the Kern County patient financial services employees it let go as part of a recent outsourcing drive, the Roseville-based hospital company said Thursday.


VOLT and MJC programs get $1 million grant. It could mean higher paying jobs for area

Modesto Bee

Almost $1 million in federal grant funds will boost occupational training at the VOLT Institute and Modesto Junior College. The Economic Development Administration approved the $980,750 grant for​​ Opportunity Stanislaus, whose mission is improving economic vitality in Stanislaus County.


U.S. jobs outlook is so weak it echoes disaster-hit months

Los Angeles Times

The last time U.S. payroll forecasts were this low, hurricanes had slammed the country in 2017, temporarily closing businesses. Or go back to 2013 when there was a federal government shutdown.

See also:


California Gig Worker Law Uncertain

California Healthline

A new California law that reclassifies some independent contractors as employees, requiring they be offered a range of benefits and worker protections, will likely expand health insurance coverage in the state, health policy experts say.

See Also:


OPINION: Small Business Hiring Slows

Wall Street Journal

Small businesses are hiring but still struggling to find help—even as they raise wages. According to the latest monthly employment report from the National Federation of Independent Business, due out later today.


EDUCATION


K-12:


Gavin Newsom gives California districts more power to block charter schools with new law

Fresno Bee

California school districts will soon have more power to block proposed charter schools under a new law Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Thursday. Newsom, flanked by representatives​​ from both the teachers union and the California Charter Schools Association, described how difficult the negotiations on the bill were.

See Also:


Education Strategy Isn’t Working for Property Tax Increase Plan 

Fox & Hounds

Education is intended to be the cutting edge of the blade to alter Proposition 13 with a ballot initiative in next year’s election. However, the just released Public Policy Institute of California poll indicates that strategy may not be as sharp as anticipated by the measure’s backers. 


Thousands of Schools Fall Below Recommended Measles Vaccination Rate

Wall Street Journal

Thousands of individual schools in the U.S. don’t have high enough immunization levels to meet the threshold considered adequate to protect a population from measles, a Wall Street Journal examination found.

See Also:


Higher Ed:


The new face of Sacramento’s affordable housing crisis: College students forced to drop out

Sacramento Bee

After classes at Sacramento State, when others had gone home, Alvin Prasad would spend the night sleeping in his Honda. He couldn’t afford an apartment and was too tired to drive to his parents’ Modesto home. “In winter, you have a blanket, sometimes it’s not warm enough.”


Attorney who paid $75,000 to rig daughter’s ACT exam sentenced to 1 month in admissions scandal

Los Angeles Times

Already disbarred and removed from his prestigious law firm, Gordon Caplan on Thursday received a final rebuke from the legal system he once sat atop when he was sentenced to one month in prison for conspiring to rig his daughter’s college entrance exams.


How Community College Reforms Could Help English Learners

PPIC

Two-thirds of English Learner students are not on track to earn a degree, but new initiatives may create clearer, more accessible pathways for advancement. 


Women Slowly Shifting to Higher-Paying College Majors

Wall Street Journal

Over the past six decades, women have enrolled in college in greater and greater numbers. Those born in the mid-1980s are 22% more likely to hold a bachelor’s degree than men. Yet they still see lower wages.


How Home Equity Affects College Aid

Wall Street Journal

Fall is hunting season across the U.S., a time when high-school seniors target their favorite colleges and their parents aim for financial aid. One factor to consider when applying: the impact of your home’s equity on financial aid. But prepare yourself. It seemingly takes an advanced degree to calculate eligibility, since formulas vary widely from school to school.


ENVIRONMENT/ ENERGY


Environment:


Valley Fever Could Spread With Climate Change, Study Warns

KVPR
The fungal disease valley fever is endemic to arid regions of the western United States, but new research suggests the areas where it’s found could rise along with global temperatures.


Feinstein, Harris ask for probe of EPA notice against SF

San Francisco Chronicle

California’s senators have asked the Environmental Protection Agency’s watchdog to investigate whether the agency abused its enforcement powers when it​​ accused San Francisco of improperly dumping waste​​ into the ocean.


California fines Chevron $2.7 million for surface oil spills at Cymric field in Kern County

Desert Sun

California on Wednesday fined Chevron more than $2.7 million for allowing an oil spill at the Cymric Oil Field in Kern County that lasted 113 days and covered almost an acre of a dry streambed.

See Also:

To fight climate change, California needs to plug into offshore wind

CALmatters

We all saw Greta Thunberg’s eyes. We saw her face. We heard her voice quivering as she urged the members of the United Nations last week to do more to fight back against the ravages of climate change.  

See also:


Radical warming in Siberia leaves millions on unstable ground

Washington Post

Andrey Danilov eased his motorboat onto the gravel riverbank, where the bones of a woolly mammoth lay scattered on the beach. A putrid odor filled the air — the stench of ancient plants and animals decomposing after millennia entombed in a frozen purgatory.


A ‘Chilling Message’: Trump Critics See a Deeper Agenda in California Feud

New York Times

President Trump’s political feud with California has spread collateral damage across more than a dozen other states, which have seen their regulatory authority curtailed and their autonomy threatened by a Trump administration intent on weakening the environmental statutes of the country’s most populous state.


Energy:


You can register for PG&E shut-off alerts by ZIP code now

San Francisco Chronicle

Members of the public can now sign up for alerts about Pacific Gas and Electric Co.’s power shut-offs even if they are not a customer at the location they want to monitor.


HEALTH/HUMAN SERVICES


Health:


US vaping illnesses top 1,000; death count is up to 18

abc30

The number of vaping-related illnesses has surpassed 1,000, and there's no sign the outbreak is fading, U.S. health officials said Thursday. Doctors say the illnesses, which first appeared in March, resemble an inhalation injury.

See Also:


Attorney General Becerra Stops In Fresno To Promote Tobacco Grants, ‘A Healthier California’

KVPR

California Attorney General Xavier Becerra paid a visit to Fresno this week to promote funding dedicated toward combating illegal tobacco sales. Becerra appeared alongside County Sheriff Margaret Mims at a press conference on Tuesday to announce a $326,000 grant to reduce tobacco use and vaping among minors. 


County says previously identified source may not have caused Yuba River E. coli plume

Sacramento Bee

Nevada County health officials continue to investigate a “plume” of contamination on the South Yuba River that tested positive for E. coli bacteria last month, now saying that a property​​ previously identified as a possible source of the pollution does not appear to be connected to the incident.


Adolescent Birth Rate

California Department of Public Health

Adolescent Births in California is an annual release of data about live births among California females under age 20 completed by the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) Maternal, Child and Adolescent Health (MCAH) Division. 

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OPINION: A Supercenter for Medicine

Wall Street Journal

As politicians talk about how to reduce medical costs, Walmart and CVS are doing something about it. This month Walmart opened its first Health Center, in Dallas, Ga. It offers “primary care, labs, X-ray and EKG, counseling, dental, optical, hearing and community health education,” all under one roof, a company press release announces.


Human Services:


Free health screenings, including dental and vision, in Modesto on Sunday

Modesto Bee

Free health screenings, including dental and vision, will be offered Sunday at the 15th annual Binational Health Fair at Hanshaw Middle School in Modesto. The event is hosted by El Concilio and Tzu Chi Foundation.


Kaiser says data breach exposed information on nearly 1,000 Sacramento-area patients

Sacramento Bee

Kaiser Permanente said Thursday that a data breach had left personal information on 990 Sacramento-area patients exposed to an unknown and unauthorized individual for about 13 hours.


UC Davis researchers develop breath test for opioids – and aim to make it smaller, faster

Sacramento Bee

Engineers and physicians​​ at the University of California, Davis, have developed a breath test for opioids that they foresee first responders using one day with overdose victims and physicians using in offices to counsel patients on prescription drug use, one of the inventors said Thursday.


Understanding the bipartisan Senate Finance prescription reform package

Brookings

On July 25, the​​ Prescription Drug Pricing Reduction Act​​ (PDPRA) of 2019 was approved by the Senate Finance Committee by a​​ 19-9 vote, with small​​ modifications​​ to the initial Chairman’s mark. 


IMMIGRATION


Trump suggested shooting migrants in legs, building moat to secure border: NYT report

abc30

President Donald Trump insists he never raised the idea of a moat filled with alligators and snakes and an electrified wall at the U.S. southern border. But he didn't push back on reports that he asked if the U.S. military could shoot at migrants crossing there,​​ ABC News reports.


Protesters rally in Sacramento against feared deportation of Cambodians

Sacramento Bee

Around a hundred people gathered at the state Capitol on Thursday to rally against the feared deportation and detention of Cambodian Americans by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

See also:


LAND USE/HOUSING


Land Use:


Fresno Breaks Ground On City's Largest Community Garden

KVPR
Local leaders gathered in Southwest Fresno Tuesday for the groundbreaking of the city’s​​ newest community garden and first project​​ funded by the Transformative Climate Communities grant. 


Housing:


New Fresno homeless shelter lets families stay together, keep their pets

abc30

Fresno's homeless population has steadily risen over the years. But a new housing option has become available for families trying to leave behind a life on the streets.


Thousands of California seniors are 'one disaster away' from homelessness. What can the state do?

Visalia Times Delta

In 2013, Madlynn Johnson had her own apartment and a steady job. A car accident changed everything. Her job gave her months off work. She drained her savings. She couldn't catch up on rent and other bills. Depression took hold. In 2014, she lost her housing in the San Francisco Bay Area.


Mercy Pedalers deliver help and humanity to Sacramento’s homeless

Sacramento Bee

It was a Thursday morning in late September in midtown and George was missing a shoe. It happened Wednesday night, he explained. He was sleeping in the alleyway behind the Claim Jumper restaurant when somebody stole it. George found a sympathetic ear. He told his story to Sister Libby Fernandez as she prepared his morning coffee from the back of her adult-sized tricycle.


The new face of Sacramento’s affordable housing crisis: College students forced to drop out

Sacramento Bee

After classes at Sacramento State, when others had gone home, Alvin Prasad would spend the night sleeping in his Honda. He couldn’t afford an apartment and was too tired to drive to his parents’ Modesto home. “In winter, you have a blanket, sometimes it’s not warm enough.” 


California homeowners slashing asking prices at post-recession high 

Orange County Register

It’s no blip. The frequency of price-cutting in Southern California, statewide and across the nation is running at or near post-recession highs.


OPINION: The Streets of San Francisco

Wall Street Journal

This city has been conducting a three-decade experiment in what happens when society stops enforcing bourgeois norms of behavior. It has done so in the name of compassion for​​ the homeless. The result: Street squalor and misery have increased, while government expenditures have ballooned. 


PUBLIC FINANCES


Army vet scammed out of life savings after returning to Fresno County from Syria

abc30

It was an abrupt ending to a hero's homecoming. After nine months serving the country in Syria, Army Veteran Ruben Diaz came home - only to face heartbreak, when social security  scammers got the best of him.


IRS whistleblower said to have reported concerns that Treasury Dept. appointee attempted to interfere in audit of Trump or Pence

Washington Post

An Internal Revenue Service​​ ­official has filed a​​ whistleblower complaint​​ reporting that he was told that at least one Treasury Department political appointee attempted to improperly interfere with the annual audit of the president’s or vice president’s tax returns, according to multiple people familiar with the document.


OPINION: Unconstitutional Tax Tricks

Wall Street Journal

A federal judge on Tuesday blocked a California law compelling presidential candidates to disclose their income tax returns to appear on the state’s primary ballot. This followed New York state’s defeat Monday in its lawsuit claiming the 2017 tax reform is unconstitutional. Notice a trend here?


TRANSPORTATION


Tesla semis part of Frito Lay's new green initiative at Modesto plant

Modesto Bee

Frito-Lay’s plant in Modesto, California will use electric Tesla semi trucks as part of a $30 million project to convert its entire diesel fleet to sustainable vehicles. The plant is reducing its carbon footprint.

See Also:


WATER


What we’ll lose at the water’s edge

San Francisco Chronicle 

Chronicle reporter Ryan Kost spent four days along the bay. He didn’t have a plan, but he had a map showing future flood zones — and a desire to know what would be lost under all the blue. 


“Xtra”


Is Fresno’s pro soccer team leaving town? Here’s what we know

Fresno Bee

Despite the Fresno Foxes soccer club’s on-field success during its first two years, the team might leave the city before the 2020 season begins. Mayor Lee Brand and the United Soccer League club management confirmed this week attempts to find a more permanent and soccer-specific location for the team have not been fruitful.


Camaraderie spread on the reservation: Tule River Reservation hosts 4th annual Veterans Stand Down and Resource Fair

Porterville Recorder

It was a beautiful day at the Tule River Tribe Veterans Post 1987, and a great way to celebrate the service of veterans and first responders, all of whom were invited to the 4th annual Stand Down and Resource Fair hosted by Commander Stanley Santos.


It's Beethoven and beyond for new BSO season

Bakersfield Californian

Orchestras the world over are devoting the 2019-2020 season to celebrate the 250th birthday of Ludwig van Beethoven, and while the Bakersfield Symphony will mark the great composer’s birthday, the BSO will spend more time on less-traveled roads.