Political Briefs
Top stories
Democratic hopes for California tax increase hinge on GOP votes — A handful of Republicans would have to join majority Democrats to raise taxes in the special session – a political risk even a vigilant tax-fighter like Fleischman now believes is unlikely. Sacramento Bee article
Democrats have lots of ideas on spending cap and trade cash – Having money to spend isn’t exactly a problem in Sacramento. But when there’s cash, there are competing priorities — as evidenced by the 2015 battle over where to spend cash from California’s growing cap and trade fund. KQED report
Gov. Brown
Gov. Jerry Brown creates new online security center — Gov. Jerry Brown has ordered the creation of a new security center that will be responsible for strengthening online security to prevent cyber-attacks on state agencies. Brown on Monday signed an executive order to create the California Cybersecurity Integration Center, a branch of the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services. AP article
Valley politics
Stockton City Council reform taking baby steps — Proposals that would end Stockton’s citywide voting system for the City Council and expand the number of council districts from six to eight have taken small steps forward but still face a long journey toward approval and enactment. Stockton Record article
Statewide politics/Ballot Measures
Proposed measure would drop drinking age to 18 – Terrance Lynn doesn’t see himself as the new patron saint of college keggers, but hisproposed ballot measure to lower California’s drinking age from 21 to 18 might get him there nonetheless. Lynn, 42, of Portola Valley, sees it as a civil-rights issue. Political Blotter
Immigration
Kathryn Steinle’s parents to file legal claims against San Francisco, feds – The parents of a woman shot to death in July by a man who was facing possible deportation intend to file legal claims against San Francisco and federal officials in connection with her killing, representatives of the family said Monday. San Francisco Chronicle article; San Jose Mercury News article
Immigration: Are male detainees treated differently from women? – Immigrants and their attorneys argue that the administration is illegally jailing mothers at the centers as a deterrent. In February, U.S. District Judge James E. Boasberg in Washington, D.C., agreed, saying jailing the mothers as a deterrent to future migrants was “likely unlawful” and ordered the government to stop. LA Times article
224 immigrants arrested in four-day sweep across Southern California — The enforcement action ended on Thursday with 244 foreign nationals in the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement – the majority of them with at least one felony conviction on their record, authorities said. It was the most successful four-day sweep of its kind in the region, ICE said. LA Times article; AP article
Other areas
California Senate sends bill to close gender pay gap to governor — The California Senate unanimously approved a bill strengthening the state’s equal-pay policies Monday, sending the measure to Gov. Jerry Brown, who plans to sign it into law. Sacramento Bee article; KQED report
Dean Florez: Two bills, two momentous choices for Valley lawmakers – The former member of the Assembly and Senate writes, “In the next few days, the moderate Democrats of the San Joaquin Valley will cast one of the most momentous and politically fraught votes of their legislative careers. The choice before them could not be more stark: to stand with Big Oil and other powerful industries that have become their political benefactors in the short term or to create a new California that will stand as a global leader in a post-industrial green economy.” Florez op-ed in Fresno Bee
Dan Walters: Half-baked carbon bill given rush – Why the big rush to pass Senate Bill 350? We’re in the final fortnight of the legislative session and Gov. Jerry Brown and Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de León are trying to nail down enough votes to “decarbonize” California in the next 15 years. Walters column in Sacramento Bee
Greg Becker and Carl Guardino: California should take next steps on climate change – Becker, chairman of the Silicon Valley Leadership Group, and Guardino, president and CEO of the Silicon Valley Leadership Group, write, “While California has a clear path through 2020, to truly address our environmental and public health challenges and maximize the economic opportunity before us, we must plan for the long term. Passing targets for the year 2050 through Senate Bill 32 would provide the long-term certainty businesses need and would affirm the state’s commitment to clean, sustainable economic growth.” Becker/Guardino op-ed in Sacramento Bee
Tom Scott: Climate change bills would add costly burden to business – The director of the National Federation of Independent Businesses/California writes, “Much to the dismay of small business owners across the state, the authors of two major pieces of climate change legislation refuse to take responsibility for the massive cost increases should their bills become law.” Scott op-ed in Sacramento Bee
Joel Fox: What would voters do on climate change bill? — Looking at the results of the California Business Roundtable/California Manufacturing & Technology Association poll on the SB 350 climate change bill, you can almost see how campaign arguments would be formulated if the hotly debated bill were on a ballot for voters to decide. Fox in Fox & Hounds
Halle Berry joins Capitol climate change lobbying team – California Democrats’ public relations push to pass sweeping climate change legislation has enlisted businesses, religious authorities – and now a healthy dose of celebrity. Halle Berry met with lawmakers on Monday to promote Senate Bill 350, which would compel California to slash its gas use by half, tighten energy efficiency and derive half of its electricity from renewable sources. Capitol Alert; LA Times article
Adwatch: Oil interests mislead about vehicle monitoring – The California Drivers Alliance, a group funded by the Western States Petroleum Association, is running a TV ad opposing Senate Bill 350, which would require the state to reduce petroleum use in motor vehicles by 50 percent and increase the proportion of electricity derived from renewable sources such as wind and solar. Sacramento Bee article
Bill would ban naming public sites after Confederate leaders – California lawmakers on Monday advanced a bill to ban schools, parks and other public property from being named after elected leaders or senior military officers of the Confederacy. AP article
Catholic officials find inspiration for assisted death opposition in Pope’s encyclical – Before a closed-door forum at the Capitol Monday, Catholic officials there to discuss the document and lobby waffling lawmakers to support Senate Bill 350 said they also saw in the Pope’s words further cause to oppose controversial assisted death legislation that has cropped up again in a special legislative session on health. Sacramento Bee article
Anti-profiling legislation: Stockton group to join rally for bill — Proponents of a bill sitting in the state’s Senate’s Appropriations Committee say the piece of legislature needs to pass in order to put an end to what they call a problem of racial and identity profiling by some members of law enforcement. Stockton Record article
Lawmakers send Jerry Brown bill to ban bullhooks on elephants – The Senate on Monday sent Gov. Jerry Brown a bill that would make California the first in the nation to ban elephant handlers from using bullhooks, a sharp-pointed implement activists say is inhumane. Sacramento Bee article
Gavin Newsom, wife announce they’re expecting a baby boy – Now they’re just one kid away from fielding a basketball team. Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, 47, and wife Jennifer Siebel Newsom, 41, announced Monday that they are having another child. Sacramento Bee article
Congressman Kevin McCarthy: NLRB’s latest attack on American jobs – The U.S. House Majority Leader (R-Bakersfield) writes, “It is unfathomable that as small businesses face rising costs via more Washington rules, and American workers face stagnant wages due to government imposed costs, the Obama Administration wants to stymie the American Dream for entrepreneurs and workers.” McCarthy in Fox & Hounds
Obama paints doomsday scene of global warming in Alaska — President Barack Obama is painting a doomsday scenario for the Arctic and beyond if climate change isn’t dealt with fast: entire nations submerged underwater, cities abandoned and refugees fleeing in droves as conflict breaks out across the globe. AP article
California Government Today:
News Briefs
Top Stories
Modesto council weighs creating downtown benefit district — The City Council is expected to decide Tuesday whether to form the Downtown Modesto Community Benefit District, which would levy assessments on property owners that district advocates say would pay for improvements to make downtown cleaner, safer and more attractive, which would bring in more visitors and investment. Modesto Bee article
Water conservation has costly – and stinky – downsides – Under orders to slash water use amid a historic drought, cities and towns across the state saved about 75 billion gallons in July, eclipsing Gov. Jerry Brown’s once-daunting order for a 25% reduction. But, in a paradox of conservation, water agencies say the unprecedented savings — 31% in July over July 2013 — are causing or compounding a slew of problems. LA Times article
School districts avoid leaseback contracts amid scrutiny – School districts are being careful about the way they handle construction projects after the state Supreme Court refused last week to depublish an appellate court decision that criticizes Fresno Unified’s use of a no-bid contract. Fresno Bee article
Jobs and the Economy
UCLA study finds million-plus elderly Californians in poverty – More than 300,000 elderly Californians are officially poor, as measured by the federal government, but their numbers triple to more than 1 million when the “hidden poor” are counted, according to a new study from UCLA’s Center for Health Policy Research. Sacramento Bee article
San Joaquin County home market remains hot – San Joaquin County in August remained among the hottest housing markets in the country, although it slipped a few notches on the Top 20 list compiled by realtor.com, the website of the National Association of Realtors. Stockton Record article
Roughly 5 million people left California in the last decade. See where they went – An unprecedented number of Californians left for other states during the last decade, according to new tax return data from the Internal Revenue Service. About 5 million Californians left between 2004 and 2013. Roughly 3.9 million people came here from other states during that period, for a net population loss of more than 1 million people. Despite the loss of residents to other states, California continued to grow during the last decade because of natural increase – more births than deaths – and foreign migration. This graphic shows the number of people who came to and left California from each state during the last decade. Sacramento Bee article
Chukchansi gaming official predicts September opening – There is a confidence in Christian Goode’s declaration that Chukchansi Gold Resort & Casino is reopening in September. Goode, the facility’s chief operating officer, doesn’t have an opening date set yet. And he acknowledges a Labor Day weekend opening was always ambitious and won’t happen. Fresno Bee article
Merced County chipping away at Castle development – Merced County officials are continuing their work to bring businesses to the Castle Commerce Center and develop the former Air Force base. Merced Sun-Star article
Gas prices down in Merced County heading into Labor Day weekend – The average cost for a gallon of gas during the Labor Day weekend is expected to dip to a low that hasn’t been seen since 2004, according to AAA. Merced Sun-Star article
Holly Culhane: California worker rules expand protections against heat — A decade ago, California became a pioneer in establishing and enforcing heat-protection rules for the state’s farm workers. This summer, the rules that apply to many industries beyond agriculture, including construction, landscaping, oil and gas extraction, and transportation and delivery, have been expanded. These changes have sent area employers scrambling to learn the details of the new requirements and what they must do to comply. Culhane column in Bakersfield Californian
Merced County 7-Eleven stores offer child support payment program – Merced County added a child support payment method in August to recognize Child Support Awareness Month. The new payment option, PayNearMe, allows parents to pay child support in cash at more than 1,500 7-Eleven stores throughout the state. All 7-Eleven stores in Merced County are participating in the program. Merced Sun-Star article
Zoning shifts pave way for change in Hanford – The City of Hanford is on the cusp of change as officials are taking steps to ease long-standing zoning laws limiting specific business development in the downtown area. The Business Journal article
LA poised to vote on 2024 Olympic plan – A month after Boston’s bid for the 2024 Olympic Games collapsed, Los Angeles appears on the verge of stepping in as the replacement U.S. candidate. AP article
California state engineers reach contract deal with Jerry Brown – California’s state engineers’ union said Monday that it has reached a tentative labor agreement with Gov. Jerry Brown that includes pay raises, although it declined to detail concessions it made on the administration’s signature issue – retiree health benefits. Sacramento Bee article
Slide in the price of gold brings an end to mining operations near Trona — Good news for the U.S. economy is spelling bad news for workers at an open-pit gold mine near Kern County’s northeastern corner. CR Briggs Corp. sent a letter last week informing Kern’s Board of Supervisors the company is laying off six workers as it winds down mining and crushing operations at the mine, located just across the Inyo County border near Trona. Four of the layoffs were directly attributed to the shutdown of the mine’s crusher plant. Bakersfield Californian article
Executive pay at Blue Shield California shot up $24 million, audit reveals — Nonprofit insurer Blue Shield of California boosted executive compensation by $24 million in 2012 — a 64% jump over the previous year — according to a confidential state audit reviewed by The Times. LA Times article
Garcetti says housing all homeless vets won’t happen this year – Mayor Eric Garcetti has backed off his pledge to get every homeless veteran off city streets by the end of this year, his spokeswoman said Monday. LA Times article
California worker rights bill on governor’s desk – A bill on California Governor Jerry Brown’s desk would clarify that arbitration agreements are voluntary between companies and their workers — and not a condition of getting hired. Capital Public Radio report
Card room hours modification on Stockton council agenda – The City Council will consider reducing the hours that card rooms in Stockton are permitted to operate only six months after increasing operating hours. According to the city, the latest change is meant to bring Stockton into compliance with California Bureau of Gambling Control regulations. Stockton Record article
Mother Lode bank will merge into Oak Valley — Mother Lode Bank, a two-branch operation in the Sonora area, plans to merge into Oak Valley Community Bank. The $7.3 million purchase by Oak Valley Bancorp, a holding company based in Oakdale, will increase its presence in the central Sierra Nevada. Modesto Bee article
Former model launches mobile clothing boutique – Former model and current Orange Cove resident Lindsay Danger is hoping to bring the next big mobile retail trend to the Central Valley. Her boutique clothing store, Dear Danger, launched in May and has been gaining popularity thanks to its unique concept. The Business Journal article
Some eateries not fans of new delivery service — Some local restaurants are not happy with Postmates. The disgruntled Sacramento restaurateurs said they did not sign up for the program and can’t opt out of it. Concerned about proper food handling and the possible delivery of hour-old food to consumers, some restaurants are refusing to take Postmates’ orders, threatening legal action or asking to be removed from the site. Restaurants have also taken to Facebook and other social media to air their complaints. Sacramento Bee article
MoBand, city aim to improve Mancini Bowl seating — MoBand is working with the city of Modesto to improve the seating at Graceada Park’s Mancini Bowl, where the band performs its hugely popular series of free concerts each summer. Modesto Bee article
Agriculture/Water/Drought
Feds reduce flows out of Folsom Lake to conserve Sacramento area’s water supply – The U.S Bureau of Reclamation will cut flows out of Folsom Lake in half by the end of the week as water levels at the reservoir near historic lows. Folsom Lake is the primary water source for Sacramento suburbs serving hundreds of thousands of customers. Sacramento Bee article
Roseville eases up on watering restrictions – Roseville residents got a reprieve from tighter restrictions on outdoor water use Monday, as city officials postponed the imposition of once-a-week limits on irrigation. Citing residents’ strong conservation efforts so far, officials said the postponement will last at least a month. Sacramento Bee article
Drought making some California fruit smaller, tastier – The drought is changing the size and flavor of California’s fruit. Shoppers tend to pick up the largest peach in the pile. But, Kevin Day says bigger doesn’t always mean better. He’s a tree fruit farm advisor with the University of California Cooperative Extension. Capital Public Radio report
Cal Water offers live turf replacement – David Rogers said he was looking for a way to save on water usage. The Visalia resident said he was aware of the state’s mandate to cut down water consumption and wanted to do his part. And when he found out about the Cal Water program that pays $1 per foot of grass replaced with native landscape, Rogers said his decision was an easy one to make. Visalia Times-Delta article
Don Curlee: Dairy groups go on the offensive — California’s happy cows haven’t been too disturbed about it, but a segment of the population doesn’t like milk, and says so at every opportunity. But the negative response has bothered dairy industry leaders, who are pushing back. Curlee in Visalia Times-Delta
Criminal Justice/Prisons
Judges’ procedural questions hint at skepticism about California death penalty ban – A federal appeals court, reviewing a ruling that could end California’s death penalty, appeared concerned Monday that procedural requirements might prevent it from deciding whether the state system was so dysfunctional as to be unconstitutional. LA Times article;AP article; San Francisco Chronicle article
Settlement nears in litigation over California’s use of solitary confinement — California, which once led the nation in putting prisoners in solitary confinement, is poised to end the practice of decades-long isolation. Settlement talks took place Monday morning between lawyers for the state and those representing inmates in a federal class-action lawsuit over the broad use of solitary confinement. LA Times article
Some services back, but more San Quentin prisoners may have disease – San Quentin State Prison began restoring some services Monday after six prisoners tested positive last week for Legionnaires’ disease. At the same time, roughly 20 more inmates were placed under observation for the potentially deadly respiratory illness, officials said. San Francisco Chronicle article; AP article
Defendant in Foster drug-ring case enters guilty plea — The first of seven defendants who were indicted in April on a variety of federal drug-trafficking offenses – a group that included former Fresno police Deputy Chief Keith Foster – pleaded guilty on Monday. Fresno Bee article
Kern killers waiting on death row – Here’s a list of Kern County’s current death penalty cases. Bakersfield Californian article
Bakersfield man gets prison for laser strike on helicopter — A Bakersfield man was sentenced to 21 months in prison Monday for aiming a powerful green laser at a Kern County sheriff’s helicopter. Bakersfield Californian article
Human trafficking: Count of victims underscores San Francisco’s challenges – San Francisco’s first effort to document the scope of human trafficking in the city identified nearly 300 known or suspected victims in the second half of 2014 alone and highlighted the challenge of addressing a crime in which women, men and often children are exploited in society’s shadows. San Francisco Chronicle article
Purchased with a donation, Bakersfield’s newest police dog will find drugs, suspects, missing people – When he’s fully trained, one of Bakersfield’s newest police officers will be able to sniff out five kinds of street drugs, find hikers in distress or criminals in hiding — but may still have time to play with a fuzzy, green tennis ball. Bakersfield Californian article
LAPD begins using body cameras as concerns linger – After nearly two years of fundraising, testing and crafting policy, the first Los Angeles police officers hit city streets Monday morning wearing chest-mounted body cameras. The rollout marked a significant moment for the department, pushing Los Angeles forward in becoming the largest U.S. city to use the devices on a widespread scale. LA Times article
Murder rates are rising sharply in many U.S. cities – Rivalries among organized street gangs, often over drug turf, and the availability of guns are cited as major factors in some cities, including Chicago. But more commonly, many top police officials say they are seeing a growing willingness among disenchanted young men in poor neighborhoods to use violence to settle ordinary disputes. New York Times article
Wrongfully convicted man gets no money – would have been out of work anyway, court says — Californians who are wrongly convicted of crimes can apply to a state board for compensation of $100 for each day they spent behind bars. For Holmes, whose case was taken up by his daughter after his death, that would amount to more than $250,000. But the compensation board, a judge and now a state appeals court in San Diego have concluded that the state doesn’t owe his family a dime. San Francisco Chronicle article
Education
San Joaquin Memorial High School closes Tuesday after social media threat – Classes at San Joaquin Memorial High School were canceled Tuesday after school officials became aware of a student’s social media post that suggested he planned to “shoot up the school with an AK-47.” Fresno Bee article
Porterville College among best in U.S. – Nestled in the foothills of southern Tulare County, tiny Porterville College doesn’t tend to get a lot of attention, but that changed on Monday. That’s the day WalletHub.com put out ot its ranking for the best and worst community colleges in the U.S., and of the 670 on the list, Porterville College ranked 11th. Visalia Times-Delta article
Andres McAllister: Proposition 39 is working in California schools – The member of the California Energy Commission writes, “There is much more to do in the years ahead, but because of Proposition 39 investments, thousands of California students this fall will be learning in safer, more comfortable and energy-efficient classrooms.” McAllister op-ed in Sacramento Bee
UC Berkeley: Fence around chancellor’s residence divides opinions — A newly installed chain-link fence marks the path an incoming permanent barrier will soon take between University House — the landmark building where Chancellor Nicholas Dirks resides — and the surrounding UC Berkeley campus. The barrier is the visible sign of landscape tensions between openness and security as well as between academic speech and executive prerogative. Contra Costa Times article
Report links chronic school absences to academic gaps – The nation’s large and persistent education achievement gaps are rooted in a largely hidden crisis of chronic absenteeism from school, especially among low-income and minority children, according to a new report that compiles recent research on school attendance. Washington Post article
Merced College Blue Devil Notebook: Student equity program bears fruit — With the state providing funding for student equity programs, and a new strategic student equity plan in place at Merced Community College, Dr. Mike McCandless is working to remove barriers to education for the area’s most disadvantaged students. Blue Devil Notebook in Merced Sun-Star
Mapping a path after high school – Thousands of Lodi Unified students and their families packed two halls of the Lodi Grape Festival Fairgrounds on Monday night; many of them with questions or without an idea of what the next step in their education would be. Stockton Record article
UC Berkeley student has measles; put in isolation – Officials in Berkeley are warning the public to be on alert after a UC Berkeley student tested positive for measles after riding public transportation in the East Bay last week. San Francisco Chronicle article
Boy begins backpack and school supplies for Fresno Unified students in need — Seven-year-old Zackeria Lovick recently learned something startling while shopping for school supplies with his mom. As he picked out items to use in class as a second-grader at Figarden Elementary School in northwest Fresno, his mom Malarie Silos asked, “What about the kids who can’t afford it?” His response: “Wait, what!?” Fresno Bee article
Energy/Environment
Rough fire now largest active blaze in California — The Rough fire has reached Lewis Creek in the Monarch Wilderness and is expected to move east as thousands of firefighters and air crews continue working to contain the flames. The fire remained around 72,300 acres as of Monday morning and is 25 percent contained, said George Apple, U.S. Forest Service public information officer. Fresno Bee article; KQED report
Southern Power buys majority stake in Tranquillity solar project – Southern Power, a subsidiary of Atlanta-based Southern Co., has bought a majority stake in a 1,900-acre solar project southwest of Tranquillity from Canadian Solar Inc. The two companies announced the partnership on Monday. Southern Power now owns 51 percent of the project, while Canadian Solar holds the remaining 49 percent. Fresno Bee article
Earth Log: Wilsonia: Smoke, fire and the 1916 presidential vote — Wilsonia has long been a quirky political note in a presidential election nearly a century ago. Now it’s part of a dramatic air-quality story linked to wildfire smoke that made breathing dangerous. Fresno Bee article
Sacramento area oil spills would be risky but rare, new report says — Benicia city officials have concluded a proposal to transport large amounts of crude oil daily on trains through Sacramento and Northern California would create a “potentially significant” hazard to the public, but say a spill is probably only a once every few decades occurrence. Sacramento Bee article; Contra Costa Times article
PG&E fined $50,000 for security breakdown at San Jose substation – State regulators levied a $50,000 fine against Pacific Gas and Electric Co. on Monday for failing to fix security problems at a San Jose power substation that were exposed by a 2013 sniper attack. San Francisco Chronicle article
How many fish in the sea? Genetic testing could answer that — Advances in genetic testing have revolutionized everything from health care decisions to crime forensics. Now, the technology may help protect marine life off the California coast. In the waters of Monterey Bay, DNA sequencing is allowing biologists to study fish and whales without ever having seen them. KQED report
Health/Human Services
UC Davis researchers identify new compounds that ‘shock’ HIV out of hiding – Researchers at UC Davis recently found a combination of two molecules that together have the potential to seek out and destroy the hidden virus, completely eliminating the disease from those infected. With an estimated 36.9 million people worldwide living with HIV in 2014, the therapeutic advance promises a global impact. Sacramento Bee article
Google makes moves to disrupt diabetes — Instead of pricking a finger before each meal or injecting themselves with insulin, diabetics could one day use tiny gizmos to manage their disease — testing blood sugar levels with an Internet-connected contact lens or a coin-size skin patch that transmits glucose readings to a doctor. San Jose Mercury News article
Transportation
Merced County’s taxi program picked up by The Bus — A taxi program used by the elderly in the Atwater and Winton area has seen some changes but will continue, officials said on Monday. As of Tuesday, Merced County paratransit buses will accept taxi scrip, according to Stacie Dabbs, spokeswoman for the Merced County Association of Governments. Merced Sun-Star article
Other areas
Merced County residents work toward safer, healthier neighborhoods — Violence “absolutely” creates unhealthy communities, experts agree. While that conclusion isn’t exactly breaking news, treating the specific consequences is difficult and solutions can be elusive. As Merced County struggles with record-high violent crime, more people are starting to question the impact this upward trend is having on the well-being and progress of local communities. Merced Sun-Star article
Rivera, southeast Bakersfield council rep, to call for creating youth commission – Councilman Willie Rivera will call for the formation of a youth commission to advise the Bakersfield City Council on issues affecting young people at its meeting Wednesday. Here’s what to watch for at the council’s next-to-last meeting of the summer. Bakersfield Californian article
Stanislaus County won’t take action on management, oversight problems of East Side Mosquito Abatement District, response says — Stanislaus County’s Board of Supervisors won’t take action to correct management and oversight problems cited in a June grand jury report on East Side Mosquito Abatement District. Modesto Bee article
Willie Douglas remembered as pastor, activist, counselor, role model, friend — The Rev. Willie Douglas once said that he wanted “to be someone who can make things better.” And by everyone’s account — except his own — the legendary but humble community leader did that and more through decades of tireless activism and advocacy. Stockton Record article
LA trash agency ordered to clear backlog of illegal dumping complaints — The Los Angeles Bureau of Sanitation is being ordered to clear a backlog of tens of thousands of outstanding requests dating back to 2010 to clean up illegally dumped trash. LA Times article
Valley Editorial Roundup
Sacramento Bee – Too often, keeping up Sacramento’s parks has been an afterthought; California State Bar proves it needs a little sunshine.
Stockton Record – Cheers and jeers: San Francisco artisans looking at Stockton, another senseless death in south Stockton, and other issues.