POLICY & POLITICS
Valley:
Incumbent has 2001 child molest arrest. ‘I was exonerated,’ he says. Still an issue, challenger says
Fresno Bee
Fresno auditor-controller race becomes heated on news that incumbent Oscar J. Garcia was arrested in 2001 on suspicion of misdemeanor child molest. Garcia said he was “exonerated,” but opponent David Keyes said “that’s a lie.”
Political Insider: Valadao leads Cox in New Poll
ABC30
Hanford Republican David Valadao should be elected to a fourth term in Congress on November 6 if the results of a new Action News poll prove true.
A vow to protect our elections is crucial for Harder or Denham
Modesto Bee
Last Thursday’s debate during The Modesto Bee’s editorial board between Rep. Jeff Denham and Democratic challenger Josh Harder.
Janz Visalia headquarters broken into, vandalized
Hanford Sentinel
The office of congressional candidate Andrew Janz was broken into and vandalized Monday, campaign officials said. Monday morning, officials said Visalia Police Department officers responded to a call at the Andrew Janz campaign headquarters in Visalia.
See Also:
● Andrew Janz 'won't back down' after Visalia headquarters vandalized Visalia Times-Delta
Devin Nunes’ election opponent says he can win. Does Democratic Party agree?
San Francisco Chronicle
Democrat Andrew Janz is confident he’s well on the way to defeating eight-term Central Valley Republican Rep. Devin Nunes, a favorite of President Trump. Now he has to convince Democratic Party leaders.
Tulare City Council candidate 'may lack manners,' but isn't a criminal
Visalia Times-Delta
It's been more than a year since Tulare City Council candidate Alex Gutierrez was accused of assaulting the vice chair of the Democratic Central Committee. Although charges were never filed, Gutierrez, running for the city's District 2 seat, is being forced to address the 2017 accusations.
November Election Is First Test Of New Kern County District Lines, Latino Vote
Valley Public Radio
November’s election marks the first time some people in Kern County will vote for their county supervisor since the redistricting of county lines.
Fresno State Institute for Media and Public Trust
In the meeting with rural county officials, local media got better marks than national media. But some elected officials said they have ongoing issues with coverage of their communities.
Tulare County proposes to strengthen rules on commercial dog kennels
ABC30
After some major changes to its animal-related ordinances in 2015, Tulare County is now proposing additional revisions to the public and board of supervisors.
Judicial committee to weigh recusal in Black Lives Matter case
Stockton Record
An Oakland attorney’s motion to have both the judge and the San Joaquin County District Attorney’s Office removed from a case against her client will be decided by a judiciary committee.
City: Measure A didn’t pay for new City Hall
Stockton Record
While funds from Measure A have contributed somewhat to the purchase of Stockton’s new City Hall, officials say the revenue from the 2013 ballot measure was not directly involved with the transaction.
State:
How John Cox made the money he’s using to run for California governor
The Sacramento Bee
Cox, who moved to Rancho Santa Fe in 2011, is also invested in a dozen limited partnerships that own at least 15 apartment complexes in the Midwest, according to a statement of economic interest filed with the state in March. The most recent assessment records for those properties, available through the LexisNexis database, put their combined market value at around $79 million.
Feinstein urges voluntary water agreements ahead of vote by State Water Board
Modesto Bee
Sen. Dianne Feinstein and some state representatives in the Bay Area are calling for voluntary settlement agreements, rather than a State Water Board proposal, to bolster the salmon population in tributaries of the San Joaquin River
It's a shame if this election means adiós for Kevin De León
Los Angeles Times
Kevin De León should be having the time of his political life right now. He’s become Democratic royalty by turning California into an anti-Trump bastion while president pro tem of the state Senate. He also did everything a modern-day progressive politician should during his career in both chambers of the statehouse: Stand with undocumented immigrants. Promote clean energy. Fight the gun lobby and #Resist at all times.
Drunken threat to lobbyist draws reprimand for California lawmaker
Fresno Bee
The California Senate released an investigation on Sept. 25, 2018, that concluded Sen. Joel Anderson, R-Alpine, threatened to “bitch slap” a female lobbyist for the California Nurses Association. Anderson was reprimanded.
See Also:
● California Lawmaker Reprimanded For Threatening To Slap Lobbyist Capital Public Radio
● State Sen. Joel Anderson reprimanded for 'completely unacceptable' behavior toward female lobbyist Los Angeles Times
Ban agreements that silence workers
San Francisco Chronicle
Senate Bill 1300, by Sen. Hannah-Beth Jackson, D-Santa Barbara, sits on Jerry Brown’s desk awaiting his signature. The bill corrects subtle but significant flaws in our state’s sexual harassment laws. One aspect in particular targets the heart of what this movement has been about: breaking the silence.
Push to end bullet train in 2020 could signal GOP strategy
AP News
Worried they would lack big-name candidates at the top of the ticket this November, California Republicans turned to a ballot measure that would eliminate a recent gas tax increase in hopes of exciting conservatives and ensuring they show up to support lower-profile legislative and congressional candidates.
See also:
● Gas-tax opponents file proposal to kill $77 billion high-speed train SF Chronicle
● California bullet train aims to dodge a political bullet in San Fernando Valley Los Angeles Times
The Midterms Inside three crucial battleground races
California Sunday
In Orange County, the party hopes to flip four congressional seats in districts that went for Hillary Clinton in 2016. In Arizona, Democrats have a chance to win a Senate race for the first time in a generation.
For Jerry Brown, the Past Informs the Future
New York Times
“This idea of roots, of being grounded, becomes more salient the older I get and the more change I perceive,” he said. “As I got older, I noticed the rootedness I actually had in California.”
See also:
● Jerry Brown Says We’re Doomed The New York Times
200,000 teens in California “pre-registered” to vote
Fresno Bee
A plurality of those pre-registered, 47 percent, did so under no party affiliation, according to Padilla’s office. Another 34 percent pre-registered as Democrat and 10 percent as Republican.
See also:
● High school students can pre-register to vote. This woman is making sure they do Sacramento Bee
Federal:
Year of the Woman 2.0? Could be, thanks to Kavanaugh allegations and Me Too
Fresno Bee
Campaign strategists and senators who were elected in the Year of the Woman think female candidates in 2018 could see a similar surge of support, given the sexual assault allegations against Brett Kavanaugh.
See Also:
● Tim Scott could change his mind on backing Kavanaugh Modesto Bee
● Committee vote on Kavanaugh set for Friday Stockton Record
● Kavanaugh classmate who wrote of partying goes silent Stockton Record
● 'I know his heart': Ashley Estes Kavanaugh speaks out Stockton Record
● Third Kavanaugh accuser to emerge in 48 hours Visalia Times-Delta
● Kavanaugh vs. Kavanaugh: Supreme Court nominee has offered conflicting accounts of his teenage drinking Los Angeles Times
● Brett Kavanaugh goes on TV, demanding fairness. But fairness to whom, exactly? Los Angeles Times
● Trump blasts Democrats for 'con game' against Kavanaugh and dismisses second accuser as 'messed up' Los Angeles Times
● White House open to public testimony from second Kavanaugh accuser, press secretary Sanders says Los Angeles Times
● For its own self-preservation, the GOP needs the FBI to investigate Kavanaugh Los Angeles Times
● Kavanaugh saga: Why it may hurt much-needed #MeToo movement San Diego Union-Tribune
● OPINION: Sen. Feinstein, Clean Up Your Mess The Wall Street Journal
● OPINION: #MeToo Becomes a Political Ploy The Wall Street Journal
● EDITORIAL: Feinstein’s right; delay Kavanaugh's hearing while the FBI investigates the allegations against him Los Angeles Times
● Hansen: We Are Living Orwell’s 1984 National Review
Where are the GOP’s women? Congress’s next generation fared poorly in 2018 primaries
Fresno Bee
The GOP’s rightward march is boxing out its next generation of female leaders, many of whom are now too moderate to survive today’s Republican primary system, according to a strategist working to increase the party’s female representation in Congress.
Here’s what Donald Trump is doing right
Modesto Bee
There is much to criticize in President Donald Trump’s less-than-nuanced behavior and approach to governing. But we ought to express approval of his actions when warranted.
With growing support from women, Democrats poised for major gains in midterm, new poll shows
Los Angeles Times
Boosted by growing support among suburban women and widespread antipathy toward President Trump, Democrats approach the midterm election poised to make major gains nationwide, a new USC Dornsife/Los Angeles Times Poll shows.
See also:
Are the GOP’s Pelosi Attacks Effective? Public Does Not Seem to Think So
Roll Call
A spate of recent polls have found that voters don’t care much about candidates’ views on the California Democrat. More voters care about what they think of President Donald Trump, these polls have found, supporting historical patterns in which midterm elections often become a referendum on the occupant of the White House.
The House asked members for their ideas to make Congress work better. This is what they suggested
Brookings
At a hearing earlier this month, more than a dozen members of the House of Representatives submitted proposed rule changes for the 116th Congress, which generally fell into two categories: drain the swamp, and let legislators be legislators again.
OPINION: I’m Just Tired of All of It
Roll Call
I’m tired of all the noise and hype. I’m tired of the daily crises. I’m tired of the drama that is produced by President Donald Trump. I’m tired of the suffocating coverage by the national media of the chaos that swirls around the administration. I’m tired of the obvious partisanship on Capitol Hill. I wish it would all stop, but I know it won’t
Other:
Partisans Remain Sharply Divided in Their Attitudes About the News Media
Pew Research Center
After a year of continued tension between President Donald Trump and the news media, the partisan divides in attitudes toward the news media that widened in the wake of the 2016 presidential election remain stark, according to a new Pew Research Center analysis of survey data of 5,035 U.S. adults collected between Feb. 22 and March 4, 2018.
Supreme Court Orders Disclosure For Dark Money, As New Report Unveils Some Donors
NPR
The Supreme Court on Tuesday insisted that many donations to predominantly conservative political nonprofit groups — what's often called dark money — be disclosed, seven weeks ahead of the 2018 midterm elections.
Google Says It Continues to Allow Apps to Scan Data From Gmail Accounts
The Wall Street Journal
In a letter to senators, a top Google official said the company allows app developers to scan Gmail accounts, even though Google itself stopped the practice for the purpose of ad targeting last year.
See Also:
● State Officials Weigh Joint Probes of Big Tech Companies The Wall Street Journal
● Law Enforcement Officials Confront Tech Companies’ Power The New York Times
Why Am I Seeing This? Interesting Facebook Ads From Our Political Ad Collector
ProPublica.org
We’re highlighting examples from our Facebook political ad collection that are interesting because of how they’re targeted, what they say or how they can help explain how Facebook’s advertising system works — and how it can be gamed.
The real 5G race is to serve all Americans
Brookings
As the major U.S. wireless companies race against each other and other countries to be the first to deploy a nationwide, fifth-generation mobile network, former FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler asks: Why aren’t they more focused on delivering this new technology to the American people?
Divorce rate sinks as marriages happen later, among those with more money and education
Los Angeles Times
Americans under the age of 45 have found a novel way to rebel against their elders: They’re staying married.
AGRICULTURE/FOOD
Fresno Bee
Fresno County is the leading grower of raisins in the U.S., and in 2017 raisins were valued at $232 million.
From the Vine: Winemaker is bringing Lodi’s famous grape back to the glass
Stockton Record
Bomben, senior winemaker with The Wine Group, the second-largest wine company in the country, recently harvested about eight tons of Flame Tokay grapes from two vineyards in Lodi that he will craft into a small lot of brandy for his new venture, Delta Artisan, a winery and distillery scheduled to open in November in Lodi next door to High Water Brewing Co.
What's yogurt? Industry wants greater liberty to use term
AP News
The U.S. government has rules about what can be called “yogurt,” and the dairy industry says it’s not clear what the answers are. Now it’s hopeful it will finally get to use the term with greater liberty, with the Trump administration in the process of updating the yogurt definition.
Emergency Food Bank CEO fired after 5 months
Stockton Record
Rick Brewer was dismissed Thursday as chief executive officer of the Stockton/San Joaquin Emergency Food Bank, just a few days more than five months after he was named to the post.
Merced pot business takes over beloved indoor soccer location, sparks outrage
ABC30
The City of Merced recently approved marijuana businesses to operate within the city now outrage is growing because one of the approved locations is a beloved indoor soccer facility.
Judge: California child can take cannabis drug to school
The Business Journal
A California kindergartner can keep bringing a cannabis-based drug used for emergency treatment of a rare form of epilepsy to her public school, a judge ruled Friday.
New details revealed on two county marijuana ballot measures
Bakersfield Californian
Voters will face a confusing ballot in November, especially when it comes to the three marijuana measures.
CRIMINAL JUSTICE / FIRE / PUBLIC SAFETY
Crime:
Business owners vent over vandalism, homelessness in downtown Bakersfield
Bakersfield Californian
Employees in Downtown Bakersfield arrive to work each morning not knowing whether they'll find another smashed window, broken locks or people sleeping on the sidewalk. Almost everywhere you turn downtown, everyone has a recent story of vandalism.
See Also:
● Vandalism downtown spikes Bakersfield Californian
Walk Like MADD event raising awareness of drunken driving scheduled for Saturday
Bakersfield Californian
The fifth annual Bakersfield Walk Like MADD and MADD Dash will be held Saturday at the Park at River Walk to raise awareness of the drunken driving problem in local communities, raise funds for MADD Kern County educational programs and provide support to local victims and survivors of drunken and drugged driving crashes.
OPINION: Bipartisanship on Bail
The Wall Street Journal
At the state and local levels, Democrats and Republicans are working together on cash-bail reform to make the criminal-justice system more equal for poor people charged with petty crimes.
Public Safety:
8th Annual Clovis Night Out strengthens relationships between residents, local agencies
Clovis RoundUp
The Clovis Police Department hosted its annual community event for the eighth time at Sierra Meadow Park Saturday evening.
Stockton Arena expands security checks, citing safety concerns
Stockton Record
Citing safety concerns, all visitors to Stockton Arena will be subject to search and wanding before entering beginning Sunday. This is an interim step until the arena installs walk-through metal detectors.
Calaveras County Sheriff’s Office wins award for marijuana operation
Stockton Record
In 2017, the Calaveras County Sheriff’s Office led multiple local and state agencies in a six-months-long investigation to eradicate illegal marijuana farms, leading to numerous arrests for cultivation and related environmental crimes.
Fire:
California Hospitals Confront Growing Wildfire Danger At Disaster Planning Event
Capital Public Radio
As California wildfire seasons get longer, hotter and more dangerous, hospitals are finding preparing for disasters is crucial.
ECONOMY / JOBS
Economy:
U.S. Consumer Confidence Hits 18-Year High
The Wall Street Journal
Strong economy and robust job growth bolstered consumers’ sentiment.
Rising oil prices and bond yields help drive stock indexes lower
Los Angeles Times
Major U.S. indexes finished mostly lower Tuesday as rising interest rates hurt stocks that pay big dividends, and higher oil prices pushed transportation and shipping companies lower. The S&P 500 index fell for the third day in a row.
Los Angeles Times
A day after a bruising round of new tariffs came into effect, China ramped up its criticism of the U.S. in a news conference of six top trade and industry officials, portraying itself as a virtuous defender of global trade and the Trump administration as hurting the global economy.
Trade Deal Could Move Ahead Without Canada, U.S. Official Says
The Wall Street Journal
The White House in August sent Congress formal notice of intent to sign a deal—with or without Canada—in late November, before Mexico’s new president takes office.
Bankers vs. Activists: Battle Lines Form Over Low-Income Lending Rules
The Wall Street Journal
Four years later, Mr. Mnuchin is the Treasury secretary and his fellow executive at the bank, Joseph Otting, is now comptroller of the currency. And one of their big agenda items is an overhaul of the CRA, a law passed in 1977 to combat redlining, a practice where banks wouldn’t lend in lower-income communities.
Federal Reserve Readies Third Interest-Rate Increase of 2018
The Wall Street Journal
As its two-day policy meeting concludes, the central bank is set to raise short-term interest rates by a quarter percentage point. But for some Americans enjoying the strongest job market in nearly two decades, the Fed’s rate increases have been too gradual to notice.
America’s rising economic freedom is good news for tech
AEI
Tech companies benefit from America’s economic freedom because it gives the improved equality that progressive tech companies say they want. Their economic fortunes improve, and their social goals are closer to being achieved. This is an important lesson as tech thinks about what it wants next for economic and social policies in the US.
Jobs:
Federal appeals court rules Uber can force drivers into individual arbitration, voids class-action
Los Angeles Times
A federal appeals court Tuesday ruled that Uber can force its drivers into individual arbitration over pay and benefit disputes, voiding an effort by thousands of drivers to join in a class-action suit against the ride-hailing company.
With Changes to California Ethics Rule Approaching, More States Reject ABA Anti-Bias Rule
LAW.com
A proposed professional conduct rule that could subject attorneys to disciplinary action for behavior considered harassment or discrimination has been rejected by the states of Arizona and Idaho, the latest in a growing group of states that have refused to accept the rule.
EDUCATION
K-12:
Kids take over the Kern County Fair
Bakersfield Californian
Before the Kern County Fair gates opened at 9 a.m. for Tuesday’s School Days, a plethora of energy was seen and felt as children tried not to burst from excitement.
First-grade textbook hails Democrat as ‘champion’ of gay rights. Some say it goes too far
Sacramento Bee
A textbook, being tested in the Elk Grove Unified School District, refers to then-San Francisco mayor Newsom’s 2004 decision to order the city-county clerk to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.
Los Angeles Times
Assembly Bill 1951 is an opportunity for California to give greater control to local school districts and for students of all backgrounds to have a better chance at succeeding on the SAT, an exam already used by many colleges to help determine readiness for admissions.
Walters: Brown OKs one good education bill, vetoes another
CALmatters
Brown vetoed the second measure, Senate Bill 328, which would have prohibited middle and high schools from beginning classes before 8:30 a.m. with some exceptions.
Improving Special Education in California
PPIC
The state has several good options for revising the special education funding formula so that it better reflects district costs. However, we find that basing funding on the number of disabled students in each district could create negative incentives for districts.
A state-by-state look at high school credit recovery
AEI
Failing a required high school course can knock students off the path to graduation.
Higher Ed:
Enrique’s Journey author set to speak at Bakersfield College
Bakersfield Californian
Sonia Nazario, an American journalist who has written extensively about Latin America, will speak at 7 p.m. on Oct. 9th.
Faculty diversity, Native American remains among the issues UC regents will take up this week
Los Angeles Times
University of California regents will gather this week to discuss faculty diversity, policies on Native American remains and artifacts and the ongoing effort to add more California students without further squeezing those already enrolled.
Makeup courses can lead to made-up graduation rates
AEI
Providing struggling students with legitimate second chances to meet expectations and graduate on time is laudable. However, creating a second track to graduation with lower expectations, most often for disadvantaged students, is not.
ENVIRONMENT/ ENERGY
Environment:
‘There is nothing safe about this proposal.’ California leaders vow to fight EPA
Fresno Bee
California vowed to fight the Trump Administration’s proposed lessening of vehicle emission rules at a hearing in Fresno on Monday, the first of three scheduled nationwide. To come: Dearborn, Mich., and Pittsburgh.
See those Joshua trees while you can. Climate change is killing our national parks
Los Angeles Times
It makes sense when you think about, but a new study reports that the United States’ national parks are enduring more stressful changes in climate from global warming than the rest of the nation.
Trump administration defends nerve agent pesticide found harmful to children
Los Angeles Times
The Trump administration appears ready to go to the mat for chlorpyrifos, a widely used pesticide that has been linked to developmental disorders in children whose mothers were exposed to it during pregnancy.
Blocked US grizzly hunts fuel call for species law changes
AP News
A court ruling that blocked grizzly bear hunts in the U.S. West carries far wider political implications amid a push by Congress for sweeping changes to how imperiled species are managed.
EDITORIAL: Prop 7 | The Fresno Bee recommends a no vote
Fresno Bee
Refusing to sync time with the rest of the country will prove costly. For example, in 2005, when Congress extended daylight saving time by a month, the Air Transport Association warned that keeping U.S. flights lined up with international travel schedules would cost $147 million a year.
Energy:
Shell plans to sell off its California pipeline system
Bakersfield Californian
Shell wants to sell a pipeline connecting Kern County oilfields with Bay Area refineries, a move that probably wouldn't affect consumers in the near term but which could lead to changes for local oil producers.
HEALTH/HUMAN SERVICES
Health:
With climate change, Valley Fever spreads in California—and this year could be the worst yet
CALmatters
“We’re seeing a huge increase in new cases in the past two-and-a-half years. It’s striking,” said Ian McHardy, co-director of the Center for Valley Fever at the University of California, Davis. “We’re seeing double and triple the cases. It’s a catastrophic change, and it’s getting worse.”
California’s Successes And Failures As A Healthcare Testing Ground
Valley Public Radio
As the fifth largest economy on the globe, California is looked to in many ways as a world leader— including in the field of health, where we’ve been a testing ground for new ideas in health care policy and delivery.
Community-Based Suicide Prevention Is Spreading Across The Valley
Valley Public Radio
September is National Suicide Prevention Month. Two weeks ago, Fresno County published its suicide prevention strategic plan. The county has been developing this plan for almost two years.
See Also:
● Rural Suicide Project Gets People Talking Capital Public Radio
What CA is doing about opioid abuse
CALmatters
Legislation requiring physicians to offer drugs that can counter opioid overdoses when prescribing opioids to certain patients, was signed earlier this month by Gov. Jerry Brown.
Human Services:
Valley medical center offering families alternative option to treat autism
ABC30
Chestnut Medical Group won a grant from Johns Hopkins Medicine to bring Dr. Redubla to the brain center. It means Valley families no longer have to travel for neuro-feedback and rehabilitation for their child.
Tulare doctors can help restore hospital image
Visalia Times-Delta
Tulare Regional Medical Center doctors must band together, according to Chief of Staff Dr. Abraham Betre. Betre called on the local physicians to return to the hospital and embrace Adventist Health, the organization positioned to manage TRMC.
See also:
● 'Night at the Library' helps keep doors open in Tulare Visalia Times-Delta
Adventist announces mobile mammogram unit
Hanford Sentinel
Women, if you’ve got 30 minutes, Adventist Health in the Central Valley wants to help save your life.
Pharmacists may soon be allowed to tell you the cheapest way to get prescriptions
Stockton Record
Congress advances law to stop “clawbacks”: Paying cash instead of an insurance copayment could be cheaper for consumers in many cases.
Report: State, Valley teen birth rates on decline in '16
The Business Journal
California has seen a drop in adolescent birthrates, according to a California Department of Public Health (CDPH) announcement on Monday. The Central Valley, however, is still higher than the statewide average.
See also:
New Center For Homeless Youth Opens In Downtown Sacramento
Capital Public Radio
There's a new center in Downtown Sacramento for homeless youth and young people in danger of becoming homeless.
Community-Based Suicide Prevention Is Spreading Across The Valley
Valley Public Radio
Two weeks ago, Fresno County published its suicide prevention strategic plan. The county has been developing this plan for almost two years. During that time, its rate of suicide matched the state’s at about 10 deaths for every 100,000 people, but it wants to bring that number below the state average.
EDITORIAL: Want to save a child’s life? Vote ‘yes’ on this California ballot measure
Sacramento Bee
Vote “yes” on Prop 4 on the Nov. 6, 2018 ballot to authorize $1.5 billion bonds for children’s hospitals across California. But vote “no” on Proposition 12, which would ban the sale of eggs, uncooked pork and veal from farms that don’t meet new space requirements.
See Also:
● EDITORIAL: Vote yes on Prop. 4 for children's hospitals Los Angeles Times
● EDITORIAL: Chronicle recommends Yes on Prop. 4, for children’s hospitals San Francisco Chronicle
IMMIGRATION
Fraud Against Immigrants Seeking Documentation
Valley Public Radio
Fraud and deceit here in the San Joaquin Valley are hindering immigrants, many of whom are already legal or are pursuing legal paths to citizenship.
Jose Antonio Vargas Talks About New Memoir, Life As An "Undocumented Citizen"
Valley Public Radio
Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, Jose Antonio Vargas, discusses being undocumented and the emotional toll that takes on him.
Judge appears likely to block Trump deportation order
San Francisco Chronicle
A federal judge in San Francisco on Tuesday seemed likely to block the Trump administration from deporting the first of more than 300,000 undocumented immigrants who have been allowed to stay in the United States for decades.
EDITORIAL: Trump's anti-immigration 'public charge' proposal solves a problem that doesn't exist
Los Angeles Times
In an effort to make it more difficult for legal immigrants to live and work in the United States, the Trump administration proposed new rules over the weekend giving officials the right to withhold green cards from applicants who take advantage of a wide range of government aid programs.
EDITORIAL: Trump’s unfair attacks on legal immigrants
San Francisco Chronicle
Quietly, the Trump administration has extended its war on undocumented immigration to legal immigration, too.
LAND USE/HOUSING
Land Use:
Changes happening in Old Town Clovis with new shops opening and a few closing
Fresno Bee
Old Town Clovis, one of the central San Joaquin Valley’s more eclectic shopping districts, is mixing things up once again with some new shops and the closure of a few favorites.
See also:
● Clovis' Shaw Avenue entrance gets landscaping improvements Clovis RoundUp
A fight over a unique Delta island
Stockton Record
A Delta farming island crucial to sandhill cranes is so mismanaged that the levees may break, a lawsuit alleges. Ironically, the allegedly bad manager is The Nature Conservancy.
Housing:
California Budget & Policy Center
Local property taxes are a major part of California’s revenue system, helping to fund education, public safety, and other key services across our state.
PUBLIC FINANCES
IRS Is Wrongly Denying Tax Refunds, Some Companies Say
The Wall Street Journal
Corporate America is waiting for their IRS refund, too. Companies say the government is incorrectly denying them refunds on their 2017 tax returns as the IRS says it will apply corporate refunds to future installments of a new one-time tax on past foreign profits.
Trump's trillion-dollar-plus deficits put America on path to fiscal ruin
USAToday
Unlike the trillion dollar budget deficits that occurred during the Obama administration that were temporary and largely the result of the Great Recession, the Trump deficits that will soon reach and exceed $1 trillion are permanent and will only get worse in the years ahead.
TRANSPORTATION
Voters want a gas tax repeal. Many California leaders call it a horrible idea.
Fresno Bee
Most of the Sacramento Bee’s California Influencers oppose Proposition 6, which would repeal the gas tax, but readers are split on the issue. Proposition 6 opponents face an uphill battle heading into November.
See Also:
● Backers of Proposition 6 ‘Gas Tax Repeal’ Reveal New 2020 Ballot Initiative Capital Public Radio
● Gas-tax repeal backers to launch new campaign to halt California's bullet train Los Angeles Times
● Gas-tax foes file proposal to kill high-speed train San Francisco Chronicle
Rough roads affect fuel mileage
Fresno Bee
Excess fuel consumption and air emissions can be significantly reduced by building stiffer roads and maintaining smoother pavement. Road stiffness is particularly relevant for 40-ton trucks, where research shows that lessening the impacts of deflection could generate up to 4 percent in fuel savings.
Think your commute is bad? These Central Valley residents have it worse than almost anyone in U.S.
Fresno Bee
Commute times in California’s Central Valley are some of the worst in the United States as waves of Bay Area transplants seeking affordable housing contribute to worsening traffic. In Los Banos, more than one-fifth of residents travel beyond 90 minutes to work.
Secrets to a short wait at the DMV
Mercury News
Some shortcuts…
Federal appeals court rules Uber can force drivers into individual arbitration, voids class-action
Los Angeles Times
A federal appeals court Tuesday ruled that Uber can force its drivers into individual arbitration over pay and benefit disputes, voiding an effort by thousands of drivers to join in a class-action suit against the ride-hailing company.
Popular E-Scooters Likely Coming To Sacramento — But Probably Not Until Next Year
Capital Public Radio
Electric scooters are overtaking streets — and sidewalks — all over California, from Los Angeles to Oakland, San Francisco to South Lake Tahoe. And while they’ve yet to arrive in Sacramento, the city is getting ready.
Crack in beam shuts down San Francisco’s new $2B terminal
Sacramento Bee
San Francisco officials shut down the city's celebrated new $2.2 billion transit terminal Tuesday after discovering a crack in a support beam under the center's public roof garden.
See Also:
● Crack in beam shuts down San Francisco's new $2-billion transit terminal Los Angeles Times
● $2.2 billion Transbay Transit Center shuttered after crack found in beam supporting garden San Francisco Chronicle
Chain of problems behind SFO's near-catastrophe
San Francisco Chronicle
A chain of errors nearly ended in catastrophe for hundreds of passengers packed into five planes at San Francisco International Airport in July 2017.
WATER
Feinstein urges voluntary water agreements ahead of vote by State Water Board
Modesto Bee
Sen. Dianne Feinstein and some state representatives in the Bay Area are calling for voluntary settlement agreements, rather than a State Water Board proposal, to bolster the salmon population in tributaries of the San Joaquin River.
A Delta farmer says the state poisoned his crops. Is California’s water supply safe?
Fresno Bee
A farmer in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta alleges in a pending lawsuit that California’s weed killing program tainted his water supply and killed his bell pepper crops.
Get down and dirty with workers repairing Oroville Dam spillway in this night shift video
Merced Sun-Star
As work continues through the night on the Lake Oroville main spillway, multiple crews place, test, and finish concrete for one of the project’s structural slabs.
Stanislaus County appeals ruling that would make it harder for farmers to dig wells
Modesto Bee
Stanislaus County will ask the state Supreme Court for a ruling on whether environmental review is a necessary step for a new water well.
“Xtra”
That mystery restaurant coming to downtown? Here’s who it is and where it’s going
Fresno Bee
La Boulangerie de France, the longtime bakery and restaurant in Fig Garden Village, plans to open a sidewalk cafe-style bakery window with outdoor seating at the Pacific Southwest Building at Fulton and Mariposa streets.
Now is ‘a reckoning moment,’ Maria Shriver says at Women’s Conference
Fresno Bee
Maria Shriver was impressed with Fresno the minute she was greeted by Fresno County Sheriff Margaret Mims at the airport. “I was like, ‘damn, a woman sheriff,” California’s former first lady said to much laughter and applause at the Central California Women’s Conference Tuesday.
See Also:
● Lead differently than how men have led, Maria Shriver tells women’s conference Fresno Bee
● A conversation with Maria Shriver at 31st annual CCWC ABC30
● Central California Women's Conference will encourage attendees to 'be the difference' ABC30
Film with Fresno ties brings red-carpet event and Alzheimer’s awareness to Maya Cinemas
Fresno Bee
“Last Curtain Call” premiered at a theater in Beverly Hills last month at a red-carpet event that doubled as fundraiser for the Los Angeles Walk to End Alzheimer’s.
POW/MIA remembrance hits home for local veterans
Clovis RoundUP
Veterans, their families and members of the community filled the Clovis Veterans Memorial District on Saturday to honor prisoners of war and remember those missing in action.
Downtown Visalia restaurants show off their stuff for the biggest culinary event of year
Visalia Times-Delta
Taste of Downtown Visalia celebrates its 25th anniversary this year. That's a quarter century of eclectic eats prepared by your favorite downtown dining establishments.
Hear that train a comin' to Fox for Johnny Cash tribute
Bakersfield Californian
You'll be singing the blues — that's the "Folsom Country Blues" — come early next year thanks to a Johnny Cash tribute headed to the Fox Theater.