TOP POLITICAL STORIES
Local/Regional Politics:
Fresno County GOP moves fundraiser with Joe Arpaio, criticizes ‘bullying from the left’
Fresno Bee (blog)
The Fresno Republican Party’s annual fundraising dinner, which this year features controversial former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, has been moved to Sunnyside Events in southeast Fresno.
See also:
Projects Announced In Competition For Fresno’s $70 Million Cap-And-Trade Fund
Valley Public Radio
The City of Fresno is getting a closer look at the projects hoping to get a slice of $70 million in cap-and-trade money that the state has set aside for the area. A meeting Wednesday meeting is one of the final steps before the city submits its plans to the state
Fresno County OK’s new leases for DA, Social Service workers
The Fresno Bee
Fresno’s historic Rowell Building, photographed Monday, Sept. 25, 2017 at Tulare Street and Van Ness Avenue, will become home to the Fresno County District Attorney’s Office next year. It will consolidate offices now scattered in three different locations into one building. The six-story building was built in 1912 and has been undergoing renovations to prepare it for tenants.
See also:
Senator Tom Berryhill’s Bill Helping Disabled Veterans Signed Into Law
Sierra Sun Times
Governor Jerry Brown on Monday signed into law a bill by Senator Tom Berryhill of Modesto that will help disabled veterans in California ease their disability-related burdens. SB 330 – which was approved unanimously in both chambers of the Legislature last month – will ease construction costs for disabled veterans by allowing local governments to waive or reduce building permit fees for home improvements related to veterans’ service-connected disabilities.
Sierra Sun Times
Senator Andy Vidak (R-Hanford) on Tuesday sent a letter to Governor Jerry Brown urging him to veto Senate Bill 252, authored by Senator Bill Dodd (D-Napa). SB 252 would place even more additional regulatory burdens on property owners needing to drill a new water well on their own land.
State Politics:
California lawmakers passed the ‘sanctuary state’ bill. What happens if Gov. Jerry Brown signs it?
Los Angeles Times
In a strike at President Trump’s call for more deportations, California lawmakers passed landmark “sanctuary state” legislation earlier this month to shield thousands of immigrants who have entered the U.S. illegally.
Cyber Security Experts Say California Vote Audit Has Exploitable Problems
Federal officials told California Friday that Russians probed the state’s election system for vulnerabilities before the 2016 election. That’s raising new questions over a bill on Governor Jerry Brown’s desk. Cyber security experts say the measure could weaken California’s voting systems.
Federal Politics:
GOP gives up on voting on Obamacare repeal, but bipartisan approaches remain stalled
Los Angeles Times
Members of Congress searched for a way forward on healthcare legislation Tuesday, but as they did, the wreckage of the latest Republican plan to repeal the Affordable Care Act continued to threaten to block the way for bipartisan progress.
See also:
- Republican senator says it appears will be no vote on healthcare bill Reuters
- Essential Politics: Republicans (again) stumble on healthcare Los Angeles Times
- Will California House Republicans get another chance to vote against Obamacare? Sacramento Bee
- What Republicans must answer about their next steps on health care
- How Failure of the Obamacare Repeal Affects Consumers New York Times
- Do Americans Expect Too Much from Health Insurance? RAND
- Kaiser Permanente CEO: A Bipartisan Health Bill Is The Way To Go NPR
- Why is it so hard for Republicans to replace Obamacare? Brookings Institution
California Budget & Policy Center
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) — CalFresh in California — is the cornerstone of federal efforts to help struggling families put food on the table.
Trump expected to unveil tax reform plans Wednesday
UPI.com
President Donald Trump meets with bipartisan members of the House Committee on Ways and Means Committee at the White House on Tuesday. He is expected to unveil his plans to reform the nation’s tax code Wednesday in Indiana
See also:
- After meeting with Trump, California Democrats say they want a seat at the tax reform table LA Times
- New Republican tax outline gives huge cuts to businesses, but details of individual relief are less certain Los Angeles Times
- Fight is on to keep the local & state tax deduction Marketplace
- White House Watch: Trump Goes for Tax Reform, Take 2 The Weekly Standard
- Trump’s tax plan will make America’s debt great again Brookings Institution
- Memo to Secretary Mnuchin: The people don’t want big tax cuts for corporations and wealthy individuals Brookings Institution
The California GOP’s last gasp
CNN Politics
It’s easy to forget that this was once a Republican state that sent Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan to the White House.
Other:
Fitzgerald: Planning for the bomb again
Stockton Record
Everything goes in cycles, including Armageddon. In the Fifties, America’s Civil Defense set up bomb shelters. Bert the Turtle told kids to “duck and cover.” Government at all levels strategized how to govern a shattered state.
Is California preparing for nuclear war? Not really, but bulletin is reminder of atomic threat
Los Angeles Times
Federal and local law enforcement officials are dismissing a published report that Southern California authorities are now seriously preparing for a “nuclear exchange” between the United States and North Korea.
EDITORIALS
Our ‘downward spiral of vulgarity’
Fresno Bee
Our president certainly is free to object to public actions of which he disapproves. But that he initiated this dialogue with name calling is disgusting.
Sick of following Iowa and New Hampshire’s lead on presidential politics? Here’s an answer
Sacramento Bee
A March primary would help any candidate from California (read, Kamala Harris). Leaving personal ambitions aside, there is one big upside: It’d be good for little-d democracy.
Los Angeles Times
We may never know how many Republicans in the U.S. Senate would have voted against the latest ill-conceived and disruptive proposal to “repeal and replace” the Affordable Care Act. But we know the three whose public opposition kept the measure from reaching the Senate floor this week — Susan Collins…
Entitled drivers are getting in the way of California’s climate change efforts
LA Times
For all the talk in California about leading the world in fighting global warming and resisting President Trump’s climate-denial agenda, the state faces one powerful obstacle that limits its environmental activism: Touch their cars and Californians will revolt.
Trump taunts Stephen Curry with divisive bullying
San Jose Mercury News
Through intimidation, Trump repeatedly tries to silence his critics and their free speech rights.
Stockton Record
Cheers Linden High School graduate Aaron Judge on Monday broke Major League Baseball’s rookie home run record. Judge has been on fire lately, hitting 13 in September as of Monday and six in five games. The All-Star Home Run Derby champion is hitting .283 with 108 RBIs and an American…
AGRICULTURE/FOOD
Stanislaus County leaders slam pot legalization, but approve rules for dispensaries, indoor grows
The Modesto Bee
Stanislaus County leaders grudgingly approved measures Tuesday for permitting marijuana businesses, but also promised tough enforcement of local regulations to control the cannabis industry
With recreational pot legal, no burning rush to start sales in California
San Francisco Chronicle
Despite voters’ support, California is proving to be in no rush to begin legal pot sales. Though the passage of Proposition 64 green-lights retail sales of cannabis beginning Jan. 1, those sales hinge on local cities and counties permitting such activity. With a little over 90 days until the end of the year, no major city or county in California is on track to do so and begin sales by that date.
CRIMINAL JUSTICE / FIRE / PUBLIC SAFETY
Crime:
Crime Rates Stable Overall, But Some Counties See Big Changes
PublicCEO
In 2011, California embarked on a series of criminal justice reforms, decreasing the state’s reliance on costly incarceration—and raising fears about the impact on public safety. A look at recently released crime numbers from the California Department of Justice show that while auto thefts are up almost 10%, the state has not seen a broad surge in crime since the reforms started. The violent crime rate is up 1.1% (and when adjusted for an important definitional change, is in fact down about 1%), while the property crime rate is down 3.2%. However, these statewide numbers mask substantial differences across counties.
Police body camera footage depicting rape victims won’t be released in California under new law
Los Angeles Times
Gov. Jerry Brown signed a measure Tuesday that would prohibit the public release of police body camera footage or other videos that depict victims of rape, incest, sexual assault, domestic violence or child abuse.
Black Lives Matter, other activists protest to stop jail expansion
Los Angeles Times
Dozens of people gathered outside the Los Angeles County Hall of Administration on Tuesday to protest the expansion of jails in the county, while inside the building the Board of Supervisors finalized next year’s budget.
Claims mislead about California forcing jail time for using wrong transgender pronoun
PolitiFact
A bill to prevent discrimination of LGBT seniors in California’s long-term care homes is one step from becoming law. It passed the Legislature this month and now sits on Gov. Jerry Brown’s desk.
Fire:
Huge Southern California wildfire is 15% contained as anxious residents wait for word
Los Angeles Times
John DeYoe spotted the residents in their open garage, gathering belongings they didn’t have time to pack the night before when the fast-moving Canyon fire forced them to flee.
ECONOMY / JOBS
Fresno designated as a ‘Talent Hub,’ earns $350,000 in grant funding
The Business Journal
The Lumina Foundation has announced the designation of 17 communities across the country as “Talent Hubs,” including Fresno, which will receive $350,000 in grant funding.
Businesses Joined by Non-Profits in Leaving California for Friendlier States
Fox and Hounds Daily
Friends in economic development agencies and in the site selection consulting world have asked why I haven’t posted anything in quite awhile. My answer is simple: I’ve been exceptionally busy. It certainly isn’t because there aren’t things to write about.
EDUCATION
K-12:
CUSD transforms former ITT Tech building into professional development and health center
Clovis Roundup
When ITT Technical Institute closed its doors last year, a new door opened for Clovis Unified. The district, which has its district headquarters right down the street, jumped at the opportunity to acquire the building and completed the purchase of the 25,000 square-foot site in January with plans to use the majority of the space for its curriculum, instruction and assessment department and professional services.
Education Matters: Students talk constitutional law for Constitution Day
The Constitution of the United States – it is the supreme law of the land. The rules we govern by – live by, but study after study shows most of us know little about the all important document. In Moira Harada’s constitutional law class at the Center for Advanced Research and Technology (CART), students study the Constitution.
Gay rights groups protest ‘erasure’ of LGBT history in California textbooks
Sacramento Bee
Amid a wave of gay youth suicides that generated national concern, California in 2011 became the first state to require lessons on the historical contributions of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community in its K-12 curriculum.
BCSD moves forward with sub waiver, setting stage for state legal battle
Bakersfield City School District trustees voted unanimously Tuesday to apply for a state waiver that would extend the length of time a substitute could teach in a classroom – the first step in what could become a precedent-setting legal battle with Sacramento.
California Schools Facing $24B in Retiree Health Costs
California News | US News
California schools are on the hook for $24 billion in future health care costs for their retirees, a mountain of debt that’s forcing some districts to curb benefits or spend less on teacher salaries and classroom equipment, according to a new state report.
Walters: Capitol politicians try to fix a bad law on school reserves
CALmatters
When California’s voters approved a 2010 ballot measure to reduce the legislative vote requirement for the state budget from two-thirds to a simple majority, they believed that they were merely ending an annual political logjam that sometimes stretched out for months. Unwittingly, however, they were granting the Legislature’s majority Democrats a license to make mischief.
Higher Ed:
WHCL hosts transfer fair for students
Hanford Sentinel
Students like Jose Ramirez have known what they wanted to do their whole lives. Others – like Dylan Grzybicki – had no idea until a few months ago. They both attended West Hills College Lemoore’s Transfer Fair on Tuesday morning, scouting through rows of booths from different colleges and universities they might be interested in attending.
Princeton Review Lists UC Merced Among Top Green Colleges
UC Merced Newsroom
UC Merced is among the nation’s top schools for sustainability for the third straight year, according to the Princeton Review’s Guide to 375 Green Colleges, and achieved its highest score to date with 95 out of a possible 99 points.
UC and CSU need a new funding plan
Sacramento Bee
Thanks to our parents’ and grandparents’ generations, when we were growing up in California we knew that if we did the work in high school there was a place for us in the University of California or the California State University systems.
CSU Reaches Tentative Contract Extension with Faculty
The California State University (CSU) has reached a tentative agreement on an extension of the contract with its faculty represented by the California Faculty Association (CFA). The current collective bargaining agreement, which is set to expire on June 30, 2018, will be extended two years through June 30, 2020. CFA represents 28,000 professors, lecturers, librarians, counselors and coaches throughout the university.
ENVIRONMENT/ ENERGY
Environment:
Valley air district focuses on particulate pollution at local workshop
Bakersfield Californian
An air quality workshop held in Bakersfield Tuesday night started out like a polite government meeting, with scads of information about progress made in controlling dangerous PM2.5 particle pollution in the valley — and plans being formed to control it even further.
Projects Announced In Competition For Fresno’s $70 Million Cap-And-Trade Fund
Valley Public Radio
The City of Fresno is getting a closer look at the projects hoping to get a slice of $70 million in cap-and-trade money that the state has set aside for the area. A meeting Wednesday meeting is one of the final steps before the city submits its plans to the state.
Genetic probe of redwoods, giant sequoias is key to restoring forests
San Francisco Chronicle
Redwood trees, those ancient living monuments to California’s past, are as mysterious to science as they are magnificent, so a team of researchers led by a San Francisco conservation group is attempting to unlock the genetic secrets of the towering conifers.
US Climate Change Policy: Made in California
New York Times
The Trump administration may appear to control climate policy in Washington, but the nation’s most dynamic environmental regulator is here in California.
Energy:
Lawmakers missed a ‘green’ opportunity; could consumers pay the price?
CALmatters
Environmentalists are accustomed to notching wins in the California Legislature, where their projects often receive a friendly hearing from a supermajority of Democrats and a governor with a laser focus on climate change. But there was an unexpected setback near the frantic end of the recent legislative session, when two energy-related proposals stalled.
For internet gatekeepers, consumer protection laws are better than utility-style regulation
Brookings Institution
Back in 2014, former Brookings scholar Robert Litan presciently warned that regulating broadband providers like public utilities in order to protect Net Neutrality, “could one day boomerang on certain major tech companies, too.” Three years later, that boomerang is now coming back with a vengeance.
HEALTH/HUMAN SERVICES
For stories on Republican attempts to “repeal and replace”the ACA, See: “Top Stories – Federal Politics,” above
Saint Agnes debuts new pacemaker in Central Valley
The Business Journal
A smaller, safer and longer-lasting pacemaker has found its way into the Central Valley, where it’s making patients’ lives — and doctors’ jobs — easier.
Tulare hospital board clash could finally come to rest
After months of litigation, debate, Senovia Gutierrez will be recognized as a Tulare Regional Medical Center Board member.
Community Health Centers facing fiscal cliff if Congress does not renew key funding this week
Community Health Centers, including those operated locally, are facing a devastating financial cliff this week that could lead to layoffs of healthcare workers, shutter healthcare centers and damage the economy if Congress does not renew federal funding by Saturday, when it’s set to expire.
UC Davis to land millions of dollars for stem cell clinic
Sacramento Bee
The University of California, Davis, is set to receive a $7.9 million award on Thursday to create the first Alpha Clinic stem cell program in Northern California, joining a signature effort of the California stem cell agency to produce a safe stem cell therapy ready for widespread use.
A look at acrylamide, and other chemicals that California officials would rather we not digest
San Jose Mercury Mercury
The carcinogen found in cooked foods like french fries is also a natural byproduct of the coffee roasting process. And the java industry, which naturally includes every single Starbucks on every single block of every single city in America, has acknowledged the fact that coffee does, in fact, contain acrylamide, if only in harmless levels.
Community Health Centers facing fiscal cliff if Congress does not renew key funding this week
Bakersfield Californian
Community Health Centers, including those operated locally, are facing a devastating financial cliff this week that could lead to layoffs of healthcare workers, shutter healthcare centers and damage the economy if Congress does not renew federal funding by Saturday, when it’s set to expire.
STD rates hit another record high, with California near the top
Los Angeles Times
The number of Americans diagnosed with chlamydia, gonorrhea or syphilis reached a record high in 2016 for the second year in a row, with more than 2 million cases reported and particularly high rates in California, according to federal data released Tuesday.
A nation in overdose peril: Pinpointing the most impacted communities and the local gaps in care
Brookings Institution
Following the calls of public health researchers, advocates, elected officials, and his specially appointed commission, President Donald Trump recently announced his intention to designate the opioid crisis as a national emergency.
Big Data Shows the Way to Healthier Playgrounds for All
PublicCEO
Play is so important to children’s well being that the United Nations has recognized it as a human right, along with shelter and education. And yet, in the U.S. today, children spend an average of 7 hours per day on screens. Nearly 1 in 3 are overweight or obese. Stress levels in children and teens are at all time highs, and levels of depression and suicide are rapidly increasing. The same can be said for adults, with obesity now a leading cause of death in the U.S. Clearly, we need to move more, we need to get out more, and we need to give ourselves permission to play but where?
IMMIGRATION
California lawmakers passed the ‘sanctuary state’ bill. What happens if Gov. Jerry Brown signs it?
Los Angeles Times
In a strike at President Trump’s call for more deportations, California lawmakers passed landmark “sanctuary state” legislation earlier this month to shield thousands of immigrants who have entered the U.S. illegally.
See also:
- California’s proposed sanctuary law endangers lives San Francisco Chronicle
Construction begins on Trump’s border wall prototypes in Otay Mesa
San Diego Union-Tribune
The first steps in what President Donald Trump hopes will be a new era in border security began Tuesday when construction crews broke ground on prototype designs for a border wall, starting a 30-day sprint to construct eight examples in a fenced-off area on Otay Mesa.
LAND USE/HOUSING
Land use:
Projects Announced In Competition For Fresno’s $70 Million Cap-And-Trade Fund
Valley Public Radio
The City of Fresno is getting a closer look at the projects hoping to get a slice of $70 million in cap-and-trade money that the state has set aside for the area. A meeting Wednesday meeting is one of the final steps before the city submits its plans to the state.
Supervisors launch Hart Park planning process
Bakersfield Californian
Kern County supervisors launched a planning process designed to reimagine venerable Hart Park Tuesday. Supervisor Mick Gleason made the motion to approve the County Administrative Office plan to bring in professional park planning firms to bid for a shot at drafting a bright future for the sprawling regional park, its lakes, trails, trees and lawns.
National Parks Struggle With a Mounting Crisis: Too Many Visitors
New York Times
The rocky shorelines, shifting deserts and winding canyons of the country’s 59 national parks have been hallmarks of American vacations for generations.
Housing:
Here’s why California’s historic housing legislation won’t bring down costs anytime soon
Sacramento Bee
California lawmakers this year took historic action to address what one housing economist says is the state’s most serious problem: unaffordability
See also:
- California’s current home-building pace won’t tame skyrocketing prices soon, forecast says San Jose Mercury
PUBLIC FINANCES
For stories on Republican attempts at tax reform, See: “Top Stories – Federal Politics,” above
Visalia gets out of golf course business
A Bay Area-based company will take over management of Visalia’s Valley Oak Golf Course starting Jan. 1, seeking to bring improvements to the 240-acre property.
Why unions and the private sector should work together as partners in job creation
CALFWD
How both groups must change in order to collaborate and reinvigorate the California Dream Read More
TRANSPORTATION
Could California ban gasoline cars?
San Francisco Chronicle
California Gov. Jerry Brown has expressed interest in banning cars that burn fossil fuels, the state’s top climate change regulator said in an interview published Tuesday.
See also:
WATER
Why thousands of bad bills are creating frustration with Modesto Irrigation District
Modesto Bee
If you’ve run into problems with the Modesto Irrigation District’s new billing system, you’re in good company.
Database | Drinking water violations by California water districts in 2016
The Sacramento Bee
Public drinking water systems in California violated state and federal regulations more than 4,700 times in 2016. This database contains every violation from that year.
Without Westlands, What’s Next For California’s “Twin Tunnels” Water Project?
Valley Public Radio
Last week was a bad one for one of California Governor Jerry Brown’s biggest priorities – the project known as California WaterFix. The board of the Westlands Water District voted 7-1 to reject a proposal to participate in, and help pay for the $16 billion twin tunnel project. That vote has left many asking whether the project has a future.
See also:
- Delta tunnels dead? Southern California ready to plow ahead Sacramento Bee
Dams seen driving ‘mass extinction’ of salmon
For millennia, Native Americans subsisted on a spring run of chinook salmon returning to the Klamath River in Northern California.
“Xtra”
Fresno Unified collected 40,000 pounds worth of donations for Houston victims
abc30
Fresno Unified School District asked families to give what they could and in less than two weeks collected more than 1,000 boxes worth of donated items for the students and staff at Houston Independent School District.
Fresno Humane Society’s free adoption event is helping a lot of needy animals find homes
abc30
Fresno Humane’s Free-Fur-All event has already helped dozens of dogs and cats find their forever home and there is still time for you to adopt– for free.
Madera Wine Trail Hosts Fall Favorite Wines Saturday, 7th October
Visit Yosemite Madera County
Oakhurst, CA. (September 26, 2017) To celebrate fall, the Madera Wine Trail is hosting Fall Favorite Wine tastings on Saturday 7th October. Madera Wine Trail Madera County has a long tradition producing wine and is one of the oldest grape growing regions in America.
Laila Ali to speak at Women’s Business Conference
Laila Ali, a fitness expert, boxing champion, actress, cooking enthusiastic, mother and the daughter of Muhammad Ali, will be the keynote speaker at the 2018 Bakersfield Women’s Business Conference, it was announced Tuesday.
Twitter tests 280-character tweets
Los Angeles Times
Twitter’s defining feature has always been brevity: 140 characters was all you got. But under a new test announced Tuesday, the San Francisco tech company said it will begin giving users twice as much room to tweet.