September 7, 2018

07Sep


POLICY & POLITICS


Valley:


Maddy Associates Luncheon​​ with High Speed Rail Authority’s CEO Brian Kelly

Maddy Institute

Today, The Maddy Institute will be hosting the California High-Speed Rail Authority’s CEO Brian Kelly. Business and Community leaders have been invited to attend this private event in Fresno, CA.​​ 


Vidak endorsed by Kern and Kings County Farm bureaus

Hanford Sentinel

Farmer and small businessman Andy Vidak announced that he received the endorsement of the Kern County Farm Bureau and the Kings County Farm Bureau.


Let’s talk about Fresno’s divide

Fresno Bee

Fresno’s divide is not a new concept. Former Mayor Alan Autry famously dubbed the issue Fresno’s “Tale of Two Cities.”


Fresno’s Dowling Aaron Joining With Sacramento Law Firm

The Business Journal

Fresno law firm Dowling Aaron Inc. has joined forces with a Sacramento-area firm, “bringing together two respected firms committed to serving agricultural business interests through California and the West,” according to a news release.


Effort to recall JesĂșs Andrade fails to meet deadline

Stockton Record

Another effort to recall a Stockton City Council member has come to an end. The deadline to recall Councilman JesĂșs Andrade was Aug. 30, and city spokeswoman Connie Cochran said nothing was turned in by proponents of the effort.


City of Arvin hires police chief as city manager

KGET

Arvin city council selected Police Chief Richard "Jerry" Breckinridge as the new City Manager of Arvin, the city's office announced Wednesday.


State:


To weed through California candidates, here are two key questions to ask

Fresno Bee

Voters to look beyond initial ideas, and seek answers to two important and interdependent questions: What are the candidate’s core values? And what is their world view?

See Also:


Trumpworld hated net neutrality when California wanted it. But now Alex Jones is crying censorship

Fresno Bee

Senate Bill 822, awaiting a signature from California Gov. Jerry Brown, would restore Obama-era net neutrality rules that forced internet providers to treat websites equally. Now Republicans want similar rules to stop “censorship” of right-wing content.


‘If I weren’t effective, I wouldn’t be a target.’ Pelosi gives candid TIME interview

Fresno Bee

California Democrat Rep. Nancy Pelosi is the subject of TIME’s latest cover story. The Bay Area liberal and former Speaker of the House dismissed her critics, saying “If I weren’t effective, I wouldn’t be a target.”


Motor Voter sparks unusual spike in ‘no party’ registrations at California DMV

Fresno Bee

Data obtained by The Sacramento Bee shows a huge jump in number of California voters registering with ‘no party preference’ through the state’s new Motor Voter program at the California DMV.

See Also:


Statements about the Holocaust and immigrants trip up John Cox's campaign for California governor

Los Angeles Times

Surrounded by TV news cameras, Republican John Cox chatted with weary Californians stuck in long lines at a Sacramento DMV office and joyfully blasted Democratic leaders for turning the agency into a model of inefficiency.

See Also:


House Ethics Committee Takes Action on Hunter, Collins

Roll Call

The House Ethics Committee voted Thursday to impanel investigative subcommittees to examine Reps. Duncan Hunter of California and Chris Collins of New York.


New Biography Examines How Pat And Jerry Brown Helped Shape California

VPR

Acclaimed biographer Miriam Pawel's newest work tells the story of the most influential family in California political history.


U.S. House Ethics Committee creates investigative subcommittee to probe allegations against Rep. Duncan Hunter

San Diego Union-Tribune

Two weeks after he was indicted by federal prosecutors for allegedly misusing campaign funds, Rep.​​ Duncan Hunter, R-Alpine, will face a new investigation — this one conducted by his colleagues in the U.S. House of Representatives.


California law that would create corporate gender quotas is a textbook case of government overreach

ABC30

Private companies across the country must do better to combat gender discrimination and achieve gender diversity. But governments must resist the urge to mandate gender quotas.


EDITORIAL: We can live without legislators who don’t live in their districts

San Francisco Chronicle

California lawmakers have drawn exactly the wrong lesson from allegations that some of their colleagues don’t reside in the areas they claim to represent.


Federal:


Republicans aren’t asking Kavanaugh about abortion. Lindsey Graham’s going there.

Fresno Bee

While most Senate Republicans are avoiding mere mention of Roe v. Wade during Brett Kavanaugh’s Supreme Court confirmation hearings, Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina is talking about abortion at length.

See Also:


‘It’s not mine,’ Pompeo says of New York Times op-ed

Sacramento Bee

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo denied writing an opinion piece published in the New York Times. An anonymous senior administration official claimed to be part of a “resistance” working inside the White House.

See Also:


Trump's first midterm pits a booming economy against one of history's most unpopular presidents

Los Angeles Times

The midterm election now just over eight weeks away is shaping up as a seismic collision between two powerful and competing forces, a rip-roaring national economy and a deeply polarizing and unpopular president.


Trump feels 'amazingly alone,' and increasingly the world sees it

Los Angeles Times

As President Trump confronted a torrent of anonymous charges from within his administration over his authority and fitness to govern, he sought validation Thursday from an unlikely source, one of the world's most infamous autocrats.


DeVos Punts to Congress on Federally Funded Guns for Schools

New York Times

Education Secretary Betsy DeVos says she will leave it to Congress to decide whether states can use federal funds to purchase firearms for their schools, prompting congressional Democrats to launch a last-ditch effort to restrict those funds.


Donald Trump wrongly says Social Security and Medicare are stronger

PolitiFact

At a meeting with Kuwait’s leader Sheikh Al-Sabah, Trump called the book "fiction" and said in contrast to what it describes, no administration has gotten more done on tax cuts, deregulation and the courts than his. And the accomplishments don’t end there.


‘I Am Schmuck-acus.’

National Review

“This is about the closest I’ll have in my life to an ‘I am Spartacus’ moment,” New Jersey senator Cory Booker declared during yesterday’s Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, in one of the lamer and less convincing efforts by an aspiring presidential candidate to give himself a cool nickname.


Tea-Party Turnabout

WSJ

Christmas Eve 2009. For six long weeks Republicans had fought a losing battle to stop ObamaCare. The Senate GOP leadership finally succumbed to the inevitable, allowing the bill to pass. The tea party—new, angry, undisciplined—slammed Republicans as sellouts. It would spend the next few years on a purity drive, nominating unelectable Delaware non-witches and demanding Republicans engage in grand if futile efforts.


Why we stick to false beliefs: Feedback trumps hard evidence

ScienceDaily

Ever wonder why flat earthers, birthers, climate change and Holocaust deniers stick to their beliefs in the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary? New findings suggest that feedback, rather than hard evidence, boosts people's sense of certainty when learning new things or trying to tell right from wrong.


Congress must grow to check the administrative state

AEI

The rise of the administrative state and the corresponding decline in power of the legislative branch is much lamented,​​ often by political conservatives, and rightly so.


Other:


Voting machines without paper trails should be trashed to thwart cyberattacks, election report says

USA Today

In a new report, “Securing the Vote: Protecting American Democracy,” by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, experts call for more federal funds to improve election systems and more post-election audits of voting machines.


Google leaves an empty chair at Senate hearing on internet companies

Brookings

After executives from Facebook and Twitter sat before the Senate for a hearing on election interference on Wednesday, Tom Wheeler calls Google’s notable absence a “strategic mistake of virtually incalculable proportions.”​​ 

 


AGRICULTURE/FOOD


Group says third county cannabis initiative has received enough signatures to qualify for ballot

Bakersfield Californian

A third cannabis group says it has gathered enough signatures to qualify an initiative for the ballot. The initiative seeks to overturn Kern County’s ban on medical marijuana dispensaries.


California's Illegal Weed Industry Is Doing Better Than Ever

Vice News

In fact, the situation become so dire that earlier this year, Governor Jerry Brown proposed allocating an extra $14 million of the state budget to policing unauthorized weed. The money would fund five teams within the state attorney general’s office that would focus on effort like “complex, large-scale financial and tax evasion investigations,” according to a statement from Brown.​​ 


From the Vine: Celebrate California’s wine bounty at festivals, tastings and more

Stockton Record

September is California Wine Month. Though every month is a good month to drink wine, September is a logical choice to celebrate because harvest takes center stage.


California grows most of America’s sushi rice. The harvest has begun. Watch the action

Sacramento Bee

Here's some rice harvest action from Rue & Forsman Ranch in Yuba County. Harvest will continue throughout the Sacramento Valley into November. California grows 85 percent of America's sushi rice.


Rosedale Middle students learn gardening in new farm-to-table class

The Bakersfield California​​ 

Students at Rosedale Middle School are getting a firsthand understanding of the phrase “farm-to-table.”


CRIMINAL JUSTICE / FIRE / PUBLIC SAFETY

Crime:


Scammers posing as Sheriff’s Department officials are threatening arrest

Sacramento Bee

Scammers posing as members of the Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Department are using scare tactics to get people’s money.​​ 


DAs urge Brown to veto crime bills, calling them ‘serious threats to public safety’

Sacramento Bee

Regional district attorneys joined forces Thursday in Sacramento carrying dire warnings of what two bills sitting on the governor’s desk would mean for public safety and crime victims in California.​​ 

See Also:


Courthouse ICE Arrests Spark Concerns, But Aren't New

Valley Public Radio

Recent arrests of undocumented immigrants by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials inside Central Valley courthouses from Fresno to Sacramento have sparked controversy.​​ 


Appeals court denies new trial for Bakersfield man convicted in grisly killing of newborn son

The Bakersfield Californian

An appeals court has rejected a motion for a new trial in the case of a Bakersfield man convicted of inflicting horrific injuries resulting in the death of his infant son eight years ago.  


Brown signs 'prosecution fee' bill sparked by Desert Sun investigation

DesertSun

Less than one year after a Desert Sun investigation revealed Indio and Coachella had hired an outside law firm to prosecute residents found in violation of municipal ordinances, then charged them thousands in “prosecution fees,” the practice has been officially outlawed in California.


EDITORIAL: Attention Western U.S.: You finally have to stop punishing homeless people for being homeless

Los Angeles Times

The 9th​​ Circuit Court of Appeals has concluded that prosecuting homeless people for sleeping on public property when they have no access to shelter amounts to cruel and unusual punishment in violation of the 8th Amendment of the Constitution.


Public Safety:


Giant hotel chains to give workers 'panic buttons' to help prevent sexual assaults

Los Angeles Times

Hotel employees who work alone or in isolated locations, making them vulnerable to harassment and sexual assault, will be equipped with so-called panic buttons — electronic devices to call for help — the world’s largest hotel companies announced Thursday.


Fire:​​ 


Cal Fire makes earliest request ever for more firefighting dollars in record year

Sacramento Bee

As fires continued to rage in the state, Cal Fire on Thursday asked lawmakers for another $234 million to keep the agency’s firefighting budget from being exhausted.

See Also:


Donnell Fire isn’t growing for now, but crews brace for rain that could cause landslides

Modesto Bee

Crews working the Donnell Fire on upper Highway 108 are guarding against landslides that thunderstorms could unleash on the charred terrain.

See Also:


State says seniors were abandoned during Northern California wildfire

Los Angeles Times

Staff at two senior care centers abandoned residents during an evacuation as wildfires​​ swept through Northern California​​ last October, state officials said Thursday as they moved to revoke licenses from the Santa Rosa facilities and their top administrators.

See Also:


California Takes Financial Wallop From Unrelenting Wildfires

Capital Public Radio

California's insurance commissioner says victims of the state's two largest wildfires this year have filed more than 10,000 claims so far totaling $845 million.


How 20 major blazes have ignited since 1991

San Francisco Chronicle​​ 

These are among the countless ways that wildfires have started in California, and they’re among a dizzying spectrum of causes that make it that much harder for California to wrest control of this year’s unrelenting fire season.​​ 


ECONOMY / JOBS

Economy:


US productivity grew at strong 2.9 percent rate in Q2

ABC News

The Labor Department on Thursday affirmed last month's report that U.S. productivity increased at an annual rate of 2.9 percent in the second quarter.


Watch These Markets as Trump's $200 Billion Trade Salvo Nears

Bloomberg

President Donald Trump is​​ said to be ready​​ to push ahead with tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese imports after the deadline for public input ends Thursday, a move that could rattle markets from U.S. stocks to emerging markets and offset some of the American economy’s long strides forward.


10 years after the financial crisis: Uneven progress and some structural disconnects

Brookings

A decade after the onset of the global recession, Eswar Prasad and Karim Foda take stock of the progress made by key advanced and emerging economies on GDP growth, stock market performance, employment, productivity, and more.​​ 


The Rise of the Middle Class Safety Net

Brookings

Welfare reform is in the air again. Congressional Republicans are pushing for greater work incentives to be attached to the receipt of certain benefits, especially SNAP and Medicaid.


Chances Fade for U.S.-China Trade Deal

WSJ

The prospect of resolving the U.S. trade battle with China is fading as the White House draws closer to a deal to revise the North American Free Trade Agreement.


Jobs:


Bay Area minimum wage rise hasn’t meant restaurant job losses, study says

San Francisco Chronicle

How is the rising minimum wage impacting the restaurant industry? According to a new study, the answer is: not much.


US adds a strong 201K jobs; unemployment stays at 3.9 pct.

APnews

Hiring in the United States picked up in August as employers added a strong 201,000 jobs, a sign of confidence that consumers and businesses will keep spending despite the Trump administration’s ongoing conflicts with its trading partners.

See Also:


Generation Z is entering the workforce.

WSJ

Sean McKeon was 11 years old when the 2008 financial crisis shot anxiety through his life in Hudson, Ohio. He remembers his father coming home stressed after the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. took over the bank where he worked. A teacher asked classmates if their parents cut back that Christmas. They all said yes.


EDUCATION


K-12:


Do School Dress Codes Discriminate Against Girls?

Education Week

School dress-code controversies have been trending on the web in recent months, fanning a controversy over whether schools are enforcing the rules in ways that discriminate against girls.


11, Rounded Up to 240

The Weekly Standard

This spring, not long after the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida, the Department of Education released a report showing that during the 2015-2016 school year there were an astounding 240 school shootings.


California Teenagers Could Sleep Later Under School Start Bill

New York Times

We all know a teenager who is nearly impossible to get out of bed in the morning. And​​ research provides some relatively simple answers​​ why: Sleep cycles make it hard for teenagers to fall asleep before 11 p.m. — and that does not leave them enough time to get a full night’s rest before school starts the next morning.


EDITORIAL: It's too early to move all California middle and high schools to a later start

Los Angeles Times

If Gov. Jerry Brown is sincere about empowering local school districts rather than dictating the minutiae of their operations at the state level, he will veto Senate Bill 328.​​ 


Higher Ed:


Fresno City College getting major changes

ABC30​​ 

When it comes to Fresno City College's science building, there is just not enough space. Thanks to bond measure C and E the college can now upgrade.

Apprenticeships:

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ENVIRONMENT/ ENERGY

Environment:


Greenhouse gases aren't just warming the planet. They're also acidifying our oceans​​ 

Los Angeles Times

Emissions spewing from our tailpipes are also acidifying the world’s oceans. Since the first coal-burning fires of the Industrial Age,​​ about 30%​​ of the atmospheric carbon dioxide produced by humans has been absorbed by our surging seas.

See also:​​ 


Only the powerful get relief from environmental law

CALMatters

Cannella, a Republican from Modesto, rose to talk about a bill that would fast-track an Inglewood arena for the Clippers basketball team through the regulatory thicket of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).


Valley Air District Seeks Public Comment On Plan To Improve Air Quality

Valley Public Radio

After years of revisions, the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District is seeking public comment on its latest plan to reduce PM2.5, a harmful pollutant that causes respiratory problems and is increasingly being linked to other serious health conditions.


How Is Climate Change Affecting California's Butterflies?

Capital Public Radio

Dr. Art Shapiro and his research team have been monitoring butterflies along the Interstate 80 corridor for anywhere from 30 to 45 years to study the effects of climate change on the insects.


Energy:


California Energy Price Data for August 2018

California Center for Jobs and the Economy

Monthly updates for the most current August 2018 fuel price data (GasBuddy.com) and June 2018 electricity and natural gas price data (US Energy Information Agency).

HEALTH/HUMAN SERVICES

Health:


Kids 6 months and older need a flu shot now, doctors warn

Visalia Times-Delta

Children may still be dusting of the last of summer and barely settling into the school year, but now is the time to get a flu shot. Don't wait, the American Academy of Pediatrics said Monday.​​ 


Hospitals are fed up with drug companies, so they're starting their own

Los Angeles Times

A group of major American hospitals, battered by price hikes on old drugs and long-lasting shortages of crucial medicines, has launched a not-for-profit generic drug company, Civica Rx, to take some control over the drug supply.


Amid EpiPen shortage, Walgreens teams up with drug company that offers an alternative

Los Angeles Times

Amid a shortage of EpiPens, pharmacy chain Walgreens is teaming up with a drugmaker that makes a competing allergy injection.


When your prescription drug is tainted with a chemical 'used to make rocket fuel'

Los Angeles Times

Wayne Pearl, like millions of people with high blood pressure, takes the widely prescribed generic drug valsartan.


Scooter use is rising in major cities. So are trips to the emergency room.

The Washington Post

They have been pouring into emergency rooms around the nation all summer, their bodies bearing a blend of injuries that doctors normally associate with victims of car wrecks — broken noses, wrists and shoulders, facial lacerations and fractures, as well as the kind of blunt head trauma that can leave brains permanently damaged.


Human Services:


Her ashes were almost buried in a mass grave. Hundreds will be unless claimed soon

Fresno Bee

The ashes of hundreds of people will be buried in a mass grave at Fresno County Cemetery unless claimed before a Sept. 13 burial for those whose family couldn’t be found, or who couldn’t afford to bury them.

See Also:


An unbreakable bond: What happens when a service dog has to retire?

Fresno Bee

Without an assistance dog, Ed Crane’s life is restricted. He has chronic head pain from a surgery that sometimes forces him to spend hours in his darkened bedroom in Clovis. Seizures leave him prone to falling. Alepo restored a sense of security to Crane’s life.


Clovis Community Medical Center continues growth, unveils plans for skilled nursing facility

Clovis Roundup

Clovis Community Medical Center is growing rapidly with the completion of the new​​ cancer center, plans for a​​ $390 million expansion​​ and now a skilled nursing facility to be built just south of the hospital on Herndon and Coventry avenues.


Tulare hospital board claims 'bold-faced' lies from Adventist opposition

Visalia Times-Delta

Measure H, the effort to reopen Tulare's only hospital, has opposition. In letters filed 10 days apart, Shirley Rybnikar and Reginald Snead said a partnership between the Tulare hospital board and Adventist Health is bad for Tulare and called on residents to oppose Measure H.


AP Exclusive: Modest premium hikes as ‘Obamacare’ stabilizes

APnews

Millions of people covered under the Affordable Care Act will see only modest premium increases next year, and some will get price cuts. That’s the conclusion from an exclusive analysis of the besieged but resilient program, which still sparks deep divisions heading into this year’s midterm elections.

See Also:


Republicans’ health-care suicide mission

Washington Post

In a federal courtroom in Texas Wednesday, a case brought by 20 Republican state attorneys general and governors got underway that could, if successful, overturn the Affordable Care Act


IMMIGRATION

Trump administration working on proposal to detain migrant families longer as deterrent

ABC30

The Trump administration is working on a proposal to try and detain migrant families longer as a way to deter them from crossing the Southwestern border illegally.

See Also:


Trump seeks changes in landmark agreement limiting how long migrant children can be detained

Los Angeles Times

On Thursday, the Trump administration took the first steps to get out from under that 1997 consent decree, filing new​​ proposed rules​​ on the treatment of minors that immigrant advocates said could lead to more children being detained for extended periods of time.


Courthouse ICE Arrests Spark Concerns, But Aren't New

Valley Public Radio

Recent arrests of undocumented immigrants by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials inside Central Valley courthouses from Fresno to Sacramento have sparked controversy.​​ 


Migrant families get a small break

CALmatters

As the new school year begins, migrant families will be able to take advantage of a new law that offers some stability for their children, CALmatters’ Elizabeth Castillo reports.


LAND USE/HOUSING


Land Use:


Enchanted Playhouse loses bid for Main Street theater

Visalia Times-Delta

Visalia City Council rejected a proposal from the Enchanted Playhouse Theater Company to purchase the Main Street Theatre.


Bakersfield's fry-pan parking lots: Could competition bring more shade?

Bakersfield Californian

Shade is important to summertime shoppers in Bakersfield, who are loathe to return to a car that has been baking in the sun for 40 minutes. Enter the Tree Foundation of Kern. The nonprofit is launching a new annual competition for the best tree canopy in Bakersfield's parking lots.


Housing:


‘Progress towards progress’ reducing homelessness

Stockton Record

Now — spoiler alert — it appears the Continuum (a coalition of San Joaquin County and city governments and nonprofits) will take all 2018 ramping up. Stocktonians and other county residents may not see a net reduction in homelessness until 2019.


PUBLIC FINANCES


CalPERS disaster shapes bill sent to Gov. Jerry Brown

Sacramento Bee

Gov. Jerry Brown is considering a bill shaped by the worst example of a California public agency​​ defaulting on the pension promises​​ it made to its employees and allowing CalPERS to slash the incomes of its retirees.


Trump poised to tax an additional $200B in Chinese imports

AP News

The Trump administration may be about to slap tariffs of up to 25 percent on an additional $200 billion in Chinese goods, escalating a confrontation between the world’s two biggest economies and likely squeezing U.S. companies that import everything from handbags to bicycle tires.


TRANSPORTATION


Sequoia Shuttle looking for strong 2018 finish for Dark Sky Festival

Visalia Times-Delta

Providing transportation for the Dark Sky Festival, the Sequoia Shuttle will end its run on Sunday.


Lyft could be coming to Meadows Field

Bakersfield Californian

The Kern County Board of Supervisors will consider allowing the ride-hailing service Lyft to operate out of Meadows Field Airport during their morning meeting Tuesday.​​ 


Bakersfield's fry-pan parking lots: Could competition bring more shade?

The Bakersfield Californian​​ 

Jim Lee cruised the Chester Avenue Food Maxx parking lot Thursday afternoon in search of one thing and one thing only: A shaded parking spot....


Scooter use is rising in major cities. So are trips to the emergency room.

The Washington Post

They have been pouring into emergency rooms around the nation all summer, their bodies bearing a blend of injuries that doctors normally associate with victims of car wrecks — broken noses, wrists and shoulders, facial lacerations and fractures, as well as the kind of blunt head trauma that can leave brains permanently damaged.


EDITORIAL: California DMV needs an audit — and maybe a shakeup

San Diego Union-Tribune

If 13 years lead time isn’t enough for a state agency to prepare for increased responsibilities, that’s a harsh comment on agency leadership. Now there is fresh evidence an audit makes sense.


WATER


Woolf Resigns from Westlands Board. What’s Next for Water District?

GV Wire

Prominent Valley grower and water-management consultant​​ Sarah Woolf​​ has resigned from the board of directors at​​ Westlands Water District.


SLO County residents could be on the hook for $6 million to repair the Oroville Dam

Sacramento Bee

The cost of fixing the Oroville Dam’s spillways now tops $1 billion and could cost local water agencies in San Luis Obispo County as much as $6 million, the Department of Water Resources said Wednesday.


Bills To Create Drinking Water Fund Die In State Legislature

Valley Public Radio

California’s legislative session ended last week, and with it, the hopes for a statewide pool of money that would have supported drinking water projects.


Make California’s Water Grid Climate-Ready

Public Policy Institute of California

Next week people from around the globe will gather at the Global Climate Action Summit in San Francisco to explore solutions to climate change. California has long played a leadership role in reducing climate emissions. But the state has a crucial weakness in its climate readiness: its vast water system.


EDITORIAL: Chronicle recommends: No on state Prop. 3

San Francisco Chronicle

California voters may be wondering why they are looking at an $8.9 billion water bond on the Nov. 6 ballot. They may be asking: Didn’t we just approve a $4 billion bond in June? Why are our elected officials coming back for more? The short answer: They aren’t.


EDITORIAL: Tijuana sewage lawsuits need backing of San Diego city and county

San Diego Union-Tribune

For years, the International Boundary and Water Commission — the binational agency that oversees the boundary and water treaties of the United States and Mexico — essentially has shrugged when it comes to the vast amount of raw sewage, industrial waste and trash that fouls San Diego County beaches.


“Xtra”


New Biography Examines How Pat And Jerry Brown Helped Shape California

Valley Public Radio

Acclaimed biographer Miriam Pawel's newest work tells the story of the most influential family in California political history


Madera boy with rare disease using YouTube to spread awareness

ABC30​​ 

Carson Kelly, 10, is battling a rare disorder called Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, also known as EDS. The fourth grader's goal: encourage others battling the same illness through his story.


Surf Ranch creating wave of excitement for Lemoore

ABC30

There's no secret surrounding Kelly Slater's Surf Ranch anymore, as it hosts another World Surf League event this weekend. The best male and female surfers from around the world started competing in the Surf Ranch Pro event on Thursday.


Take me home! Cats available for adoption

Bakersfield Californian

These four cats at Kern County Animal Services are looking for their forever homes. Can you help?​​ 


Prepare for Hometown Heroes in downtown Visalia on Saturday

Visalia Times-Delta

Downtown Visalia hopes to launch a new tradition with the kickoff of its Hometown Heroes event this Saturday.​​ 


What’s Growing On: Special fall plant sales and garden events

Stockton Record

Take advantage of these upcoming events to buy special new plants, view gorgeous gardens, learn something new, or simply get outside in a beautiful setting.


USGS Historical Topographic Map Explorer

USGS

Here's a fun rabbit hole for map nerds. The U.S. Geological Survey created a searchable map that lets you compare your city or region against historical maps.


Kelly Slater's Artificial Surf Pool Is Really Making Waves

Wired

The world’s premier surfer has joined forces with wave science geeks to create an artificial wave in the middle of California. Will it revolutionize the sport or destroy the soul of surfing? Yes.