April 12, 2021

12Apr

POLICY & POLITICS

 

What does leadership look like in your community?

James Irvine Foundation

The James Irvine Foundation is now accepting nominations for the 2022 Leadership Awards – a $250,000 grant for California leaders.​​ Accepting nominations at​​ IrvineAwards.org​​ through May 7, 2021.

 

North SJ Valley:

 

COVID Update:​​ 

 

Los Banos moving forward with plans for new​​ $24 million police department headquarters

Merced Sun-Star

The City of Los Banos is moving forward with plans to build a new $24 million police headquarters on a 3.6 acre plot of land on G Street, just west of the courts building.​​ 

 

Christina Fugazi chosen to serve as Stockton vice mayor to Kevin Lincoln

Stockton Record

Christina Fugazi has been selected as Stockton vice mayor by Mayor Kevin Lincoln. Lincoln announced Fugazi as his candidate for the position Thursday afternoon.

 

Stanislaus Consolidated fire chief retires. It can now afford to reopen station.

Modesto Bee

Stanislaus​​ Consolidated Fire Protection District has appointed an interim chief while board members work on filling the permanent position.

 

Turlock to sweep this homeless encampment​​ next. How many shelter beds are available?

Modesto Bee

The City of Turlock is set to sweep another homeless encampment on Wednesday, marking its second eviction since an official declared a local emergency on homelessness.

 

Central SJ Valley:

 

COVID Update:​​ 

 

Newsom during Fresno County visit cites Creek Fire impact, promises half billion in aid

Fresno Bee

Gov. Gavin Newsom appeared Thursday afternoon near Shaver Lake in eastern Fresno County, unveiling a $536 million funding plan to help improve California’s wildfire response.

See also:

 

Educators demand change at Clovis Unified board meeting

abc30

Several Clovis Unified educators in support of unionizing were seeking change and spoke out during public comment at the district's board meeting on Wednesday.

See also:​​ 

 

Fresno City Council kicks can once again on grocery hazard pay

Business Journal

The Fresno City Council on Thursday continued a modified proposal to require grocery stores to provide additional pay or benefits to workers. It’s the second time the council has pushed the decision to a later date.

See also:

 

Fresno promoter lost his sister to a hit-and-run. Now, he’s helping revive Gavin’s Law

Fresno Bee

Mike Osegueda remembers Gavin Gladding’s death in 2018 like most people living in Fresno at the time recall it — as a news story about a senseless and shocking hit-and-run and a family looking for justice in their loss.

 

Valley Voices: Environmental racism is real. In Fresno, we need zero-emission vehicles to help solve it

Fresno Bee

Disproportionate exposure to tailpipe pollution is one of the clearest embodiments of environmental racism in California.​​ 

 

South SJ Valley:

 

COVID Update:​​ 

 

Valadao sends letter to High-Speed Rail Authority in defense of Wasco

Bakersfield Californian

Valadao, R-Hanford, sent a letter Wednesday to California High-Speed Rail Authority CEO Brian P. Kelly communicating the socio-economic and environmental challenges faced by Wasco as a result of the authority’s neglect, according to a news release from Valadao’s office.

 

State:

 

COVID Update:

 

'It could be catastrophic': CA legislators want Gov. Newsom to declare state of emergency over water 'crisis'

abc30

California's hottest commodity could become even more scarce as state and federal officials announce water cutbacks on the brink of another drought.

See also:

 

Democratic Latino leaders denounce Newsom recall after poll finds ‘slippage’ in support

Modesto Bee

Several members of the​​ California Latino Legislative Caucus​​ on Thursday denounced the effort to recall Gov. Newsom, rallying​​ behind him after a recent statewide poll suggested​​ a potential weakness in support among Latino voters​​ for the Democratic governor.

See also:​​ 

 

California Dreaming: Golden State's economy expected to recover faster than the US post-pandemic

abc30

Throughout its history, California has experienced several significant economic booms and busts. The coronavirus pandemic-induced recession is only the latest test of the Golden State's resilience.

See also:

 

How a surprising Newsom veto threw California’s garbage, building industries into chaos

Sacramento Bee

For years, contractors and trash haulers in California have been accepting discarded fence posts, backyard deck planks and other chemically treated wood debris without giving it much thought.

 

California advances bill aimed at massive unemployment fraud

Los Angeles Times

California lawmakers on Thursday advanced what they called common sense legislation requiring two state agencies to share information aimed at helping stop billions of dollars in pandemic-related unemployment​​ fraud.

 

Building California’s Cradle-to-Career Data System

Public Policy Institute of California

A yearlong collaboration among educational institutions, state agencies, advocates, and researchers has led to a plan for a statewide system that connects K–12, higher education, workforce, and social services data.​​ 

 

Video: Californians and Their Government

Public Policy Institute​​ of California

PPIC’s Dean Bonner and Mark Baldassare discuss new statewide survey findings on a potential gubernatorial recall election, state and federal COVID relief, immigration reform, and other topics.

 

Federal:

 

COVID Update:

 

Biden announces 6 executive orders on gun control, nominates new ATF boss

abc30

President Joe Biden, in his first gun control measures since taking office, announced a half-dozen executive actions Thursday aimed at addressing a proliferation of gun violence across the nation that he called an "epidemic and an international embarrassment."

See also:

 

With His Legacy In Mind, Biden Seeks U.S. Transformation With Infrastructure Plan

VPR

In remarks Wednesday pushing for his sweeping $2.3 trillion plan, Biden said he wants to meet with Republicans about it and hopes to negotiate in "good faith" — a political tenet that hasn't been practiced much in Washington, D.C., in recent years.

See also:

 

Business and the GOP: Who Wins?

U.S. News

Republicans claim the law is designed to improve voting following what they have said were widespread irregularities during last year's elections, in which Georgia proved pivotal.

 

Other:

 

Election calendar crunch: Census count is running late

CalMatters

And there’s the rub: California’s next primary election is set for June 7, 2022 and the 2020 Census data — that first step — is really, really late, partly due to the pandemic.

 

Nation Has Georgia on Its Mind, but Many States Are Making Voting Easier

PEW

The national conversation around voting rights this year has focused on new ballot restrictions in states such as Arizona and Georgia. Less noticed have been efforts by states to expand voting by mail, early voting and voter registration.​​ 

 

A Tiny Particle’s Wobble Could Upend the Known Laws of Physics

New York Times

Experiments with particles known as muons suggest that there are forms of matter and energy vital to the nature and evolution of the cosmos​​ that are not yet known to science.

 

MADDY INSTITUTE PUBLIC POLICY PROGRAMMING

 

Sunday, April 11, at 10 a.m on ABC30 –​​ Maddy Report: "Little Hoover Commission Report: Labor Trafficking"​​ - Guest: Pedro Nava, Chairman - Little Hoover Commission. Host: Maddy Institute Executive Director, Mark Keppler.

 

Sunday, April 11, at 10 a.m. on Newstalk 580AM/105.9FM (KMJ) –​​ Maddy Report - Valley Views Edition:​​ “Labor Trafficking, Poverty and Income Inequality” ​​​​ -​​ Guests: Pedro Nava, Chairman - Little Hoover Commission; Sarah Bohn, Public Policy Institute of California. Host: Maddy Institute Executive Director, Mark Keppler.

 

AGRICULTURE/FOOD

 

New coalition will look out for the pollinators vital to Central Valley farming

Modesto Bee

The California Pollinator Coalition was launched Wednesday by leaders in agriculture, government and conservation. They aim to protect the creatures from pesticide spraying, habitat loss and other threats.

See also:​​ 

 

CRIMINAL JUSTICE/FIRE/PUBLIC SAFETY

 

Crime:

 

California advances bill aimed at massive unemployment fraud

Los Angeles Times

California lawmakers on Thursday advanced what they called common sense legislation requiring two state agencies to share information aimed at helping stop billions of dollars in pandemic-related unemployment fraud.

 

Public Safety:

 

Los Banos moving forward with plans for new $24 million police department headquarters

Merced Sun-Star

The City of Los Banos is moving forward with plans to build a new $24 million police headquarters on a 3.6 acre plot of land on G Street, just west of the courts building.​​ 

 

National civil rights group: Fresno PD should not give cover to white nationalist officers

Fresno Bee

A national civil rights legal group penned a letter calling on Fresno Police Chief Paco Balderrama to fire a Fresno police officer who formerly identified as a Proud Boy and to take steps to root out white nationalism in the police department.

 

How California got tough on guns

CalMatters

The modern American gun debate began on May 2, 1967, when 30 protesting members of the Black Panther Party​​ marched into the California Capitol with loaded handguns, shotguns and rifles.

 

Fire:​​ 

 

Newsom during Fresno County visit cites Creek Fire impact, promises half billion in aid

Fresno Bee

Gov. Gavin Newsom appeared Thursday afternoon near Shaver Lake in eastern Fresno County, unveiling a $536 million funding plan to help improve California’s wildfire response.

See also:

 

Judge halts California development, citing wildfire risk

Bakersfield Californian

A long-running plan to build a community of 19,000 homes on vast Tejon Ranch north of Los Angeles has been halted by a judge who cited high wildfire risk.

 

Opinion: California needs​​ more air power to fight wildfires

Fresno Bee

The year 2020 will be etched in history for the​​ devastating wildfire season California experienced​​ and set a record for the​​ most acres burned in a single year at 4.1 million, leaving the Central Valley to struggle with harmful air pollution.

 

Editorial: PG&E must show wildfire safety​​ improvements

Mercury News

This summer will determine whether Californians should abandon whatever remaining faith they might have in government’s ability to force PG&E to put safety before profits.

 

ECONOMY/JOBS

 

Economy:

 

California Dreaming: Golden State's economy expected to recover faster than the US post-pandemic

abc30

Throughout its history, California has experienced several significant economic booms and busts. The coronavirus pandemic-induced recession is only the latest test of the Golden State's resilience.

 

Amazon appears to have the votes to overcome union effort, a major win for the e-commerce giant​​ 

Washington Post

The closely watched vote, which involved thousands of workers at a Bessemer, Ala., warehouse, will likely face challenges at the National Labor Relations Board and in court that could delay the final outcome.

 

The enormous impact of eroded collective bargaining on wages

Economic Policy Institute

A major factor depressing wage growth for middle earners and driving the growth of wage inequality over the last four decades has been​​ the erosion of collective bargaining.

 

Jobs:

 

Is California blowing it on unemployment reform?

CalMatters

The state went deep into debt to keep jobless benefits flowing during the pandemic. And if it doesn’t fix its $48​​ billion unemployment problem, that could derail COVID-19 recovery.

See also:​​ 

 

Workers Slowly Pull Away From​​ Jobless Benefits as Economy Picks Up

Wall Street Journal

Workers are slowly pulling away from unemployment assistance as a U.S. economic revival picks up speed, with initial filings for benefits holding near pandemic lows and the number of people receiving​​ help dropping.

 

Employment and safety net survey, wave II: Families emerging from the economic crisis and the role of the safety net

AEI

Using a new longitudinal survey dataset, working-age adults’ employment situation improved in the second half of 2020, especially among women and mothers, consistent with reports from national statistical agencies.

 

 

EDUCATION

 

K-12:

 

California’s economy is set to reopen in mid-June. But are schools part of the plan?

Modesto Bee

Gov. Gavin Newsom said this week he expects schools in California to reopen at full schedules after June 15 – the date he set as a goal to​​ reopen the state’s economy from the devastating COVID-19 pandemic.

 

Kern County's two largest school districts will begin to reopen this month

Bakersfield Californian

It might feel like there's a first day of in-person school somewhere or another every week. That might be true: Kern County has 47 school districts and many small or medium-sized ones have opened for in-person instruction.

See also:​​ 

 

Educators demand change at Clovis Unified board meeting

abc30

Several Clovis Unified educators in support of unionizing were seeking change and spoke out during public comment at the district's board meeting on Wednesday.

See also:​​ 

 

Here’s when Fresno Unified schools plan to reopen for students five days a week

Fresno Bee

Fresno Unified schools plan to return to in-person instruction five days a week next fall, Superintendent Bob Nelson said Wednesday. Nelson’s remarks came during FUSD’s regular school board meeting.​​ 

 

How do Stanislaus school districts look to use Rescue Plan funds? Here are some answers

Modesto Bee

The well-being and mental health of students and employees are top-of-mind for at least some Stanislaus County education leaders as they look at ways to spend federal COVID-19 pandemic recovery money.

 

California youth sports play on during the pandemic, but what about face masks?

Sacramento Bee

Youth sports have returned to a Sacramento area salvaging something resembling normal during a second pandemic spring with young athletes playing on fields and diamonds across the region.​​ 

 

Opinion: Abolishing school police should be part of reopening plans

CalMatters

School districts, teachers and policymakers across California are determining how to get more students back to in-person learning as safely as possible. While these conversations are important, the abolition of school police must be central to any plan for reopening schools.​​ 

 

Higher Ed:

 

BC to launch early college program for high school students

Bakersfield Californian

Bakersfield College will begin offering it’s early college program, which provides high school students the chance to earn college credits this summer through BC’s Concurrent Enrollment program.

 

No shot? No problem: COVID-19 vaccines encouraged but not required at Cal State universities next fall

Mercury News

California State University will not require employees and students at its 23 campuses, including CSU East Bay and San Jose State, to be vaccinated against COVID-19 this fall.

 

ENVIRONMENT/ENERGY

 

Environment:

 

EPA Chief Says Biden Infrastructure Bill Will Help The U.S. Face Climate Change​​ 

VPR

President Biden's​​ $2 trillion infrastructure plan​​ isn't just about roads, bridges and affordable housing but also about dealing with climate change, the Environmental Protection Agency's new leader says.

 

Energy:

 

Editorial: Don’t turn the lights out on California’s solar rooftop revolution

Sacramento Bee

California is betting big on a not-too-distant future in which burning fossil fuels to cool homes or propel cars is just a bad memory, and all power comes from clean,​​ renewable sources like the sun, wind and water.

 

HEALTH/HUMAN SERVICES

 

Health:

 

Coronavirus FAQs: What Should I Do With My Vaccine Card? Is Choir Practice OK Now?

NPR

Each week, we answer "frequently asked questions" about life during the coronavirus crisis.​​ 

See also:​​ 

 

US suicides dropped last year, defying pandemic expectations

Fresno Bee

The number of U.S. suicides fell nearly 6% last year amid the coronavirus pandemic — the largest annual decline in at least four decades, according to preliminary government data.

 

Countries worldwide hit new records for virus cases, deaths

Fresno Bee

Ambulances filled with breathless patients lined up in Brazil as nations around the world set new records Thursday for COVID-19 deaths and new coronavirus infections. The disease surged​​ even in some countries that have kept the virus in check.

 

Has the Era of Overzealous Cleaning Finally Come to an End?

New York Times

But the era of “hygiene theater” may have come to an unofficial end this week, when the C.D.C. updated its surface cleaning guidelines and noted that the risk of contracting the virus from touching a contaminated surface was less than 1 in 10,000.

 

Human Services:

 

Vaccine passports in California? Answers to your questions

CalMatters

California has no plans to administer a passport. But the state is sending mixed messages to businesses about the need to verify that people at large events are vaccinated.

See also:​​ 

 

J&J vaccine encounters glitch as state expands eligibility

CalMatters

The news couldn’t have come at a worse time as California dramatically expands vaccine eligibility to people 50 and older starting today. All Californians 16 and older become qualified on April 15.

See also:

 

California oversight of nursing homes called ‘befuddling,’ ‘broken’

CalMatters

A CalMatters investigation reveals an opaque licensing process for California nursing homes, rife with indecision and contradictions.​​ 

 

Finally some good news for California nursing home residents

CalMatters

More than 9,000 people have died of COVID-19 in California nursing homes, and many others have suffered from isolation. But after a massive vaccination campaign, infections and deaths have plummeted — and nursing homes are cautiously reopening to visitors.

 

Soaring Costs of Nurses During Covid-19 Pandemic Are at Center of Lawsuits

Wall Street Journal

Hospital chain Steward Health Care Systems LLC and staffing firm Aya Healthcare Inc. are suing each other over outstanding bills in a dispute over soaring wages for nurses in the pandemic.

 

IMMIGRATION

 

Almost 19,000 Migrant Children Stopped At U.S. Border in March, Most Ever In A Month​​ 

VPR

The number of migrants encountered at the U.S.-Mexico border in March was the most in at least 15 years, as agents for U.S. Customs and Border Protection apprehended nearly 172,000 people, according to Biden administration officials.

 

Immigrants in California

Public Policy Institute of California

California is home to almost 11 million immigrants—about a quarter of the foreign-born population nationwide. After decades of rapid growth, the number of immigrants in California has leveled off.

 

LAND USE/HOUSING

 

Land Use:

 

Yosemite reservations are coming back to enter national park. Here’s what to know

Fresno Bee

Day-use reservations will again be needed to enter Yosemite National Park​​ this summer, park staff announced Thursday morning.

See also:

 

Judge halts California development, citing wildfire risk

Bakersfield Californian

A long-running plan to build a community of 19,000 homes on vast Tejon Ranch north of Los Angeles has been halted by a judge who cited high wildfire risk.

See also:

 

California Highway 1 to reopen by April 30, agency says

Bakersfield Californian

Highway 1 along Big Sur is expected to reopen by April 30 because work to repair a huge piece of roadway that crumbled during a storm is nearly two months ahead of schedule, the California Department of Transportation announced Thursday.

 

Fresno council approves sale of downtown's Berkeley Building

Business Journal

The Fresno City Council voted 5-1 Thursday to approve the sale of a city-owned building on Fulton Street for apartment development.

 

Southwest Fresno industrial rezone project pushed back

Business Journal

The Fresno Planning Commission Wednesday evening put on hold a hearing to rezone land in Southwest Fresno — a move residents say would jeopardize their health and livelihoods.​​ 

 

Warszawski:​​ Did San Joaquin River board tip hand on blast mine proposal? Agenda item raises eyebrows

Fresno Bee

The governing board of the state agency entrusted with assembling a 22-mile nature and recreation parkway along the San Joaquin River spent more than an hour Wednesday discussing an agenda item that members themselves ultimately deemed unnecessary.​​ 

 

Opinion: Rural, low-income Californians need recycling centers

CalMatters

Nearly 1,000 California redemption centers have closed since 2015, leaving remote places like Humboldt County with no centers at all.

 

Housing:

 

Fresno policy allows landlords to​​ get away with major code violations, officials admit

Fresno Bee

Fresno City Councilmembers on Thursday acknowledged the failure of city policy to protect renters exploited by slumlords following a Fresno Bee investigation into code enforcement and slum housing.

 

Turlock to sweep this homeless encampment next. How many shelter beds are available?

Modesto Bee

The City of Turlock is set to sweep another homeless encampment on​​ Wednesday, marking its second eviction since an official declared a local emergency on homelessness.

 

Opinion: The California exodus is a myth. But that doesn’t stop the haters

Los Angeles Times

Early in the 1990s, Time magazine published a lurid cover — the sun setting into a blood-red sea — fronting a special edition devoted to the decline and fall of the great Golden State. “California,” the sorrowful headline read. “The endangered dream.”

 

PUBLIC FINANCES

 

Don’t file an amended return after the stimulus tax break. The IRS is begging you

Los Angeles​​ Times

The IRS is begging people not to file amended returns. (An exception, the IRS has said, is for those who tax reduction would make newly eligible for the earned income tax credit or other tax breaks for lower income people.)

 

How Biden stimulus​​ bill will target homelessness

Washington Post

Housing Secretary Marcia L. Fudge unveiled nearly $5 billion in new grants to states and local governments across the country for rental assistance, the development of affordable housing and other services to help people experiencing or on the verge of homelessness.

 

Opinion: About That Tax ‘Race to the Bottom’

Wall Street Journal

Team Biden thinks it has found the winning formula to sell Americans on an unprecedented corporate-tax increase: Claim this is all about “ending the global race to the bottom.”​​ 

 

TRANSPORTATION

 

Biden touts trains as fast as planes, supersonic jets in infrastructure push

New York Post

President Biden on Wednesday sought to sell his $2.3 trillion infrastructure plan by pulling out some decades-old promises of futuristic technologies like a transcontinental bullet train that’s as fast as planes and supersonic jets that circle the globe in one hour.

See also:

 

More Californians died on the road during COVID. Can Biden’s plan reduce traffic accidents?

Sacramento Bee

Pedestrian deaths were up in California last year, preliminary figures show. Traffic deaths were up, too, yet people drove much less during the coronavirus pandemic. The problem: People who did drive went faster on the more open roads. And more people drove impaired.

 

Valley Voices: Environmental racism is real. In Fresno, we need zero-emission vehicles to help solve it

Fresno Bee

Disproportionate exposure to tailpipe​​ pollution is one of the clearest embodiments of environmental racism in California.​​ 

 

WATER

 

'It could be catastrophic': CA legislators want Gov. Newsom to declare state of emergency over water 'crisis'

abc30

California's hottest commodity​​ could become even more scarce as state and federal officials announce water cutbacks on the brink of another drought.

See also:

 

“Xtra”

 

Clovis Rodeo finalizes COVID protocols, including 40% capacity. Here’s what else is in store

Fresno Bee

Last week, the​​ Clovis Rodeo Association​​ promised changes at its 2021 event in keeping with coronavirus safety protocols set by county and state health departments. There will be no​​ rodeo parade, dance or concerts, and masks will be required.

See also:

 

Disneyland’s Sanitized Reopening Plan Is More Digital, Less Hands-On

Wall Street Journal

The pandemic has forced some of those updates already. Disney now offers contactless park entry through Apple iPhones and Watches, and the use of mobile ordering for food at its parks has risen from 9% of transactions before the pandemic to more than 84%.