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:
● Merced County reports 45 new COVID cases, no new deaths on Friday Merced Sun-Star
● Stanislaus hospital cases hit 5-month low; 1,028 deaths Modesto Bee
Stanislaus County makes steps toward improving unemployment rate
Turlock Journal
The unemployment rate in Stanislaus County is continuing to rebound with more businesses re-opening and expanding operations. The EDD reported the county had an unemployment rate of 8.8 percent in March, down from a revised rate of 9.1 percent in February.
Analyst sees economic recovery coming to Stanislaus County. Here’s why.
Modesto Bee
Unemployment levels in Stanislaus County continue to decrease, setting the stage for significant economic recovery in the second half of 2021.
Modesto is one of the most popular housing markets, but inventory is running out
Modesto Bee
According to data from Realtor.com, Modesto was among the 20 “hottest” real estate markets in the country for March 2021, a ranking based on market demand and the pace of the market as measured through listings on Realtor.com’s website.
Free bottled water is coming to up to 42,000 Stanislaus-area homes with tainted wells
Modesto Bee
The cost of at least $1 million a year will be borne by farmers and other parties whose land contributed in the past to the problem. Nitrate can impede the body’s uptake of oxygen, especially in infants and pregnant women.
City clears out second homeless camp
Turlock Journal
The City of Turlock cleaned out a second homeless encampment on Wednesday and while some individuals utilized the offers of services, none opted to move to one of the shelters.
Project Resolve aims to build relationships between law enforcement, community
Turlock Journal
Some people see a badge, a uniform and a gun, and that’s all they see. Some of the men and women behind those badges see every call as a crisis.
‘Stand up and make changes’: Modesto protesters call for end to police violence
Modesto Bee
About 40 people gathered Saturday afternoon in downtown Modesto in response to national news about recent police killings and other acts of police violence.
Central SJ Valley:
COVID Update:
● See Fresno County vaccination rates by ZIP code. How does your neighborhood compare? Fresno Bee
● Fresno-area COVID hospitalizations reach lowest level in months. See the latest data Fresno Bee
● COVID-19 update: Active cases stay steady in county Porterville Recorder
● Deaths Among ‘Financially Vulnerable’ Latino Immigrants In Kings County Shot Up By 90% in 2020 VPR
● Warszawski: We’ve hit the COVID-19 vaccine plateau far too soon. Time to be selfish, Fresno Fresno Bee
$800M in upgrades proposed for Valley canals including Friant-Kern, California Aqueduct
Fresno Bee
Fresno-area representatives say a newly proposed bill to restore major San Joaquin Valley canals could improve water capacity in the bread basket of California.
See also:
● Another bill introduced to fund repairs for Friant-Kern Canal Porterville Recorder
The world’s largest Tesla charging station is planned for Fresno County with 100 stalls
Fresno Bee
It’s looking like Fresno County could become the world leader in Tesla Supercharger stations. According to several reports Tesla has applied to build what could be the worlds largest Supercharger at the beef ranch’s massive resort spot just off the I-5 in Coalinga.
Another Fresno neighborhood is planning how it’ll look in 30 years. Here’s how to weigh in
Fresno Bee
Residents who have been pushing for changes in the area east of downtown Fresno and north of the city’s industrial triangle now have an opportunity to shape the community in the next two to three decades.
Fresno mayor, police chief on scene at Tower Theatre. How the protest is going
Fresno Bee
Fresno Police set up barricades in the parking lot adjacent to the Tower Theatre around 6 a.m. Sunday in an effort to keep protesters against a potential sale of the historic venue apart from counter protesters.
See also:
● Increased police presence at Tower Theatre protest Fresno Bee
● With greater police presence and no ‘outside agitators,’ Tower Theatre protest mostly quiet Fresno Bee
Warszawski: It’s 2021. When will Fresno County supervisors kick their addiction to urban sprawl?
Fresno Bee
You’ve really got to hand it to the Fresno County Board of Supervisors, past and present. Among the components of urban sprawl, Friant Ranch ticks all the boxes. Increased air pollution? Check.
Tulare homeless village nears completion
Visalia Times Delta
The Tulare Lighthouse Rescue Mission is constructing a homeless village that will house 16 people formerly on the streets by the end of April.
South SJ Valley:
COVID Update:
● Kern County Public Health: 34 new COVID-19 cases reported Sunday Bakersfield Californian
In third year, Measure N Oversight Committee questions influence over budget process
Bakersfield Californian
As the Public Safety and Vital Services Citizen Oversight Committee considers a third year of Measure N spending proposals, some members have begun to question their role in the budget process.
Renewable diesel revives refinery on Rosedale
Bakersfield Californian
A major industrial property that has sat idle for years in the heart of Bakersfield is coming back to life to refine used cooking oil, rendered animal fats and a canola-related grain called camelina.
Phase II of Hart Park master plan approved, meaning more improvements are coming soon
Bakersfield Californian
The Kern County Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to approve plans and specifications for another round of improvements at the park northeast of metro Bakersfield that some have called the jewel of Kern County's park system.
San Joaquin Valley Water
The state’s new groundwater law has prompted a lot of dirt movement in the Central Valley. The Sustainable Groundwater Management Act passed in 2014 mandates that overdrafted water basins get their aquifers in balance — don’t pump out more than goes back in — by 2040.
State:
COVID Update:
● Vaccine updates: 40% of California has at least 1 dose; J&J pause may last another week Fresno Bee
● Find a COVID vaccine appointment — and see how many people in California are vaccinated Fresno Bee
● Should California ban vaccine passports? Here’s why it’s not likely to happen Fresno Bee
● California encourages venues to require vaccine ‘passports’ — just don’t call them that Los Angeles Times
● California hits huge vaccine milestone CalMatters
● Gov. Newsom calls COVID herd immunity ‘illusory.’ Is he right? Mercury News
California’s election rules could make a Newsom recall a wild ride
Los Angeles Times
There is very little set in stone for a recall election in which voters could remove Gov. Gavin Newsom from office beyond the ballot’s basic question of whether the governor should keep his job.
See also:
● Gavin Newsom has his own petition to fight the recall. Experts say it’s misleading Sacramento Bee
● Newsom recall deflates progressive dreams Politico
● Can Gavin Newsom make California Republicans great again? Politico
● Column: Newsom recall is a revolt of red-state California Los Angeles Times
● Column: Caitlyn Jenner for governor of California? What a terrible idea Los Angeles Times
Why won’t Gavin Newsom declare a drought? California recall puts him in tough spot
Sacramento Bee
Gov. Gavin Newsom stood on a boat ramp at Lake Oroville on Tuesday — a boat ramp that couldn’t reach the water because the reservoir was nearly 60% empty — and acknowledged what many Californians already know.
CalPERS misused credit cards on hotels and events outside Sacramento, audit says
Sacramento Bee
CalPERS meeting planners misspent public money on board meetings and conferences held outside Sacramento in 2016 and 2017, according to an internal audit report.
California lawmakers taking a softer tone on restoring a tax break Californians lost under Trump
Los Angeles Times
California Democrats aren’t drawing the same red line as their East Coast colleagues who are demanding that President Biden’s infrastructure package include a full repeal of the $10,000 cap set during the Trump administration on state and local tax deductions.
Lawmakers push reforms at state unemployment agency as the jobless face new delays
Los Angeles Times
California legislators on Thursday pushed ahead with reforms targeting the state’s troubled unemployment agency as lawmakers condemned it for yet another significant error that has interrupted benefit payments to thousands of jobless residents.
Are reparations ‘evil’? Here’s why these Californians say they could be necessary
Sacramento Bee
Rep. Tom McClintock sees the effort to study reparations for African Americans whose ancestors endured slavery as bitterly divisive.
See also:
● Editorial: Tom McClintock thinks studying reparations is ‘evil.’ He should learn more about slavery Sacramento Bee
Child care providers ask state to hold off on in-person inspections
CalMatters
California wants to restart in-person inspections of child care centers. Providers are worried that the inspectors, who may not be vaccinated, could jeopardize the health of their charges and their business.
Read the 2021 Report on the Status of Women and Girls in California™
Mount Saint Mary’s University
For the past 10 years, Mount Saint Mary’s University has produced The Report on the Status of Women and Girls in California™ to provide a clearer picture of the landscape for women and girls statewide. In what areas are they thriving? Where are they merely surviving?
Walters: A reminder about supplies and demands
CalMatters
Californians should remember that having abundant goods and services requires raw materials and industrial processing.
Walters: California reverses, now shutting prisons
CalMatters
California tripled the number of its prisons during the 1980s and 1990s, but now, as inmate populations drop, it’s beginning to shut down some older facilities.
Here's where the Democratic and Republican parties are growing most in California
San Francisco Chronicle
For the first time in nearly two decades, the Republican Party grew in California last year. At the same time, Democrats expanded their dominance as the largest party in the state.
Federal:
COVID Update:
● Biden Administration To Spend $1.7 Billion To Track Spread Of Coronavirus Variants VPR
● Fauci says he expects US to resume using Johnson & Johnson COVID vaccine by Friday abc30
● Fauci says he expects Johnson & Johnson vaccine to resume later this week Los Angeles Times
● U.S. pause on Johnson & Johnson vaccine could be felt the most in poor countries Los Angeles Times
● Half of U.S. adults have received at least one COVID-19 shot Los Angeles Times
● Adults in all U.S. states are now eligible for vaccination, hitting Biden’s target. Half have had at least one dose. New York Times
● Impunity passports: Governing immunity’s impact on rights Brookings
Biden Nears 100-Day Mark With Strong Approval, Positive Rating for Vaccine Rollout
PEW Research Center
Joe Biden approaches the 100-day mark of his presidency with a relatively strong job approval rating and the public continuing to express positive views of the coronavirus aid package passed by Congress last month.
Lessons learned — and forgotten — from the horrific epidemics of the U.S. Civil War
Stat News
As the U.S. approaches 600,000 deaths from Covid-19, it is hard to fathom that this calamity pales in comparison to America’s worst outbreak of epidemic diseases during and just after the Civil War.
Latest massacres test gun-control advocates’ resolve as White House faces growing pressure to act
Washington Post
The routine has become so predictable that some gun-control activists see the familiarity of tragedy as their biggest obstacle to achieving the change they’ve been seeking for the past decade.
See also:
· The lives lost in the FedEx shooting in Indianapolis Washington Post
Top Republican Says Senate GOP Could Be Open to Smaller Infrastructure Bill
Wall Street Journal
A senior Republican senator said he and his colleagues could support an infrastructure bill of around $800 billion, underscoring GOP interest in a bipartisan fix for the nation’s aging roads and patchy broadband service.
See also:
● Biden Claims GOP Voters Support His Infrastructure Plan; Poll Shows They Don't NPR
● Senate GOP and earmarks: It depends on the definition of ‘rule’ Roll Call
With Barrett On Supreme Court, California’s Church COVID Limits Are Being Overturned
Capital Public Radio
After more than a year of legal tussling with state public health officials over restrictions on indoor gatherings, houses of worship — mostly evangelical or Catholic and politically conservative — have been on a winning streak at the nation’s highest court.
See also:
● High court takes up case on virus relief funding for tribes Fresno Bee
Supreme Court expansion bill faces serious blocks across political spectrum
Roll Call
Before a quartet of Democratic members of Congress could take to the steps of the Supreme Court on Thursday to tout a new bill that would expand the number of justices from nine to 13, leaders of their party were already deflating that effort.
See also:
● Biden Inherits F.D.R.’s Supreme Court Problem New Yorker
● Opinion: Biden should remember that he once called court-packing a ‘bonehead idea’ Washington Post
● Editorial: If Democrats Pack the Court Wall Street Journal
Garland rescinds Trump-era restrictions on federal investigations of police departments
Los Angeles Times
Atty. Gen. Merrick Garland on Friday jettisoned Trump-era restrictions that curtailed the Justice Department’s ability to reform troubled police departments, a move that will open the door for federal authorities to again investigate law enforcement agencies.
Republican presidential hopefuls move forward as Trump considers 2024 run
Los Angeles Times
Less than three months after former President Trump left the White House, the race to succeed him is already beginning.
See also:
● Trump’s grip on GOP looms as support falters for independent probe of Capitol riot Washington Post
New conservative group would save ‘Anglo-Saxon’ traditions
Fresno Bee
Hard-right House Republicans on Friday were discussing forming an America First Caucus, which one document described as championing “Anglo-Saxon political traditions” and warning that mass immigration was putting the “unique identity” of the U.S. at risk.
See also:
● Rep. Greene tries to distance herself from ‘America First Caucus’ document denounced as racist Washington Post
2022 House takeover lists should come with big asterisks
Roll Call
Projecting races and results 20 months from an election can be a risky proposition in a normal cycle. Add in the extra layer of uncertainty with redistricting and it’s hard to take any projections about individual races in 2022 very seriously right now.
The GOP’s fallout with big business is already mending
Roll Call
The longtime alliance between the GOP and business seemed on the verge of cracking up. But when it comes to Democrats’ priority bills in Congress, the old allies are still on the same side.
See also:
● Opinion: Republicans desperate to oppose Biden’s jobs plan settle on a nonsense reason Washington Post
● Noonan: Republicans and Immigrants Need Each Other Wall Street Journal
SOUND OFF: Who gets to decide if there's a 'crisis' at the border?
Bakersfield Californian
Associated Press hierarchy have instructed their writers to not call the Biden mess at our southern border a crisis, but to refer to this crisis as an event or situation. The American public knows this is a crisis caused by Biden.
Other:
A new way of looking at trust in media: Do Americans share journalism’s core values?
American Press Institute
The deep divides over trust in the news media are usually portrayed as largely ideological. Democrats are seven times more likely than Republicans to say they trust the mainstream media, and independents are four times as likely.
Podcast: Jameel Jaffer and Ramya Krishnan on First Amendment fights
Brookings
Evelyn Douek and Quinta Jurecic speak with Jameel Jaffer and Ramya Krishnan of the Knight First Amendment Institute about their lawsuit seeking an answer to the question of whether the president violates the First Amendment by blocking Twitter users.
These days, it pays to be extreme in politics
National Journal
The small-dollar fundraising revolution that first powered socialist underdog Bernie Sanders to financial parity with establishment stalwarts like Hillary Clinton has now reached Republican circles.
Opinion: Being Black in America is exhausting
Washington Post
There is no one way to be Black in America, but there is one way we live while Black in America. No matter our gender, age or socioeconomic status, we are viewed as threats. As a result, we live under siege.
Opinion: Technologies give velocity to stupidity, but they don’t make people stupid
Washington Post
Many 21st-century Americans are impressed, and distressed, by the supposed power of late-20th-century technologies, especially the Internet and social media, to shape society, and them.
NASA flies a helicopter on Mars, the first time an aircraft has flown on another planet
Washington Post
NASA successfully flew its four-pound helicopter from the surface of Mars early Monday, the first powered flight of an aircraft on another planet, a feat NASA officials compared to the Wright brothers first flight in 1903.
AGRICULTURE/FOOD
Editorial: Another drought, another threat to California farming. Gov. Newsom, are you listening?
Fresno Bee
One of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s favorite expressions is “real time,” as in something actually happening at the moment.
Immigrant Farmworkers and America's Food Production: 5 Things to Know
For decades, immigrant farmworkers have helped feed America. But the agriculture industry faces a chronic labor shortage that has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, and the conditions for and rights of farmworkers and their families must be improved.
Ag centers team up to clean Tulare and Merced
abc30
Two Valley ag centers teamed up to clean the streets of Merced and Tulare on Friday.
Americans overwhelmingly say marijuana should be legal for recreational or medical use
PEW Research Center
As more states, including Virginia and New York, continue to legalize marijuana, an overwhelming share of U.S. adults (91%) say either that marijuana should be legal for medical and recreational use (60%) or that it should be legal for medical use only (31%).
CRIMINAL JUSTICE/FIRE/PUBLIC SAFETY
Crime:
Thieves put popular Fresno food truck out of business for weeks. You can help bring it back
Fresno Bee
Thieves in southeast Fresno put a popular food truck out of service for weeks after an expensive generator was stolen from the vehicle early Saturday.
Public Safety:
Increased police presence at Tower Theatre protest
Fresno Bee
Fresno Police will have an increased presence at a protest outside the Tower Theatre on Sunday, after increased tensions between groups led to two arrests last weekend.
See also:
● Fresno mayor, police chief on scene at Tower Theatre. How the protest is going Fresno Bee
● With greater police presence and no ‘outside agitators,’ Tower Theatre protest mostly quiet Fresno Bee
Project Resolve aims to build relationships between law enforcement, community
Turlock Journal
Some people see a badge, a uniform and a gun, and that’s all they see. Some of the men and women behind those badges see every call as a crisis.
See also:
● ‘Stand up and make changes’: Modesto protesters call for end to police violence Modesto Bee
● Black Californians Stand Out in Views of Police Treatment Public Policy Institute of California
● Garland rescinds Trump-era restrictions on federal investigations of police departments Los Angeles Times
Can California fix long waits in jail? These bills may help
CalMatters
A CalMatters investigation found that at least 1,300 people have been locked in county jails for longer than three years awaiting a trial or sentencing. The findings are “surprising and embarrassing,” said State Sen. Tom Umberg, chair of the Judiciary Committee.
All Federal Inmates To Be Offered Vaccine By Mid-May, BOP Director Says
VPR
All federal prison inmates will have the opportunity to receive a vaccine by mid-May, according to the director of the Federal Bureau of Prisons, Michael Carvajal. Vaccines have already been made available to all federal prison staff.
Latest massacres test gun-control advocates’ resolve as White House faces growing pressure to act
Washington Post
The routine has become so predictable that some gun-control activists see the familiarity of tragedy as their biggest obstacle to achieving the change they’ve been seeking for the past decade.
See also:
· The lives lost in the FedEx shooting in Indianapolis Washington Post
· Contemporary Issues in Gun Policy Rand Corporation
Fire:
New hope growing for Shaver Lake community months after Creek Fire
abc30
Some new hope is growing for the Shaver Lake community. With the help of the Central Sierra Resiliency Fund, landowners began to plant the future forest among areas burned by the Creek Fire.
Regulators rebuke PG&E for neglect in reducing wildfire risk
Business Journal
California regulators are stepping up their oversight of Pacific Gas & Electric after finding that the nation’s largest utility has neglected the maintenance of an electrical grid that has ignited a series of deadly wildfires in Northern California.
Podcast: Will California’s wildfire prevention efforts be enough?
CalMatters
California is facing a drought again. Governor Gavin Newsom prepared for wildfire season by signing a deal to set aside $536 million for prevention efforts, including forest health maintenance and fuel breaks.
ECONOMY/JOBS
Economy:
Kern economic group weighs action on racial, gender divides
Bakersfield Californian
New research pointing to stark racial and gender inequities in personal financial opportunity in Kern County is prompting new thinking about how to help disadvantaged populations, including tailoring interventions to bring up specific groups.
Analyst sees economic recovery coming to Stanislaus County. Here’s why.
Modesto Bee
Unemployment levels in Stanislaus County continue to decrease, setting the stage for significant economic recovery in the second half of 2021.
Economic Growth Is Set to Surge. Hiring Might Not Keep Up.
Wall Street Journal
U.S. employers might have trouble hiring workers fast enough in coming months to keep up with the projected burst of economic growth.
See also:
● U.S. labor market inches back from the COVID-19 shock, but recovery is far from complete PEW Research Center
To recover from COVID-19, downtowns must adapt
Brookings
The COVID-19 pandemic has magnified the many inequities between people and places in the United States, largely heaping health, social, and economicharms on the most vulnerable and least able to bear it.
Biden quietly reversed Trump’s ban on worker visas. Will it help or hurt the U.S. economy?
Los Angeles Times
President Biden has quietly relaxed one of former President Trump’s signature immigration bans against foreign workers with skills that U.S. employers say they cannot find in the domestic labor market.
Guilty secrets: How the COVID-19 pandemic helped some middle class families
Brookings
For some middle-class Americans, the COVID-19 pandemic slightly alleviated the day-to-day pressures that bogged them down in normal times. But this sense of relief was often coupled with a new deep-seated feeling of guilt.
Jobs:
Signs of recovery as California adds jobs for 2nd month
Hanford Sentinel
California employers added 119,600 new jobs in March, the second straight month of growth following a topsy-turvy year of enormous losses and inconsistent gains during an unpredictable pandemic.
See also:
● Kern's unemployment inched upward in March Bakersfield Californian
● Stanislaus County makes steps toward improving unemployment rate Turlock Journal
● California is ‘clawing back’ from pandemic recession. But some have quit the job hunt Los Angeles Times
● Construction jobs gain speed as unemployment continues falling Business Journal
California hospitality workers laid off during COVID-19 pandemic get rehire rights
Los Angeles Times
Gov. Newsom signed a bill Friday requiring hotel, event center, airport hospitality and janitorial employers to first rehire workers laid off during the pandemic when jobs become available, a move that comes after the governor vetoed a more expansive labor-backed bill last year.
Lawmakers push reforms at state unemployment agency as the jobless face new delays
Los Angeles Times
California legislators on Thursday pushed ahead with reforms targeting the state’s troubled unemployment agency as lawmakers condemned it for yet another significant error that has interrupted benefit payments to thousands of jobless residents.
Employment and safety net survey, wave II: How are families doing one year into the pandemic?
AEI
New American Enterprise Institute survey data suggest that many families have experienced challenges meeting their caretaking needs throughout the pandemic, but by February 2021, the caretaking situation had greatly improved.
Big Union Loss At Amazon Warehouse Casts Shadow Over Labor Movement
VPR
Union backers were hoping for a labor movement renaissance inspired by Alabama workers trying to create the first unionized Amazon workplace in the United States. Instead, the union's crushing defeat continued the decades-long decline of unions.
See also:
● Majorities of adults see decline of union membership as bad for the U.S. and working people PEW Research Center
EDUCATION
K-12:
Most Fresno-area schools haven’t fully reopened. Some blame the Fresno teachers union
Fresno Bee
Students in Fresno County’s largest school district have been returning to campuses part-time, the FUSD school board held its first in-person meeting since March 2020, and the superintendent has announced plans to return to school five days a week in the fall.
Clovis schools have been open for months. How many coronavirus cases have they had?
Fresno Bee
As vaccinations increase and coronavirus cases slow in Fresno County, the trend is reflected at Clovis Unified, where many students have opted to return to in-person schooling part-time.
CUSD Receives Agriculture Grant
Clovis Roundup
Clovis Unified School District (CUSD) was the recipient of a nearly $273,000 grant from California Department of Food and Agriculture’s Office of Farm to Fork (CDFA-F2F) on Thursday, April 15.
Distance Learning Strategies in California Schools
Public Policy Institute of California
PPIC researchers will present findings and moderate a panel discussion on how California school districts addressed remote learning in spring 2020 and strategies to improve instruction in the 2020–21 school year.
Editorial: Why doesn't Gov. Newsom's plan to 'fully reopen' include schools?
San Francisco Chronicle
Virulent variants, rebounding infections, and the Johnson & Johnson vaccine’s unscheduled vacation: None of it dissuaded Gov. Gavin Newsom from his recently reiterated determination to “fully reopen” California.
Higher Ed:
UC explains admissions decisions in a record application year of much heartbreak, some joy
Los Angeles Times
Surging college applications have been hailed as a sign that the dropping of testing requirements has lowered entry barriers for many students. But the flip side of more applications is more rejections and heartbreak.
See also:
· Opinion: California’s public higher ed system shaping nation’s leaders CalMatters
· Flagship universities say diversity is a priority. But Black enrollment in many states continues to lag. Washington Post
· Opinion: Quality online education for higher ed requires public investment CalMatters
Editorial: The Great Student-Loan Income Transfer
Wall Street Journal
The great student loan scam rolls on, mostly out of public sight. But occasionally the ugly fiscal facts appear as they did this week at a Senate Banking hearing.
ENVIRONMENT/ENERGY
Environment:
How The U.S. Could Halve Climate Emissions By 2030
VPR
Next week, President Biden will announce a number that could shape the rest of his presidency: a new goal to cut U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. The announcement marks the country's renewed commitment to the Paris accord.
See also:
· U.S. and China agree to cooperate on climate crisis with urgency Los Angeles Times
· Editorial: Biden must set aggressive carbon reduction goals to meet Paris climate targets Los Angeles Times
Connecting California: State's climate change fight about more than global warming
Desert Sun
California’s fight against climate change isn’t doing all that much to slow climate change. But it should be considered a success anyway.
Opinion: Has California given up its climate ambitions?
CalMatters
I’ve led the state Democratic Party’s environmental caucus for eight years, but I am alienated by leadership that prefers jobs on a dying planet.
See also:
● Clock’s running out on climate change. California says it’s time for giant carbon vacuums Los Angeles Times
● Shell, Exxon Look to Profit From Capturing Customers’ Carbon Emissions Wall Street Journal
Opinion: Climate Media vs. Climate Science
Wall Street Journal
Joe Biden has put a presidential imprimatur on climate change being an existential threat, and he doesn’t mean in the Jean-Paul Sartre sense of man’s search for meaning in an uncomforting universe.
Energy:
California is greenlighting oil wells linked to groundwater pollution
Visalia Times Delta
Throughout 2020 and early 2021, California issued more than 300 permits to oil and gas companies for new underground injection wells — an intensive form of oil production and wastewater disposal.
Renewable diesel revives refinery on Rosedale
Bakersfield Californian
A major industrial property that has sat idle for years in the heart of Bakersfield is coming back to life to refine used cooking oil, rendered animal fats and a canola-related grain called camelina.
Landmen Who Once Staked Claims for Oil and Gas Now Hunt Wind and Sun
Wall Street Journal
Carter Collum used to spend mornings shoulder to shoulder with competitors in the record rooms of East Texas courthouses, hunting for the owners of underground natural-gas deposits. At night, he made house calls, offering payments and royalties for permission to drill.
HEALTH/HUMAN SERVICES
Health:
Find a COVID vaccine appointment — and see how many people in California are vaccinated
Fresno Bee
To date, about 16.8 million people in California have received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, according to the CDC.
See also:
● See Fresno County vaccination rates by ZIP code. How does your neighborhood compare? Fresno Bee
● For Some Americans, Getting A Vaccine Is As Easy As Showing Up To Work NPR
● Months into rollout, barriers hinder vaccine access for Latino and Black Californians Mercury News
● Many veterans don’t trust coronavirus vaccines. For a VA crew in the rural West, that means changing minds, one by one Washington Post
● Opinion: If you are healthy and refuse to take the vaccine, you are a free-rider Washington Post
Here's why some are experiencing side effects after 2nd Pfizer or Moderna vaccine shot
abc30
As more people are eligible to get vaccinated, reports of side effects after the second Pfizer and Moderna shots are surfacing.
See also:
● Q&A: Can you skip the second dose of your COVID-19 vaccine? Mercury News
So You've Been Vaccinated – What's Next?
VPR
More than a half million San Joaquin Valley residents have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19. For some, that means being able to more safely visit grandkids or elderly parents, while for others it’s a ticket to spending more time in public or feeling more secure.
All about your coronavirus vaccine card (and what to do if you lose it)
Washington Post
“You do want to make sure you keep it safe,” says Kelly Moore, deputy director of the Immunization Action Coalition. “You do want to make a copy of it and keep that on file, not because it’s the only record, but because it’s the one that you control.”
J&J Covid-19 Vaccine Pause Driven by Risk of Mistreating Blood Clots
Wall Street Journal
U.S. health authorities came close to simply warning about a blood-clotting risk from Johnson & Johnson’s Covid-19 vaccine, but decided to recommend pausing use out of concern doctors would improperly treat the condition, people familiar with the matter said.
As more states legalize marijuana, more children accidentally ingest THC-laced edibles
Washington Post
Poison control centers across the country say they have seen a spike in the number of children who have ingested THC after eating their parents' edibles.
Opinion: The U.S. is facing its worst addiction crisis ever. Biden must step up his response.
Wall Street Journal
The United States is facing its worst addiction crisis in history — far worse than it’s ever seen before. That’s the takeaway from a recent report from the Commonwealth Fund, which shows a massive increase in overdoses last year.
Human Services:
Local nonprofit going outside the box to assist families during pandemic
abc30
The Community Center for Arts and Technology, or CCAT, is a place for local students to learn tech and performing arts. But over the course of the pandemic, they've offered so much more.
Child care providers ask state to hold off on in-person inspections
CalMatters
California wants to restart in-person inspections of child care centers. Providers are worried that the inspectors, who may not be vaccinated, could jeopardize the health of their charges and their business.
Americans’ views of the problems facing the nation
PEW Research Centers
The affordability of health care is high on the public’s list of the biggest problems in the country today, with 56% of adults describing this as “a very big problem” and an additional 30% rating it “a moderately big problem.”
Federal turf wars over coronavirus rescues created ‘health and safety risks,’ watchdog concludes
Washington Post
A chaotic effort to return hundreds of Americans to the United States in the earliest days of the coronavirus outbreak put the evacuees, federal officials and even U.S. communities at risk, a government watchdog concluded.
IMMIGRATION
Wall Street Journal
In a reversal, President Biden will increase the cap on refugee admissions for the rest of this fiscal year by May 15, the White House said late Friday, after an executive order keeping it at a record low of 15,000 earlier in the day drew swift political backlash from progressives.
See also:
● White House announces it’s keeping Trump-era refugee caps, then backtracks amid furor Washington Post
● Lawmakers flock to border as more migrants arrive Roll Call
● Key facts about the changing U.S. unauthorized immigrant population PEW Research Center
New migrant facilities crop up to ease crowding, again
Bakersfield Californian
U.S. officials are scrambling to handle a dramatic spike in children crossing the U.S.-Mexico border alone, leading to a massive expansion in emergency facilities to house them as more kids arrive than are being released to close relatives in the United States.
See also:
· SOUND OFF: Who gets to decide if there's a 'crisis' at the border? Bakersfield Californian
ICE, CBP to stop using ‘illegal alien’ and ‘assimilation’ under new Biden administration order
Washington Post
The Biden administration has ordered U.S. immigration enforcement agencies to stop using terms such as “alien,” “illegal alien” and “assimilation” when referring to immigrants in the United States, a rebuke of terms widely used under the Trump administration.
Washington Post
Next week, I’m proud to publish a new collection of my paintings, entitled “Out of Many, One.” The book may not set the art world stirring — hopefully, the critics won’t call it “One Too Many.”
Peggy Noonan: Republicans and Immigrants Need Each Other
Wall Street Journal
America hasn’t had so many first- and second-generation Americans since the great European wave of the turn of the last century. The political party that embraces this reality, that becomes part of it, will win the future.
LAND USE/HOUSING
Land Use:
Another Fresno neighborhood is planning how it’ll look in 30 years. Here’s how to weigh in
Fresno Bee
Residents who have been pushing for changes in the area east of downtown Fresno and north of the city’s industrial triangle now have an opportunity to shape the community in the next two to three decades.
Phase II of Hart Park master plan approved, meaning more improvements are coming soon
Bakersfield Californian
The Kern County Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to approve plans and specifications for another round of improvements at the park northeast of metro Bakersfield that some have called the jewel of Kern County's park system.
Warszawski: It’s 2021. When will Fresno County supervisors kick their addiction to urban sprawl?
Fresno Bee
You’ve really got to hand it to the Fresno County Board of Supervisors, past and present. Among the components of urban sprawl, Friant Ranch ticks all the boxes. Increased air pollution? Check.
Mall department stores were struggling. The pandemic has pushed them to the edge of extinction.
Washington Post
Department stores, once a middle-class mainstay of convenience and indulgence, had been spiraling downward long before the pandemic turbocharged online shopping and helped tip a number of big-name retailers into bankruptcy.
Housing:
California Needs More Affordable Homes. This Union Stands in the Way.
Wall Street Journal
California legislators proposed more than a half dozen major bills last year to address the state’s affordable-housing crisis, which researchers say is one of the worst in the nation. None of them passed.
See also:
● Bakersfield home sale prices set another record in March Bakersfield Californian
● Modesto is one of the most popular housing markets, but inventory is running out Modesto Bee
● Californians: Here’s why your housing costs are so high CalMatters
● March US home construction jumps to fastest pace since 2006 Business Journal
One Way to Get People Off the Streets: Buy Hotels
New York Times
The inside of the van was lined with plastic. The driver was masked and ready to go. There was a seat for just one passenger.
See also:
● A Fresno Homeless Encampment Wants Help From The City; Meanwhile Community Donations Fill The Gap VPR
● City clears out second homeless camp Turlock Journal
● Tulare homeless village nears completion Visalia Times Delta
● Viewpoints: Here’s what California’s mayors need to help solve the homelessness crisis Sacramento Bee
PUBLIC FINANCES
New $3,000 child tax credit payments set to start in July. Here’s what to know
CNBC
Parents may soon start getting monthly payments from the IRS, due to a recent change to the child tax credit. IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig said Tuesday that the agency was on track to start issuing that aid in July.
Tax Day has been delayed for the second year in a row—here is why that is important
Brookings
The new May 17th deadline will provide financial flexibility to Americans currently navigating the hardships brought on by the pandemic and it will also deliver a vital administrative reprieve to the underfunded and overburdened tax agency.
Will the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan address structural inequality?
Brookings
Policy actors have a unique opportunity to address structural inequalities by making timely investments in the “street-level” service delivery system, such as schools and classrooms, public transit, water supply system, street safety, mental health clinics, and more.
Opinion: Why Struggling Cities Should Cut Property Taxes
Wall Street Journal
As the pandemic recedes, cities and towns are feeling the budget pinch. Many will be tempted to raise property taxes to fill the gaps. They should cut them instead.
Opinion: The Biden administration’s corporate tax statistic is misleading
AEI
President Joe Biden's $2.7 trillion spending package would bring the US corporate tax burden above the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development average.
TRANSPORTATION
The world’s largest Tesla charging station is planned for Fresno County with 100 stalls
Fresno Bee
It’s looking like Fresno County could become the world leader in Tesla Supercharger stations. According to several reports Tesla has applied to build what could be the worlds largest Supercharger at the beef ranch’s massive resort spot just off the I-5 in Coalinga.
GOP lawmakers seek end to federal funds for California high-speed rail project
Progressive Railroading
A dozen Republican congressmen — led by House Railroads, Pipelines and Hazardous Materials Subcommittee Ranking Member Rick Crawford — are asking U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg to justify federal funding for California’s high-speed rail project.
Betting on the future with infrastructure
Brookings
Infrastructure is front and center in the Washington DC policy debate, and with President Biden’s 2.3 trillion dollar proposal on the table, this won’t be another so-called infrastructure week that comes and goes with a chuckle but no action.
Vaccinated travelers should still avoid eating and drinking on planes, experts say
Washington Post
The CDC announced that fully vaccinated people may travel safely, and many health experts say they feel safe traveling again. But although airlines are bringing back food and drink services, experts still warn against eating and drinking on planes.
WATER
$800M in upgrades proposed for Valley canals including Friant-Kern, California Aqueduct
Fresno Bee
Fresno-area representatives say a newly proposed bill to restore major San Joaquin Valley canals could improve water capacity in the bread basket of California.
See also:
● Another bill introduced to fund repairs for Friant-Kern Canal Porterville Recorder
San Joaquin Valley Water
The state’s new groundwater law has prompted a lot of dirt movement in the Central Valley. The Sustainable Groundwater Management Act passed in 2014 mandates that overdrafted water basins get their aquifers in balance - don’t pump out more than goes back in - by 2040.
Is California suffering a decades-long megadrought?
Los Angeles Times
California has entered another drought. But depending on who you ask, the last one may have never really ended.
See also:
● Opinion: Innovation needed to solve state’s water challenges CalMatters
5 Things You Need To Know About Federal Drought Aid In California
Capital Public Radio
Stop if you’ve heard this before: California is in the grip of a severe drought. Again. Now the federal government is stepping in to help.
See also:
● Opinion: Water infrastructure package needed to deal with drought CalMatters
US West prepares for possible 1st water shortage declaration
Fresno Bee
The man-made lakes that store water supplying millions of people in the U.S. West and Mexico are projected to shrink to historic lows in the coming months, dropping to levels that could trigger the federal government's first-ever official shortage declaration.
Free bottled water is coming to up to 42,000 Stanislaus-area homes with tainted wells
Modesto Bee
The cost of at least $1 million a year will be borne by farmers and other parties whose land contributed in the past to the problem. Nitrate can impede the body’s uptake of oxygen, especially in infants and pregnant women.
“Xtra”
New Guidebook Uncovers Hidden Gems In Sequoia And Kings Canyon National Parks
VPR
Temperatures are on the rise, wild flowers are in bloom, and many are feeling pulled to the great outdoors. Among them is Leigh Bernacchi, a researcher at UC Merced and the author of the new guidebook “Sequoia and Kings Canyon: Hiking, Camping, Waterfalls and Big Trees.”
Yosemite’s park projects for 2021: Trails, giant sequoias, honoring diverse pioneers
Fresno Bee
Numerous Yosemite National Park projects are underway as officials also prepare to again limit the number of visitors to the popular park in California later this spring and summer due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
New book about Merle Haggard like sharing stories 'round a campfire — or backstage
Bakersfield Californian
The book was four years in the making but a lifetime in the living. It tells the story of its author, Raymond H. McDonald, and his lifelong friend Merle Haggard, maybe the greatest country music singer-songwriter ever to strap on a Fender Telecaster.
Fresno Bee
Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers has confirmed it is planning to open a restaurant on the site of the now closed Logan’s Roadhouse in north Fresno. The Bee first reported that Logan’s closed earlier this month.