05Aug

POLICY & POLITICS

California State Auditor Reports Uptick in Applications Submitted for 2020 Citizens Redistricting Commission Extends Deadline to Aug. 19, 5:00 p.m.

California State Auditor

Today, the California State Auditor reported an uptick in applications by eligible individuals interested in serving on the next 14-member Citizens Redistricting Commission. To date, more than 13,735 applications have been submitted. The Commission is tasked with redrawing Congressional, State Senate, State Assembly, and State Board of Equalization districts.

See also:

● OUR VIEW: Women, minorities needed to apply Bakersfield Californian

North SJ Valley:

In Dept: Discussion wth UC Merced Chancellor Dorothy Leland

New York TimesNew York Times

Last month month, I wrote about the University of California’s most recent crop of newly admitted students — how many people applied, how many got in and what the demographics of the group say about the future of one of the state’s most prized institutions.

● Who Got Into the University of California? New York Times

● You’ve Heard of Berkeley. Is Merced the Future of the University of California? New York Times

Stockton Ports’ Eric Marinez making most of position change

Recordnet

It’s been just over a year since Stockton Ports infielder Eric Marinez was suspended 80 games by testing positive for a performance enhancing drug, but the Dominican Republic native has returned after re-inventing himself as a strikeout pitcher

Central SJ Valley:

This is the farmer Devin Nunes’ campaign is suing. He’s praying for his congressman

Fresno Bee

Paul Buxman says he isn’t worried about the lawsuit against him by his congressman’s campaign. Thursday night, after Nunes’ campaign filed the lawsuit in Tulare County Superior Court, Buxman said he prayed for Devin.

See also:

● Devin Nunes sues retired farmer, artist Visalia Times Delta

EDITORIAL: Mike Karbassi is the best choice to be northwest Fresno’s next council member. Here’s why

Fresno Bee

Summer’s waning weeks are here, but voters in northwest Fresno have to think about an election — specifically, the one to replace departed City Councilman Steve Brandau.

Could parolee and inmate labor be the answer to Fresno’s ‘third-world’ freeway conditions?

Fresno Bee

Fresno city leaders and officials with the California Department of Transportation during a meeting on Thursday expressed interest in having parolees and inmates work to clean up trash and weeds along Fresno’s freeways.

South SJ Valley:

13 candidates to run for vacant Lemoore City Council seats

Hanford Sentinel

City Manager Nathan Olson announced Friday that 13 candidates are running for two vacant seats on Lemoore City Council.

Lee Burdick appointed to Kings County Counsel

Hanford Sentinel

After conducting an extensive and thorough recruitment, the Kings County Board of Supervisors announces the appointment of Lee Burdick to the position of County Counsel effective July 15, 2019. She replaces Colleen Carlson who held the office the past nine years.

Lupe Villa appointed to Kings County Registrar of Voters

Hanford Sentinel

After conducting an extensive and thorough recruitment, the Kings County Board of Supervisors announces the appointment of Mr. Lupe Villa to the position of Registrar of Voters for the County effective July 15, 2019.

Small-town Shafter visionaries seek to fix chronic problems in their community

Bakersfield Californian

It’s a town almost unnoticeable on a map, a dot signifying a place 18 miles west-northwest of Bakersfield: Shafter, population not-quite 20,000.

Delano City Council To Vote On Becoming A Sanctuary City

VPR

The council agreed to move the vote to Monday to make sure the resolution is within the parameters of SB-54, the state bill that prohibits state and local law enforcement agencies from working with ICE.

Kevin McCarthy blames video games for mass shootings despite evidence to the contrary

Washington Post

Politicians blame video games for the El Paso shooting. It’s an old claim that’s not backed by research.

● Top House Republican says violent video games could be linked to mass shootings USA Today

● Do Video Games Lead to Mass Shootings? Researchers Say No. New York Times

● Trump calls for action on mental health laws, video games after shootings Politico

● Trump opts against call for gun-control bill after Dayton and El Paso shootings Roll Call

● Trump says ‘hate has no place in our country’ after shootings abc30

● After Dayton and El Paso killings, here are 3 things Trump could call for Roll Call

State:

Trump: California a “disgrace to our country”

Mercury News

President Donald Trump on Thursday blamed “the far left’s destructive agenda” for poverty and crime in American inner cities, singling out California as “a disgrace to our country.”

A New Way To Look At Poverty In California

Capital Public Radio

A new analysis from the Public Policy Institute of California and the Stanford Center on Poverty and Inequality takes into account cost of living and any resources available from social safety net programs — unlike the official U.S. Census poverty measurement.

What is a ‘California Indian tribe’? How a proposed law unearthed a decades-old wound

Sacramento Bee

When ancestral remains found during building projects or held by government agencies are returned to a Redding-area tribe.

Central Coast congressman tilts House Democrats toward Trump impeachment

San Luis Obispo Tribune

The Central Coast’s representative in Congress announced Friday that he supports an inquiry into possible impeachment of U.S. President Donald Trump — tipping the scales to a majority of Democrats calling for an inquiry.

● Half of the Democrats California sent to Congress are ready to impeach Donald Trump Sacramento Bee

● Time to impeach? For Orange County House members, the idea isn’t radical anymore Orange County Register

Feeling marginalized by the California Democratic Party, black women push for more clout

Los Angeles Times

State Sen. Holly Mitchell of Los Angeles looked out at more than a hundred black women gathered for an annual event at the California Democratic Party convention earlier this summer and marveled at the group’s progress.

Walters: California’s two-tier society

Sacramento Bee

Thirty-four years ago, two researchers delved into California’s rapidly changing demographic and economic trends and saw “an emerging two-tier economy with Asians and better-educated non-Hispanic whites and blacks competing for the prestigious occupations while poorly educated Hispanics and blacks scramble for the lower status jobs…”

California aims to keep young football players safe even as fewer play in high school

Sacramento Bee

The state’s decline in football is in contrast to overall prep sports participation in the state, which the CIF State office says is at an all-time high for the seventh consecutive year.

“It’s reassuring to see the overall participation increase in education-based athletics,” said Nocetti, who recently took over as CIF’s executive director for the retired Roger Blake. “Over the past seven years, the 14 percent increase in girls participating is especially encouraging.”

Federal:

Shootings in El Paso and Dayton bring number of mass killings to at least 31 in 2019

Fresno Bee

Shootings in Dayton, Ohio, and El Paso, Texas raised the number of mass killings to at least 31 in 2019, the Gun Violence Archive says.

● President Trump delivers remarks about El Paso, Dayton shootings Fresno Bee

● Attack on Texas shoppers to be handled as domestic terrorism Fresno Bee

● Gunman identified in Dayton, Ohio, shooting that killed 9. Here’s what we know Fresno Bee

● Dayton, Ohio, mass shooting leaves 9 dead, 28 injured abc30

● Walmart shooting in El Paso among deadliest gun massacres in US history abc30

● An unprecedented 24 hours: 251 mass shootings in 216 days in the US Visalia Times Delta

● Why the FBI struggles with domestic terrorism Stockton Record

● 2 Mass Shootings In Less Than 24 Hours Shock US Capital Public Radio

● El Paso mourns its shooting victims; Dayton, Ohio, faces its own gun massacre Los Angeles Times

● Two days, two mass shootings in El Paso and Dayton, Ohio – just another weekend in America Los Angeles Times

● 9 killed in Ohio in second U.S. mass shooting within 24 hours Washington Post

● ‘Do something!’: Ohio governor drowned out by angry chants at Dayton shooting vigil Washington Post

● A mother died shielding her infant in El Paso. The father died shielding them both, family says.l Washington Post

● Remembering the victims of the El Paso shooting l Washington Post

● Mexico threatens legal action over deaths of seven citizens in El Paso massacre Los Angeles Times

● EDITORIAL: Questions remain about the El Paso massacre, but experience tells us many of the answers Los Angeles Times

What Explains U.S. Mass Shootings? International Comparisons Suggest an Answer

New York Times

When the world looks at the United States, it sees a land of exceptions: a time-tested if noisy democracy, a crusader in foreign policy, an exporter of beloved music and film.

● Groups wanting tougher laws on guns march Fresno Bee

● Had enough? Here’s how to fight the madness of mass shootings Los Angeles Times

● 3 mass shootings in less than a week, and Trump gets some blame in Gilroy Los Angeles Times

● Recent mass shootings in the U.S.: A timeline Los Angeles Times

● Calls for gun control, blame for Trump follow day of mass shootings San Francisco Chronicle

● Recent mass shootings in the U.S.: A timeline Los Angeles Times

● President Trump Condemns ‘Racism, Bigotry and White Supremacy’ Wall Street Journal

● Op-Ed: We have studied every mass shooting since 1966. Here’s what we’ve learned about the shooters Los Angeles Times

● Frum: Guns Are the American Exception The Atlantic

● Mental Illness and Mass Murder Wall Street Journal

● EDITORIAL: It’s time to regulate evil out of US firearms policy Stockton Record

● EDITORIAL: The madness never stops as our leaders fail to act San Francisco Chronicle

● EDITORIAL: The Killers in Our Midst Wall Street Journal

● Opinion: Declare War on White-Nationalist Terrorism National Review

Census 2020: Making sure Latinos are counted accurately

San Diego Union-Tribune

The 2020 census may not be the most glamorous topic, but it has huge ramifications for California and the rest of the U.S.

Trump says cities are ‘a mess.’ They’re actually enjoying a golden age.

Washington Post

The red-brick apartment on Westminster Street once resembled a scene from a horror film — or from a Donald Trump tweet about urban America.

Opinion: Democratic Party Moves Far Left

National Review

They were just telling us they were the ‘moderates.’

Opinion: Conservatism After the Age of Trump

Bloomberg

“Disruption of the Republican status quo has made it possible to move in new directions, sometimes for the better and sometimes for the worse.”

Elections 2020:

In a call toward patriotic duty, his choice for next president is Michelle Obama

Fresno Bee

Michelle, time to take up your sword and to battle in the world of politics you hoped you had left. Your country is calling you to serve.

‘America is under attack’: Dem candidates call for gun control after shootings

abc30

Two shootings that killed 20 people at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas, on Saturday, and nine people in Dayton, Ohio, in the early hours of Sunday morning brought immediate reactions from the crowded field of Democratic presidential candidates on the campaign trail.

● After El Paso shooting, O’Rourke and fellow Democrats decry Trump’s rhetoric, renew call to tighten gun laws Los Angeles Times

● Gun Control Is Thrust Into 2020 Campaign, but New Laws Face Hurdles Wall Street Journal

Most Dem voters say both Biden, Sanders made convincing health care pitches

abc30

Nearly five hours of contentious debate among 20 Democratic contenders over two nights showcased a stark ideological clash within the party over health care.

Biden Was Right About Day Care

Wall Street Journal

In 1981 he presciently warned of the ‘cancer of materialism’ eating away at the family.

Were Tulsi Gabbard’s Attacks On Kamala Harris’ Record As A California Prosecutor On Target?

Capital Public Radio

Sen. Kamala Harris’ record as a prosecutor in California came under sharp criticism at last night’s Democratic presidential debate in Detroit, one month after Harris leveled attacks on former Vice President Joe Biden’s past decisions, helping her rise to a top-tier candidate in the race.

O’Rourke To Visit Inmates Inside California’s San Quentin

Capital Public Radio

The Democratic presidential candidate is planning to visit San Quentin State Prison on Monday to meet with inmates.

Democratic debates weren’t television — or politics — at its finest

San Francisco Chronicle

After sitting through both Democratic presidential debates, I have come to two conclusions: one is that the candidates are still not talking to the average voter, and two, I need my head examined for having watched it all.

All that noise coming from Washington turning Calif. voters numb

San Francisco Chronicle

The investigations and infighting in Washington this summer haven’t gone over well with voters — even in deep-blue California, where likely voters gave lawmakers an even lower approval rating than President Trump, a recent Public Policy Institute of California poll reports.

Climate Could Be an Electoral Time Bomb, Republican Strategists Fear

New York Times

When election time comes next year, Will Galloway, a student and Republican youth leader at Clemson University, will look for candidates who are strong on the mainstream conservative causes he cares about most, including gun rights and opposing abortion.

Trump Campaign Plans an Economy-Focused Pitch to Women. Will It Work?

Wall Street Journal

Many women in swing suburban districts say their views on the president’s behavior and policies, not economic expansion during his tenure, will drive their votes in 2020.

Warren faces lingering concerns about her ability to beat Trump

The Hill

Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s (D-Mass.) strong performance in this week’s Democratic presidential debates invigorated supporters who see her as slowly but surely making the case that she’s the best Democrat to take on President Trump.

Presidential candidates must disclose tax returns to be on CA ballot, says governor

Sunday Morning Matters

In this 25th episode of Sunday Morning Matters, we discuss the new California law governor Newsom signed that prohibits presidential candidates from being on the ballot without disclosing their tax returns.

Why won’t the Senate protect American elections?

Brookings

The United States is at risk of serious foreign intervention and disinformation in the 2020 elections.

6 Things We Learned About the 2020 Race From Our Fund-Raising Maps

The New York Times

Democratic presidential candidates have raised over $200 million so far. We analyzed fund-raising data to see where they’re getting their money.

Politics Is About More Than Pocketbooks

Wall Street Journal

Other than Biden, the Democrats don’t seem to understand the need to speak to voters’ hearts.

Other:

10 facts about Americans and Twitter

Pew Research Center

Today, millions of Americans use Twitter to break and comment on news, disseminate official pronouncements, organize campaigns and protests or just let their friends know what’s on their minds.

Can reparations help right the wrongs of slavery?

PBS NewsHour

The first African slaves arrived in North America 400 years ago this month, landing at Jamestown in what is now Virginia. Recently, the question of paying reparations for the atrocity of slavery has been generating new attention, even making its way into the 2020 presidential debates. Economics correspondent Paul Solman examines how to determine what is owed to generations of slave descendants.

Artificial intelligence in America’s digital city

Brookings

From climate change to economic inequality, artificial intelligence has the potential to address some of the most pressing challenges facing America’s cities. In a new research brief, Adie Tomer outlines the opportunities and challenges of implementing AI in urban areas.

Have No Fear of Facial Recognition

Wall Street Journal

If it is bound by good legal protections, the technology is a boon, not a tool for tyranny.

Public Wi-Fi Is Safer Than Ever—But You Still Need to Be Careful

Wall Street Journal

Yes, there are still risks every time you go online in a public place—but they are the same risks you run anytime you log on.

MADDY INSTITUTE PUBLIC POLICY PROGRAMMING

Sunday, August 11, at 10 a.m. on ABC30 – Maddy Report: “Assessing State Policies on Climate Change” – Guest: Ross Brown – LAO. Host: Maddy Institute Executive Director, Mark Keppler.

Sunday, August 11, at 10 a.m. on Newstalk 580AM/105.9FM (KMJ) –Maddy Report – Valley Views Edition: “Climate Change Generally and Air Pollution Locally” – Guests: Will Barrett, Director of Advocacy, Clean Air for the American Lung Association in California and Samir Sheikh, Executive Director of the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District. Host: Maddy Institute Executive Director, Mark Keppler.

Sunday, August 11, at 7:30 a.m. on UniMas 61 (KTTF) – El Informe Maddy: “Agua en el Valle de San Joaquin: Un reporte de PPIC” – Invitados: Alvar Escriva-Bou, investigador del PPIC. Presentado Por: Coordinadora del Programa del Maddy Institute, Maria Jeans.

AGRICULTURE/FOOD

Mock guac: High avocado prices leading to phony guacamole

abc30

A shortage of avocados compounded with soaring prices has led to a troubling new trend for guacamole as some restaurants switch to using alternative ingredients. It’s the so-called salsa scandal that has guacamole fans outraged.

Iconic Mom-and-Pop Fruit Stand Prepares To Celebrate 20 Years

Sierra News

Mary and Mark Korakis run the Oakhurst Fruit Stand, a popular local business tucked into the hillside off Highway 41 just north of Oakhurst’s three new hotels which, when open later this year, will add a total of 324 new rooms to the local hotel room inventory.

‘Agxcellent’ Projects: Ag Tech Camp at Qualcomm State-of-the-art lab

Porterville Recorder

Students from both Porterville High Schools and Porterville College are participating in a weeklong agricultural technical “Internet of Things” (IOT) camp at with Porterville Unified School District’s partners from Qualcomm at the FRL Lab at the former Citrus South Tule school house in Success Valley.

Spenker Winery ‘completes the farm’ with SJ County’s only goat creamery

Stockton Record

Today, Spenker Family Farm on DeVries Road includes their winery, vineyard, goat farm and the only goat creamery in San Joaquin County.

‘We could lose the whole farm’: Rural America is fighting to stay afloat as Trump’s trade war grinds on

Washington Post

Farmers fight to save their land in rural Minnesota as trade war intensifies.

China Asked State Buyers to Halt U.S. Agriculture Imports

Bloomberg

The Chinese government has asked its state-owned enterprises to suspend imports of U.S. agricultural products after President Donald Trump ratcheted up trade tensions with the Asian nation last week, people familiar with the situation said.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE / FIRE / PUBLIC SAFETY

Crime:

What are crime rates in CA? Search for numbers in your county

Sacramento Bee

Most violent and property crimes fell last year, continuing an ongoing decline in California, according to statistics released this month by the state Attorney General. The trend toward a less violent society is not consistent across every region, but overall — and with a few exceptions — people are committing fewer crimes per capita today than a decade ago.

First inmate released under new California resentencing law

San Francisco Chronicle

After 16 years behind bars, Williams walked out of prison on June 4. He’s believed to be the first California inmate released under a new law that allows prosecutors to review sentences they consider unjustly harsh.

Public Safety:

Madera Police make residents aware of gun violence

Madera Tribune

The Madera Police Department just concluded its second active shooter presentation with local businesses in an effort to make more people in Madera aware of a situation that is popping up throughout the country.

● A new survey reveals who owns guns in California—and how many got them without background checks CALmatters

● Trump calls for ‘strong background checks’ after massacres, suggests pairing gun legislation with immigration reform Washington Post

Media descent on Gilroy after festival shooting leaves some frustrated, overwhelmed

Visalia Times Delta

As news of the shooting at the Gilroy Garlic Festival rolled in, so did reporters and photographers, springing out of news trucks.

Organizers enhance security ahead of Tulare County Fair

abc30

After the tragic Gilroy Garlic Festival shooting, event organizers across the nation are looking at ways to enhance security. Celebrating their centennial year, the Tulare County Fair is making big changes and not just when it comes to attractions.

San Jose police union cancels raffle of semiautomatic rifle after receiving complaints

San Francisco Chronicle

A San Jose police officers’ union announced Friday it canceled its plan to raffle off a semiautomatic rifle amid community concerns that the raffle would take place soon after Sunday’s mass shooting at the Gilroy Garlic Festival.

Kamala Harris wants answers about understaffed California prison. She isn’t getting them

Sacramento Bee

California Sen. Kamala Harris sent a stern letter to the Department of Justice this summer raising questions about a hot and under-staffed prison system.

National Night Out happening Tuesday at Rabobank Convention Center

Bakersfield Californian

The Bakersfield Police Department will host the 36th annual National Night Out from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday at Rabobank Convention Center, 1001 Truxtun Ave. in downtown Bakersfield. Attendance is free and so is parking in Rabobank’s designated parking area just south of the venue.

Walmart Workers’ New Security Threat Is Active Shooters, Not Shoplifters

Wall Street Journal

Retail giant’s stores are often targets of crime, but El Paso massacre is the worst mass shooting in its history.

8chan: the far-right website linked to the rise in hate crimes

The Guardian

Three attackers in six months allegedly posted their plans on the site in advance. Why is it allowed to operate openly?

Opinion: White Cops Are Not More Likely to Kill Black Suspects

National Review

The Democratic presidential candidates have revived the anti-police rhetoric of the Obama years. Joe Biden’s criminal-justice plan promises that after his policing reforms, black mothers and fathers will no longer have to fear when their children “walk[] the streets of America” — the threat allegedly coming from cops, not gangbangers.

Fire:

SoCal homeowners being dropped by insurance companies because of fire risk

abc30

Homeowners all across southern California are being dropped by their insurance companies. Not because they’re filing too many claims.

California wine country wildfire victims still waiting for $200 million in federal funds

Los Angeles Times

Nearly two years after wildfires ripped through Northern California’s wine country, those who suffered losses from the blazes have yet to receive more than $200 million in federal funding intended to rebuild and help prevent future disasters in the state.

ECONOMY / JOBS

Economy:

Global markets plunge after China slaps back at U.S., escalating trade war with no end in sight

Washington Post

Stocks sputtered after China essentially weaponized its currency by allowing the yuan to fall to an 11-year low against the dollar. The move, which makes Chinese exports cheaper and American goods more expensive in China, draws a rebuke from President Trump, who accused Beijing of “currency manipulation.”

● China is not “paying” for tariffs, but American consumers are Marketplace

● Wall Street losses accelerate as global trade battle intensifies; all three major U.S. indexes shed 2.5 percent or more Washington Post

‘Wall Street West’ no more? Banks shrink as tech grows in San Francisco

San Francisco Chronicle

For more than a century, San Francisco’s One Montgomery Street has been a bank, part of the city’s historic financial center known as “Wall Street West.” It was once home to Crocker National Bank, named for railroad tycoon Charles Crocker, who helped make the city an economic powerhouse.

China Asked State Buyers to Halt U.S. Agriculture Imports

Bloomberg

Jobs:

Lowe’s to cut thousands of jobs as it seeks to outsource workers

abc30

Lowe’s told thousands of store workers this week that their jobs were being eliminated as the company outsourced tasks.

Another decent jobs report creates a quandary for populists who want to manage the dollar

AEI

At some point, nationalist populists need to decide how severely they are willing to distort the economy in their nostalgic quest.

● Race and underemployment in the US labor market Brookings

Two-thirds of Americans favor a $15 federal minimum wage

Pew Research Center

By a wide margin, Americans say they favor raising the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour. But there is a deep partisan divide in views of this proposed policy – a version of which recently passed the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives, though it is unlikely to be taken up by the GOP-controlled Senate.

Scalia, skilled at upending rules, may soon write them at Labor

Roll Call

With three major regulations on the launching pad at the Labor Department, the Trump administration may have found the man with the right stuff to issue air-tight rules that can withstand legal challenges.

Review: Unions keep watch on corporations — Steven Greenhouse digs into labor’s battle

Los Angeles Times

In the early 1990s, Los Angeles faced a turning point. Many of the aerospace and manufacturing jobs that had boomed during and after World War II, feeding a large, prosperous middle class, had evaporated.

EDUCATION

K-12:

To prepare children for school earlier, we have to take care of their families too

Fresno Bee

California Influencers this week answered the following the question: What specific steps can California take to prepare our children for school in the first years of their lives? Below are the Influencers’ answers in their entirety.

What to remember when buying back-to-school supplies

abc30

It’s one of the busiest times of the year at Best Buy as parents invest in their child’s education and new technology. The National Retail Federation says parents spend $203 per kid on technology.

Arredondo resigns from MUSD board

Madera Tribune

Madera Unified School District trustee Ricardo Arredondo has announced his resignation from the MUSD school board effective Friday, Aug. 2.

VUSD suspends black students disproportionately

Visalia Times Delta

Black and special education students are being targeted by Visalia teachers and the school district doesn’t know why.

Influencers: Attending pre-k programs prepares kids for school and life

Sacramento Bee

If we really want to get serious about educating California’s schoolchildren, then we’re going to need to engage them long before their first day of school.

20% or more of kindergartners are Hispanic in growing number of states

Pew Research Center

Today’s kindergartners offer a glimpse of tomorrow’s demographics. The number of states where at least one-in-five public school kindergartners are Latino has more than doubled since 2000, according to a new Pew Research Center analysis of Census Bureau data.

EDITORIAL: California’s proposed new ethnic studies curriculum is jargon-filled and all-too-PC

Los Angeles Times

In a state as diverse as California, with all the social, historical and economic issues that arise from our rapidly changing demographics, the idea of offering an ethnic studies course in public high schools is more than a nice notion; it’s critical to imbuing students with an understanding of their own history and that of others.

EDITORIAL: A $3 million loss? Let’s put students — not money — first in Modesto charter decision

Modesto Bee

The prospect of Modesto City Schools losing $3 million in funding for immigrant students isn’t reason enough to deny an independent charter for a new school aimed at serving such English learners.

Higher Ed:

Castro enters seventh year as Fresno State president, continues campus projects

Hanford Sentinel

Joseph Castro is eager to embark on his seventh year as president of California State University, Fresno. Castro’s first day began Thursday and he is ready for the school year to begin, he said.

The Downside of Diversity

Wall Street Journal

On campus, identity politics has become a dogma that damages independent thinking and the pursuit of truth.

M.B.A. Students Have Billions in Federal Loans, Data Show

Wall Street Journal

The government released figures as part of a push for schools to make more information available about the finances of graduates.

In Dept: Discussion wth UC Merced Chancellor Dorothy Leland

New York Times

● Who Got Into the University of California? New York Times

● You’ve Heard of Berkeley. Is Merced the Future of the University of California? New York Times

Op-Ed: Why California needs to institute a ‘student borrower bill of rights’

Bakersfield Californian

Like a majority of graduates, Andrea Sandoval earned a college degree, in 2008 from USC, that left her with a mountain of debt. A first-generation immigrant from Costa Rica, she landed a job at the Department of Veterans Affairs in Los Angeles and found out about a federal program for public service employees that was supposed to eliminate her debt after she made 120 on-time monthly payments.

College faculty still far less diverse than students in race, ethnicity

Pew Research Center

Racial and ethnic diversity has increased among college faculty in the United States over the past two decades, but faculty are still much more likely than students to be white.

ENVIRONMENT/ ENERGY

Environment:

Like Icarus flying too close to the sun, we’re flirting with danger in our warming atmosphere

Fresno Bee

Increasing amounts of greenhouse gases are disrupting the equilibrium level between incoming and outgoing energy from the sun, producing warmer temperatures in the oceans and troposphere.

Could parolee and inmate labor be the answer to Fresno’s ‘third-world’ freeway conditions?

Fresno Bee

Merced County’s invasive rodents are a problem for Valley farms. Can they be stopped?

Fresno Bee

Massive invasive rodents are chewing up wetlands in Merced and other counties. Area leaders say the problem needs more money to eradicate the animals, before they are out of control.

From trash to treasure: Years of work on Tuolumne River in Modesto have paid off

Modesto Bee

Darin Jesberg and Chris Guptill walked an unpaved trail along Dry Creek on Tuesday morning, pausing a few times to pick up an empty spray-paint can, a plastic water bottle, a shirt, a broken bike pedal and other trash. They passed a tire submerged in the creek. That would have to wait for another time.

Ridgecrest recovers, but scars remain, a month after quakes rock the city

Bakersfield Californian

For many residents of Ridgecrest, the damage caused by the two earthquakes doesn’t show. Most of the buildings in the city have little evidence of the massive quakes that shook the town, and everyone seems to be going about their day as if nothing had ever happened.

California killed 111,000 shelter animals in 2018, more than all but one other state, study finds

abc30

California animal shelters killed more dogs and cats in 2018 than all but one other states, according to a study from the Best Friends Animal Society.

Here’s how the hottest month in recorded history unfolded around the globe

Washington Post

“This is not your grandfather’s summer,” said United Nations Secretary General António Guterres.

Energy:

San Fran looks to wean itself off Kern County oil revenues

Bakersfield Californian

San Francisco will walk away from its longstanding lease agreement with Chevron Corp. covering 800 acres of land north and northeast of Bakersfield. Within a year, the parcel’s 82 active oil wells, representing a little less than 1 percent of the field’s total, are to be closed for good.

California Starts Closing the Door on Natural Gas

Capital & Main

Touted as a clean energy, natural gas releases methane, an element that’s much stronger than CO2 at trapping heat leakage, during its drilling and transmission.

Fracking poses major threats to public health, new study shows

PRI

Fracking has revolutionized the extraction of oil and gas in just a few years, but this highly efficient method comes with environmental and health risks. Now, a new metastudy details its adverse effects on the local environment, the climate and human health.

HEALTH/HUMAN SERVICES

Health:

Breastfeeding increases in the Valley

abc30

Breastfeeding educator Silvia Ewertz says in the Valley, a younger generation is trying to change the stigma and normalize breastfeeding.

Students, parents prep for new school year at local health fair

abc30

Kids had big smiles on their faces with backpacks on and balloons in their hands. Their parents took in all the information being offered at the Back to School Health Fair.

Confused About Sunscreen Ingredients? Here’s What We’ve Learned

Capital Public Radio

The government asked sunscreen manufacturers do safety studies on the active ingredients in sunscreens — by November. In the meantime, what do you need to know about the goo you slather on your skin?

Isolated And Struggling, Many Seniors Are Turning To Suicide

NPR

Dr. Julie Rickard thought her visit to Wisconsin over the Christmas holiday would bring a break from her day job working in suicide prevention in Wenatchee, Wash.

He lost his insurance and turned to a cheaper form of insulin. It was a fatal decision.

Washington Post

His death at age 27 illustrates the worst-case scenario for thousands of lower-income people living with diabetes in the United States who depend on over-the-counter insulin that — for $25 a vial at Walmart — sells for one-tenth of what the more effective version costs.

Human Services:

Cancer patients are being denied drugs, even with doctor prescriptions and good insurance

Fresno Bee

Thousands of documented cases of patients who are denied needed medications. Doctors and other medical professionals say these denials are only expected to get worse as the country’s largest health insurance companies and pharmacies are increasingly joining forces.

Community cuts ribbon for new LGBT resource center

abc30

A new LGBT Resource and Community Center held a ribbon-cutting ceremony announcing the new Fresno Spectrum Center.

Camarena celebrates National Health Center Week

Madera Tribune

Camarena Health invited over 20 agencies from around the Madera and Fresno areas to share information about programs and services that are available in Madera community. It was designed to be a fun event for all!

California Hospitals Question 2030 Earthquake Standards

Capital Public Radio

Hospitals across California are questioning standards designed to keep hospitals open after earthquakes. The rules are set to take effect in 2030.

White House Weighs September Rollout of Health Plan

Wall Street Journal

Some Trump advisers believe the president should unveil a specific proposal to contrast with Democrats’ ideas.

The Case for Medicare for All

Wall Street Journal

You’d be able to keep your doctor with no premiums or copays, and overall spending would decline.

● Opinion: It’s Not Cowardly to Worry About Medicare for All Bloomberg

Charity becomes a lifeline even for Americans with health insurance as deductibles soar

Los Angeles Times

Medical charities and crowdfunding have long helped fill the gaps for Americans who lack health coverage.

Column: How the hospital lobby derailed legislation to protect you from surprise hospital bills

Los Angeles Times

California hospitals want you to know that they’re fully on board with the idea that emergency room patients shouldn’t be hit with thousands of dollars in surprise billings because the ER isn’t in their insurance plan’s network.

Why is the U.S. teen birth rate falling?

Pew Research Center

The teen birth rate in the United States is at a record low, dropping below 18 births per 1,000 girls and women ages 15 to 19 for the first time since the government began regularly collecting data on this group, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of newly released data from the National Center for Health Statistics.

The opioid crisis

AEI

“Faces of Policy” is a docuseries produced by the American Enterprise Institute, in which our scholars listen to the individuals whose lives are most affected by the research fields they study and the policies they advocate. In the inaugural series, Dr. Sally Satel interviews former opioid addicts about the factors that led to their addiction, what steps helped them overcome it, and the tangible impact different proposed policies would have on their lives.

Trust In Scientists Is Rising, Poll Finds

NPR

In a time of climate change denial and vaccine resistance, scientists worry they are losing public trust. But it’s just the opposite, a survey released Friday finds.

IMMIGRATION

Another federal judge rules against Trump asylum policy

abc30

On Friday, U.S. District Judge Randolph Moss ruled that the policy was unlawful and “in excess of statutory … authority.”

Delano City Council To Vote On Becoming A Sanctuary City

VPR

Trump’s anti-immigrant rhetoric looms over El Paso massacre

Roll Call

“How do you stop these people? You can’t,” Trump lamented at a rally in May. Someone in the crowd yelled back one idea: “Shoot them.” The audience of thousands cheered and Trump smiled.

Some Churches Offer Refuge From Deportation With ‘Sacred Resisting’

Wall Street Journal

Congregations offer illegal immigrants shelter from ICE enforcement; ‘Jesus himself was a refugee’.

Deportation debate takes center stage at UnidosUS conference

San Diego Union-Tribune

Hard-line immigration policies create a climate of fear that reverberates through Hispanic communities, impacting not only undocumented families but also U.S.-born Latinos and legal immigrants, especially children. That was the message at a workshop that looked at immigration issues held Sunday at the UnidosUS conference at the San Diego Convention Center.

Mathews: In a Raucous Country, Our Sense of Unity Has Often Emerged Through Conflict

Zocalo Public Square

A diverse nation, built on waves of immigration, has found that getting along is not always easy.

LAND USE/HOUSING

Land Use:

Yosemite Commemorates World Ranger Day

Sierra News

The men and women who protect Yosemite were recognized Wednesday during a ‘World Ranger Day’ celebration held at the national park. Officials hosted the annual event to honor park rangers worldwide who’ve lost theirs lives in the line of duty.

Tree Work Delays, Detours Traffic On Road 274

Sierra News

Residents and visitors traveling along the north shore of Bass Lake will want to be aware of traffic delays and temporary road closures as crews continue work to reduce the number of hazard trees along the route.

Hanford’s Historic China Alley

KVPR

For the weekend, there are numerous historic sites in the Valley worthy of an afternoon visit including China Alley in Hanford. I spoke with Arianne Wing, whose family roots go all the way back to China Alley’s beginnings. Wing runs the LT Sue Co. Tea Room with her partner Steve Bannister. They recently purchased another building in their ongoing effort to revitalize the historic district.

City of Porterville and the Tule River Tribe Reach Agreement on Eagle Mountain Casino Relocation

Porterville Recorder

On Tuesday, the Porterville City Council unanimously approved a Memorandum of Understanding with the Tule River Tribe to address environmental impacts related to the proposed relocation of the Eagle Mountain Casino to land adjacent to the Porterville Airport and to fund City programs and services.

Housing:

Commercial real estate becomes front line in local homelessness

Bakersfield Californian

Many factors were in play when entertainment and restaurant chain Dave & Buster’s was preparing to decide between two Bakersfield locations. But one in particular— homelessness— may have stood out.

Would forcing homeless people to move inside and off the streets work?

Los Angeles Times

A new plan from Los Angeles County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas and Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg would build more homeless shelters, and then stop allowing people to camp on the streets. But there are a lot of skeptics.

PUBLIC FINANCES

Budget Decider: Making choices that impact millions

CALmatters

California lawmakers have passed a $215 billion budget filled with progressive eye-catchers. But what if you had the awesome power to tax and spend, charting a new course for California?

4 takeaways from this summer’s budget deal

Brookings

Before leaving for August recess, Congress passed legislation to cap discretionary spending and suspend the debt limit for the next two years, setting up a busy fall session for tackling government spending. Molly Reynolds offers four lessons from the major budget deal.

See also:

· How to Balance the Budget—Again Wall Street Journal

· The National Debt, Visualized Wall Street Journal

· Opinion: Social Security Expansion Will Cut Medicare, Income Tax Revenues by $300 Billion Forbes

State Gasoline Tax Rates as of July 2019

Tax Foundation

Today’s map shows gasoline tax rates in each state as of July 2019, using recently released data from the American Petroleum Institute.

TRANSPORTATION

Want to travel by air without TSA inspecting your shoes? Modesto event could help

Modesto Bee

Modesto Airport will host an Aug. 12-16 event that helps low-risk travelers get through security checks quickly.

High-Speed Rail Funds Might Get Allocated Elsewhere; Farmers Wait For Reimbursements

VPR

This week, California lawmakers began honing in on a plan that would divert money away from high-speed rail, and instead fund transportation projects in major hubs like the Bay Area and Southern California.

· Virgin Trains seeking $800M in bonds for high-speed rail project – Vegas Slots Vegas Slots

States Sue Trump Administration Over Fuel Economy Penalties

Capital Public Radio

A coalition of states sued the Trump administration Friday for the second time to block a planned reduction in the penalties automakers pay when they fail to meet fuel economy standards.

Electric scooters are good for the environment, right? Here’s why it’s not so simple

Los Angeles Times

While traveling a mile by scooter is better than driving the same distance by car, it’s worse than biking, walking or taking a bus — the modes of transportation that scooters most often replace.

WATER

Feinstein asks navy to expedite China Lake damage assessments

KBAK

Senator Dianne Feinstein called for Navy Secretary Richard Spencer to quickly complete the damage assessment of Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake after two major earthquakes in Ridgecrest earlier this month.

Sea level rise is not ‘climate fear porn’ — it’s a threat to all of California

Sacramento Bee

Poor California. As if wildfires, mudslides, droughts and the threat of the Big One aren’t enough, now sea level rise is on the list.

“Xtra”

‘Move that bus!’ rings outside new Clovis home as ‘Extreme Makeover’ series finishes work

Fresno Bee

“Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” host Jesse Tyler Ferguson and a cheering crowd welcomed the Reeder family to its new Clovis home late Sunday afternoon with familiar words: “Move that bus!”

Fresno business focusing on team building with a few interesting twists

abc30

Next-Gen Escape It may not look like much on the outside, but once you step in a building on Shaw Avenue in Northeast Fresno, you’ll be in for quite the experience. “Next-Gen Escape” provides workshops highlighting effective communication and leadership.

Uncle Kracker to perform at Tulare County Fair

abc30

The rap-rock country singer with hit singles like ‘Smile,’ ‘Follow Me,’ and ‘Drift Away’, will be appearing on the stage on Thursday, September 12.

Old Timers parade to continue

Madera Tribune

The annual Old Timers Day Parade, that some thought might not be held this year because of the demise of the Kiwanis Club that had put it on for more than 15 years, will be held after all, marking its 88th year.

Board President Says BGC May Reopen By Mid-August

Sierra News

The Oakhurst Boys & Girls Club (BGC), shuttered since the end of June by a lack of funding, could reopen in time for the start of the new school year, according to the organization’s board president Doug Macaulay.

Is country music dying in Bakersfield, a city once called Nashville West?

Bakersfield Californian

Those lucky enough to attend last month’s preview of excerpts from Ken Burns’ newest PBS documentary, “Country Music,” at the Fox Theater, saw proof of the depth and richness of the genre’s history in Bakersfield. But what about country’s present?