December 13, 2019

13Dec

POLICY & POLITICS

 

North SJ Valley:

 

Modesto officials face accusations of racism during contentious council meeting

Fresno Bee

The Modesto City Council was roiled this week by accusations of racism after the majority voted against appointing a black man to a city board, the latest in the ongoing saga of dysfunction and turmoil among the elected leaders.

 

Need a lift? How to catch a ride on the new free shuttle bus in downtown Modesto

Modesto Bee

The new Cityride Modesto electric shuttle bus launched this week, part of the ambitious slate of projects being spearheaded by the team behind the new high-end steakhouse coming to 10th Street.

 

With closing of Modesto Outdoor Emergency Shelter, what is next for city’s homeless?

Modesto Bee

MOES opened in February as a temporary solution until more shelter beds and services came online. A big piece of that was the opening last week of a 182-bed shelter with services at The Salvation Army’s Berberian Center near downtown. The tent city has sheltered about 450 people.

 

Central SJ Valley:

 

Fact check: Was Devin Nunes ‘vindicated’ by report on FBI’s Trump investigation?

Fresno Bee

Rep. Devin Nunes this week said he was vindicated by a new inspector general report that detailed the origins of the FBI’s surveillance of President Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign, which affirmed key parts of a controversial memo Nunes released nearly two years ago.

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Former Gov. Schwarzenegger met his goal of 1 million solar roofs. He celebrated in Clovis

Fresno Bee

When Arnold Schwarzenegger signed the Million Solar Roofs Initiative in 2006, the then-California governor knew it was the kind of goal politicians tend to shy away from.

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Family of California lawmaker acquitted of child abuse spending $100K against police chief

Sacramento Bee

Juan and Amy Arambula poured nearly $100,000 into an independent expenditure for advertisements against Fresno mayoral candidate Jerry Dyer, one of which likens Dyer to President Donald Trump.

 

‘We can’t ignore the data’ Could Fresno sprawl come from a potential new policy?

Fresno Bee

Plans to kick off a full-scale update to Fresno’s general plan slowed this week, but continue to advance after the City Council created a committee to study the idea, which some are afraid will cause further sprawl.

 

Councilmembers discuss management change at Fresno Convention Center

abc30

Councilmembers discussed a possible management change at the Fresno Convention Center which could leave Valley businesses shut out of the venues. The change would affect everything from catering to flowers.

 

South SJ Valley:

 

How a multi-millionaire father-son duo crashed the Cox-Valadao rematch

The Sun

The primary for the 21st Congressional District may be hijacked by two well-heeled, if perennial, candidates who stepped in to run against Rep. TJ Cox (D–Fresno) and former Rep. David Valadao (R–Hanford) at the eleventh hour.

 

Court set to decide if Bakersfield City Council violated Brown Act in Measure N discussions

Bakersfield Califorinian

A Kern County judge is set to decide on whether the Bakersfield City Council broke public meeting laws when it held closed meetings in 2017 to discuss items that presumably led to Measure N.

 

Environmental justice activists want seat at table in Kern, state's oil debate

Bakersfield Califorinian

Local environmental justice advocates say they want their voices heard as Kern's Board of Supervisors looks to make the case in Sacramento that halting California oil production would devastate the county's economy.

 

Former head of community services district near Tehachapi takes plea deal in conflict of interest case

Bakersfield Califorinian

The former general manager of the Mountain Meadows Community Services District in greater Tehachapi was sentenced Thursday to 90 days in jail and ordered to pay restitution after pleading no contest to a charge of conflict of interest by a public official in Kern County Superior Court.

 

Supervisors reapprove Tejon Ranch Grapevine community plan after making minor changes

Bakersfield Californian

The Kern County Board of Supervisors have unanimously reapproved the development of Tejon Ranch Co.’s proposed residential and commercial community at the foot of the Grapevine.

 

State:

 

Hundreds of California voters are being registered with the wrong party. Is DMV to blame?

Merced Sun-Star

At least 600 Californians, including lifelong Republicans and Democrats, have had their voter registration unexpectedly changed, and several county elections officials are pinning much of the blame on the state’s Department of Motor Vehicles.

 

Facebook Won’t Change Web Tracking in Response to California Privacy Law

Wall Street Journal

Facebook Inc. has told advertisers it doesn’t need to make changes to its web-tracking services to comply with California’s new consumer-privacy law, setting up a potential early clash over how the closely watched law will be enforced once it goes into effect.

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Partisan differences aside, California’s fellowship program trains Republicans and Democrats

CalMatters

California’s Assembly Fellowship Program is one of the oldest programs of its type in the country. Bachelor degree-holding individuals can spend a year in the legislative office of their choosing while receiving academic training. Hundreds of people apply for 18 slots.

 

California library gains hundreds of presidential documents

Porterville Recorder

History scholars are getting a new trove of priceless presidential papers to pore over at Southern California's Huntington Library, Art Museum and Botanical Gardens.

 

California closer to adopting nation’s most restrictive horse racing whip rule

Los Angeles Times

The California Horse Racing Board, faced with a crisis over a spike in equine deaths, on Thursday voted to implement the most stringent use of the riding crop by jockeys in North America.

 

Federal:

 

Californians could take center stage in Senate impeachment trial, and Republicans aren’t happy

Los Angeles Times

With a vote on President Trump’s impeachment expected in the House next week, Democrats are jockeying to win one of the limited number of coveted spots presenting the case during the Senate trial —a group that is likely to include several California lawmakers.

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Tentative deal would avert possible looming federal shutdown

Fresno Bee

Senior lawmakers announced a tentative agreement Thursday on an almost $1.4 trillion government-wide spending bill that would stave off a federal shutdown next weekend and split the differences on a number of contentious issues.

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Senate backs measure affirming century-old Armenian genocide

abc30

On its fourth try, the Senate has approved a resolution recognizing the mass killings of Armenians by Ottoman Turks a century ago as genocide.

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House passes bill to lower prescription drug costs

CBS

Sharpening their 2020 election message, House Democrats on Thursday pushed through legislation that would empower Medicare to negotiate prescription drug prices and offer new benefits for seniors.

See also:

 

Podcast: The Fight to Rewrite the World's Biggest Trade Deal

Wall Street Journal

President Trump campaigned on scrapping Nafta. But getting that done wasn't so easy. Now, Congress is close to making a deal. WSJ's Josh Zumbrun explains the new trade agreement, USMCA.

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Elections 2020:

 

Playing down impeachment, Trump campaign voices confidence

Fresno Bee

President Donald Trump’s reelection campaign on Thursday shrugged off the president's expected impeachment less than a year before Election Day, talking up the campaign's data collection efforts and declaring that no one in the Democratic field can compete with the incumbent.

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Presidential Candidate Visits To CA & NV and The Individual Mandate

Capital Public Radio

As the primaries approach, candidate visits to the Western US continue. Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg was just in California and Sen. Elizabeth Warren was in Reno. And we talk about the coming of the state’s individual mandate.

 

Democrats set four debates in January and February in early primary states

Los Angeles Times

Democrats will hold a presidential debate in each of the four early primary states as voting gets underway next year, with some of the debates scheduled for just days before voters head to the polls, the Democratic National Committee announced in an email to campaigns Thursday.

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Buttigieg, Billed as Moderate, Touts Progressive Economic Plan

Wall Street Journal

Pete Buttigieg has leapt to the top tier of Democratic presidential candidates by touting himself as a moderate alternative to Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders. But his economic platform still embraces an expanded role for government and a shift to the left.

 

No #Bernieblackout here: Sanders rides a surge of alternative media

Los Angeles Times

In distant corners of Iowa as on urban college campuses in California, people attending Sanders’ events consistently talk about the content of shows like “Rising” and other parts of the growing alternative media world on the left.

 

Biden and Warren spar over how to handle Republicans

San Francisco Chronicle

Former Vice President Joe Biden criticized Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren on Thursday as unwilling to work with Republicans, a sign of how the Democratic presidential candidates are more directly confronting each other as the polls tighten.

 

Booker Campaign Announces Bus Tour, Ad Buy After Not Qualifying for December Debate

Wall Street Journal

New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker will begin a multiday bus tour in Iowa on Dec. 19, the day other top Democratic presidential candidates are on the debate stage in Los Angeles.

 

Other:

 

Change of command for Carrier Air Wing Two

Hanford Sentinel

A change of command ceremony for Naval Air Station Lemoore’s Carrier Air Wing Two was held Wednesday and included a special visit from historic military vehicles.

 

Study shows hostility toward journalists by Trump fans

PBS

It’s been true for some time that Republicans are generally more hostile to the news media than Democrats, but a study released Thursday found that’s much more the case for supporters of President Donald Trump.

 

Public opinion lessons for AI regulation

Brookings

An overwhelming majority of the American public believes that artificial intelligence (AI) should be carefully managed. Nevertheless, as the three case studies in this brief show, the public does not agree on the proper regulation of AI applications.

 

Three facts about family structure and race: Responding to the New York Times

AEI

For those who doubt that family structure denialism is a thing on the Left, one need only open the pages of The New York Times this week for yet another effort “to minimize or deny the importance of marriage and family structure.”

 

MADDY INSTITUTE PUBLIC POLICY PROGRAMMING

 

Sunday, December 15, at 10 a.m. on ABC30 – Maddy Report: Does Granny (Flat) Have a Solution to the Housing Crisis? - Guest: Monica Davalos, Aureo Mesquita and Adriana Ramos-Vamamoto from the California Budget and Policy Center. Host: Maddy Institute Executive Director, Mark Keppler.

 

Sunday, December 15, at 10 a.m. on Newstalk 580AM/105.9FM (KMJ) – Maddy Report - Valley Views Edition: Recidivism: Statewide Data and a Local Program That Works - Guests: CSU Fresno Prof. Emma Hughes, Project Rebound Director Jennifer Leahy, and Project Rebound Rebound Arnold Trevino. Host: Maddy Institute Executive Director, Mark Keppler.

 

Sunday, December 15, at 7:30 a.m. on UniMas 61 (KTTF) – El Informe Maddy: Los Diez mas Importantes de California - Guest: Alexei Koseff, Reportero de San Francisco Chronicle. Host: Maddy Institute Program Coordinator, Maria Jeans.

 

AGRICULTURE/FOOD

 

Almond board putting $5.9M toward research

Stockton Record

The Almond Board of California announced it will commit $5.9 million in 85 independent research projects and released the Almond Orchard 2025 Goals Roadmap on Tuesday at the 47th annual Almond Conference in Sacramento.

 

Nestlé sells its US ice cream business for $4 billion to create world's largest ice cream market

Visalia Times Delta

Nestlé is selling its U.S. ice cream business in a deal valued at $4 billion that would create the world's largest ice cream market. It's unclear what the sale will mean for Tulare's Häagen-Dazs plant.

 

CRIMINAL JUSTICE / FIRE / PUBLIC SAFETY

 

Crime:

 

Correctional officers investigating second inmate slaying in 3 weeks at California prison

Fresno Bee

California State Prison, Sacramento officials are investigating the suspected homicide of an inmate Thursday morning, marking the second deadly attack in three weeks there.

 

Fresno sheriffs arrest man accused of selling THC vape pods to children

Business Journal

The Fresno County Sheriff’s Office has arrested a 23-year-old Dinuba man on allegations that he used social media to sell flavored THC vape cartridges to minors.

 

Public Safety:

 

Impaired driving enforcement to begin this week, according to Merced police

Merced Sun-Star

Beginning this week, additional officers will be looking for impaired drivers during the holiday season, according to the Merced Police Department.

 

Lowe's helps provide emergency buckets to PUESD schools

Hanford Sentinel

In an effort to prepare for any situation, Lowe’s Home Improvement in Hanford and Pioneer Union Elementary School District have come together to provide over 100 emergency buckets for classrooms throughout the district’s schools.

 

Feral hogs tearing up California park, prompting city to hire trapper to deal with 'invasive' population

Fox News

Sections of a park in Northern California are now closed off with warning signs posted after feral hogs invaded the area in recent months, causing tens of thousands of dollars in damage.

 

FCC votes to set up 3-digit suicide hotline number like 911

Stockton Record

Federal regulators are setting up a new three-digit number to reach a suicide prevention hotline in order to make it easier to seek help and reduce the stigma associated with mental health.

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Fire:

 

Trump’s tweet on California fires drives firefighter union to Joe Biden for 2020

Sacramento Bee

Shortly after California’s deadly Camp Fire claimed the lives of 85 people in Paradise, President Donald Trump urged the state to prevent wildfires by following Finland’s lead by “raking and cleaning and doing things.”

 

PG&E responds to fired lineman who claims utility ignored safety warnings

San Francisco Chronicle

Pacific Gas and Electric Co. fired a lineman for time-card fraud and other “serious misconduct,” not in retaliation for concerns he aired about electrical equipment he felt made the utility’s power lines more vulnerable to starting dangerous fires, the company said Thursday in court papers.

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Commentary: With a little help from the Legislature, family forest landowners can help reduce wildfire

CalMatters

Gov. Gavin Newsom’s wildfire plan is aimed at fire victims and energy providers, and addressing wildfire safety and accountability. But work remains to support the families and individuals who own and care for half the forests most at risk for wildfire.

 

ECONOMY / JOBS

 

Economy:

 

US and China near deal that would suspend planned tariffs

Fresno Bee

The Trump administration and China are close to finalizing a modest trade agreement that would suspend tariffs that are set to kick in Sunday, de-escalating their 17-month trade war.

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The Uber and Lyft of Dog Walking Fight State Oversight

Pew Trusts

All Connecticut state Rep. Kim Rose wanted was to make sure home-based “doggie day cares” followed the same health and safety rules as commercial kennels. It sounded deceptively simple.

 

Fresno executive, speaker to appear at manufacturing summit

Business Journal

The San Joaquin Valley Manufacturing Alliance and the Fresno Business Council will hold its 6th annual Valley Made Manufacturing Summit April 21, 2020 at the Fresno Convention Center.

 

Talent is America’s most precious resource—it’s time economic development organizations focus more on developing it

Brookings

The collective knowledge and capabilities of the U.S. workforce is worth an estimated $240 trillion—four times more valuable than the country’s physical capital stock and ten times more valuable than all the urban land in the United States.

 

Your Internet Provider Likely Juiced Its Official Speed Scores

Wall Street Journal

AT&T, Cox, Comcast and other broadband companies successfully push the FCC to omit unflattering data on speed tests, among other tactics, to improve their scores.

 

Jobs:

 

Which California state workers are underpaid? Survey lists eight job types that fall behind

Sacramento Bee

Analysts were the most underpaid workers within California state government’s largest union last year, according to a new survey.

 

McDonald's Not Responsible For How Franchisees Treat Workers, U.S. Agency Rules

Capital Public Radio

The federal labor law board said McDonald's should not be held liable for labor practices of its franchisees. The ruling directed a judge to approve a settlement in a years-long union case.

 

Low-income workers and families struggle with premium contributions

UC Berkeley

Premiums for job-based health coverage have risen rapidly over the past decade while wages have barely budged. Both the employer- and the worker-paid portions of the premium affect workers.

 

Disneyland Resort workers sue, alleging the company has ignored a 2018 ‘living wage’ ballot measure

OC Register

A lawsuit filed by a handful of current and former Disneyland employees may lead to a court’s judgment on whether the Anaheim theme park operator is paying certain employees enough.

 

Kaiser mental health workers to begin five-day strike across California Monday

San Francisco Chronicle

Around 4,000 unionized therapists, psychologists, social workers and other employees will form picket lines starting at 6 a.m. Monday outside Kaiser locations in the state. The action had been postponed for a month following the death of CEO Bernard Tyson.

 

The New Union Label: Female, Progressive and Very Anti-Trump

Politico

Sara Nelson wants to break the AFL-CIO out of its male-dominated, blue-collar rut and return the labor movement to its activist roots.

 

EDUCATION

 

K-12:

 

Dozens weigh in on Lincoln Unified charter proposal

Stockton Record

It was standing room only during a special meeting for the Lincoln Unified School District Board of Trustees on Wednesday night, where a public hearing was held on Aspire Public Schools’ petition to open a charter school in the district.

 

Changes at DeWolf High School inspire students in the classroom

abc30

Some changes at a Fresno Unified specialty high school are giving students a newfound passion for learning. You may not recognize the DeWolf High School Campus this semester. In fact, many returning students alike didn't recognize it themselves.

 

Tulare high schools target of cyberattack

Visalia Times Delta

Tulare Joint Union High School District is battling hackers after a "very bad and complicated attack" targeted high-level administrative and financial accounts.

 

Lindsay schools continue with energy modernization

Porterville Recorder

Lindsay Unified School District’s Board of Trustees recently authorized a second wave of energy infrastructure and sustainability modernizations.

 

Some ratings rise in 3rd year of California School Dashboard

EdSource

Significantly fewer school districts will require county help this year for poor performance on the state’s school accountability tool, the California School Dashboard, reflecting what State Board of Education President Linda Darling-Hammond called “steady — albeit slow — progress in important areas” such as high school graduation rates and, by one measure, test scores.

 

EDITORIAL: ‘I felt humiliated’: Why California schools need ethnic studies classes

Sacramento Bee

The education system can’t act as a silver bullet for racism and xenophobia. Families and the larger community must recognize their responsibility. Youth absorb attitudes from home, online, and their peers. If those attitudes are toxic, kids will carry that with them.

 

Higher Ed:

 

Trump Administration Rejects Financial Relief for Nearly All Defrauded Students

US News

When the Education Department dispatches the first round of notifications to some 17,000 student loan borrowers who applied to have their debt forgiven after being defrauded by for-profit colleges, 95% of them will be rejected.

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Lawsuits seek to end University of California's SAT or ACT test requirement for freshman admission

EdSource

Saying they seek to protect low-income and minority students’ rightful chances for college admissions, civil rights organizations and the Compton School District followed through with their threat and filed lawsuits Tuesday demanding that the University of California stop requiring that applicants take the SAT or ACT entrance exams.

 

Social media is not promoting a diversity of ideas: Just look at our college students

AEI

Data from the recent AEI survey on Community and Society make it abundantly clear that social media is not having a transformative effect in promoting a real diversity of ideas as so many internet evangelists like Zuckerberg are claiming.

 

ENVIRONMENT/ ENERGY

 

Environment:

 

Climate change could affect pregnancies and newborns’ health, California study shows

Sacramento Bee

A new study that rising temperatures brought on by climate change could be shortening pregnancies by as many as two weeks suggests worrisome implications for babies’ health and children’s later development.

 

Without Urgent Action, California’s Sea-Level Rise A Threat To Housing, Economy, Report Says

Capital Public Radio

Despite years of urgent warnings, local governments are moving too slow to prevent the worst damage from sea-level rise caused by climate change, risking repercussions as severe as housing shortages or an injured state economy, according to a report released this week by the Legislative Analyst’s office.

 

This is what a devastating earthquake in California would look like

Los Angeles Times

The city of Christchurch, New Zealand offers an urgent lesson to California, whose major cities — situated along seismic faults — face similar threats.

See also:

 

Federal decision on fracking review reopens 1.2 million acres in California to oil leasing

Bakersfield Califorinian

After years of studying the environmental impacts of fracking, a decision this week by Bakersfield's office of the U.S. Bureau of Land Management allows federal officials to resume leasing 1.2 million acres of public land in Kern and other parts of California for the purposes of oil and gas production.

See also:

 

EDITORIAL: Voters understand climate change. Why aren’t local governments doing more?

San Francisco Chronicle

Local governments in California are moving far too slowly to stop the worst damage from the sea-level rise that will come with climate change.

 

Energy:

 

Former Gov. Schwarzenegger met his goal of 1 million solar roofs. He celebrated in Clovis

Fresno Bee

When Arnold Schwarzenegger signed the Million Solar Roofs Initiative in 2006, the then-California governor knew it was the kind of goal politicians tend to shy away from.

See also:

 

California faces a crossroads on the path to 100% clean energy

Los Angeles Times

In a unanimous vote last month, the California Public Utilities Commission said the gas-burning facility should be allowed to keep operating through 2022.

 

California regulators clear way for natural gas bans to take effect

San Francisco Chronicle

The California Energy Commission gave the green light Wednesday to the six local governments that are barring or limiting the use of natural gas appliances in new buildings.

 

The shifting energy landscape and the Gulf economies’ diversification challenge

Brookings

Growing oil and gas production in the United States and growing concern about climate change mean that their hydrocarbon revenues are likely to decline over the long run.

 

HEALTH/HUMAN SERVICES

 

Health:

 

South Valley students getting reality check on dangers of vaping

abc30

Fifth graders at Buena Vista Elementary School in Tulare recently got to look at vaping devices confiscated from Tulare County students.

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Clinica Sierra Vista wants to save lives by weaning addicts off of opioids

Bakersfield Californian

It's no coincidence that regions with the worst opioid death rates in California often have no facilities within easy reach that offer Medication Assisted Treatment for those trying to kick their addictions.

 

Improving Equity in Mental Health Services

Public Policy Institute of California

California has seen historic declines in the number of residents without health coverage—since 2014, the state’s uninsured rate has decreased from 17.3% to 10.3% percent among adults  younger than 65.

 

House passes bill to lower prescription drug costs

CBS

Sharpening their 2020 election message, House Democrats on Thursday pushed through legislation that would empower Medicare to negotiate prescription drug prices and offer new benefits for seniors.

See also:

 

California calls pot smoke, THC a risk to moms-to-be

AP News

A California panel voted Wednesday to declare marijuana smoke and the drug’s high-producing chemical — THC — a risk to pregnant women and their developing fetuses and require warning labels for products legally sold in the nation’s largest pot market.

 

Climate change could affect pregnancies and newborns’ health, California study shows

Sacramento Bee

A new study that rising temperatures brought on by climate change could be shortening pregnancies by as many as two weeks suggests worrisome implications for babies’ health and children’s later development.

 

`Safer opioid’ has sparked a crisis in vulnerable countries

AP News

These pills, the world has been told, are safer than the OxyContins, the Vicodins, the fentanyls that have wreaked so much devastation. But now they are the root of what the United Nations named “the other opioid crisis” — an epidemic featured in fewer headlines than the American one, as it rages through the planet’s most vulnerable countries.

 

Human Services:

 

More signing up for health insurance in California

Stockton Record

More than 130,000 people have purchased health insurance through California’s state-run marketplace for the first time, a 16 percent increase from last year now that the state is offering more money to help people pay their monthly premiums and will begin taxing people next year who refuse to buy insurance.

 

A Deeply Funded Lobbying Group Is Out to Kill Medicare for All

Capital & Main

A deeply funded lobbying group led by a former Hillary Clinton aide is out to kill Medicare for All. Its ideological roots run back to the Truman era.

 

Trump says he'll expand child care, paid leave for workers

SF Gate

President Donald Trump promised Thursday to expand child care and time-off options for working moms and dads confronted with high costs and lack of access to quality care, saying in his administration “we get it done.”

 

Slow VA Payments Left Veterans Facing Collection Agencies

Wall Street Journal

A whistleblower at the Department of Veterans Affairs spurred an investigation that found hundreds of millions of dollars in improper travel claims and a deeply flawed system used when veterans seek care outside the VA.

 

Column: Medicare boss Seema Verma is a threat to public health programs

Los Angeles Times

As the power struggle has heated up, Verma has been the subject of news articles reporting that she steered government contracts to Republican-connected public relations firms, including one reportedly assigned to burnish her public image by planting positive mentions in glossy magazines like Glamour.

 

IMMIGRATION

 

Farmworker residency bill with pathway to citizenship passes House, heads to Senate

Salinas Californian

The House passed the Farm Workforce Modernization Act Wednesday, voting for a measure that would give undocumented farmworkers a pathway to permanent residence. "This is a chance to solve a problem for America," said Rep. Zoe Lofgren, who spearheaded the bill.

See also:

 

Pentagon IG opens review into $400 million border wall contract

abc30

The Pentagon Inspector General has opened a review of a $400 million border wall contract was awarded to Fisher Sand and Gravel Co.

See also:

 

LAND USE/HOUSING

 

Land Use:

 

‘We can’t ignore the data’ Could Fresno sprawl come from a potential new policy?

Fresno Bee

Plans to kick off a full-scale update to Fresno’s general plan slowed this week, but continue to advance after the City Council created a committee to study the idea, which some are afraid will cause further sprawl.

 

Steak ‘n Shake couldn’t make it at this spot. But now this Fresno taqueria is moving in

Fresno Bee

Longtime local restaurant Don Pepe Taqueria is gearing up to open its fourth location, this one in southeast Fresno.

 

Dog Park Master Plan Approved by City Council

Clovis Roundup

The Clovis City Council approved the Dog Park Master Plan at the December 2 Council meeting.

 

Supervisors reapprove Tejon Ranch Grapevine community plan after making minor changes

Bakersfield Californian

The Kern County Board of Supervisors have unanimously reapproved the development of Tejon Ranch Co.’s proposed residential and commercial community at the foot of the Grapevine.

 

Housing:

 

With closing of Modesto Outdoor Emergency Shelter, what is next for city’s homeless?

Modesto Bee

MOES opened in February as a temporary solution until more shelter beds and services came online. A big piece of that was the opening last week of a 182-bed shelter with services at The Salvation Army’s Berberian Center near downtown. The tent city has sheltered about 450 people.

 

Californians and the Housing Crisis

Public Policy Institute of California

Home values and rents in California are among the most expensive in the nation, and the state has one of the highest rates of homelessness. Californians are increasingly concerned about these issues, with more than a third saying they’ve considered leaving the state due to housing costs.

 

Could Oakland look to cruise ships to house the homeless?

East Bay Times

An Oakland City Council member’s plan to house up to 1,000 homeless people on a cruise ship in the bay could actually set sail. By Tuesday’s City Council meeting, a company had already expressed interest in providing its ships

 

PUBLIC FINANCES

 

New push in California for immigrant tax filers to receive tax credits

Los Angeles Times

Though immigrants who are in the country illegally do not receive a Social Security Number, they are able to file taxes with an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number, or ITIN. This excludes them — as well as American relatives who come under their filing unit — from CalEITC.

 

Mom and Pop aren’t money launderers
AEI

The House has passed and the Senate is considering the Corporate Transparency Act, which would impose enormous costs on the smallest companies in the US economy, likely without significant benefits for law enforcement.

 

TRANSPORTATION

 

Need a lift? How to catch a ride on the new free shuttle bus in downtown Modesto

Modesto Bee

The new Cityride Modesto electric shuttle bus launched this week, part of the ambitious slate of projects being spearheaded by the team behind the new high-end steakhouse coming to 10th Street.

 

California considers requiring zero emission truck sales

Stockton Record

The country’s most populous state could become the first to require a portion of new truck sales be electric or “zero emission” vehicles as California grapples with how to clean up its worst-in-the nation air quality.

 

FAA Chief Pushes Back On Boeing Pressure To Return 737 Max Jets To Service

Capital Public Radio

A day after hearing criticism from Congress that his agency is too cozy with the manufacturer, the FAA administrator warned Boeing's CEO not to expect quick recertification of the grounded planes.

 

Here’s an animation highlighting features along the high-speed rail alignment

Fresno Bee

Over the objections of federal regulators, the agency tasked with building California’s bullet-train project is moving forward to seek bids from companies to lay tracks and install required operating systems for a 119-mile stretch of the line.

See also:

 

Construction on high-speed train between California, Las Vegas could start in 2020

Global Railway Review

The company planning a high-speed train between Las Vegas and Southern California says construction could start late next year if bonds are approved by February.

 

Amtrak at (nearly) 50: The railroad faces its next chapter

Progressive Railway

As Amtrak heads toward the 50th anniversary next year of its creation, the nation’s only intercity passenger railroad does so in the best financial condition in its history.

 

Safety Tips For Driving In Rainy Weather

Clovis Roundup

Rain has finally returned to the Central Valley, but that means more slippery roads and other hazardous driving conditions. The downpour flooded roadways across the valley, including some areas of Clovis.

 

WATER

 

Rain storms drive away drought that was creeping back in California, monitor shows

Fresno Bee

Californians’ umbrellas have been put to good use for the last few weeks — and all that rain has helped drive away drought conditions that were creeping back, new data show.

See also:

 

Topic of Cancer: How PFAS Threaten Our Water

Capital & Main

Worryingly for environmental justice advocates and disadvantaged communities, growing data highlighting the per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) problem nationally and in California suggest that the impact may be hardest felt by those on the lower rungs of the economic ladder.

 

“Xtra”

 

Best neighborhood holiday displays in Fresno and Clovis? Here’s your chance to vote

Fresno Bee

Three areas stand out each year for having amazing holiday lights displays throughout their neighborhood. Cast your vote to decide The Fresno Bee’s best Christmas lights display for 2019. Voting will run until noon Dec. 19, and the winning neighborhood will be revealed later that day.

 

Largest crowd ever: Santa in the Park 2019

Porterville Recorder

According to organizers there were probably over 600 children and their families at the event, for a total of probably 3000 people. The first family arrived at 3:30 in the afternoon and by 5:30 people were lined up for two city blocks around Porterville Centennial Park.

 

Take me home! Dogs available for adoption

Bakersfield Califorinian

These seven dogs at Kern County Animal Services are looking for their forever homes. Can you help?

 

Stressed out about holiday shopping? Here’s why you should give time, not stuff

Sacramento Bee

While there are various excellent reasons to cut back on gift giving, there’s one good reason to continue it on a reduced scale: Sharing love and lovely experiences.

 

A gaggle of grinches is dissing Tulare's 'janky' Christmas tree. What do you think?

Visalia Times Delta

Tulare's Christmas tree is turning heads — but not for the reason some city and downtown business leaders would like. For decades, the Tulare Downtown Association has illuminated the coastal Redwood that sits on Westamerica Bank's lot at Tulare Avenue and K Street.

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Ballast Point’s rise, fall and sale: Inside craft beer’s most baffling deal

Los Angeles Times

New York-based Constellation was eager to dump Ballast Point, with its plummeting sales and a trademark value — a measure of its worth outside of its assets — in free fall, cratering from $223 million in January 2018 to $17 million in October 2019.

 

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Maddy Institute Updated List of San Joaquin Valley Elected Officials HERE.

 

The Kenneth L. Maddy Institute at California State University, Fresno was established to honor the legacy of one of California’s most principled and effective legislative leaders of the last half of the 20th Century by engaging, preparing and inspiring a new generation of governmental leaders for the 21st Century. Its mission is to inspire citizen participation, elevate government performance, provide non-partisan analysis and assist in providing solutions for public policy issues important to the region, state and nation.

                                                     

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