POLICY & POLITICS
North SJ Valley:
A record-setting year for construction in Merced
abc30
A record-setting year for construction in Merced! The city has now received more building permit applications than ever before. Officials in Merced say more than 47-hundred building permits have been pulled so far this year.
You turn 150 only once. Modesto has big plans for 2020 sesquicentennial
Modesto Bee
It’s taken a year (and counting) to plan a year that celebrates Modesto’s 150 years. In January, a steering committee of about 15 people — a handful of city staffers, the rest from across the community — was created to plan the 2020 sesquicentennial festivities.
Modesto city clerk sues to get city to pay her legal bills
Modesto Bee
Modesto’s city clerk is suing the city to recover her legal costs from a recent investigation that looked into her allegations against a councilman and other city officials, but it was an investigation the clerk has said she never wanted.
EDITORIAL: Why 2020 could spell the end of dysfunction that plagues Modesto City Council
Modesto Bee
In a year, the Modesto City Council could look very different. Five of the seven members either face re-election next fall, or are running for other offices. Why bring this up now?
Why Democrat Josh Harder attended White House Christmas party during impeachment
Modesto Bee
California Rep. Josh Harder was one of six Democrats who went to the White House Christmas party Thursday night, just as their fellow House Democrats were taking a huge step to advance impeachment of President Donald Trump.
Central SJ Valley:
‘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.
Fresno tops the nation in unsheltered people
Fresno Bee
The Fresno area had a higher percentage last year of homeless people regarded as “unsheltered” — or living in what the government calls places “not suitable for human habitation” — than any major city in the United States.
See also:
abc30
The Fresno City Council voted to move forward with an ordinance that would regulate marijuana, and allow the recreational sales of it in city limits. However, some council members who voted against it say the ordinance could do more harm than good.
New Fresno Convention Center contract is bad for local business, vendors say
Fresno Bee
The Fresno City Council extended a contract with the manager of the Fresno Convention Center for six months in an attempt to work out a long-term deal that will keep local vendors employed.
Fresno appears on list of hard-to-count cities ahead of census
Business Journal
Obtaining an accurate count is critical because the census determines the allocation of $1.5 trillion in federal spending and decides which states gain or lose congressional seats.
See also:
Op-ed view: Jerry Dyer not qualified to become Fresno’s next mayor
Fresno Bee
Mayoral candidate Jerry Dyer posits that the vandals who defaced his campaign billboard did so because they harbor a “deep hatred for law enforcement.” He is wrong. Instead, people have a deep hatred for governing through crime.
End of an Era: Fleming Out as Madera County CAO
Sierra News
Madera County’s chief administrative officer resigned Friday amid escalating accusations by County employees of a hostile work environment at the County Government Center.
See also:
Martinez to supes: ‘You own this’ Madera Tribune
Visalia’s new Catholic church a sign of a vibrant community
Visalia Times Delta
By 2021, Visalia, a city of just 136,000, will be home to one of America’s largest Catholic churches, with more than 3,000 seats.
See also:
The lesson of Visalia’s ‘Amen Corner’ San Francisco Chronicle
Devin Nunes lives on a congressman’s salary. How is he funding so many lawsuits?
Fresno Bee
Rep. Devin Nunes’ critics have obsessed over how he is paying for the six lawsuits he filed this year, but there are no public records showing how he has paid his Virginia lawyer.
See also:
Here's how legal experts suspect Devin Nunes is paying for so many lawsuits The Week
EDITORIAL: A Burr in Nunes’ Saddle Wall Street Journal
South SJ Valley:
Bakersfield Californian
The Kern Community College District is in the early stages of a redistricting process that could potentially affect all trustee representation areas, according to district Chancellor Thomas Burke.
Family of boy who died while running across the street files claim with Kern County for $10 million
Bakersfield Californian
The family of a 13-year-old child who died after being struck by a car while running across Niles Street in July has filed a claim against Kern County for $10 million.
State:
California utility scrambles to renegotiate wildfire deal
Bakersfield Californian
California Gov. Gavin Newsom's opposition to Pacific Gas & Electric's restructuring plan just a week after it struck a $13.5 billion settlement with fire victims is forcing the nation's largest utility to go back to the negotiating table and come up with a solution fairly quickly.
See also:
Gavin Newsom rejects PG&E bankruptcy plan, demands ‘radically restructured’ California utility Sacramento Bee
California Rejects State's Largest Utility's Bankruptcy Plan Capital Public Radio
PG&E’s future is in doubt after Newsom rejects bankruptcy plan Los Angeles Times
Gov. Newsom rejects PG&E’s reorganization plan San Francisco Chronicle
California cannot fix PG&E by retreating on renewable energy goals CalMatters
California utility scrambles to renegotiate wildfire deal PBS Newshour
California Governor Rejects PG&E’s Restructuring Plan New York Times
What happens if PG&E goes bankrupt? CalMatters
The big problem this bankruptcy won’t solve for PG&E CalMatters
EDITORIAL: Newsom’s choice on PG&E victim settlement won’t be his last obstacle with the troubled utility San Francisco Chronicle
Watch new 2020 law #5: Online data privacy law gives Californians new rights
CalMatters
Signed by former Gov. Jerry Brown in 2018, the law gives users new rights when it comes to how their online data is used, sold or stored. In addition, it places more responsibilities on businesses.
California’s Accounting System Cost Taxpayers $1.1 Billion And Still Can’t Produce A State Checkbook
San Francisco Chronicle
California State Controller Betty Yee admits to paying 49 million bills last year. Yet, she won’t produce a single transaction subject to our public records request for line-by-line state spending.
He was a referee in the California Capitol. Now he’ll regulate political campaigns
Sacramento Bee
California Gov. Gavin Newsom appointed a long-time fixture of Capitol politics to the Fair Political Practices Commission. E. Dotson Wilson will take up a position as commissioner with the FPPC regulating political campaigns, Newsom announced Friday.
Commentary: California is a special place. But for many people, it's time to leave.
CalMatters
It’s all here. Unfortunately, so are more people than reside in any other state. Which you’d think would be fine since California is three times larger than Iowa and 18 times larger than New Hampshire, the two states that we waste so much time talking about every four years.
See also:
Louisiana gator farmers get ornery as California’s ban finally goes into effect
Los Angeles Times
A California law that will make alligator-skin boots and purses taboo has Louisiana farmers ornery. The Bayou State accused California in a lawsuit of trying to “destroy” the lucrative market for American alligator with its ban on the sale of the animals’ skins.
As California Gov. Newsom fights Trump, is he doing enough for state?
Visalia Times Delta
Some critics contend the governor's first year in office has been diluted by this feud, resulting in a lack of progress on huge issues — a mushrooming homeless population, astronomical housing prices, a dangerous electrical grid — that have led pundits to write eulogies for the age-old California dream.
See also:
‘We expect people to demand more’ Stockton Record
Walters: California’s half-a-loaf syndrome CalMatters
Federal:
For 3rd time in US history, full House to vote on impeachment of a president
Visalia Times Delta
For the third time U.S. history, the House of Representatives will vote on the impeachment of a president after the House Judiciary Committee approved two articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump on Friday.
See also:
Washington bracing for impeachment as battle lines harden Stockton Record
Comey admits being ‘overconfident’ in approving Trump probe Bakersfield Californian
House Judiciary Committee Approves 2 Articles Of Impeachment Against Trump Capital Public Radio
Senate impeachment trial is expected. How it will work is very uncertain Los Angeles Times
Republican legislators know Trump clearly did wrong. Why stand by him during impeachment? Sacramento Bee
EDITORIAL: Trump’s long, losing battle with federal law enforcement San Francisco Chronicle
Trump tightens grips on judges as McConnell wins 50th Circuit pick
Politico
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and President Donald Trump clinched their 50th circuit court judge in just three years on Wednesday, only five short of President Barack Obama’s record over an eight-year period. And McConnell isn’t done yet.
For the third time this year, GOP rejects election-security bill
MSNBC
The idea behind Sens. Chris Van Hollen’s (D-Md.) and Marco Rubio’s (R-Fla.) bill was pretty straightforward: if U.S. intelligence agencies were to determine that Russia interfered in another federal election, new sanctions would kick in targeting Russia’s finance, defense and energy sectors.
Elections 2020:
Most Californians want someone who can beat Trump. Is Joe Biden the most likely to do it?
Sacramento Bee
A recent survey of likely primary voters found 55 percent of California Democrats care more about finding a candidate who can beat President Donald Trump, while 38 percent prefer someone whose policy views come closest to theirs.
See also:
All 7 presidential contenders might skip this month's debate
abc30
Presidential contenders former Vice President Joe Biden, Sen. Elizabeth Warren and others might skip December debate over labor dispute, throwing match-up into turmoil.
See also:
All the 2020 Democrats are threatening to skip the next debate in LA. Here’s why Sacramento Bee
Presidential candidates rarely discuss California’s issues. They should try at the next debate Los Angeles Times
2020 Democrats Threaten to Boycott Debate Over Labor Dispute New York Times
Mike Bloomberg, Tom Steyer try to convince California they’re not just rich
San Francisco Chronicle
The billionaire Democratic presidential candidates want voters to focus on their ideas and not their bank accounts during campaign swings through.
See also:
Bloomberg unveils plan to combat climate change, cut emissions by 50 percent in 10 years The Hill
Willie Brown: Mike Bloomberg doesn’t care who beats Trump. But he thinks he’s the one San Francisco Chronicle
Michael Bloomberg brings California a housing plan Business Times
‘Mayors for Mike’: How Bloomberg’s Money Built a 2020 Political Network New York Times
Newsweek
The South Bend mayor's plan includes a number of initiatives spanning across 10 different issues, including economic empowerment, environmental justice, voting and democracy, immigration, family, education, health care, criminal justice, housing and history and culture.
See also:
Inside Pete Buttigieg’s years-long, and often clumsy, quest to understand the black experience Washington Post
Bernie Sanders Retracts Endorsement of Cenk Uygur after Criticism
New York Times
Mr. Sanders had said Mr. Uygur was “a voice we desperately need in Congress.” But many Democrats condemned the endorsement, citing Mr. Uygur’s history of offensive comments.
See also:
Opinion: Warren Would Destroy Private Equity—at Everyone’s Expense
Wall Street Journal
In her continuing effort to punish success, Sen. Elizabeth Warren is going after an important piece of America’s thriving economy: the private-equity industry.
How Pew Research Center is approaching the 2020 election
Pew Research
The good news is that polling in the United States is not “broken,” as my colleagues recently explained in a field guide to the current state of the industry. While some individual state polls did fall short in 2016, it was not an industry-wide failure, and rigorous national-level surveys turned out to be quite accurate by historical standards.
See also:
19 striking findings from 2019 Pew Research
Other:
Growing local news deserts endanger democracy, study finds
PBS NewsHour
Over the last 15 years, local newspapers across the U.S. have lost more than $35 billion in advertising revenue and half of their staffs, while at least 2,000 news outlets have shuttered during that time, according to a new study by the non-profit PEN America.
Trusting the News Media in the Trump Era
Pew Research
It is no secret that, in an information environment characterized by deep tensions between President Donald Trump and national news organizations, Americans are divided in their trust of the news media.
See also:
Attitudes Towards News Media Track Along Party Lines and Support for President Donald Trump Newsweek
Net neutrality supporters ask court to reconsider ruling that upheld FCC repeal
Washington Post
The maker of the Firefox Web browser joined other tech firms and public-interest advocates to fire their latest salvo Friday: They asked a panel of judges to rehear a case that upheld a Federal Communications Commission decision to repeal the government’s open-Internet rules.
Shapiro: The Problem With 'Common Good' Conservatism
The Daily Wire
it’s hard to imagine why any conservative, even a conservative with libertarian leanings, would oppose banning the dissemination of pornography to minors, or the ability of local communities to bar the posting of pornographic images in public spaces, or a legal crackdown on sex trafficking.
Religion and Living Arrangements Around the World
Pew Research
Muslims and Hindus have larger households than Christians and religious ‘nones,’ in patterns influenced by regional norms.
The Best Political Books of 2019
Wall Street Journal
I read Jeff Kosseff’s “Twenty-Six Words That Created the Internet” with the expectation that it would be important but not absorbing. I was wrong—it’s riveting.
MADDY INSTITUTE PUBLIC POLICY PROGRAMMING
Sunday, December 22, at 10 a.m. on ABC30 – Maddy Report: PPIC: Reducing Recidivism Among Felons - Guest: Justin Gross, Public Policy Institute of California. Host: Maddy Institute Executive Director, Mark Keppler.
Sunday, December 22, 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 Professor Emma Hughes, Project Rebound Director Jennifer Leahy, and Project Rebound Rebound Arnold Trevino. Host: Maddy Institute Executive Director, Mark Keppler.
Sunday, December 22, at 7:30 a.m. on UniMas 61 (KTTF) – El Informe Maddy: Indices de Reincidencia y Programas de Apoyo - Guest: Joe Hayes, Investigator del Instituto de Politicas Publicas de California, Esther Olmos y Anita Flores con Project Rebound de Fresno State. Host: Maddy Institute Program Coordinator, Maria Jeans.
AGRICULTURE/FOOD
Farmworker residency bill with path to legal status passes House, moves to Senate
The Californian
The House passed the Farm Workforce Modernization Act Wednesday, voting for a measure that would give undocumented farmworkers a pathway to permanent residence.
Ruiz burritos may have eggs, sausage and plastic
Visalia Times Delta
Ruiz Food Products is recalling roughly 55,013 pounds of frozen, "not ready-to-eat" breakfast burritos, according to a recent U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) report.
Here’s what’s new in the world of citrus…
Visalia Times Delta
Oblong, multi-colored citrus awaited eager farmers Friday morning. Australian finger limes were just one of many new citrus varieties on display during the Citrus Fruit Display hosted by Lindcove Research and Extension Center in Exeter.
In A Valley Bursting With Produce, Fruit & Veggie Subscription Boxes Struggle To Survive
VPR
Here in one of world’s most productive agricultural belts, we have lots of potential for community-supported agriculture—or CSAs—in which consumers connect directly with local farmers by subscribing to weekly boxes of fresh farm goods.
Fresno County farming company sues Sun-Maid Growers for not buying its golden raisins
Fresno County farming company sues Sun-Maid Growers for not buying its golden raisins
Fresno Bee
A longtime Sun-Maid grower has filed a lawsuit against the raisin giant, alleging it broke its promise to buy the farmers’ popular golden raisins.
Modesto’s Gallo Winery won’t buy quite so many brands from fellow industry giant
Modesto Bee
Federal antitrust concerns have prompted E.&J. Gallo Winery of Modesto to downsize its pending purchase from Constellation Brands. The deal went from $1.7 billion to $1.1 billion with Thursday’s announcement that it would not include a few brands of sparkling wine, dessert wine and brandy.
California requires ‘humane’ space for farm animals. Now, pork industry is suing
Sacramento Bee
Midwest farmers like Randy Spronk, who’s been raising pigs in southwest Minnesota since the 1980s, say they know how to care for their animals, thank you. They argue that California’s minimum-space requirements are unfair and could actually harm the pigs.
abc30
The Fresno City Council voted to move forward with an ordinance that would regulate marijuana, and allow the recreational sales of it in city limits. However, some council members who voted against it say the ordinance could do more harm than good.
CRIMINAL JUSTICE / FIRE / PUBLIC SAFETY
Crime:
abc
School shootings are a nightmare scenario for parents, students and teachers alike -- and a national scourge that seems to have no end.
Report: Homicides, accidents were leading causes of avoidable child deaths in Kern last year
Bakersfield Californian
Accidents and homicide accounted for more than half of the 46 avoidable child deaths in Kern County in 2018, according to a report released this week.
Turlock Police Department plans DUI crackdown over holiday season
Turlock Journal
The Turlock Police Department encourages everyone attending holiday parties and gatherings where alcohol may be involved to use a designated sober driver.
Walters: A blast from the past
CalMatters
A brief procedure in a San Francisco courtroom this month was a blast from California’s political past. Terry Goggin, a former Democratic state assemblyman, pleaded guilty to federal charges that he had misused money that investors gave him to expand Goggin’s coffee shop chain.
Public Safety:
You could lose everything tomorrow in a fire, flood or earthquake. Resilience is key to surviving
Sacramento Bee
We needn’t imagine what it must be like for those fleeing wildfires; we see videos, hear panic, feel fear. In our culture, we believe there are four elements: fire, earth, water, wind. In November 2018, all four elements descended upon Paradise, California, with a destruction so profound that the area may never recover.
1.15 Million Americans Have Been Killed by Guns Since John Lennon’s Death
Roling Stone
Since 1968 — the year the Beatles released the White Album — more Americans have been killed by gun violence than in all U.S. wars throughout history, combined.
Fire:
Deputy Chief Richard Edwards named Stockton fire chief
Stockton Record
The Stockton Fire Department is looking to one of its own to fill the position of fire chief after the city conducted a nationwide search. Interim Stockton City Manager Laurie Montes said she was “extremely pleased” to announce the appointment of Deputy Chief Richard Edwards to the department’s top post.
California utility scrambles to renegotiate wildfire deal
Bakersfield Californian
California Gov. Gavin Newsom's opposition to Pacific Gas & Electric's restructuring plan just a week after it struck a $13.5 billion settlement with fire victims is forcing the nation's largest utility to go back to the negotiating table and come up with a solution fairly quickly.
See also:
Gavin Newsom rejects PG&E bankruptcy plan, demands ‘radically restructured’ California utility Sacramento Bee
California Rejects State's Largest Utility's Bankruptcy Plan Capital Public Radio
PG&E’s future is in doubt after Newsom rejects bankruptcy plan Los Angeles Times
Gov. Newsom rejects PG&E’s reorganization plan San Francisco Chronicle
California cannot fix PG&E by retreating on renewable energy goals CalMatters
California utility scrambles to renegotiate wildfire deal PBS Newshour
California Governor Rejects PG&E’s Restructuring Plan New York Times
What happens if PG&E goes bankrupt? CalMatters
The big problem this bankruptcy won’t solve for PG&E CalMatters
EDITORIAL: Newsom’s choice on PG&E victim settlement won’t be his last obstacle with the troubled utility San Francisco Chronicle
California ‘insurer of last resort’ sues the state as crisis deepens in wildfire zones
Sacramento Bee
With thousands of rural Californians losing their homeowners’ insurance because of wildfire risks, the state’s “insurer of last resort” sued its regulator Friday, seeking to block his order requiring the insurer to broaden its coverage.
See also:
Do you know your home’s wildfire risk score? Your insurance company does San Francisco Chronicle
As California thins forests to limit fire risk, some resist
AP News
Buzzing chainsaws are interrupted by the frequent crash of breaking branches as crews fell towering trees and clear tangled brush in the densely forested Santa Cruz Mountains south of San Francisco.
ECONOMY / JOBS
Economy:
Investment group chooses its first local startups
Bakersfield Californian
Two hundred eleven startup businesses made investment pitches. Only 18 were invited to make formal presentations. Of those, just six made the final cut, receiving a combined total of $385,000. You might say Kern County's first angel-investor group has been selective in its first year of operation.
See also:
New CEO finds inspiration in Poverello founder
Business Journal
It’s been two years since Michael “Papa Mike” McGarvin passed away, but his shadow hangs heavy on the biggest part of his legacy — the Poverello House. In the last year alone, “the Pov” has served 490,247 meals to the homeless in the Fresno area, along with 37,089 nights of shelter and 21,512 showers.
Frum: Trump’s Trade War Was Futile
The Atlantic
The president’s clash with Beijing accomplished little—and bodes ill for the growing conservative movement to confront the world’s second superpower.
See also:
Winners and losers in Trump’s ‘phase one’ China trade deal Washington Post
Farmers are skeptical of phase-one trade deal between US and China Business Insider
Comparing two U.S. economic recessions, recoveries
Pew Research
The Great Recession of 2007-2009 was one of the deepest downturns of the U.S. economy since World War II. Triggered by crises in the housing and financial markets, the recession evokes memories of homes in foreclosure, the collapse of Lehman Brothers, and bailouts for businesses in the auto, banking and financial sectors.
See also:
Most Americans Say the Current Economy Is Helping the Rich, Hurting the Poor and Middle Class Pew Research
Veteran households in U.S. are economically better off than those of non-veterans
Pew Research
Households headed by veterans have higher incomes and are less likely to be in poverty, on average, and this is especially the case for veterans in racial or ethnic minority groups and those with less education.
EDITORIAL: Best way to help Fresno County’s poor land a job? Restore food aid cut by Trump
Fresno Bee
Many Fresno County residents are the working poor — people with low-wage jobs who struggle to make ends meet. So when President Trump decided a few weeks ago to cut off supplemental food aid to nearly 700,000 Americans, that translated to 18,000 in Fresno County.
See also:
Total Trump food-stamp cuts could hit up to 5.3 million households CBS
Oh SNAP, USDA Finally Reforms Bloated Food Stamp Program Townhall
Jobs:
Mexico Objects to Call for Placement of U.S. Monitors in Trade Bill
Wall Street Journal
Mexico is protesting the call for U.S. labor monitors to be based in Mexico to track the enforcement of its labor laws and ensure compliance with the recently signed trade pact between the U.S., Mexico and Canada, the country’s chief trade negotiator said Saturday.
See also:
From Farms to Silicon Valley, U.S. Businesses Stand to Gain From USMCA Wall Street Journal
Assessing employer intent when AI hiring tools are biased
Brookings
When it comes to gender stereotypes in occupational roles, artificial intelligence (AI) has the potential to either mitigate historical bias or heighten it. In the case of the Word2vec model, AI appears to do both.
The case for growth centers: How to spread tech innovation across America
Brookings
The future of America’s economy lies in its high-tech innovation sector, but it is now clear that same sector is widening the nation’s regional divides—a fact that became starkly apparent with the 2016 presidential election.
AEI
Getting America back to work is surely an important step on the road to prosperity for all. But that is only the beginning of the journey.
EDUCATION
K-12:
We asked California’s top minds in education for their 2020 priorities. Here are their answers
Modesto Bee
California Influencers this week answered the following question: What should the most important priority in the area of education policy be for Governor Newsom and the State Legislature in 2020? Below are the Influencers’ answers in their entirety.
Sacramento Bee
In a state ravaged by wildfires, frustrated by the worsening homelessness emergency, and consumed by highly-charged debates over criminal justice, income inequality and health care, the slower-moving crisis of California’s struggling public schools is often marginalized in the state Capitol.
Yosemite Unified School District Becomes District of Choice
Sierra News
The Yosemite Unified School District has changed its inter-district transfer process. Starting now, parents can request admission to Yosemite Unified schools for their students without first having to get approval from their home district.
LearningQuest literacy center programs draw kids into helping parents’ ESL progress
Modesto Bee
The classes work with parents on English skills and also are structured to provide the children with additional support in English reading and writing skills. Parents receive books throughout the year to form a home library, attend library events and are issued a library card to encourage attendance at story times and checking out books for the family.
New VUSD leadership looks to hold on to last year’s successes
Visalia Times Delta
New data from the California Department of Education shows that Visalia Unified School District has seen growth across the board, though some student groups continue to struggle disproportionately.
McFarland Unified earns 2019 Golden Bell Award
Bakersfield Californian
McFarland Unified School District has been awarded the 2019 Golden Bell Award in the Career Technical Education category for its McFarland High School Early College program.
Blanca Cavazos plows through obstacles for school kids like her
Bakersfield Californian
Blanca Cavazos had big goals for Arvin High when she became principal in 1997: Change the perception of the school by winning an academic competition and excelling at tennis.
Finals week gives high schoolers a whole new meaning to 'holiday stress'
Bakersfield Californian
Finals fall the week before Christmas this year for most high schoolers. Not only do they have to worry about making sure they dedicate enough time to studying and schoolwork, students are trying to squeeze in holiday shopping, other family obligations, extracurricular competitions and tournaments and sports practices into already crunched schedules.
Inspire charter school says it sometimes struggles to monitor student work
San Diego Union-Tribune
School leaders within Inspire — a homeschool charter network targeted for a state audit into alleged fiscal malfeasance — recently described how it’s difficult to ensure students meet statewide learning standards because parents choose which curricula and resources to use.
The Importance of Providing Native American Education for All Students
EdNote
One of the key takeaways from “Becoming Visible” — a recent report that analyzes state efforts to bring high-quality Native American educational content into all K–12 classrooms across the U.S. — is that transformational efforts are necessary to correct false narratives about Native Americans.
Higher Ed:
Fresno State's top 19 stories of 2019
Fresno State News
Sharing Fresno State’s stories is a way to connect with alumni, friends, students and prospective students and other community members.
Bakersfield Californian
The Kern Community College District is in the early stages of a redistricting process that could potentially affect all trustee representation areas, according to district Chancellor Thomas Burke.
Making College Work After Foster Care
VPR
Many students struggle to transition from high school to college, but that challenge is intensified for students coming out of the foster care system. At UC Merced, the Guardian Scholars program provides resources for these students that allow them to reach graduation at rates approaching the general student body.
Career Training:
Governors Leading the Way to Career Readiness
EdNote
Recognizing that the key to financial success increasingly can be found in higher levels of education, America’s governors are taking steps to build stronger connections between the education their residents receive and the jobs they perform.
ENVIRONMENT/ ENERGY
Environment:
Group seeks ban on ‘super-toxic’ rat poisons; Bakersfield kit fox deaths linked to chemicals
Reuters
An environmental group launched legal action on Thursday seeking to ban commercial use of "super-toxic" rat poisons in California, citing data showing the products pose a grave threat to a dozen endangered species and other wildlife.
Turlock Journal
Did you know businesses generate nearly 70% of the solid waste in California? The state has passed two laws that make it mandatory for businesses to recycle. If you are a business owner, are you in compliance?
After marathon U.N. climate talks, disappointment and no deal on carbon markets
Los Angeles Times
Marathon United Nations climate talks ended Sunday with a slim compromise that sparked widespread disappointment, after major polluters resisted calls for ramping up efforts to keep global warming at bay and negotiators postponed debate about rules for international carbon markets for another year.
6 Extremely Depressing Climate Records We Broke This Decade
BuzzFeed News
The hopes, dreams, and delusions that climate change is a future problem — possibly a preventable one — eroded this decade, replaced by the sobering reality that the crisis is already here and only getting worse.
America After Climate Change, Mapped
CityLab
Temperatures will continue to climb; sea levels will continue to rise. And, by the 2060s, the U.S. Census Bureau estimates that global migration patterns will bring 100 million new people into the country, who will settle from coast to coast.
Rethinking the Green New Deal: Using Climate Policy to Address Inequality
National Tax Association
The Green New Deal is best understood as an ambitious mobilization of the economic and environmental resources of the country to achieve the twin targets of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions and a more equal and fair society where workers have access to decent paying jobs with benefits, healthcare, housing, and economic security.
Opinion: We Have Climate Leaders. Now We Need Followers.
New York Times
To win over more nations, we need fixes with tangible benefits, like reducing local air pollution and cutting energy costs.
Energy:
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 — and three other coastal gas plants also slated for closure or rebuilding — should be allowed to keep operating through 2022.
See also:
These Cities Want to Ban Natural Gas. But Would It Be Legal? Inside Climate News
California regulators clear way for natural gas bans to take effect San Francisco Chronicle
Solar power required for all new California homes starting Jan. 1 Mercury News
California’s high-voltage battle between utilities and rooftop solar could impact electric bills San Diego Union-Tribune
Former Gov. Schwarzenegger met his goal of 1 million solar roofs. He celebrated in Clovis
Sacramento 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. “Doable goals don’t make history.”
See also:
HEALTH/HUMAN SERVICES
Health:
Frequent moves don’t just harm foster kids’ emotions — they hurt their brains
Sacramento Bee
Katarina Sayally is one of 36 California foster children who appear on a video for California Youth Connection as part of a campaign to pass a bill, signed into law last year, to assure greater stability for foster children.
700 new moms die each year in the U.S. Could Medicaid help?
PBS NewsHour
The United States ranks as one of the most dangerous developed nations to become pregnant and give birth, especially for women of color — and data shows the life-threatening risk doesn’t end once mom and baby have left the hospital.
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.
Health taxes repealed, tobacco age raised in spending deal
The Hill
Three health care-related taxes imposed nearly a decade ago would be eliminated and the minimum age to purchase tobacco products would be raised to 21 under the spending agreement set to be unveiled Monday, according to a senior House Democratic aide familiar with the talks.
Research Fuels Debate Over E-Cigarettes as Smoking-Cessation Device
Wall Street Journal
Researchers and public-health experts are locked in a debate about whether e-cigarettes should serve as a harm-reduction tool for smokers, as a new generation of young people becomes addicted to nicotine and roughly half a million people in the U.S. die each year of smoking-related causes.
Human Services:
What to expect as Kaiser’s 4,000 behavioral health workers launch 5-day strike statewide
Fresno Bee
Kaiser Permanente’s behavioral health clinicians will be picketing Monday outside the health care giant’s Sacramento Medical Center on Morse Avenue, joining in a weeklong labor strike that will affect services at more than 100 facilities around California.
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Kaiser mental health workers to begin five-day strike Monday San Francisco Chronicle
Here’s who could save money on prescription drugs under Democrats’ bill
Fresno Bee
California Democrats are touting the thousands of dollars that people with diabetes, HIV, arthritis asthma and cancer could save if a bill to lower drug costs that passed the House of Representatives Thursday becomes law.
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Bakersfield Californian
The Trump administration is proposing changes to Social Security that could terminate disability payments to hundreds of thousands of Americans, particularly older people and children.
Walters: In California, medical care means big money — and big politics
CalMatters
Spending on health care in the state now exceeds $400 billion a year — more than $10,000 per person. That has led to an explosion of political attention, just as agriculture and industrial activity dominated California's political landscape in their heydays.
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IMMIGRATION
Rally planned for Fresno father arrested by ICE on way to drop off kids at school
Fresno Bee
The Fresno father of four had been at the Mesa Verde Detention Center in California for the past month after he was arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in November while on his way to drop off his children at school.
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Farmworker residency bill with path to legal status passes House, moves to Senate
The Californian
The House passed the Farm Workforce Modernization Act Wednesday, voting for a measure that would give undocumented farmworkers a pathway to permanent residence.
LAND USE/HOUSING
Land Use:
Tulare County may lease former Visalia Kmart, convert to offices
Business Journal
The Tulare County Board of Supervisors will consider Tuesday whether to lease the former Visalia BIG Kmart and convert it into offices for the county’s Probation and Mental Health Services departments.
‘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.
Housing:
A record-setting year for construction in Merced
abc30
A record-setting year for construction in Merced! The city has now received more building permit applications than ever before. Officials in Merced say more than 47-hundred building permits have been pulled so far this year.
Bakersfield Californian
Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) this week sent a letter to Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson urging him to grant California Governor Gavin Dianne FeinsteinNewsom’s request for 50,000 additional housing vouchers to help address the state’s homelessness crisis.
Additional $400,000 In Funding Will Help Stockton Shelter Add Beds This Winter
Capital Public Radio
The Stockton Shelter for the Homeless and the Gospel Rescue Mission will be able to add 50 beds apiece with the funding from the city of Stockton and San Joaquin County.
How Boise's Fight Over Homelessness Is Rippling Across The West Coast
Capital Public Radio
It's billed as one of the most livable places in the country with its good schools, leafy streets and safe neighborhoods. That's what makes Boise, Idaho, an odd backdrop for a heated legal fight around homelessness that is reverberating across the western United States and may soon be taken up by the Supreme Court.
Fresno tops the nation in unsheltered people
Fresno Bee
The Fresno area had a higher percentage last year of homeless people regarded as “unsheltered” — or living in what the government calls places “not suitable for human habitation” — than any major city in the United States.
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City approves projects at homeless shelters, new storage facility
Turlock Journal
The Turlock City Council voted Tuesday to accept Homeless Emergency Aid Program grant funds for the use in three projects, including one to store homeless individuals’ property in downtown Turlock, which drew the ire of some community members.
I Am One of the 12,000 Youth Who Is Homeless in California. One Day, I’m Going to Have My Own House.
Law at the Margins
The reality is that many young people are fighting the conditions of homelessness when we’re still works in progress. But we are more than statistics.
PUBLIC FINANCES
Finances improving, but not ideal: Lindsay’s deficit falls from $11.3 million to $10.7 million
Porterville Recorder
Lindsay’s City Council received a draft of the city’s Basic Financial Statements in preparation for its Audit report and things are looking better than last year, but are still not ideal. The overall deficit in the city’s budget is roughly $10.7 million compared to last year’s deficit of $11.3 million.
Valley legislators hit with thousands of petitions to save Calif.’s Prop. 13
The Sun
The Fight for Prop. 13, a campaign being waged by the California Business Roundtable and backed by a wide swath of local elected officials and organizations, hand-delivered thousands of petitions to southern San Joaquin Valley legislators.
Corporations paid 11.3% tax rate last year, in steep drop under Pres. Trump’s law
Washington Post
About 400 of America’s largest corporations paid an average federal tax rate of about 11 percent on their profits last year, roughly half the official rate established under President Trump’s 2017 tax law, according to a report released Monday.
TRANSPORTATION
Feds forbid bullet train bids for track, systems. State moves ahead anyway. Now what?
Fresno Bee
Over the objections of federal regulators, the agency tasked with building California’s ambitious bullet-train project is moving forward to seek bids from companies to lay steel tracks and install required operating systems for a 119-mile stretch of the line through the central San Joaquin Valley.
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Construction on $4.8 Billion High-Speed Train Between SoCal, Las Vegas Could Begin Next Year KTLA
Troubled California bullet train pushes biggest contract ever, facing war with Trump Los Angeles Times
Gas prices keep falling in Fresno and Valley. Here are the cheapest places to fill up
Fresno Bee
California has the second highest gasoline prices in the country behind only Hawaii. But the average price of a gallon of unleaded gas in the Golden State is falling about six times faster than the national average.
Electric vehicle fees won’t fix the transportation funding gap
CalMatters
Why are we allowing our roads, bridges, and other transportation assets to crumble? One out of every five miles of highway pavement is in poor condition, and 188 million cars travel across a structurally deficient bridge each day.
California weighs controversial rule to tackle truck tailpipe pollution
CalMatters
California's clean air enforcers want major truck manufacturers to sell zero-emission vehicles in the state — but the agency's proposal faces criticism from environmentalists and truck makers alike.
Lyft Starts California Car-Rental Service in Blow to Hertz, Avis
Bloomberg
Lyft Inc., whose ride-hailing service has been a frenemy of car-rental companies, just got a little less friendly with the likes of Hertz Global Holdings Inc. and Avis Budget Group Inc. Lyft said Thursday it’s testing out a car-rental service in Los Angeles and San Francisco and offering unlimited miles as an inducement.
Self-Driving Cars Roll Up Slowly
Wall Street Journal
It’s not a game for the thin of wallet. Uber lost $125 million in their self-driving effort—last quarter alone. Even Apple autonomous cars have been spotted in Silicon Valley with expensive-looking sensors.
WATER
How rain puddles don’t taste like chocolate milk, and other key weather facts
Fresno Bee
For amateur meteorologists, like myself, severe winter storms are like dysentery: I am intimately familiar with the symptoms, but helpless to make them stop. For everyone else, here are some rules for dealing with rain in the Central Valley during this holiday season.
Opinion: ho pays for the Friant-Kern repairs? It should be farmers, but most likely, taxpayers
Fresno Bee
A recent Fresno Bee headline read, “Friant-Kern Canal: Trump moves ahead on repairs, but who pays.” If area legislators and ag interests have their way, you can bet the farm that taxpayers will pay a significant portion of the $40 million estimated costs.
‘The water wars have begun.’ Some wonder how water plan will impact Merced County farms
Merced Sun-Star
Agricultural and urban groundwater users in Merced County may soon have to sacrifice for the future, if a new state-mandated sustainability plan that limits consumption moves forward.
Storms nudge most of California out of dry category
Sacramento Bee
Recent heavy storms in California have wiped out much of the state's abnormally dry conditions. Heavy rains throughout the state have shrunk the percentage to a sliver along the Oregon-California border.
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Will California have a white Christmas? Or a wet one? Los Angeles Times
California water politics complicate House panel’s oversight
Roll Call
House Natural Resources Chairman Raúl M. Grijalva of Arizona wants his committee to give him subpoena authority for multiple possible investigations, but California Democrat Jim Costa may vote against that as the panel considers whether Interior Secretary David Bernhardt improperly influenced a decision to send more water to his district.
“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.
Wreaths Across America draws hundreds of families to Bakersfield National Cemetery
Bakersfield Californian
Hundreds of families — so many that overflow parking created a long line of cars along East Bear Mountain Boulevard — came out to remember, and celebrate the lives of fallen veterans.
Marching bands, costumes light up the holidays at the 47th annual NOR Christmas Parade
Bakersfield Californian
The 47th annual event took place Saturday in front of people lined the parade three people deep in parts.
Downtown bar seeking mural submissions
Business Journal
The Grand Cru is hoping to make downtown Turlock more vibrant, calling on artists far and wide to bring forward their best ideas for a mural on the bar’s blank back wall.
Go even more green by recycling your holiday evergreen
Bakersfield Californian
Local officials are urging you to do the right thing: recycle it. Kern County and the city of Bakersfield offer plenty of free, drop-off locations where trees will be collected and then made into compost at the city's greenwaste facility.
You could be sitting on a fortune if you have some old VHS tapes. Here’s how to cash in
Modesto Bee
But are you one of the few who held on to these old tapes? If so, you could be sitting on a small fortune that would make the star of Disney’s “$1,000,000 Dollar Duck” worth his feathers in gold bars.
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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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