Maddy Institute – December 9, 2020

09Dec

POLICY & POLITICS

North SJ Valley:

‘We’re all part of the same team.’ New Merced mayor, three City Council members sworn in

Merced Sun-Star

The torch of leadership was officially passed to a new Merced mayor and three City Council members Monday night, having been chosen by city voters in the Nov. 3 election. Jesse Ornelas, Bertha Perez and Sarah Boyle each took oaths of office for council districts 1, 3 and 5, respectively at Monday’s City Council meeting.

Community rallies for Indian farmers

Turlock Journal

Close to 200 community members gathered on the corner of Monte Vista Avenue and Countryside Drive in Turlock on Sunday in protest of laws passed in India which they say will subject farmers there to corporate exploitation.

What can and can’t you do in Stanislaus County under new COVID stay-at-home order?

Modesto Bee

As of Sunday night, all of Stanislaus County and the surrounding San Joaquin Valley region has been under a new stay-at-home order. Much like the first stay-at-home order issued by California Gov. Gavin Newsom in March, this order is meant to slow the spread of COVID-19, which has been raging through the region and late last week caused hospital ICUs to fall below 15% capacity in the 12-county central region.

● Editorial: The lockdown drill is familiar, but Stanislaus must maintain fight against COVID Modesto Bee

Central SJ Valley:

Fresno taps Oklahoma City law enforcement veteran to be city’s first Hispanic police chief

Fresno Bee

Mayor Lee Brand on Tuesday introduced Paco Balderrama as Fresno’s next chief of police, the city’s 22nd. Brand, Mayor-elect Jerry Dyer and City Manager Wilma Quan held a virtual news conference to introduce the new hire, who comes to Fresno from Oklahoma City. He’s been in that department for 22 years and served most recently as a deputy chief.

California’s intensive care nightmare: Which hospitals are full?

CalMatters

In the worst-hit counties, some hospitals are sending critically ill patients to other counties. Others are keeping ICU patients in crowded emergency rooms. Imperial, Kings, San Benito, Madera and Fresno are among those in the worst shape.

Would city gathering ordinance be constitutional? Fresno County DA gives her opinion

Fresno Bee

Fresno County District Attorney Lisa Smittcamp weighed into the debate over a proposed Fresno City Council ordinance, calling it unconstitutional and setting off a war of words with one council member.

The idea that Fresno residents could be fined $1,000 simply for having a large group of friends or family over seems, at first glance, to be preposterous. Yet in the surging COVID-19 pandemic, such gatherings are the very fuel keeping the coronavirus spreading from person to person.

● EDITORIAL: $1,000 fine in Fresno if caught in large social gatherings? Just stop holding themFresno Bee

Public Safety Report: Increase of Calls, Crimes Being Committed in Clovis

Clovis RoundUp

Clovis Fire Chief John Binaski along with Clovis Chief of Police Curt Fleming gave a safety update at the December 7 city council meeting.

City Confirms New Planning Director

Clovis RoundUp

After a short two week break the Clovis City Council held their first meeting of the month and the second to last meeting of the year. The council presented a virtual tree lighting ceremony, voted on several items including a new city flag and confirmed a new planning and development service director.

Clovis Community Foundation Donates Over $50K to Struggling Nonprofits

Clovis RoundUp

The Clovis Community Foundation utilized their Emergency Sustainability Grant to donate $50,000 to seven local non-profits that are facing hardship due to COVID-19.

South SJ Valley:

COVID-19 Update

● Sheriff Youngblood: 'I trust that you will do the right thing' to stop COVID spread Bakersfield Californian

Kern County lawmakers introduce legislation aimed at high speed rail, EDD fraud

Bakersfield Californian

The news release called the delayed High Speed Rail project mismanaged. Fong, R-Bakersfield, added that while the pandemic has jeopardized small businesses, Sacramento elected to defer billions of dollars for education "while continuing to spend billions on a boondoggle train project."

Governor appoints 3 judges to Kern County Superior Court

Bakersfield Californian

Gov. Gavin Newsom announced the appointment of three new judges to the Kern County Superior Court on Tuesday. They are Wendy L. Avila, 52, of Bakersfield; Bernard C. Barmann Jr., 54, of Bakersfield; and Jason W. Webster, 47, of Tehachapi.

State:

California’s next attorney general? Gavin Newsom could face another tough choice

Fresno Bee

President-elect Joe Biden’s nomination of California Attorney General Xavier Becerra as the next U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services could give Gov. Gavin Newsom the chance to fill not just one but two powerful political offices in the coming weeks.

● Walters: California politicians play musical offices CalMatters

First Asian American justice nominated to California’s Fourth District Court of Appeal

Fresno Bee

Gov. Gavin Newsom nominated Judge Truc T. Do on Tuesday as the associate justice for California’s Fourth District Court of Appeal. If confirmed, Do will become the first Asian American to serve on the court, which covers six southern California counties.

The Gavin Newsom recall effort has more time and more political ammunition. Is it enough?

Sacramento Bee

Orrin Heatlie first decided Gov. Gavin Newsom should be recalled during the summer of 2019, when the governor expressed support for immigrants living in the state illegally and told them they didn’t need to open the door for federal immigration agents.

Calls grow for data behind state restrictions

CalMatters

As California races past grim coronavirus milestones — more than 10,000 hospitalizations, more than 20,000 deaths, 100% ICU capacity in some counties— pressure is increasing on the state to provide data justifying its restrictions.

Newsom avoids the elephant in the room

CalMatters

Against a backdrop of escalating crises, Gov. Gavin Newsom gave a 90-minute press conference Monday in which he unveiled a coronavirus exposure app and public education campaign but failed to address some of the state’s biggest challenges.

Newsom chief of staff to leave California governor's office

Politico

California Gov. Gavin Newsom's chief of staff, Ann O'Leary, is leaving her post and has landed on the short list for jobs in the Biden administration, sources close to the governor told POLITICO.

Federal:

Is Xavier Becerra ‘radical’? Republicans criticize Biden nominee’s record

Fresno Bee

Xavier Becerra’s limited experience as a manager or a health care expert — as well as his views on abortion — are stoking concern among Republican senators whose votes will be crucial to his confirmation as Health and Human Services secretary.

● Gil Duran: Yes, Xavier Becerra sued Trump. But here are some ugly truths about his record as AG Sacramento Bee

● Editorial: Xavier Becerra is more than just Biden’s Obamacare fix-it guy Los Angeles Times

Relief for Vietnam vets included in final defense bill

Turlock Journal

Vietnam veterans suffering from bladder cancer, Parkinsonism or hypothyroidism as a result of their service may soon be entitled to benefits after a measure authored by Rep. Josh Harder was included in the final defense bill passed by the House on Tuesday.

● House Approves Final Passage of Annual Defense-Policy Bill, 335-78 Wall Street Journal

● Trump’s Defense-Bill Veto Threat, Explained Wall Street Journal

White House offers $916B coronavirus relief plan with GOP backing

Roll Call

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin floated a new $916 billion coronavirus relief offer late Tuesday that would scale back proposed unemployment benefits to offer a second round of tax rebate checks.

● White House Makes Offer to Democrats of $916 Billion Covid-19 Relief Bill Wall Street Journal

● Why the $908 Billion Coronavirus Stimulus Plan Is a Bipartisan Winner National Interest

● Commentary: Both parties should embrace this stimulus bill AEI

Trump boasts of vaccines, but will he try to persuade people to get shots?

Los Angeles Times

Even as President Trump claims credit for the rapid development of vaccines against COVID-19, it remains unclear whether he will take the vaccine and how hard he’ll work to persuade skeptical followers to get immunized, particularly after he leaves office.

· The Meta-Lessons from COVID-19 Rand Corporation

Biden calls for action on COVID-19 pandemic as he introduces health team

Los Angeles Times

President-elect Joe Biden on Tuesday called for urgent action on the coronavirus pandemic as he introduced a health care team that will be tested at every turn while striving to restore a sense of normalcy to the daily lives of Americans.

‘Safe harbor’ law set to lock in Biden’s win today

Los Angeles Times

Happy Safe Harbor Day, America. Other than Wisconsin, every state appears to have met a deadline in federal law that essentially means Congress has to accept the electoral votes that will be cast next week and sent to the Capitol for counting Jan. 6.

Supreme Court says no to first and probably last high court appeal of 2020 presidential election

Los Angeles Times

President Trump had predicted that the Supreme Court would finally decide who won this year’s presidential election, but if so, he lost again on Tuesday.

● Supreme Court Denies Long-Shot Republican Bid to Block Pennsylvania Election Results for Joe Biden Wall Street Journal

Opinion: Why Do So Many Americans Think the Election Was Stolen?

New York Times

There have been few surprises this past month in how Donald Trump has dealt with the reality of his electoral defeat. Anyone familiar with his career could have predicted that he would claim to have been cheated out of victory.

· Opinion: No, President Trump can’t pardon himself Washington Post

Trump’s Plan to Gut the Civil Service

Lawfare

On Oct. 21, President Trump issued an executive order that, for many federal employees, effectively overturned the civil service system that has existed in the United States since 1883. By creating a new type of federal position, Schedule F, Executive Order 13957 empowers federal agencies to involuntarily move scores of career federal employees into positions for which statutory and constitutional job protections would be eliminated—putting them at risk of being fired at will.

Biden Expected to Nominate Marcia Fudge to Lead HUD, Tom Vilsack to Head Agriculture Again

Wall Street Journal

President-elect Joe Biden is expected to nominate Rep. Marcia Fudge of Ohio to lead the Department of Housing and Urban Development and former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack as Agriculture secretary, according to people familiar with the plans.

Other:

‘Cyberpunk 2077’ feels like the messy and inevitable evolution of open-world design

Washington Post

For decades, people have imagined a role-playing game as ambitious as any, and with the attention to detail found in a Rockstar title. “Cyberpunk 2077” is here to make this dream a virtual reality.

Column: Looking for an issue to unite a divided nation? That would be marijuana

Los Angeles Times

We may be a deeply divided nation, but there’s one thing we agree on across the political gulf: pot. In every state, blue and red, where it was on the November ballot, cannabis reform passed.

Commentary: The tech industry needs regulation for its systemically important companies

Brookings

Well over a year ago, Phil Verveer, a veteran of the Department of Justice and the Federal Communications Commission, casually suggested to me that the notion of a systemically important financial institution found in the 2010 Dodd-Frank reform legislation might be useful in understanding when and how to regulate tech companies.

AGRICULTURE/FOOD

Foster Farms poultry plant in Fresno reopens after weekend shutdown over COVID-19

Fresno Bee

Foster Farms reopened its facility on Cherry Street in Fresno on Monday morning following deep cleaning over the weekend to address a coronavirus outbreak, according to company officials.

A $4.5 billion Trump food program is running out of money early, leaving families hungry and food assistance charities scrambling

Washington Post

Only weeks before the holidays, a $4.5 billion food program that has kept millions of Americans fed through the pandemic is running out of money.

Going it alone in two of America’s agricultural towns

Washington Post

Named essential workers, the country’s small farmers, ranchers and farmworkers are coping with the pandemic without a corporate safety net, persevering through shutdowns, slowdowns and supply-chain meltdowns.

Biden Expected to Nominate Marcia Fudge to Lead HUD, Tom Vilsack to Head Agriculture Again

Wall Street Journal

CRIMINAL JUSTICE/FIRE/PUBLIC SAFETY

Crime:

Fresno taps Oklahoma City law enforcement veteran to be city’s first Hispanic police chief

Fresno Bee

Public Safety Report: Increase of Calls, Crimes Being Committed in Clovis

Clovis RoundUp

Clovis Fire Chief John Binaski along with Clovis Chief of Police Curt Fleming gave a safety update at the December 7 city council meeting.

California jobless fraud likely tops $2 billion, bank says

Bakersfield Californian

Bank of America said Monday it is likely California paid at least $2 billion in fraudulent unemployment benefits, offering a glimpse of the potential size of the problem that has plagued states across the country during the pandemic.

Public Safety:

EDITORIAL: $1,000 fine in Fresno if caught in large social gatherings? Just stop holding them

Fresno Bee

● Sheriff Youngblood: 'I trust that you will do the right thing' to stop COVID spread Bakersfield Californian

Fire:

Power shutoffs hit Southern California as dangerous fire weather returns

Los Angeles Times

Southern California Edison preemptively shut off power to more than 54,000 customers by Monday night as widespread fire weather conditions ramp up across the region.

Can ‘fire hardening’ solve California’s home insurance crisis?

CalMatters

Sue Ladich spent $1,600 clearing brush and trees from around her home in 2014. In 2017, she ponied up $3,500 to clear even more potential wildfire fuel from her property. This year, she spent another $2,200.

ECONOMY/JOBS

Economy:

Editorial: Do Fresno restaurants pose a COVID-19 threat? There’s no good data to back that up

Fresno Bee

As restaurants in Fresno, Clovis and most everywhere else in California have once again shut all but take-out operations because of the surging COVID pandemic, a question arises: How much is the rate of coronavirus transmission in restaurants?

● Report: 10,000 restaurants expected to close in the next 3 weeks because of COVID-19 abc30

● How States Can Help Small Businesses Recover From the Pandemic PEW

Income Inequality and Economic Opportunity in California

Public Policy Institute of California

The shutdown of most in-person economic activity in spring 2020 led to a dramatic spike in unemployment—especially in hard-hit industries like leisure, hospitality, and personal services.

The Economic Toll of COVID-19 on Women

Public Policy Institute of California

Over the past 40 years, labor market gains among women have played a key role in boosting family incomes. But since the onset of the pandemic, women appear to have borne a larger decline in labor market activity—reflecting their higher likelihood of working in the most affected sectors and the extent to which women disproportionately provide care for children and aging family members.

Virginia System Helps Local Governments Prevent Fiscal Emergencies

PEW

In 2017, Virginia’s independent state auditor designated Bristol—a 17,000-person city in the far southwest corner of the state—as “fiscally distressed,” meaning that its ability to provide basic public services was at risk.

Jobs:

New labor laws will affect California businesses big and small

Turlock Journal

A number of new California laws set to hit the books Jan. 1 will impact business owners both large and small, from increased minimum wage to COVID-related requirements.

GAO: Unemployment benefits fell below poverty line in 13 states

The Hill

Thirteen states have allowed unemployment benefits to fall below the poverty level of $245 a week, or $12,760 a year, according to a study released Monday by the Government Accountability Office (GAO).

U.S. Job Openings Slipped in Early December

Wall Street Journal

The number of job openings in the U.S. edged down slightly in the first week of December, a sign of a softening labor market amid an upsurge in coronavirus infections and ebbing fiscal support for households.

EDUCATION

K-12:

These students want Fresno High to change its ‘racist’ mascot. It could happen this week

Fresno Bee

Mia Santana considered leaving Fresno High School because of the backlash and hateful messages she’s received after fighting to remove the school’s “racist” mascot that depicts a Native American caricature.

How many COVID-19 cases have been reported in Fresno County’s largest school districts?

Fresno Bee

Coronavirus cases continue to rise in Fresno County schools as the central San Joaquin Valley settles into a new lockdown imposed by California Gov. Gavin Newsom to help slow the spread of COVID-19.

Rosedale Union suspends in-person learning, citing staffing shortages under COVID-19

Bakersfield Californian

Rosedale Union School District announced its schools would be suspending in-person learning. Superintendent Sue Lemon told parents in a letter that the district had to make the "difficult decision" because of the strain on staffing.

CA public schools could reopen in 4 months if bill passes, but is it safe? Doctors weigh in

abc30

San Francisco Assemblyman Phil Ting proposed legislation on Monday that would require California public schools to reopen "in most cases during the pandemic" when case counts go down. But is it safe?

· California Assembly leaders press for all districts to resume in-school teaching in the spring EdSource

· How safe is it for elementary schools to meet in person? PolitiFact

Higher Ed:

More California community college students are taking transfer-level courses, but critics say colleges must do more

EdSource

Community colleges across California have made significant progress in increasing access to classes that award transferable credits to students, but dozens of colleges are still offering many non-credit remedial courses — irking critics who say those colleges are neglecting their responsibilities under a new law.

More students than ever got F’s in first term of 2020-21 school year — but are A-F grades fair in a pandemic?

Washington Post

Students’ grades for the first period of the 2020-21 academic year are being recorded and we are seeing stories from around the country about an unprecedented rise in F’s.

ENVIRONMENT/ENERGY

Environment:

California's Ancient Redwoods Face New Challenge From Wildfires And Warming Climate

VPR

After this year's historic wildfires, California's oldest state park — Big Basin Redwoods — looks more like a logging village than an iconic hiking and camping mecca.

Energy:

Battle lines drawn in Legislature's focus on fracking

Bakersfield Californian

On the first day of California's new legislative session lines were already being drawn in the next battle over hydraulic fracturing, or "fracking," the lightly used but politically fraught oilfield technique more common in Kern than anywhere else in the state.

Green hydrogen: the zero-carbon seasonal energy storage solution

PV-Tech

Back in 2016, I was serving as founder and executive director of the California Energy Storage Alliance (CESA). CESA is membership-based trade association and advocacy group that has helped build California into one of the world’s most robust energy storage markets.

HEALTH/HUMAN SERVICES

Health:

California death toll hits 20,000 as brutal December unfolds

Fresno Bee

The coronavirus continues to spread rampantly in California, and though limited supplies of vaccine could begin distribution in just a few days if all goes according to plan, health officials are still warning that the next several weeks figure to be the worst stretch yet of the pandemic.

● As COVID-19 cases rise, here’s what the hospital situation looks like in Fresno, Valley Fresno Bee

● Coronavirus cases surpass 41,000 in Fresno County. Tulare County surges by over 800 Fresno Bee

● California breaks ICU hospitalization record for 5th straight day abc30

● Multiple Central CA counties reach 0% ICU capacity, CA Department of Public Health says abc30

● Regional ICU capacity continues to fall Hanford Sentinel

● Stanislaus hospitals add 32 patients. Key ICU index slips Modesto Bee

● ‘Thanksgiving bump’ sends California to record 35,400 coronavirus cases, 219 deaths Los Angeles Times

● Some ICUs at California hospitals are completely full: ‘It is the worst we have seen’ Los Angeles Times

● Public-Health Experts See Start of New 'Thanksgiving Surge' Wall Street Journal

● 'There’s No Place for Them to Go': I.C.U. Beds Near Capacity Across U.S. New York Times

Hardly Any 1918 Flu Memorials Exist. Will We Remember COVID-19 Differently?

VPR

As the number of deaths related to COVID-19 surpasses a quarter-million in the U.S., artists are embarking on ambitious projects to remember the coronavirus pandemic's victims.

COVID-19 hit Latinos hard. Now officials must build trust around vaccine in the community

Los Angeles Times

Silvia Orellana knows how serious COVID-19 is. She sees its destructive steps every time she looks outside her perfume shop in Huntington Park, where the foot traffic has dwindled to almost nothing.

What seven ICU nurses want you to know about the battle against covid-19

Washington Post

They have been at this for almost a year. While politicians argued about masks, superspreader weddings made the news, a presidential election came and went, and at least 281,000 Americans died, nurses reported for work. The Post asked seven ICU nurses what it’s been like to care for the sickest covid patients. This is what they want you to know.

World Bank Chief Sees Slow Global Recovery From Covid-19 Slump

Wall Street Journal

It will take two to three years for global output to return to pre-pandemic levels as many developing nations slowly climb out the coronavirus-induced slump with the help of vaccines, World Bank President David Malpass said.

Human Services:

California’s intensive care nightmare: Which hospitals are full?

CalMatters

California sends emergency phone alert because of COVID. Don’t call 911, Valley county says

Fresno Bee

The Governor’s Office of Emergency Services at noon Tuesday issued an emergency text alert to all residents in the San Joaquin Valley urging them to stay home. “New public health stay at home order in your area. COVID-19 is spreading rapidly,” the alert read.

U.K. Begins Nationwide Coronavirus Immunization, Largest In Nation's History

VPR

Margaret Keenan, a grandmother of four, made history Tuesday after getting a potentially lifesaving birthday present.

US regulators post positive review of Pfizer vaccine data

Los Angeles Times

Documents released by U.S. regulators Tuesday confirmed that Pfizer's vaccine was strongly protective against COVID-19 and appeared safe -- offering the world's first detailed look at the evidence behind the shots.

● Pfizer tells U.S. officials it cannot supply substantial additional vaccine until late June or July Washington Post

● Head of FDA Advisory Panel Predicts Approval for Pfizer’s Covid-19 Vaccine Wall Street Journal

● Side Effects, Efficacy and Other Takeaways on Pfizer Covid Vaccine Wall Street Journal

● AstraZeneca Covid-19 Vaccine Trial Data Underscore Safety, Range of Efficacy Wall Street Journal

Shipping networks prep for COVID-19 vaccine distribution

Roll Call

For supply chains hobbled in 2020 by the COVID-19 pandemic, it won’t be easy to hobble the pandemic in 2021 by distributing millions of doses of vaccine in the U.S. alone.

● No, the COVID vaccine cannot give you the virus. And here’s why Fresno Bee

● Q&A: When and where? How COVID-19 vaccines will roll out in U.S. Los Angeles Times

● Health Care Workers Can Decline a COVID-19 Shot—For Now PEW

● Covid-19 Vaccine Passports Could Help Life Return to Normal, but Experts Urge Caution Wall Street Journal

● As Covid-19 Vaccines Roll Out, States to Determine Who Gets Shots First Wall Street Journal

● Commentary: On COVID-19 vaccine, ‘get as many shots in arms as possible, right away’: ex-FDA chief Q&A AEI

U.S. Supplies of Covid-19 PPE Fall Short of Targets

Wall Street Journal

The federal government has fallen well short of its goal to shore up an emergency stockpile of respirator masks and some other personal protective equipment for health workers amid the current surge in Covid-19 cases.

IMMIGRATION

Privately built border wall will fail, engineering report says

Texas Tribune

The report, set to be filed in federal court this week, confirms reporting from ProPublica and The Texas Tribune that found portions of the wall were in danger of overturning if not fixed due to extensive erosion just months after it was built.

Arrests of Immigrant Children at Border Climb, Fueling Concern for Biden Team

Wall Street Journal

Immigrant children and families are again heading north to the U.S.-Mexico border in increasing numbers after a lull, signaling the possibility of a fresh humanitarian crisis and an early challenge for the incoming Biden administration.

Immigration officials restore DACA and start accepting first-time applications following court order

CBSNews

Complying with a recent court order, the Trump administration on Monday reinstated a program created by President Obama to shield undocumented immigrants who came to the U.S. as minors from deportation, announcing it would accept initial applications for the first time in three years.

LAND USE/HOUSING

Land Use:

As Stay-At-Home Orders Begin, Outdoor Experts Say Explore Your Neighborhood

Capital Public Radio

With parts of the state already entering the second round of stay-at-home orders, health officials are encouraging people to get outside — but also to stay in their neighborhoods.

Housing:

Retro Report Panel Focuses On Fresno Housing Crisis And Historic Tie To The Last Pandemic

VPR

A nonprofit news organization, The Retro Report, is working on a new documentary that focuses on three U.S. cities with the highest eviction rates in the nation, including Fresno.

How California Renters Are Bracing For An Eviction Tsunami

Capital Public Radio

Two million Californians could be forced from their rental homes early next year, and the bad omens are happening now, all around them. They’re in the credit card bills they stack in a corner, the personal relationships they test by borrowing money, the hours waiting on the phone hoping to get their unemployment claim approved — all of it adding up to debts on paper and holes in their lives.

● Lawmakers weigh moratorium extension as eviction cliff looms CalMatters

PUBLIC FINANCES

How the pandemic is complicating taxes for millions of Americans

CBSNews

Even the certainty of paying taxes every year isn't immune from the economy-rattling impact of the coronavirus. That could be the rude surprise awaiting millions of Americans who are working from home in one city or state rather than from their employer's offices in another state.

Covid-19 Pandemic Puts Squeeze on Pension Plans

Wall Street Journal

America’s pension managers are facing a tough choice nine months into the Covid-19 pandemic: take on more risk, or ask for more money from employers and workers.

TRANSPORTATION

California Transportation Commission approves $2B in new projects

Transportation Today

The California Transportation Commission approved more than $2 billion for 56 new projects across the state Thursday, which the commission says will create more than 100,000 jobs over the next several years.

WATER

Initial 10% water allocation from State

Porterville Recorder

The only consolation for farmers so far when it comes to the water they're expected to receive is it's still early. It's been a dry winter so far and since the state is off to a dry start to the winter, the California Department of Water Resources announced last week an initial allocation from the State Water Project of just 10 percent of what's requested.

“Xtra”

The Nation’s Christmas Tree is just outside Fresno – a perfect day trip to the forest

Fresno Bee

The Nation’s Christmas Tree is a giant sequoia that towers above a grove of redwoods in Kings Canyon National Park, in lush green forest with crisp, clean air just over an hour drive from Fresno.

United Soccer League franchises new professional club in the Central Valley

abc30

There's a new soccer team coming to the Central Valley. A locally-owned team, Central Valley Fuego Futbol Club has been franchised by the United Soccer League (USL) League One, the team announced on Tuesday in a press briefing.

Life Again?: Lighten up the lockdown with Christmas cheer

Hanford Sentinel

I’m not sure if I’m the only one, but I find aimlessly driving through the streets of Hanford (or any city) can be therapeutic. Now add Christmas lights to the equation and that’s a whole therapy session.