Political Stories – Top stories
Dispute over border wall plunges U.S. into crisis with Mexico, as Mexican president scraps White House visit — One of America’s most important strategic relationships plunged to a new low Thursday when an escalating dispute over a proposed wall on the U.S.-Mexico border prompted Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto to cancel a planned visit to the White House. LA Times article; New York Times article
Dan Walters: Memo to politicians: Don’t ignore California’s problems – Gov. Brown may yearn to assume a national or even global leadership role in anti-Trump resistance, as he has sought on climate change. But for 23 more months he’s the governor of California, and if he truly wants a legacy, he’ll spend them on issues that will hurt Californians much more than anything a buffoon in the White House will do. Walters column in Sacramento Bee
Gov. Brown
Stockton Record: Gov. Brown’s brimstone approach has real obstacles — There is reason, however, for residents of the Central Valley to be concerned about the governor’s intentions. His brief speech did contain a segment of relative support for Trump’s infrastructure plans. When Brown is speaking about infrastructure, there’s always a “Twin Tunnels” aspect to the discussion – either stated or implied. Stockton Record editorial
Valley politics
Grove to kick off state Senate campaign — Former Bakersfield Assemblywoman Shannon Grove is officially kicking off her state Senate campaign with an event at the Kern County Fairgrounds Thursday night. Bakersfield Californian article
Statewide politics/Ballot Measures
Calexit backers can begin collecting signature to quality for 2018 ballot — Backers of a proposed constitutional amendment seeking California’s secession from the U.S. can begin collecting voter signatures to qualify for the 2018 ballot, the secretary of state’s office said Thursday. Sacramento Bee article; AP article; LA Times article
Immigration
Could California become a ‘sanctuary’ state under Trump? – Democratic lawmakers in California are moving swiftly to pass a package of legislation that would restrict state and local law enforcement, including school police and security departments, from using their own resources to aid federal authorities in immigration enforcement. Sacramento Bee article
With ‘sanctuary cities’ fight, California sees an opportunity to ensnarl Trump’s agenda – President Trump wasted no time inviting a showdown with California and other liberal states with his threat this week against so-called sanctuary cities, setting off a frenzy of resistance that will test the president’s power to carry out his vision to deport millions of people here illegally. LA Times article
Trump’s immigration order expands the definition of ‘criminal’ – After President Trump signed two sweeping executive orders on immigration on Wednesday, most of the attention was on his plans to build a wall along the border with Mexico and to hold back money from “sanctuary cities.” But the most immediate impact may come from language about deportation priorities that is tucked into the border wall order. It offers an expansive definition of who is considered a criminal — a category of people Mr. Trump has said he would target for deportation. New York Times article
Trump’s border wall doesn’t address key shift in crossings – President Donald Trump’s plan to erect a wall along the Mexican border overlooks a key change in how people enter the U.S. illegally: Many of them make no attempt to jump a fence or evade authorities; they simply turn themselves in and ask for asylum. AP article
Trump idea to fund border wall with GOP tax on imports could raise prices for consumers – Trump promised throughout his campaign that he would force Mexico to pay for the wall, and he reiterated that pledge Thursday. In fact, however, the plan, which House Republicans have pushed for months, would be a tax paid by American companies, not Mexicans. It would apply equally to all imports from all countries and would have no special tie to the wall, except, perhaps, in the president’s personal view of it. LA Times article
No, California’s environmental laws probably won’t block Trump’s border wall – Legal experts say any effort to use state and federal environmental rules to block the wall faces extremely slim chances of being successful. Under the U.S. Constitution, the federal government has wide latitude to preempt state and local laws, especially in cases of immigration and national security. And a decade-old federal court decision issued during a previous iteration of border fence construction already allowed the government to waive environmental laws to build. LA Times article
‘Finally’: Trump’s illegal immigration crackdown wins praise from some activists – President Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigration has sparked concern from many California politicians. But it is winning praise from activists who for years have been trying to reduce illegal immigration. LA Times article
Border Patrol chief is abruptly out after being brought in as a reformer — The chief of the Border Patrol will leave his post at the end of the month, likely the result of a change in direction by the Trump administration and a reflection of the new power of the agency’s union. LA Times article
Religious, political leaders rally against Trump’s immigration actions – In a display of solidarity, leaders representing a broad spectrum of Sacramento’s faith and political communities rallied Thursday against President Donald Trump’s recent executive orders expanding the identification and deportation of undocumented immigrants. Sacramento Bee article
Why Trump’s immigration actions worry Bay Area food industry — As food industry businesses — from restaurants to farms to food production — struggle to find workers in the Bay Area, President Trump’s actions on immigration policy could cut their workforce even more. San Jose Mercury News article
Immigrants here illegally believe life is about to get a lot tougher — Once places of refuge, so-called sanctuary cities have become targets, where residents worry that any concern for their welfare could be trounced by their community’s need for government funds. LA Times article
Other areas
These are the areas of California that could be most effected by repeal of Obamacare — A repeal of the Affordable Care Act without some form of replacement insurance would have profound effects in California, particularly in counties with a high proportion of impoverished residents. Sacramento Bee article
Republicans divided over whether millions of Americans should lose government-subsidized health coverage – As Republicans scramble for a strategy to repeal and replace the healthcare law, they are reckoning with a fundamental question the party has never settled: whether to foot the multi-trillion-dollar bill to ensure millions of Americans retain the coverage they obtained under Obamacare. LA Times article
Anti-abortion voters shored up Trump’s win. Now they want victory at Supreme Court – They helped Donald Trump win in battleground states and now, just days before he’s expected to name his pick for the Supreme Court, tens of thousands of anti-abortion marchers will show up in his backyard on Friday to remind the new president of their expectations. McClatchy Newspapers article
Bill seeks 3rd gender option on licenses, birth certificates — California would create a third gender option on driver’s licenses and birth certificates — one for “nonbinary” people who do not identify as either male or female, under a bill introduced Thursday. San Francisco Chronicle article; LA Times article
San Francisco Mayor Lee calls for unity in holding off Trump’s policies – Mayor Ed Lee laid out a vision for San Francisco as a “shining light for our country,” a beacon of progressive values that stands by its immigrant community and provides health care for all of its residents in his annual State of the City address Thursday. San Francisco Chronicle article
Inga Barks: What exactly did Women’s March do for women? – The Bakersfield resident and longtime conservative commentator writes, “Here’s a tip to all those lady marchers: You want a gal in the White House? Don’t treat it as an entitlement like you would an wedding anniversary gift. If you’re going to continue to let the men bake from scratch while you’re throwing something in the microwave and demanding reward, may there never be a female president!” Barks column in Bakersfield Californian
Amid backlash over Women’s March attack, Twelve Rounds Brewing dropped from Sacramento taps, beer events — The backlash grew Thursday against an East Sacramento brewery over its owner’s Facebook posts slamming the Women’s March, Muslims and other targets, with several local businesses saying they were dropping the beer of Twelve Rounds Brewing and the brewery backing out of a major beer event scheduled for Friday. Sacramento Bee article; Sacramento Bee editorial
Conservatives see new hope in long abortion fight – Two fights loom in Washington for social conservatives: a congressional effort to eliminate Planned Parenthood funding and the choice of a Supreme Court nominee who opposes abortion. New York Times article
Thomas Hardiman, under consideration for Supreme Court, is a champion of gun rights – Judge Thomas M. Hardiman, one of three leading contenders to be named by President Trump to the Supreme Court, is a conservative jurist from Pittsburgh with a personal story not unlike many of the blue-collar voters who catapulted Trump to the White House. LA Times article
Ami Bera says dad’s prison time takes toll on family — Political and family turmoil that overshadowed Democratic Rep. Ami Bera and the hotly contested race to represent California’s 7th Congressional District continues to linger for the three-term congressman from Elk Grove. Sacramento Bee article
Presidential Politics
One of Trump’s moves is already hurting a loyal group of supporters: Veterans – President Donald Trump’s temporary hiring freeze on federal jobs is disproportionately affecting a group of his most loyal supporters: veterans, who receive preference in federal hiring. Some already have had job interviews canceled or postponed, advocacy groups say. McClatchy Newspapers article
Trump’s rift with Mexican president sets off worries about future of NAFTA – The Mexican president’s abrupt cancellation of a White House meeting following President Trump’s intensified pressure on Mexico to pay for a border wall not only raises the risks of a diplomatic crisis but the specter of an unraveling of the North American Free Trade Agreement. LA Times article
Trump says illegal votes cost him California. Here’s why that’s preposterous – Even if all 522,000 illegal immigrants of voting age in California went ahead and voted, that’s still a lot fewer illegal voters in California than the number that would have been needed to throw the popular vote — ILLEGALLY! — to Hillary Clinton. San Jose Mercury News article
Trump’s top strategist says media is ‘opposition party,’ should ‘keep its mouth shut’ – Stephen Bannon, President Donald Trump’s chief White House strategist, laced into the U.S. press during an interview Wednesday evening, arguing that news organizations had been “humiliated” by an election outcome few anticipated, and repeatedly describing the media as “the opposition party” of the current administration. New York Times article
Victor Davis Hanson: It’s Trump’s world. Only he knows what is next – His style is not Washingtonian, but is born out of the dog-eat-dog world of Manhattan real estate. Trump’s blustering way of doing business is as brutal as it is nontraditional: Do not initiate attacks, but hit back twice as hard – and low – once targeted. Go off topic and embrace obstreperousness to unsettle an opponent. And initially demand triple of what is eventually acceptable to settle a deal. Hanson column in Fresno Bee
Trump pressured Park Service to find proof for his claims about inauguration crowd – On the morning after Donald Trump’s inauguration, acting National Park Service director Michael Reynolds received an extraordinary summons: The new president wanted to talk to him. In a Saturday phone call, Trump personally ordered Reynolds to produce additional photographs of the previous day’s crowds on the National Mall, according to three individuals who have knowledge of the conversation. The president believed that they might prove that the media had lied in reporting that attendance had been no better than average. Washington Post article; New York Times article
Condoleezza Rice, in San Francisco talk, says Trump and nation must adjust – The United States is in “uncharted territory” with President Trump, a man with no experience in public service who has “never even sniffed government,” former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Thursday in a talk at the University of San Francisco. San Francisco Chronicle article
The Doomsday Clocks moved closer to ‘midnight’ since Trump started talking about nuclear weapons — On Thursday, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists weighed in with its annual assessment of the Doomsday Clock, a metaphorical measure of how close the world is to “midnight,” or a worldwide catastrophe. The group, started by physicists who built the atomic bomb as part of the Manhattan Project, moved the clock ahead by 30 seconds, to just 2½ minutes before midnight. It’s the closest the clock has been to midnight since 1953, when the U.S. and Soviet Union were in the early days of above-ground hydrogen bomb testing. LA Times article
Trump administration moves make scientists nervous. Here’s what they’re planning to do about it – It may not be the most romantic way to spend Valentine’s Day, but Dr. Georges Benjamin had been looking forward to a trip to Atlanta. On Feb. 14, he said, he was scheduled to speak along with former Vice President Al Gore at the opening session of a conference hosted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The topic: the health effects of climate change. LA Times article
Planet Earth, take notice: Trump listens to Tesla’s founder – The political tide might seem unfavorable for Elon Musk’s electric cars and solar panels, but the new president may see them as part of a job-producing future. New York Times article
Richard A. Johanson: There is much to learn from Trump victory – The chair emeritus of the Fresno Business Council and founder of Johanson Transportation writes, “Those who yearn for the restoration of dignity, knowledge and respect into the political arena need to step forward to accept appropriate full responsibility for the nomination and election of our president. Let us hope Americans of both political ideologies learn from their recent actions. Let us pray they will reach out to each other and rise above demeaning political conduct. Despite their philosophical differences, may they pledge to work together to once again create balanced governmental policies administered by esteemed leaders serving all Americans and preserving our nation’s dignity as a world leader within the global community.” Johanson op-ed in Fresno Bee
News Stories – Top Stories
New report: California drought is over in roughly half of state, feds say – Hammered with record rainstorms and blizzards, nearly half of California is no longer in a drought, and the rest of the state saw dramatic improvement over the past week, federal scientists reported Thursday. San Jose Mercury News article; LA Times article; Visalia Times-Delta article; AP article; Sacramento Bee article; Sacramento Bee editorial; San Francisco Chronicle article
UC regents approve first tuition increase since 2011 – The University of California on Thursday approved its first tuition increase since 2011, a move it says will fund more faculty and course offerings at a time of record high enrollment and less state support. The 10-campus system’s Board of Regents voted 16-4 to raise annual tuition by $282 — or 2.5 percent — and increase fees $54 for the 2017-18 school year. AP article; LA Times article; EdSource article
Jobs and the Economy
Teacher pension fund less optimistic about returns, may ask taxpayers for more money — CalSTRS will consider lowering its official investment forecast in a move expected to require higher contributions from state taxpayers once again for the teachers’ pension fund. The cost to the state could be an additional $153 million starting with the next fiscal year. Sacramento Bee article; Calpensions article
Fresno City Council cancels parks plan outreach contract — Fresno City Council members voted Thursday to cancel a $172,000 contract with a local public relations team to conduct community outreach for a long-awaited city Parks Master Plan. Fresno Bee article
Urban Eden: Public-private partnership revitalizes downtown, teaches skills – Homdus manages the San Joaquin County Office of Education’s YouthBuild/AmeriCorps training program. The young workers doing the labor, along with a cohort from the county office’s Greater Valley Conservation Corps, were getting on-the-job training. The site of their labors, a lot on Channel Street near Aurora Street, is part of the Ten Space development company’s ambitious Open Window project to revitalize downtown Stockton. Stockton Record article
Tulare County connects homeless community — Dustin White has been a part of Project Homeless Connect for two years. Last year, he received services through the project. Although he doesn’t have a permanent residence, this year he’s in recovery and was able to volunteer. Visalia Times-Delta article
‘I know you’ve been there’: Service provider once homeless now shows others the way — Haley gave a big shout of “Hello!” when she saw Randy Limberg making his way through Beard Brook Park on Thursday morning, helping conduct the annual countywide Point in Time homeless census. She promptly headed down from her campsite on a park slope to give him an equally enthusiastic hug. Modesto Bee article
Sacramento to open emergency shelter across the street from City Hall – The city of Sacramento plans to open an emergency shelter beginning Thursday night at a building it owns at 904 11th St., across the street from City Hall. The decision was made at 5 p.m. Wednesday to convert the building, home to the city’s former information technology center, to shelter space for about 40 individuals. Sacramento Bee article
Pull over! That’s what Oakdale wants of more pass-through tourists — City government will set the table, but the business community is responsible for getting out the invitations and filling the seats. That was one of the messages shared during Oakdale Mayor Pat Paul’s State of the City address to an audience of Chamber of Commerce, Rotary and Soroptimist members, among others, Wednesday afternoon. Speaking on the theme “moving forward,” she challenged the business community to help Oakdale capitalize on the 9 million people who pass through the city each year. Modesto Bee article
Los Banos City Council hires strategist to recruit, retain businesses — A retail strategist will help Los Banos city leaders identify areas of economic strengths and weaknesses to help attract businesses. The City Council unanimously voted last week to approve a $50,000 per year contract for a maximum of three years with Texas-based Buxton Co. to provide retail recruitment and relationship services. Los Banos Enterprise article
Elk Grove tribal casino situation still muddled after council delays decision — The fate of Elk Grove’s proposed Indian casino remains uncertain after city officials, receiving mixed signals from the federal government, postponed a decision on scheduling a voter referendum aimed at thwarting the $400 million project. Sacramento Bee article
Agriculture/Water/Drought
Westlands’ irrigation drainage deal gets extended for one year so Congress can act — Westlands Water District and Justice Department officials have given themselves, and Congress, another year to finish a controversial irrigation drainage plan. McClatchy Newspapers article
Assemblymembers Vince Fong and James Gallagher: Our missed water storage opportunity from recent storms – Fong, a Bakersfield Republican, and Gallagher, a Yuba City Republican, write, “Imagine if California had not built a new school since 1979, even though the population has increased by more than 15.5 million. That’s the approach our state has taken with our water infrastructure since the last new reservoir was built. The dams we do have are working overtime for flood control right now, but we need the ability to store the water too.” Fong/Gallagher op-ed in Bakersfield Californian
Irrigation districts rejoin Friant Water Authority after drought strains the relationship – Madera Irrigation District and Hills Valley Irrigation District have joined Friant Water Authority, which operates and maintains the Friant-Kern Canal. Additionally, the board of directors Thursday selected three new officers. Fresno Bee article
Kings officials unhappy about water proposal – What happens when an agricultural water district in Kern County proposes to capture Kings River floodwater and use it on farmland near Bakersfield? It gets Kings County officials and farmers worked up. Hanford Sentinel article
As drought fades, California’s vast ‘inland sea’ roars back to life – Most of the time, motorists driving on Interstate 80 between Davis and here look out on vast tracts of farms and wetlands. But over the last two weeks, something remarkable has happened in what is known as the Yolo Bypass. Runoff from epic rains and snow has filled the open space with water. LA Times article
Tulare County supervisors approve property purchase for Monson water well — A project to bring a well to Monson took a step forward Tuesday. And Lala Luengas, who has lived in the northern Tulare County community for 42 years, couldn’t be happier. Visalia Times-Delta article
California fights Monsanto on labels for popular weed killer — A battle over the main ingredient in Roundup, a popular weed killer sprayed by farmers and home gardeners worldwide, is coming to a head in California, where officials want to be the first to label the chemical with warnings that it could cause cancer. AP article
Criminal Justice/Prisons
Valley residents share stories of racial profiling with officials crafting regulations for state law — Nebyou Berhe said he was pulled over by police so often on his way to work directing the morning news for Channel 47 (KGPE) News that he started leaving his home earlier in order to arrive at his job by 3 a.m. Berhe is black. For a long time, he assumed he was being pulled over because he did something wrong. But each time, he said, police would ask for his identification and he would leave without a ticket. Fresno Bee article
What is a ‘violent crime’? For California’s new parole law, the definition is murky – and it matters – As California undergoes the largest overhaul of prison parole in a generation, determining which criminals are violent in the eyes of the state has taken on a new urgency among some lawmakers and law enforcement officials who argue it’s time to revisit how “violent crime” is legally defined. LA Times article
Video shows California prisoners offering protection and escape help to drug lord ‘El Chapo’ – A group of California prisoners filmed a video message for Mexico’s drug kingpin Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, pledging to protect the captured drug lord and help him escape. LA Times article
After scandals, a group of civilians ushers in a new era of oversight for the LA Sheriff’s Department — A long-awaited body — composed of a law professor, two attorneys, an advocacy group director, a former prosecutor, a former public defender, a retired sheriff’s lieutenant, a pastor and a rabbi — the commission is the first all-civilian review board assigned to monitor the agency, one of the largest local law enforcement agencies in the nation. LA Times article
Plan to curb sex trafficking in Van Nuys calls for adding street lamps and trimming trees — Based on the academic research, Councilwoman Nury Martinez said Thursday that she has launched a $780,000 program aimed at eliminating locations where johns and young women, many of whom she said are forced into prostitution under threat of violence, meet to have sex. The CSUN study identified up to 40 locations used for illegal sex that could be safeguarded by the addition of street lamps or the trimming of nearby trees, Martinez said. LA Times article
Education
Fresno Unified trustees speak out against plans to oust Hanson – Two Fresno Unified trustees want to end discussions of potentially ousting superintendent Michael Hanson, saying politics are interfering with what’s best for the district. Fresno Bee article
Expired schools act could cost Tulare County money – A Forest Service program that pumped millions of dollars into rural communities has expired and with it the advent of sharply reduced revenue sharing timber harvest payments for more than 700 counties and 4,000 school districts. Visalia Times-Delta article
Parlier Unified school leadership put on administrative leave – again – Amid an investigation of Parlier Unified’s finances, Superintendent Edward Lucero has been placed on administrative leave, following former district leader Gerardo Alvarez, who was put on leave in 2015. Fresno Bee article
An app for scholars: Collaboration makes it easier to students to find school money – Thursday afternoon in the crowded computer lab at Franklin High School, Stockton Unified and Mayor Michael Tubbs announced a high-tech collaboration that will make it a little easier for students to locate scholarships they then can apply for. The collaboration will provide SUSD students free access to a mobile app – Scholly – that makes searching for scholarship money as easy as using a smartphone. Stockton Record article
Another lawmaker asks UC president to half UCSF layoffs – This time the letter came from Democratic Rep. Jared Huffman. In his letter to UC President Janet Napolitano on Wednesday, Huffman of San Rafael denounced UCSF’s decision to send nearly 100 IT jobs to a multinational contractor overseas. IT employees at UCSF began training their replacements in October, and if Napolitano does not step in, several dozen of the IT workers will lose their jobs by the end of February. The employees had received layoff notices in July 2016. KQED report
David Gordon: Students need workplace training to fill workplace needs – The Sacramento County superintendent of schools writes, “We hope more in government will follow Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg’s lead and make meaningful work experience for our high school students a top priority. Steinberg’s announcement of funds from the state employment training panel for paid internships for students in the city of Sacramento are exactly the kinds of initiatives we need from the broader government and educational community.” Gordon op-ed in Sacramento Bee
San Diego high school student who was forced to urinate in bucket wins $1.25-million lawsuit — The San Diego Unified School District has been ordered to pay more than $1.25 million in damages to a former student forced to urinate in a bucket after her request for a bathroom break was denied. LA Times article
Energy/Environment
PG&E ordered to advertise its guilt for pipeline safety violations — Pacific Gas and Electric Co. caused “great risk to the public safety” when it violated pipeline safety laws and obstructed the investigation of the 2010 explosion that destroyed a neighborhood in San Bruno, a federal judge said Thursday as he fined California’s largest utility company $3 million and ordered it to publicize its criminal convictions. San Francisco Chronicle article; KQED report
Mattress recycling program keeps 1 million mattresses out of landfills – The Mattress Recycling Council’s Bye Bye Mattress Program, which has collection sites across three states, has recycled its 1 millionth mattress, including 1,229 that were illegally dumped and then recycled through its recycler in Fresno, council spokeswoman Lauren Searl Kannry said. Fresno Bee article
Michael Fitzgerald: The refuge that sadly became refuse — We all support farming – rah, rah, farming – but the interests of ag and the greater public good do not always align. As leaders should recognize. Based largely on ag’s opposition, for instance, Uncle Sam just killed most of a proposed expansion of the San Joaquin River National Wildlife Refuge into San Joaquin County. Fitzgerald column in Stockton Record
Health/Human Services
Lung Association gives Merced County an ‘F’ on tobacco restrictions – Merced County has not done enough to reduce exposure to tobacco smoke or restrict tobacco use, resulting in a grade of “F” from the American Lung Association, according to a report released this week. Merced Sun-Star article
3-month study will consider if Laura’s Law is good option for Stanislaus County — As Rhonda Allen sees it, Stanislaus County suffers from the ongoing tragedy of people who are not treated for severe mental illness. Many are too sick to ask for help and will never use a proposed access center in Modesto that will try to link the homeless with services, Allen said. Modesto Bee article
Caruthers Elementary student treated after testing positive for tuberculosis — A student at Caruthers Elementary School is being treated after testing positive for tuberculosis, the Fresno County Health Department reported Thursday. Fresno Bee article
Transportation
California regulations for driverless cars stall as other states speed ahead — This doesn’t look good, Jerry Hill remembers thinking. He saw the photos online: Uber cars being loaded onto trucks in San Francisco, bound for Arizona. They were new Volvos, test cars bristling with driverless technology. LA Times article
Plan adds 950 miles of bike routes to Fresno, but council puts off vote — The Fresno City Council has postponed consideration of a broad plan to improve walking trails, pedestrian walkways, and bicycle lanes and trails. Fresno Bee article
Other areas
Building suicide-prevention net to take four years — Construction on the Golden Gate Bridge’s long-delayed suicide prevention net is expected to take four years and could disrupt traffic at times, officials said Thursday. San Francisco Chronicle article
Valley Editorial Roundup
Merced Sun-Star –There is no charitable way to spin President Donald Trump’s reckless claim that millions of undocumented voters cost him the popular vote in the 2016 election. Either he’s the sorest winner in American history, he’s delusional or he’s trying to lay the groundwork for more restrictive voter rules in the future.
Modesto Bee – There is no charitable way to spin President Donald Trump’s reckless claim that millions of undocumented voters cost him the popular vote in the 2016 election. Either he’s the sorest winner in American history, he’s delusional or he’s trying to lay the groundwork for more restrictive voter rules in the future.
Sacramento Bee –- Whatever your view on the “Saturday Night Live” writer who tweeted about Barron Trump or the Sacramento brewer whose Facebook posts against liberals have incited backlash, both point to one area of common ground; Drought or not, water conservation must remain the norm.
Stockton Record – There is reason, however, for residents of the Central Valley to be concerned about the governor’s intentions. His brief speech did contain a segment of relative support for Trump’s infrastructure plans. When Brown is speaking about infrastructure, there’s always a “Twin Tunnels” aspect to the discussion – either stated or implied.