Maddy Institute – January 27, 2021

27Jan

POLICY & POLITICS

North SJ Valley:

Stanislaus County still hard-pressed by COVID pandemic. We’re ‘not out in the clear.’

Modesto Bee

Stanislaus County’s health officer said Tuesday the county continues to struggle with the coronavirus pandemic, even though the state lifted a regional stay-home order Monday. The state decision was based on a projection that hospitals in the San Joaquin Valley region will have at least 15 percent of intensive care beds available for patients four weeks from now.

● Here’s why Stanislaus County health officer feels COVID still a threat to residents Modesto Bee

● Stanislaus County deaths top 800, nears one-month record Modesto Bee

● Stanislaus County to open a third COVID vaccination site Tuesday. Limit is 500 doses. Modesto Bee

● Coronavirus update, Jan. 27: Stanislaus County deaths top 800, nears one-month record Modesto Bee

Help is on its way for Modesto-area renters struggling because of the pandemic

Modesto Bee

Modesto and Stanislaus County are getting $16.4 million from the most recent federal stimulus to help lower-income renters struggling to pay their rent and utilities because of the new coronavirus pandemic.

What Newsom’s lifting of COVID stay-home order means for Merced County businesses

Merced Sun-Star

A decision Monday by state leaders to lift a regional stay-at-home order for the San Joaquin Valley, as well as two other major parts of the state, means that restaurants in Merced County can immediately resume outdoor dining, while barbers and hairstylists can start cutting hair indoors once again.

Merced construction projects thriving amid COVID-19 pandemic, officials say. Here’s why

Merced Sun-Star

Despite the COVID-19 pandemic affecting the economy negatively nationwide, Merced city officials say that hasn’t put a damper on construction activity. In fact, 2020 was the second best record for building permits in the city’s history (the prior year was first) .

Central SJ Valley:

Fresno reports 24 deaths, 528 infections as state restrictions lift

Fresno Bee

A day after the California Department of Public Health ended regional stay at home orders, COVID-19 cases and deaths in Fresno continued to climb.

Fresno, Valley counties remain in purple COVID-19 business tier. What’s open, closed?

Fresno Bee

New data from the state shows that the coronavirus situation seems to be improving in Fresno and other Valley counties. The region emerged Monday from almost two months under a regional stay-at-home order aimed at keeping people from mingling and spreading COVID-19.

● Fresno County businesses eager to return to work with stay home order lifted abc30

Anti-masker says he’s pro-police. Fresno chief says he’s wasting officers’ time

Fresno Bee

Fresno Police Chief Paco Balderrama said Tuesday that many of an anti-mask protest group’s actions have only taken up the time of police officers who should be on patrol and responding to calls for help in town.

Fresno County aims to start vaccinating first responders, but stock of shots is still low

Fresno Bee

Fresno County’s top health officials said Tuesday they will begin a program to vaccinate Fresno’s first responders early next month. The Fresno County Department of Public Health has received 99,000 vaccine shots through Tuesday, according to Joe Prado, community health division manager for the department.

● New number set up for information on vaccines Porterville Recorder

Coronavirus update: ICU capacity improving across state, including Fresno County

Fresno Bee

In lifting a stay-at-home order, the California Department of Public Health projected a significant increase in intensive-care unit capacity over the next four weeks and in many counties across the state it is trending in the right direction, including Fresno County.

Fresno politician, businessman to challenge Valadao

Hanford Sentinel

Local businessman, Chris Mathys, has announced his entry into the Republican primary for California’s 21st Congressional District.

This Democrat is challenging Devin Nunes again in 2022. Why he says he can win next time

Fresno Bee

Fresno Democrat Phil Arballo announced Tuesday he plans to again challenge Rep. Devin Nunes, arguing that the Republican is ripe for an upset following the Jan. 6 Capitol riot and potentially redrawn congressional districts that could dilute Nunes’ support.

Special meeting called to discuss 'council member misconduct'

Hanford Sentinel

The Hanford City Council is set to hold a special meeting Tuesday afternoon to discuss council member misconduct. The agenda for the meeting does not disclose which council member is being discussed, or the misconduct that is being alleged.

South SJ Valley:

COVID Update:

● Kern Public Health reports 555 new coronavirus cases Tuesday Bakersfield Californian

● Kern Public Health: COVID-19 vaccine appointments at Fairgrounds are full this week Bakersfield Californian

● As calls for appointments pile up, Kern County spends millions for fairgrounds vaccination site Bakersfield Californian

Kern County Public Health Workers Push Back Against Potential Furloughs

VPR
The Kern County Board of Supervisors is considering furloughing employees classified under non-safety in order to save $1.67 million. Social workers and other public health professionals in the county are pushing back.

Brynn Carrigan appointed as next Kern County Public Health director

Bakersfield Californian

The Kern County Board of Supervisors has appointed Brynn Carrigan as the next director of Public Health Services. Serving as assistant director since 2012, Carrigan’s position will become effective Monday. She and outgoing director Matt Constantine will work in a dual leadership role until he retires in March.

State:

COVID Update

● California COVID rates dropping fast, but vaccine race still urgent Modesto Bee

Ghaly explains changes to California vaccine distribution plan, formula for tier changes

abc30

After Gov. Gavin Newsom made a few big announcements Monday, it was up to Dr. Mark Ghaly to delve into the details Tuesday. First up are the reopening updates. After Newsom announced the regional stay-at-home orders would be lifting immediately, California counties were thrown back into the color-coded reopening system to govern what can and can't reopen.

● California Health Secretary On Lifting Stay-At-Home Orders And Vaccinations VPR

● As California Loosens COVID-19 Rules, Experts Say Public Must Take Precautions To Prevent Another Spike In Cases Capital Public Radio

● Newsom cancels California’s COVID-19 stay-at-home orders Los Angeles Times

● Newsom’s abrupt COVID-19 reopening brings high risks for California, but also potential economic rewards Los Angeles Times

● As Newsom lifts stay-at-home order, new COVID-19 reopening questions emerge CalMatters

● California discloses math behind easing stay-at-home order AP

Essential workers, disability advocates fear being left out as California shifts to age-based COVID-19 vaccine priority

Los Angeles Times

Gov. Gavin Newsom’s announcement Monday that the state would shift vaccine priority to an age-based eligibility structure has sparked concerns from groups representing some essential workers and disabled people who may now have to wait longer to get vaccinated.

● Educators, food workers join California’s priority list for vaccines CalMatters

● In race to save most lives, California wrestles with COVID vaccine eligibility CalMatters

California unemployment agency was unprepared for COVID claim surge, audit says

Sacramento Bee

The state’s Employment Development Department, eager to get timely unemployment payments to Californians as claims surged, was unprepared for the crisis and used a system that was “compromising the integrity” of the insurance program, a state audit found Tuesday.

· Bank of America says it lost ‘hundreds of millions’ on California’s unemployment fiasco CalMatters

Federal:

COVID Update

● Coronavirus Live Updates: U.S. Hospitalizations Continue to Fall Wall Street Journal

Biden acts to expand COVID-19 vaccine distribution

Los Angeles Times

President Biden announced Tuesday that his administration will rush additional vaccine doses to states, territories and tribal governments and purchase 200 million more, ramping up its effort to inoculate more Americans, more quickly, as the death toll from COVID-19 continues to rise.

● Family leave for California state workers could be restored in Biden’s COVID-19 proposal Sacramento Bee

● Biden announces distribution of more COVID-19 vaccine supplies Roll Call

● Biden administration seeks to buy 200 million more vaccine doses, to be delivered through the summer Washington Post

● Administration to Buy Enough Doses to Vaccinate Most Americans by End of Summer Wall Street Journal

Millions earmarked for public health emergencies were used to pay for unrelated projects, says inspector general

Washington Post

Federal officials repeatedly raided a fund earmarked for biomedical research in the years leading up to the covid-19 pandemic, spending millions of dollars to pay for unrelated salaries, administrative expenses and even the cost of removing office furniture...

Biden signs executive actions promoting racial equity. Here’s what to know

Fresno Bee

President Joe Biden signed four executive actions Tuesday aimed at advancing racial equity. Biden has taken dozens of executive actions — some overturning policies enacted by former President Donald Trump — since being sworn in on Wednesday.

● Biden signs orders on racial equity, and civil rights groups press for more Washington Post

Joe Biden orders end of federally run private prisons

abc30

President Joe Biden on Tuesday ordered the Department of Justice to end its reliance on private prisons and acknowledge the central role government has played in implementing discriminatory housing policies.

Biden moves to end Trump’s attack on California car, air quality regulations

Sacramento Bee

President Joe Biden signed an executive order on his first day in office directing his government to revise fuel economy standards, a stark reversal from the Trump administration that for years battled California’s effort to maintain a strict cap on emissions from cars.

Opinion: The regulatory savvy of Biden’s early executive actions

Brookings

The new administration grabbed headlines with early executive actions on climate, COVID-19 response, racial equity, immigration, and more. But three less heralded Inauguration Day actions are likely to be equally significant for the regulatory system as whole.

Opinion: Biden Out-Trumps Trump

Wall Street Journal

Businesses and workers hoping for a reprieve from Donald Trump's trade protectionism had a surprise this week as President Biden adopted his predecessor’s “Buy American” rules, only more so.

Democrats introduce bill to raise minimum wage to $15 by 2025

abc30

Seeking to fulfill a long-standing Democratic ambition, a coalition of lawmakers introduced a bill on Tuesday that would raise the national minimum wage to $15 an hour.

● What to Know About President Biden’s $15-an-Hour Minimum-Wage Plan Wall Street Journal

● Opinion: The evidence on minimum wages and jobs AEI

Senate GOP largely votes against holding Trump impeachment trial

abc30

Senate Republicans voted overwhelmingly Tuesday against moving forward with Donald Trump's historic second impeachment trial, making clear a conviction of the former president for "incitement of insurrection" is unlikely.

● Trump conviction unlikely after most GOP senators vote to dismiss impeachment trial Roll Call

● Opinion: No Impeachment Surprise Wall Street Journal

McConnell Relents On Senate Filibuster Stalemate

VPR

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell dropped his demand that Democrats maintain the Senate filibuster — ending an early stalemate in the Senate that prevented party leaders from negotiating a power-sharing agreement.

The Democrats’ Civil War Over the Filibuster Has Barely Begun

New York Magazine

Joe Manchin said Monday that he will not, under any circumstances, “vote to get rid of the filibuster.” Kyrsten Sinema echoed her West Virginia colleague. Mitch McConnell took the Democratic senators at their word.

AGRICULTURE/FOOD

Farmworkers in West Fresno County receive COVID-19 vaccine

abc30

The vaccination roll-out continued today in West Fresno County -- as dozens of essential farm workers received the COVID-19 shot. Farmworkers are among the most vulnerable populations because they work in close proximity to each other and go home often to multi-generational households.

Pesticide report renews debate on health risks

Bakersfield Californian

A new report showing greater use of pesticides in Kern and other Central Valley counties has rekindled a discussion about whether enough is being done to protect local communities from health risks presented by certain agricultural practices.

World Ag Expo® is online in 2021!

Business Journal

Ag has not stopped, and we won’t stop being a platform dedicated to bringing Ag buyers and sellers together.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE/FIRE/PUBLIC SAFETY

Crime:

Anti-masker says he’s pro-police. Fresno chief says he’s wasting officers’ time

Fresno Bee

Nursing Home Critics Say COVID-19 Immunity Laws Are A Free Pass For Neglect

VPR

Like nearly 30 other states, North Carolina granted legal immunity to nursing homes to shield them from COVID-19 lawsuits. Nursing homes argued that they needed protection as the coronavirus raged through their facilities and the recommended safety guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention fluctuated.

Public Safety:

Delano’s Stay at Home enforcement ordinance expires

Bakersfield Californian

One week after the city of Delano instituted fines for those who violated the region’s Stay at Home Order, the ordinance expired. Delano Mayor Bryan Osorio confirmed that the ordinance expired after Gov. Gavin Newsom lifted the regional order on Sunday night.

Rate of gun seizures at airport checkpoints jumped in 2020

Los Angeles Times

Security screeners confiscated guns at airport checkpoints at a record pace last year, although the total number of guns dropped along with the pandemic-induced plunge in travelers.

Fire:

Evacuation warning issued for some Madera Co. residents in Creek Fire burn scar ahead of storm

abc30

The Madera County Sheriff's Office has issued an evacuation warning for some residents living in an area of the Creek Fire burn scar ahead of a strong storm that will move in overnight.

Union-backed bill would give more job security to seasonal Cal Fire firefighters

Sacramento Bee

The union is pushing for a change this year with Senate Bill 206, introduced by Sen. Mike McGuire, D-Healdsburg. The bill would give seasonal firefighters the same disciplinary rights to which permanent firefighters are entitled under state law.

ECONOMY/JOBS

Economy:

Fresno, Valley counties remain in purple COVID-19 business tier. What’s open, closed?

Fresno Bee

● Fresno County businesses eager to return to work with stay home order lifted abc30

Local SBDC webinar will discuss four pandemic relief programs

Bakersfield Californian

Participants in a local webinar starting at noon Wednesday can learn key details about four government pandemic relief programs: the Paycheck Protection Program, the Employee Retention Tax Credit, Economic Injury Disaster Loans and Shuttered Venue Operator Grants.

Small-Business Owners Promised More PPP Loan Application Help

Wall Street Journal

Lenders say many small businesses applying for additional help under the government’s coronavirus relief program are finding that efforts to combat fraud are throwing up obstacles to getting money they need to help stay afloat.

The economy is getting even worse for Americans with high school degrees or less education

Washington Post

Even lower-education workers who kept their jobs face greater difficulties than college-educated workers...Wages start lower and stay lower for lower-education workers, and these workers are less likely to have paid leave or other benefits.

Jobs:

Kern County Public Health Workers Push Back Against Potential Furloughs

California unemployment agency was unprepared for COVID claim surge, audit says

Sacramento Bee

· Bank of America says it lost ‘hundreds of millions’ on California’s unemployment fiasco CalMatters

Walters: California employment takes a downturn

CalMatters

California lifted a COVID-19 stay-at-home order Monday, just after it was revealed that unemployment had spiked in December to 9%, one of the nation’s highest rates.

Democrats introduce bill to raise minimum wage to $15 by 2025

abc30

Seeking to fulfill a long-standing Democratic ambition, a coalition of lawmakers introduced a bill on Tuesday that would raise the national minimum wage to $15 an hour.

● What to Know About President Biden’s $15-an-Hour Minimum-Wage Plan Wall Street Journal

● Opinion: The evidence on minimum wages and jobs AEI

The pandemic destroyed 225 million jobs worldwide, but billionaires got richer, reports find

Washington Post

At least 225 million full-time jobs disappeared worldwide last year because of the coronavirus pandemic, according to a report published Monday by the International Labor Organization, losses four times worse than those from the global financial crisis in 2009. But the ultrarich have seen their wealth soar.

EDUCATION

K-12:

In-person learning during COVID pandemic is possible with the right precautions, CDC researchers say

abc30

Many parents and caregivers remain worried about the safety of their children in schools amid the coronavirus pandemic, but experts from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say that with the right mitigation measures, there is a path to low-risk, in-person learning.

● Covid-19 Spread Appears Limited in Schools When Precautions Followed, CDC Says Wall Street Journal

● CDC officials say schools can re-open during pandemic — but precautions are crucial NBCNews

Editorial: To get vaccine priority, teachers should agree to return to the classroom

Los Angeles Times

As sloppy as the vaccination rollout has been, thousands of doses are administered every day. And teachers have been given high priority in California for those inoculations, although in Los Angeles and many other counties they’re still waiting their turn.

What lifting the stay-at-home order means for Fresno-area schools

Fresno Bee

Gov. Gavin Newsom lifted a regional stay-at-home order Monday for the San Joaquin Valley. The move was seen as good news for restaurants and hairstylists. But, for Fresno’s largest schools, not much will change in the near future.

VUSD quarantines 75 students in one day. See which schools are affected.

Visalia Times Delta

Visalia Unified School District quarantined several classrooms in the wake of multiple students and staff testing positive for COVID-19.

COVID-19 update: Frustration continues over school reopening guidelines

Porterville Recorder

That's what Tulare County Health and Human Services Director Tim Lutz said when it came to the state basically taking away control from local authorities when it comes to guidelines for the reopening of schools to in-person learning.

Are Students Spending Enough Time on School during the Pandemic?

Public Policy Institute of California

Distance-learning experiences have improved since the early days of the pandemic, but we still do not know whether students are making sufficient progress and whether gaps in learning are growing among student groups.

California public schools suffer record enrollment drop

CalMatters

California’s K-12 public-school enrollment has precipitously declined during the pandemic, dropping by a record 155,000 students, according to new state projections.

Higher Ed:

Fresno-area college students are doing better in English, math. Here’s what changed

Fresno Bee

About five years ago, Reedley College math instructor Jim Gilmore left a work conference in near disbelief. He had just been shown data suggesting remedial education in community colleges was failing. Although he liked to think himself pragmatic and sensible — he is a mathematician after all — he didn’t want to believe the statistics were real.

CSU promises to keep tuition flat for 2021 school year

CalMatters

New Chancellor Joseph Castro says the CSU system won’t raise tuition for 2021-22. That doesn’t mean campus fees might not go up, though.

ENVIRONMENT/ENERGY

Environment:

Bakersfield habitat chosen as site to help rescue plummeting monarch butterfly population

Bakersfield Californian

Anyone who lived in Bakersfield in the 1960s, '70s and '80s probably remembers that spotting a beautiful orange and black monarch butterfly was not at all a rare occurrence.

California would ban bear hunting under new legislation, even as wild population rebounds

Sacramento Bee

A San Francisco Democrat has introduced a bill that would ban black bear hunting in California, despite a bear population at its highest levels in decades and repeated conflicts with the wild animals in Lake Tahoe and other high-tourist areas

California bill would require corporations to report and cut down carbon emissions

Sacramento Bee

Large California corporations would be required to publicly disclose their carbon footprint and take active steps to reduce emissions, under a proposed law announced Wednesday morning.

Local Tribe receives grant to fight climate change

Business Journal

The Tule River Tribe of Tulare County is receiving $250,000 through the Tribal Government Challenge Planning Grant Program to develop a comprehensive energy and climate plan that will include climate adaptation and sovereign resiliency and mitigation goals.

Environment Experts To Newsom: Now’s Your Moment

Capital Public Radio

Back in September, while wildfires raged and the pandemic wore on, California Gov. Gavin Newsom held a virtual press conference to announce a bold new climate goal. By 2035, he said, all new cars and trucks sold in California would be zero-emission, in order to seriously curtail climate warming-emissions.

Biden moves to end Trump’s attack on California car, air quality regulations

Sacramento Bee

Biden’s “all of government” plan for climate, explained

Vox

President Joe Biden is sending early signals that action on climate change will be front and center to his administration’s agenda, and that his climate policy will be intertwined with his economic plan.

· Opinion: Biden’s Age of Climate Decadence Wall Street Journal

· Earth is now losing 1.2 trillion tons of ice each year. And it’s going to get worse. Washington Post

Energy:

Central Coast congressman’s bill would delay oil, gas fracking on ‘precious public lands’

Modesto Bee

U.S. Rep. Salud Carbajal introduced a bill to the U.S. House of Representatives on Monday that aims to delay new oil and gas fracking on public lands by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management.

Biden’s Climate-Change Policy Targets Oil Industry

Wall Street Journal

The president is expected to issue an executive order Wednesday that would suspend new oil and gas leasing on federal land, people familiar with the matter say, in what is widely seen as a first step toward fulfilling Mr. Biden’s campaign pledge to stop drilling on federal lands and offshore.

HEALTH/HUMAN SERVICES

Health:

COVID-19 Dashboard by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University

Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center

This website is a resource to help advance the understanding of the virus, inform the public, and brief policymakers in order to guide a response, improve care, and save lives.

Fresno reports 24 deaths, 528 infections as state restrictions lift

Fresno Bee

A day after the California Department of Public Health ended regional stay at home orders, COVID-19 cases and deaths in Fresno continued to climb.

See also:

● Kern Public Health reports 555 new coronavirus cases Tuesday Bakersfield Californian

● Stanislaus County deaths top 800, nears one-month record Modesto Bee

● Coronavirus update, Jan. 27: Stanislaus County deaths top 800, nears one-month record Modesto Bee

● California COVID rates dropping fast, but vaccine race still urgent Modesto Bee

● Coronavirus Live Updates: U.S. Hospitalizations Continue to Fall Wall Street Journal

New California Variant May Be Driving Virus Surge There, Study Suggests

Los Angeles Times

Researchers found that the variant originated in California and showed up in more than half of samples tested last week by researchers in Los Angeles.

· As Virus Grows Stealthier, Vaccine Makers Reconsider Battle Plans New York Times

Biden administration to boost COVID-19 vaccine supply amid shortages

Fresno Bee

The Biden administration is boosting purchases of coronavirus vaccines to deliver enough to protect 300 million Americans by the end of the summer, as it surges deliveries to states for the next three weeks following complaints of shortages and inconsistent supplies.

New Playbook for Covid-19 Protection Emerges After Year of Study, Missteps

Wall Street Journal

Mask-wearing, good air flow and frequent rapid tests are more important than surface cleaning, temperature checks and plexiglass. Scientists say America needs to double down on protection protocols as potentially more-contagious coronavirus variants take hold and vaccines are slow to roll out.

Opinion: Everyone should be wearing N95 masks now

Washington Post

Those numbers come from a new report out of California that shines a light on the shocking risk to covid-19 by occupation. It also shows how necessary it is that we ramp up protections for essential workers. The best way to do that: better masks.

Human Services:

Fresno County aims to start vaccinating first responders, but stock of shots is still low

Fresno Bee

● New number set up for information on vaccines Porterville Recorder

● Kern Public Health: COVID-19 vaccine appointments at Fairgrounds are full this week Bakersfield Californian

● As calls for appointments pile up, Kern County spends millions for fairgrounds vaccination site Bakersfield Californian

● Stanislaus County to open a third COVID vaccination site Tuesday. Limit is 500 doses. Modesto Bee

Coronavirus update: ICU capacity improving across state, including Fresno County

Fresno Bee

Here’s how to find out when you can get a COVID vaccine in California. It might take a while

Sacramento Bee

At myturn.ca.gov, you can sign up now to find out if you are eligible. An appointment sign-up feature is currently limited to Los Angeles and San Diego counties, but will be available statewide by early February, state officials said.

California revamps plan for delivering, tracking COVID-19 vaccines

KCRA 3

California health officials on Tuesday laid out how they plan to change the state’s COVID-19 vaccine framework and work to more quickly inoculate residents of the most populous state in the U.S.

Growing racial inequities in L.A. County vaccine rollout raise alarms

Los Angeles Times

Just weeks into California’s rocky rollout of the coronavirus vaccine, evidence is emerging of inequities in who is getting the medicine, prompting growing demands that vulnerable communities receive more attention.

Biden to reopen ACA insurance marketplaces as pandemic has cost millions of Americans their coverage

Washington Post

President Biden is scheduled to take executive actions as early as Thursday to reopen federal marketplaces selling Affordable Care Act health plans and to lower recent barriers to joining Medicaid.

We can improve health care. It just takes compromise.

AEI

Mr. Biden is right: There is an opportunity for bipartisan cooperation on expanding coverage and controlling costs — but only if the parties set aside ideological ambitions to make our health care system work better.

IMMIGRATION

Congress asks Pentagon to restore military base construction funds from border wall

Fresno Bee

Congress is asking the Department of Defense to return billions of dollars that former President Donald Trump diverted from local military base construction projects to fund the border wall and was never spent.

Justice Department rescinds ‘zero tolerance’ immigration rule

Los Angeles Times

The Justice Department on Tuesday rescinded a Trump-era memo that established a “zero tolerance” enforcement policy for migrants crossing the U.S.-Mexico border illegally, which resulted in thousands of family separations.

Trump-appointed federal judge in Texas blocks Biden’s deportation ‘pause’

Washington Post

A federal judge in Texas blocked President Biden’s 100-day deportation “pause” on Tuesday in a ruling that may point to a new phase of conservative legal challenges to his administration’s immigration agenda.

● Biden’s 100-Day Pause on Deportations Blocked by Texas Judge Wall Street Journal

Opinion: On Immigration, Compromise Beats Amnesty

Wall Street Journal

So, Joe Biden wants to give immigration reform a go. Good luck, Mr. President, but recent history is not on your side and the timing is questionable at best.

LAND USE/HOUSING

Land Use:

Merced construction projects thriving amid COVID-19 pandemic, officials say. Here’s why

Merced Sun-Star

Tachi Palace kicks off $80M expansion

Business Journal

Tachi Palace Casino Resort in Lemoore has begun a yearlong expansion and remodel. The $80 million project includes interior and exterior improvements with plans to add 24,000 square feet of additional space and linking current amenities to create a more cohesive campus, according to a news release.

Housing:

Help is on its way for Modesto-area renters struggling because of the pandemic

Modesto Bee

Lawmakers Propose Extending Eviction Moratorium Until June 30

Capital Public Radio

Legislators are prepared to extend California’s eviction moratorium to the end of June while offering landlords an incentive to forgive back rent using an extra $2.6 billion the state received from the latest federal relief bill.