January 6, 2020

06Jan

POLICY & POLITICS

 

North SJ Valley:

 

Harder, Howze to square off in Congressional candidate debate Jan 22

Modesto Bee

The Modesto Bee will host a public congressional debate Jan. 22 between the six candidates — three Republicans and three Democrats — hoping to represent Stanislaus County and part of San Joaquin County in the House of Representatives, at the State Theatre in downtown Modesto.

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UC Merced among Princeton Review’s ‘Best Colleges’

Merced Sun-Star

UC Merced has been recognized for the first time in the Princeton Review’s “Best 385 Colleges” guide, according to a post on the university’s website.

 

For our own sake, the Valley needs everyone counted in upcoming 2020 Census

Modesto Bee

Each holiday season, families and friends gather to reflect on the past year and put forward intentions for the new year. As diverse as the California dream, families come in all shapes and sizes, with unique traditions and cultures.

 

Attacks on New York-area Jews get a response in Modesto: ‘We belong to one another’

Modesto Bee

Modesto’s synagogue filled with people of various faiths Friday night to stand once again against hate. Congregation Beth Shalom held the gathering in response to recent stabbings and shootings of Jewish people in the New York City area. Three people were shot and killed in a Jersey City market. Five suffered stab wounds in a rabbi’s home north of New York.

 

Bob and Marie Gallo Foundation win philanthropy award

Fresno Bee

The Bob and Marie Gallo Foundation was named the 2019 Philanthropy Wine Star Award winner by Wine Enthusiast.

 

Former Modesto Mayor Carmen Sabatino dies at 82

Modesto Bee

Carmen Sabatino, a former Modesto mayor, restaurateur and longtime adversary of local government agencies and officials, died New Year’s Day.

 

Central SJ Valley:

 

Opinion: Fresno General Plan wrongly blamed for lack of housing

Fresno Bee

In 2020, Fresno gets to revisit one of our oldest debates: Is suburban sprawl a good deal for Fresnans?

 

See which Fresno/Clovis ZIP codes saw the highest increase in home values for the decade

Fresno Bee

As the decade of the 2010s came to an end, the economic recovery that followed the 2007-09 recession helped buoy single-family home values in the Fresno/Clovis area – in some cases, by 30, 60 or 80% or more over the past 10 years.

 

Around 25% of Fresno County homes are without internet. What’s happening to fix it?

Fresno Bee

In an era where most people take mobile broadband technology for granted, one out of four Fresno County households lack any internet access whatsoever – not even a smartphone.

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American women got the right to vote 100 years ago. Now Fresno hosts centennial events

Fresno Bee

What a year 2020 is going to be! No, I’m not talking about the presidential election, which promises to bring contention, confrontation and confusion. I’m talking about the Suffrage Centennial celebration of women in the United States because in August, 1920 after a 72-year campaign, the female half of our population got the right to vote.

 

Congress wants small airports to have ‘mothers’ rooms. Fresno beat them to it

Fresno Bee

Washington is moving quickly to make such rooms standard in smaller hub airports around the country.

 

Newsom Appoints Dalesandro to Fresno County Judgeship

GV Wire

Samuel J. Dalesandro Jr. is the newest Fresno County Superior Court judge.

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Anti-Dyer Video Is Out. What Does Former Police Chief Say?

GV Wire

The video links Dyer to President Donald Trump and questions his command of the Fresno Police Department.

 

Opinion: Devin Nunes deserves an apology from news media

Visalia Times-Delta

Congressman Devin Nunes (R-Tulare) deserves an apology. He has been under unjustified and continuous assault by the news media since January 2018, when he released his four-page letter alleging failures and bias inside the leadership of the FBI. He was then Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee.

 

South SJ Valley:

 

After Tulare hospital woes, Benzeevi family runs into more problems

Visalia Times Delta

Despite a large show of public support for a massive "inland port" project near the Salton Sea proposed by the same family that controversially ran Tulare Regional Medical Center,​​ the Imperial Irrigation District delayed action on a deal that could see the agency sell 2,880 acres for the development.

 

2020 LOOK AHEAD: Big stories facing Bakersfield, Kern County

Bakersfield Californian

It's here. The new year is officially upon us and 2020 figures to be like none other. Here are some of the key issues facing Bakersfield and Kern County.

 

Price: Was Vision 2020's vision truly 20/20? No, but it was remarkably close

Bakersfield Californian

Where did we want to be in 20 years? What did we want to add? What did we want to fix? What did we want to preserve? What kind of city did we want to be by the time Jan. 1, 2020, rolled around? What types of people, living what types of lives?

 

Where will Bakersfield be in 10 years? Community leaders state goals, vision for 2030

Bakersfield Californian

The end of a decade also marks the start of a new one. We reached out to various community leaders on where they'd like to see Bakersfield be in 2030. Here are the responses we received.

 

State:

 

California Laws Set To Take Effect In 2020 On Housing, Consumer Protection And Criminal Justice

VPR

Thousands of laws took effect in city and states throughout the country beginning New Year’s Day. In California, several new laws could become the catalyst for legislation throughout the nation.

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How Newsom’s campaign promises have fared one year into term

San Francisco Chronicle

When Gavin Newsom was sworn in as governor a year ago, he vowed to confront the problems that California “deferred for too long” and make the state a “progressive, principled” beacon for the rest of the country.

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Walters: New year, old issues

CalMatters

California has always been a basket of contradictions, and as we begin a new year and a new decade, they seem destined to become even more confounding.

 

Gavin Newsom’s go-to consultant: Why he keeps calling McKinsey on California government

Sacramento Bee

Gov. Gavin Newsom turned at least four times to global consulting firm McKinsey & Co. over the past year.

 

Will Gavin Newsom’s plan to improve the CA DMV work in 2020?

Sacramento Bee

California’s Department of Motor Vehicles in 2020 is looking to turn the page on a turbulent past couple of years that were highlighted by network outages, long wait times and voter registration errors.

 

'Something will have to give': CA Speaker talks 2020 priorities, politics — and parenting

CalMatters

As California lawmakers return for a new year, Anthony Rendon (the Assembly leader and new dad, not the ball player) talks wildfires, housing, ballot measures, the gig economy, affirmative action, Gov. Gavin Newsom and supermajorities. And babies. And home runs. 

 

California sued over gig economy law. What Uber and Postmates say about AB 5

Sacramento Bee

Uber and Postmates sued California on Monday over Assembly Bill 5, the state’s effort to bring employment protections to workers in the so-called gig economy.

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California Democratic Party settles sexual assault complaints against former leader

Sacramento Bee

California’s Democratic Party announced on Friday that it has reached settlements with five staff members who accused the party’s former leader of discrimination, assault and unwanted sexual advances.

 

California could lose a congressional seat after 2020 census

Los Angeles Times

California is poised to lose a congressional seat for the first time in its history as a state, based on U.S. Census Bureau population estimates released Monday that showed the nation’s growth continued to slow in 2019.

 

Walters; Court helps insider dealing

CalMatters

One should expect the California Supreme Court to protect the integrity of governmental actions.

 

California Is Booming. Why Are So Many Californians Unhappy?

New York Times

Fire, garbage and homelessness increasingly plague the Golden State.

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Federal:

 

Key ways the U.S. changed in the 2010s

Pew Research Center

The past decade in the United States has seen technological advancements, demographic shifts and major changes in public opinion. Pew Research Center has tracked these developments through surveys, demographic analyses and other research.

 

Commentary: How the U.S. Became a Nation Divided

Wall Street Journal

Political, cultural and economic gaps have hardened amid anxiety born of the financial crisis and a fundamental argument over American values

 

Elections 2020:

 

Trump Campaign Looks to Build Evangelical Support With Minority Outreach

WSJ

Event at Florida church comes weeks after critical editorial showed division in conservative Christian base.

 

Billionaire presidential hopeful Tom Steyer stops in Fresno, makes case against Trump

Fresno Bee

Despite having arrived later than most to the 2020 presidential race, billionaire Tom Steyer on Monday said he’s gaining ground, as he opened a new office in Fresno.

 

Elections 2020: CA's new March Primary is around the corner, these are the local races to watch

Visalia Times Delta

As the March 3 Primary Election draws near with a scramble of more than two dozen presidential candidates vying for their chance at the nation's highest office, several equally important races are happening at the local level across Tulare County.

 

It’s Joe Biden’s race to lose—if he can survive Iowa and New Hampshire

Merced Sun-Star

Despite months of hand-wringing over his vulnerabilities, Joe Biden enters 2020 with the biggest and broadest base of support in the Democratic primary. But if he is going to win the party’s nomination to take on President Donald Trump, he must first survive the gauntlets of Iowa and New Hampshire.

 

Who Californians can vote for in 2020 presidential election

Sacramento Bee

Californians will have more than 50 options when they consider which presidential candidate to support for the March 3, 2020 primary.

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Bloomberg’s new California director is working to build biggest state operation ‘in history’

Sacramento Bee

Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg is going all in on California in a late effort to create a pathway to the Democratic presidential nomination.

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Castro drops out of Democratic presidential race

PBS NewsHour

Former Obama housing secretary Julián Castro on Thursday ended his run for president that pushed the 2020 field on immigration and swung hard at rivals on the debate stage but never found a foothold to climb from the back of the pack.

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Cory Booker plans to win CA delegates in 2020 election

Sacramento Bee

New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker has plenty of ties to California and is vowing to compete in the Golden State as he looks beyond Iowa and South Carolina, where he hopes African American voters will help propel him forward. His top issues include the environment and housing affordability.

 

PRICE: My New Year's resolution: Be a low propaganda voter

Bakersfield Californian

We're polarized, which means we're passionate, which means we're not giving an inch to those crazies on the other side — but good Lord, this partisan combat has become exhausting. Fatigue has set in.

 

Warren’s Fundraising Slipped to $21.2 Million in Fourth Quarter

Wall Street Journal

Massachusetts’s senator outpaced by other top presidential contenders; Klobuchar sees strongest period yet.

 

Tech Veteran’s Fundraising Team Rakes In Cash for Pete Buttigieg Campaign

Wall Street Journal

Swati Mylavarapu—who worked at Google and Kleiner Perkins—uses an all-of-the-above strategy, tapping donors large and small.

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Other:

 

U.S. Chief Justice John Roberts warns of social media's danger to democracy

Los Angeles Times

Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., whose new year will include presiding at a Senate impeachment trial of President Trump as well as leading the Supreme Court, called Tuesday for more focus on civic education at a time “when social media can instantly spread rumor and false information on a grand scale.”

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Can Mark Zuckerberg Fix Facebook Before It Breaks Democracy?

The New Yorker

The most famous entrepreneur of his generation is facing a public reckoning with the power of Big Tech.

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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. Viktorya Vilk, who co-authored the report, joins Hari Sreenivasan to discuss how the decline of local news is impacting civic engagement.

 

Americans favor getting news on mobile devices over desktops and laptops

Pew Research Center

Americans continue to be more likely to get news through mobile devices than through desktop or laptop computers. Roughly six-in-ten U.S. adults (57%) often get news this way, compared with 30% who often do so on a desktop or laptop computer, according to a Pew Research Center survey.

 

Sexual norms erode in wake of gay marriage rulings

USA Today

The transformation of our legal system as to marriage was rapid and top-down. Changes in law brought changes in culture, and they're not all rainbows.

 

In case you missed them: 13 CalMatters stories that captured a state in motion in 2019

CalMatters

This was the year progressive politicos — a vibrant, image-conscious governor and a Democratic “giga-majority” of legislators— took charge of California.

 

2019 was the year of inequality

Washington Post

The economic debate took a dramatic turn in 2019. To be sure, much attention was paid to the familiar standbys: jobs, interest rates, inflation and trade. But superseding these well-worn subjects was a growing fixation on the lopsided nature of American​​ ­prosperity.

 

 

MADDY INSTITUTE PUBLIC POLICY PROGRAMMING

 

Sunday, January 12, at 10 a.m. on ABC30 – Maddy Report: California’s Housing Crisis Hits Home - Guest: Matt Levine from CALmatters and Dan Dunmoyer with California Building Industry Association. Host: Maddy Institute Executive Director, Mark Keppler.

 

Sunday, January 12, at 10 a.m. on Newstalk 580AM/105.9FM (KMJ) – Maddy Report - Valley Views Edition: California’s Housing Crisis: Are Granny Flats the Answer? - Guests: Monica Davalos, Aureo Mesquita and Adriana Ramos-Yamamoto from the California Budget and Policy Center, Matt Levin with CALmatters, Dan Dunmoyer with California Building Industry Association, John Myer with LA Times and Dan Walters with CALmatters. Host: Maddy Institute Executive Director, Mark Keppler.

 

Sunday, January 12, at 7:30 a.m. on UniMas 61 (KTTF) – El Informe Maddy: State Auditor Report on Charter Schools - Guest: Margarita Fernandez, PIO State Auditor's Office. Host: Maddy Institute Program Coordinator, Maria Jeans.

 

AGRICULTURE/FOOD

 

Farmers Got Billions From Taxpayers In 2019, And Hardly Anyone Objected

NPR

In 2019, the federal government delivered an extraordinary financial aid package to America's farmers. Farm subsidies jumped to their highest level in 14 years, most of them paid out without any action by Congress.

 

Farm Subsidies Favor South, Irking Other Regions

Pew Charitable Trusts

Lawmakers, academics and farmers question whether the aid has favored certain regions and states, and whether the payments line up with farmers’ actual economic losses.

 

Opinion: How a bipartisan bill in Congress could save farms like mine

Los Angeles Times

Every farmer knows how difficult it is to find reliable workers. My employees work in the sun for up to 10 hours a day, seven days a week handpicking our melons, asparagus and cherries. Like most farmers, we’ve tried to hire U.S. citizens.

 

As Rural Groceries Fade Away, Lawmakers Wonder Whether to Act

Pew Charitable Trusts

Some states are trying to tackle their rural grocery gaps. Supporters of such efforts point to tax incentives and subsidies at various levels of government that have enabled superstores to service larger areas and squeeze out local independent grocers. Now, dollar stores are opening in rural regions and offering items at lower prices, posing direct competition to local groceries.

 

America's milk industry is struggling. Don't blame oat milk

CNN

In 2010, 55 billion pounds of milk were sold in the United States. By 2018, that figure dropped to 47.7 billion, a decline of about 13%.

 

We can’t even put food on our own table’

Washington Post

American family farmers are struggling amid bad markets and Trump's trade war.

 

A guide on where to buy weed in the Valley. Hint: You’re out of luck in Fresno

Fresno Bee

Despite voters agreeing that anyone older than 21 gets to make up their own mind about consuming cannabis, many Central San Joaquin Valley leaders have decided they can’t buy it locally.

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World Ag Expo to highlight hemp

Hanford Sentinel

The World Ag Expo is a little over a month away and this year’s show will focus on an industry that is ready to boom in California and across the nation: hemp. As a growing sector of agriculture, hemp will garner its own pavilion at the 53rd annual farm show in Tulare from Feb. 11-13.

 

Judge rules marijuana ballot argument contained misleading information

Bakersfield Californian

The fight over the upcoming medical marijuana vote in March has already gotten off to a rough start.

 

California's legal pot industry is stuck. Should voters step in?

Los Angeles Times

Two years after California began licensing pot shops, the industry remains so outmatched by the black market that a state panel recently joined some legalization supporters in calling for significant changes — perhaps turning again to voters to address the problems.

 

CRIMINAL JUSTICE / FIRE / PUBLIC SAFETY

 

Crime:

 

Fresno’s domestic violence rate tops California’s big cities. What’s behind the numbers?

Fresno Bee

Through the first six months of 2019, the Fresno Police Department reports that it fielded 2,628 “verified” calls for help related to domestic violence.

 

Homicides in Kern dropped in 2019 for the first time since 2014
Bakersfield Californian

Kern County had fewer homicides in 2019 than in the previous year, halting a four-year streak in which homicides increased each year, according to numbers issued by the Kern County District Attorney's office.

 

Where does CA money for prison realignment of jails go?

Sacramento Bee

Two summers ago, the board of supervisors in Contra Costa County faced a packed meeting room. On the agenda was a proposal to divert $1.5 million in state taxpayer money intended to ease jail overcrowding to other priorities of the local sheriff’s office.

See also

 

U.S. mass killings hit new high in 2019; most were shootings

Los Angeles Times

The first one occurred 19 days into the new year when a man used an ax to kill four family members, including his infant daughter. Five months later, 12 people were killed in a workplace shooting in Virginia. Twenty-two more died at a Walmart in El Paso in August.

 

Public Safety:

 

How many Californians own guns? Does gun control stop them?

Sacramento Bee

California may have some of the nation’s most restrictive gun control laws, from bans on assault rifle sales to mandatory background checks for ammunition sales, but that isn’t stopping Golden State residents from buying firearms.

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California’s jails are in a deadly crisis. How can Gavin Newsom start fixing them?

Sacramento Bee

Nearly a decade after California overhauled its prison and jail system, policymakers are considering reforms to the state’s landmark criminal justice transformation, calling for more oversight of county sheriffs and higher standards for inmate care.

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Pellet, toy guns can play a factor in fatal police shootings

Sacramento Bee

Maurice Holley, 55, had two pellet guns tucked into his waistband when he dropped his hands and was fatally shot by a Sacramento County sheriff’s deputy in October. The pellet guns were fashioned to look like replica firearms.

 

Firms scramble to comply with the California Consumer Privacy Act

Los Angeles Times

A sweeping new law that aims to rewrite the rules of the internet in California is set to go into effect on Jan. 1.

 

Washington’s New Anti-Robocall Law Won’t Stop the Calls. Here’s Why.

Wall Street Journal

Some robocalls are legitimate, and additional prosecutions don’t prevent more bad actors from popping up.

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Fire:

 

California Cities Turn To Hired Hooves To Help Prevent Massive Wildfires

Capital Public Radio

California has gone through several difficult fire seasons in recent years. Now, some cities are investing in unconventional fire prevention methods, including goats. Anaheim, a city southeast of Los Angeles, has recently re-upped its contract with the company Environmental Land Management to keep goats grazing on city hillsides nearly year-round.

 

How Sacramento shifted billions of dollars in future wildfire costs to consumers

Los Angeles Times

San Diego Gas & Electric executives spent 10 years seeking permission to charge customers hundreds of millions of dollars for company losses due to three backcountry wildfires started by its equipment in 2007.

 

California’s Fires Prove the American Dream Is Flammable

The Nation

If we want to keep cities safe in the face of climate change, we need to seriously question the ideal of private homeownership.

 

ECONOMY / JOBS

 

Economy:

 

Valley’s largest nonprofit hires its newest CEO

Business Journal

The Fresno Economic Opportunities Commission (Fresno EOC) board of commissioners has announced Emilia Reyes as the organization’s new CEO.

 

Local podcast gives hope to business leaders

Bakersfield Californian

Michael Roberts didn't set out to become a new-media show host exploring the ins and outs of small business success. He was just trying to finish a project for his local Toastmasters International club.

 

Poverty in America is rising. We need a plan to fight it

Brookings

Here is a rarely publicized fact about our booming economy: Despite stock market highs and low unemployment, poverty in the U.S. is pervasive. The number of people earning less than $25,750 for a family of four is rising in both Republican and Democratic districts, and across racial and geographic lines.

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Middle class incomes have fallen behind and not set to catch up says CBO

Brookings

The latest numbers on income trends have just been released by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO).

 

Jobs:

 

Amazon begins hiring managers for distribution center near Meadows Field Airport

Bakersfield Californian

Management-level hiring has begun at Amazon's large new distribution center near Meadows Field Airport as the company prepares to launch local operations in spring or summer of 2020. The e-commerce giant has posted at least half a dozen Bakersfield openings online, one as long ago as July and one as recent as Dec. 17. The positions range from a senior on-site human relations manager to an information technology manager.

 

Private breast-pumping rooms required at work in California starting Jan. 1

Sacramento Bee

California employers, including state departments, must provide private rooms for women to express breast milk in the workplace starting Wednesday.

 

California sued over gig economy law. What Uber and Postmates say about AB 5

Sacramento Bee

Uber and Postmates sued California on Monday over Assembly Bill 5, the state’s effort to bring employment protections to workers in the so-called gig economy.

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Gag clauses for California state workers, public employees might violate First Amendment rights

Sacramento Bee

Employees at a California tax agency started to suspect something was up after email.

 

As California Tries To Make Contract Workers Employees, Industries Push Back

Capital Public Radio

A new law that went into effect in California Jan. 1 is supposed to make it harder for companies to hire workers as contractors — but gig companies like Uber, Lyft and the food delivery platform Postmates are refusing to reclassify their fleet of drivers as employees.

 

Businesses try to roll with minimum wage increase

Bakersfield Californian

Bakersfield restaurateur Rick Mossman hadn't even finished drinking his daily cup of orange juice when he noticed a pair of customers sitting at the counter reading the newspaper and snickering behind his back. When he asked them what was so amusing they pointed out that the minimum wage had just gone up, and with it, his labor costs.​​ 

 

California's growth rolls on with 28,400 new November jobs

Los Angeles Times

California’s record job expansion continued last month as the number of unemployed sank to the lowest level in three decades despite large gains in the state’s population.

 

Businesses try to roll with minimum wage increase

Bakersfield Californian

Across the state, employees in a variety of entry-level jobs will earn more money per hour than they did last week, ostensibly increasing their buying power and expanding economic opportunity for the state's lowest-paid workers.

 

Judge temporarily blocks California's forced arbitration law

AP​​ News

A federal judge on Monday temporarily blocked a new California law outlawing mandatory arbitration agreements that critics say can make it more difficult for workers to sue their bosses for sexual harassment.

 

Rank-and-File Workers Get Bigger Raises

Wall Street Journal

Short supply of labor, minimum-wage rises and increased poaching have helped lift wages for lower-income workers.

 

EDUCATION

 

A look back at EdSource’s top education stories in 2019

EdSource

Teacher strikes, wildfires and a college admissions scandal made for a tumultuous year for California education.

 

K-12:

 

Sanger school kicks off $5M campaign for Ag complex

Business Journal

A Sanger elementary school is launching a massive capital effort to raise funds for a new complex.

 

Madera Unified School District sets its sights on 2020

Madera Tribune

Madera Unified trustees are set to guide the school district into 2020, having extended the contract of Superintendent Todd Lile and chosen a new president and clerk for the new year.

 

Age of Innovation: Learning from Infinity and Beyond

Porterville Recorder

The first thing that comes to mind in education here in Porterville in the past 10 years is the sheer advances in technology. The Pathways and the Academies in Porterville Unified and Burton districts have brought middle and high school students many choices in technological learning.

 

StanReads! rallies to improve county third graders’ reading

Modesto Bee

Only 32% of Stanislaus County third graders read at grade level, which predicts future success in school and entering the workforce. StanReads!, part of Cradle-to-Career, is building a network to change that.

 

School district sanctions ‘Ferris Bueller’s Day Off’ for civic activism

Turlock Journal

The every kid gets a participation trophy movement has reached a new level of absurdity.

 

For California’s rural, crumbling classrooms, a possible solution: new school bond rules

San Francisco Chronicle

Health and safety cases like Burnt Ranch are grabbing the attention of California voters weighing a new statewide bond measure that would generate $15 billion for schools, community colleges and universities.

 

Why California needs more male teachers of color

CalMatters

When students of color have teachers of color, they learn more, finish high school at higher rates, and are more likely to go to college. But the number of teachers of color in California isn’t keeping pace with the diversity of its student body.

 

Higher Ed:

 

How Fresno State works to stay on track with CSU's graduation initiative

abc30

Finishing a degree in four years means a tight timeline, something students across the state of California know all too well.

 

UC Merced among Princeton Review’s ‘Best Colleges’

Merced Sun-Star

UC Merced has been recognized for the first time in the Princeton Review’s “Best 385 Colleges” guide, according to a post on the university’s website.

 

How free food programs at MJC, Stan State are coming to rescue of hungry students

Modesto Bee

Nancy Carranza, a third-year student at Modesto Junior College, is happy to give back to hungry families. She knows first-hand what it feels like to study with the distraction of a growling stomach. “Sometimes my mom skipped (meals),” Carranza said tearfully. “My mom planned out the month and made things work with food stamps.”

 

New SNAP Rule Impacts College Students By Limiting Benefits And Adding Confusion

NPR

Some low-income college students are among the 688,000 food stamp recipients projected to lose benefits as a result of a Trump administration rule announced Dec. 4. While the rule explicitly targets "able-bodied adults without dependents," it also limits food assistance for a share of college students at a time when campuses across the country are grappling with how to respond to food insecurity.

 

Fresno City College helps students prepare with "Extreme Registration"

abc30

Local community colleges are making sure students are ready for the Spring semester. They are hosting an "Extreme Registration." Hundreds of people lined up at Fresno Community College to register, find classes or speak with a counselor.

 

Development in 2020 to complement university growth

Turlock Journal

The progress that started in 2019 is expected to continue into 2020, as infill projects intended to mesh with the town’s growing university begin to take shape.

 

Newsom keeps higher education pledges, but need for financial aid reform remains

EdSource

With investments in financial aid, more money for California’s university systems and the creation of a postsecondary education council, Gov. Gavin Newsom fulfilled his first-year campaign pledges on higher education, experts and advocates say.

 

Rural California: The Long Road to College

EdSource

From chronic absenteeism and high suspensions to a lack of internet service and barriers to going to college, California’s rural school districts face extraordinary challenges.

 

Too Far Away: Distance is a barrier to bachelor’s degrees for rural community college students

EdSource

Barstow commuter students face long, mountain drives to university.

 

Apprenticeships:

 

Why We Desperately Need To Bring Back Vocational Training In Schools

Forbes

Ability tracking did not sit well with educators or parents, who believed students were assigned to tracks not by aptitude, but by socio-economic status and race. The result being that by the end of the 1950s, what was once a perfectly respectable, even mainstream educational path came to be viewed as a remedial track that restricted minority and working-class students.

 

ENVIRONMENT/ENERGY

 

Environment:

 

Air pollution being monitored in rural Fresno County

Fresno Bee

The California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment’s CalEnviroScreen readings list the Calwa and Malaga region south of Fresno as one of the most polluted in the state.

See also:

 

Opinion: Why California’s climate solution isn’t cutting it

Los Angeles Times

Many Californians take pride in the state’s position on the front lines of the global climate change struggle, but the dismal performance of its centerpiece climate program — cap and trade — shows that in a crucial way the state’s reputation is undeserved. Even here, in the heartland of climate awareness, it turns out that the oil industry calls the most important shots.

 

California’s latest pollution push: Banning gas-powered mowers and blowers

San Francisco Chronicle

The next frontier in California’s battle against pollution: lawn equipment. State air regulators are laying long-term plans to phase out gasoline-powered devices like leaf​​ blowers and lawn mowers, saying they can produce more noxious emissions than cars. Plenty of Bay Area cities are already acting: At least eight have banned gas-powered blowers, and more restrict their use during times of day or up to a certain noise level. Novato may soon join the list.

 

Fires, Floods And More: A View Of California From Space In 2019

Capital Public Radio

The year began amid the ashes of the deadliest wildfire in California history. Then came torrential rains, the superbloom, a marine heat wave, and fires again. They are events that foreshadow a future pattern of more extreme wildfires and rainstorms as climate change drives the Earth’s temperatures higher.

 

‘Tectonic time bomb:’ Mapping where massive California earthquakes cause the most shaking, destruction

Los Angeles Times

A hypothetical magnitude 7 earthquake along the San Francisco Bay Area’s Hayward fault would cause severe, violent or extreme shaking along large swaths of the East Bay, North Bay and Silicon Valley, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

 

The 2010s were a lost decade for climate. We can’t afford a repeat, scientists warn.

Washington Post

At the start of the previous decade, Kallan Benson was 5 years old, her favorite story was “The Secret Garden,” and Earth was in the midst of its warmest year on record.

See also:

 

EPA’s board of scientific advisers, dominated by Trump appointees, warn regulatory rollbacks clash with established science

Washington Post

The Environmental Protection Agency is pushing ahead with sweeping changes to roll back environmental regulations despite sharp criticism from a panel of scientific advisers, most of whom were appointed by President Trump.

 

Energy:

 

Oilfield project in west Kern could become national model for burying greenhouse gases

Bakersfield Californian

An oilfield facility in western Kern County has emerged as a leading national candidate for demonstrating technology intended to bury carbon dioxide that would otherwise be vented into the atmosphere.

 

Aera announces cutbacks in response to state's oil crackdown

Bakersfield Californian

Gov. Gavin Newsom's regulatory crackdown on California oil production is beginning to take a toll on Kern County's economy.

 

Why do new houses in California have rooftop solar panels?

Sacramento Bee

A new California home energy efficiency rule requires builders of most houses and low-rise apartments to put solar panels on rooftops.

 

Solar surges in the California desert. So why are environmentalists upset?

Desert Sun

Two industrial solar farm projects — called Crimson Solar and Desert Quartzite  — are proposed for just below where he's standing. And between here and Desert Center, 20 miles west, another 10 have been built, are under construction or are seeking approvals.

See also:

 

Oil industry resists state regulatory action by making drilling personal

Bakersfield Californian

Kern County’s oil industry has learned the hard way that it may help to present a human face when debating regulations.

See also:

 

California Will Enforce The Energy-Efficient Lightbulb Rule Trump Wants To Reverse

VPR

California can now begin enforcing new minimum standards for light bulb efficiency, a federal judge ruled earlier this week. It's the latest split between the state and the Trump administration, which has moved to reverse the same standards on a national level.

 

California Will Enforce The Energy-Efficient Lightbulb Rule Trump Wants To Reverse

Capital Public Radio

California can now begin enforcing new minimum standards for light bulb efficiency, a federal judge ruled Tuesday. It's the latest split between the state and the Trump administration, which has moved to reverse the same standards on a national level.

 

Five Ways to Fix PG&E

Wall Street Journal

Suggestions from industry executive, regulators and experts for ways the giant utility can safely keep the lights on.

See also:

 

Got an electric car? Great! Where do you plug it in?

PEW Trusts

Darshan Brahmbhatt charges his electric vehicle at a charging station in Sacramento, California. States like California are investing in electric vehicle charging stations while others are falling behind and leaving drivers with a lack of chargers.

 

When we retreat from progress: Nuclear power edition

American Enterprise Institute

There’s a special word — such an important word — right in the final paragraph of the new NBER working paper “The Private and External Costs of Germany’s Nuclear Phase-Out” by Stephen Jarvis, Olivier Deschenes, and Akshaya Jha.

 

Fact-checking Trump on wind turbines

CNNPolitics

President Donald Trump kicked off his holiday week with a speech at the Turning Point USA Student Action Summit in Florida on Saturday. Speaking to the crowd of young conservatives, the Presidenttouted his knowledge of wind power and turbines, saying "I know windmills very much. I've studied it better than anybody I know." However, several of his claims were false or misleading.

 

HEALTH/HUMAN SERVICES

 

Health:

 

Jails recognizing strain for inmates in solitary confinement. Fresno solution involves a tablet

Fresno Bee

When the Prison Law Office sued Fresno County over the medical and mental health treatment of jail inmates in 2011, one of the concerns was the mental health of inmates who are restricted to isolation or solitary confinement.

 

Why it's important for adults to still get vaccines

abc30

Too many adults in the US are not protected against vaccine-preventable diseases. "The impact of getting any of these bacterial infections or these viruses is detrimental, and it is life-threatening," says Lela Mansoori, an Endocrinologist.

 

Heart association receives grant to launch state’s tobacco endgame strategy

Turlock Journal

The California Department of Public Health, California Tobacco Control Program has awarded the American Heart Association a $5.6 million, 56-month grant to establish the California Tobacco Endgame Center for Organizing and Engagement.

 

Age Limit Now 21 Across US for Cigarettes, Vaping Products

KMJ-AF1

Anyone under 21 can no longer legally buy cigarettes, cigars or any other tobacco product in the U.S. A new law enacted last week by Congress also applies to electronic cigarettes and vaping devices that heat a liquid containing nicotine.

 

California pharmacies give bad advice on drug disposal, study finds. Here’s how to do it right

Sacramento Bee

If you’ve got leftover pills — say, powerful opiates from a recent surgery or antibiotics needed to fight an infection — chances are a pharmacy employee in California will tell you the right way to dispose of them about half the time. The rest of the time they’re wrong — dead wrong, a new study concluded.

 

U.S. Population Growth In 2019 Is Slowest In A Century

Capital Public Radio

The annual population growth rate of the United States over the past year continued a decades-long decline, dropping to its lowest level in the past century. According to newly released estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau, the U.S. population grew by 1,552,022 since 2018, an increase of one-half of one percent.

 

Human Services:

 

Thousands of undocumented adults in CA set to get Medi-Cal, starting Jan. 1

Fresno Bee

Undocumented young adults in California will become eligible for Medi-Cal — the state’s health care insurance for low-income families — when new law takes effect Jan. 1.

 

Can 2020 health reforms give relief to California uninsured?

Fresno Bee

Even with access to health insurance at a historic high in the state, a growing share of uninsured Californians say they struggle to afford coverage, according to new survey results.

 

Californians compelled to find health insurance or face tax penalty

Visalia Times Delta

Uninsured Californians who think the 2017 repeal of the federal tax on people who refuse to obtain health insurance takes them off the hook could face a painful surprise when they pay their 2020 state taxes.

See​​ also:

 

State: Kaweah Delta failed to report rape allegation within mandated time period

Visalia Times Delta

California Department of Public Health investigation found Kaweah Delta Medical Center failed to report an alleged rape in a timely fashion.

 

CA vaccine law improved vaccination rates in high-risk areas

Sacramento Bee

In the wake of a devastating measles outbreak, California passed a law to crack down on exemptions and improve vaccination rates. Building on the work of previous research, a study released this week shows that the 2016 legislation had the greatest effect on high-risk areas where the vaccination rates were the lowest.

See also:

 

Research questions medical response after suicide attempts

Sacramento Bee

Californians who visited an emergency room after suicide attempts were at a greater risk of dying one year after leaving the hospital, raising questions about the role of health care providers once a patient is discharged, a new study shows.

 

CA pharmacies give bad advice on drug disposal, study finds |

Sacramento Bee

If you’ve got leftover pills — say, powerful opiates from a recent surgery or antibiotics needed to fight an infection — chances are a pharmacy employee in California will tell you the right way to dispose of them about half the time.

 

Skilled nursing facility proposed for long-vacant portion of Coffee-Stockdale intersection

Bakersfield Californian

The busiest undeveloped intersection in Bakersfield has a new suitor. Irvine-based Pursue Health LLC aspires to coordinate the development of a skilled nursing facility at the corner of Coffee Road and Stockdale Highway, across from the Town & Country Village Shopping Center.

 

“We’ve lost our compass.” For California’s most visible mentally ill, is a return to forced treatment a solution — or a false promise?

CALmatters

The existence of the 2,000-plus member group is at once a moving testament to a community’s compassion and an indictment of a system that often leaves the most vulnerable to fend for themselves.

 

California the state with the highest percentage of people over age 5 who speak a language other than English at home — 44%

Living Facts

California is followed by New Mexico and Texas at 35 percent. For the country as a whole, 21 percent of the population over age 5 speaks a language other than English at home.

 

Jindal: How the GOP Can Win on Health Care

Wall Street Journal

Voters don’t want the left’s radical plans, but they may settle for them if the right doesn’t offer alternatives.

 

Drug Prices Climb by 5.8% on Average, Less Than Last Year

Wall Street Journal

Pfizer led the way with increases of over 9% on more than 40 products, according to a new analysis.

 

In the U.S., an Angioplasty Costs $32,000. Elsewhere? Maybe $6,400.

New York Times

A study of international prices finds American patients pay much more across a wide array of common services.

 

Congress showers health care industry with multibillion-dollar victory after wagging finger at it for much of 2019

Washington Post

Vilified by lawmakers from both parties for months, the health-care industry this year appeared to face an existential threat to its business model.

 

Managing the Most Expensive Patients

HBR

When corporate executives, health care leaders, and policy makers discuss the challenge of curbing U.S. health care costs, the conversation invariably turns to the sickest 5% of the population, who consume 50% of health care spending.

 

Listen: Medicare For All, Explained

NPR Fresh Air

Apple Podcasts

 

IMMIGRATION

 

US citizenship application: How to avoid common mistakes

Modesto Bee

The dream of hundreds of thousands of immigrants in the United States is to one day declare the Oath of Allegiance during a naturalization ceremony and become a U.S. citizen.

 

California population growth slowest since 1900 as residents leave, immigration decelerates

Los Angeles Times

The Golden State remains stuck in the slow lane when it comes to population.

 

LAND USE/HOUSING

 

Land Use:

 

Merced's Outdoor Amphitheatre at Applegate Park to get facelift

Abc30

The Merced Outdoor Amphitheatre at Applegate Park has seen better days, but it will soon shine again as the site of a free concert series coming to the city this summer.

 

Unparalleled passion: Visionary developer Dan Cort leaves indelible legacy in downtown Stockton

Recordnet.com

No one saw downtown Stockton quite like Dan Cort did. The word “visionary” was often used to describe his role in shaping the modern core of one of California’s great historic cities.

 

Opinion: Fresno General Plan wrongly blamed for lack of housing

Fresno Bee

In 2020, Fresno gets to revisit one of our oldest debates: Is suburban sprawl a good deal for Fresnans?

 

Housing:

 

Will more sprawl help California housing crisis?

Fresno Bee

Neighborhood revitalization advocates say they fear the new direction could undo the slow progress they say has been made in some areas of the city like the Lowell neighborhood by encouraging more sprawl on the outskirts of town.

 

See which Fresno/Clovis ZIP codes saw the highest increase in home values for the decade

Fresno Bee

As the decade of the 2010s came to an end, the economic recovery that followed the 2007-09 recession helped buoy single-family home values in the Fresno/Clovis area – in some cases, by 30, 60 or 80% or more over the past 10 years.

 

City invites residents to submit email comments on homeless shelter

Bakersfield Californian

Those who would like to submit comments on the city of Bakersfield’s search for a new homeless shelter site can email communityoutreach@bakersfieldcity.us, the city announced recently.

 

A record-setting year for Most Expensive Home Sales

Business Journal

It was a record-breaking year for luxury home sales in the Central Valley.

See also:

 

New California Laws Will Make It Easier To Build Granny Flats

Capital Public Radio

Several new laws in effect this month make it easier for Californians to build granny flats, also known as accessory dwelling units or ADUs, on their property. They add to recent efforts by lawmakers to promote the small structures, which offer a living space for extended family or renters and can be attached or separate from a property’s main residence.

 

California's homelessness crisis — and possible solutions — explained

CalMatters

California’s most vexing issue is also its most shameful: the large and rising number of residents who lack a safe place to call home. In a state with vast amounts of wealth, more than 150,000 of its residents sleep in shelters, cars, or on the street.

See also:

 

Q&A: How will California's new rent cap affect me?

Los Angeles Times

Millions of Californians will have new safeguards against large rent increases after Gov. Gavin Newsom signed legislation on Tuesday capping annual rent hikes for the next decade.

 

A California housing crisis mystery: Rents are way up this decade, but eviction filings are way down

CalMatters

Despite a major run-up in rents, California landlords are using the courts far less frequently to remove tenants. What’s going on?
See also:

 

Housing crisis hits farmworkers hard

Santa Cruz Sentinel

The chronic shortage of safe, affordable farmworker housing has grown even more acute, workers and advocates say, as tentacles of the Bay Area housing crisis have reached into the region. Long-term, low-wage laborers are being pushed even further to the edge.

 

These are the worst places in the US to live when you retire

Business Insider

That's according to a September report from WalletHub, which ranked the 182 largest US cities for their suitability for retirement.

 

PUBLIC FINANCES

 

Farmers Got Billions From Taxpayers In 2019, And Hardly Anyone Objected

NPR

In 2019, the federal government delivered an extraordinary financial aid package to America's farmers. Farm subsidies jumped to their highest level in 14 years, most of them paid out without any action by Congress.

 

How Big Companies Won New Tax Breaks From the Trump Administration

New York Times

As the Treasury Department prepared to enact the 2017 Republican tax overhaul, corporate lobbyists swarmed — and won big.

 

Fed study finds Trump tariffs backfired

MarketWatch

2018 tariffs meant job losses, higher prices for U.S. manufacturing sector.

See also:

 

We can’t even put food on our own table’

Washington Post

American family farmers are struggling amid bad markets and Trump's trade war.

 

New Congressional Report Finds 2017 Tax Cuts Did Not Live Up to Promises

Newsweek

A new congressional report from Democrats on the Joint Economic Committee (JEC) has concluded that President Donald Trump's signature legislative accomplishment, the 2017 tax cuts, failed to live up to its numerous promises.

 

TRANSPORTATION

 

Congress wants small airports to have ‘mothers’ rooms. Fresno beat them to it

Fresno Bee

Washington is moving quickly to make such rooms standard in smaller hub airports around the country.

 

Keeping Track of Traffic: How Clovis Collects and Uses Traffic Data

Clovis Roundup

One of the best things about Clovis, many people say, is that it is unhindered by the traffic that clogs major coastal cities.

 

What you need to know about Visalia's latest roundabout project

Visalia Times Delta

Work on the Tulare Avenue and Santa Fe Street Roundabout Project continues and so do the road closures.

 

$3 gas is becoming a distant memory: Gas prices likely to stay steady in 2020

Visalia Times Delta

For many American motorists, $3-a-gallon gasoline is becoming a distant memory. Americans are likely to pay an average of $2.60 a gallon in 2020, according to fuel savings app GasBuddy's annual forecast. On the whole, drivers haven't paid more than $3 nationwide since 2014, when prices averaged $3.36, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. (Prices along the West Coast and in Hawaii have skewed higher.)

 

California’s commute times are getting worse. See which city has the longest trip to work

Sacramento Bee

Commute times are rising in the vast majority of California cities, with workers statewide now averaging about a 30-minute trip each way, new census estimates show.

 

Will Gavin Newsom’s plan to improve the CA DMV work in 2020?

Sacramento Bee

California’s Department of Motor Vehicles in 2020 is looking to turn the page on a turbulent past couple of years that were highlighted by network outages, long wait times and voter registration errors.

 

Black drivers face more police stops in California, state analysis shows

Los Angeles Times

Black drivers in some of California’s largest cities are stopped and searched by police at higher rates than white and Latino motorists, according to a new state analysis.

 

Sikh drivers are transforming U.S. trucking. Take a ride along the Punjabi American highway

Los Angeles Times

There are 3.5 million truckers in the United States. California has the second-most after Texas. As drivers age toward retirement and a shortage grows, Sikh immigrants and their kids are increasingly taking up the job.

Walters: Bullet train follies

CalMatters

As oft-noted in this space, those in California’s state government — governors, legislators and agency directors — have an unfortunate habit of starting programs and projects that are never fully implemented.

 

Surging Amtrak Seeks Green Light From Congress

WSJ

Railroad saw its best financial year ever but still faces lawmakers skeptical of its profitability-focused strategy.

 

California may curb auto-insurance discounts tied to jobs or education

CBS News

California is proposing to restrict widespread auto-insurance practices that regulators say benefit wealthy, well-educated white people above others.

 

WATER

 

Annual rain, snowpack and reservoir totals for CA in 2019

Fresno Bee

It’s a new year, and a time to take stock in California’s most precious commodity: water.

 

Snowpack just shy of average

Turlock Journal

Despite a rainy fall, snow pack is still below average for this time of year, according to a survey performed Thursday.

 

Enough rain? Sufficient snow? Here’s how wet California and Merced got in 2019

Merced Sun-Star

While October marks the start of the new water year in California for state hydrology officials, the rest of us saw the calendar flip to 2020 on Wednesday. Numbers from the National Weather Service and California Department of Water Resources tell the story of 2019 for Fresno, Merced and the Sierra Nevada: a wet start, followed by a long dry spell (minus May) and finally a few winter storms to end the year strong.

 

Opinion: California can solve its water shortage with the water we have

Visalia Times Delta

California is at a water crossroads.

 

Conserve water

Turlock Journal

Many parts of the world experience a shortage of clean, fresh water to drink and use on a daily basis.

 

“Xtra”

 

Kick off 2020 with art downtown

Bakersfield Californian

The new year can mark a series of firsts and, for artist Laura Lee Best, that starts Friday with her first solo show. Best's work will be on display in "Expressions" at Dagny's Coffee Co. as part of First Friday.

 

City of Bakersfield Animal Control to hold pet vaccine and licensing clinics at local parks

Bakersfield Californian

The City of Bakersfield Animal Control will be offering low cost monthly dog vaccine clinics at local parks on the second Saturday.

 

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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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