July 23, 2021

23Jul

POLICY & POLITICS

 

North SJ Valley:

 

COVID Update:

 

Merced County’s first West Nile Virus case of 2021 found in bird in Turlock area

Merced Sun-Star

A dead bird located near Merced County’s border with Stanislaus County has tested positive for West Nile Virus, according to the Merced County Mosquito Abatement District.

 

Modesto Bee Candidate Forum: Ceres City Council District 1, Special Election

Modesto Bee

Jim Casey, Laurie Smith and Connie Vasquez, candidates for the Ceres City Council District 1 seat, took questions from The Modesto Bee's Editorial Board on Wednesday, July 21, ahead of the city's special election with ballots due Aug. 31 , 2021.

 

New industrial building planned in north Modesto. It could employ hundreds of workers

Modesto Bee

A new development proposes a 300,000 square-foot industrial building that could employ hundreds of people on Kiernan Avenue north of Modesto.

 

Modesto’s police reform committee begins work. Here are highlights of first meeting

Modesto Bee

The Modesto committee charged with looking at improving how the Police Department polices the city has started its work.

 

Returning Modesto-area students struggling with mental health. How districts plan to help

Modesto Bee

Aheli Patel said she thrived in school her freshman year. She loved participating in extracurricular activities, moving through a full schedule and interacting with friends and teachers on campus — until COVID-19 sent students home.

 

Here’s how Modesto Junior College, CSU Stanislaus will protect students from COVID-19

Modesto Bee

Wondering what you can expect at California State University, Stanislaus, and Modesto Junior College this fall? The Modesto Bee spoke with campus leaders to break down each college’s COVID-19 safety plans. Classes start Aug. 23.

 

An unwinnable bidding war: How Modesto’s housing crisis prices out would-be homebuyers

Modesto Bee

For Tiffiny Jones and her fiance, the past few months have been marked by milestones. The couple is expecting their first child in the next few weeks, and they’ve been looking to buy their first home together.

 

Central SJ Valley:

 

COVID Update:

 

‘Clock’s ticking’ for cleanup at this Fresno homeless camp, creating danger for neighbors

Fresno Bee

Piles of trash and makeshift tents made from tarps and chicken wire are hidden from drivers on Highway 99 near the California Avenue overpass in Fresno.

 

No longer in limbo? State bar takes caseload of late Fresno lawyer who had 14 complaints

Fresno Bee

The State Bar of California has been given Superior Court approval to take over the practice of a Fresno attorney who died and left behind more than a dozen frustrated clients.

 

Was the deadly Lemoore water tank explosion ‘preventable’? Here’s what the city says

Fresno Bee

The city of Lemoore said Wednesday afternoon that a water tank explosion that killed one worker and injured another last month was “preventable.”

 

‘We have nothing now’: Immigrant businesses devastated by fire in this Tulare County town

Fresno Bee

Anees Muthana, owner of the only grocery store in the Tulare County community of Poplar, was taking an afternoon nap earlier this month when one of his employees ran into his trailer home behind the market and woke him up.

 

Valley Voices: Fresno, Clovis schoolchildren caught in cross-hairs of COVID masking controversy

Fresno Bee

Masks are back, along with protests against them. Fresno County public health officials recommend that everyone wear masks again in public. This includes kids in schools, which prompted parents in Clovis to protest the need for kids to wear masks.

See also:

 

League of Women Voters: What should Visalia City Council do with its vacancy?

Visalia Times Delta

In our democracy, we have the extraordinary right to participate in elections. The League of Women Voters' ideal is to decide our representation through the ballot. A vote represents all the people in a specified area rather than a few currently in power.

 

More Than An Internship, Fresno Program Closing The Local Gap In Career Pipeline For Young People

CA FWD

Career Nexus, currently in its pilot phase, is more than an internship program. It sets up interns for success by creating a career ecosystem that involves employers, soft-skills training, coaching and support through the duration of the internship.

 

South SJ Valley:

 

COVID Update:

 

Who should investigate police shootings of unarmed civilians? New law gets state DOJ involved when someone dies

Bakersfield Californian

Local law enforcement is grappling with the implementation of new legislation that takes away some police investigation powers from the Kern County District Attorney's Office and gives them to the state Department of Justice.

 

Kern County starts process of redrawing political lines despite missing census data

Bakersfield Californian

The state has begun its redistricting process, a 10-year occurrence that uses U.S. Census data to redraw political maps. The county of Kern held its first redistricting workshop Monday to receive input from the community on how the new maps should be drawn.

 

Northeast Bakersfield gets affordable housing in time of need

Bakersfield Californian

Work is nearing completion on a $17.5-million apartment complex in northeast Bakersfield offering 80 one-, two- and three-bedroom units to military veterans and others with incomes less than the area's median.

 

Neighboring oil producers head to trial over lost production linked to fatal sinkhole near Taft

Bakersfield Californian

A jury trial is about to begin in a years-long dispute between two Kern County oil companies accusing each other of damaging their property and limiting production on a scale of tens of millions of dollars.

See also:

 

State:

 

COVID Update:

 

California's recall ballot is set, but GOP strategy isn't

Bakersfield Californian

With less than a month until ballots start arriving in voters' mailboxes for the Sept. 14 election, the GOP has no clear favorite and must decide whether to unite behind one candidate in the bid to replace Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom.

See also:

 

Statewide Coalition Applauds Historic Broadband Investment

CA FWD

A cross-sector coalition representing local government, schools, hospitals, economic development organizations and more worked for months to support the package, the most significant investment in public broadband infrastructure in the country.

See also:

 

Working Toward an Equitable California Never Stops

California Budget & Policy Center

As California faces both better-than-expected revenues and continued devastation from the pandemic, we must recognize that this is proof of inequality and an opportunity to do better.

See also:

 

These five maps show how California is divided between Democrats and Republicans

San Francisco Chronicle

California has over 22 million registered voters, an all-time record achieved ahead of the 2020 presidential election. The state’s number of registered voters now surpasses Florida’s entire population.

 

Opinion: The California Dream Is Dying

The Atlantic

Behold California, colossus of the West Coast: the most populous American state; the world’s fifth-largest economy; and arguably the most culturally influential, exporting Google searches and Instagram feeds and iPhones and Teslas and Netflix Originals.

 

Federal:

 

COVID Update:

 

Bipartisan infrastructure plan could get another chance after Senate setback

CNBC

A failed Senate test vote dealt a blow to the bipartisan infrastructure framework, but the plan could have a chance to move forward again as soon as Monday.

See also:

 

GOP Senators Resist Raising Debt Ceiling as Democrats Push Biden Spending Plans

Wall Street Journal

Top Senate Republicans said the GOP may line up against any effort to raise the government’s borrowing limit this year, adding to the uncertainty surrounding how Congress will address the issue after the limit is reinstated next month.

See also:

 

Democrats renew questions about FBI background check of Justice Kavanaugh

Los Angeles Times

Senate Democrats are raising new concerns about the thoroughness of the FBI’s background investigation into Justice Kavanaugh after the FBI revealed that it had received thousands of tips and had provided “all relevant” ones to the White House counsel’s office.

See also:

 

Pelosi, McCarthy dig in over Jan. 6 select committee

Roll Call

Speaker Nancy Pelosi and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy are both in steadfast disagreement about whether Reps. Jim Banks and Jim Jordan, should be allowed to serve on the Jan. 6 select committee, setting up questions about what the panel’s roster will look like at its first public hearing on Tuesday.

 

Bill Would Strip Social Media of Protections for Health Misinformation

Wall Street Journal

Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D., Minn.) introduced a bill Thursday that would strip online platforms such as Facebook Inc. and Twitter Inc. of their liability protections if their technologies spread misinformation related to public-health emergencies, such as the Covid-19 pandemic.

 

Editorial: Garland acts to protect journalists; Congress must follow up

Los Angeles Times

Atty. Gen. Merrick Garland has made good on his promise not to seek telephone and other records of reporters through “compulsory process” — including subpoenas and warrants — with a few understandable exceptions.

 

Trump PAC has not used any of the $75M its raised this year to help fund election audits: report

The Hill

Former President Trump’s leadership PAC has not yet used any of the roughly $75 million raised to help finance election reviews, The Washington Post reported Thursday.

See also:

 

Editorial: Biden’s Antitrust Conflicts

Wall Street Journal

Mark another one up for Elizabeth Warren. The Massachusetts Senator continues to fill out the Biden Administration with her allies, and the latest is Jonathan Kanter to run the Justice Department’s antitrust division.

Not all Republicans are embracing McConnell’s vaccine push. Read what some had to say when asked this week

CNN

Nearly half of House Republicans still won’t say publicly whether they are vaccinated against Covid-19, even as new cases rise nationwide. Some of the 97 Republicans who aren’t sharing their vaccination status told CNN they don’t have a responsibility to model behavior to their constituents.

See also:

 

A Deadly Political Divide

U.S. News

Today, the political divide has become more drastic, and more dire, with implications for life-vs.-death and democracy-vs.-autocracy.

 

Democratic Senators Call for Investigation of Tax Avoidance by the Ultrawealthy

ProPublica

Calling ProPublica’s Secret IRS Files series a “bombshell,” Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Sheldon Whitehouse demanded an investigation into how the rich use “legal tax loopholes to avoid paying their fair share of income taxes.”

 

New poll shows record-breaking happiness in America despite COVID-19, politics, climate change

The Hill

The number of Americans who say they are thriving reached its highest point in more than 10 years, despite ongoing global challenges.

See also:

 

Other:

 

Massive internet outage: FedEx, Delta and McDonald's go down

abc30

A sweeping internet disruption on Thursday briefly took out a wide range of major corporate websites - from FedEx and Delta Airlines to HSBC and McDonald's.

 

Opinion: A Pandemic of Misrule

Wall Street Journal

In a world overwhelmed by dramatic events, one’s instinct is to let them wash through. But maybe we should consider the possibility that something other than random chaos is reflected in so many antigovernment protests. Wildfires can also erupt among nations.

 

Time waited for no mom in 2020

Brookings

In 2020, mothers of younger children were primary and primarily caregivers. In this piece, we document declines in labor force participation among mothers and provide evidence of how mothers spent their time in 2020.

 

MADDY INSTITUTE PUBLIC POLICY PROGRAMMING

 

Sunday, July 25, at 10 a.m on ABC30 – Maddy Report: “A Conversation with U.S. Senator Alex Padilla” - Guest: U.S. Senator Alex Padilla, (D-CA). Host: Maddy Institute Executive Director, Mark Keppler.

 

Sunday, July 25, at 10 a.m. on Newstalk 580AM/105.9FM (KMJ) – Maddy Report - Valley Views Edition: "U.S. Senator Alex Padilla: Valley Impressions"- Guests: Brian Clark, Editor - Modesto Bee and Merced Sun Star; Joe Kieta, Editor - Fresno Bee; Paul Hurley, formerly with Visalia Times Delta. Host: Maddy Institute Executive Director, Mark Keppler.

 

AGRICULTURE/FOOD

All California Public School Students Can Now Get Free School Lunches

LAist

As schools in Los Angeles County move to in-person classes this fall, all California public school students will be eligible to eat lunch for free thanks to a new recently passed state law. This new program will be the largest of its kind in the United States.

 

Republican congressman bulldozes cannabis grows of Hmong farmers in California

Politico

A California Republican congressman released videos this week of himself bulldozing unlicensed cannabis grows, a move local Hmong farmers say is likely to stoke racial tensions that have escalated during a major wildfire that continues to burn in the area.

 

As drought slams California and Oregon, Klamath farmers grow fish to quell a water war

Los Angeles Times

It’s a strange place to find fish, deep in the high desert, where drought-baked earth butts against scrubby mountains.

 

Labor Shortage Concerns a Bigger Problem for U.S. Agriculture Sector

National Law Review

The food and agriculture sector of the United States is facing a looming shortage of workers. This was a concern even before the COVID-19 pandemic hit the globe, and the shortage of laborers has worsened with time.

 

CRIMINAL JUSTICE/FIRE/PUBLIC SAFETY

 

Crime:

 

No longer in limbo? State bar takes caseload of late Fresno lawyer who had 14 complaints

Fresno Bee

The State Bar of California has been given Superior Court approval to take over the practice of a Fresno attorney who died and left behind more than a dozen frustrated clients.

 

Who should investigate police shootings of unarmed civilians? New law gets state DOJ involved when someone dies

Bakersfield Californian

Local law enforcement is grappling with the implementation of new legislation that takes away some police investigation powers from the Kern County District Attorney's Office and gives them to the state Department of Justice.

 

Gov. Newsom announces new efforts to tackle rise in crime, retail theft

abc 7

Gov. Gavin Newsom, appearing with local law enforcement officials and mayors, announced new efforts to tackle a sharp rise in retail theft and other crimes that California has been seeing this year.

 

The IRS Won't Be Calling, Emailing Or Texting. Don't Fall For Child Tax Credit Scams

VPR

It's been just days since the IRS began sending out child tax credit payments — meaning tens of millions of families have started to receive up to $300 per child — and already the agency is warning American families about scammers trying to steal their money.

 

Public Safety:

 

Was the deadly Lemoore water tank explosion ‘preventable’? Here’s what the city says

Fresno Bee

The city of Lemoore said Wednesday afternoon that a water tank explosion that killed one worker and injured another last month was “preventable.”

Modesto’s police reform committee begins work. Here are highlights of first meeting

Modesto Bee

The Modesto committee charged with looking at improving how the Police Department polices the city has started its work.

 

Outgunned: Why California’s groundbreaking firearms law is failing

Visalia Times Delta

Two decades ago, California legislators added a new weapon to the state’s growing arsenal of gun-control measures, already among the toughest in the nation. Their motivation came from 2,000 miles away in a shaken Chicago suburb.

See also:

 

Fire:

 

Northern California wildfires: Dixie Fire tops 100k acres; questions raised over Tamarack Fire

Fresno Bee

As two major California wildfires continue to spread rapidly, one politician is questioning whether federal fire crews have a handle on the situation.

See also:

 

Peak Fire reaches 32% containment as smoke billows into Valley

Visalia Times Delta

The California Interagency Incident Management Team 11 began managing the Peak Fire's containment as of 7 a.m. on Thursday morning. Firefighters contained around 10% of the 2,000-acre fire on Thursday and battled Friday to get to 32% containment.

 

Western wildfires grow, but better weather helps crews

Bakersfield Californian

Lower winds and better weather helped crews using bulldozers and helicopters battling the nation’s largest wildfire in southern Oregon while a Northern California wildfire crossed into Nevada, prompting evacuations as blazes burn across the West.

 

‘We have nothing now’: Immigrant businesses devastated by fire in this Tulare County town

Fresno Bee

Anees Muthana, owner of the only grocery store in the Tulare County community of Poplar, was taking an afternoon nap earlier this month when one of his employees ran into his trailer home behind the market and woke him up.

 

PG&E Says It Will Bury 10,000 Miles Of Power Lines

Capital Public Radio

Pacific Gas and Electric announced Wednesday that it intends to lay 10,000 miles of underground power lines throughout California, beginning in high-risk fire areas.

See also:

 

California Wildfires: Your Questions Answered

VPR

Californians are facing what could be another historic wildfire season. From the coast to Southern California, the Central Valley up to the North State, this special broadcast show will answer your most pressing questions about wildfires.

 

See How Wildfire Smoke Spread Across America

New York Times

Wildfire smoke from Canada and the Western United States stretched across the continent this week, covering skies in a thick haze and triggering health alerts from Toronto to Philadelphia.

 

ECONOMY/JOBS

 

Economy:

 

Income for Q2 increases at Central Valley Community Bank

Business Journal

Central Valley Community Bancorp, parent company of Central Valley Community Bank in Fresno, announced net income of $7.56 million for the second quarter — up from $2.3 million in the same quarter of last year.

 

Small businesses lifted by return of summer tourists

Business Journal

U.S. states and cities have loosened many of their restrictions on crowd size and mask-wearing, a positive sign for businesses that struggled for more than a year when theme parks and other tourist attractions were shuttered.

 

Interview: How Inflation Is Affecting Northern California

Capital Public Radio

If you’ve been noticing that everything seems more expensive, you’re not just imagining it. Inflation is the highest it’s been in 13 years at over 5%.

See also:

 

The return of superstar cities

Axios

New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles and the like are coming back even stronger, solidifying their economic dominance for the future. "These cities serve deep purposes for the economy and society," says Mark Muro of the Brookings Institution

 

Jobs:

 

New industrial building planned in north Modesto. It could employ hundreds of workers

Modesto Bee

A new development proposes a 300,000 square-foot industrial building that could employ hundreds of people on Kiernan Avenue north of Modesto.

 

Unemployed California workers could start getting money much faster. Here’s why

Sacramento Bee

Unemployment payments are about to come more quickly to a lot of Californians. Because of the overwhelming workload at the state’s Employment Development Department, it can take weeks to determine eligibility.

See also:

 

U.S. jobless claims rise to 419,000 from pandemic low

Los Angeles Times

The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits rose last week from its lowest level of the pandemic, even as the job market appears to be rebounding on the strength of a reopened economy.

See also:

 

For 3.5 million California families, jobs don’t cover high cost of living

CalMatters

California’s high cost of housing and child care are creating such a burden on working families that millions of households don’t make enough to meet their most basic necessities.

 

U.S. Unemployment Benefit Rolls Shrink as States Exit Pandemic Programs

Wall Street Journal

The number of Americans receiving jobless payments fell this month to the lowest level since early in the coronavirus pandemic, but first-time applications rose as supply constraints persist in the auto industry.

 

EDUCATION

 

K-12:

 

‘My child, my choice.’ Clovis parents, school leaders protest classroom mask requirement

Fresno Bee

Echoing the sentiments of many of the dozens of protesters outside Wednesday’s Clovis Unified School Board meeting, board members expressed frustration over the recently announced face-mask requirement in schools.

See also:

 

Returning Modesto-area students struggling with mental health. How districts plan to help

Modesto Bee

Aheli Patel said she thrived in school her freshman year. She loved participating in extracurricular activities, moving through a full schedule and interacting with friends and teachers on campus — until COVID-19 sent students home.

 

Teen with speech impediment kicked out of class for not wearing mask, CA lawsuit says

Fresno Bee

A father has sued a California school district (Palo Alto Unified School District) after he said his teenage son with a disability was booted from a summer class for not wearing a mask.

See also:

 

How to help protect your school from ransomware attacks

CalMatters

Cybersecurity advice is often scattered and difficult to understand if you’re not a tech expert — it can be brutal out there for school administrators, educators and parents trying to figure out how to protect their schools from cyberattacks.

 

Higher Ed:

UC tuition to increase next year in first significant fee hike since Great Recession

Fresno Bee

The UC approved its first significant tuition increase in a decade and set a course to continue raising fees every year for the next five years. Tuition will grow by $534 for incoming students in the 2022-2023 school year, a 4.2% increase from current undergraduate tuition and fees.

See also:

 

Here’s how Modesto Junior College, CSU Stanislaus will protect students from COVID-19

Modesto Bee

Wondering what you can expect at California State University, Stanislaus, and Modesto Junior College this fall? The Modesto Bee spoke with campus leaders to break down each college’s COVID-19 safety plans. Classes start Aug. 23.

 

California lacks timely data on which high schoolers go to college. This might fix that.

CalMatters

California high schools say they make students college-ready, but rarely does the public have data to see if students actually made it to college and thrived. California lags the nation in public data showing how students move from school to college and the workforce.

 

Quick college credentials: Student outcomes and accountability policy for short-term programs

Brookings

A small, though important, set of postsecondary programs have largely escaped the notice of policymakers and researchers: short-term vocational programs lasting between 300-599 clockhours.

 

ENVIRONMENT/ENERGY

 

Environment:

 

Opinion: Plant poachers threaten California’s biodiversity

CalMatters

New bill to protect dudleya is the state’s first law drafted to specifically target thieves who have made millions stripping coastlines of native succulents.

 

Effort to fund racially diverse climate groups gets momentum

Bakersfield Californian

Efforts to increase how much philanthropic funding goes to minority-led environmental organizations are gaining momentum, with one group's push for transparency from the nation’s top climate donors drawing big-name support.

 

Editorial: Climate change is driving extreme floods, wildfires and heat. Will the world meet the moment?

Los Angeles Times

The summer isn’t even halfway through and it’s already proved to be a season of deadly extremes. In a little over a month, four major heat waves have broiled the Western United States, including record-shattering triple-digit temperatures in Oregon and Washington that caused hundreds of heat-related deaths.

See also:

 

The 2021 Grant Program is now open!

California Resilience Challenge

The California Resilience Challenge is a statewide effort, led by businesses and a diverse range of partners, to build local climate resilience and support a shared vision for a resilient California in the face of increasing climate threats.

 

Green infrastructure: Pass it and then we’ll see what’s in it

AEI

The modern Beltway Republican Party deserves a healthy measure of blame for our arrival at the cusp of massively destructive climate-policy implementation.

 

Energy:

 

Aera appeals state's fracking permit denial

Bakersfield Californian

Aera Energy LLC has filed a 59-page appeal of the state's high-profile decision July 8 to deny the company permission to perform 21 fracking jobs on oil wells in western Kern.

 

Neighboring oil producers head to trial over lost production linked to fatal sinkhole near Taft

Bakersfield Californian

A jury trial is about to begin in a years-long dispute between two Kern County oil companies accusing each other of damaging their property and limiting production on a scale of tens of millions of dollars.

 

Unpaid utility bills? California will pay off $2 billion to avoid shutoffs

CalMatters

Lawmakers have agreed to pay off $2 billion of Californians’ utilities debt, but haven’t extended the shutoff moratoria past Sept. 30. One family’s experience of surviving a heat wave without water or power reveals what’s at stake.

 

Startup Claims Breakthrough in Long-Duration Batteries

Wall Street Journal

A four-year-old startup says it has built an inexpensive battery that can discharge power for days using one of the most common elements on Earth: iron.

 

HEALTH/HUMAN SERVICES

 

Health:

 

Unvaccinated? Here’s what COVID ‘surge’ likely will mean for you, Fresno’s top doc warns

Fresno Bee

“We feel like we’re on the cusp of a surge statewide, and I think our region here in Fresno County will also be experiencing that same uptick in numbers,” Vohra told reporters in a weekly briefing on the pandemic.

See also:

 

The Delta Variant Will Drive A Steep Rise In U.S. COVID Deaths, A New Model Shows

NPR

The current COVID-19 surge in the U.S. — fueled by the highly contagious delta variant — will steadily accelerate through the summer and fall, peaking in mid-October, with daily deaths more than triple what they are now.

See also:

 

Breakthrough COVID cases: Doctor explains your chances of contracting virus after vaccination

abc30

As the Delta variant spreads, we are learning more about breakthrough COVID-19 cases. Numbers from California's state health department help put into perspective what the chances are of getting coronavirus after being vaccinated -- and just how risky it is.

See also:

 

Merced County’s first West Nile Virus case of 2021 found in bird in Turlock area

Merced Sun-Star

A dead bird located near Merced County’s border with Stanislaus County has tested positive for West Nile Virus, according to the Merced County Mosquito Abatement District.

 

How to protect yourself from wildfire smoke

Los Angeles Times

Wildfire season is already off to a record-breaking start, and experts are warning that smoke from the state’s biggest blazes may be as dangerous as the flames themselves.

See also:

 

U.S. Vaccine Panel Signals Preliminary Support for Covid-19 Booster Shots

Wall Street Journal

A panel of health experts advising the U.S. government on vaccines expressed preliminary support for giving Covid-19 boosters to immunocompromised people, but said they were waiting for regulatory action before making a formal recommendation.

 

U.S. Life Expectancy Plummeted by a Year and a Half in 2020

U.S. News

Life expectancy at birth in the U.S. declined by a year and a half in 2020, marking the largest one-year drop since World War II as COVID-19 tore through the country, according to new data from the CDC's National Center for Health Statistics.

 

Human Services:

 

Newsom promised big on California health care. Where do his bold plans stand now?

CalMatters

Three of the California governor’s boldest health care promises — including affordable medications and universal health care — have made little progress so far.

 

Low-wage workers in California can’t afford to take family leave. This bill seeks to change that.

CalMatters

California was the first state to offer paid leave to parents and caregivers. But many lower-paid workers can’t take advantage, even though money for the program gets taken from their paychecks.

 

“Don’t You Work With Old People?”: Many Elder-Care Workers Still Refuse to Get COVID-19 Vaccine

ProPublica

Amid a “pandemic of the unvaccinated,” more than 40% of the nation’s nursing home and long-term health care workers have yet to receive vaccinations.

 

China Has Rejected A WHO Plan For Further Investigation Into The Origins Of COVID-19

VPR

China cannot accept the World Health Organization's plan for the second phase of a study into the origins of COVID-19, a senior Chinese health official said Thursday.

 

Webinar: Developing the Healthcare Workforce of Tomorrow

U.S. News

An aging population, the evolution of more tech-enabled and personalized care, and other changes in how (and where) care is delivered are also affecting the ways that hospitals and health systems recruit, retain and develop their workforces.

 

IMMIGRATION

 

Video: Immigrants in California

PPIC

Immigration has long had a significant economic and social impact in California. The state is home to nearly 11 million immigrants—about a quarter of the immigrant population nationwide.

 

Backlogs, Long Waits Throw DACA Recipients' Status, Jobs and Futures into Jeopardy

U.S. News

Thousands of so-called Dreamers have been waiting months for their DACA to be renewed, desperately hoping that their renewals come through before their current status expires as USCIS struggles to wade through a ballooning backlog of requests.

 

LAND USE/HOUSING

 

Land Use:

 

Will Allowing Duplexes and Lot Splits on Parcels Zoned for Single-Family Create New Homes?

Terner Center for Housing Innovation

Senate Bill 9 is one of the highest-profile housing-related bills in California’s current legislative session, and aims to expand the state’s capacity for smaller-scaled housing, particularly in higher-resourced, single-family neighborhoods.

See also:

 

Housing:

 

Northeast Bakersfield gets affordable housing in time of need

Bakersfield Californian

Work is nearing completion on a $17.5-million apartment complex in northeast Bakersfield offering 80 one-, two- and three-bedroom units to military veterans and others with incomes less than the area's median.

 

An unwinnable bidding war: How Modesto’s housing crisis prices out would-be homebuyers

Modesto Bee

For Tiffiny Jones and her fiance, the past few months have been marked by milestones. The couple is expecting their first child in the next few weeks, and they’ve been looking to buy their first home together.

 

New study paints sobering picture of cost of living in California

abc10

A new cost of living study by the United Ways of California reveals what many already know: it's expensive to live in the Golden State.

 

 

Coronado Is Flouting California’s New Affordable Housing Requirements

KPBS

Last year, the state government and the regional planning agency, SANDAG, tasked Coronado with drafting a housing plan that adds capacity for 912 news homes over the next eight years. More than half those homes should be affordable for low-income households.

 

U.S. median home price hits all time high as existing home sales rebound

Los Angeles Times

Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes rose in June, snapping a four-month losing streak, while strong demand for higher-end properties and ultra-low mortgage rates helped push prices to a record high.

 

Tenants at Risk for Eviction as Pandemic Protections Are Set to Expire

Wall Street Journal

State and local governments are struggling to distribute $47 billion in federal money aimed at helping tenants who can’t pay rent because of the Covid-19 crisis, leaving many people at risk of being thrown out of their homes when an eviction moratorium expires on July 31.

 

PUBLIC FINANCES

 

Unemployed California workers could start getting money much faster. Here’s why

Fresno Bee

Unemployment payments are about to come more quickly to a lot of Californians. Because of the overwhelming workload at the state’s Employment Development Department, it can take weeks to determine eligibility.

Cost of fighting COVID in California: $12.3 billion

CalMatters

An influx of taxpayer money has paid for everything from masks, hospital beds and student laptops to extra workers for unemployment hotlines and tracing contacts.

 

For 3.5 million California families, jobs don’t cover high cost of living

CalMatters

California’s high cost of housing and child care are creating such a burden on working families that millions of households don’t make enough to meet their most basic necessities.

 

The next child tax credit payment date is Aug. 13. Here are some key things you should know.

Washington Post

The online pleas of parents searching for answers to why they haven’t received advance child tax credit payments — or why the amount wasn’t what they expected — are a reminder of how many millions of families are living on the financial edge.

 

New Aid Coming for Mortgage Borrowers at Risk of Foreclosure

Wall Street Journal

Borrowers who fell behind on their mortgages during the Covid-19 pandemic and continue to face economic hardship will get help from a Biden administration program announced on Friday, a bid to prevent a sharp rise in foreclosures over the coming months.

 

TRANSPORTATION

 

California Dreaming: How the Golden State is at the forefront of the electric vehicle revolution

abc7

Our special series "California Dreaming" takes a look at the issues that are threatening the California Dream, and the people working to keep the dream alive. With the automotive industry going through an electric vehicle revolution, the Golden State is leading the way.

 

Bullet train budget battle: Should California spend more on urban transit, not high-speed rail?

CalMatters

Gov. Newsom wants $4.2 billion to finish the Central Valley link for the bullet train, but legislators aren’t sold. The governor and fellow Democrats are negotiating whether to spend more on urban transportation projects.

 

Electric-Vehicle Sales Growth Outpaces Broader Auto Industry

Wall Street Journal

The auto industry’s push into electric vehicles has gained traction this year with sales of these models growing at a faster clip than the broader U.S. car business.

 

WATER

 

Forever chemicals: California unveils health goals for contaminated drinking water

CalMatters

It’s California’s first big step toward regulating “forever chemicals,” which are ubiquitous in California and around the globe. The proposed goals — which aim to make the cancer risk negligible — are many times lower than federal guidelines for drinking water.

 

Without Enough Water To Go Around, Farmers In California Are Exhausting Aquifers

VPR

The next time you pick up some California-grown carrots or melons in the grocery store, consider the curious, contested odyssey of the water that fed them.

 

“Xtra”

Businesses showing support for Clovis native competing in Olympics

abc30

When Jenna Prandini secured her spot on the Olympic team, her family was there to celebrate in Oregon last month. Jenna's father, Carlo, says family members were ready to go to Japan until they learned fans wouldn't be allowed due to COVID precautions.

 

A few Tokyo Olympians have Modesto-area ties. One of them is an Army sharpshooter

Modesto Bee

Several people with Modesto ties will take part in the Tokyo Olympics–swimming, baseball, golf, basketball and rifle shooting. Some of the athletes spent part of their youth in the area–swimmer Erika Brown, golfer Bryson DeChambeau and basketball player Gabe Vincent.

 

Bethany Clough: What’s a ‘cheese lounge’? This new breakfast and lunch spot in downtown Fresno has one

Fresno Bee

A Fresno charcuterie business has opened a cafe in downtown Fresno, serving its own twist on breakfast and lunch. Fig & Honey is on the ground floor of the T.W. Patterson building at Fulton and Tulare streets in space once occupied by Casa de Tamales.

 

Climate change is forcing us indoors — and childhood will never be the same.

Washington Post

If you’ve ever witnessed a group of cooped-up children released outside to play, it’s not unlike a flock of birds taking flight. Potential energy converts to kinetic in one great burst, little legs whirling over the grass, dyads and triads spinning off into their own miniature worlds.

 

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Maddy Institute Updated List of San Joaquin Valley Elected Officials HERE.

 

The Kenneth L. Maddy Institute 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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