Maddy Institute – July 26, 2021

26Jul

POLICY & POLITICS

North SJ Valley:

COVID Update:

● Where Stanislaus stands on vaccines, cases and deaths Modesto Bee

Editorial: It’s your moral duty, Modesto mayor, to speak up on COVID vaccine

Modesto Bee

Modesto Mayor Sue Zwahlen should use her unique platform to encourage more people to get COVID-19 vaccines. The COVID crisis is not close to over, as many hoped and wished when California fully reopened in mid-June.

Unemployment rate moves up a little in Stanislaus County

Turlock Journal

The unemployment rate for June came in at 8.8 %, up from 8 % in May, according to the Employment Development Department. The rate did come in below the year-ago estimate of 13.7 %.

TUSD forum clarifies safety plan for in-person learning

Turlock Journal

In preparation for the first day of school on Aug. 11, Turlock Unified School District on Wednesday held a virtual forum informing the community of changes to its school safety plan following the first full year of academics during the pandemic.

New industrial building planned in north Modesto 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.

Central SJ Valley:

COVID Update:

● What’s behind the rise in COVID cases in Fresno, Valley? Here are the latest figures Fresno Bee

● 3 kids test positive for COVID at Fresno County camp. Is Delta variant a bigger concern? Fresno Bee

● Kings County COVID cases spike 84% in the last month, health officials urge everyone to wear masks abc30

● The Delta Variant And Why Fresno County Is Recommending That Vaccinated People Mask Back Up VPR

Latest Masking Mandate Causes Clovis Parents Protest, Address CUSD

Clovis Roundup

As attendees of the Clovis Unified School District (CUSD) Governing Board meeting walked into 1680 David E. Cook Way, they were greeted by protestors, many of which spilled into the chambers at the Wednesday, July 22 meeting.

Tulare County officials say state red tape made water crisis, suffering worse for Teviston

Fresno Bee

The state’s response to the water crisis that gripped tiny Teviston, California, earlier this summer should have been a no-brainer, according to Tulare County officials.

See also:

● Deadly Lemoore water tank explosion 'very preventable' Visalia Times Delta

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

Fresno Bee

The large homeless encampment near Monterey Street and California Avenue in south Fresno isn’t technically on a freeway embankment, so it hasn’t been targeted for cleanup and services by Mayor Jerry Dyer’s Project Off-Ramp.

Cottage Home Program Brings Value to Properties

Clovis Roundup

In 2018, Clovis launched its award-winning Cottage Home Program allowing Clovis residents to add an additional small-scale unit to their properties. Community members met the program with considerable interest and rave reviews.

Editorial: West Fresno residents have strong vision for their area. City leaders need to support it

Fresno Bee

Over the last century, Fresno’s political leadership either hastened or ignored the plight of west Fresno as it fell behind economically and environmentally. Today it is one of the poorest and most unhealthy places to live in the state.

Editorial: Fresno’s great shame: City must apologize for its terrible legacy of racist policies

Fresno Bee

The Tulsa Race Massacre’s 100th anniversary was remembered in June, a shocking, sad event in U.S. history.

Fresno State Asm Arambula leader announces $15 million for San Joaquin River

Fresno Bee

Assemblymember Joaquin Arambula, D-Fresno, announced a $15 million investment in the agency that oversees the San Joaquin River on Friday.

Gig workers rally in Fresno in support of Right to Organize Act

abc30

Rallies were held across California earlier this week in support of the Right to Organize Act that is currently stalled in the State Legislature. One of the demonstrations was held in downtown Fresno at city hall Wednesday afternoon.

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

Visalia Times Delta

The remaining four Council members have until Aug. 13 to decide whether to fill this vacancy by appointment, call a special election, or leave the seat unfilled until the next general election in November 2022.

Eastern Tulare County Residents Are Struggling After a Fire Burned Down Immigrant-Owned Businesses

VPR

Five days after the fire, evidence of its destruction is everywhere. A couch inside one of the trailers is burned down to its springs. Half burnt backpacks are piled up near the CVA building. And the local business owners say they are still processing the loss.

California Republican who denounced Trump continues to draw GOP cash for upcoming election

Sacramento Bee

A California Republican who backed former President Donald Trump’s impeachment is piling up money for his 2022 reelection campaign despite a challenge from within the GOP.

South SJ Valley:

COVID Update:

● Kern County's COVID cases up 82.4%; California cases surge 81.7% Taft Midway Driller

Local hospitals strive to comply with price transparency rule

Bakersfield Californian

Kern County hospitals are rolling out new pricing information, behind schedule for the most part, as part of a federal push to give prospective inpatients a better look at estimated charges for standard services.

Company questions Kern about contract to upgrade emergency radio system potentially worth $78M

Bakersfield Californian

A company says it has been purposefully excluded from a multimillion dollar contract with the city of Bakersfield, Kern County and Tejon Ranch to upgrade the county’s public safety communication network.

Former Secretary of State Pompeo speaks about Newsom, oil and inflation at annual Lincoln Day Dinner

Bakersfield Californian

Rep. Kevin McCarthy brought former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to speak to a sold-out crowd of 500 Republicans gathered for the annual Lincoln Day Dinner at the Bakersfield Marriott at the Convention Center Friday night.

State:

COVID Update:

● California coronavirus hospitalizations hit highest point in months as Delta spreads Los Angeles Times

● Will California need a new mask mandate? Delta variant brings Newsom new challenges Los Angeles Times

● ‘Another Surge Is Likely;’ California COVID Positivity Rate Rises To 5.2%; Officials Urge Vaccinations CBS SF Bay Area

● Shots for cash: Newsom offers big bucks for Californians who get their shots CalMatters

● Newsom faces COVID quandary CalMatters

● California's rising COVID-19 rate sparks pleas to vaccinate PressDemocrat

Gavin Newsom report card: What he has done, and what he hasn’t

CalMatters

For voters who need a highlight reel of Newsom’s two-and-a-half years at the helm of state government, here’s a look at some of the most significant ways he’s changed California — and some of the ways he hasn’t.

● Newsom signs bill prohibiting police from posting some mug shots to social media Fresno Bee

California Republicans approve recall endorsement process

Fresno Bee

The California Republican Party cleared the way Saturday to potentially endorse a candidate among the 24 Republicans seeking the governorship in the upcoming recall election.

● Jack Ohman: Forget Republican or Democrat, here’s a more accurate way to describe recall candidates Sacramento Bee

● Walters: Three growing crises could affect Newsom recall CalMatters

● Walters: Could crime surge push Newsom recall? CalMatters

● Opinion: The recall of Gov. Gavin Newsom is more likely than we previously thought San Diego Union-Tribune

● Opinion: 4 needed reforms of California’s recall election rules CalMatters

California Supreme Court will be asked to grant extra time for state’s redistricting panel

Los Angeles Times

alifornia’s citizen redistricting commission will ask the state’s Supreme Court to give the panel two extra weeks to draw political maps, saying that a delay from the federal government in providing new census data will otherwise limit public participation in the once-a-decade process.

Anne Marie Schubert sounds like a Republican, but is trying to become California attorney general as an independent

San Francisco Chronicle

Sacramento District Attorney Anne Marie Schubert is the person Republicans would cook up in a laboratory as their perfect candidate for California attorney general.

California inks contract with new 40K-member childcare union

AP News

At a time when labor unions are struggling across the United States, California on Friday signed a first-time contract with 40,000 childcare providers under a new collective bargaining agreement.

California senators press Congress for $1 billion to prep for future drought

Courthouse News Service

With rural wells running dry and reservoir levels dwindling amid the Western drought, California senators are pressing Congress for an infusion of cash to renovate the state’s collapsing drinking water system.

Dianne Feinstein, Alex Padilla urge Calif Democrats to spend on high-speed rail

Fresno Bee

California Sens. Dianne Feinstein and Alex Padilla this week urged Democratic leaders in the Legislature to get behind Gov. Gavin Newsom’s request to release $4.2 billion for the state’s beleaguered high-speed rail project, wading into a dispute over how to use the money.

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

Federal:

COVID Update:

● Fauci says CDC weighing revised mask guidance amid COVID surges abc30

● Fauci says US headed in `wrong direction’ on coronavirus Modesto Bee

● Breakthrough COVID-19 cases rattle Capitol Roll Call

● Opinion: The pandemic has changed course again. The Biden administration urgently needs to do the same. Washington Post

● The Life Cycle Of A COVID-19 Vaccine Lie NPR

● Doctors Worry That Memory Problems After COVID-19 May Set Stage For Alzheimer's VPR

● Experts weigh in on risky Wuhan study that Fauci, Paul debated Roll Call

● Editorial: Anthony Fauci, Rand Paul and Wuhan Wall Street Journal

Surge of covid delta variant poses new political threat to Biden and his agenda

Washington Post

The rapid increase in coronavirus infections driven by the delta variant over the past month is turning the country’s attention back to the pandemic and threatening to subsume President Biden’s agenda.

Biden hits new low in Gallup poll

The Hill

President Biden's approval rating has dropped to a new low of 50% in Gallup's opinion poll, according to results published Friday.

● Rising Violent Crime Is Likely To Present A Political Challenge For Democrats In 2022 NPR

Fact-checking Biden’s town hall on CNN

Washington Post

Pres Biden made several statements worth fact-checking at a CNN town hall in Cincinnati on Wednesday night, including on covid-19, the economy and a new child tax credit.

Democrats’ Divide on Voting Rights Widens as Biden Faces Pressure

New York Times

The president is increasingly at odds with leaders of the voting rights movement, who see a contrast between his soaring language and his willingness to push Congress to pass federal legislation.

● Opinion: Mr. President, You’re Just Plain Wrong on Voter Suppression New York Times

Biden’s new bill a ‘grab bag’ of social infrastructure

PBS

Six months into Biden's presidency, he's facing numerous challenges: a resurgence of COVID-19, a nation still highly polarized, and a battle to get both a bipartisan infrastructure bill, and a highly ambitious, democrats-only package of social programs through Congress.

● How important is broadband to the $1.2 trillion infrastructure plan? MarketPlace

● ‘G-fees,’ pension smoothing on the table for infrastructure offsets Roll Call

● How Congress Makes Infrastructure Math Add Up: ‘Killing the Dead’ and Other Budget Tactics Wall Street Journal

● Senators Try to Finalize Deal on Infrastructure Package Wall Street Journal

● Democrats embrace ‘cook-the-books’ tactic they bashed under Republican reign Politico

● Editorial: Taking the ‘Bi’ Out of Bipartisan Wall Street Journal

● Opinion: Gaming out the infrastructure talks AEI

Yellen outlines to Congress emergency measures on debt limit

Business Journal

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told Congress on Friday that she will start taking emergency measures next week to keep the government from an unprecedented default on the national debt.

Mississippi asks Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade in upcoming case

Washington Post

Mississippi is asking the Supreme Court to overrule Roe v. Wade in order to uphold the state’s restrictions on abortion access, and to renounce the court’s landmark holding a half-century ago that the Constitution protects a woman’s right to obtain an abortion.

The Supreme Court Injects Partisan Politics Into Independent Agencies

NPR

Twice this June, the Supreme Court held that government experts should have less freedom from political influence. The court decided that the president could exert more control over regulatory agencies, the government institutions that are as important as they sound boring.

‘Deadly serious’: Pelosi goes to war with GOP over Jan. 6

Politico

As much as some in her party might want to move on from Trump, the speaker has made overseeing an investigation of the deadliest attack on the Capitol in two centuries into a core mission this year — putting her squarely in the path of the former president who Democrats say played a central role in the insurrection.

● Jan. 6 select committee takes shape with Kinzinger addition Roll Call

● Why America Isn’t Getting the Jan. 6 Investigation It Needs New York Times

● Democrats move to elevate Cheney’s role on Jan. 6 commission, giving her prime speaking slot Tuesday Washington Post

Mar-a-Lago primary: Trump wields power with endorsements, but some in GOP fear midterm damage

Los Angeles Times

Former President Trump, again upending American political norms, is moving to remake Congress and the Republican Party in his own image.

● Opinion: The GOP has five factions now. They all see a different future for their party. Washington Post

Other:

We’ve compiled 8 tips for identifying false content that you may encounter on the Internet. Use them to be a smart media consumer.

Fresno State Institute for Media and Public Trust

Look past personal political biases. This is crucial in sorting out news content. We often believe the worst about people or politicians we despise. Those biases can blind us to what we are sharing on media, even if there are red flags that suggest stories may not be factual.

Americans' optimism about country's direction over next year drops nearly 20 points since May

abc News

As President Joe Biden completed 100 days in office, the country was optimistic about the coming year, but now, just after hitting the six-month mark, Americans' optimism about the direction of the country has plummeted nearly 20 points, a new ABC News/Ipsos poll finds.

The Life Cycle Of A COVID-19 Vaccine Lie

NPR

Misinformation about COVID-19 vaccines can appear almost anywhere: from an uncle's Facebook post to a well-trusted news commentator. But where does it come from, and why do some myths spread further than others?

● Opinion: How Science Lost the Public’s Trust Wall Street Journal

Outrage As A Business Model: How Ben Shapiro Is Using Facebook To Build An Empire

NPR

In 2021, Ben Shapiro rules Facebook. The conservative podcast host and author's personal Facebook page has more followers than The Washington Post, and he drives an engagement machine unparalleled by anything else on the world's biggest social networking site.

Have Democrats become a party of the left?

Brookings

The current condition of the Democratic Party presents a paradox: on one hand, the party’s ideological composition has shifted to the left; and on the other hand, moderates contributed more votes to Joe Biden’s victory than did liberals.

Marvin Kalb: The shaky pillars of American democracy

Brookings

There are, he believed, two essential pillars of American democracy: one the “sanctity of the law” and the other the “freedom of the press.” If either pillar is shaken, damaged or undermined, he warned, then so too is our democracy.

MADDY INSTITUTE PUBLIC POLICY PROGRAMMING

Sunday, August 1, at 10 a.m on ABC30 – Maddy Report: "Nursing Homes: How COVID Revealed a Quality Care Problem"- Guest: Barbara Feder-Ostrov - CalMatters; Jocelyn Wiener - CalMatters. Host: Maddy Institute Executive Director, Mark Keppler.

Sunday, August 1, at 10 a.m. on Newstalk 580AM/105.9FM (KMJ) – Maddy Report - Valley Views Edition: "Aging Better: What's the Plan?"- Guest: Kim McCoy Wade, Director - CA Department of Aging. Host: Maddy Institute Executive Director, Mark Keppler.

AGRICULTURE/FOOD

Valley farmers might face harshest ever water restrictions due to drought

abc30

Amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, farmers in the Central Valley are now facing more uncertainty. "Not only is this year already bad, it's about to get worse," said Fresno County Farm Bureau CEO Ryan Jacobsen.

● Without Enough Water To Go Around, Farmers In California Are Exhausting Aquifers Capital Public Radio

Farmers Have A Big Problem On Their Hands: They Can't Find A Way To Ship Their Stuff

VPR

Bob Sinner, a specialty soybean producer in North Dakota, has a major problem on his hands: He has plenty of beans, but he's struggling to ship them to his customers overseas, and his deliveries are running at least a month and a half behind schedule.

Supply-Chain Woes Come to School Cafeterias

Wall Street Journal

Schools are struggling to secure food for students ahead of classrooms’ planned reopening in the fall. Some cafeterias are cutting menu choices as food suppliers face labor shortages and transportation challenges that are adding costs and limiting supplies.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE/FIRE/PUBLIC SAFETY

Crime:

Sanger police get new cameras to help with fighting crime

abc30

Sanger police now have a much clearer picture of what is going on in the city. Five new analytic cameras are now in place at major intersections.

Rising Violent Crime Is Likely To Present A Political Challenge For Democrats In 2022

NPR

Many small cities that typically have relatively few murders are seeing significant increases over last year. Killings in Albuquerque, N.M., Austin, Texas, and Pittsburgh, have about doubled so far in 2021, while Portland, Ore., has had five times as many murders.

Public Safety:

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

Fresno Bee

Company questions Kern about contract to upgrade emergency radio system potentially worth $78M

Bakersfield Californian

Outgunned: Why California’s Groundbreaking Firearms Law Is Failing

Capital Public Radio

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:

· Editorial: Progressive Gun-Control Crackup Wall Street Journal

More Calif prison employees to wear body cameras through new oversight measures

Sacramento Bee

California prisons are preparing to require more correctional officers to wear body cameras through an expansion of employee oversight programs funded in the state budget Gov. Gavin Newsom signed earlier this month.

Fired: California bill aims to decertify police for serious misconduct

CalMatters

California is one of only four states without the power to permanently remove law enforcement officers from their jobs. Democrat lawmakers are trying to change that.

Beyond the Crisis: A Long-Term Approach to Reduce, Prevent, and Recover from Intimate Partner Violence

Little Hoover Commission

Calls for a strategic plan and evidence-based decision-making to reduce, prevent, and recover from intimate partner violence in California. Finds the state’s response to intimate partner violence is siloed and lacks goals and action plans to achieve those goals.

Fire:

Kern County Fire Department reports historic 2020 fire season

Bakersfield Calfornian

The Kern County Fire Department said 2020 was a historic fire season for California, with approximately 4.2 million acres burned across California. In 2019, fires consumed about 250,000 acres.

Family smelled smoke but couldn’t find fire. An hour later, flames broke out, killing two

Fresno Bee

A fire at a south Modesto home that killed a mother and her oldest child last month had been smoldering inside their walls for about an hour before it broke through and trapped the family upstairs, according to investigators.

Fresno Fire to host girls' empowerment camp in November

abc30

With less than 8% of firefighters in the nation being women, the Fresno Fire department is hoping to spark change in the male-dominated profession. Girls empowerment camp sign-ups are officially open.

Northern Calif wildfire updates: Dixie and Fly fires merge, continue to push east

Fresno Bee

The Dixie Fire has merged with a smaller blaze burning along its eastern edge, continuing its spread Sunday into Plumas County. The Fly Fire, at 4,300 acres and 5% containment, started just east of the Dixie on Thursday.

● PG&E equipment may have sparked Dixie fire, growing near burn scar of deadly Camp fire Los Angeles Times

● Northern California wildfires merge, forcing more from their homes Los Angeles Times

● Officials urge residents to flee as Dixie Fire, California’s biggest blaze this year, continues to grow Washington Post

Wildfires blasting through West draw states to lend support

Fresno Bee

Out-of-state crews headed to Montana Saturday to battle a blaze that injured five firefighters as the U.S. West struggled with a series of fires that have ravaged rural lands and destroyed homes.

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.

ECONOMY/JOBS

Economy:

Biden Faces Fresh Challenges on Covid-19, Economy

Wall Street Journal

President Biden took office with the goals of overcoming the coronavirus pandemic, spurring economic growth and winning legislative approval for trillions in new spending. Six months in, all three of his major objectives are being tested.

See also:

● U.S. Set to Push Global Economy Over the Recovery Line Wall Street Journal

● Inflation fears and politics shape views of Biden economy AP News

● Delta variant could make American shoppers go back into lockdown, BofA says Insider

A Key Gauge of Future Inflation Is Easing

Wall Street Journal

One of the most important signals of future inflation has begun to ease in the past month, a development that should reassure the Federal Reserve in its prediction that the recent inflation surge will prove largely temporary.

● Opinion: No, Inflation Isn’t Good for Worke rs Wall Street Journal

Minimum-wage lessons for the U.S. from the other side of the world

Washington Post

As the United States debates the effects of raising the federal minimum wage, an instructive experience can be found in Australia, offering a case study in the modern economic theory that raising wages doesn’t kill jobs.

How Corporate America Became a Political Orphan

Wall Street Journal

American business leaders increasingly have been pulled into—or in some cases have dived willingly into—the hot cauldron of today’s political system. How’s that going? Consider events that unfolded within a matter of days recently.

U.S. Population Growth, an Economic Driver, Grinds to a Halt

Wall Street Journal

America’s weak population growth, already held back by a decadelong fertility slump, is dropping closer to zero because of the Covid-19 pandemic. In half of all states last year, more people died than were born, up from five states in 2019.

Jobs:

Gig workers rally in Fresno in support of Right to Organize Act

abc30

Facing labor shortage, local restaurateurs cut hours, delay openings

Business Journal

The well-documented struggle to keep restaurants fully staffed has led to a loss of business hours and even closures for days at a time. Manuel Perales, owner of Yosemite Falls Cafe, runs four locations that are all in need of more workers.

Unemployment rate moves up a little in Stanislaus County

Turlock Journal

The unemployment rate for June came in at 8.8 %, up from 8 % in May, according to the Employment Development Department. The rate did come in below the year-ago estimate of 13.7 %.

Unemployed in 2020? How to see if you're getting a tax refund in 2 minutes

Fresno Bee

In this video, we tell how qualifying workers who were unemployed in 2020 may receive income tax refunds from the Internal Revenue Service because of the coronavirus economic plan passed by Congress.

New industrial building planned in north Modesto 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.

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.

● Where is California poverty most severe? Report shows 1 in 3 households struggle to pay bills Bakersfield Californian

Many Black women felt relieved to work from home, free from microaggressions. Now they’re told to come back.

Washington Post

Working from home means missing out on networking and social interactions ingrained in the workday. But many Black women have solved this problem by gathering together into pods, a trend that predates the pandemic.

Opinion: The majority of Americans lack a college degree. Why do so many employers require one?

Washington Post

Degree discrimination is not illegal, but it is a damaging bias that’s blinding companies to talent they need and reinforcing existing economic inequalities.

EDUCATION

K-12:

Latest Masking Mandate Causes Clovis Parents Protest, Address CUSD

Clovis Roundup

In-person school to begin August 9

Madera Tribune

Madera Unified School District will begin its 2021-2022 school year with all students attending school, physically, full-time, five days a week.

TUSD forum clarifies safety plan for in-person learning

Turlock Journal

Turlock set to offer limited after-school programs amid historic staffing shortage

Modesto Bee

After an unprecedented delay because of staffing shortages, Turlock and Denair elementary school parents can register their students for limited after-school PLAY programs beginning

Thursday.

Kern County schools have soaring budgets to deal with students' great needs

Bakersfield Californian

What a difference a year has made for K-12 school budgets in Kern County. As districts prepared for the 2020-21 school year last summer, they faced deficits in their budgets and cuts as high as 10% while also implementing an unprecedented switch to distance learning.

Walters: California educators battle over woke math

CalMatters

California educators are enmeshed in a debate over whether the traditional mathematics curriculum should be jettisoned in favor of a new method steeped in race and culture.

6 priorities for future research into COVID-19 and its effects on early learning

Brookings

Over 300 reports have been produced on the effects of the COVID-19 crisis on young children’s learning and on early care and education programs, but pressing questions remain. This in-depth review of research reveals six priorities for future studies to focus on.

Opinion: Plummeting test scores are a symptom; remote instruction is the disease

The Hill

Texas recently became the first state to release state test score data since the pandemic hit. Student scores dropped across the board, but the massive declines in results from remote learners drove the downward trend.

California’s school closure rules violated private school families’ rights, appeals court rules

Washington Post

An appeals court Friday ruled that state leaders violated the rights of parents by forcing private schools to stay closed during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Editorial: Congress Beats Up Charter Schools

Wall Street Journal

Democrats in Washington say they want to reduce inequality. So why are they running a guerrilla campaign against charter schools that help so many children escape educational inequality?

‘People are scared’: Democrats lose ground on school equity plans

Politico

Elina Kaplan is the kind of suburban mom who made Joe Biden president. An immigrant who came to the United States from the Soviet Union, she is a registered Democrat from San Mateo County, Calif.

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:

Valley Voices: With latest COVID surge, CSU must require students, staff to get vaccinated before fall

Fresno Bee

The UC recently announced that it will require all students, faculty and staff to be vaccinated against COVID-19 when they return to campus this fall, joining hundreds of other colleges and universities across the United States that have instituted a COVID vaccine mandate.

Valley colleges report hits to enrollment and revenue from COVID-19

abc30

Local colleges and universities are looking to rebound from the pandemic this school year. Schools had to make big changes last year, closing their doors to students and going online.

UC Tuition Hike: Regents To Vote On ‘Forever’ Increase

Capital Public Radio

Get ready for whiplash: After receiving $1.3 billion in new money from lawmakers this year, the University of California now wants to raise tuition on each incoming undergraduate class. Every year. Indefinitely.

● UC students turned a ‘forever’ tuition hike into a five-year hike. Now what? CalMatters

● A New UC Tuition Policy Could Provide Predictability, but at a Cost PPIC

ENVIRONMENT/ENERGY

Environment:

Fresno’s hottest July ever? Here’s what to expect in the final week of the month

Fresno Bee

July of 2021 is in the running to become the hottest midsummer month in Fresno on record, but the National Weather Service says the odds are against it beating 2018 or two other years.

Extreme weather hurts older Californians. That’s started a wave of climate activism

Sacramento Bee

As the weather swings to extremes, no age group is more threatened by its capriciousness than older people, a population ill-prepared for climate change and growing exponentially.

Carbon-capture pipelines offer climate aid; activists are wary

Los Angeles Times

Two companies seeking to build thousands of miles of pipeline across the Midwest are promising the effort will aid rather than hinder the fight against climate change, though some environmental groups remain skeptical.

New California ballot measure would ban Styrofoam food packaging statewide, force industry to reduce plastic litter

Monterey Herald

Setting the stage for a major environmental battle over a growing pollution issue, a coalition of environmental groups has qualified a statewide ballot measure that would require plastic packaging sold in California to be recyclable or reusable.

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.

Climate Scientists Meet As Floods, Fires, Droughts And Heat Waves Batter Countries

VPR

More than 200 of the world's leading climate scientists will begin meeting today to finalize a landmark report summarizing how Earth's climate has already changed, and what humans can expect for the rest of the century.

● Amid summer of fire and floods, a moment of truth for climate action Washington Post

● The West is burning. Climate change is making it worse. Vox

● Summer of disaster: Extreme weather wreaks havoc worldwide as climate change bears down Yahoo News

● Climate change is forcing us indoors — and childhood will never be the same Washington Post

Wet-bulb temperature is important, climate experts say. So what is it?

Washington Post

A measurement long known to climate scientists has begun creeping into the public consciousness as extreme weather conditions force us to reflect on what conditions humans can withstand.

Energy:

Fight over California oil plays out in competing studies

Bakersfield Californian

A battle for public opinion is heating up as the struggle for Kern County's oil industry becomes more and more a political matter.

Editorial: To fulfill promises of Diablo Canyon closure, California ignores fossil fuel emissions

Sacramento Bee

The pitch to close PG&E’s Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant was hard to refuse. It sold California on the best version of itself, where environmentalism and public safety harmonized with our goals for powering the grid exclusively with renewable sources.

Big Oil Companies Push Hydrogen as Green Alternative, but Obstacles Remain

Wall Street Journal

Big oil companies have long touted hydrogen energy as a way to reduce carbon emissions. Now they are grappling with how to make that a reality.

Editorial: Deb Haaland’s Oil and Gas Stall

Wall Street Journal

A federal judge in Louisiana last month blocked President Biden’s suspension of new oil and gas leasing on federal land and ordered the Administration to resume auctions. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland on Thursday gave the judge the back of her hand.

HEALTH/HUMAN SERVICES

Health:

Merced County doctor who contracted COVID-19 stresses need for vaccination

abc30

A local doctor known for her work in the fight against COVID-19 is stressing the importance of getting vaccinated - after she herself recently came down with the virus.

GOP pro-vaccine message clouded by emphasis on choice and privacy Roll Call
Opinion: Republicans unleashed a deadly vaccine skepticism. Can they now contain it? Washington Post

· Why vaccinated America can't turn its back on unvaccinated America Axios

AP-NORC poll: Most unvaccinated Americans don’t want shots AP News
Doctors, nurses and medical groups call for mandatory coronavirus vaccinations for health workers Washington Post
How to talk to vaccine-hesitant friends and family about getting the shot Washington Post
Opinion: The two numbers that could get people to take the vaccine Washington Post

· Mixed AstraZeneca-Pfizer shot boosts COVID antibody level - study Reuters

· Covid-19 Immunity Wanes, but Third Shot Still Rarely Needed, BioNTech CEO Says Wall Street Journal

· Vaccinated people can get ‘breakthrough’ infections: How worried should we be? Los Angeles Times

● Breakthrough cases are extremely rare. Here’s what it’s like to be one of them. Washington Post

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

VPR

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.

● Opinion: What history tells us about the delta variant — and the variants that will follow Washington Post

● Coronavirus weekly need-to-know: Vaccines vs. delta, orphans, masks at school & more Sacramento Bee

● Are COVID symptoms different with the delta variant? Here’s what experts say Sacramento Bee

● Researchers link ‘heavy wildfire smoke’ in Reno to increased risk of contracting COVID-19 Sacramento Bee

States are scaling back coronavirus reporting just as cases surge

Los Angeles Times

Several states scaled back their reporting of COVID-19 statistics this month just as cases across the country started to skyrocket, depriving the public of real-time information on outbreaks, cases, hospitalizations and deaths in their communities.

Telehealth leapt forward with COVID-19. Who was left behind?

Los Angeles Times

When Johnnett Kent learned she had lung cancer, the COVID-19 pandemic was already descending on California. Her doctor didn’t want the 49-year-old to risk her health by heading into a crowded clinic between surgery, radiation and chemotherapy.

Editorial: We need a COVID postmortem so we do better with the next plague

Los Angeles Times

The most troubling revelation in “The Premonition,” the recent book by California author Michael Lewis, was that during the first crucial first months of the COVID-19 pandemic no one was really in charge of our nation’s response.

Human Services:

Who will take care of the disabled and elderly? California faces ‘unprecedented’ labor shortage

Fresno Bee

As the pandemic took hold, many families grappled with a shortage in the direct care workforce caused by decades of sub-minimum wage rates. The average annual turnover rate for the direct support professionals workforce was 45% even before the pandemic.

COVID vaccine now mandatory for all employees of Fresno's St. Agnes

abc30

Thousands of hospital workers in Fresno will have to be fully vaccinated by September 21st - or have to start looking for a new job. Trinity Health announced it is requiring all of its employees and colleagues to be vaccinated against COVID-19.

● During the pandemic, the role of hospital chaplains evolved Bakersfield Californian

Temples To Clinics: Why COVID Vaccine Events Are Popping Up At Valley’s Sikh Gurdwaras

VPR

Now that most pandemic restrictions on houses of worship have been lifted, the Sikh Institute of Fresno looks much like it did pre-COVID. On a recent Sunday at this 3-story, salmon-colored temple known as a gurdwara, people stream in and out of the worship hall.

IMMIGRATION

Health care for older immigrants sees momentum among states

Fresno Bee

Most mornings, 62-year-old Maria Elena Estamilla wakes up with pelvic pain and dread that she faces the same fate as her mother and grandmother: fatal cervical cancer.

Local DACA Recipients React To Court Ruling That Program Is Unconstitutional

VPR

Last week, a federal judge in Texas ruled that the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA, is unconstitutional. For now that means new DACA applications will not be approved, but DACA renewals will still be processed.

Pressure Is Building On Biden To Do More For Asylum-Seekers And Migrants

VPR

President Biden faces growing pressure from supporters who want his administration to stop turning away asylum-seekers — and to invest more political capital on creating a pathway to citizenship for the nation's 11 million undocumented immigrants.

Some Permanent Residents Who Left The U.S. During The Pandemic Are Finding It Difficult To Get Back Home

Capital Public Radio

Immigrants who are trying to get back home to the U.S. are having to navigate complex legal situations. Some left for their own health and safety while others left to take care of loved ones.

LAND USE/HOUSING

Land Use:

Editorial: West Fresno residents have strong vision for their area. City leaders need to support it

Fresno Bee

When a package at the front door means a warehouse next door

CalMatters

While warehouses have become ubiquitous in the Inland Empire, recent proposals call for rezoning residential land for industrial use, leaving the largely minority and low-income residents who live there with few choices.

Housing:

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.

See also:

· The new real estate normal Washington Post

Cottage Home Program Brings Value to Properties

Clovis Roundup

Why are key California affordable housing bills bottled up?

CalMatters

Affordable housing advocates are asking why bills supported by state Senate leader Toni Atkins are stuck in the Assembly. One answer appears to be a labor provision pushed by the State Building and Construction Trades Council.

End of Eviction Moratorium Puts Many Tenants at Risk of Losing Their Homes

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.

See also:

● Editorial: Rebuking a Lawless CDC Wall Street Journal

PUBLIC FINANCES

Free money for all? Mayors hope local tests bring big change

Business Journal

By triggering stimulus checks for millions of people and expanding the child tax credit for many families, the pandemic offered a clear takeaway for some officials: That putting tax dollars in people’s pockets is achievable and can be a lifeline to those struggling to get by.

Income Tax Withholding Tracker: July 1 - July 23

Legislative Analyst Office

California employers are required to make regular income tax withholding payments for their employees, which can provide a real-time indication of the direction and magnitude of the aggregate change in the employers’ payrolls.

EDD to start auto-paying unemployment benefits

CalMatters

With hundreds of thousands of jobless Californians waiting more than three weeks for the state EDD to process their claims, the agency announced that it will start automatically paying benefits to claimants who have already cleared fraud filters and verified their identity.

● California EDD makes change to pay unemployment benefits faster: Will you benefit? Visalia Times Delta

● Opinion: Taxpayers, not employers, should pay down EDD debt CalMatters

● How Unemployment Insurance Fraud Exploded During the Pandemic ProPublica

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.

Opinion: The smartest way to make the rich pay is not a wealth tax

Washington Post

Shrinking the wealth gap calls for a two-pronged attack: offer more opportunity to those at the bottom and trim the undue advantages of those at the top. In this editorial, we address the latter issue by discussing how best to tax the rich.

TRANSPORTATION

Dianne Feinstein, Alex Padilla urge California Democrats to spend on high-speed rail

Fresno Bee

UCLA study: San Joaquin Valley a success in making clean cars accessible to low-income earners and disadvantaged communities.

UCLA Luskin Center for Innovation

As part of its ambitious climate agenda, CA has committed to deploying millions of electric vehicles over the next decade. Higher sticker prices, however, discourage low-income earners from purchasing clean cars despite having lower long-term fuel and maintenance costs.

California’s electric car revolution, designed to save the planet, also unleashes a toll on it

Los Angeles Times

Investors are betting tens of millions of dollars that these black nodules packed with metals used in electric car batteries are the ticket for the U.S. to recapture supremacy over the green economy — and to keep up with a global transportation revolution started by Calif.

Airports in the US West dealing with shortage of jet fuel

Fresno Bee

A shortage of jet fuel, coupled with supply chain issues and an urgent demand from firefighting aircraft, continues to cause problems at airports around the West.

Average US price of gas rises 2 cents per gallon to $3.22

Fresno Bee

The average U.S. price of regular-grade gasoline rose 2 cents over the past two weeks, to $3.22 per gallon. Industry analyst Trilby Lundberg of the Lundberg Survey said Sunday that gas supply is abundant, which could keep prices from spiking further.

Hot Used-Car Market Boosts Auto Lenders and Borrowers

Wall Street Journal

Prices are so high that some lenders are coming out ahead on defaulted auto debt. And far fewer borrowers are underwater on their car loans, meaning they don’t owe more than the car is worth when they trade it in.

WATER

Tulare County officials say state red tape made water crisis, suffering worse for Teviston

Fresno Bee

The state’s response to the water crisis that gripped tiny Teviston, California, earlier this summer should have been a no-brainer, according to Tulare County officials.

● One of America’s hottest cities is down to one water well. What happens if the taps go dry? Los Angeles Times

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

VPR

Facing an ongoing drought that is squeezing surface water supplies, farmers are extracting groundwater at higher rates to continue growing food as usual.

Forever Chemicals: Calif Unveils Health Goals For Contaminated Drinking Water

Capital Public Radio

California took a major step today towards regulating dangerous “forever chemicals” in drinking water by proposing new health limits for two of the most pervasive contaminants.

California senators press Congress for $1 billion to prep for future drought

Courthouse News Service

Fresno State Asm Arambula announces $15 million for San Joaquin River

Fresno Bee

Assemblymember Joaquin Arambula, D-Fresno, announced a $15 million investment in the agency that oversees the San Joaquin River on Friday.

“Xtra”

Pismo burger joint to make Valley debut at River Park

Business Journal

July 4 was Hangar Burger’s last day and work is now underway to transform the former Fresno burger bar into Brooks Burgers, said Arman Asatrian, franchisee and partner for the River Park location. The hope is to open mid-August.

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