29Jul

POLICY & POLITICS

2020 Census: Valley Is Home To Hardest To Count Areas In U.S. What Will It Take For Accurate Count?

VPR

All these challenges are part of the reason The Sierra Health Foundation and their partners have been gearing up for the census for more than a year. The official count begins in April 2020.

North SJ Valley:

Outgoing Stanislaus County supervisor leaving California for a nearby tax-free state

Modesto Bee

Stanislaus County Supervisor Jim DeMartini is making it clear he won’t seek a fifth term in office. Though he will serve out his 16th year on the Board of Supervisors next year, DeMartini and his wife Anne already have taken steps in moving to the “no-income-tax state” of Nevada.

Modesto officials hold off for now on decision over Straight Pride permit

Modesto Bee

As of Friday evening, Modesto officials had not announced whether a Straight Pride parade and rally would get a permit. The National Straight Pride Coalition has asked to use Graceada Park for an Aug. 24 gathering in support of what it calls traditional values.

EDITORIAL: Downtown Stockton has pieces in place for a bright future

Stockton Record

Revitalizing downtown Stockton has been an exercise in fits and starts, as in a lot of starts that have ended up giving us fits.

Central SJ Valley:

Mayor can’t ‘Keep Fresno Beautiful’ on his own. Entire community needs to pitch in

Fresno Bee

Our trashy roots run deeper than we like to admit.

Westlands Gifts $36K to Keep Mendota Boys & Girls Club Open

GV Wire

There’s good news for the children of Mendota: Their Boys and Girls Club no longer is at risk of closing.

T-Mobile merger OK dials up good news for Kingsburg

Business Journal

The news marks a pivotal step for a planned T-Mobile “Customer Experience Center” in Kingsburg that would create more than 1,000 new jobs and contribute $105 million to the local economy.

South SJ Valley:

Chevron faces violation notice in Kern County spill, million gallons of oil, water recovered

Fresno Bee

More than a million gallons of fluid have been recovered from an oil spill in Kern County that’s considered California’s largest in recent memory.

● Touring oil spill site, Newsom calls for greater oversight of California petroleum industry Los Angeles Times

● Town at Center of Kern County Oil Spill: ‘You Don’t Really Think a Lot About It’ KQED

ICE confirms immigration agents made two arrests in Lamont, Delano

KGET

Immiration agents arrested at least two people inside courthouses in Lamont and Delano. 17 News spoke Dyanna Gonzalez, the wife of Juan Gabriel Luna. Her husband was arrested Thursday in the hallway at the Lamont courthouse.

State:

California bill seeks to boot Trump from primary ballot

Visalia Times Delta

California could become the first state in the country to require presidential candidates to release their tax returns before gaining a spot on the primary ballot.

See also:

● Trump, California have a symbiotic relationship Visalia Times Delta

CA insurance commissioner Lara met with industry executive

Sacramento Bee

California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara, under fire for accepting campaign contributions from insurance executives and their spouses, has yet to release his office calendars in response to public requests.

Women, nonwhites wanted: California redistricting panel struggles for diversity

San Francisco Chronicle

The commission that will redraw California’s political lines after the 2020 census is looking for a few good men — and a whole lot more good women, Latinos and Asian Americans.

Federal:

House Dems go to court for Mueller grand jury evidence, a step toward impeachment

abc30

House Judiciary Chairman Jerrold Nadler said Friday he would be filing a lawsuit to obtain grand jury material underlying former special counsel Robert Mueller’s report.

GOP leaders block election security bills after Mueller

Fresno Bee

Congress may have already missed its window to shore up state election systems against foreign cyber-attacks ahead of the 2020 election. Former Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s testimony this week on his investigation into Russia’s role in the 2016 election has reignited calls for the passage of a bipartisan election security bill. But Republican Senate leaders have balked at approving any such measure prior to 2020.

Trump will add $4.1 trillion to the national debt after signing budget deal, watchdog warns

Sacramento Bee

President Donald Trump could soon add trillions of dollars to the national debt, according to a new report from a nonpartisan finance watchdog group.

● Opinion: Conservatives want to revive a one-time trick from more than 100 years ago Washington Post

● Opinion: Donald Trump and the G.O.P. Confirm Their Fiscal Conservatism Was a Sham The New Yorker

Trump picks loyalist to replace Dan Coats as U.S. intelligence chief

Los Angeles Times

President Trump said Sunday he was replacing Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats, whose views on the threat posed by Russia often conflicted with the president’s, with Rep. John Ratcliffe, a Texas Republican and Trump loyalist.

Have Trump judicial nominees refused to say Brown vs. Board was properly decided?

Politico

President Donald Trump’s attacks against four Democratic congresswomen of color resulted in condemnation from the Democrat-led House and a wave of commentary on the Sunday shows.

Most oppose cash reparations for slavery: poll

The Hill

The majority of Americans in a new poll said the federal government should not provide reparations in the form of cash payments to the descendants of slaves.

New Democratic Majorities Lead to Rush of Bills — and Conflict

Pew Trusts

Democratic majorities and leaders aligned — and clashed — in new trifectas.

Opinion: Trump: A Brawler for Democracy

Wall Street Journal

A weak and unlikely and untutored president beats back a concerted campaign of delegitimization.

Opinion: Don’t get complacent. Things really are that bad under Trump.

Washington Post

The economy is humming. We’re not at war (much). So he can’t be that bad, right?

Opinion: We are in our Articles of Confederation moment

Washington Post

We are in our Articles of Confederation moment. By this, I mean we are in a phase in our national life where we need to recognize that our institutions are not serving our interest. This is not because of President Trump. The situation predates his administration, though he has learned to take advantage of institutional dysfunction for factional advantage.

EDITORIAL: Washington’s love affair with Big Tech is officially over

Los Angeles Times

This week, the administration replaced rhetoric with action, as the Federal Trade Commission slapped Facebook with a record-breaking penalty for privacy violations and the Justice Department announced a broad antitrust inquiry into “market-leading online platforms.”

Elections 2020:

Democratic 2020 race up for grabs: Half of voters have changed their minds since spring, poll shows

Los Angeles Times

As Democratic presidential hopefuls prepare for their second round of debates this week, a new poll finds that half of likely primary voters have changed their minds since the spring, highlighting how unsettled the contest remains.

Lawsuit: California must open presidential primary to political independents

CALmatters

The way California holds its presidential primary violates the constitutional rights of political independents and misuses taxpayer dollars to “benefit wholly private political parties,” a nonpartisan election group argues in a lawsuit it filed against the state this week.

Biden’s full embrace of Obama health law has political risks

Fresno Bee

Joe Biden had just rolled out his health care plan when he made what could be a fateful pledge to a crowd in Iowa: “If you like your health care plan or your employer-based plan, you can keep it.”

Kamala Harris updates her position on private health insurance, again

Sacramento Bee

Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris is again clarifying her position on private health insurance.

Bernie Sanders hasn’t changed. Is that his strength or a weakness?

Los Angeles Times

By several measures — polling, fund raising, die-hard support — Sanders remains one of the leading contenders for the Democratic nomination.

How Pete Buttigieg could wield his dog tags in a race against President Trump

Washington Post

If elected, Pete Buttigieg would be the first presidential candidate with overseas military service elected in three decades.

Democratic governors sound alarm on Trump reelection

Politico

Outside the Beltway there are worries the party is losing control of its message and forgetting the lessons of 2018.

See also:

● Commentary: Trump is the true socialist Chicago Tribune

● Opinion: For 2020 Democrats, Beating Trump Is Step One. What’s Step Two? New York Times

● Trump won key union workers in 2016. Will Scalia as labor secretary change that for 2020? PBS NewsHour

● Nearly Three-Quarters of White Evangelicals Approve of Donald Trump Newsweek

The many state election systems complicate efforts to stop hackers

Los Angeles Times

A Senate report on Russian interference in U.S. elections highlights one of the biggest challenges to preventing foreign intrusions in American democracy: the limited powers and ability of the federal government to protect elections run by state and local officials.

Justice John Paul Stevens’ legacy: Unfailing decency

Fresno Bee

Justice John Paul Stevens, who died on July 16 at age 99, should be remembered as a brilliant man of unfailing decency.

Other:

Americans’ Trust in Government, Each Other, Leaders

Pew Research Center

Many Americans think declining trust in the government and in each other makes it harder to solve key problems. They have a wealth of ideas about what’s gone wrong and how to fix it.

Opinion: You’re probably making incorrect assumptions about your opposing political party

Washington Post

As America slouches toward the 2020 presidential election, candidates and pundits will regularly tell you this about the other political side, followed by a list of its extremist beliefs, twisted motives and wicked desires.

How Republicans can appeal to the white working class

National Review

Over the past century, both parties have made appeals to this voter group, whose support has alternated between the two. This should make sense because, until the postwar period, what we today call the white working class was basically the entirety of the American electorate.

The Psychology of the Leftward March

Wall Street Journal

As with Nixon, Democrats mistake Trump for an extremist. That in turn drives them to extremes.

Opinion: Burke and the nation

AEI

I want to start with a word of thanks to the organizers for taking up this important subject in the form in which they have: in a conference that lets different people express different views, hear each other, consider one another’s ideas.

It’s official: Majority of Americans think women are just as competent as men, if not more so

Los Angeles Times

Good news, ladies: Americans now think women are just as smart and just as competent as men.

28% of American adults are online almost constantly

Pew Research Center

Overall, 81% of Americans say they go online on a daily basis. That figure includes the 28% who go online almost constantly, as well as 45% who say they go online several times a day and 9% who go online about once a day. Some 8% go online several times a week or less often, while 10% of adults say they do not use the internet at all.

You Are What You Watch? The Social Effects of TV

New York Times

There’s new evidence that viewing habits can affect your thinking, political preferences, even cognitive ability.

See also:

● Opinion | The Stories That Divide Us New York Times

What Americans Know About Religion

Pew Research Center

U.S. adults generally can answer basic questions about the Bible and Christianity, but are less familiar with other world religions.

MADDY INSTITUTE PUBLIC POLICY PROGRAMMING

Sunday, August 4, at 10 a.m. on ABC30 – Maddy Report: “Assessing State Policies on Climate Change” – Guest: Ross Brown – LAO. Host: Maddy Institute Executive Director, Mark Keppler.

Sunday, August 4, at 10 a.m. on Newstalk 580AM/105.9FM (KMJ) –Maddy Report – Valley Views Edition: “Climate Change Generally and Air Pollution Locally” – Guests: Will Barrett, Director of Advocacy, Clean Air for the American Lung Association in California and Samir Sheikh, Executive Director of the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District. Host: Maddy Institute Executive Director, Mark Keppler.

Sunday, August 4, at 7:30 a.m. on UniMas 61 (KTTF) – El Informe Maddy: “Prevención de la violencia escolar: Informe de la auditora estatal”– Invitados: Margarita Fernandez, Jefe de Relaciones Publicas de las Oficina de la Auditora Estatal. Presentado Por: Coordinadora del Programa del Maddy Institute, Maria Jeans.

AGRICULTURE/FOOD

Food stamp changes could hit Valley poor

Visalia Times Delta

Congressman TJ Cox (D-Fresno) called a Trump administration proposal that would change eligibility rules to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) an attack on poor people.

Become a California ‘honeybee ambassador’: UC Davis offers beginner beekeeping classes

Sacramento Bee

Last winter, American beekeepers lost the highest number of honeybee colonies ever recorded, according to a national database.

Rising demand for olive oil may point to rebirth for a crop in local decline

Bakersfield Californian

At the mouth of the Kern River Canyon, in a relatively small corner of a legacy growing operation, sits one of Kern agriculture’s most delicious ironies.

Boren: Bracero program ended, farmers found workers where they could

CALmatters

It’s cantaloupe season in the San Joaquin Valley, a time that takes me back to a summer during high school when I picked melons in Huron for farming pioneer Russell Giffen. I didn’t know Giffen. I was merely one of thousands of high school and college students who picked crops in the San Joaquin Valley after a guest worker program had ended.

What Gets To Be A ‘Burger’? States Restrict Labels On Plant-Based Meat

NPR

It’s a case of animal versus vegetable — and the steaks are high.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE / FIRE / PUBLIC SAFETY

Crime:

At least 7 people hospitalized after shooting at festival

Fresno Bee

At least seven people were hospitalized Sunday after a shooting at an annual food festival in Northern California, a hospital spokeswoman said.

● 6-year-old boy among those killed at California festival; 2 other family members hurt Modesto Bee

● Suspect down, shooter in custody after multiple hurt in shooting at Garlic Festival in Gilroy abc30

● What is the Gilroy Garlic Festival? Mass shooting shocks annual event in California Sacramento Bee

● Shooting reported at Gilroy Garlic Festival in Northern California Los Angeles Times

● Gilroy Garlic Festival: At least 1 dead, 4 hospitalized San Francisco Chronicle

● What to Know About the Gilroy Garlic Festival Shooting New York Times

● ‘Nothing short of horrific’: Three dead, 12 injured in shooting at California food festival Washington Post

Priest at Sikh Temple near Hughson assaulted in apparent hate crime

Modesto Bee

An intruder at the Sikh Temple Modesto Ceres broke windows late Thursday at a priest’s home on temple grounds, punched the priest, shouted obscenities and told him to go back to his own country before fleeing, according to the priest and others associated with temple.

Federal executions to resume after 16-year pause

Visalia Times Delta

The federal government will start carrying out death sentences for the first time in nearly two decades, Attorney General William Barr said on Thursday, ordering officials to schedule executions for five inmates.

‘Don’t shoot,’ police and community volunteers ask gang members

Bakersfield Californian

The Bakersfield Police Department is pleading with members of criminal street gangs to grant one simple, life-saving human request. Don’t shoot.

Public Safety:

Fresno files appeal, fighting $4.7 million award to family of man killed by police

Fresno Bee

The city of Fresno has filed an appeal against a federal jury verdict that awarded $4.7 million to the family of a man shot and killed by a Fresno police officer.

CHP to host Age Well, Drive Smart class

Hanford Sentinel

The California Highway Patrol Hanford area office will conduct an “Age Well, Drive Smart” class in Hanford to provide older drivers with the knowledge to drive safer and drive longer.

Fire:

California wildfire insurance is in crisis. And the real estate market is suffering

Sacramento Bee

Vallejo residents Theresa and Daniel Ochs found the perfect place to spend their retirement years.

Billions in California real estate at serious risk from wildfire. New study maps it out

Sacramento Bee

Nearly 500,000 California homes worth a combined $268 billion are under serious risk from wildfire, real estate marketing firm Zillow says.

● The $21 billion plan to cover wildfire damages Public CEO

California utilities agree to pay $10.5 billion into new wildfire fund

Los Angeles Times

California’s investor-owned utility companies have agreed to open up their wallets to pay into the state’s wildfire fund in exchange for less financial responsibility when blazes are linked to their equipment.

McFarland to keep $681,120 of county money under proposed fire contract

Bakersfield Californian

The city of McFarland will not have to pay back nearly $700,000 it owes the Kern County Fire Department under the terms of a new contract proposal the Board of Supervisors will vote on Tuesday.

ECONOMY / JOBS

Economy:

Valley Small Business Development Center

abc30

Small businesses in the Valley can get a big boost with a brand-new resource center at Clovis Community College. A ribbon-cutting ceremony kicked off the services at the Valley Community Small Business Development Center on Thursday afternoon.

5 facts about the national debt

Pew Research Center

Congressional leaders and the White House recently agreed on a two-year spending deal that would raise the national debt limit. The deal, which still must be approved by the full Congress, would increase federal spending and suspend the debt ceiling until after the 2020 presidential election.

U.S. Views of Nation’s Economy Remain Positive and Deeply Partisan

Pew Research Center

Most Republicans – and half of Democrats – rate their personal finances positively.

See also:

● Economic Growth Slowed To 2.1% In Second Quarter Los Angeles Daily News

● Economic Growth Didn’t Hit 3% Mark Last Year, Revised Data Show Wall Street Journal

A Recession Is Coming (Eventually). Here’s Where You’ll See It First.

New York Times

Economists don’t know when the decade-long expansion, now the longest in American history, will end. But here are the indicators they will be watching to figure it out.

Franchising and California at a Crossroads: the Dynamics of Dynamex and the ABC Test

Littler Mendelson P.C

In 2018, the Supreme Court of California turned much of the established law regarding worker classification on its head with its decision in Dynamex Operations West Inc. v. Superior Court.

Jobs:

A Fresno employee gave 2-week notice, then got a raise. Now the rules will change

Fresno Bee

Two Fresno City Council members teamed up this week to put a stop to city employees getting retroactive raises before they leave their jobs.

T-Mobile merger OK dials up good news for Kingsburg

Business Journal

The news marks a pivotal step for a planned T-Mobile “Customer Experience Center” in Kingsburg that would create more than 1,000 new jobs and contribute $105 million to the local economy.

United Health Centers bumps entry-level wage to $16 per hour

Business Journal

Medical providers at United Health Centers (UHC) were all smiles as they announced a bit of good news for employees Friday.

Mechanic awarded Yosemite’s highest honor

Sierra Star

Standen is a maintenance mechanic who goes above and beyond his duties, said park spokesman Scott Gediman. He has helped with many park improvement projects and designed a special mechanic claw to install hundreds of bear boxes in the park.

Union representing 15,000 UC workers stages rallies statewide as negotiations stall again

Merced Sun-Star

The union representing 15,000 health, research and technical workers at the University of California staged protests statewide Wednesday, including in Sacramento and Davis, after another round of contract negotiations failed to produce an agreement.

Skills and opportunity pathways: Building an inclusive workforce for the future

Brookings

Artificial intelligence and emerging technologies have enabled automation to scale and pose legitimate workforce threats. However, these innovations are creating new jobs and recreating old ones that together shape the building blocks of a future workforce.

Gender gap in STEM fields could be due to girls’ reading skills, not math ability

Los Angeles Times

Why don’t more girls grow up to become scientists and engineers? It’s not that they’re bad at math, a new study argues. It’s that they’re even better at reading.

California Board Diversity Mandate Spreads To Other States, Washington

Roll Call

As SB 826 passed into law with Democratic backing, it faced threats of legal challenges.

Labor Department Makes Public 401(k) Rule Change

Wall Street Journal

More small businesses will be able to join together to offer retirement accounts.

EDUCATION

New Fresno County Librarian: No Branches Will Close

GV Wire

Southeast Fresno residents needn’t worry. The Mosqueda branch library isn’t closing.

K-12:

FUSD board president: Slatic’s fear tactics, threats, bullying will not be tolerated

Fresno Bee

Fresno Unified Board President Claudia Cazares spoke out Friday in response to recent reported behavior from Trustee Terry Slatic. In a statement, Cazares said “fear tactics, threats, intimidation and bullying will not be tolerated.”

Superintendent of Merced County school district under investigation, following complaints

Merced Sun-Star

McSwain Union Elementary School District Superintendent Steve Rosa on Wednesday was placed on paid administrative leave, school board members confirmed.

Kings County initiative fights against student illiteracy

Hanford Sentinel

Over 60 educators were involved in literacy training that ended Thursday in Corcoran, sponsored by the Kings Literacy Initiative Pact (KLIP).

Salvation Army to aid children, schools

Madera Tribune

Walmart and The Salvation Army are joining to provide new school supplies to local children in need during the “Stuff the Bus” event at Madera Walmart, 1977 W. Cleveland Avenue, on Aug. 3.

Higher Ed:

CSU Summer Arts is the perfect pick-me-up for creative juices

Fresno Bee

Thank you, CSU Summer Arts, for making Fresno your home this summer. Special gratitude to Fresno State for hosting this life-changing and transformative experience for students of all ages and from all walks of life.

College Student Discovers 65-Million-Year-Old Triceratops Skull

Capital Public Radio

Harrison Duran, a 23-year-old college student at University of California, Merced, spent his summer internship hunting for dinosaur fossils.

Walters: UC imposes political litmus test

CALmatters

If you’ve never heard of the Levering Act, you’re not alone.

Become a California ‘honeybee ambassador’: UC Davis offers beginner beekeeping classes

Sacramento Bee

Last winter, American beekeepers lost the highest number of honeybee colonies ever recorded, according to a national database.

Reedley College gets makeover ahead of fall semester

abc30

When students return to the Reedley College campus this fall, they may notice some changes. The most evident are taking place in the classroom.

California finds solution to save distance leaners’ financial aid

EdSource

Tens of thousands of online California students are no longer at risk of losing federal financial aid after the state moved quickly to create a new system for addressing complaints from students against out-of-state colleges and universities. At least 60,000 Californians were affected by a new federal rule, which the U.S. Department of Education began implementing July 22.

Federal watchdog finds potential fraud in student loan repayment plans

Los Angeles Times

Tens of thousands of federal student loan borrowers may be getting their monthly payments lowered by lying about their income and family size, yet the U.S. Education Department is doing little to catch them, according to a report released Thursday by a federal watchdog agency.

Opinion: Colleges are headed in the wrong direction

AEI

Video.

Careers in Marijuana Catch On at Colleges

Wall Street Journal

Two universities offer first courses on cannabis as more states legalize its recreational and medical use.

Ahead of Tuesday’s exam, State Bar of California leaks essay topics to law schools

Sacramento Bee

The State Bar of California said Sunday that it inadvertently leaked essay topics for Tuesday’s bar exam, one of the toughest in the nation, to 16 law school deans last week.

ENVIRONMENT/ ENERGY

Environment:

‘These are not normal.’ Warnings issued as Valley heat to approach near record

Fresno Bee

Valley temperatures are only going to get hotte. Temperatures in Fresno on Saturday rose to 104 degrees as of 4 p.m., the National Weather Service reported.

● Red Cross Issues Heat Safety Tips As Temperatures Climb Sierra News

● Earth warmed faster in the last few decades than the previous 1,900 years, study says Los Angeles Times

California’s Emissions Deal With Automakers Dodges Trump EPA Plan To Gut Rules

Capital Public Radio

Faced with a federal plan to gut emissions regulations, California makes its own deal with four automakers—and hopes more will sign on, soon.

● California reaches climate deal with automakers, spurning Trump Los Angeles Times

● EDITORIAL: Wheels coming off Trump’s attempt to eliminate car pollution rules San Francisco Chronicle

● EDITORIAL: Even car companies aren’t going along with Trump’s rollback of mileage and emissions standards Los Angeles Times

● How California keeps blocking Trump’s environmental rollbacksBakersfield Californian

Can Fast Fashion And Sustainability Be Stitched Together?

Capital Public Radio

Spanish retailer Zara pledges to use nearly all sustainable materials by 2025. But is it possible for a fast-fashion brand, that churns out 500 new designs per week, to truly be sustainable?

Energy:

Chevron faces violation notice in Kern County spill, million gallons of oil, water recovered

Fresno Bee

More than a million gallons of fluid have been recovered from an oil spill in Kern County that’s considered California’s largest in recent memory.

● Touring oil spill site, Newsom calls for greater oversight of California petroleum industry Los Angeles Times

● Town at Center of Kern County Oil Spill: ‘You Don’t Really Think a Lot About It’ KQED

Finding a repository for San Onofre plant’s nuclear waste is a difficult task

Los Angeles Times

The San Onofre plant is home to 3.55 million pounds of nuclear waste, and it’s not clear where it will go.

US gas utility funds ‘front’ consumer group to fight natural gas bans

San Francisco Guardian

SoCalGas funded not-for-profit C4Bes from its launch, paying consultants to establish messaging and recruit board members

HEALTH/HUMAN SERVICES

Health:

Deadly stings from bees, wasps, hornets increase over last 5 years

abc30

New data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show hornets, wasps and bees have killed more people over the last five years.

Vaping may have put 8 teens in hospital, doctors warn

abc30

Doctors say the eight teens have been treated over the past month for serious lung damage after they had vaped.

Dental disease in children a huge burden for Stanislaus County kids – is help on way?

Modesto Bee

California law requires children to have an oral health assessment for entering kindergarten. But, by age 5, it may be too late. By kindergarten, 50% of California kids have tooth decay and nearly 1 in 5 have severe decay, according to the California Dental Association.

Data tracks opioid epidemic

Stockton Record

For the first time ever, the public can see details of who manufactured pain pills and which pharmacies stocked them, revealing exactly what drug companies knew as they flooded communities with opioids that fueled a national epidemic.

Human Services:

Federal grant helps providers screen and vaccinate hepatitis B patients in Sacramento

Sacramento Bee

A new federal grant could help end the spread of hepatitis B virus in Sacramento County. The $500,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Minority Health will help health care service providers screen patients.

Kern County Department of Human Services battles bedbugs at call center

Bakersfield Californian

Over the last two months, the Kern County Department of Human Services has battled encroaching bedbugs at its call center on Wilson Road in Bakersfield.

HeaL: A Clinic To Help Doctors Better Serve The LGBTQ+ Community

VPR

In early July, a downtown Fresno non-profit called Common Space teamed up with local health organizations to run a mobile clinic designed specifically for LGBTQ+ individuals – a community that’s at elevated risk for HIV, mental health problems and suicide.

Democrats divided on how to ensure health care coverage for all Americans

Pew Research Center

As the next round of the Democratic presidential debates approaches, Democrats are largely united in the belief that the federal government has a responsibility to make sure all Americans have health care coverage. However, they are internally divided over how this should be achieved.

Price-Fixing Case Reveals Vulnerability of Generic Drug Policies

RAND

A massive lawsuit (PDF) filed in May by 44 states accuses 20 major drug makers of colluding for years to inflate prices on more than 100 generic drugs, including those to treat HIV, cancer, and depression. If true, the alleged behavior is not just a violation of antitrust law, but also a betrayal of the government policies that created and defended the entire generic drug industry.

IMMIGRATION

In victory for Trump, Supreme Court greenlights military funding for border wall

abc30

In a 5 to 4 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court has temporarily given the green light to the Trump administration to reallocate $2.5 billion in Pentagon military funds for construction of a border wall, even as court challenges continue.

● Supreme Court Rules Trump Can Use Pentagon Funds for Border Wall Wall Street Journal

● Supreme Court says Trump can proceed with plan to spend military funds for border wall construction Washington Post

● Supreme Court gives Trump go-ahead on border wall Politico

US signs controversial deal with Guatemala on immigration

abc30

The United States and Guatemala have signed an agreement to allow the U.S. to deport migrants seeking asylum if they reached the southern U.S. border by crossing through Guatemala, the Trump administration said Friday.

● Trump says he has deal with Guatemala to decrease migration to U.S., though it could face hurdles in the Central American countryWashington Post

Private inspectors paint a rosy picture of U.S. immigrant detention centers. Audits find otherwise

Los Angeles Times

For the past year, the tiny Maryland company employed by the federal government to inspect U.S. immigration detention centers has painted a rosy picture of life in captivity.

What is a concentration camp? It’s an old debate that mostly started in California

Los Angeles Times

What’s a concentration camp — and, more importantly, who owns the term? U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) ignited a national debate last month when she compared the government-run facilities packed with migrant detainees near the U.S.-Mexico border to Nazi “concentration camps.”

Court ruling theoretically invalidates thousands of illegal-entry convictions against migrants

Los Angeles Times

Federal prosecutors in San Diego have been using the wrong criminal code to charge migrants with misdemeanor illegal entry under its fast-track prosecution program, an appeals court ruled this week.

ICE confirms immigration agents made two arrests in Lamont, Delano

KGET

Arrest of Marines Suspected of Smuggling Migrants Points to Lucrative Trade

NewYork Times

The two Marines pulled over on an exit ramp along a desolate desert highway in Southern California this month, and opened a back door of their black BMW just long enough for three people to rush from the thorny scrub into the back seat.

Opinion: Democrats & Immigration: The Contradiction at the Heart of Their Rhetoric

National Review

It’s no secret that Democrats have turned left on immigration, whether or not they explicitly support open borders per se. Yet beneath their advocacy of policies that would, in practice, put us on the road to open borders lies an odd contradiction.

Opinion: Open Borders Devalue Citizenship — and the Rights It Affords

RealClearPolitics

I’m talking about the Democrat plot to vastly expand the voter base by first importing illegal aliens and then making it as easy as possible for them to vote — sometimes up to and including giving them legal access to state and local elections.

California migration: The story of 40 million

CALmatters

California, it has been written, is America, “only more so.” How much more so? That’s a complex question — and an important one. From immigration laws to school spending, some of our biggest decisions depend on an accurate count of this giant state’s population — of who we are, of whether we’re coming or going and of what we need from each other and our government.

LAND USE/HOUSING

Land Use:

Boutique hotel planned for Three Rivers

Visalia Times Delta

It was standing room only at the Three Rivers Memorial Building on Wednesday evening, as more than 100 locals turned out to discuss the future of the small foothill community during a town hall meeting.

New Walmart Supercenter approved for construction

Porterville Recorder

After years of anticipated construction, the Walmart Supercenter store has finally been approved to begin building in the Riverwalk Marketplace on Jaye Street off of Highway 190.

The future of the city doesn’t have to be childless

Brookings

Late last week, the Atlantic published a somewhat provocative piece, “The Future of the City is Childless.” The article presents demographic data on the declining number of children in high-density cities like San Francisco, Seattle, and Washington, D.C., noting that in these cities, the fastest growing group is wealthy, college-educated whites without children, while families with children older than six are on the decline.

See also:

● How to fix the baby bust AEI

Housing:

California wildfire insurance is in crisis. And the real estate market is suffering

Sacramento Bee

Vallejo residents Theresa and Daniel Ochs found the perfect place to spend their retirement years.

Fact-Checking Claims On California’s Unsheltered Homeless Population

Capital Public Radio

During his recent push for a “right to shelter” law, Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg made eye-opening claims about California’s homeless population, including the soaring rate of homeless deaths in the state.

Financial Crisis Yields a Generation of Renters

Wall Street Journal

Many young adults are priced out of the housing market. That could reshape their finances—and the economy—for years to come.

PUBLIC FINANCES

CalPERS loss triggers more debt payment reform

Calpensions

Investments earning 6.7 percent during the fiscal year that ended June 30 might seem like a good return, particularly after an alarming stock market drop at the end of last year. But for CalPERS it’s a loss that creates new pension debt.

Walters: California’s other fiscal crisis

CALmatters

Gov. Gavin Newsom and his predecessor, Jerry Brown, have repeatedly stressed the need to build state budget reserves to cushion the impact of the next recession, whenever it hits.

See also:

Budget Decider: Making choices that impact millions

CALmatters

California lawmakers have passed a $215 billion budget filled with progressive eye-catchers. But what if you had the awesome power to tax and spend, charting a new course for California?

Tax increases to fund Social Security expansion will cut Medicare

Forbes

A plan to fix Social Security’s deficits also should bear in mind the effects on the rest of the federal budget. When employers are hit with higher Social Security taxes, they finance those new taxes by reducing employees’ wages, and those lost wages are no longer subject to Medicare payroll taxes.

TRANSPORTATION

California has already started building a high-speed rail system. But should it continue?

Fresno Bee

California Influencers this week answered one or both of the following the questions: Should California continue to develop a statewide high-speed rail system, or what better ways are there to utilize the state’s available transportation funding? Below are the Influencers’ answers in their entirety.

● California’s bullet train project undergoes management shakeup Los Angeles Times

● California’s troubled bullet train project getting one of biggest management upheavals in years Los Angeles Times

● (Opinion) Those in support of the high-speed rail speak up: Roadshow Mercury News

● (Opinion) California has already started building a high-speed rail system. But should it continue? Sacramento Bee

These California DMV employees took bribes for licenses. Now they’re going to prison.

Fresno Bee

A former California Department of Motor Vehicles employee will serve more than two-and-a-half years in federal prison after pleading guilty to accepting bribes in exchange for commercial driver licenses.

Fresno FAX Bus Stop Improvements

abc30

Fresno Area Express, also known as FAX, received $2.2 million dollars in federal , state and local grant- funding to upgrade 18 stops throughout the FAX bus route system.

What California’s carbon deal with automakers really means

Sacramento Bee

Just over a month ago, the world’s major automakers sent President Donald Trump a polite but impassioned plea: End his administration’s two-year-old fight with California over the regulation of greenhouse gas emissions from automobiles. The dispute was threatening to bring chaos to the auto industry, the manufacturers said.

California steers toward a future of self-driving cars

CALmatters

California is laying the groundwork for the next, slightly scary, phase in its push toward zero-emission transportation: self-driving cars packed with computers using finely tuned algorithms, high-definition cameras, radar and other high-tech gadgetry. What the driverless cars won’t feature: steering wheels, brake pedals and gas pedals.

Downtown commuting: connected, electric, and a good mix of solutions

URBAN HUB

Three main elements characterize most new urban public transportation solutions: more on-demand transport, the highly-effective use of digital innovation, and more electric-powered options.

WATER

Project manager on Isabella Dam provides update on progress

Bakersfield Californian

It’s been a long and winding project. But now the end is finally in sight at Isabella Dam. The multiyear project will ultimately change the face of the dam, probably the most important hunk of government infrastructure in Kern County.

An Update On How The Sustainable Groundwater Management Act Is Working

VPR

When California adopted the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act in 2014, it became the last Western state to regulate its groundwater.

“Xtra”

Double meteor shower! How to watch Monday’s sky spectacle

abc30

The Southern Delta Aquarids and the Alpha Capricornids will combine for about 25 meteors per hour, AccuWeather reports.

How We Roll opens its door to downtown Visalia

Visalia Times Delta

Visalia’s first hand-rolled ice cream shop opened in downtown on Saturday. It’s the first of its kind in Tulare and Kings counties.

With purchase, China Alley will ‘be around for future generations’

Hanford Sentinel

The future of China Alley is a little more secure. Arianne Wing and Steve Bannister, proprietors of the LT Sue Co. Tea Room, recently purchased an important piece of China Alley history — the Imperial Dynasty building — with the plan to revitalize it.

8 California small towns to visit right now

San Francisco Chronicle

From adventure basecamps where mountain biking is religion to Gold Rush relics reborn as wine havens, these under-the-radar destinations have all the makings of a great weekend away.

Steinbeck Festival

The annual Steinbeck Festival is a literary celebration of John Steinbeck’s enduring legacy. The Steinbeck Festival has taken place for the last 38 years in and around Salinas.

Celebrating the life of Dr. Robert V. Levine

Fresno State Campus News

The family of Dr. Robert V. Levine cordially invites you to join in celebrating his life at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 10. The service will be held in the Peace Garden, just outside of the Henry Madden Library.