June 19, 2019

19Jun

POLICY & POLITICS

North SJ Valley:

City Council passes fiscally prudent budget

Stockton Record

The City Council approved the 2019-20 fiscal-year budget Tuesday night, a $759 million spending plan that walks an increasingly fine line between fiscal prudence and council members’ desire to address more of Stockton’s abundance of quality-of-life problems.

Stockton Mayor: The political power of being a good neighbor

Public CEO

Michael Tubbs is the youngest mayor in American history to represent a city with more than 100,000 people — and his policies are sparking national conversations.

Central SJ Valley:

City considers funding program to rid gang shooters of their guns

abc30

The Fresno City Council will consider spending $200,000 to help finance the Advanced Peace program. Councilmember Miguel Arias said it is aimed at getting gang members who use guns, to give up the gang life.

South SJ Valley:

The missing city manager mystery: ‘Our hope is that we find him living somewhere.’

Fresno Bee

John Wooner, Cantu’s city manager, missing since May 14, remained just that on Monday. Missing. Friday marked a month since Wooner was last seen, driving his city-issued Dodge into a Bakersfield cemetery to visit the gravesite of his estranged father.

Continued meeting absences may vacate Lemoore councilmember’s seat

abc30

The Lemoore City Council is scheduled to have their first meeting Tuesday weeks after Councilmember Holly Blair was arrested.

Tulare city leaders to discuss cannabis at council

Visalia Times Delta

Tulare could become the next city in the county to open its doors to commercial cannabis.

County moves forward with medical marijuana ballot measure despite protests

Bakersfield Californian

A new medical marijuana initiative could be placed on the March 2020 ballot thanks to action taken at the Kern County Board of Supervisors meeting on Tuesday.

Sparks fly — and a former Tehachapi City Council candidate is arrested — during public comment

Bakersfield Californian

A Tehachapi man who lost his bid for a City Council seat in November was arrested by the police chief at Monday night’s council meeting after he refused to take a seat when his allotted three minutes of public comment time were up.

State:

Gavin Newsom apologizes on California’s behalf to native tribes for slaughter of ancestors

Fresno Bee

Gov. Gavin Newsom formally apologized to California Native Americans through an executive order Tuesday for the state’s “dark history” of violence against indigenous people.

See also:

Gavin Newsom’s LGBTQ celebration missed 1990 raising of rainbow flag at California Capitol

Fresno Bee

Don’t write that history book just yet. Monday’s raising of the rainbow flag of LGBTQ Pride above California’s Capitol may have sent a message, as Gov. Gavin Newsom said, but it wasn’t the first time that flag flew above that dome, as the governor claimed.

See also:

What’s Buried In California’s Budget Package? Lawmakers Send 12 Bills To Gov. Gavin Newsom.

Capital Public Radio

The budget bill that now sits on Newsom’s desk is just the tip of the iceberg. State lawmakers sent him another dozen on Monday that would implement the spending plan, with more to come before the end of the month.

Policy Expert Illuminates How Municipal Bonding Works

Capital Public Radio

Have you ever wondered about a bond measure that showed up on the ballot? How your city or town decides what to issue bonds for? This primer on bonding will explain the nuts and bolts and how — and where — bonding and municipal budgets intersect.

Bill reduces ballot measure transparency

CALmatters

Given their druthers, many government officials would prefer to do their business – our business, actually – behind closed doors and provide sanitized, self-serving versions of their actions after the fact.

Federal:

Shanahan drops out of running for defense secretary

abc30

“I would welcome the opportunity to be Secretary of Defense, but not at the expense of being a good father,” Patrick Shanahan said in a statement.

See also:

Critics of census citizenship question hold ‘conspiracy theories,’ House Republicans say

Sacramento Bee

House Republicans are pushing back on what they’re calling Democrats’ “baseless conspiracy theories” about the origins of President Donald Trump’s efforts to include a citizenship question in the 2020 census.

Congressional Hearing On Slavery Reparations Set For Wednesday

Capital Public Radio

A proposal to create a commission to study reparations for African-Americans comes as the presidential election season is kicking into gear. Some Democratic hopefuls support reparations.

EDITORIAL: Trump’s risky moves with Iran

San Francisco Chronicle

The conditions could be ripe for a fresh deal, but Trump isn’t showing the way. Military bluster won’t help. The president can’t expect much cooperation from Europe.

Elections 2020:

Is Joe Biden too old, white and washed up to succeed? Tell that to Jerry Brown

Fresno Bee

How can a crusty codger outshine the party’s bright new lights? Are sexism, racism and capitalism to blame for Biden’s surging polls? Sure. Yet, as Brown proved, some other political truths play a role.

Trump rehashes gripes, rips ‘radical’ Dems in 2020 launch

Fresno Bee

Jabbing at the press and poking the eye of the political establishment he ran against in 2016, President Donald Trump officially kicked off his reelection campaign Tuesday with a grievance-filled Florida rally that focused more on settling scores than laying out his agenda for a second term.

See also:

Meet the candidates: Amy Klobuchar and Pete Buttigieg

Politifact

All candidate bios will eventually be findable on this page.

Other:

Pew: World’s population projected to stop growing by 2100

abc30

Our crowded world will see a slowdown in population by the end of the century. That’s according to a new report by the Pew Research Center. The group said Monday it expects the world’s population to virtually stop growing by the year 2100.

Saving The Oakhurst Boys & Girls Club

Sierra News

About three dozen people turned out Monday night for an emergency ‘Call to Action’ meeting organized to help save the local Boys & Girls Club.

Many Americans Say Made-Up News Is a Critical Problem That Needs To Be Fixed

Pew Research Center

Politicians viewed as major creators of it, but journalists seen as the ones who should fix it.

EDITORIAL: A Supreme Debate on Speech

WSJ

The five conservatives preserve a key state-private distinction.

MADDY INSTITUTE PUBLIC POLICY PROGRAMMING

Sunday, June 23, at 10 a.m. on ABC30 – Maddy Report: “Fighting Fire with Fire: Rethinking Forest Management” – Guest: Pedro Nava, Chair of California Little Hoover Commission. Host: Maddy Institute Executive Director, Mark Keppler.

Sunday, June 23, at 10 a.m. on Newstalk 580AM/105.9FM (KMJ) – Maddy Report – Valley Views Edition:  “How Prepared is California for Natural Disaster, Generally and Forest Fires, in Particular?” – Guests: Christina Curry, Cal OES Deputy Director of Planning, Preparedness and Prevention and Pedro Nava, Chair of California Little Hoover Commission. Host: Maddy Institute Executive Director, Mark Keppler.

Sunday, June 23, at 7:30 a.m. on UniMas 61 (KTTF) – El Informe Maddy: “Fighting Fire with Fire: Rethinking Forest Management” – Guest: Little Hoover Commission Representative, Julissa Delgado. Host: Maddy Institute Program Coordinator, Mark Keppler.

AGRICULTURE/FOOD

Dozens of farm workers exposed to pesticides in South Valley. 3 sent to the hospital

Fresno Bee

Nearly 60 farm workers were exposed to chemicals Tuesday morning as they worked on a vineyard west of Dinuba.

See also:

Ceo Of California Dairies Stepping Down

Business Journal

The CEO of Visalia-based California Dairies is stepping down later this year. Andrei Mikhalevsky, president and CEO of California Dairies Inc. (CDI) since 2012, announced he will retire Dec. 31.

Tulare city leaders to discuss cannabis at council meeting

Visalia Times Delta

Tulare could become the next city in the county to open its doors to commercial cannabis. That’s what city leaders hope to figure out and discuss during a “Cannabis Study Session” at Tuesday’s city council meeting.

See also:

Kern County Tractor Parts sells, Bolthouse Farms deal closes, farm bureau offers heat illness training

Bakersfield Californian

Kern County Tractor Parts Inc. has been bought by a Wisconsin agricultural parts-supplier that plans to leave the old name in place while turning the McFarland property into its first West Coast salvage yard location.

Marijuana industry sets environmental, ethical goals

Bakersfield Californian

The 45-member Global Cannabis Partnership, which includes Canopy Growth Corp. and other companies operating in the sector, issued guidelines aimed at minimizing greenhouse gas emissions and promoting ethical conduct and responsible pot use.

India has become major buyer of Modesto-area almonds, walnuts. It just hiked tariffs

Modesto Bee

India has raised tariffs on U.S. almonds and walnuts, many of them shipped from the Northern San Joaquin Valley. The increases are not huge, but they do frustrate growers and shippers who have worked toward reducing barriers to world trade.

See also:

CRIMINAL JUSTICE / FIRE / PUBLIC SAFETY

Crime:

Mexican gang flooding Central Valley towns with drugs from inside California prison

Fresno Bee

Two weeks after federal officials announced charges against members of the Aryan Brotherhood prison gang in an alleged conspiracy to order murders, sell drugs and smuggle cell phones, new charges have been filed against another prison gang believed to be coordinating methamphetamine sales from a Central Valley prison.

Golden State Killer/East Area Rapist probe wins international DNA investigation award

Sacramento Bee

The Golden State Killer/East Area Rapist investigation has been selected as the top DNA case in the world, honoring Sacramento District Attorney Anne Marie Schubert’s office and a number of local police agencies that helped lead to the arrest of suspect Joseph James DeAngelo.

EDITORIAL: Double trouble: The Supreme Court approves dual prosecutions

Los Angeles Times

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled on Monday that if you are convicted in a state court of a criminal offense, the federal government can put you on trial again for essentially the same crime, and if you’re convicted, your new sentence can be added to your old one.

Public Safety:

City considers funding program to rid gang shooters of their guns

abc30

The Fresno City Council will consider spending $200,000 to help finance the Advanced Peace program. Councilmember Miguel Arias said it is aimed at getting gang members who use guns, to give up the gang life.

Floodgates open on records from internal police investigations

abc30

The floodgates are open for previously private records on internal police investigations. An Action News investigation reveals the first records coming in, and a big catch that means a lot of police agencies won’t release records of misconduct.

Audit finds Fresno officers taught classes on city time. Could police funding get cut?

Fresno Bee

A city audit concludes that at least four Fresno police officers were paid for hours they didn’t actually work.

Local woman, man sworn in as CHP officers

Hanford Sentinel

A local woman and man are now officially California Highway Patrol officers. Morgen Blanchard of Hanford and James Valentino Velasquez of Lemoore have both completed the six-month cadet training course at the CHP Academy, officials said.

As inmate suicides spike, troubling questions raised about handling of mentally ill in the nation’s local jails

Hanford Sentinel

Increasingly, troubling questions are being raised about the treatment of inmates in many jails, possible patterns of neglect — and whether better care could have stopped suicides.

Sheriff’s Office to allow ‘In God We Trust’ decals on deputies’ vehicles

Bakersfield Californian

Recently the city councils of Bakersfield and Delano chose to place the decals on police vehicles, while Bakersfield also chose to place the decals on fire vehicles.

Beneath their rival efforts to reduce police shootings, two lawmakers share one common experience as mothers

CALmatters

To reduce the use of force by California police, two Democrats began with competing approaches:

Fire:

PG&E agrees to $1 billion in settlements with California towns, counties ravaged by wildfire

Fresno Bee

Pacific Gas and Electric Co. has agreed to pay the town of Paradise, as well as Butte County and other Northern California counties, $1 billion as part of a negotiated civil settlement for a string of wildfires caused by the embattled utility that ravaged the region.

See also:

Tackling California’s wildfire recovery costs could cost as much as $50 billion under this plan

Fresno Bee

Heading into a private meeting with Gov. Gavin Newsom and his staff on Wednesday, California lawmakers are floating an expensive plan to address wildfire liability costs and settle victims’ claims.

Meet Cal Fire’s new ax-carrying, big-pawed, high-fivin’ mascot: Captain Cal

Fresno Bee

What has whiskers, a big red ax, and loves full containment on wildfires? Cal Fire unveiled its new mascot, Captain Cal, Tuesday morning at a news conference on the steps of the state Capitol.

PG&E may shut off power in more high-risk wildfire areas. Here’s what to do if it happens

Sierra Star

PG&E shut off the power of 21,000 of its northern Sierra Nevada customers about a week ago as a precautionary measure against wildfire. A similar fate could await the Eastern Madera County and Mariposa County foothill communities, according to the utility company.

ECONOMY / JOBS

Economy:

Is California prepared for a recession? Voters don’t think so.

Fresno Bee

Most California voters don’t think the state is ready for a severe economic downturn, according to a new survey.

US likely to impose more tariffs on China if new trade deal isn’t reached

abc30

U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer says the U.S. is ready to place more tariffs on China if a new trade deal isn’t reached.

Opening date set for new Clovis Costco; Fresno Ace opens

Business Journal

A new Ace Hardware store is open for business in northeast Fresno, while a date in July has been set to open Clovis’ new Costco store.

Immigrant Entrepreneurs Invigorate California’s Economy

Capital Public Radio

Immigrants take big risks coming to California. When they get here, many decide to take another risk: launching their own company.

Optimism over trade sends U.S. stocks sharply higher

Los Angeles Times

Potentially encouraging news on trade and interest rates put Wall Street in a buying mood Tuesday, driving the stock market to solid gains and sending the Dow Jones industrial average up 350 points.

See also:

The Finance 202: Trump administration gets earful on tariffs from New Balance to toilet maker

Washington Post

American companies, from video game makers to tractor manufacturers, are lining up this week to give the Trump administration an earful about the damage its proposed tariffs on $300 billion of Chinese imports will do to their businesses. Whether President Trump is listening remains to be seen.

Facebook Plans Global Financial System Based on Cryptocurrency

New York Times

Facebook unveiled an ambitious plan on Tuesday to create an alternative financial system that relies on a cryptocurrency that the company has been secretly working on for more than a year.

See also:

America’s Middle Class Shows Signs of Life

Bloomberg

Lamenting the loss of traditional jobs won’t help. Promoting the growth of new middle-skill jobs will.

Jobs:

ArborWorks Branches Out In Oakhurst

Sierra News

“We have a lot of people working in this area and really want to be involved in the community,” says Chriso Lee, director of operations for ArborWorks Inc., a tree care company that in just the past few years has become one of the area’s largest employers.

Summit aims to educate, inspire future Bakersfield leaders

Bakersfield Californian

The Bakersfield Young Professionals, a group that is part of the Greater Bakersfield Chamber of Commerce, will hold its annual summit on Thursday at the Aera Energy Conference Center. More than 100 young professionals will get the chance to participate.

Business, labor go public with fight over gig economy

Politico Pro Content

Drivers rallied outside of Uber’s San Francisco’s headquarters today to urge passage of a bill that would codify a California Supreme Court decision vastly expanding the ranks of workers — including ride-for-hire drivers — that would be considered employees rather than independent contractors.

Where jobs are concentrating and why it matters to cities and regions

Brookings

In a new interactive report from the Bass Center for Transformative Placemaking, Chad Shearer, Jennifer Vey, and Joanne Kim explore job density trends across America’s 94 largest metropolitan areas and discuss how a place-based approach to development can benefit communities, firms, and workers.

America has never gone this long without hiking the federal minimum wage

Washington Post

In July 2009, almost 10 years ago, the federal minimum wage rose from $6.55 an hour to $7.25 an hour. Since then, Congress has not approved any additional hikes, with Republican lawmakers generally rejecting Democrats’ attempts to raise the minimum wage.

EDUCATION

K-12:

$50 million statewide scam targeted this school district in Fresno County, DA says

Fresno Bee

A Fresno County school is one several schools authorities in San Diego say fell victim to a statewide fraud they believe siphoned at least $50 million in total from California over several years.

Students learn mathematical concepts through Summer STEM Academy

abc30

What looked like fun and games was actually a learning lesson at Fresno State’s Summer STEM Academy. This year’s theme is building bridges and exploring structures and forces.

Former SUSD trustee’s free camp teaches more than ‘the three Rs’

Stockton Record

While not exactly related by blood, many of the neighborhood children who frequent Allen’s home are her “kids.” Youngsters around this particular block of southeast Stockton know that the home of the former Stockton Unified School District board trustee is always open for food, fun and learning.

Menstrual products are a basic necessity for girls in school. Let’s act like it

Sacramento Bee

There’s another step that is overdue: California should require that school bathrooms stock free pads and tampons.

STEM teachers are most in need of additional pay

Brookings

Teachers with a STEM degree face greater wage penalties for choosing teaching than their non-STEM counterparts, resulting in a widespread shortage of qualified STEM teachers in America.

Charter ‘authorizers’ come under greater scrutiny in California

EdSource

As charter school conflicts intensify in California, increasing attention is being focused not only on the schools themselves but on the school boards and other entities that grant them permission to operate in the first place.

Higher Ed:

Tech hub Bitwise obtains $27 million investment. Now they’re expanding beyond Fresno

Fresno Bee

Bitwise Industries CEO and co-founder Irma Olguin announced this week the Fresno-based tech hub has raised $27 million investment.

‘These Cuts Have Real Consequences’: A New Study Surveys the Damage of State Disinvestment in Public Universities

San Francisco Chronicle

A new National Bureau of Economic Research working paper* examines the effects of a decades-long decline in state funding for public universities. According to the results, the decrease has had, and will continue to have, damaging repercussions, suggesting reason to be concerned about the future of public higher education.

CSUB becomes first West Coast team to make it to final round of accounting competition

Bakersfield Californian

CSUB placed in the final four teams of the Institute of Management Accountants National Student Case Competition.

Lessons on career & technical education from America’s oldest trade school

AEI

The nation is suffused in enthusiastic talk about career and technical education. Policymakers ranging from President Trump to Joe Biden to Bernie Sanders have called for more schooling that can equip students for in-demand, middle-class jobs. Well, a lot of the discussion is driven by advocates, academics, and elected officials. It seems useful to ask those with a track record of actually doing this work what they think.

Apprenticeships:

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ENVIRONMENT/ ENERGY

Environment:

Mosquito release underway in Fresno, Clovis

abc30

Male mosquitos are being released into Fresno and Clovis neighborhoods, ready to mate. But the females who seek them out will not reproduce.

US air quality is slipping after years of improvement

Business Journal

Over the last two years the nation had more polluted air days than just a few years earlier, federal data shows. While it remains unclear whether this is the beginning of a trend, health experts say it’s troubling to see air quality progress stagnate.

California Legislature must act to protect the environment from Trump’s assaults

CALmatters

California is facing an unprecedented and reckless assault by the federal government on our water quality, air quality, worker safety, fish and wildlife and public lands.  

Trump administration rolls back key Obama climate rule that targeted coal plants

Washington Post

The Environmental Protection Agency’s new carbon reduction target requires less than half of what experts calculate is needed to avert catastrophic warming of the planet.

Energy:

PG&E shareholders to meet in SF, focus remains on Sacramento

San Francisco Chronicle

The utility’s investors will vote this week on expanding the size of the company board. But legislation in Sacramento will be more pivotal to the company’s future.

The World Will Get Half Its Power From Wind, Solar by 2050

Bloomberg

Nearly half the world’s electricity will come from renewable energy by 2050 as costs of wind, solar and battery storage continue to plummet. That titanic shift over the next three decades will come as electricity demand increases 62% and investors pump $13.3 trillion into new projects, according to a report released Tuesday by BloombergNEF.

HEALTH/HUMAN SERVICES

Health:

California governor, lawmaker alter proposed vaccine rules

Fresno Bee

California public health officials would have oversight of doctors and schools with high numbers of medical exemptions for vaccinations under a legislative compromise announced Tuesday.

See also:

San Francisco moves closer to nation’s 1st e-cigarette ban

Fresno Bee

San Francisco supervisors moved a step closer Tuesday to becoming the first city in the U.S. to ban all sales of electronic cigarettes to crack down on youth vaping. Supervisors unanimously approved a ban on the sale and distribution of e-cigarettes.

See also:

Local governments seek negotiating power in opioid lawsuit

Business Journal

Lawyers suing over the toll of opioids asked a judge Friday to allow a structure for all 25,000 municipal and county governments in the U.S. to be paid — if a settlement can be reached with companies that make and distribute powerful prescription painkillers.

First 2019 human case of West Nile virus found near Modesto, authorities say

Sacramento Bee

A human case of West Nile virus was confirmed this week near east Modesto, according Lloyd Douglass, manager of the East Side Mosquito Abatement District.

Marijuana use rises in US pregnant women

Stockton Record

Pot use in pregnancy has doubled among U.S. women and is most common during the first trimester, government research shows.

Human Services:

Valley Children’s Hospital celebrates national ranking

abc30

Valley Children’s Hospital is celebrating another year of being nationally ranked. “It’s a reminder of the exceptional world-class quality that’s available right here in the Valley for our kids,” said CEO Todd Suntrapak.

See also:

SVMC lifts precautionary visitation restrictions

Porterville Recorder

As of Monday, June 17, children under the age of 13 will now be able to visit Sierra View Medical Center (SVMC) again. Tulare County Public Health Department (TCPHD) has confirmed that there have not been any cases of measles in Tulare and nearby counties.

Bill to create ‘safe injection sites’ won’t happen this year

Los Angeles Times

Legislation that would allow San Francisco drug users to inject themselves at supervised facilities without legal consequences will not move forward this year, the bill’s authors announced Tuesday.

Experts Cheer Newsom’s Order To Create Aging Plan, Some Push For Interim Fixes

KPBS

Advocates for seniors are optimistic about California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s order to create a master plan on aging by October 2020. But they hope the elderly’s most pressing needs aren’t ignored in the interim

Testimony on the Lower Health Care Costs Act

US Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

Research Fellow Benedic Ippolito advises the Senate HELP Committee on how to address surprise medical billing, which occurs when patients are unexpectedly charged exorbitant prices by out-of-network providers they reasonably assumed would be in-network.

The rise of the only child: How America is coming around to the idea of ‘just one’

Washington Post

They rush up to him sometimes after a poetry reading, wanting to talk — not just because Billy Collins is a beloved former U.S. poet laureate, but because he is a poet who once began his autobiographical poem “Only Child” with the simple declaration: I never wished for a sibling, boy or gir

IMMIGRATION

Helping starving, thirsty migrants is not a crime, even if Trump says it is

Fresno Bee

According to the Trump regime, Scott Daniel Warren, a man who picked up hungry and thirsty migrants who wandered the desert after crossing the border, illegally, deserved to spend 20 years in jail for aiding and harboring criminals.

President Trump’s plan to deport ‘millions’ likely not feasible

abc30

Trump’ s promise to deport next week “millions” of undocumented migrants raises questions about where the people would be held and whether families would be separated.

See also:

Kushner Meets With Bipartisan Architects Of Dreamer Legislation

Capital Public Radio

Jared Kushner met privately with Sens. Lindsey Graham and Dick Durbin, the two architects of plans to provide citizenship for those brought to the country illegally as children.

LAND USE/HOUSING

Land Use:

State could award Visalia $2.4M for new park

Visalia Times Delta

In a recent letter addressed to Assemblyman Devon Mathis, Lisa Mangat, director of the California Department of Parks and Recreation, said Visalia is being considered for a $2.4 million grant.  

Housing:

Google pledges $1 billion for Bay Area housing. Gavin Newsom hopes it ‘inspires’ others

Sacramento Bee

Tech giant Google announced Tuesday that it will spend $1 billion to build 20,000 affordable homes in the Bay Area as part of an effort to alleviate part of California’s housing crisis.

See also:

More homes in wildfire zones? High number of Californians say no, poll says

Los Angeles Times

Three quarters of California voters believe the state should restrain home building in areas at high risk of wildfires, a new survey has found.

Cities Start to Question an American Ideal: A House With a Yard on Every Lot

New York Times

Townhomes, duplexes and apartments are effectively banned in many neighborhoods. Now some communities regret it.

PUBLIC FINANCES

Borenstein: CalPERS must stop transit workers’ pension windfall

Mercury News

BART employees, VTA trying to capitalize on six-year-old legal fight between Jerry Brown and Barack Obama

The California lottery, public schools and the mystery of the ‘missing’ money

Los Angeles Times

It never fails. Write about school funding shortages in California, and the emails start pouring in from people who insist the lottery was supposed to solve all our education money issues and wonder why it hasn’t.

House Democrats Unveil Tax-Break Extensions

WSJ

Democrats pair business tax incentives with bill focused on family tax breaks.

TRANSPORTATION

Electric vehicles in every driveway is the future. But let’s be smart about it

Fresno Bee

Good bye dirty air. Goodbye $100 gas station visits. Goodbye international oil cartel. As we move away from fossil fuels and toward renewable energy, we not only move away from pollution, we move toward homegrown resources like sunshine and wind.

WATER

Hurtado secures $15M for area drinking water projects

Porterville Recorder

State Senator Melissa Hurtado (D-Sanger) announced Monday she has secured a $15 million one-time investment of General Funds for the southern Central Valley. The funds will address failing water systems that deliver safe clean drinking water to California’s most vulnerable communities.

Learning the Language of Groundwater

PPIC

Groundwater is a critical part of California’s water supply—on average, underground aquifers provide nearly 40% of the water used by California’s farms and cities, and more in dry years.

“Xtra”

Merced art exhibit celebrating LGBTQ community said to be largest of its kind in California

abc30

A unique exhibit in Merced is putting works of art from the LGBTQ community front and center, and it’s thought to be the largest of its kind in the state.

Celebrate Solstice With An Evening Of Whine And Noses

Sierra News

Stop by Western Sierra Nursery on Friday, June 21 for ‘An Evening of Whine and Noses’ to benefit the Eastern Madera County SPCA (EMC SPCA) and help raise funds to outfit the shelter.

2019 Leadership Porterville class lead by helping those in need

Porterville Recorder

Leadership Porterville held a graduation ceremony for its 2019 class on June 13, concluding a nine month program that holds themed day sessions and one evening session throughout each month that focus on organizations in all different aspects of the community such as health, agriculture, and government.

Want to swim in the iconic Hearst Castle pools? Here’s how you can — but it’ll cost you

Sacramento Bee

Members of The Foundation at Hearst Castle will have opportunities to experience that atmosphere and history starting up close and personal in special fundraising events starting in July.