Maddy Institute – June 3, 2021

03Jun

POLICY & POLITICS

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North SJ Valley:

COVID Update:

● Numbers improving: Stanislaus County could advance to coronavirus orange tier next week Modesto Bee

Planned Merced ACE train reaches new milestone, bringing prospect of more tourism, new jobs

Merced Sun Star

The long-anticipated Altamont Corridor Express train connection to Merced recently reached a new milestone, bringing the project another step closer to fruition.

Central SJ Valley:

COVID Update:

● Food trucks, COVID vaccine clinics pair up in Fresno, Clovis. Here’s where and when Fresno Bee

● Fresno, Valley counties hold places among state’s COVID-19 reopening tiers Fresno Bee

Councilmembers respond to Dyer budget, want to ‘Rebuild Fresno’ with federal funds

Fresno Bee

A week after Fresno Mayor Jerry Dyer announced his proposed budget, a group of Fresno City Councilmembers on Wednesday outlined their own budget priorities in a five-year plan they dubbed “Rebuild Fresno.”

Valley city celebrates with LGBTQ+ community as Pride flag raised in public square

Fresno Bee

An emotional and symbolic ceremony took place Tuesday night in downtown Merced’s Bob Hart Square, as a large crowd watched the Progress Pride flag be officially raised with the support of city leaders.

Fresno irrigation water deliveries begin but future deliveries remain unclear

abc30

The Fresno Irrigation District (FID) will begin water deliveries Tuesday, but it's unclear if deliveries will be extended past the end of the month.

Pro-union teachers say Clovis school leaders undermine unionizing efforts in complaint

Fresno Bee

The Association of Clovis Educators has filed an unfair labor practice claim against the district, alleging it has stifled union organizing by influencing and supporting the faculty senate for decades, despite a 1980s ruling that found the district violated the law.

Proposed DUI law named for Clovis school leader fails. Fresno author calls it an injustice

Fresno Bee

A proposed DUI law, named for a Clovis school administrator who was killed in a 2018 hit-and-run crash, quietly failed to move forward in the state Legislature last month.

Could Devin Nunes lose to a Fresno Democrat? Why a new challenger says he can win

Fresno Bee

A newcomer to the District 22 race said Tuesday he’s stepping in to challenge for the seat in Fresno and other parts of the central San Joaquin Valley. Lourin Hubbard said he’ll challenge Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Tulare, for the race in June 2022.

South SJ Valley:

COVID Update:

● Kern Public Health reports 5 new coronavirus deaths, 41 cases Wednesday Bakersfield Californian

● As vaccines become widely available, some Kern County regions fall behind Bakersfield Californian

Donny Youngblood announces he will run for fifth term as sheriff

Bakersfield Californian

Kern County Sheriff Donny Youngblood has announced he will run for a fifth term in next year’s election.

Wasco hires Scott Hurlbert for city manager

Bakersfield Californian

The city of Wasco has hired Scott Hurlbert as their next city manager. Hulrbert previously worked as the city manager for the city of Shafter, a position he held since 2014.

A humble radio DJ who grew into a local force, 'Lugnut' Larry Louviere dies at 65

Bakersfield Californian

He had the big voice. He had the "gift of gab." He could be laid back. He could be energy. But over a lifetime as a radio and live event personality, it turned out that "Lugnut" Larry was really good at one thing in particular.

State:

COVID Update:

● California wasted 31,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine. Here’s how we ranked among other states Fresno Bee

● Rural Northern California is falling behind in vaccinations, and COVID-19 cases are rising Los Angeles Times

Top California Democrats push Newsom to spend more on health, citing rosy tax projections

Fresno Bee

Top Democratic lawmakers announced Tuesday they want to rely on high tax revenue estimates to spend more on public health, undocumented immigrant health care, early learning and child care than Gov. Gavin Newsom has proposed.

● Can You Handle The Truth?: Fact-Checking Gov. Newsom’s Claim That California Has A $75 Billion Surplus Capital Public Radio

● Four Things To Know About The California Budget Deal CalMatters

● Spend the surplus: This game puts you in charge of California’s budget CalMatters

Companies lobbying Gavin Newsom help fund his wife’s nonprofit — and her salary

Sacramento Bee

A week after he was elected governor in 2018, Gavin Newsom went to a trendy music hall in San Francisco’s Mission District where his wife, filmmaker Jennifer Siebel Newsom, was the center of attention.

Largest California state worker union will give $1m to anti-recall effort after emergency vote

Sacramento Bee

The board of directors of California’s largest state employee union voted Wednesday night to give $1 million to fight the recall of Gov. Gavin Newsom, authorizing the donation weeks before a newly elected president who is opposed to the donation takes over.

● Recall election may happen sooner than later Porterville Recorder

● Opinion: A Different Kind of Labor Boss Wall Street Journal

California Supreme Court to hear case that could lead to death penalty reversals

Sacramento Bee

The California Supreme Court on Wednesday will hear arguments in the case of a death row inmate from Los Angeles that challenges the constitutionality of how the death penalty has been applied and could lead to the reversal of hundreds of death sentences.

California Senate passes bill to decriminalize psychedelic drugs

Fox40

A bill to decriminalize the possession or sharing of psychedelic drugs in California has been passed by the state Senate and will head to the Assembly. Senate Bill 519 was introduced by Sen. Scott Wiener.

Improving California’s Automatic Voter Registration

Public Policy Institute of California

California’s voter registration rate is higher than ever. The latest report from February put the registration rate at an astonishing 88%, up 15% from six years ago.

Explaining the Reparations Effort

New York Times

This week, California set out on a fraught, complicated mission that no other state has attempted: come up with proposals to provide reparations to Black Californians for slavery and centuries of systemic discrimination and inequality.

Walters: California’s tribal casinos now want sports betting

CalMatters

California Indian tribes that already have a monopoly on casino gambling in California now want to expand into sports betting.

Federal:

COVID Update:

● Biden's 'month of action' aims to get 70% of adults partially vaccinated by July 4 abc30

● Editorial: COVID-19 origins aside, U.S. needs to face its own pandemic failures Los Angeles Times

● Opinion: The Media’s COVID Catastrophe National Review

Biden and Capito try to chip away at impasse on infrastructure

Los Angeles Times

President Biden met privately in the Oval Office on Wednesday with Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W. Va.), the Republicans’ lead negotiator on infrastructure legislation, as the two sides looked to make progress toward a bipartisan deal.

● Biden offers tax concession in infrastructure talks with key Republican Washington Post

● Biden Floats New Infrastructure Spending Offer of $1 Trillion Wall Street Journal

● Opinion: The Progressive Infrastructure Blacklist Wall Street Journal

● Editorial: Biden must press Congress to protect the right to vote Los Angeles Times

Opinion: The American Rescue Plan is the broadband down payment the country needs

Brookings

For over two decades, digital equity advocates have done their best to raise awareness about the digital divide—the gap between those who can access and use internet-based services and those who cannot.

● Opinion: Inflation is everywhere except broadband AEI

Biden may be the most pro-union president since Truman. But can he stop labor’s decline?

Los Angeles Times

As Joe Biden launched his presidential run, he made an early stop at the Washington headquarters of the AFL-CIO to meet with its president, Richard Trumka.

Opinion: Is Biden’s liberalism a problem for him?

Forbes

A new poll caught my eye this week by the Republican polling firm Echelon Insights. The pollsters reviewed Biden’s performance among registered voters as the president enters the fifth month of his presidency.

See also:

● Opinion: Biden’s budget is a lie Washington Post

● Opinion: Five myths about bipartisanship Washington Post

● Opinion: The GOP’s ‘Off the Rails’ March Toward Authoritarianism Has Historians Worried Vice

● Opinion: Biden’s Budget Signal to the Fed Wall Street Journal

FBI investigating Postmaster General Louis DeJoy in connection with his political fundraising

Washington Post

The FBI is investigating Postmaster General Louis DeJoy in connection with campaign fundraising activity involving his former business, according to people familiar with the matter and a spokesman for DeJoy.

Democrats Strain to Unify on Proposal to Reduce Drug Prices

Wall Street Journal

Internal disagreements complicate outlook for legislation as pharmaceutical industry pushes back, citing Covid-19 vaccine success.

GOP seeks to tie Democrats to rise in violent crime

The Hill

Republicans are seeking to tie Democrats to the country’s rising crime wave as part of their strategy for recapturing control of Congress in 2022, hopeful that such a message will prompt a backlash against the party over its embrace of police reform.

Other:

How violent crime and abortion could reshape the 2022 midterm elections

Brookings

As the public becomes increasingly confident that the pandemic is subsiding and the economy is on the mend, social issues are coming to the fore, and developments in two such areas could reshape the playing field for the 2022 midterm elections.

The Brewing Political Battle Over Critical Race Theory

VPR

Last month, Republican lawmakers decried critical race theory, an academic approach that examines how race and racism function in American institutions.

AGRICULTURE/FOOD

'Big risk': California farmers hit by drought change planting plans

Reuters

Joe Del Bosque is leaving a third of his 2,000-acre farm near Firebaugh, California, unseeded this year due to extreme drought. Yet, he hopes to access enough water to produce a marketable melon crop.

● Drought cutbacks may come in the form of voluntary agreements AgriPulse

CRIMINAL JUSTICE/FIRE/PUBLIC SAFETY

Crime:

California Supreme Court to hear case that could lead to death penalty reversals

Sacramento Bee

California prison population shrinks, but spending keeps going up — to $112,000 per inmate

Sacramento Bee

It now costs more than $100,000 per year on average to imprison one person in California, according to Finance Department figures.

California Senate passes bill to decriminalize psychedelic drugs

Fox40

Quiz: How Well Do You Understand Today’s Crime Trends?

New York Times

Crime has emerged as a significant issue in the U.S. during the pandemic. But context can be lost amid the headlines and partisan claims. How well can you separate fact from fiction on this topic?

Public Safety:

Fresno County deputies report alarming jump in fentanyl deaths in 2020

abc30

A new effort to crack down on the local sale and use of fentanyl. The Fresno County Sheriff's Office says a growing number of children and young adults are coming in contact with the deadly drug.

Fire:

Study: California fire killed 10% of world’s giant sequoias

Fresno Bee

At least a tenth of the world’s mature giant sequoia trees were destroyed by a single California wildfire that tore through the southern Sierra Nevada last year, according to a draft report prepared by scientists with the National Park Service.

● Shocking study finds 10% of world's giant sequoias killed by Castle Fire msn

California Drought Could Mean Peak Fire Season Months Earlier Than Usual

CapRadio

The last 18 months have been among the driest and hottest on record in California, leading Gov. Gavin Newsom to declare a drought emergency in over 40 counties.

The Karuk Used Fire to Manage the Forest for Centuries. Now They Want To Do That Again

KQED

For thousands of years before contact with Europeans, the Karuk people, like many Native American tribes, tended their land with fire, keeping an ecological balance among plants, animals, river, and forest.

ECONOMY/JOBS

Economy:

COVID-19 restrictions protected California’s economy. Now it’s poised for a ‘euphoric’ rebound

Los Angeles Times

California’s strict public health measures during the pandemic protected its economy, setting the stage for an even faster recovery in the state than nationwide, UCLA economists reported.

● Outdoor dining, to-go drinks could be here to stay Cal Matters

● The U.S. Economy Is Sending Confusing Signals. What’s Going On? New York Times

● The Economic Recovery Is Here. It’s Unlike Anything You’ve Seen. Wall Street Journal

Lumber prices still sky-high amid COVID shortage. What’s being done to get costs down?

Fresno Bee

Lumber prices have continued surging in response to supply shortages spurred by the COVID-19 pandemic.

In Early Results, COVID-19 Appears to Have Little Impact on Retirement Preparation and Withdrawals

Pew Trusts

Has the pandemic changed the savings behavior of retirement plan participants? And are workers delaying retirement because of the pandemic?

Stimulus Checks Substantially Reduced Hardship, Study Shows

New York Times

Researchers found that sharp declines in food shortages, financial instability and anxiety coincided with the two most recent rounds of payments.

Walters: California’s tribal casinos now want sports betting

CalMatters

California Indian tribes that already have a monopoly on casino gambling in California now want to expand into sports betting.

Jobs:

Can’t get through to California’s unemployment office? Experts offer ways to get answers

Fresno Bee

Have a problem with unemployment benefits? The first thing to do is NOT call the Employment Development Department. Experts recommend you look at EDD’s website and videos, and if that doesn’t help, send a message through its Contact Us feature on its website.

● Judge orders Bank of America to stop auto-denying EDD fraud claims, reopen cases abc30

US jobless claims drop to 385,000, another pandemic low

AP News

The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits fell last week for a fifth straight week to a new pandemic low, the latest evidence that the U.S. job market is regaining its health as the economy further reopens.

See also:

● Jobless Claims Drop to Another Pandemic Low Wall Street Journal

● Labor Shortage Draws Attention of U.S. Lawmakers Wall Street Journal

● Biden may be the most pro-union president since Truman. But can he stop labor’s decline? Los Angeles Times

Amazon’s OSHA data shows its workers injured at higher rates than rival companies

Washington Post

A Washington Post analysis of Occupational Safety and Health Administration data shows Amazon’s serious injury rates are nearly double those at warehouses run by other companies.

Pandemic Hasn’t Changed Partisan Divide on Paid Time Off

Pew Trusts

Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, legislators in Colorado, New Mexico and New York have approved laws that require businesses to offer paid sick days. Colorado voters also approved a paid family leave program.

EDUCATION

K-12:

Pro-union teachers say Clovis school leaders undermine unionizing efforts in complaint

Fresno Bee

Fresno Unified removes Roger Tatarian’s name from new school building after backlash

Fresno Bee

A building on the newest Fresno Unified School District campus will not be named after H. Roger Tatarian, at the request of his family, who said the icon of Fresno’s Armenia community should have his name on a school and “not a mere building.”

How a Ceres program has schoolkids eating up lessons in nutrition and gardening

Modesto Bee

Kids are not just eating their veggies but growing them, too, thanks to a collaboration formed in Stanislaus County.

Higher Ed:

Opinion: Standardized tests increased minority admissions in California, but state universities dropped them anyway

MarketWatch

SATs and ACTs helped thousands of minority and low-income applicants get into UC who otherwise wouldn’t have using grades alone.

ENVIRONMENT/ENERGY

Environment:

Sierra logging projects won’t be halted while lawsuit is decided about endangered animal

Fresno Bee

A request to temporarily halt many logging projects in Sierra, Sequoia and Stanislaus national forests while a lawsuit against the U.S. Forest Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is being decided was denied by a federal judge in Fresno.

California wants to buy nonlethal bear traps and pay ranchers when wolves kill their cows

Fresno Bee

Freeway overpasses for nomadic animals. More water for coho salmon to survive. Humane traps to relocate bears and mountain lions to safe ground.

Lyme-carrying ticks thriving on California coast, study finds

San Francisco Chronicle

Disease-carrying ticks, long considered something to fear in thick woods, are also prevalent in Northern California’s open coastal areas, a new study shows.

Coral Reef and Coastal Wetlands Protections Can Help Communities Withstand Climate Impacts

Pew Trusts

Coral reefs, among the ocean’s most vibrant and productive ecosystems, support tremendous biodiversity and provide important ecosystem services and other benefits for more than 500 million people around the world.

Gen Z, Millennials Stand Out for Climate Change Activism, Social Media Engagement With Issue

Pew Research Center

Pew Research Center conducted this study to understand how Americans view climate, energy and environmental issues. We surveyed 13,749 U.S. adults from April 20 to 29, 2021.

Energy:

Biden to suspend Trump’s 11th-hour oil leases in Arctic

Sacramento Bee

The Biden administration is suspending Arctic refuge drilling rights that were sold in the final days of Donald Trump’s presidency, dealing a victory to environmentalists who have argued for decades against oil development in the remote, wild region of Alaska.

Opinion: America’s overlooked energy revolution

AEI

In 2020, the US became a net exporter of petroleum and petroleum products for the first time since at least 1949; in just a decade, gross exports had more than tripled.

HEALTH/HUMAN SERVICES

Health:

Vaccine protection may diminish need for yearly boosters

Fresno Bee

Scientists have found clues that the world’s leading COVID-19 vaccines offer lasting protection that could diminish the need for frequent booster shots, but they caution that more research is needed and that virus mutations are still a wild card.

● Find a COVID vaccine appointment — and see how many people in California are vaccinated Fresno Bee

California wasted 31,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine. Here’s how we ranked among other states

Merced Sun-Star

California has wasted more than 31,000 doses of the vaccine since December, just a fraction of the more than 39 million doses delivered to residents of the country’s most populous state since the vaccine rollout began.

Freedom from masks is coming for the vaccinated. Will it push skeptics to get their shots?

Los Angeles Times

It’s never been easier to get vaccinated for COVID-19. Clinics are plentiful and increasingly mobile — and so many doses are available that California is even offering cash prizes of more than a million dollars in hopes of enticing holdouts.

Technology used to make COVID vaccines tested to treat HIV, cancer, more

abc30

When the final Phase 3 data came out last November showing the mRNA vaccines made by Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna were more than 90% effective, Dr. Anthony Fauci had no words. He texted smiley face emojis to a journalist seeking his reaction.

Human Services:

Expanding Health Coverage Is Top Priority For New Head Of Medicare/Medicaid

VPR

The new head of the federal agency that oversees health benefits for nearly 150 million Americans and $1 trillion in federal spending said in one of her first interviews that her top priorities will be broadening insurance coverage and ensuring health equity.

Medicaid Enrollment Spikes During Pandemic

Pew Trusts

In the 12 months ending in March 2021, nearly 8.5 million more Americans enrolled in Medicaid, the federal-state health program for low-income people, according to a new analysis by the Georgetown University Center for Children and Families.

Democrats Strain to Unify on Proposal to Reduce Drug Prices

Wall Street Journal

Internal disagreements complicate outlook for legislation as pharmaceutical industry pushes back, citing Covid-19 vaccine success.

Opinion: The declining U.S. birthrate has implications beyond Social Security

Washington Post

The United States used to be the only big, rich nation to have above-replacement fertility. That stopped being true during the Great Recession, and our birthrates keep slipping.

IMMIGRATION

Immigrant doctors fill US healthcare gaps – but visa rules make life tough

The Guardian

From 2016, Rishab Gupta worked to set up a life for himself in the United States, completing his medical residency in New York before moving to Boston with his wife Vandita for a neuropsychiatry fellowship last year.

Why The U.S. Is Losing Immigrant Entrepreneurs to Other Nations

Forbes

America’s convoluted and highly politicized immigration system puts roadblocks in the way of foreign-born founders. As two dozen other countries woo them with startup visas and other perks, the U.S. is at risk of losing its edge in the global battle for talent.

LAND USE/HOUSING

Land Use:

Councilmembers respond to Dyer budget, want to ‘Rebuild Fresno’ with federal funds

Fresno Bee

Housing:

Sacramento apartment rental market more expensive than New York and D.C., report says

Sacramento Bee

The typical apartment in the four-county Sacramento region rented for $1,760 in May, a 14% increase over May 2020, according to new estimates from Apartment List.

Opinion: Urban housing projects need to be unfettered

CalMatters

With California staring down the barrel of a deficit of 3.5 million homes, the scale of the problem has overshadowed the potential of smaller housing developments to provide a solution.

PUBLIC FINANCES

Top California Democrats push Newsom to spend more on health, citing rosy tax projections

Fresno Bee

● Can You Handle The Truth?: Fact-Checking Gov. Newsom’s Claim That California Has A $75 Billion Surplus Capital Public Radio

● Four Things To Know About The California Budget Deal CalMatters

● Spend the surplus: This game puts you in charge of California’s budget CalMatters

For States and Localities, Borrowing and Issuing Pension Obligation Bonds Increased as a Response to COVID-19

Pew Trusts

Monitoring and controls can help officials manage indebtedness as the economy begins to recover

The Fed has abandoned price stability — Congress must correct its course

The Hill

Consumer prices are rising at more than a 10 percent annual rate and bond investors are expecting future inflation of 2 percent. Does this sound like price stability? Common sense says no, but the Federal Reserve says yes.

TRANSPORTATION

Planned Merced ACE train reaches new milestone, bringing prospect of more tourism, new jobs

Merced Sun Star

The long-anticipated Altamont Corridor Express train connection to Merced recently reached a new milestone, bringing the project another step closer to fruition.

How another California train project went off track. Latest delay: lead-tainted water

Fresno Bee

It was supposed to be a signature moment for Caltrans, a project that would help pull the nation out of a recession that was smothering the economy nearly a decade ago.

California urges EPA to let state set car-emissions standard

Bakersfield Californian

Officials from CA, NY and other states urged the EPA to allow CA to set its own automobile tailpipe pollution standards, an action that would reverse a Trump administration policy and could help usher in stricter emissions standards for new passenger vehicles nationwide.

Yes, prices are higher under Biden, but recovery from the pandemic is key reason

PolitiFact

An image widely shared on Facebook blames President Joe Biden for how much more five commodities cost in April 2021 versus a year earlier.

Opinion: High-Speed Rail Needs an Olympic Deadline

Streetsblog California

Let us show the world that California and the United States are still home to innovation, ingenuity, and a can-do spirit–use the Olympic deadline to demonstrate that the U.S. is still a country that gets things done.

Walters: Divisive Oakland freeway may be demolished

CalMatters

A decades-long debate over the fate of Oakland’s Interstate 980 freeway may be nearing an end as political figures call for its demolition.

WATER

Fresno irrigation water deliveries begin but future deliveries remain unclear

abc30

The Fresno Irrigation District (FID) will begin water deliveries Tuesday, but it's unclear if deliveries will be extended past the end of the month.

Folsom residents asked to voluntarily reduce water use amid California’s drought

Sacramento Bee

Folsom officials asked its residents to voluntarily reduce their water usage by 10 percent Wednesday as California settles into another severe drought.

“Xtra”

Why Is Fresno State Corn so Darned Good? The Experts Explain.

GV Wire

Common sense would tell you that Fresno State corn has a couple of things going for it: the fields are planted and harvested in waves, so the corn can be picked at the height of consistent sweetness all summer long.

Bethany Clough: Three new thrift, vintage stores open in Fresno. Here’s where — and what they sell

Fresno Bee

If you’re a thrift shop lover, you likely love the thrill of the hunt, the sifting through castoffs to score that one perfect vintage find. Now there’s some new places in Fresno to do just that.

Ready to get out to festivals again? Some plan return to Modesto, Mother Lode regions

Modesto Bee

June brings summer and a return of some festivals normally held annually in the Modesto and Mother Lode regions.

Rising Again: California Condor Soars Again

Smithsonian Magazine

The leaden sky above Big Sur looks as uninviting as cold oatmeal, the temperature is about 40, and tracing lazy circles on an updraft is a kettle of California condors.