POLICY & POLITICS
North SJ Valley:
He was born and raised in Merced. Now he’s the fire chief, officials say
Merced Sun-Star
A firefighter who is a veteran of the Merced City Fire Department has been named as the chief, officials said Monday. Interim chief since November, Billy Alcorn started as a firefighter in the Merced department in 2004. His first day as permanent chief is March 25.
Interfaith gathering at Modesto mosque responds to New Zealand terror with hope
Modesto Bee
Believers from other faiths joined the Islamic Center of Modesto on Monday night in decrying last week’s shootings at two mosques in New Zealand.
Central SJ Valley:
Devin Nunes sues Twitter, parody accounts and political strategist for $250 million: report
Fresno Bee
Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Tulare, filed a lawsuit against Twitter, several of its users and a political strategist in Virginia state court on Monday, according to a Fox News report. He is asking for $250 million in damages.
See also:
● Nunes targets Twitter, ‘spoof’ accounts in $250 million lawsuit Visalia Times Delta
● Rep. Devin Nunes files $250 million lawsuit against Twitter abc30
● Nunes sues Twitter, some users, seeks over $250M alleging anti-conservative ‘shadow bans,’ smears Fox News
● Devin Nunes Sues Twitter for Allowing Accounts to Insult Him New York Times
● Rep. Devin Nunes suing Twitter for $250 million Politico
● The ridiculousness of Devin Nunes suing ‘Devin Nunes’ cow’ — and what it really signals Washington Post
South SJ Valley:
Rep. McCarthy discusses border emergency declaration, high speed rail
KGET
House Minority Leader Rep. Kevin McCarthy spoke with about President Trump’s intent to veto a Congressional block of an emergency border declaration, and diverting money from California’s High Speed Rail plan to other needed projects.
State:
Gov. Newsom says Trump-backed investment program could boost California
San Francisco Chronicle
The governor said the Opportunity Zones program could help address two of the state’s major challenges — climate change and the housing shortage.
California’s Real ID driver’s license? Still confusing. What you need to know now
Los Angeles Times
Our last visit to the topic of California’s Real ID driver’s license made my head hurt. In that Jan. 6 “On the Spot” column, we learned that the Department of Homeland Security had informed California that its second method of verifying a person’s residence was insufficient.
Walters: Gavin Newsom does it again with death row reprieve
CALmatters
Once again, Newsom is defying the demonstrated will of California voters, who twice in this decade rejected ballot measures that would have ended the death penalty—and if there’s a political price to be paid, it would be for that defiance.
EDITORIAL: California counties shouldn’t rush to adopt all-mail elections
San Francisco Chronicle
All-mail elections have significant benefits. But just because every California county can now start moving towards them, doesn’t mean they should.
Exodus: As Bay Area moves left, these conservative voters move out
Mercury News
The Bay Area has become one of the most popular places in the country to leave in recent years. About 64,300 residents exited the region, many for other states, between 2015 and 2018, according to a recent survey by Joint Venture Silicon Valley.
Federal:
Pentagon discloses military projects in California that it could tap for Trump’s wall
Los Angeles Times
After weeks of delay, the Pentagon on Monday provided Congress with a list of more than 400 military construction projects around the globe, including dozens in California, that it could raid to help pay for President Trump’s long-promised wall at the southwest border
See also:
· Pentagon lists possible project cuts to pay for wall Porterville Recorder
Ninth Circuit recommended for expansion, setting up potential for Trump to reshape the court
San Francisco Chronicle
U.S. judicial leaders are proposing to add five additional judges to the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco, an expansion that would make it theoretically possible – though politically unlikely – to shift the majority on the nation’s largest federal appellate court from Democratic to Republican.
See also:
● Trump’s 9th Circuit court nominee doesn’t live in California. Some say that’s a problem Sacramento Bee
San Jose’s veteran Democratic Rep. Zoe Lofgren fills key House role as ‘mayor of Capital Hill’
San Francisco Chronicle
Longtime San Jose Rep. Zoe Lofgren is settling into the role nicknamed “mayor of Capitol Hill,” chairing the often under-the-radar House Administration Committee.
Some climate change panel members are literally invested in the issue
Roll Call
One member of the House committee, Rep. Kelly Armstrong, a Republican from North Dakota, created to address climate change stands out for what he owns: hundreds of oil and gas wells in North Dakota oil fields worth millions of dollars.
Elections 2020:
In 2020, don’t forget California’s GOP primary
Capitol Weekly
With the coming 2020 Presidential primary, all eyes are on the plethora of Democratic candidates joining the fray, and the big possibility that an early California contest could catapult one or more contenders past Super Tuesday.
2020 Dems warm to expanding Supreme Court
Politico
A series of White House hopefuls are expressing new interest in remaking the courts — payback for Republican aggression during the Obama presidency.
Beto O’Rourke boasts about $6.1M in campaign’s 1st 24 hours
Sacramento Bee
Democratic presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke boasts about the $6.1 million he raised online within a day of announcing his White House bid.
See also:
● Latest fundraising numbers from Beto O’Rourke and others are ridiculous Roll Call
Uninspired by the crop of 2020 Democrats? Keep your eyes on Mayor Pete
Los Angeles Times
The first time I heard about Pete Buttigieg — the mayor of South Bend, Ind. — was on Feb. 2. As I kvetched about the lackluster Democratic landscape, a Hoosier friend told me, “Keep an eye on Pete Buttigieg.” Pete who?
2020 hopeful Gabbard calls for end of ‘wasteful’ wars
Fresno Bee
Democratic presidential candidate Tulsi Gabbard says her top priorities if she’s elected to the White House in 2020 would be to end military action in countries like Iraq and Syria.
See also:
● Presidential hopeful Tulsi Gabbard campaigns in Fremont San Francisco Chronicle
To save Dreamers, some Latino Democrats say they’ll have to defeat Trump in 2020
Sacramento Bee
Democrats in the Hispanic Caucus have competing ideas on how to tackle comprehensive immigration reform, and one of the biggest questions within their party is whether they’ll work with Republicans at all.
Why did Kamala Harris let Herbalife off the hook?
Yahoo News
At a rally in late January in her native Oakland, Calif., U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris announced her intention to seek the presidential nomination by casting herself as a tireless advocate of men and women who lack power and wealth.
The burden of a 40-year career: Some of Joe Biden’s record doesn’t age well
Los Angeles Times
Joe Biden is carrying a 20th century voting record into a 21st century political dogfight. During more than 40 years in public life, Biden has taken an array of stances at odds with today’s Democratic Party consensus.
Ahead of 2020, white evangelicals are sticking with Trump
Axios
More than two-thirds of white evangelicals continue to support President Trump, along with almost half of white Catholics and white mainline Protestants, according to a new study released by Pew Research Center.
Medicare for All Is Divisive (in the Democratic Party)
Axios
No issue animated the Democrats’ 2018 congressional campaigns like health care and the promises to expand access to insurance and to lower costs.
Other:
Long-time TV anchor returns to sports reporting. This time, he’s on the radio with KMJ
Fresno Bee
George Takata can be heard 6-9 a.m. weekdays doing sports reports on KMJ radio. The long-time TV anchor left KSEE-24 in 2017 to become the director of marketing and communications at Reedley College.
America’s biggest brands are increasingly multilingual
Los Angeles Times
Over the past two years, despite tariffs and trade impasses, Brexit and the border wall, American companies have been expanding their global reach by increasing the number of languages they speak.
Can a Facebook Post Make Your Insurance Cost More?
Wall Street Journal
With insurers likely to add social media to the data they review before issuing policies, it might be wise to post pictures from the gym—but not happy hour.
MADDY INSTITUTE PUBLIC POLICY PROGRAMMING
Sunday, March 24, at 5 p.m. on ABC30 – Maddy Report: “Cal Facts: Everything You Need To Know About California” – Guest: Carolyn Chu, Legislative Analyst Office. Host: Maddy Institute Executive Director, Mark Keppler.
Sunday, March 24, at 10 a.m. on Newstalk 580AM/105.9FM (KMJ) –Maddy Report – Valley Views Edition: “California Facts, Valley Economic Opportunities” – Guests: Former Fresno Mayor, Ashley Swearengin and Pete Weber, co-chair of CalFwd and Director of the Fresno Bridge Academy. Host: Maddy Institute Executive Director, Mark Keppler.
Sunday, March 24, at 7:30 a.m. on UniMas 61 (KTTF) – El Informe Maddy: “Nuevas Leyes y Legislacion futura” – Guest: Alexei Koseff, Reportero de Sacramento Bee. Host: Maddy Institute Program Coordinator, Maria Jeans.
AGRICULTURE/FOOD
A dead chicken in the Bay Area has the Modesto area’s poultry industry worried
Modesto Bee
A major threat to the poultry industry, virulent Newcastle disease, has been detected in a backyard chicken in Alameda County, CA. The finding prompted renewed protections for large chicken producers in the Modesto area.
Olive farmers hit by $40M ‘tariff loophole’
Visalia Times Delta
Your Lindsay Olives won’t come from Lindsay anymore. Tulare County olive growers are reeling after Bell-Carter, a major California table-olive processor, terminated contracts to buy fruit from orchards across the state without notice.
Downsizing and land sale in store for Delano grape grower
Bakersfield Californian
Well-known Kern County grape grower Vincent B. Zaninovich & Sons Inc. announced a major downsizing that will soon cost up to 542 jobs in the Delano area. Separately, The Wonderful Co. has confirmed it will purchase some of the company’s land.
All local medical marijuana dispensaries to shutter in late May
Bakersfield Californian
The end date has been set for medical cannabis sales within Kern County. On Monday, the Kern County Board of Supervisors denied all final appeals of the eight remaining medical marijuana dispensaries, leaving May 24 as the unquestionable date at which legal cannabis can be sold within the county.
California is awash in cannabis cash. Some is being used to bribe public officials
Los Angeles Times
In the more than two years since California voters approved the licensed growing and sale of recreational marijuana, the state has seen a half-dozen government corruption cases as black-market operators try to game the system, through bribery and other means.
No One’s Really Sure How to Regulate This Hemp Food Craze
Pew Research
Despite limited research on the compound’s health benefits, hemp CBD has become a nationwide health food craze. But the U.S. Food and Drug Administration says businesses such as Hudson’s cafe are unlawfully introducing drugs into the food supply.
CRIMINAL JUSTICE / FIRE / PUBLIC SAFETY
Crime:
Gov. Newsom won’t execute the man who murdered my daughter. Here’s what I’ve learned since her death
Sacramento Bee
Gov. Gavin Newsom’s announcement that California is suspending executions is good news for many victims’ families. In my experience, the death penalty system is a false promise that can get in the way of – or outright prevent – true recovery from the aftermath of violent crime.
Supreme Court to decide if insanity defense and unanimous jury are required nationwide
Los Angeles Times
The Supreme Court agreed Monday to resolve two long-standing disputes and decide whether the Constitution includes rights to the insanity defense and a unanimous jury verdict of guilt.
A 1963 Supreme Court decision transformed the U.S. justice system. Now it’s threatened
Los Angeles Times
As a public defender, I see cases every day that would almost certainly result in injustice if defendants had to go into court alone.
Supreme Court to Examine Insanity Defense, Need for Jury Unanimity
Wall Street Journal
The Supreme Court said Monday it would consider whether two pillars of criminal law—the insanity defense and the rule that only unanimous juries may convict—are required by the Constitution.
Public Safety:
Exeter man shot by Tulare County police wins $2.25 million settlement
Visalia Times Delta
An Exeter man shot and paralyzed during a spring 2017 encounter with police won’t go to prison. In a separate, but related lawsuit, the 20-year-old was awarded a multi-million dollar settlement. The money will be paid from a joint account between Woodlake and Exeter.
Even With New Disclosure Law, Fight Continues to Unseal California’s Secret Police Files
KQED
In the weeks before the law took effect on Jan. 1, journalists throughout California formed a coalition called the California Reporting Project to request and report on the newly unsealed records.
See also:
● Diverging bills aim to curb police shootings: Tougher legal standards vs. better training and policies CALmatters
Legal claim puts city ‘on notice’ for civil rights suit over Stephon Clark protest arrests
Merced Sun-Star
An attorney for the scores arrested in East Sacramento’s recent Stephon Clark protests is laying the groundwork for a federal civil rights suit with a claim against the city of Sacramento, the Police Department and Sacramento County.
Mental Health Trails Metal Detectors in School Safety Dollars
Pew Research
So far, physical security measures are garnering the lion’s share of dollars in legislative spending proposals. But mental health advocates say they’re confident that the state will make the first substantial investment in school mental health services in decades.
Cracking Down on Fake Service Dogs
Route Fifty
In 2016, 77 percent of graduates from assistance dog organization Canine Companions for Independence had encountered a fraudulent or out-of-control service dog.
Fire:
He was born and raised in Merced. Now he’s the fire chief, officials say
Merced Sun-Star
A firefighter who is a veteran of the Merced City Fire Department has been named as the chief, officials said Monday. Interim chief since November, Billy Alcorn started as a firefighter in the Merced department in 2004. His first day as permanent chief is March 25.
ECONOMY / JOBS
Economy:
Excluded by banks, minorities in California became their own lenders
Los Angeles Times
If you’ve ever been to a Cambodian-owned doughnut shop, fried chicken restaurant or jewelry store, there’s a good chance it was financed by a tontine.
California’s Small Business Scorecard: February 2019
NFIB
Small business owners were pleased to hear Governor Gavin Newsom provide a sobering assessment of California’s out-of-control High-Speed rail project.
Stocks post modest gains, led by energy companies
Los Angeles Times
U.S. stock indexes finished modestly higher Monday, extending the gains from the market’s rally last week.
Jobs:
Remote workers and super commuters are on the rise – and they probably make more than you
Sacramento Bee
A study shows wide variations in pay for those who travel long distances for work compared with people who are employed nearby. The high-earning workers could drive up the cost of living in less-expensive areas.
See also:
● Long drive to work? You’re not alone as Modesto commute times rank No. 2 in nation Modesto Bee
California truck drivers could become employees under ruling
San Francisco Chronicle
The U.S. Supreme Court rejected an appeal by the California Trucking Association on Monday in a case that could classify tens of thousands of California truck drivers as employees of freight-hauling companies, with the right to minimum wages, overtime pay and reimbursement for business expenses.
Gig Economy Workers Gain Security, But at What Cost?
Pew Research
Depending on how the state legislature acts, employment experts say the decision likely will require a range of businesses — from rideshares to trucking firms to barber shops — to reclassify independent contractors as employees or to restructure their business models.
White House Seeks Ways to Get More People to Work
Wall Street Journal
The White House in a new report highlighted the strength of the labor-force participation rate and pushed for policies to encourage more people to work as millions of baby boomers retire.
EDUCATION
K-12:
New garden will help elementary students learn valuable lessons
abc30
This is the one time when students can get their hands dirty without getting into trouble. A group of kindergarten students at Kirk Elementary has a new garden thanks to one of their teachers who asked for donations from Home Depot.
Push underway to lower the barrier for school districts to pass a parcel tax
EdSource
The threshold needed to pass a parcel tax is now a two-thirds majority; they want to drop it to 55 percent — the same that it takes for voters to approve a school construction bond.
EDITORIAL: It’s time for Ripon schools to get rid of the cell phone tower
Modesto Bee
Here is a message to Ripon schools: Move it. That’s not encouragement to get up and exercise. It’s advice on resolving the school district’s public relations headache, which might go away if a cell phone tower is moved to another location.
Insolvency 101: Sacramento teachers, you better add this to your lesson plan
Sacramento Bee
Any discussion about education must begin like this: Teachers don’t make enough money and that could probably be said for teachers in any school district in America.
Higher Ed:
White House proposes caps on student loan borrowing
Sacramento Bee
The Trump administration is proposing new limits on student borrowing as part of a broader proposal to curb the cost of college.
Connected Bay Area recruiter gets no bid contract as online community college staffs up
CALmatters
California’s new online community college director, hoping to quickly establish her executive team, pushed Monday to grant a no-bid contract of up to $500,000 to an executive recruiter who is a friend and long has been a part of San Francisco’s political scene.
SAT and ACT take hit in bribery scandal
San Francisco Chronicle
The scandal that ensnared Stanford and other California universities revealed how far parents can go to get their kids to ace the SAT or ACT.
See also:
● Cal investigating former crew team member linked to college admissions scandal San Francisco Chronicle
● Lori Loughlin and Felicity Huffman hire legal powerhouses in college admissions scandal Los Angeles Times
● Powerful parents lose jobs, face backlash over college admissions scandal Los Angeles Times
● College admissions scammers found ‘the hole in the Death Star’ Los Angeles Times
● College Admissions Scandal Relied on More Students Using SAT Accommodation Wall Street Journal
Amid college admissions scandal, USC announces tuition increase
Los Angeles Times
Undergraduate tuition and fees at USC will total $57,256 in the coming school year, a 3.5% increase from the previous year, the university announced Monday. The USC Board of Trustees approved the increase, which the university said is one of the smallest increases in 50 years.
California community colleges show little progress in student graduations and transfers
EdSource
California’s community colleges are making some gains toward ambitious goals of getting more students to complete degrees and transfer to universities but the small improvements last year were “disappointing” and show that much work remains ahead, the system’s leader said Monday.
Here’s How CA Grad Schools Rank Among Top Programs: U.S. News
Patch
The rankings for 2020 evaluate programs in business, law, medicine, engineering, education and nursing, according to U.S. News. The publication explained the rankings are unique for each field.
Trump Administration Proposes Borrowing Limits for Some Student Loans
Wall Street Journal
The White House is calling on Congress to cap how much graduate students and parents of undergraduates can borrow in federal student loans, a proposal it said is aimed at curbing rising college costs.
ENVIRONMENT/ ENERGY
Environment:
Climate change is hurting migrating waterbirds across the West. It could get worse
Fresno Bee
Migrating waterbirds, which travel along the Pacific Flyway through Idaho and California, are finding altered habitat in the Great Basin. Climate change has warmed weather, causing snow to melt earlier.
Energy:
Hundreds of new oil wells could soon triple Santa Barbara County production
Sacramento Bee
Santa Barbara County, California, oil production could triple if new wells proposed in Cat Canyon Oil Field near Santa Maria are approved for drilling. Critics worry about spills, water pollution and climate.
Public takeover of PG&E? Sacramento’s past provides important lessons
San Francisco Chronicle
The Sacramento Municipal Utility District’s history with PG&E shows that creating a new municipal power company could prove to be a lengthy and contested endeavor.
See also:
● How PG&E Overlooked Wildfire Risks in Favor of Its Bottom Line New York Times
HEALTH/HUMAN SERVICES
Health:
Modesto care center residents stricken by intestinal illness, hospitalized
Modesto Bee
Public health officials are investigating the outbreak of an intestinal illness at an assisted living and memory care facility on McHenry Avenue in Modesto.
Don’t take aspirin to prevent heart attacks, new study says
Visalia Times Delta
Taking a low-dose aspirin every day to prevent a heart attack or stroke is no longer recommended for most older adults, according to guidelines released Sunday.
Anti-vaccine activists have doctors ‘terrorized into silence’ with online harassment
Los Angeles Times
For the first time, the World Health Organization has named vaccine hesitancy as one of the top 10 global health threats.
See also:
● One Doctor Is Responsible for a Third of All Medical Vaccine Exemptions in San Diego Voice of San Diego
California Budget & Policy Center
Governor Newsom has advanced considerable health investments, including proposals to make health insurance more affordable and to expand Medi-Cal eligibility to adults through age 25 regardless of immigration status.
Human Services:
Fresno County will have to turn away foster parent hopefuls until a backlog is cleared
Fresno Bee
Fresno County has halted processing applications for potential foster parents. The backlog stems from the provisions of the 2017 Continuum of Care Reform Act California law. Fresno is now focusing on emergency approvals.
Annual Community Baby Shower Moves To Yosemite Lakes
Sierra News
Do you know a local mom-to-be or someone with small children? Expectant moms and families of children five-and-under are invited to the Sierra Mountain Community Baby Shower on Saturday, Mar. 23 from 9 a.m. to noon at Yosemite Lakes Community Church.
Showered with Love visionary on crusade to bring mobile showers for homeless to Stockton, Lodi
Stockton Record
Showered with Love is a nonprofit ministry that is looking to transform a 20-passenger bus into mobile showers to be used by people living in the streets.
Fate of Native Children May Hinge on U.S. Adoption Case
Pew Research
A case before a federal appeals court this week could upend an historic adoption law meant to combat centuries of brutal discrimination against American Indians and keep their children with families and tribal communities.
Why The Promise Of Electronic Health Records Has Gone Unfulfilled
Capital Public Radio
The government used a 2009 financial stimulus package to move the country from paper medical charts to electronic records. Care was supposed to get better, safer and cheaper. It hasn’t worked out.
IMMIGRATION
ACLU: Tulare and Merced Police shared license plate reader data with ICE
abc30
Tulare’s police chief is issuing an apology Monday after he says his department inadvertently shared license plate reader data with ICE, the federal immigration law enforcement agency.
See also:
● Tulare Police shared license plate data with ICE, apologizes Fresno Bee
● Tulare PD stops sharing data with ICE Visalia Times Delta
LAND USE/HOUSING
Land Use:
Supes to hear master plan for Hart Park
Bakersfield Californian
Despite some mixed messages in recent weeks, Kern County Administrative Officer Ryan Alsop has been crystal clear of late about the fate of the Depression-era adobe house at Hart Park.
Plans underway to extend Kern River Bike Trail to Buena Vista Lake
Bakersfield Californian
Avid cyclists have long envisioned a Kern River Bike Trail that would one day stretch from the mouth of the Kern River Canyon to the Buena Vista Aquatic Recreation Area.
Public meeting tonight on controversial high-rise dorms proposed for Coffee and Stockdale
Bakersfield Californian
The proposal has set off controversy, with opposition from neighboring residents, who say it’s a bad fit for the area, and Cal State Bakersfield President Lynette Zelezny, who says the best place for student housing is on-campus.
2018: A good year for new residential, commercial development
Business Journal
“2018, it was a very good year for us,” though it didn’t match up to new home construction activity during the housing booms before the recession, in the early to mid 2000s, Miller said.
Washington Post
President Trump has promised an economic boom that will last for years to come, but he’s unlikely to get one without the help of Congress to pass major new legislation, according to estimates by Trump’s own economic team.
See also:
● Creating a new marketplace for resilient infrastructure investment Brookings
The FCC is fixing a rural broadband embarrassment, but work remains
AEI
Universal service — the idea that nearly everyone should have telecommunications service — has for decades been a regulatory embarrassment in the US.
Housing:
City council could approve new apartment complex project in Merced
abc30
Growth could be coming to the city of Merced if developers get the green light for a new apartment complex. Monday’s city council meeting will feature a public hearing on the project so developers can hear from residents.
A home next to the fairway may land you in the green
Bakersfield Californian
Easy access to the links, a pleasant view of rolling greenery — plus a property-value bump to boot? No wonder people want to live next to a golf course.
What could help Sacramento reduce homelessness? Here’s what’s being done elsewhere
Sacramento Bee
For more than a month, Sacramento City Council members have considered Mayor Darrell Steinberg’s proposal to spend a whopping $40.5 million, including $15.7 million in city money, on 781 new shelter beds.
Rent control back on agenda with package of Democratic bills
San Francisco Chronicle
California voters overwhelmingly rejected an initiative in November, but Gov. Gavin Newsom has said he would sign “a good package” of rent stability measures.
EDITORIAL: Wiener’s housing bill is gaining deserved momentum
San Francisco Chronicle
State Sen. Scott Wiener’s bill to overrule low-density zoning near mass transit lines isn’t the political pariah it used to be. Thanks to a series of conciliatory amendments and perhaps the accumulating devastation of the housing shortage, Senate Bill 50 has substantial new support from previously unlikely sources.
EDITORIAL: California renters need relief. That means weakening Costa-Hawkins
Los Angeles Times
Over the last few years, California’s elected officials have finally gotten serious about fixing the housing shortage that is eroding the quality of life here.
PUBLIC FINANCES
California has a $9.3 billion ‘pot of gold’ in abandoned funds that might have your name on it
Fresno Bee
California is sitting on $9.3 billion of unclaimed property and forgotten funds scattered throughout the state. Nearly a million insurance companies, multinational corporations, banks, real estate agencies, utility businesses and hospitals are out of reporting compliance.
CalPERS moving forward with $20 billion expansion of its private equity investments
Fresno Bee
CalPERS on March 18, 2019 moved to grow its stake in private equity by launching two new ventures that could invest $10 billion each outside of public stock markets. The pension fund wants to increase earnings.
See also:
● Higher risk, higher returns? New CalPERS strategy would use non-public employees Sacramento Bee
● New CalPERS leader wants pension fund to put its money back into tobacco Sacramento Bee
● Calpers Gives New Private-Equity Plan Tentative Thumbs-Up Wall Street Journal
Slowing economy could hit state budget
CALmatters
Gov. Gavin Newsom’s first budget proposal, unveiled two months ago, took a surprisingly conservative approach, given his promises of high-dollar spending during his campaign for the governorship.
Trump Budget Relies on Up to $1.2 Trillion in Potentially Phantom Revenues
Wall Street Journal
President Trump’s budget blueprint for the next decade relies on up to $1.2 trillion in revenue that might not materialize. Up to $390 billion comes from taxes created by the Affordable Care Act, which president wants to repeal.
See also:
● Trump’s Economists See Themselves as Defenders Against Socialism Bloomberg
TRANSPORTATION
Key railroad crossing in Merced is closing for repairs. Here’s what you need to know
Merced Sun-Star
A popular and key route between north Merced and Highway 99 will be closed as crews work on repairs to a railroad crossing. The crossing on Highway 59, just south of Olive Avenue, will be closed between Sunday, March 24, through March 29.
Gig Electric Car-Share Program Comes To Sacramento
Capital Public Radio
The nation’s largest all-electric, car-share fleet is currently launching in the city of Sacramento. GIG Car Share now has 100 cars available to share on Sacramento streets with 150 ready to be added in the coming weeks.
Police Investigate 1st Dockless Scooter Fatality in San Diego
San Diego 7
A tourist who crashed into a tree while riding a dockless scooter has died, marking the first fatality in the city of San Diego involving the scooters that can be found on street corners throughout the region.
WATER
Dam operators release water into Valley rivers as rapid warm up melts snowpack
abc30
Water is coming out from Friant Dam into the San Joaquin River. The dam is at about 82 percent of capacity, and the warm weather is melting the mountain snow.
Water allocation for region announced
Business Journal
The Bureau of Reclamation announced that water allocation for South-of-Delta Central Valley Project (CVP) agricultural water service contractors has been increased from 35 percent to 55 percent, and 80 percent allocations for municipal and industrial contractors.
See also:
● Finally, a new path toward managing water, rivers and the Delta CALmatters
Widening the Conversation about Safe Drinking Water in the San Joaquin Valley
Public Policy Institute of California
Here in California, the San Joaquin Valley is a hot spot for unsafe drinking water. The region has more than half of all public water systems that are out of water-quality compliance in California, but just 10% of the state’s population.
“Xtra”
This list of foods just screams “Fresno,” from tacos to raisins and a cocktail. Do you agree?
Fresno Bee
There is so much good food in this town. From the cuisine of our diverse cultures to all the fruits and vegetables we grow here that feed the nation, the Fresno area makes some mighty good food.
Fresno, Clovis restaurant scene: Who’s coming in, who’s leaving?
Fresno Bee
A few restaurants in Fresno and Clovis have recently closed. But in their place new dining establishments plan to open. Take a look.
Children’s splash zone coming to Chukchansi Park
abc30
Work is underway at Chukchansi Park in Downtown Fresno. With Grizzlies opening day right around the corner, crews are working hard to get the ballpark game day ready. Their new logo is being displayed across the park, even on chairs.
Snowshoeing to Upper Mariposa Grove
Sierra News
A dusting of new snow was the perfect backdrop for our hike to see gigantic Sequoias. Some of our hike was with snowshoes and some of it was without. That is the way it goes with springtime snow.
‘Wicked’ set for two-week run in Valley
Visalia Times Delta
A “Wizard of Oz” for jaded adults, the blockbuster “Wicked” us returning to the Central Valley for a two-week run starting March 20.
Porterville Recorder
The pond at Murry Park was surrounded with eager and excited kids Saturday morning for the city’s annual fishing derby. Over 200 people gathered to cheer on this year’s participants as they competed to reel in the biggest fish they could.
Wildflowers blooming around Kern County
Bakersfield Californian
Rain and showers bring a wide assortment of flowers, and poppies and other wildflowers have been painting Kern County fields various colors.
Test yourself with our new free game: PolitiTruth
Think you can tell the difference between True and False?
Do you really know what is fake news?
Support the Maddy Daily
Thank you!
Maddy Institute Updated List of San Joaquin Valley Elected Officials HERE.
The Kenneth L. Maddy Institute at California State University, Fresno was established to honor the legacy of one of California’s most principled and effective legislative leaders of the last half of the 20th Century by engaging, preparing and inspiring a new generation of governmental leaders for the 21st Century. Its mission is to inspire citizen participation, elevate government performance, provide non-partisan analysis and assist in providing solutions for public policy issues important to the region, state and nation.
This document is to be used for informational purposes only. Unless specifically noted, The Maddy Institute at California State University, Fresno does not officially endorse or support views that may be expressed in the document. If you want to print a story, please do so now before the link expires.
To Subscribe or Unsubscribe: mjeans@csufresno.edu