May 9, 2019

09May

POLICY & POLITICS

North SJ Valley:

After three years, Modesto mayor gives State of City address. Here’s what he had to say

Modesto Bee

Mayor Ted Brandvold’s first State of the City address since taking office a little more than three years ago was like comfort food as he talked about what makes Modesto special. It had none of the heartburn that has marked City Council meetings during his tenure.

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Jeff Denham heads to K Street

Politico

Former Rep. Jeff Denham (R-Calif.), who narrowly lost reelection last year, is heading to K&L Gates as a government affairs counselor.

Central SJ Valley:

Fact or fiction: Defense says Assemblyman’s daughter told story from a book

abc30

A CPS investigation took center stage Wednesday in the misdemeanor child abuse trial against state Assemblyman Joaquin Arambula.

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Lay: The Maddy Institute’s 20th Anniversary Reception

The Nooner

Last night, there was a great reception to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Kenneth L. Maddy Institute at Fresno State, which focuses on public policy issues affecting the Central Valley.

South SJ Valley:

US will train dozens of border agents to screen for asylum

Bakersfield Californian

Immigration officials will train dozens of U.S. border patrol agents to start screening immigrants arriving on the southwest border for asylum amid a surge in the number of families seeking the protection, a government official said Wednesday.

State:

YouTube videos ‘all day long’: Employee misconduct cost California $427,000, audit finds

Los Angeles Times

The incident is among several included in a twice-yearly report from the California state auditor’s office that highlights a variety of employee misconduct and waste throughout state government, such as using official vehicles for personal transportation and billing the government for inappropriate expenses.

More parental leave, tax breaks backed by Newsom

San Francisco Chronicle

Californians could take an additional two weeks of paid leave to care for a new baby or sick family member and could buy diapers and menstrual products tax-free under the revised budget plan that Gov. Gavin Newsom will unveil this week.

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Deleted texts and ‘show stopper defects’: California tech official raced to launch Motor Voter

Sacramento Bee

The California government technology officials who developed an automatic voter registration program for the Department of Motor Vehicles last year raced to the finish line even though they acknowledged they should have slowed down.

Walters: Newsom is shrinking Brown’s pet projects

CALmatters

Brown 2.0 had become a champion of the kind of big public-works projects that had been his father’s major accomplishments. “I want to get shit done,” he said, vulgarly describing his new attitude.

Federal:

On Trump’s tax returns, many unanswered questions

Fresno Bee

President Trump’s refusal to follow other recent presidents in releasing his tax returns to the public — and his fight against a demand by House Democrats for six years’ worth of his personal and business returns — is but one battle in a broader war against oversight demands by congressional Democrats.

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Dems vote to hold AG in contempt as Trump asserts privilege over full Mueller report

abc30

The House Judiciary Committee, led by Chairman Jerry Nadler, voted along party lines Wednesday to advance a resolution to hold Attorney General Bill Barr in contempt of Congress for not complying with a subpoena for special counsel Robert Mueller’s unredacted report, after President Donald Trump asserted executive privilege over Mueller’s findings.

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To reduce money in politics, reduce politics in the allocation of money

Stockton Record

The progressive catechism teaches that there is “too much money” in politics. The catechism does not include the truism that the way to reduce the amount of money in politics is to reduce the amount of politics in the allocation of money and of opportunities for making it.

Senate Intelligence Committee Issues Subpoena For Donald Trump Jr. To Testify Again

Capital Public Radio

The president’s eldest son testified in 2017 about his participation in a June 2016 meeting at Trump Tower with Russians offering dirt on Hillary Clinton. The panel wants him back, a source says.

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Pelosi says Trump is becoming ‘self-impeachable’

San Francisco Chronicle

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., on Wednesday said President Donald Trump is “becoming self-impeachable,” pointing to his efforts to fight all subpoenas from congressional investigations and prevent key aides from testifying before Congress.

U.S. privacy regulators want more powers and funding. Congress seems open to that

Los Angeles Times

Federal regulators got a sympathetic hearing from Congress on Wednesday for their request for greater powers and funding to police privacy, as lawmakers warned that fines against big companies may be inadequate to change those companies’ conduct.

Congress should act now to ensure a free and open internet

Los Angeles Times

Since the rise of the internet, there have been concerns that the dominance of a relatively small number of internet service providers could potentially threaten its open nature.

Rep. Adam Schiff introduces constitutional amendment to overturn Citizens United

CNN

Rep. Adam Schiff on Wednesday introduced a constitutional amendment to overturn the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision, which helped usher in a new era of big money in American elections.

EDITORIAL: Congress should forge ahead with the ERA, come hell or court challenges

Los Angeles Times

The proposed Equal Rights Amendment, which fell just a few states short of ratification in the 1970s, came up for a hearing in Congress two weeks ago, its first in 36 years.

EDITORIAL: Debt collectors are coming for your inbox

San Francisco Chronicle

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, once among the most popular and effective of federal agencies, is disintegrating under the Trump administration. For proof, look no further than the bureau’s newly proposed regulations for debt collectors, released on Tuesday.

Elections 2020:

Sanders Campaign, Workers Ratify Union Contract

Capital Public Radio

The campaign says this is the first union contract for a presidential campaign, providing full health insurance premiums and limits on work hours for some campaign employees.

Think public defenders are overworked and underpaid? Kamala Harris wants to change that

Sacramento Bee

Kamala Harris jailed criminals as California’s top prosecutor before she was elected to the Senate. Now she’s trying to help the other side of the criminal justice system — public defenders.

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Joe Biden woos voters and scoops up campaign cash in Los Angeles

Los Angeles Times

Joe Biden’s first visit to Los Angeles as a presidential candidate featured two things this city produces in abundance — campaign cash and tacos.

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Cory Booker takes a risk on gun control — and it may pay off in campaign

Los Angeles Times

Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey, one of the 21 Democrats running for president, has pitched an ambitious new proposal for gun control — and he deserves credit for its boldness.

Democrats face internal rift as progressives condemn a policy to protect incumbents

Los Angeles Times

A move by House Democratic leaders to protect incumbents is reigniting anger and suspicion among the party’s progressives ahead of the 2020 election.

AEI Political Report: 2020 election interest and satisfaction with the primary fields; past and present views on candidates’ ages

AEI

With a 40-year age difference between the oldest and youngest 2020 candidates, we also review surveys from the current and previous election cycles about the ages of presidential hopefuls.

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Other:

Lawmakers Differ on Remedies for Facebook Privacy Breach

Wall Street Journal

A consumer-data privacy breach by Facebook Inc. is spurring Congress to rewrite rules for how tech companies safeguard personal information, but a hearing with regulators Wednesday highlighted the hurdles ahead.

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States spend big on make-or-break 2020 census

Roll Call

Freed from the budget constraints that dogged them during the last census and with a growing understanding of what accurate population counts mean for the possibility of federal dollars, states are spending at an unprecedented rate on efforts to boost census outreach.

Fact-checking can’t do much when people’s “dueling facts” are driven by values instead of knowledge

Nieman Lab

The conflicting factual assertions that have emerged since the Mueller report’s release highlight just how easy it is for citizens to believe what they want — regardless of what Robert Mueller, William Barr or anyone else has to say about it.

Opinion: A New York Times Op-Ed Is Very Wrong About Religious Liberty

National Review

This is a common framing on the left. Essentially, it’s an argument that religious freedom is an intrusion into the law and that religious people are engaged in a form of special pleading — seeking rights and exemptions unavailable to other Americans.

MADDY INSTITUTE PUBLIC POLICY PROGRAMMING

Sunday, May 12 – Maddy Report: preempted

Sunday, May 12, at 10 a.m. on Newstalk 580AM/105.9FM (KMJ) – Maddy Report – Valley Views Edition:  “Census & Immigration: Distinctly Different Issues Intersect” – Guests: Laura Hill with the Public Policy Institute of California; Taryn Luna with the Sacramento Bee; Dan Walters with CALmatters; Secretary of State, Alex Padilla; Sarah Bohn, PPIC; and John Myers, Los Angeles Times.  Host: Maddy Institute Executive Director, Mark Keppler.

Sunday, May 12, at 7:30 a.m. on UniMas 61 (KTTF) – El Informe Maddy: “Immigration: Dreaming in a Sanctuary State” – Guests: Joe Hayes, Investigator PPIC and Liam Dillon with Los Angeles Times.  Host: Maddy Institute Program Coordinator, Maria Jeans.

AGRICULTURE/FOOD

Gavin Newsom administration bans controversial farm pesticide defended by Trump’s EPA

Fresno Bee

California officials banned a widely used farm pesticide Wednesday, handing a major victory to environmentalists while depriving farmers of a chemical they’ve employed for decades to protect almond orchards, cotton fields and more.

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Sun-Maid CEO invites Jerry Seinfeld to ride in company harvester

abc30

Jerry Seinfeld is coming to Fresno Thursday, and the CEO of Valley-based Sun-Maid Raisins is ready to answer one of the comedian’s unanswered questions: “What’s with all these raisins?”

Tomato tariff: Cost of tomatoes could soar by 70 percent due to tariff on Mexican imports

abc30

Mexico’s Economy Department said Tuesday that U.S. consumers could pay 38% to 70% more for tomatoes after the U.S. Commerce Department announced it would re-impose anti-dumping duties on Mexican imports.

California and 37 states — even the red ones — want to let marijuana industry use banks

Merced Sun-Star

California Attorney General Xavier Becerra joined 37 of his counterparts to urge Congress to pass legislation that would allow cannabis companies to access federally insured banks.

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McConnell wants to up the tobacco age to 21, but will he also protect the industry?

Sacramento Bee

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell promises legislation later this month to raise the legal age for purchasing tobacco to 21. But a group of senators are embracing an alternative amid worries the Kentucky Republican’s bill may be too favorable to the tobacco industry.

Farmworkers union organizers keep access to enter growers’ property

San Francisco Chronicle

A divided federal appeals court upheld California farm labor regulations Wednesday that allow union organizers to enter growers’ properties at specific times — before and after work and during the lunch hour — to talk to workers.

Farmers of Color May Soon Get More Support in California

Civil Eats

In an effort to address historic, systemic racism, two bills would support socially disadvantaged farmers, offering financial assistance, training, and more.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE / FIRE / PUBLIC SAFETY

Crime:

Fresno is on track for 9,000 domestic violence crimes this year, police warn

Fresno Bee

The third domestic violence murder of 2019 and a rape early Wednesday that was related to domestic abuse prompted Fresno Police Chief Jerry Dyer and District Attorney Lisa Smittcamp to warn that Fresno is on pace to reach 9,000 such crimes this year.

California is one of the most police friendly states, survey says. Here’s why.

Sacramento Bee

WalletHub examined all 50 states for police friendliness using three metrics — opportunity and competition, job hazards and protections, and quality of life — and found that California ranked No. 3 over all, and within the top 10 for both opportunity and job protections.

FBI Is Investigating 850 Cases Of Potential Domestic Terrorism

Capital Public Radio

The large number of cases prompts some members of Congress to ask: does the U.S. need new laws to prosecute domestic terrorism?

Bill aims to fix sex-offender list’s inequity toward gay men

San Francisco Chronicle

A disparate treatment lingers from a historic criminalization of gay sex that California struck from law decades ago. Critics warn that it leaves LGBT young people vulnerable to unfair punishment in more conservative parts of the state.

Is there a way to identify gang members without racial bias? California wants an answer

Los Angeles Times

This month, the California Department of Justice is expected to release newly proposed standards for how law enforcement can use CalGang, the result of legislation passed in 2017 after a state audit determined the database was filled with errors and lacked accountability.

California Has a Moratorium on Executions. Prosecutors Want New Death Sentences Anyway.

New York Times

The decision has not stopped local prosecutors from seeking new death sentences, underscoring the divide in the state between conservative prosecutors and liberal reformers like the governor who see ending capital punishment as an urgent moral issue.

Public Safety:

Fresno’s community colleges are now closer to opening a new police and fire academy

Fresno Bee

Fresno’s community college district is one step closer to a long-awaited upgrade to its police and fire academies, one of the most in-demand programs at FCC, as the State Center Community College board approved purchase of land for the center.

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Tulare County pays tribute to fallen officers

Visalia Times Delta

Dozens of Tulare County law enforcement officers and their families paid their respects to fallen officers during the 2019 Tulare County Peace Officer Memorial Ceremony.  Wednesday’s ceremony was opened by Sheriff Mike Boudreaux.

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As lawsuit filed, details emerge on crash that killed Stanislaus County deputy, CSO

Modesto Bee

The families of two Stanislaus County sheriff’s employees who died in a Modesto crash nearly two years ago are suing the Ford Motor Company, alleging that a defective patrol vehicle allowed lethal amounts of carbon monoxide to enter the cabin where the driver and passenger were seated.

Fire:

Kern County Fire contains 2,500-acre vegetation blaze at Kern National Wildlife Refuge

Bakersfield Californian

Working overnight, the Kern County Fire Department contained an estimated 2,500-acre vegetation fire at the Kern County National Wildlife Refuge. Air crews and tankers with the CA Department of Forestry and Fire Protection assisted Kern County Fire during the incident.

Insurance claims from deadly California wildfires top $12B

Bakersfield Californian

Insurance claims have topped $12 billion for the November wildfires in California, making them the most expensive in state history.

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More Than 1,000 Families Still Searching For Homes 6 Months After The Camp Fire

Capital Public Radio

Six months after the deadly Camp Fire raced into Paradise, destroying thousands of homes and businesses, an estimated 1,000 or more families still haven’t secured even temporary housing.

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New Cal Fire Director Thom Porter On How To Prepare For Wildfires

Capital Public Radio

Cal Fire’s new Director Chief Thom Porter joins Insight to discuss Wildfire Awareness Week and the risk of fire throughout the state in the 2019 season.

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ECONOMY / JOBS

Economy:

China says it will retaliate if Trump raises tariffs

Fresno Bee

China said Thursday it will retaliate if President Donald Trump goes ahead with more tariff hikes in a fight over technology and trade, ratcheting up tensions ahead of negotiations in Washington.

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California’s poverty problem is growing

Visalia Times Delta

California, as we all should know by now, has the nation’s highest rate of poverty as measured by the Census Bureau’s supplemental — and most accurate —  methodology.

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Lemoore Chamber to host small business workshop

Hanford Sentinel

It’s National Small Business Week, so there’s no better time for the Lemoore Chamber of Commerce to announce plans for a series of workshops aimed at strengthening the city’s economic outlook.

We need to rethink our economic assumptions

Brookings

To defeat Trump in the upcoming election, Democrats are advancing a set of proposals engineered to excite their base: a single payer health system, college for all, a guaranteed jobs program.

Jobs:

Education and employee empowerment are key to improving California’s job market

Sacramento Bee

California is the fifth-largest economy in the world. We are leaders in technology, sciences, services, arts, agriculture, shipping and logistics, and we are renowned for our diverse talent pool. But we face significant headwinds when it comes to economic mobility.

Tenaya Lodge Is Hiring, Job Fair In Oakhurst On Saturday

Sierra News

With the new cabins at Tenaya Lodge nearly ready to begin hosting guests, and the newly remodeled Jackalopes restaurant open for business, the folks at Tenaya Lodge continue to expand their team.

California Workers Could Sue Over Past Misclassification After Federal Court Says ‘Dynamex’ Applies Retroactively

Capital Public Radio

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled last Thursday that the state’s new standard for independent contractors applies retroactively.

California Growers Fail to Sink Union-Access Rule in Court

Bloomberg

A divided federal appeals court upheld a California regulation that allows union organizers to approach agriculture workers on site to recruit, organize, and hold protests, despite business groups’ cries that the decades-old rule strips growers of their property rights.

EDUCATION

K-12:

Visalia Unified Superintendent resigns after 32 years with school district

abc30

Wednesday afternoon, Dr. Todd Oto e-mailed all Visalia Unified School District staff members, confirming his resignation as superintendent at a special board meeting on Tuesday night.

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California considers revising sex ed guidance for teachers

abc30

California is close to overhauling its guidance for teaching sex education in public schools, offering teachers a framework for talking to kindergartners about gender identity and discussing masturbation with middle-schoolers.

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K-8 schools, 7-8 schools—take your pick

Madera Tribune

What should we do with students in their mid-teenage years? How can we best educate them? The question is important because MUSD is going to build three new schools from Measure M bond money, and their grade configuration has to be right for Madera.

Citrus High School students collaborate in expression at first Art Walk

Porterville Recorder

Citrus High School held its first Art Walk on Tuesday, April 30, and Principal Scott Braden was excited and thrilled for his students.

Is technology good or bad for learning?

Brookings

If ever there were a case to be made that more research can cloud rather than clarify an issue, technology use and learning seems to fit the bill.

Divided Views on Charter Schools and School Choice

Public Policy Institute of California

Today, there is a package of bills aimed increasing charter oversight moving through the legislature, and the governor has taken steps to address related issues.

Higher Ed:

First-generation students graduating from Fresno State credit professor

abc30

The spring semester is coming to close at Fresno State and that means graduation is around the corner for many. A group of four first-generation college students will turn their tassel next week and are giving credit to one professor.

Construction begins on new facilities on UC Merced campus

abc30

UC Merced is one step closer to opening several new buildings on campus. The $1.3 billion dollar project included new student housing, an NCAA level soccer field and a new dining hall.

Betsy DeVos: It would be ‘inappropriate’ to talk to Larry Nassar survivors

Bakersfield Californian

U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos won’t meet with any survivors of Larry Nassar’s sexual abuse, despite having proposed major changes to how colleges handle sexual assaults, a Michigan congresswoman said.

Cal Grant Expansion Tops List Of College Affordability Bills: Track Them Here

Capital Public Radio

California’s financial aid system could get its biggest overhaul in 20 years if a proposal backed by key Assembly Democrats becomes law. And that’s just one of a slew of college affordability bills in play this legislative session.

Apprenticeships:

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ENVIRONMENT/ ENERGY

Environment:

Reforesting The French Fire Burn Scar Along The Scenic Byway

Sierra News

Work is underway on the Eastern Madera Wildfire Reforestation Project – focused on reforesting 350 acres of Sierra National Forest burned in the 2014 French Fire.

Manager threatened California EPA scientist and kept his job. She was demoted, lawsuit says

Sacramento Bee

A female scientist at the California Environmental Protection Agency says she had to accept a demotion to escape repeated harassment from a male manager who has kept his job.

California communities must act on climate resiliency now

San Francisco Chronicle

State government can make the most significant difference in helping communities access the capital they need to prepare for fire, floods or mudslides.

In Trump vs. California, the state is winning nearly all its environmental cases

Los Angeles Times

More than two years into the Trump presidency, California has embraced its role as chief antagonist — already suing the administration more times than Texas took President Obama to court during eight years in office.

Energy:

Study: U.S. Fossil Fuel Subsidies Exceed Pentagon Spending

Rolling Stone

The United States has spent more subsidizing fossil fuels in recent years than it has on defense spending, according to a new report from the International Monetary Fund.

Walters: Excluding hydropower makes no sense

CALmatters

When California embarked on its quest to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases as a global model to stave off climate change, its first target was the state’s electric power industry.

HEALTH/HUMAN SERVICES

Health:

One of the worst allergy seasons in recent years, ways to protect yourself

abc30

After a wet winter, the Central Valley has been in full bloom this spring. Heavy rainfall gave plants a lot of water to produce flowers with a lot of pollen and that’s making this allergy season one of the worst in recent years.

School nurses on front line against anti-vaxxers, measles outbreaks. Why aren’t there more of them?

Sacramento Bee

There’s something missing in many schools that could help forestall an outbreak of diseases like measles and improve vaccination rates among children. A school nurse.

Lessons Learned From California’s Effort To Tighten The Childhood Immunization Law

Capital Public Radio

NPR’s Ari Shapiro talks with California state Sen. Richard Pan. Pan is also a pediatrician, and he was one of the leaders of the effort to force parents to vaccinate their children.

How stricter vaccine laws spared California from a major measles outbreak

Los Angeles Times

More than 750 people have been diagnosed with measles in the United States this year, the most cases nationwide in more than 20 years. Health officials say that more than 500 of those people had not been vaccinated.

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Human Services:

State surgeon general says she’s hearing Fresno’s health challenges — and taking notes

Fresno Bee

California’s new surgeon general Dr. Nadine Burke Harris on Tuesday stopped in Fresno at the California Endowment offices for the latest leg of her statewide listening tour.

Health insurers learn how to make Obamacare work — for themselves and their customers

Los Angeles Times

After grousing for years about the individual insurance market created by the Affordable Care Act — and providing fuel for the ACA’s enemies — the health insurance industry is finding Obamacare to be a profit center.

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Will Displaying Drug List Prices In Ads Help Lower Costs?

Capital Public Radio

The government wants consumers to have sticker shock about drug prices. A new rule requires list prices be displayed in TV ads. Patients advocates are not sure it will do much to lower prices.

Senate health chair: Newsom drug plan could hurt clinics, safety-net hospitals

Politico

Newsom wants California to dramatically change how it purchases prescription drugs for 13.2 million low-income patients on Medi-Cal by having the state completely take over administration of that pharmacy benefit.

IMMIGRATION

ICE slams California sanctuary policy after suspect in fatal crash leaves jail on bail

Sacramento Bee

Federal Immigrations and Customs Enforcement pushed back against California sanctuary state policies which came to a head over the weekend when an alleged undocumented immigrant was arrested after three people were killed in a drunk driving incident.

US will train dozens of border agents to screen for asylum

Bakersfield Californian

Immigration officials will train dozens of U.S. border patrol agents to start screening immigrants arriving on the southwest border for asylum amid a surge in the number of families seeking the protection, a government official said Wednesday.

Migrants Apprehended At Southern Border Top 100,000 For Second Consecutive Month

Capital Public Radio

The head of the U.S. Border Patrol said her agents are spending more and more of their time dealing with families with children who need food and medical care.

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EDITORIAL: The government is still separating migrant families at the border. It needs to stop

Los Angeles Times

President Trump’s cruel policy of separating migrant families at the U.S.-Mexico border ranks among the worst of his administration’s many bad decisions.

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LAND USE/HOUSING

Land Use:

Two new restaurants are offering Fresno favorites tri-tip and Armenian food in downtown

Fresno Bee

There are delicious items are on the menu at two new restaurants opening on the same corner in downtown Fresno. Both are at the northwest corner of Kern and L streets, part of the Hotel Virginia building.

Housing:

Blood and syringes: Caltrans fined after union complaint over homeless camp cleanups

Modesto Bee

Union complaints over homeless camp cleanup led California’s workplace safety enforcer to fine the state’s transportation department, the department’s union announced Wednesday.

Popular demand allows Clovis to expand tiny home program

abc30

It certainly doesn’t look like a tiny home. The Clovis Cottage Home Program’s two-story model covers 690 square feet and 495 square feet of living space.

Century-Old Historic Tract Housed Early Fresno Socialites

VPR

We’ve looked at how redlining has influenced the development of certain regions in the city of Fresno, but what about the history of a particular neighborhood?

PUBLIC FINANCES

Newsom to unveil May budget Thursday with focus on low-income families

Politico

Gov. Gavin Newsom will release his May budget revision Thursday with a focus on low-income families struggling to make ends meet as the cost of living soars in California.

TRANSPORTATION

Glacier Point Road to reopen in Yosemite National Park

Fresno Bee

Glacier Point Road in Yosemite National Park will reopen for the season to all vehicles at 9 a.m. Friday, Yosemite officials announced Wednesday. Limited visitor services will be available at Glacier Point. The Glacier Point Store will reopen at 10 a.m. Friday.

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Amtrak cancelled one train to Sacramento. Modesto bus system will try to fill gap

Modesto Bee

Modesto’s bus system will add a round trip for commuters to Sacramento in the wake of Amtrak’s cancellation of a train aimed at that market.

Uber And Lyft Caused Major Traffic Uptick In San Francisco, Study Says

Capital Public Radio

Researchers compared data from fall 2010 — before the companies made inroads in the city — and fall 2016. They found that the companies are to blame for more than half of a big increase in traffic.

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WATER

It’s sunny in Fresno, and rain is on the way. Yes, rain

Fresno Bee

April showers bring May flowers, right? Well, Fresno hasn’t quite seen the last of the spring rain showers. Starting Thursday afternoon, there’s a chance rain could hit Fresno and much of the San Joaquin Valley floor, according to the National Weather Service.

It’s heating up. But when will California’s waterways be warm enough for summer fun?

Modesto Bee

Northern and Central California in 2019 experienced the rainiest start to the year in recent memory, including one of Sacramento’s wettest Februaries on record.

Ample water supply expected this summer after snowpack survey

Hanford Sentinel

Just in time for summer, when water demand is at its highest, water officials are predicting an ample amount of water supply to people and farms this year based on Sierra Nevada snowpack levels.

Californians must pitch in to make drinking water safe for everyone

CALmatters

It’s a mistake nearly every farmer has made when something breaks down on the farm.  You try to patch it up as best you can. And then you do it again, before you finally decide to stop throwing good money after bad and actually fix what’s wrong.

“Xtra”

These are Yosemite’s lesser-known waterfalls. Here’s where to go to see them

Fresno Bee

There are many more lesser-known Yosemite waterfalls within this massive park that encompasses nearly 1,200 square miles — and spring 2019 is a great time to see them.

‘Hamilton’ is finally making its way to Fresno. Here’s how to make sure you get tickets

Fresno Bee

“Hamilton” is coming to Fresno. The mega-hit rap musical will be part of Broadway in Fresno’s 2020-2021 season. So, you’ll have to wait a year or so.

Local bakery brings a little taste of France to Fresno

abc30

For Nubchi Thao it’s all about the brioche.  All those who try her bread can taste her love for the popular French pastry. She’s made a name for herself, and a business, The Brioche Lady. Now that business has blossomed into her and her husband’s very first bakery.

History center dedicated

Madera Tribune

What used to be the James Monroe Children’s Museum is now the “Ed Gwartney California History Center.” Madera Unified Trustees and Superintendent Todd Lile put the finishing touches on their year-long effort to honor the late teacher with a dedication ceremony at the renamed History Center.

Lightning in a Bottle has arrived. Here are five things you need to know about it

Bakersfield Californian

Lightning in a Bottle has finally arrived, bringing the first ever large music festival to Kern County from Wednesday to Sunday at the Buena Vista Aquatic Recreation Area.

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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.

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