POLICY & POLITICS
Opinion: Valley economy to be well-deserved focus at upcoming economic summit
Fresno Bee
These are exciting times in Fresno and the San Joaquin Valley. The region is growing and focused, like never before, on engaging more people to create an inclusive economy — one that confronts its challenges and inequities together and also leverages its unique assets.
Valley Air Is Dismal This Week – Why Don't All Air Measurements Tell Us That?
KVPR
On Monday, the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District issued a warning of unhealthy air conditions due to wildfire smoke from Northern California, an alert it repeated on Wednesday. Why then, for days, were online air monitors showing relatively healthy air? It’s the result of the size of the particulate matter blowing into the Valley, but also the level of information that air authorities share with the public.
North SJ Valley:
Black sergeant sues Modesto, alleging racism within Police Department
Modesto Bee
A Modesto police sergeant has filed a lawsuit against the city, claiming it has allowed a “culture of racial discrimination” within the Police Department and he has been subject to such treatment as being wrongly passed over for promotion and unfounded disciplinary charges because he is African American.
Editorial: Give it up, PG&E — let Ripon, Escalon and Manteca provide their own electricity
Modesto Bee
Five years ago, PG&E bragged about its response to disasters, safety record and financial stability in arguments fending off a takeover of its power network in Ripon, Escalon and Manteca.
Central SJ Valley:
Fresno’s racially segregated economy a hot topic as city hosts Newsom, economic summit
Fresno Bee
Fresno’s economic inequality problems are well documented. An April 2018 study by the Urban Institute described Fresno ‘s economy as the most racially segregated in California.
Fresno’s ‘tale of two cities’: Which neighborhoods receive the most government aid?
Fresno Bee
More than one out of five households in the city of Fresno receive some form of public assistance, either in the form of food aid through CalFresh or direct cash assistance from the government.
See also:
Latinos experience much lower economic well-being than the state's population as a whole, study suggests (A Maddy Event) Bakersfield Californian
Longtime Visalia city employee hired as Hanford city manager
Visalia Times Delta
Visalia's general services director is staying in city government — but he's switching cities.
Actually, he's switching counties, too. Hanford City Council announced Wednesday that Mario Cifuentez II will be Hanford's next city manager.
Nunes: 'After Today, House Intel Committee Ceases to Exist’
GV Wire
Rep. Devin Nunes, the ranking member on the House Intelligence Committee, continued his full-throated defense of President Donald Trump on Thursday.
South SJ Valley:
DOJ to reassess Taft prison closure
Bakersfield Californian
The U.S. Department of Justice will reevaluate a plan to shutter the Taft Correctional Institute and has stopped the drawdown of inmates there, U.S. Rep. Kevin McCarthy has announced.
Local groups prepare for census by canvassing Kern's 'hard-to-count' neighborhoods
Bakersfield Californian
A coalition of community-based organizations on Wednesday kicked off a local outreach campaign intended to impress upon immigrant and other "hard-to-count" populations the importance of participating in the 2020 U.S. Census.
Huerta will challenge Couch for 4th District supervisor in 2020
Bakersfield Californian
Civil rights attorney Emilio Huerta will challenge 4th District Kern County Supervisor David Couch next year, he announced Wednesday. Huerta, the son of acclaimed civil rights activist Dolores Huerta, serves as general counsel for the Bakersfield-based non-profit organization that bears her name, the Dolores Huerta Foundation.
KGET
17 News has learned former President George W. Bush and first lady Laura Bush will be the keynote speakers of Hoffmann Hospice’s Voices of Inspiration fundraiser. The event is Hoffmann’s Hospice’s signature fundraising event for the hospice’s programs and services throughout Kern County.
State:
Stop harassing PG&E workers, Gavin Newsom says. ‘They didn’t create this mess.’
Modesto Bee
Amid reports of Pacific Gas and Electric Company workers being threatened and run off the road, Gov. Gavin Newsom urged Californians to save their outrage for the utility’s corporate owners and treat workers on the ground with respect.
Has any California governor dealt with more disasters at once than Gavin Newsom? Not likely
Los Angeles Times
It’s unlikely any previous California governor has faced such a cannonade of calamities — a grand slam of disasters. All at the same time: power blackouts in both Southern and Northern California, and devastating wildfires at both ends of the state.
California GOP: Impeachment will help us flip those seats right back
San Francisco Chronicle
It’s no secret that President Trump will lose deep-blue California in 2020, but Republicans are betting they can grab back some of the congressional seats they lost last year by slamming Democratic freshmen who are calling for the president’s impeachment.
Victor Davis Hanson: Democrats have turned California into a problem-plagued burning nightmare
Fox News
More than 2 million Californians were recently left without power after the state’s largest utility, Pacific Gas and Electric — which filed for bankruptcy earlier this year — preemptively shut down transmission lines in fear that they might spark fires during periods of high autumn winds.
Latinos experience much lower economic well-being than the state's population as a whole, study suggests (A Maddy Event)
Bakersfield Californian
California's future depends on a strong Latino middle class, one researcher suggests, but the group has been struggling in categories such as income distribution, education, housing and employment and entrepreneurship.
California Democrats’ ‘big tent’ is not yet fully open to young people
CALmatters
Democrats take young people and our votes for granted. That has to stop. The California Democratic Party has announced a new program entitled the California Young Democrats Ambassador Program. With this program, two or three ambassadors will be non-voting members of every standing committee in the state’s party. Isn’t that great?
High-speed train from Victor Valley to Las Vegas could start construction in 2020
The Sun
A plan to build a high-speed train between the Victor Valley and Las Vegas has won state approval for a chunk of funding needed to keep the project on track for a 2020 construction start date.
See Also:
● Billionaire Branson Gets Billions In Bonds To Launch Vegas To California Train Service Forbes
Clean water is a fight for many Californians. Will Newsom’s law fix the waiting game?
Fresno Bee
Water is scarce and dirty for many in Fresno County’s small West Park community. They’re not alone. It’s a common and persistent challenge for residents throughout California who rely on water wells.
See Also:
● Disadvantaged Communities Claim A Stake In State Groundwater Overhaul KVPR
California Attorney General Is a No-Show on Tech Investigations
New York Times
Attorney General Xavier Becerra is in Google and Facebook’s backyard. But unlike nearly all other state attorneys general, he won’t say whether he’s investigating them.
California City News Sees Record Number of City Manager Openings
California City News
There are 10 open positions for city manager and another two for a deputy and assistant city manager on our jobs board — an all-time record at California City News. These include highly desirable gigs in cities like Mountain View and Simi Valley. Be sure to check out the jobs board here. You can search by location or position. Our listings include a description of duties, application closing dates, and where/how to apply.
Federal:
In A ‘Historic Day,’ The U.S. House Votes To Recognize Armenian Genocide
KVPR
The U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday voted overwhelmingly to recognize the Armenian genocide, marking a first in more than three decades. It was a “historic day,” says Berj Apkarian, Fresno’s Honorary Consul to the Republic of Armenia. He says the Fresno area’s Armenian community, one of the largest in California outside of Los Angeles, is abuzz with the news out of Washington. “The Armenian nation in the civilized world have been waiting for over 105 years to bring justice to this cause,” he says.
House lawmakers reach agricultural immigration deal
San Francisco Chronicle
Lawmakers have struck a deal that would give legal status to hundreds of thousands of undocumented immigrant farmworkers in exchange for stronger employee verification in the agricultural sector, a bipartisan group will announce Wednesday. The deal could reach the House floor as early as the end of November.
Trump eyes compromise with Newsom on climate, cars. California says it isn’t enough
Sacramento Bee
The Trump administration is opening the door to a new climate change rule that would attempt to tamp down its rancorous fight with California over greenhouse gas emissions. The Environmental Protection Agency may issue a rule by year’s end requiring automakers to sell new cars that reduce carbon emissions by 1.5 percent a year through 2025.
See also:
● Big automakers take risks in siding with Trump administration against California Washington Post
Trump abandons proposing ideas to curb gun violence after saying he would following mass shootings
Washington Post
President Trump has abandoned the idea of releasing proposals to combat gun violence that his White House debated for months following mass shootings in August, according to White House officials and lawmakers, a reversal from the summer when the president insisted he would offer policies to curb firearm deaths.
ABA Journal
Federal appeals court nominee Lawrence VanDyke is experienced and "clearly smart," but his accomplishments are offset by negative qualities that emerged in a review of his professional qualifications, according to a letter by the ABA Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary.
Editorial: Should a right to an abortion be a federal law? Of course it should
Los Angeles Times
In the 46 years since the Supreme Court’s decision in Roe vs. Wade affirmed a woman’s constitutional right to an abortion, opponents of the ruling have steadfastly refused to accept it, fighting a never-ending battle to chip away at its protections or to overturn it altogether.
Elections 2020:
PolitiFact
Fact Checking the Presidential candidates
Los Angeles Times
Laura and Lamont Williams live in a house divided. Laura is crazy for Pete Buttigieg, the young political phenom. “He just speaks to my heart,” she said after cheering the Indiana mayor at a rally that bulged beyond the capacity of the city’s red-brick amphitheater.
Kamala Harris’ struggling campaign cuts staff, overhauls strategy
San Francisco Chronicle
California Sen. Kamala Harris is overhauling her presidential campaign as she falls further behind in the race, cutting staff and investing most of her resources in the first voting state of Iowa. Campaign manager Juan Rodriguez described the changes in an internal memo, which the campaign provided to The Chronicle. Politico was first to report the news.
Elizabeth Warren proposes new taxes to fund Medicare-for-all but says middle class would be spared
Washington Post
Sen. Elizabeth Warren on Friday proposed a $20.5 trillion package of tax increases to pay for the Medicare-for-all plan she backs, a move that attempts to answer critics who question how she would pay for the proposal but could open her to fresh lines of attack.
See Also:
● Liz Warren Reveals Price Tag for Medicare for All - and How She Plans to Pay for It Townhall
● Elizabeth Warren Proposes $20.5 Trillion Health Care Plan New York Times
● READ: Elizabeth Warren's Plan To Pay For 'Medicare For All' NPR
● Warren tries to go on offense with $20.5 trillion Medicare for All plan Politico
The racial wealth gap among 2020 Democrats
Axios
The leading white candidates in the Democratic presidential primary combined have nearly four times as much cash on hand as all five non-white candidates. Why it matters: Some argue the country's racial wealth gap is underlying what we're seeing in the race for the White House — where a diverse field of Democratic candidates is trailing three white front-runners, and where Kamala Harris was forced to lay off dozens of her campaign staffers this week.
Californians Could See New Rent Control Measure on November 2020 Ballot
KVPR
Less than a year after California voters decisively rejected Proposition 10, backers of that measure say they are close to qualifying a similar rent control initiative for the November 2020 ballot.
Other:
Dr. Manuel Pastor sees California as America on fast forward
California Sun
Dr. Manuel Pastor, USC professor of sociology and American studies and ethnicity discussed how the future of work, politics, demographics, and race can be found in California. A state was once considered reactionary in the 1980s became a progressive beacon. Now it’s paying a price for that success.
The California haters are back. And once again, they get us all wrong
Los Angeles Times
If you live in California, here’s a news bulletin: We are done. We are history. Pack up and leave now, while you still can. I’m not just talking about the fact that half the state is on fire, which is tragic and frightening enough all on its own.
‘OK Boomer’ Marks the End of Friendly Generational Relations
New York Times
In a viral audio clip on TikTok, a white-haired man in a baseball cap and polo shirt declares, “The millennials and Generation Z have the Peter Pan syndrome, they don’t ever want to grow up.” Thousands of teens have responded through remixed reaction videos and art projects with a simple phrase: “ok boomer.”
Editorial: Facebook hands its microphone to lying politicians, Twitter takes it away
Los Angeles Times
Facebook has become a prime outlet for presidential campaign messaging, with President Trump and his Democratic rivals collectively spending more than $1 million every week on targeted ads, according to published reports. So it was disturbing, to say the least, when Facebook altered its rules recently to exempt politicians and political parties from its ban on false advertising.
OPINION: America can’t afford to sit out the artificial intelligence race
Roll Call
Artificial intelligence is everywhere. If you shop online or occasionally speak to a voice assistant in the morning, you are already embracing the changes this technology has created. Many people are familiar with the advances of autonomous vehicles or facial recognition technology, and some may be curious, or even anxious, about how they will affect safety or privacy.
AGRICULTURE/FOOD
House lawmakers reach agricultural immigration deal
San Francisco Chronicle
Lawmakers have struck a deal that would give legal status to hundreds of thousands of undocumented immigrant farmworkers in exchange for stronger employee verification in the agricultural sector, a bipartisan group will announce Wednesday. The deal could reach the House floor as early as the end of November.
See also:
The ‘Farm Workforce Modernization Act’ National Review
KCSO: Hemp fields in Arvin determined to be $1 billion worth of cannabis
Bakersfield Californian
The Kern County Sheriff's Office announced Thursday it has seized and eradicated more than 459 acres of marijuana in the Arvin area that had been cultivated under the guise of being legal hemp.
California’s marijuana market will soon have ‘thousands of retail stores,’ report says
Sacramento Bee
By 2024, cannabis sales growth in the Golden State will account for nearly a quarter of all sales growth in the United States, according to a report, “From Dispensaries to Superstores: Opportunities in U.S. Cannabis Retail,” issued by BDS Analytics and ArcView Market Research.
CRIMINAL JUSTICE / FIRE / PUBLIC SAFETY
Crime:
DOJ to reassess Taft prison closure
Bakersfield Californian
The U.S. Department of Justice will reevaluate a plan to shutter the Taft Correctional Institute and has stopped the drawdown of inmates there, U.S. Rep. Kevin McCarthy has announced.
Public Safety:
Seniors at California complex ‘abandoned’ during blackout
Associated Press
One woman in her 80s tripped over another resident who had fallen on the landing in a steep stairwell. Others got disoriented, even in their own apartments, and cried out for help. At least 20 seniors with wheelchairs and walkers were essentially trapped, in the dark, in a low-income apartment complex in Northern California during a two-day power shut-off aimed at warding off wildfires.
PG&E workers, families fear public anger amid outages; it’s ‘nerve-racking’
San Francisco Chronicle
When Katie Barbier saw news reports about shots fired at Pacific Gas and Electric Co. trucks, her first worry was her loved ones. Barbier’s husband works for PG&E. So does his cousin.
Trump abandons proposing ideas to curb gun violence after saying he would following mass shootings
Washington Post
President Trump has abandoned the idea of releasing proposals to combat gun violence that his White House debated for months following mass shootings in August, according to White House officials and lawmakers, a reversal from the summer when the president insisted he would offer policies to curb firearm deaths.
Fire:
Power back on for all customers in Madera County
abc30
PG&E has restored power to all customers in Madera County, authorities announced on Wednesday evening. Power was also back on for nearly every customer in Mariposa County as of Wednesday afternoon.
See Also:
● PG&E issues ‘all clear’ for most of its California territory. Thousands still without power Sacramento Bee
● Fed up with PG&E blackouts? Here’s how you can live off the grid in a California city Sacramento Bee
● Just 6,700 PG&E customers still in the dark. ‘We are turning the corner,’ Gov. Newsom says Sacramento Bee
California’s on fire, unplugged and out of easy answers. So why don’t we…?
CALmatters
The easy calls have been made in dealing with California’s wildfire crisis. We’re clearing brush, spending on firefighters, hastening insurance claims. We’ve tied the pay of utility executives to their companies’ safety records. To save lives — and liability costs — during red flag conditions, we’ve cut power to great swaths of the state.
For Some California Residents, Latest Wildfires Are A Tipping Point
NPR
Tens of thousands of people are still under mandatory evacuation in Northern California. Some have endured wildfires, smoke, floods, blackouts and evacuations many times before. Even though the state's population is predicted to top 40 million this year, some wonder whether California is the dream they had hoped for.
While California Fires Rage, the Rich Hire Private Firefighters
New York Times
You can now add firefighting to the list of the ways that the wealthy are different from the rest of the world. The rich aren’t fighting their own fires, for the most part. But they are hiring private firms to supplement the firefighters provided by state and local governments.
ECONOMY / JOBS
Economy:
Valley economy to be well-deserved focus at upcoming economic summit
Fresno Bee
These are exciting times in Fresno and the San Joaquin Valley. The region is growing and focused, like never before, on engaging more people to create an inclusive economy — one that confronts its challenges and inequities together and also leverages its unique assets.
Stocks slump on new U.S.-China trade jitters
Los Angeles Times
Stocks on Wall Street closed broadly lower Thursday after investors got spooked by a report that cast doubt on the prospects of a long-term U.S.-China trade deal. Bond prices surged, sending yields down sharply, as traders turned cautious. The sell-off was a marked shift from a day earlier, when the Standard & Poor’s 500 index notched its second all-time high this week.
Fear is big business: This store sells protection from fires, earthquakes, shooters and more
Los Angeles Times
Attorney Arezou Diarian thought she was ready for anything. The 49-year-old mother of two had stocked her home’s bedroom closets with emergency kits, each capable of sustaining a family of four for three days should a fire, earthquake or other calamity strike.
Does the U.S. Have Ammunition to Fight the Next Recession?
The Bulwark
As clouds gather over the global economy, there are many who ask whether, with high U.S. budget deficits, already low interest rates, and a bloated Federal Reserve balance sheet, U.S. policymakers would have sufficient ammunition to fight the next economic recession.
2019 California Economic Summit Registration Opens
CAFWD
Register for the 2019 California Economic Summit, which will take place in Fresno on November 7-8. The Summit, produced by California Forward, marks the eighth annual gathering of private, public and civic leaders from across California’s diverse regions committed to creating a shared economic agenda to expand prosperity for all.
Opinion: Valley economy to be well-deserved focus at upcoming economic summit
Fresno Bee
These are exciting times in Fresno and the San Joaquin Valley. The region is growing and focused, like never before, on engaging more people to create an inclusive economy — one that confronts its challenges and inequities together and also leverages its unique assets.
Jobs:
Washington Post
The United States added 128,000 jobs in October as the jobless rate ticked up to 3.6 percent, outperforming analyst forecasts during a month in which one of the largest private employer strikes in recent years weighed on the economy.
California’s minimum wage is going up again soon. Here’s how much it will be in your city
Sacramento Bee
California’s minimum wage is set to go up again this January, moving the state closer to its goal of $15 an hour. On Jan. 1, 2020, the minimum wage will increase to $12 an hour for employers with fewer than 26 employees, and $13 an hour for employers with more than 26.
Lost wages, lost homes, uncertainty for migrant vineyard workers after Kincade Fire
San Francisco Chronicle
The parking lot at Cloverdale Citrus Fairgrounds was never meant to be an evacuation shelter. Amid a widespread power outage, it was billed as a place to charge a phone and pick up a bottle of water.
A titanic battle over work looms
CALmatters
It would be difficult to name an issue of more fundamental, far-reaching importance than how we earn our livings — and a titanic political battle is about to erupt. This week, a coalition of companies that use on-call drivers with their own vehicles to transport passengers and goods — Uber and Lyft most famously — filed an initiative ballot measure to overturn a new, union-supported law that would compel their workers to become payroll employees.
EDUCATION
K-12:
Do Californians Support the Proposed School Bond?
PPIC
When Californians go to the polls in March, they will not only cast a vote in the presidential primary—they will also vote on an education bond to fund construction and modernization projects. Given differences in support for the bond across the state’s regions and demographic groups, turnout will play a pivotal role in whether this measure passes.
As fires rage, pressure mounts to train California’s next generation of forest stewards
EdSource
While some California schools shut their doors in October during a blackout intended to prevent wildfires, lessons continued outdoors for a group of students tucked away high in the Santa Cruz mountains
Higher Ed:
CSU professor lost a cut of his CalPERS pension. 5 of his peers with the same deal kept theirs
Sacramento Bee
California State University Chico reduced a former professor’s pension after determining he rarely worked for 10 years, but did not trim the pensions of at least five other faculty members who took leave under similar circumstances, according to court records.
ENVIRONMENT/ ENERGY
Environment:
'We tried to give them away': Split recycle cans likely destined for $300K trip to landfill
Visalia Times Delta
A Mad Max-like scene exists on the outskirts of west Visalia. Roughly 30,000 split trash cans scatter a 5-acre lot beside the city's wastewater treatment plant on Avenue 288. If you squint, the mass of cans is visible from Highway 99.
Trump eyes compromise with Newsom on climate, cars. California says it isn’t enough
Sacramento Bee
The Trump administration is opening the door to a new climate change rule that would attempt to tamp down its rancorous fight with California over greenhouse gas emissions. The Environmental Protection Agency may issue a rule by year’s end requiring automakers to sell new cars that reduce carbon emissions by 1.5 percent a year through 2025.
See also:
● Big automakers take risks in siding with Trump administration against California Washington Post
Climate Reality Clashes With California Dreams
KQED
Thousands of people remain under mandatory evacuation orders in Northern California. Some have endured wildfires, smoke, floods, blackouts and evacuations many times. Now, even though the state’s population is predicted to top 40 million this year, some are wondering whether California is the dream they'd hoped for.
Exxon Former CEO Says Climate Change ‘With Us Forever More’
Bloomberg
It’s rare for a current or former leader of one of the world’s largest energy firms to testify under oath about climate change. That’s why a New York courtroom was packed on Wednesday to see ex-Exxon Mobil Corp. Chief Executive Officer Rex Tillerson take the witness stand and explain, in the context of a securities-fraud trial, that the company knew for years how global warming was a significant threat.
Republicans target green-energy funding to prevent California wildfires, blackouts
Washington Times
The tons of greenhouse gases emitted each year by California wildfires are thwarting the state’s aggressive climate-change agenda, and as far as Assemblyman James Gallagher is concerned, that’s a problem.
California Is Burning—Nationalize PG&E
The Nation
California’s utility, PG&E, has put profits over public safety for too long. The company belongs in the hands of the people.
Energy:
Five things to know about microgrids
CALmatters
Energy microgrids, which can power businesses, neighborhoods or even cities, are having a moment. They're touted as alternative ways to keep the lights on when California's big utility companies shut power to avert wildfires.
HEALTH/HUMAN SERVICES
Health:
Early intervention key for young people with psychosis. California puts $20M into expansion
Sacramento Bee
Andrew Echeguren, 26, had his first psychotic episode when he was 15. He was working as an assistant coach at a summer soccer camp for kids when the lyrics coming out of his iPod suddenly morphed into racist and homophobic slurs, telling him to harm others — and himself.
Measles infection causes ‘immune amnesia,’ leaving kids vulnerable to other illnesses
Los Angeles Times
It’s an article of faith for many parents who refuse to vaccinate their children: When healthy kids get and recover from an infection naturally, their immune systems come out stronger.
But when it comes to measles, the opposite is true, new research shows.
Human Services:
Valley Air Is Dismal This Week – Why Don't All Air Measurements Tell Us That?
KVPR
On Monday, the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District issued a warning of unhealthy air conditions due to wildfire smoke from Northern California, an alert it repeated on Wednesday. Why then, for days, were online air monitors showing relatively healthy air? It’s the result of the size of the particulate matter blowing into the Valley, but also the level of information that air authorities share with the public.
In California, the teen birth rate has hit a record low. How?
CALmatters
Explanations include the state's comprehensive sex education, access to birth control, better contraception methods and even reality TV. Even so, the rates in some California counties remain very high.
Exclusive: Veterans want answers as new data shows rise in cancers over two decades of war
McClatchy
Veterans saw a spike in urinary, prostate, liver and blood cancers during nearly two decades of war, and some military families now question whether their exposure to toxic environments is to blame, according to a McClatchy investigation.
How California Blackouts Are Impacting People With Disabilities
KVPR
The electricity at advocate Yomi Wrong’s Oakland, Calif. home has not been shut off despite planned blackouts, so she’s able to charge the electric wheelchair she uses to get around.
Wrong charged her old backup wheelchair incase she loses power, but some of her friends who live a mile away haven’t had power for days after utility Pacific Gas and Electric Company announced outages will affect more than half a million customers.
Supervisors to consider wide range of smoking and vaping bans at meeting Tuesday
Bakersfield Californian
The Kern County Board of Supervisors will consider a wide range of bans for tobacco and vaping products at its meeting on Tuesday, potentially kicking off a process that could drastically alter smoking behavior throughout the county.
Obamacare marketplaces open for enrollment today in somewhat healthier shape
Washington Post
Obamacare enrollment for 2020 begins today in insurance marketplaces that have recently taken a turn for the better. But that doesn’t mean all is rosy for Americans buying health coverage on their own – far from it.
IMMIGRATION
House lawmakers reach agricultural immigration deal
San Francisco Chronicle
Lawmakers have struck a deal that would give legal status to hundreds of thousands of undocumented immigrant farmworkers in exchange for stronger employee verification in the agricultural sector, a bipartisan group will announce Wednesday. The deal could reach the House floor as early as the end of November.
‘Bodies flew everywhere’: A border chase shows role U.S. citizens play in immigration smuggling
Washington Post
The teenagers jumped into a pair of pickup trucks and headed away from the border, speeding along through the rain-soaked night on a barren country road where few venture after dark.
LAND USE/HOUSING
Land Use
Watch the old Fresno Rescue Mission get torn down
Your Central Valley
Demolition has begun on the old Fresno Rescue Mission in Downtown Fresno. Crews have been on site this week destroying the buildings at 310 G Street.
Housing:
Californians Could See New Rent Control Measure on November 2020 Ballot
KVPR
Less than a year after California voters decisively rejected Proposition 10, backers of that measure say they are close to qualifying a similar rent control initiative for the November 2020 ballot.
Can Factory-Built Apartments Solve California’s Housing Woes?
Capital Public Radio
Larry Pace is giving a tour of a construction site … kind of. He’s near the entrance of a 258,000-square-foot factory in Vallejo, on the outskirts of the Bay Area. The Navy built submarines hereduring World War II.
Madera apartment complex evicts dozens of residents unexpectedly
abc30
Dozens of people could soon be without a place to live after a North Valley landlord issued unexpected eviction notices to more than half of the 40 or so families who live at the Laguna Knolls complex in Madera.
Disabled Oakdale senior being forced out by sharp rent increase
Modesto Bee
Beverly Bowers, 67, is in distress over a notice to vacate her Oakdale home because of a sharp rent increase she can’t afford. Advocates are worried that a wave of evictions could boost the homeless population.
See Also:
● ‘Life is not supposed to be this hard.’ Rising rent puts senior on edge of homelessness Modesto Bee
PUBLIC FINANCES
The CalEITC and Young Child Tax Credit
California Budget & Policy Center
The California Budget & Policy Center’s guide, The CalEITC and Young Child Tax Credit: Smart Investments to Broaden Economic Security for Californians, provides an overview of how refundable state income tax credits help people who earn little from their jobs to pay for basic necessities and support families, children, and communities.
Who are the rich and how might we tax them more?
Brookings
Many Democratic presidential candidates would raise taxes on the wealthiest Americans to reduce inequality, fund programs benefiting lower income households, and mitigate the amount of dynastic wealth in the U.S. However, those who disagree with these proposals argue they will have negative consequences, including less investment, slower economic growth, and more creative tax avoidance.
Make These Tax Moves for 2019 Before It’s Too Late
Wall Street Journal
It’s Year Two following the massive tax overhaul of 2017. For Americans who are still getting used to the new rules, it’s important to sort things out before the year ends.
California City News Sees Record Number of City Manager Openings
California City News
There are 10 open positions for city manager and another two for a deputy and assistant city manager on our jobs board — an all-time record at California City News. These include highly desirable gigs in cities like Mountain View and Simi Valley. Be sure to check out the jobs board here. You can search by location or position. Our listings include a description of duties, application closing dates, and where/how to apply.
OPINION: Tax Cuts for the Wealthy Make Inequality Worse
Wall Street Journal
Here’s a short test of your value judgments. (There’s no right answer.) If free markets start dishing out increasingly unequal pretax incomes, should the government ignore it, mitigate it by making the tax system more progressive, or exacerbate it by making the tax system less progressive?
TRANSPORTATION
High-speed train from Victor Valley to Las Vegas could start construction in 2020
The Sun
A plan to build a high-speed train between the Victor Valley and Las Vegas has won state approval for a chunk of funding needed to keep the project on track for a 2020 construction start date.
See Also:
● Billionaire Branson Gets Billions In Bonds To Launch Vegas To California Train Service Forbes
CA-99 Widening Defunded – Where is the Money Going?
Streetblog CA
Two weeks ago, CBS47 lobbed the following headline: Gov. Newsom redirects gas tax money to fund railway systems, not highways.
USGBC
We are exicted to host our first event of our Bike Safe Fresno program on Saturday, November 9, 2019 from 9:30am-12pm at the Maxie L Parks Community Center.
WATER
Clean water is a fight for many Californians. Will Newsom’s law fix the waiting game?
Fresno Bee
Water is scarce and dirty for many in Fresno County’s small West Park community. They’re not alone. It’s a common and persistent challenge for residents throughout California who rely on water wells.
See Also:
● Disadvantaged Communities Claim A Stake In State Groundwater Overhaul KVPR
For California well owners, clean water is hard to get
Calmatters
Private well owners confront financial challenges digging new wells to seek uncontaminated water, and connecting to a public water system involves a daunting local and state bureaucratic process.
“Xtra”
Artists embrace natural beauty for Panorama Park murals
Bakersfield Californian
The artistic bounty continues at Panorama Park, which will unveil the latest murals from a collaborative project on Monday. This is the second phase of the Panorama Park beautification initiative, which began last year with the painting of 21 utility boxes, water pumps and trashcans throughout the park, completed by 20 artists.
Weekend de los Muertos — keep celebrations going
Bakersfield Californian
This time of year there is a celebration of the dead that’s sacred rather than spooky. That’s not to say those celebrated for Dia de los Muertos are not embraced with a little humor and love. Kern County is lucky to have a number of celebrations spread out this weekend.