November 23, 2020

23Nov

2020 California Economic Summit to Shape Roadmap for Economic Recovery

CAFWD

Bringing together hundreds of private, public, and civic leaders from across California’s diverse regions on December 3-4, the 2020 California Economic Summit is the largest gathering of its kind. For the full agenda of panels, keynotes and sessions during the two-day virtual California Economic Summit click here.

 

CETF and Partners Call For A National Broadband Agenda

CETF

CETF and its Partners held a Briefing:  New State-Federal Partnership on Broadband called for a State-Federal Internet for All Now Partnership. The briefing was hosted by CETF and California Forward.

 

POLICY & POLITICS

 

North SJ Valley:

 

College Consensus Ranks Stan State’s MBA Program No. 24 in California

Stanislaus State

Stanislaus State has earned numerous national and regional accolades for its academic programs, affordability, sustainability efforts and transformative impact on students, the community and region. The University has earned yet another recognition: offering one the state’s best Master of Business Administration (MBA) programs.

 

Loss of Merced County leader, businessman ‘felt up and down the Valley’ by Hmong community

Fresno Bee

Merced County’s Hmong community lost an influential leader with the recent death of Dang Moua, who died at age of 71 after a battle with stomach cancer, say family members. He was instrumental in helping many Hmong families assimilate to life locally and in the US.

 

Modesto council race tightens again as county nears final vote count from Nov. 3

Modesto Bee

Close-to-final results released Friday showed Chris Ricci still leading for a seat on the Modesto City Council, though by a slimmer margin than before. Milton Richards still led Bryan Rogers for the Turlock-area seat on the Yosemite Community College District board. Waterford’s school bond measure continued to fall just short.

 

Modesto Councilman Mani Grewal appointed to Berryhill’s Stanislaus supervisors seat

Modesto Bee

Outgoing Modesto City Councilman Mani Grewal has been appointed to fill the Board of Supervisors seat left vacant by the death of supervisor Tom Berryhill this summer.

 

Rising Star (Stockton) Mayor Who Championed Guaranteed Income Loses Hometown Race

Bloomberg

Stockton Mayor Michael Tubbs came into elected office on a high in 2016, winning 70% of the vote. Since becoming mayor, he put himself and his economically distressed hometown on the national map through his advocacy for progressive programs, including one of the first guaranteed income experiments in the U.S.

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Unemployment Returns To Single Digits In Some Parts Of Valley

Business Journal

Some Central Valley counties saw unemployment rates return to the single digits in October since the pandemic hit the state Employment Development Department’s employment numbers back in April.

See also:

 

COVID Update:

 

Central SJ Valley:

 

Fresno State Ranks No. 3 Nationally for Social Mobility

Clovis Roundup

According to the 2020 Social Mobility Index, Fresno State is ranked in the top five for best university for social mobility. This has been the college’s fourth consecutive year it has been ranked in the top 5.

 

Fresno County coronavirus new-case surge continues, surpassing another milestone

Fresno Bee

With 281 new cases reported Friday morning by the California Department of Public Health, a total of 35,278 Fresno County residents have tested positive for the virus during the pandemic, including people who experienced no or mild symptoms. Of those, 463 have died.

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Republican David Valadao defeats TJ Cox for California seat in Congress, analyst says

Fresno Bee

Hanford Republican David Valadao’s lead in the U.S. House District 21 race shrunk Friday, but a political analyst has called the race. Valadao, the challenger for the district, leads Rep. TJ Cox, D-Fresno, by 1,618 votes after the latest update from Kern County.

 

EDITORIAL: Fresno’s Jim Costa can help farmers by getting Ag Committee chairman post in the House

Fresno Bee

Fresno’s congressman, Jim Costa, who had just been re-elected to the 16th District, announced he would seek the chairmanship of the House Agriculture Committee.

 

Fresno County responds to COVID-19 in rural communities, hopes to add 3 testing sites

abc30

For 16-year-old William Gomez, the burden of the loss of his father, Guillermo, is difficult to bear. "Without him we're basically nothing," Gomez says. Joined by his mother Elvia, the grief-stricken teen says his dad epitomized joy.

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Fresno Metro Black Chamber Of Commerce Receives Grant To Fight Racial Injustice

Business Journal

Fresno Metro Black Chamber of Commerce (FMBCC) and the U.S. Chamber Foundation received their piece of $30 million in unrestricted funds from the Kresge Foundation to serve Black businesses in Fresno.

 

Warszawski: Downtown Fresno needs bold vision — and certainly more housing — but not this eyesore

Fresno Bee

Downtown Fresno cannot roar back to life — by that I mean support a vibrant retail, dining and nightlife scene — without more people living there. Less than 1% of Fresno’s estimated 545,000 residents live inside the 1.5-square mile triangle contained by Highway 99, Highway 41 and Divisadero Street.

 

South SJ Valley:

  

With 'explosive growth,' Sunrise Kern aims to make its presence known

Bakersfield Californian

Over the summer, a thick haze from wildfires across the state hung over Bakersfield for weeks. For some, the toxic air quality was nothing more than a consistently annoying reminder to stay inside. For others, the air had turned into a health risk.

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Price: City might preserve more historic buildings if property owners had this simple, common incentive

Bakersfield Californian

We no longer need evidence that Bakersfield’s Historic Preservation Commission is a toothless entity ignored by all but a passionate few. But we may have more evidence anyway.

 

State:

 

California Gov. Gavin Newsom, Family Quarantining After 3 Kids Exposed To Coronavirus

VPR

California Gov. Gavin Newsom and his family are quarantining after learning some members of his family came into contact with a California Highway Patrol officer who has tested positive for the coronavirus.

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California enacts nighttime curfew as COVID-19 cases spike

Fresno Bee

A majority of Californians are under a nighttime curfew beginning Saturday as surging coronavirus cases threaten to swamp health care systems, and the state's largest county warned that an even more drastic lockdown could be imminent.

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Why appointing a Latino to Senate post “is a natural step” for Newsom

Vida en el valle

Ever since California became the 31st state to join the union 170 years ago, no Latino has represented the state in the U.S. Senate. It hasn’t been for lack of trying.

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Will state stick ‘Team Biden’ firm with $35 million tab after Yee balks at Padilla vote contract?

CalMatters

Documents obtained by CalMatters reveal a behind-the-scenes look at a controversial no-bid contract — and a showdown between two of California’s most ambitious politicians.

 

Legislature campaigns: Did big political spenders get what they paid for?

CalMatters

You can’t always get what you want, but for special interests in California politics, spending $34 million sure does help. That’s the amount of unrestricted political spending that industries and unions with regular business in the capitol pumped into Legislative races across the state this year.

 

California NAACP leader to step down amid conflict-of-interest allegations

Fresno Bee

The longtime leader of California’s NAACP will step down next month, which comes after the towering figure once again faced conflict-of-interest allegations involving her political consulting company’s work in this year’s election cycle.

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Federal:

 

Biden to announce first Cabinet picks Tuesday, incoming White House chief of staff says

abc30

President-elect Joe Biden's first Cabinet picks are coming Tuesday and planning is underway for a pandemic-modified inauguration in January as his team moves forward despite roadblocks from the Trump administration.

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As Democrats fume, the Trump appointee who can start the Biden transition is in no hurry

Washington Post

Emily Murphy, head of the General Services Administration, has refused to declare Biden the “apparent” winner, as the law requires for the transition to begin. And she still has not determined when she will, her aides and associates say, leaving the changeover in a vacuum that threatens essential functions of government.

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Once Out Of Office, Trump Faces Significant Legal Jeopardy

VPR

There's no indication that an indictment is imminent, and it's possible that Trump could emerge entirely unscathed. But there's also no doubt that once he's out of office, he'll be facing a higher level of legal jeopardy than he has in years.

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Americans Shouldn’t Listen To Trump COVID Advisor Scott Atlas, Warns Johns Hopkins Public Health Expert

Forbes

After continually landing himself in hot water for discouraging Americans from following Covid-19 restrictions, public health expert Tom Inglesby urged the public not to listen to President Trump’s coronavirus advisor Scott Atlas.

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Lessons of the 2020 Election: What Democrats and Republicans Must Now Do to Win

Wall Street Journal

In January 2020, when the Democratic primaries were gearing up, most pundits and political consultants believed that the party’s base was longing for a very progressive candidate. After picking Hillary Clinton in 2016 because she was supposed to be the safer choice, the theory went, Democrats were fed up with moderation.

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Opinion: America’s Shockingly Moderate Electorate

Wall Street Journal

The more things change, the more they stay the same—or so it seems in American politics, after the electorate returned the Democratic establishment to power after rejecting it for a rogue outsider four years ago. The surprise finding of the exit polls is that moderates and men provided the crucial swing voters who put Joe Biden into office.

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Other:

 

Election Disinformation Fears Came True for State Officials

Pew Trusts

The disinformation scenario that local election officials feared months ago has come true: President Donald Trump’s false claims of voter fraud have been picked up by many state and local Republican officials across the country, and polls now show that more than two-thirds of GOP voters believe the 2020 election was neither free nor fair.

 

Conservatives grumbling about censorship say they’re flocking to Parler. They told us so on Twitter.

Washington Post

Since launching in 2018, Parler’s leaders have framed the social network as one of the last bastions of free speech online, building a fan base of annoyed conservatives who argue they had been silenced everywhere else.

 

Mobility network models of COVID-19 explain inequities and inform reopening

nature

The COVID-19 pandemic dramatically changed human mobility patterns, necessitating epidemiological models which capture the effects of changes in mobility on virus spread. We introduce a metapopulation SEIR model that integrates fine-grained, dynamic mobility networks to simulate the spread of SARS-CoV-2 in 10 of the largest US metropolitan statistical areas.

 

MADDY INSTITUTE PUBLIC POLICY PROGRAMMING

 

Sunday, November 29, at 10 a.m. on ABC30 – Maddy Report: PPIC: Reducing Recidivism Among Felons - Guest: Justin Gross, Public Policy Institute of California. Host: Maddy Institute Executive Director, Mark Keppler.

 

Sunday, November, at 10 a.m. on Newstalk 580AM/105.9FM (KMJ) – Maddy Report - Valley Views Edition: No show this week  Host: Maddy Institute Executive Director, Mark Keppler.

 

AGRICULTURE/FOOD

 

EDITORIAL: Fresno’s Jim Costa can help farmers by getting Ag Committee chairman post in the House

Fresno Bee

Fresno’s congressman, Jim Costa, who had just been re-elected to the 16th District, announced he would seek the chairmanship of the House Agriculture Committee.

 

Pandemic relief event held for Tulare County agricultural families

abc30

A pandemic relief event helped support agricultural families impacted by COVID-19 in the South Valley. The Porterville Parenting Network and several other groups came together to put on the drive-thru event at Road 192 and Avenue 148 on Saturday.

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Kern farmers tapped for $14 million to study delta tunnel

SJV Water

Kern County farmers on Wednesday agreed to chip in $14 million over the next two years to kick off another attempt to move water through the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta via tunnel.

 

State Mandates Emergency Workplace COVID-19 Protections, Less Crowding For Guest Farmworkers

Capital Public Radio

California’s businesses must follow new rules to protect workers from getting coronavirus on the job, while harvesting companies must minimize overcrowding in guest farmworker housing following a California Divide investigation.

 

Farmers Are Warming Up To The Fight Against Climate Change

VPR

Now, the Farm Bureau might be changing course. This week, it announced that it had formed a coalition that plans to push the government to adopt dozens of policy changes that would make it easier for farmers to reduce emissions from agriculture.

 

CRIMINAL JUSTICE/FIRE/PUBLIC SAFETY

 

Crime:

 

What’s Next After Fresno City Council Accepts Police Reform Commission’s Report

VPR

The Fresno City Council unanimously voted to accept the Fresno Police Reform Commission's report on Thursday. But as councilmembers clarified in the Zoom meeting, that doesn’t mean all 72 recommendations will be implemented immediately.

 

What the data says (and doesn’t say) about crime in the United States

PEW

From the first day of his presidency to his campaign for reelection, Donald Trump has sounded the alarm about crime in the United States. Trump vowed to end “American carnage” in his inaugural address in 2017. This year, he ran for reelection on a platform of “law and order.”

 

Public Safety:

 

If Fresno and Valley law enforcement aren’t enforcing COVID-19 state curfew, is anyone?

Fresno Bee

State alcohol officials say they will be enforcing Gov. Gavin Newsom’s curfew in Fresno and other parts of the central San Joaquin Valley, where municipalities have told their law enforcement not to.

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Avenal’s Prison Labor Contract Allows Actions The CDC—And Kings County—Warned Could Spread COVID-19

VPR

More than 3,300 inmates and staff have tested positive for the virus at Avenal, a total that’s higher than any other prison in California and possibly in the entire country. Eight incarcerated men have died.

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In cities across US, voters support more police oversight

Bakersfield Californian

Voters in communities across the country approved measures on Election Day toughening civilian oversight of law enforcement agencies, including some that took years to reach the ballot but grew in urgency after global protests over racial injustice and police brutality.

 

Fire:

 

Creek Fire updates: Containment grows; when can firefighters declare victory?

Fresno Bee

Firefighters battling the Creek Fire zeroed in on the last embers of the monster blaze in the Sierra and Inyo national forests Sunday, as containment was reported to reach the 95% figure.

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Opinion: After this year’s wildfires, California must spend to manage forest health

CalMatters

California’s forests can again function as they did historically and be more resilient to wildfires, if the state makes these major shifts.

 

ECONOMY/JOBS

 

Economy:

 

‘Small businesses, we’re screwed.’ Fresno restaurant rally pushes to reopen shops

Fresno Bee

A few hundred people rallied outside the Fresno County Department of Public Health on Saturday to implore state and local officials to loosen coronavirus safety orders. The downtown Fresno office was closed as demonstrators chanted, held signs and accused Gov. Gavin Newsom of unethical actions.

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More CARES funding to assist local businesses

Porterville Recorder

During Tuesday night’s City Council meeting there were public hearings on three matters, all of which were unanimously approved by the Council.

 

Black Friday mutates along with the pandemic

Bakersfield Californian

It's a small sign of how different Black Friday will be this year that a shopper recently went to the Valley Plaza Macy's thinking she knew what she wanted for her fall wardrobe, only to find out she'd been all wrong.

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The Nightmare Pandemic Economy Joe Biden Is Inheriting, in 5 Charts

Time

When President-elect Joe Biden steps into White House in January, he will inherit two inextricably linked crises: The worsening COVID-19 pandemic and a wide-reaching recession. As U.S. coronavirus cases are spiking to all-time highs, he will be responsible for keeping Americans safe while guiding a fragile economy through recovery.

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Commentary: What progressives get wrong about ‘corporate welfare’

AEI

When Joe Biden finally gains control of the presidential Twitter account, he probably won’t use it or his personal account to recklessly attack American companies. That’s one reason a Biden presidency will come as a big relief to many in corporate America — even if it also might mean higher taxes and more regulation.

 

Jobs:

 

Unemployment Returns To Single Digits In Some Parts Of Valley

Business Journal

Some Central Valley counties saw unemployment rates return to the single digits in October since the pandemic hit the state Employment Development Department’s employment numbers back in April.

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State agency exposes jobless Californians to identity theft and fraud, audit says

Sacramento Bee

The state’s Employment Development Department has “continued to place Californians at risk of identity theft,” despite warnings last year that its policy of including Social Security numbers in mailings is dangerous, the state auditor found Thursday.

 

How Bank of America helped fuel California’s unemployment meltdown

CalMatters

After the Great Recession, California signed an exclusive contract with Bank of America to distribute unemployment benefits through prepaid debit cards. A CalMatters investigation reveals that to this day, no one knows how much the bank has made off the deal.

 

Millions of full-time U.S. workers receive federal health care and food assistance

CBSNews

Millions of Americans who are working full-time jobs still rely on federal health care and food assistance programs because of low wages, a bipartisan congressional watchdog says.

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Commentary: Even a divided America agrees on raising the minimum wage

Brookings

Two-thirds (67%) of Americans surveyed last year by the Pew Research Center expressed support for raising the federal minimum wage to $15 per hour.

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EDUCATION

 

K-12:

 

Six COVID-19 cases confirmed at this Fresno-area school district, with five in one week

Fresno Bee

At least six coronavirus cases have been linked to Sanger Unified School District campuses in November, including five over the last week. One case at Sanger High School was confirmed Nov. 2, the day teachers returned to campuses and one day before students arrived, according to letters from the school district obtained by The Bee.

 

More California Students Are Getting Live Instruction, but Gaps Remain

PPIC

When California’s K–12 schools turned to distance learning in spring 2020, instructional methods immediately shifted to paper packets, teleconferencing, and phone calls.

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Commentary: Global education: How to transform school systems?

Brookings

Even before COVID-19 left as many as 1.5 billion students out of school in early 2020, there was a global consensus that education systems in too many countries were not delivering the quality education needed to ensure that all have the skills necessary to thrive.

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Higher Ed:

 

Controversial ethnic studies draft approved by California commission, moves to final round

Sacramento Bee

The state’s ethnic studies draft curriculum moved forward for final approval, but faced another round of controversy in a two-day state department meeting filled with hours of public comment, line edits to the current draft and debates on who gets representation.

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U.S. COVID-19 student loan relief is ending. How to get more time to delay repayments

Fresno Bee

Federal student loan payments and interest have been paused since March due to the coronavirus pandemic, but payments are set to resume in January, according to the U.S. Department of Education.

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Amid pandemic fears of student loss, University of California enrollment remains flat

EdSource

Enrollment across the University of California is expected to remain flat this fall, with a small increase in undergraduates — encouraging signs for the system amid the Covid-19 pandemic, which has resulted in most public universities across the country losing students.

 

Community college enrollment falls as students grapple with job loss, online learning

CalMatters

Enrollment at California community colleges is down more than 9 percent from the year before, mirroring a national trend, according to a recent survey from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center (NSCRC).

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ENVIRONMENT/ENERGY

 

Environment:

 

Four environmental groups sue to stop reservoir in hills west of Patterson

Modesto Bee

The reservoir planned in the hills west of Patterson drew a lawsuit Friday from four environmental groups. They claim the project would harm plants and wildlife in the immediate area, threaten Patterson with flooding, and worsen conditions in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.

 

New NASA Mission To Map Sea Level Rise May Help California Adapt To Changing Coastline

Capital Public Radio

NASA has collected data on how seas are rising across the planet for more than 25 years. A new mission is launching this weekend, which will extend that data for five years and may help places like California adapt as seas rise. But the data also poses some major concerns.

 

Commentary: Rebooting the climate agenda: What should the priorities be?

Brookings

The climate crisis had been deepening even before the COVID-19 pandemic, affecting everyone, everywhere—but especially the poorest and most vulnerable people.

 

Energy:

 

Time for CA to Catch Up on Clean Energy in New Buildings

NRDC

The California building energy code is known for leading the country on energy efficiency and was the first in the world to require solar panels on new single-family and low-rise residential homes.

 

Why the Oil Industry Doesn't Fear Biden

NPR

U.S. oil and gas companies will soon be facing a climate-conscious president who has vowed to transition away from the oil industry. So you might expect a sense of existential dread in the oil world about President-elect Joe Biden. Instead, there's a surprising amount of optimism.

 

HEALTH/HUMAN SERVICES

 

Health:

 

Fresno County coronavirus new-case surge continues, surpassing another milestone

Fresno Bee

With 281 new cases reported Friday morning by the California Department of Public Health, a total of 35,278 Fresno County residents have tested positive for the virus during the pandemic, including people who experienced no or mild symptoms. Of those, 463 have died.

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Pandemic drinking is no joke. Fresno doctor warns of spike in scary liver condition

Fresno Bee

By now you’ve probably seen the memes on social media about drinking alcohol to cope with the stresses of the coronavirus pandemic. A Fresno doctor issued a warning about the serious consequences of coping with pandemic stress by drinking, and she painted a scary picture of what’s she’s seeing in the hospital.

 

Public health expert: Americans no longer acting 'with common purpose' on pandemic

The Hill

The director of the Center for Health Security at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health on Sunday said that the current wave of coronavirus cases is worse because Americans are not “acting with common purpose” the way they were in the spring.

 

‘I just pray God will help me’: Racial, ethnic minorities reel from higher covid-19 death rates

Washington Post

Dennis Bannister’s daughter, Demi, was the first to die. She was only 28, a beloved third-grade teacher who likely caught the virus during a training at her Columbia, S.C., school district. Doctors diagnosed her with a bladder infection, and by the time they realized their mistake, it was too late.

 

Human Services:

 

Fresno County health official: COVID-19 vaccines not yet confirmed for next month

Fresno Bee

Fresno County’s top health official said he’s hopeful vaccines are coming to the region next month — but he has gotten no confirmation that’s happening from state officials.

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Want to get tested for COVID-19 in Fresno before Thanksgiving? Here are your options

Fresno Bee

Fresno County health officials warn against gathering for Thanksgiving but do recommend getting tested for coronavirus routinely. Fresno County Department of Public Health has created a COVID-19 testing web page that serves as a one-stop shop for testing locations.

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Free COVID-19 testing to be held at Bakersfield College

Bakersfield Californian

Bakersfield College's Panorama campus will be the site of free COVID-19 testing from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday. The self-swab tests will be offered in the parking lot at Haley Street and University Avenue. No appointment is necessary.

 

Pfizer Asks FDA To Approve Its COVID-19 Vaccine For Emergency Use

VPR

Pfizer is formally asking federal authorities to authorize its COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use. The pharmaceutical giant and its partner BioNTech announced that they are submitting their request to the Food and Drug Administration on Friday.

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IMMIGRATION

 

What does California have to lose if undocumented immigrants are excluded from the census?

Fresno Bee

If The U.S. Supreme Court rules in favor of President Donald Trump’s memorandum to remove unauthorized immigrants from the 2020 census count, California stands to lose some political power.

 

Illegal Border Crossings Rise for Sixth Straight Month

Business Journal

U.S. border authorities stopped people entering the country illegally from Mexico more than 69,000 times in October, the sixth straight monthly increase and the highest level since July 2019.

 

As coronavirus cases surge again, ICE leaders push to detain more immigrants

Los Angeles Times

At a federal court hearing last week, Moises Becerra, a top official with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, discussed a plan to safely repopulate the Mesa Verde immigrant detention facility in Bakersfield. Last summer, a COVID-19 outbreak spread to more than half of the detainees and a quarter of the staff.

 

EDITORIAL: As Trump nears the exit, never forget his inhumane treatment of children

Los Angeles Times

President Trump’s four years in office have been disastrous in so many ways. The crumbling of a functional federal government. Tens of thousands of lives likely lost because of his slow response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

LAND USE/HOUSING

 

Land Use:

 

Glacier Point and Tioga roads in Yosemite National Park closed for the winter

Fresno Bee

Tioga and Glacier Point roads are closed to all vehicle traffic for the winter season, Yosemite National Park announced Friday. Both roads normally close each fall and reopen in the spring when weather and road conditions are safe.

 

Community members design their 'dream park'

Hanford Sentinel

With four community-based planning meetings under its belt, the Hanford Parks and Community Services department is getting a clearer picture of what the community would like to see in a possible new 40-acre park in the city.

 

Price: City might preserve more historic buildings if property owners had this simple, common incentive

Bakersfield Californian

We no longer need evidence that Bakersfield’s Historic Preservation Commission is a toothless entity ignored by all but a passionate few. But we may have more evidence anyway.

 

Housing:

 

‘It’s A Shame’: California Squandered $2.7 Billion For Affordable Housing, Audit Says

Capital Public Radio

California’s lack of affordable housing is severe and well-documented. One recent estimate says the state needs 1.4 million more affordable rental homes to ease the burden on low-income families.

 

'We Need To Build More Homes': Prices Soar Amid Housing Shortage

VPR

There are fewer homes for sale in the U.S. today than ever recorded in data going back nearly 40 years. That's a big part of what's driving up home prices much faster than incomes, and making homeownership less affordable for more and more Americans.

 

Warszawski: Downtown Fresno needs bold vision — and certainly more housing — but not this eyesore

Fresno Bee

Downtown Fresno cannot roar back to life — by that I mean support a vibrant retail, dining and nightlife scene — without more people living there. Less than 1% of Fresno’s estimated 545,000 residents live inside the 1.5-square mile triangle contained by Highway 99, Highway 41 and Divisadero Street.

 

PUBLIC FINANCES

 

Not dire, for now: California expects $26 billion windfall despite pandemic

CalMatters

Though the pandemic-induced recession hasn’t been as bad as expected, it is hitting the most vulnerable Californians hardest.

See also:

 

5 year-end strategies to save on your 2020 taxes

CNBC

Don’t let the holidays distract you from last-minute opportunities to reduce your 2020 tax bill. There are about five weeks left in the year, which means the clock is ticking on tax-planning strategies.

 

TRANSPORTATION

 

Train derailment causes hazardous material spill, closes 99 near Fresno-Tulare county line

Fresno Bee

Emergency personnel, including the California Highway Patrol and firefighters, rushed to Goshen early Monday after a train derailment caused a hazardous material spill and closed Highway 99.

 

Don't Travel For Thanksgiving, CDC Warns

VPR

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is strongly recommending that people stay home for Thanksgiving to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus. With the holiday one week away, the agency issued a statement that taking a trip to see loved ones is simply inadvisable right now.

See also:

 

The World After Covid Could Shake Up Business Flights

Wall Street Journal

Business travel is another story. Airline executives believe that increased use of videoconferencing could take a permanent 15% bite out of the market. The battle for this shrinking pie could reshape the most profitable part of their industry.

 

WATER

 

The future of Madera groundwater is being decided. Do residents have a say?

Fresno Bee

If you’re worried about your well going dry and who will pay to drill deeper, or about your community having enough safe and clean water, or about your farm’s ability to irrigate, this information is for you.

 

Well Water Throughout California Contaminated With ‘Forever Chemicals’

CalMatters

In the weeks before the coronavirus began tearing through California, the city of Commerce made an expensive decision: It shut down part of its water supply. Like nearly 150 other public water systems in California, the small city on the outskirts of Los Angeles had detected “forever chemicals” in its well water.

See also:

 

Four environmental groups sue to stop reservoir in hills west of Patterson

Modesto Bee

The reservoir planned in the hills west of Patterson drew a lawsuit Friday from four environmental groups. They claim the project would harm plants and wildlife in the immediate area, threaten Patterson with flooding, and worsen conditions in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.

 

Walters: Why are taxpayers footing Klamath River dam removal cost?

CalMatters

Decades of political conflict over the fate of four obsolete dams on the Klamath River reached a turning point last week with a multi-party, two-state “memorandum of understanding” to remove them in hopes of restoring salmon runs.

 

“Xtra”

 

Fresno’s new drive-in theater is selling out tickets — with plans to expand past pandemic

Fresno Bee

In another timeline, Brandon Knight would be running a restaurant in Berlin, not a drive-in theater in Fresno. Because that was the plan: He’d move back to Fresno, his hometown, and find funding for the venture in Germany.

 

Here comes Santa Claus — but his visit may be different this season

Bakersfield Californian

Pandemic or not, Santa Claus Is Comin’ to Town. That’s the message several local businesses are promoting, although interacting with jolly ol’ St. Nick might be a bit more challenging this year.

 

Here’s your planner for Modesto-area holiday parades, events, and how to enjoy them

Modesto Bee

Many of the traditional Christmas events in the Modesto and Mother Lode regions have been canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic. But others will go on with modifications, downsizing and virtual options.

 

Bethany Clough: Where to get a Thanksgiving meal from a restaurant in Fresno – and where to buy pies

Fresno Bee

Coronavirus can’t stop Thanksgiving, but it sure is going to complicate it. Normally, this time of year we’d bring you a story about all the restaurants where you could take the whole family and sit down for a traditional Thanksgiving meal.

 

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Maddy Institute Updated List of San Joaquin Valley Elected Officials HERE.

 

The Kenneth L. Maddy Institute 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 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.

 

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